The Detroit Red Wings Dynasty is Finally Dead

By anybody’s standards it’s been one hell of a run.

A Tuesday loss to the Carolina Hurricanes sucked the last breath out of the once proud Detroit Red Wings dynasty as the big red machine missed the NHL playoffs for the first time since 1990.

Think about that. 26 consecutive playoff appearances.

The last time that the Red Wings missed the playoffs George H.W. Bush was in the White House, California got its first Walmart and Patrick Swayze was packing theaters for the movie Ghost. It’s been that long and during their dynastic run the Wings were at times the most dominant team in sports.

During their streak, the octopi were flying at the Joe as the home team won four Stanley Cups and often skated rings around opponents as they dominated the NHL.

According to ESPN “Red Wings’ streak of prosperity reaches its end”:

Until this season, it had been more than a quarter of a century since the Detroit Red Wings missed the NHL playoffs. But their loss Tuesday, coupled with wins by the Bruins and Maple Leafs, spelled the end of that run.

The Red Wings had not missed the playoffs since the 1989-90 season. The 25-season streak of making the postseason was the longest active streak in the NHL. The Pittsburgh Penguins now have the longest active NHL playoffs streak, at 11 seasons, including this season.

The Red Wings’ streak was the longest active streak in any of the four major North American pro sports leagues.

Fox sports puts it in perspective with a nifty list of “12 things that were happening the last time the Red Wings missed the playoffs” – check it out!

Granted that the dynasty has been running on fumes for the last several years, the victim of the deadly combination of Father Time and poor personnel decisions but they still battled on.

The battle ended on Tuesday.

The Red Wings are now playing for draft positioning and helped their cause with a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning whose general manager Steve Yzerman was the team captain for a chunk of the early years of the run.

The Wings can look to start a new streak in the brand spanking new 19,600 seat Little Caesar’s Arena next season.