As the first series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway, 15 former Detroit Red Wings are vying for a chance to win it all.
None of the current roster can say the same. They, like the majority of their fans, are sitting at home, recovering from another choked season. March blew through Hockeytown, and their 12 point lead in the Atlantic from the middle of January collapsed. The team never managed to recover from losing their top two centers halfway through the month.
Instead of playing games at Little Caesar's Arena, most of the Red Wings are giving their exit interviews in a small media room.
Oh, the ides of March
"For about 65 games this year there wasn't a second I didn't think this wasn't going to be a playoff team." Said defenseman Ben Chiarot, who the Red Wings re-signed in January.
The veteran blueliner signed for three more years with the Red Wings at a reduced salary, and was joined by a new partner on the second pairing after the trade deadline in early March. Detroit added Justin Faulk from the St. Louis Blues, parting ways with an unprotected first round pick in this year's draft.
"A lot of frustration not getting in... There's a lot of process and steps that need to happen before that [winning a Stanley Cup]. But you have to get in the playoffs to give yourselves a chance." Said Faulk, "You've got to get your foot in the door. With where we're sitting and being here today, it's not a great feeling."
The 34 year old joins a long list of former St. Louis Blues who has come to Detroit over the course of the rebuild, including the Red Wings sole other acquisition at the trade deadline, David Perron.
Perron was recovering from a sports hernia injury over the course of this last month with the Red Wings, and while he managed to get one goal back in a Red Wings uniform, his contributions over the last month of the season were hard to measure for a team who desperately needed some offense from the wily vet.
S.O.S., Same. Old. Story
“I thought we’d be playing right now. You think you’d be in the playoffs and not thinking about (contract) stuff." Said Patrick Kane.
Showtime crossed a variety of milestones this season, including becoming the highest points scoring American player in NHL history, surpassing former Red Wings Mike Modano and Brett Hull along the way. However, sitting outside of the playoffs after battling through injury throughout the season, Kane is facing free agency again, though he has expressed interest in coming back to Detroit.
The real question is whether or not the team will be able to get over the hump next season.
“We need to find a way to work hard every game to the end of the season,” Said Alex DeBrincat.
DeBrincat led Detroit in goal scoring this year, but even becoming the team's first 40+ goal scorer in over a decade and a half wasn't much of a comfort for the Michigan native. DeBrincat came home to the Red Wings to bring them back to the playoffs, and now he's watching his former team, the Ottawa Senators, from his couch at home.
Said DeBrincat, "I don’t know exactly when it slipped or what happened, but then you see the mental side of the game come in. We feel defeated. And you can see it.”
The Detroit Red Wings were eliminated from playoff contention with two games left in the season, their home finale leading to a chorus of boos raining down from the stands to send them on to their final two games. The team would end their season on the wrong end of an 8-1 thrashing playing against a roster mostly made up of the Florida Panther's call-ups due to injury. And at the end of the year, the Red Wings didn't have much to say other than they choked another season away.