The 2022-23 season for the Detroit Red Wings officially came to a close last night in frustrating fashion, as they were unable to score a single goal in what was a 5-0 setback against the Tampa Bay Lightning. And what was looming after two straight blowout losses to the Atlantic Division rival Ottawa Senators last month became official last week – the Red Wings aren’t a playoff team yet.
This now makes seven straight seasons on the outside looking in at the postseason after a record breaking 25 year streak. For captain Dylan Larkin, who has only played in five career postseason games that took place in his rookie season, the frustration of facing another early summer was especially palpable.
“It’s very disappointing,” Larkin said following Detroit’s 5-0 loss to the Lightning in their regular season finale. “It’s been very difficult since the trade deadline, emotionally, physically. We traded away a lot of guys, guys played through injuries. We wanted to get back to .500 and finish on a good note and it didn’t happen. The message was there, it’s been there — there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in this locker room, and I think hopefully — I say it every year, but hopefully we’re not in this position much longer.”
Detroit briefly occupied the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference after a thrilling Western road swing that saw them win four of five, followed by another victory at home over the New York Rangers. But things really began to fall apart after Detroit dominated the Lightning at home on February 25 but lost, firing 45 shots on goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy but failing to light the lamp. Detroit then was physically dominated by the Senators, dropping two in a row by a combined score of 12-3.
It was then that general manager Steve Yzerman decided to do what he had planned on doing all along and sell off assets at the Trade Deadline. You may remember that it was Larkin who fought back tears while speaking publicly immediately after the Red Wings traded his longtime teammate and friend Tyler Bertuzzi to the Boston Bruins. The Red Wings also traded forward Oskar Sundqvist to the Minnesota Wild, dealt defenseman Filip Hronek to the Vancouver Canucks, and Jakub Vrana to the St. Louis Blues.
“It’s really hard if you’re missing key players, motors I want to even say, in the lineup,” sophomore defenseman Moritz Seider said. “It’s very disappointing. I think we all had higher expectations for that game, we wanted to be a .500 team, and we didn’t achieve that. I think frustration, a little bit of sadness, will be on the way back on the plane for sure. But other than that I think we can be very proud of ourselves, took big strides this year in almost every category. There’s a lot of positives to think back on.”