The Detroit Red Wings were officially eliminated from contention for the 2025 NHL playoffs on Saturday night as the Montreal Canadiens got a loser point in their 1-0 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With the Red Wings’ elimination, their playoff drought continues as they have failed to make the playoffs since 2016. Prior to that, the Red Wings had made playoffs for 25 straight seasons, from 1991 to 2016.
The Wings now have the second-longest current playoff drought at eight seasons, behind only the Buffalo Sabres’ 13 seasons.
So, as the autopsy begins for the Red Wings’ 2024-25 season, it’s worth taking a look at the five most disappointing Detroit Red Wings members after their elimination from 2025 playoffs contention.
5 most disappointing Detroit Red Wings members after elimination from 2025 NHL playoffs contention
#5 Goaltending
I
t’s tough to single out one Detroit Red Wings goaltending as disappointing this season. In fact, the Wings’ entire goaltending group, which consisted of five total netminders this season, gets the nod as disappointing.
Detroit entered the season with Cam Talbot as their starter. While Talbot’s 20-19-4 record and 2.88 GAA and .904 SV% weren’t bad, the numbers certainly weren’t those of a starting goaltender for a playoff team.
Alex Lyo, Ville Husso (who was dreadful), Peter Mrazek, and Sebastian Cossa didn’t fare much better. So, the Wings’ poor goaltending is certainly among the culprits for the failed Red Wings seasons.
#4 Moritz Seider
When the Detroit Red Wings signed Moritz Seider to a seven-year, $59.85 million contract before the start of this season, the speculation was that Seider would be the team’s savior on the blue line.
However, Seider has largely failed to live up to his massive new contract. In 79 games this season, Seider has seven goals and 33 assists for 40 points to go with a minus-9 rating. Those numbers are not indicative of a number-one defenseman on a playoff-caliber team.
#3 Justin Holl
It’s quite difficult to find reasons why Justin Holl played 71 games this season for the Red Wings. Holl was sent down to the AHL after failing to make the team out of training camp. However, injuries prompted the Red Wings to call Holl back up to the team.
The Detroit Red Wings kept him on the roster all season long. Unfortunately, Holl didn’t look good at all. In those 71 games, Holl registered one goal and six points to go with a minus-9 rating.
His defensive play left so much to be desired that the Wings may look to move on from the 33-year-old blue liner as he enters the final year of his current three-year contract next season.
#2 Vladimir Tarasenko
The Detroit Red Wings signed Tarasenko to a two-year year, $9.5 million contract this past offseason, hoping to find a spark in their top six. However, Tarasenko had an awful year. He scored 10 goals and 31 points in 77 games.
He contributed nothing to the team defensively and often went missing for long stretches during games. Fortunately, the Wings have one year left on Tarasenko’s contract.
#1 Steve Yzerman
This season’s debacle falls squarely on the shoulders of GM Steve Yzerman. Yzerman has been unable to replicate the success he had with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The biggest mistake of Yzerman’s tenure was hiring Derek Lalonde as head coach.
The experiment backfired, leading him to fire Lalone and recycle Todd McLellan as coach in December. McLellan actually turned the team around, bringing them back from the dead.
However, Yzerman failed to upgrade the Red Wings’ blue line and offense at the trade deadline. The Athletic gave Yzerman a C grade for this deadline acquisition after adding Craig Smith and Petr Mrazek from the Chicago Blackhawks.
That was it.
Yzerman could be in the hot seat this upcoming offseason, especially if he fails to upgrade the roster, particularly the top six and the top four on defense. Ultimately, the Wings’ GM gets the nod as the most disappointing member this season.
Edited by Nestor Quixtan