April 21, 2016 – that’s the last time Hockeytown saw an NHL playoff game. In that game, the Red Wings would lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0. At that point, we knew that the team would be going into a rebuilding phase, but we didn’t know how long that would take. The Little Caesars Arena opened in the fall of 2017 and has yet to see any post-season action.

Could that change this year? As of this writing the Wings are in by the skin of their chiclets. They have some very winnable games coming up as well as some games against teams they’re fighting with for a playoff birth. These games are four-point games in theory. Hopefully, Dylan Larkin will return to the lineup and give the team the boost it needs. They’ve been very lackluster down the stretch. Don’t even get me started about adding the garbage patch to the classic Red Wings jersey.

I went into this season with the thought that they HAVE to make the playoffs this season. There are zero excuses why this team can’t make it. Once in, you never know what could happen. That being said, I don’t expect them to go far, but they have to get in, that’s just my opinion. Steve Yzerman has had plenty of time to build this team. This IS his team now. The drought must end. This is as good a year as any for it.

Below are things that have happened, in sports and the world in general, since the last playoff appearance for our beloved Detroit Red Wings.

• A worldwide pandemic

  One thing that happened since the Wings last saw the post-season was something we’d like to forget. Covid shut down the country and world, and saw a break in sports action. Remember watching the games with no one in the stands? Fun times….not!

• Two expansion teams joined the league

  The Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Seattle Kracken joined the NHL. The Golden Knights made the Stanley Cup finals in their first year in existence, winning the Cup in 2023. The Kracken made the playoffs in 2023 only to lose in the second round.

• The detroit lions made the playoffs

  Yes, it’s been a long time coming, but the Lions not only made the playoffs, but they also made a valiant run at the Vince Lombardi trophy, only to fall short.

• the washington capitals win the stanley cup

  On its face, the fact that the Washington Capitals won the Cup in 2018 isn’t that surprising considering they have one of the best players ever. That fact that they won it in Las Vegas is what’s really astounding! If you had money on the Cup being won in Vegas that year, you would’ve made a fortune. Think about everything that had to aline to make that happen!

• donald trump was elected president

  In January 2017, Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. In January 2021 Joseph R. Biden took over the presidency.

• The detroit grand prix moved back downtown

  The Detroit Grand Prix left the island and returned to the city.

• the tampa bay lightning won two stanley cups

  The team that Yzerman built went on to win hockey’s holy grail twice. They hoisted the Cup in 2020 and 2021.

• tom brady won three super bowls with two teams

  Football legend Tom Brady would prove he’s the G.O.A.T. by winning the Super Bowl in 2017 and 18 with the New England Patriots, then going to Tampa Bay to do it with the Buccaneers in 2021 also.

  Speaking of big Super Bowl wins, the Kansas City Chiefs have won the big prize three times since the Wings made the playoffs.

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