Red Wings playoff drought likely to last longer than a decade with ex-captain Dylan Larkin in limbo

DETROIT (AP) — Last season: 41-31-10, extended playoff drought to a decade.

COACH: Todd McLellan (665-461 over 18 seasons).

SEASON OPENER: Oct. 2 New York Rangers.

DEPARTURES: General manager Steve Yzerman, F Patrick Kane, F James van Riemsdyk, G Cam Talbot.

ADDITIONS: Interim GM Shawn Horcoff, F Viktor Arvidsson, F Keegan Kolesar, G Daniil Tarasov.

GOALIES: John Gibson (29-22-4, 2.72 goals-against average, .901 save percentage), Tarasov (13-15-3, 3.05, .895)

The Red Wings will likely extend their playoff drought to 11 seasons, putting their dismal run behind only one in NHL history (Buffalo last year ended the league's longest streak at 14 years). Detroit won its 11th Stanley Cup in 2008 and earned a 25th-consecutive playoff bid in 2016, but those memories have faded. The franchise finally ran out of patience with one of its all-time greats, Yzerman, who lost his job as general manager after seven futile seasons and was given an advisory role with the team. That happened in July, triggering a search that is ongoing as Horcoff fills in.

Dylan Larkin asked for a trade in the offseason. The team wasn't able to move the 30-year-old center before training camp and stripped him of his captaincy. While Yzerman was in charge, he didn't do much to make the team better last summer. Arvidsson was the only significant addition. The 33-year-old wing, coming off a 25-goal, 54-point season in Boston, was signed to a $10 million, two-year deal. After combining for 88 points last year in Detroit, Kane and van Riemsdyk were not re-signed.

The good: Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are three players any NHL team would want, giving Detroit a few players it can count on. The coaching and goaltending is in good hands. McLellan has 707 wins, including playoff games, to rank among the top 20 on the all-time list. Gibson won 29 games last season, trailing only his career-high 31 victories from 2019 with Anaheim, and his 233 career wins put him at No. 11 on the active list.

The not-so-good: Larkin in limbo will be a distraction that is tough to overcome if he's still on the team when the season opens. Without him, the team's top center might be 32-year-old Andrew Copp and he hasn't had more than 13 goals since scoring a career-high 21 during the 2021-22 season. Since selecting Seider in 2019 and Raymond in 2020, the Red Wings have not drafted and developed another high-end player.

Detroit desperately needs its top three players to go from good to great with or without Larkin on the team. The 28-year-old DeBrincat had a career-high 85 points last season and matched a career high with 41 goals. Raymond has averaged 76 points over the last three seasons. Seider is among the league’s best on the blue line, finishing fifth in Norris Trophy voting and 11th for NHL MVP.

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Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin speaks during an NHL hockey news conference, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Larry Lage)

Last season: 40-30-12, missed playoffs.

COACH: Rick Bowness (21-11-5 over half a season with Columbus; 331-419-48-42 overall over 15 seasons with six other teams).

SEASON OPENER: Oct. 1 vs. Buffalo.

DEPARTURES: C Boone Jenner, LW Mason Marchment.

ADDITIONS: RW Valeri Nichushkin, LW Ryan Lomberg.

GOALIES: Jet Greaves (26-19-9, 2.60 goals-against average, .908 save percentage), Pheonix Copley (0-1-0, 3.07, .893).

The Blue Jackets have not made the playoffs since 2020. Bowness promised a culture change after they went 2-8-1 down the stretch last season: “Now I have a reference point to them and I can go to them in October and I can go to them in November, ‘That’s the stuff that hurts us in March and April that you will not get away with then and you will not get away with in the playoffs.’ So that helps. That seed has been planted.”

The offseason drama continued when Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski vetoed a trade to Dallas and Adam Fantilli, a restricted free agent who tied for the team lead in goals, has not reported to training camp. Fantilli, the third overall pick in the 2023 draft, has increased his point totals in his three seasons.

The Blue Jackets will need to get off to a strong start if they want to shed all of that. Seven of their first nine games are at home.

The good: Werenski is one of three defensemen with at least 20 goals in each of the previous two seasons. Kirill Marchenko has led the team in goals the past three seasons. Greaves emerged as a No. 1 goalie last season and will be counted on for more starts with Elvis Merzlikins (14-11-3, 3.40, .883) out for an extended period due to offseason shoulder surgery.

The not so good: Special teams. Columbus had the fifth-worst penalty killing unit in the league last season and was 22nd on the power play. Backup goalie remains a question mark the first half of the season with either Copley or Cam Talbot.

Werenski joined Canada's Duncan Keith and Sweden's Nicklas Lidstrom as the only players to win an Olympic gold medal and Norris Trophy in the same season. Nichushkin — a three-time, 20-goal scorer with Colorado — was acquired to add depth at forward and also upgrade the power play. He averaged under 18 minutes of ice time last season, but that is expected to increase with his new team. Center Charlie Coyle has emerged as a solid two-way center who can anchor the second or third line. Lomberg was also added in the offseason to provide toughness alongside Mathieu Olivier.

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FILE - Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness looks on during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, April 9, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes, File)

FILE - Columbus Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski plays against the Los Angeles Kings during an NHL hockey game, March 9, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)