The Hockey News is ranking NHL teams by their perceived 2025-2026 season and then offseason performances, and Adam Proteau has the Red Wings ranked last in the league, at #32:
They went 31-16-4 through Jan. 21, and as they headed to the Olympic break, they were among the front-runners to win the highly competitive Atlantic Division.
But from that point on, the Wings went 10-15-6, falling out of the playoff picture completely.
Adding insult to injury, the Red Wings’ captain, Dylan Larkin, requested a trade at season’s end. That was the low point in Detroit’s terrible off-season. This is why the Wings are dead-last – 32nd overall – when it comes to TheHockeyNews.com’s brand-new off-season rankings.
Moving in reverse, we’re ranking every team’s off-season, focusing on arrivals, departures (including coaching and management members), free-agent and trade moves.
The Red Wings didn’t get better this off-season. To the contrary – they now seem like the only team in the Atlantic that will not be competing for a playoff spot in 2026-27.
Continued; this is a depressing and sometimes infuriating read, and I believe that’s the point of it all…
