By making the playoffs this year, Buffalo finally ended their playoff exclusion streak. It is still the absolute record for the duration (14 years) but at least they have passed on the title of the longest active streak  to another franchise. The honor goes to Detroit.

Detroit is now the franchise with the longest playoff streak (10 years). In history, that puts them in second place, tied for three with Florida and Edmonton.

Hopes were high when Detroit managed to repatriate its former captain, Yzerman, as general manager. Yzerman was credited with building the Lightning, one of the best organizations in the league. In fact, following his departure, Tampa won two consecutive Stanley Cups. It was said that Yzerman was going to rebuild the franchise from the ashes and make it a dynasty like he had just done in Tampa.

A bit like in Montreal, the rebuild began with a promising young center in its ranks (Larkin instead of Suzuki) and Yzerman would methodically add key pieces to his core: Seider, Raymond, Edvinsson.

The plan worked. The team has experienced a steady progression following the arrival of Yzerman: 39 pts, 48 pts, 74 pts, 80 pts… before capping 91 pts, 86 pts and 92 pts.

Unlike Toronto, which “didn’t see the Canadiens train coming,” in Detroit they watched in the rearview mirror and screamed when the Canadiens’ rebuild surpassed that of the Red Wings last year. For the journalists, it was a real sacrilege.

There, Detroit came to the end of the runway and it looks like the plane failed to take off.

The reason is simple. Basically, they lack juice because (i) the Wings didn’t have enough juicy picks and (ii) they didn’t draft well in the late rounds.

For comparison, the Canadiens have benefited from 4 top 5 picks since 2018 (and they had the chance to select Caufield and Huston who would surely be top 5 in their respective drafts today). Detroit has spoken only once in picks #1-5. That was in 2020 (Lucas Raymond).

In addition, Detroit is atrocious in the late rounds. You have to go back to 2016 to find Filip Hronek, the only player selected in rounds 2 to 7 who managed to establish himself in the NHL. Honorable mention to Joe Veleno, selected 30th overall in 2018. He’s the only one else who comes close.

Before Hronek? It goes back to 2013 with the selections of Tyler Bertuzzi and Mattias Janmark.