It may be hard to believe, but the Detroit Red Wings are not only in the midst of the second longest Stanley Cup Playoff drought in the National Hockey League today, but in their team history.
The Red Wings are celebrating their centennial season in 2025-26, marking a century of history. Yet in that time, they had never endured a playoff drought as long as their current one.
Overseeing the team through this process is beloved former team captain Steve Yzerman, one of the three greatest players in franchise history, who once helped lift the Red Wings out of the infamous “Dead Wings” era during his playing career and redefine what excellence in the NHL meant.
Because of his track record in the same role with the Tampa Bay Lightning, many fans expected Detroit’s rebuilding process to be further along by now.
As one of the most calculated executives in professional sports, Yzerman is well aware of the growing frustration among the playoff-hungry Red Wings fan base.
"Well, we're trying to improve every year. Ultimately, the goal here is to build a team that can compete for the Stanley Cup," Yzerman explained Wednesday in a virtual press conference on the eve of Training Camp. "You can't compete for the Stanley Cup, obviously, until you makethe playoffs, but our goal, again, is to be a team that can compete for the Stanley Cup. So again, these rebuilds take time. How much time? I can't really predict, everyone's is different."
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Yzerman referenced the Draft Lottery, a source of bitter frustration for the Red Wings organization as a whole, as no other team has dropped more spots in the Lottery than they have over the last several seasons. In fact, the Red Wings haven’t held a top-three pick since 1990, which came just after Yzerman’s seventh season as a player.
"Where you finish, what happens in the lottery, who's available in the draft in a particular year, those things are somewhat out of our control," he said. "We'll try to run and we're going to continue to try and run a good program. We're going to continue to try and improve each season, with the goal of becoming a playoff team and a team that eventually competes for a Stanley Cup."
"So I understand the frustration, or maybe the lack of or I don't want to say patience, because I think everybody's been pretty patient, but the sense of urgency within the fan base and in our local media, I understand it, but ultimately, you know, you guys heard it when Kenny Holland was here."
"Like you want to go into a rebuild. It takes time."
There's no question that Yzerman inherited an extremely challenging situation from former GM Ken Holland when he returned to take over the GM duties in April 2019. Since then, Yzerman has built one of the more intriguing prospect pools in all of the NHL.
One of the most positive elements of Yzerman's drafting has been the selections of both Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, both of whom are now considered foundational cornerstones to build around.
Other Yzerman selections like Simon Edvinsson and Marco Kasper have now become regulars in the lineup.
The Red Wings have also been on the cusp of the postseason in each of the last two seasons, but a lull in the month of March in both years ultimately spelled doom for their chances of playoff hockey.
Yzerman knows full well that patience is beginning to wear thing with passing season of not advancing to the postseason is growing, but he's clearly sticking firm to his plan of drafting and developing talent, and is steering clear of hasty and spontaneous style moves of shedding future assets for a quick fix solution.
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"I'm trying to build a team that competes for a Stanley Cup and can win a Stanley Cup," he said. "So, you know, again, I'm going to do what I what I think is right in, you know, with each Draft, with each free agency period, with each trade deadline, with the goal of trying to improve our team."
He also made it clear that Red Wings ownership, led by Chris Ilitch - the son of the late Mike Ilitch, who drafted Yzerman in 1983 - has endorsed his patient approach of drafting and developing.
"Chris and I have spoken and going back to when he hired me, that is going to take a long time, and we're going to be patient and and we're going to be, you know, allow our young players to develop," he said. "We're going to rely heavily on the draft that, and hopefully, over time, these young players that we draft turn into NHL players. So how many years it's supposed to take? I don't know. Is it four? Is it five? Is it 10? Ultimately, it's ownership's decision when they feel that they're not happy with the direction of the club or the plan, that that's their decision."
"But Chris and I have spoken about it, and he's understood the process and where we're at."
The Red Wings are scheduled to begin Training Camp on Thursday, Sept. 18.
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