The Detroit Red Wings have missed the playoffs for nine straight years and are desperate to end that drought in 2025-26.
Far removed are the days of postseason hockey and competing for the Stanley Cup being a given in Motown, and it's nearing make-or-break time for this core group of players.
Thursday night's home opener against the Montreal Canadiens was an opportunity to get off to a good start to a new season; however, the Red Wings came out and laid an egg.
After taking an early 1-0 lead, Detroit was dismantled the rest of the way, falling 5-1 in front of their home fans. While it's just one game with 81 still to go, the performance was poor and certainly irked head coach Todd McLellan, who didn't hold back in his postgame media availability.
Brad Galli of WXYZ Detroit shared the video with his comments on X (formerly Twitter).
"Clearly it's still a huge issue. We just played the game; we didn't play to win the game. And, we have no chance. And the players will say, and probably have already said to you, that you know what, we can fix this. When? It's time; some of them have been doing it for years. It's time. We just spent three weeks, three and a half weeks of training camp dealing with these situations. Now, if it happened once or twice in a game, it'd be ok, but there was maybe six or seven outnumbered rushes at the end of the first period. It's unacceptable; we'll have to drill it back into them," McLellan said.
Todd McLellan after the Red Wings lost 5-1:
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) October 10, 2025
“The players will say… they probably have already said to you… ‘We can fix this.' When? It’s time. Some of them have been doing it for years. It’s time.”
pic.twitter.com/ZfM0INNt5z
The veteran bench boss is beginning his first full season as head coach of the Red Wings after taking over for Derek Lalonde in December of 2024.
All eyes on Saturday night
With Todd McLellan having ripped into his team for their showing on Thursday night, all eyes shift onto Saturday night's matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Not only will the Red Wings be taking on a prominent big market team, but it will be at home and come on Hockey Night in Canada.
It will be fascinating to see how Detroit responds, though you have to imagine the effort level will be much higher than what we saw against Montreal.
If not, the Red Wings will already be falling behind the eight-ball with difficult matchups against the Maple Leafs (again), Panthers, Lightning, and Oilers to follow.