What Next For Wings On Deadline Day?

Losers of four in a row, as the NHL trade deadline looms, there are more questions than there are answers right now for the Detroit Red Wings.

Is there anything the club can do on Friday that will fix the mess they’ve suddenly created? Is there still a path to the playoffs with the current club, or is surgery required? And if the latter option is the chosen path, how deeply do they want cut into the roster in order to try and change the outcome?

Let’s be honest. We don’t know what is precisely being discussed inside the Red Wings war room with the clock ticking. What we do know is that there’s plenty of discussion that is ongoing about the future of this hockey club.

Bergy on the rebound! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/J2JeCjqjyN

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 7, 2025

“It doesn’t necessarily change the approach, in my opinion,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said following Thursday’s 4-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club. The Red Wings remain a point out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Red Wings Won’t Make Panic Move

With the deadline upon us, the Wings are still looking to get something done on the trade market. But whatever they do, it won’t be a knee-jerk reaction to their suddenly floundering status. Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman isn’t going to sell off big pieces of his team’s future to simply try and wrangle a place in the NHL postseason. The rebuild won’t be sacrificed for short-term gain. That is, unless it’s a move that also figures to benefit the franchise over the long haul.

“The organization will do whatever they can to make the team better for Saturday because the trade deadline’s on Friday,” McLellan said. “For Saturday, for Sunday and for training camp next year and moving forward.

“It’s not just a short-term look and it’s not just a long-term look. It’s looking at the group as a whole and can we find players that fit our team better? Can we find players that will make us better now? Can we find players that will help us with chemistry?

“That’s all talked about all the time.”

Detroit Squanders Homestand

Not only is Detroit 0-4 over the past four games, the team is 1-4-1 through the last six home games. The Red Wings managed to squander their last real homestand of significance this season.

“Especially when you look at the schedule and see that we don’t have many home games left,” forward Patrick Kane said. He correctly pointed out that only seven of Detroit’s remaining 20 games will be played at Little Caesars Arena.

“So, yeah, definitely opportunity missed,” Kane added.

Pure grit from Crouser on that one! 💪 pic.twitter.com/wFtcTCuV5V

— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) March 7, 2025

Captain Dylan Larkin painted a picture of Detroit’s current status. While it was certainly at a paint by numbers level of descriptive, it was also an entirely accurate portrayal.

“Just can’t find a win,” Larkin said. “We’ve lost not playing well, and we’ve lost playing well. We’re losing in different ways.

“You need to score more goals than the other team. And we’re just not putting the puck in the net. We’re not keeping it out of our net.”

Is there a move out there that might push the Red Wings over the hump and into the playoffs for the first time since 2016? Certainly there is.

However, the team is making it abundantly clear that it won’t come at a price that would prove costly to the team’s future. So don’t expect to see key prospects or first-round picks being moved to attain rentals.

After what we’ve seen from this team since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off break, taking such action just doesn’t make any sense.