The Red Wings were booed off the ice after a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Rick Osentoski / Imagn Images
April 11, 2026Updated 9:08 pm EDT
DETROIT — The NHL has a new longest active playoff drought, and it resides in Detroit.
With a 5-3 regulation loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, the Red Wings were mathematically eliminated from 2026 playoff contention, the 10th straight year they will not make the postseason.
“It’s been too many years in a row now where we’ve been right there and just haven’t been able to get it done,” Lucas Raymond said. “We’ve got to figure it out, and we’ve got to figure it out fast and take that next step. We’ve got to look ourselves in the mirror — everyone in here in this building — and we’ve got to be better than this.”
The Buffalo Sabres previously had the longest drought at a record 14 years, but they’ll return to the playoffs this year for the first time since 2011.
The Red Wings’ last playoff appearance was in 2016, and their 10-year absence now ties the Florida Panthers (who missed the playoffs between 2000-01 and 2010-11) and Edmonton Oilers (between 2006-07 and 2015-16) for the second-longest droughts in league history.
The Red Wings had made the playoffs for 25 consecutive seasons leading up to the drought, from 1991 through 2016.
Making this year’s absence all the more jarring is that Detroit was tied for the best record in the Eastern Conference as late as Jan. 25. But the Red Wings lost four of their next five games going into the Olympic break, then once again collapsed in March, sealing their fate.
Detroit could have kept its hopes alive for at least another day if it had held on to a third-period lead, but it allowed three goals in the final nine minutes, losing in regulation and sealing its fate.
Apr 12, 2026
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