The Red Wings haven’t played in the Winged Wheel since Saturday, February 8th. The Four Nations tournament has been entertaining, especially watching Larks and Razor shine on an international stage. But let’s use this break to reflect on the current state of our team.

It is Tuesday, February 18th, 2025. Your Detroit Red Wings are a playoff team.

Sitting one point behind the Ottawa Senators, the Wings currently occupy the second wild card position, despite losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in their last game. The Red Wings currently have a game in hand on the Sens, and prior to Saturday, were arguably the hottest team in the NHL. They look like a completely different team under Todd McLellan, playing a really fun and inspiring brand of hockey. With young players like Kasper, Berggren, Johansson, Edvinsson, Seider, and Raymond contributing meaningful minutes and points over this stretch, it feels like the Yzerplan is finally coming into full form. With the Four Nations tournament going on, and most of the roster getting an opportunity for much needed rest, it feels like everything is in front of us.

Unfortunately, the reality of the remainder of the schedule paints a much more sobering picture.

The Red Wings have 27 games remaining, with roughly ⅔ of those games being against teams that are currently occupying playoff spots. According to Tankathon, the Red Wings have the hardest schedule left at .587- the next closest being Seattle, San Jose, and Buffalo. While our Wings have had stretches of brilliance this year, including two 7 game win streaks under Todd McLellan, it does certainly feel like they’ve been playing way above their heads. This is both a credit to the current regime and an indictment on the former.

This all feels really similar to last year, when the Red Wings seemed like a mortal lock for the playoffs until an injury to Larkin completely derailed the season. Missing the playoffs by one single point, it felt like the end to the 2023-2024 season ended not with a bang but a whimper. If you’re like me, it felt really exciting to watch meaningful hockey all the way until the end of the season, and in a move of undeniable cope, you told yourself “hey, that was really good experience for the kids; let’s come out and make the playoffs next year.”

The flaccid start to the 2024-2025 season left many doubting the direction of the Yzerplan, and whether or not the offseason moves (or lack thereof) were going to be enough to get us to the postseason. And while the miraculous run of the Tigers, coupled with the regular season success of the Lions, caused us to put the Wings on the back-burner, all eyes are back on the Winged wheel. Unfortunately, this year doesn’t feel like another scenario where we can chalk up missing the playoffs as “well, at least we had some good experience along the way”. It would feel like a genuine disappointment and bad vibes all around; especially considering the recent string of success our other Detroit sports teams have experienced. There’s certainly a lot of questions that the organization will have to address over the Four Nations break, including rumors regarding moving Tarasenko and possibly acquiring Cozens. These questions will pale in comparison to the questions the organization will have in the offseason if they fail to make the postseason in heart-breaking fashion, yet again.

Over this Four Nations break, I have been manifesting positive energy. Playoff hockey at the LCA would be one of the best atmospheres in the league, and if I were an opposing team, I am genuinely not looking forward to playing in front of 22,000 hostile Wings fans, each one about three or four Labatt’s deep. Journey would be played, ‘pus would be thrown, and lord help you if you’re the wife/kids of a former player who brought her kids to the stadium (jk on that last one: we here at Champagne don’t condone that behavior, real or imagined). Coupled with the fact that the roster is full of kids who have nothing to lose, and vets like Kane who are prone to go-off at any given moment, this team could be a legitimate candidate to upset one of the top teams in the East. Let’s hope this stretch of time off isn’t a moment to lose momentum; but rather, a reload for the final stretch.

In the meantime, I’ll be looking in my attic for my Red Wings car flag. LGRW.