The Detroit Dead Wings Era of the 1970s is generally viewed as the lowest point in the franchise’s history. Older Fans snicker and roll their eyes when discussing the Dead Wings ineptitude in that period. That time is epitomized by the 1976-77 Red Wings winning 16 of 80 games.

But the truth is, the Red Wings in those years never had a playoff drought as long as the nine-year slump the current team is experiencing.

The Dead Wings missed the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons (1971-77) and then had a memorable season (beating Atlanta in a 3-game playoff series) and then missed five more seasons (1979-83). They missed 12 out of 13 years but avoided the added ugliness of going a decade without playoffs.

If the Red Wings miss the playoffs again this season, and multiple pundits are predicting that will occur, they become only the fourth franchise in NHL history to go 10 or more consecutive seasons without a postseason game. The Buffalo Sabres’ ongoing 14-year drought is the NHL record. The Florida Panthers (11, 2001-11) and Edmonton Oilers (10, 2007-16) are the only others to reach 10.

Given where the Red Wings are now, the question is whether losing begets more losing. Are the young Red Wings seeing so much losing, they aren’t learning how to win? Are droughts self-fulfilling? What’s happening with the Sabres is also an argument for that theory, although the Sabres have fueled their demise by trading away some talented players.

Anatomy of a Drought

The Red Wings’ current playoff absence has gone on so long that Donald Trump won the U.S. Presidency, lost it and then won a second term in the time this team has been unable to qualify for the playoffs.

Dylan Larkin has been in the NHL for 10 seasons, recorded five 30-plus goal seasons, played 734 games in Detroit and has only suited up for five playoff games.

Detroit’s top defenseman Moritz Seider was 12 the last time this team won a playoff series.

The drought certainly frustrates players and probably hurts their reputations. Moritz Seider plays a rugged, physical, Robocop-style, perfect for the postseason. But of course, the player who never misses a game has never had a chance to show what he can do in the playoffs.

Does that contribute to Seider being left off the NHL Network’s Top 20 Defensemen list? Likewise, would Lucas Raymond be receiving more attention if he were playing for the Stanley Cup every spring?

It’s impossible to know for sure but it is generally accepted that an extended playoff run solidifies the reputations for those who perform well in that run.

Detroit’s 2025 first rounder Carter Bear was two the last time the Red Wings won two or more playoff series in a single season. That was in 2009 when the Red Wings lost to Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup Final.

Parade of First Rounders

The drought has an impact on the Red Wings recruiting elite free agents. This summer, most free agents knew who they wanted to sign with before the Red Wings had a chance to talk to them. But it seems clear that players prefer not to sign with teams that have a lower probability of making the playoffs. Mitch Marner was never coming to Detroit.

The Red Wings have four Yzerman first-round draft picks (Seider, Raymond, Simon Edvinsson and Marco Kasper), plus later picks Albert Johansson and Elmer Soderblom playing significant roles. Three more first rounders (Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Axel Sandin Pellikka and Nate Danielson) are trying to make Detroit’s roster this season, plus later-round pick Carter Mazur.

But fans are running out of patience. Around the NHL, teams are opting for rebuilds through trades, free agent signings. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights trade away their draft picks for help now. They don’t seem to believe in restocking through the draft. Building through the NHL draft is like cooking in a crock pot. It takes a long while before your dish is ready to serve.

GM Steve Yzerman was asked after last season whether he had concerns that this young group only knows frustration when it comes to trying to qualify for the playoffs.

“I guess I do,” Yzerman said. “I look at last season and this season, although we didn’t make it, we’re fighting every night for a playoff spot if you like, believe it or not, we are trying to win, our players are trying to win. We need to be better.”

Aiming for Stanley Cups

What the Red Wings want to avoid is to make the playoffs once, like the 1977-78 Red Wings, and then miss again for a few years. They are trying to build a team that can make the playoffs every year for an extended period.

“I look around our locker room led by Dylan Larkin, led by Alex DeBrincat. I say those two probably because they’re two of our leading scorers who are 28, 29 years of age. Can be here for a long time,” Yzerman said. “Then down through Mo Seider, Lucas Raymond, Marco Kasper, now Albert Johansson… We’re building the nucleus of a good team with the idea that this team is going to win.  I don’t measure success by making the playoffs one year and bowing out the next year. ”

To Yzerman, the key is continuity. He wants to qualify for the playoffs and continue to be a playoff team, like the Red Wings that won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008.

“You’re aiming for Stanley Cups,” Yzerman said. “That’s what we’re trying to do here. So. And to do that, you got to do things, you got to be well-run. I think I know we have world-class top ownership here. It’s incumbent upon the hockey ops department, led by me, to do a good job to make sure we don’t become a perpetual losing team. And again, you wanted a rebuild 10 years ago after 25 straight years in the playoffs. We’re living it now, and it’s not a lot of fun. We’re going to stick with it, and eventually this organization will get there.”