The Detroit Red Wings freefall from first in the Atlantic to missing the postseason cut for a tenth straight season is almost complete. Max Bultman, Sean McIndoe and Frank Corrado discuss what went wrong in the Motor City, the Anaheim Ducks six-game losing streak, and what went wrong for Tom Fitzgerald and the New Jersey Devils. Plus, former NHL’er Cameron Gaunce joins to discuss the red-hot Flyers, the unstoppable Sens, the perfect Golden Knights since Torts took over and the boys give their picks for the final playoff spot in the West.
#nhl #hockey #redwings
0:00 Intro
0:54 – Red Wings epic collapse all but complete
3:54 – Detroit will miss the playoffs for the 10th straight season
6:04 – What building blocks are the Red Wings missing?
9:39 – Is this the end of Steve Yzerman in Detroit?
14:09 – The young Anaheim Ducks have lost six straight
16:34 – Future is still very bright in Anaheim
17:29 – What happened to the New Jersey Devils this season?
17:54 – Tom Fitzgerald fired as Devils General Manager
20:44 – Nico Hischier’s cryptic comments about his future in Newark
24:00 – Philadelphia Flyers are steamrolling towards a playoff spot
26:40 – Rick Tocchet has done a solid job behind the Flyers bench
28:45 – Teams might not want to face the Ottawa Senators in the first round
32:27 – Senators match up well vs Carolina Hurricanes
36:51 – Golden Knights 4-0 under John Tortorella
41:09 – Don’t count the WInnipeg Jets out just yet
42:20 – Nashville Predators veteran players are willing them into the playoffs
43:28 – LA Kings keep collecting points, should outlast San Jose for a playoff spot
45:35 – Jon Cooper comments on officiating in Sabres/Bolts game
48:30 – Sidney Crosby’s 21st straight point per game season in the NHL
51:01 – Scott Oake calls it a career at Hockey Night in Canada
For more Athletic Hockey Show content:
– Join The Athletic Hockey Show Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UDmeAnvFB5
– Follow The Athletic Hockey Show wherever you listen to podcasts: https://podfollow.com/the-athletic-hockey-show-a-show-about-the-nhl
Follow our hosts on Bluesky:
Max Bultman: https://bsky.app/profile/mbultman.bsky.social
Mark Lazerus: https://bsky.app/profile/marklazerus.bsky.social
Jesse Granger: https://bsky.app/profile/jessegranger.bsky.social
Sean Gentille: https://bsky.app/profile/seangentille.bsky.social
Sean McIndoe: https://bsky.app/profile/downgoesbrown.bsky.social
Hailey Salvian: https://bsky.app/profile/haileysalvian.bsky.social
Scott Wheeler: https://bsky.app/profile/scottcwheeler.bsky.social
Chris Peters: https://bsky.app/profile/chrismpeters.bsky.social
Follow our hosts on X:
Max Bultman: https://x.com/m_bultman
Mark Lazerus: https://x.com/MarkLazerus
Jesse Granger: https://x.com/JesseGranger_
Sean Gentille: https://x.com/seangentille
Sean McIndoe: https://x.com/DownGoesBrown
Frank Corrado: https://x.com/frankcorrado22
Hailey Salvian: https://x.com/hailey_salvian
Corey Pronman: https://x.com/coreypronman
Chris Peters: https://x.com/chrismpeters
Scott Wheeler: https://x.com/scottcwheeler
– Subscribe to The Athletic: https://theathletic.com/hockeyshow
-Photo credit: Getty Images
21 Comments
The "Yzerplan" 😂
I'm from Michigan. I have a ton of friends and family still there that are huge Red Wings fans, and one thing has become clear these last couple years; They can't separate Yzerman the player and Yzerman the executive. A good majority of them seem to think it will affect his on the ice legacy if he gets "fired" (bumped up) because this whole experiment has been a failure. While that's obviously not true, it seems like the only reason they're willing to put up with this year after year.
As a Wings fan, we're tired. To lose these games in this manner is soul crushing. We were first in the conference, getting lucky I guess with bad goal differential. The team sucks. Yzerman has to go. Nobody else would get this many years. They can't score. Imagine how bad they would have been if Gibson didn't get Vezina hot for a period.
I had the Athletic app to follow the Wings, but recently canceled. I'm not watching the team or paying to read about them until Larkin and Yzerman are gone and another (proper) rebuild has happened.
Been watching the Wings since 1987 and this is the most fragile and disappointing team I've seen in that time. I'll find a different way to spend my time and money.
There is no talent on this team outside of 4 people. The prospects are seemingly never ready to perform. There is no hope for the future. We cooked forever. People should cancel season tickets!
As I type this, Detroit has more points than the Pacific Division leader. It's just THAT year in the Atlantic. Tampa Bay is still them. The Sabres, Canadiens, and Senators rebuilds are finally bearing fruit. Rumors of the Bruins demise look premature.
Cooper can STFU. What he was actually mad about was the THREE even-strength shots on goal his team managed through 20 minutes, and the ELEVEN even-strength shots on goal they had through 40. He came in with the road team and got one more powerplay than the home team. There were no penalties in the 3rd period. What is he even talking about?
I would hate to watch this team in playoffs they'd get swept in 2 games the results would be so bad they'd call in mercy rules
3rd and 4th lines are awful these guys score 1 goal every 25 games and they Need a Captain to lead them
No grit, no identity. Nobody works the corners or goes to the net. It appears they're a scared hockey team.
I think the two teams you mentioned Red Wings and Devils are a perfect match for “hockey trade” this summer. Both teams need a shake up of the core. Like a captain for captain swap is where my head goes.
They started off like hot garbage got hot and then choked. This roster needs a shake up at the core. With no 1st round pick this year it will be hard to trade for someone of impact to help the current core.
It’s amazing how if there was 3 or 4 more wins at this point. We’re having a totally different conversation.
The Red Wings are caught in a middle of the pack situation where they are borderline playoffs every year now. There luck in the lottery draft was not on their side, as they never drafted higher than top four and several years they moved back in the draft. They have a very difficult decision to make of tearing the team down and trade top veterans and go through another rebuild. Be nice to get the top pick next year and land that young defenseman everyone is raving about…
Dead wings live
“Than maybe Ottawa to face Tampa Bay or Montreal in conference finals.”
Just leave out Sabres who have the best record in 2026 of any team?!?🥴
Yes they will miss playoffs again!
Obviously Stevie shares the blame…but i put it more on Larkin. Stevie had a terrible starting position and no top picks…we are still paying for abdelkader. He did improve the team significantly over 7 years.There is a real lack of leadership on this team inside the locker room. Larkin has been the constant thread through all these collapses. He is a good support player, not a guy you build a team around. He doesnt light it up and put a fire under guys when they need it most. This team doesn't lack talent…it lacks elite 5 v 5 goal scoring and will to win.
Cleary has been overseeing player development since 2017… we haven’t developed anyone since 2017… the few good kids we got came to the league the way they are. Cleary, Kronwall, Blais, Fischer… get them as far away from player development now.
The Wings managed to tread water while Larkin was out, guys stepped up and they collected 7 points in 7 games. When Larkin came back, the effort level down the lineup dropped off again. They've only added 5 points in the 8 games since Larkin came back.
My wager that the Wings would miss the playoffs prior to March is in the money🎉
Good thing they extended Chiarot/JBD to solidify the Blue Line for at least the next two years!
If you were going to make Gentille proud, you'd have started the podcast with "What up, what up"