Latest 2025 playoff odds paint grim picture for Red Wings

It goes without saying that it's been too long since the Detroit Red Wings last qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs - over 8 years, to be exact.

Last year, they came within a single point of qualifying only to lose out on the final day of the season schedule thanks to a tie-breaker with the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals.

That tie breaker wouldn't have happened had the Red Wings not completely vanished for long stretches of time in the month of March, but that's a different topic.

As of Monday, the Red Wings have just over a 12% chance of qualifying for the 2025 postseason, with a 2.6% shot of earning the 1st Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference; they also have a 4.9% chance of the 2nd Wild Card spot.

The last time that the Red wings were in a postseason series, it was no more than a cup of coffee against the divisional foe Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016; they were beaten handily in a quick 5-game series.

Dylan Larkin was a fresh-faced rookie on that version of the Red Wings, who had the combination of Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard in net, while Danny DeKeyser was often put on the top defensive pairing.

Under former general manager Ken Holland, the Red Wings routinely mortgaged the future by trading away young, talented prospects in exchange for over-the-hill veterans (David Legwand and Erik Cole particularly come to mind) in order to keep the postseason streak alive.

But by the time the postseason streak reached its 25th and final year, the Red Wings didn't have any realistic chance at competing for the Stanley Cup.