A week after being eliminated from the playoff race for a ninth straight year, the Detroit Red Wings gathered to clean out their lockers and meet with general manager Steve Yzerman and coach Todd McLellan. It's the end game for every team in the NHL, but nobody wants to go through it in mid-April, days after the regular season ended.

Dylan Larkin and the Detroit Red Wings did not make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025. Unfortunately, this is not an entirely surprising development. The Red Wings collapsed after the 4 Nations Faceoff tournament.

Detroit Red Wings fans felt let down that GM Steve Yzerman didn’t act more bodly at the NHL trade deadline with a playoff spot right there for the team to grab. Evidently, there was also some of that sentiment within the walls of the Red Wings locker room.