The Detroit Red Wings narrowly missed out on the postseason this year, finishing the campaign just five points behind the Montreal Canadiens who secured the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
When assessing what went wrong for Detroit this season, it's hard not to look at the NHL trade deadline. Instead of making moves to fortify the roster, the Red Wings made just one trade––far from a blockbuster move, at that––and didn't display the aggressive approach one might have expected from a team looking to push for the playoffs.
Speaking to the media after the season, team captain Dylan Larkin expressed some level of frustration with the team's lack of moves at the deadline.
"We didn't do anything. We didn't gain any momentum from the trade deadline. Guys were kind of down about it."
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 21, 2025
Dylan Larkin doesn’t sound too pleased with how the Red Wings handled the trade deadline 👀 (via @woodwardsports)
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"You've got to come up with wins, and I think especially [in] March, it was hard. We didn't do anything [at the trade deadline]... we didn't gain any momentum from the trade deadline and guys were kind of down about it. It'd be nice to kind of add something and bring a little bit of a spark on the ice and maybe a morale boost as well," Larkin said when assessing the team's activity at the trade deadline.
The only trade the Red Wings made ahead of the March 8 trade deadline was to acquire goalie Petr Mrazek and winger Craig Smith in exchange for center Joe Veleno. Not a move that screams Stanley Cup contenders.
Detroit had recorded seven wins in its eight games leading up to the 4-Nations Face Off. Perhaps expecting the front office to buy in and make a splash as a result of their winning ways, the team struggled to find a spark in the second half of the season. Their seven-game winning streak was quickly erased by a six-game losing streak which carried them through the trade deadline.
The team was 28-22-6 coming out of the 4-Nations break, and ended the season 39-35-8. In Larkin's eyes, the front office's inability to land a big trade at the deadline was a key component in the Red Wings' second half struggles, and the captain made clear that the locker room wasn't too pleased with the work done by GM Steve Yzerman and the rest of the front office.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dylan Larkin Had Scathing Assessment of Red Wings' Lackluster Trade Deadline.
