Does Red Wings' Ten-Year Playoff Drought Herald the End of the "Yzerplan" in Detroit?
The Detroit Red Wings are now the team with the longest playoff drought in the NHL. After the Buffalo Sabres under head coach Lindy Ruff clinched a spot in the postseason, the Atlantic Division's top teams have changed.
Once thought to be contenders earlier in the year, the Red Wings were running on all cylinders under head coach Todd McLellan's system, which saw results.
Rookies such as Emmitt Finnie and Axel-Sandin Pellikka were having a great start to their NHL careers, and likewise with their team's trajectory, they've experienced disappointment.
The Red Wings are now 41-30-9 and sixth in the Atlantic Division, as their stock continues to fall in the face of well-earned scrutiny by media and fans alike. Once again, we saw Yzerman exercise caution in March, making a deal for defenseman Justin Faulk and David Perron despite the amount of cap space available.
It'd lead to a familiar result we've seen before.
After being defeated by the New Jersey Devils Saturday night, 5-3, the drought has continued.
Is The Yzerplan "Dead" In Detroit?
"This is Detroit. This is Hockeytown,” McLellan said after the loss. “I’ve been lucky enough to be on the other side of it, when they couldn’t stop cheering for this team. And they’re dying for that, they crave that. That’s what they want…That’s inside noise. Those are the fans in our building, and they pay to watch us play…they’re fully entitled to their opinion, and we’ve deserved their opinion. There’s no way to sugarcoat it, that’s what we earned."
You have to ponder what is next for owner Chris Illitch and the Detroit Red Wings, who have placed their faith in general manager Steve Yzerman.
He's had control of the team since 2019, and while he has done a bang-up job, demolishing the Ken Holland status quo left behind, his results haven't been so great.
Yzerman is an adept GM when it comes to drafting talent, but when it comes to building a team that can make the postseason, he's failed again.
What are the next steps for the Red Wings, who have been at the forefront of the NHL with its studded past, muddied by its present?
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
