The people of Detroit have a saying for their historically frustrating football team. Fans have the scapegoat of “same old Lions,” or SOL for short. Well, our beloved Red Wings have seemed to fall into the same fate. March has haunted this organization for over a decade, and 2026 was no different.
A city once known as “Hockeytown” now dreads the month of March. The Wings tend to go from red to dead when it comes to the month full of green. Their woes have become common in more recent years, with the team’s playoff aspirations being in sight. With a playoff drought in progress, this trend needs to stop for all of the Red Wings fans’ sake.
March is NOT Part of the “Yzerplan”
How excited were the people of Detroit when former captain and Red Wing legend Steve Yzerman returned home to become the General Manager of the organization? After Stevie Y’s successful run in Tampa, making the Lightning relevant and eventually bringing multiple Stanley Cup championships, it was a no-brainer to bring him back to the city where he had so much success as a player.
Well, now it’s year seven into the “Yzerplan,” yet the team continues to struggle in the month of March. A team fighting for a playoff spot has slipped down in the standings per usual due to their own “March Madness.” This is nothing new for this organization. People may think it is part of Yzerman’s master plan, but history says otherwise.
The team is currently in a nine-year playoff drought and hasn’t made it to the postseason since the former captain took over in the front office seven years ago. If you want to find the origins of losing in March, you will have to go back a little further before number 19’s tenure.
March Madness Hits Red Wings Hard
Remember when Detroit made the playoffs for a straight quarter-century? Most people who grew up watching the Red Wings do, but for younger fans, it sounds like an urban legend. Most fans are discouraged about the current regime not being able to get the job done when it comes to the second-to-last month of the regular season.
However, this isn’t just a Steve Yzerman problem. I mean, currently yes, yes it is, but this March collapse dates back fifteen years! Since 2011, the Red Wings have only hit the .500 mark in the third month of the calendar year twice. One being a shortened COVID season on top of that.
So, in no way, shape, or form has this begun with our current GM, but it needs to end with him. We as fans deserve more from our former captain and, to be honest, our current captain, Dylan Larkin. A once proud franchise in the 90s and 00s is now amongst the bottom of the barrel. “Hockeytown” deserves to see hockey in its town when it matters the most.
Final Thoughts
Just like the Tigers, the city of Detroit gets a certain buzz when the winged wheel gets hot. Growing up in a city where hockey was once elite has us fans starving for more. Four Stanley Cups in a span of twelve years and now no playoff birth in the last nine, oh, how the mighty have fallen.
We will see if Yzerman has a “lifelong contract” if the drought continues. The city is getting anxious to see playoff hockey here once again. It’s crazy to think that Little Caesars Arena has never seen playoff hockey. Hopefully, like the Tigers, Pistons, and Lions have been able to turn their luck around, Detroit will get its beloved competitive hockey back so we can hear how loud the LCA can rock!
Point of Vision 
Leave a comment