The 2019–20 Detroit Red Wings season was the 94th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. It was the Red Wings' third season at Little Caesars Arena.

The Red Wings were eliminated from playoff contention on February 21, 2020 for the first time since the 1979–80 season and the 1982–83 season following a 4–1 loss to the New York Islanders, marking the Red Wings' fourth season in a row out of the playoffs and the first team to be eliminated before trade deadline since 2003–04 Pittsburgh Penguins. On March 10, the Red Wings clinched the worst overall record in the NHL for the first time since the 1985–86 season. The season was suspended by the league officials on March 12, 2020, after several other professional and collegiate sports organizations followed suit as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On May 26, the NHL regular season was officially declared over with the remaining games being cancelled, and the Red Wings already missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year. This was the first time since the 1985–86 season that the Red Wings finished with fewer than 20 wins. The Red Wings also became the first team since the 2004–05 NHL lockout, and the subsequent start of the salary cap era, to finish with a sub-.280 points percentage. Their .275 points percentage was the worst for an NHL team since the 1999–2000 Atlanta Thrashers.

Off-season On April 19, 2019, Steve Yzerman was named executive vice president and general manager of the Red Wings. Ken Holland was retained by the organization and promoted to the team's senior vice president. On May 7, 2019, Holland was named the general manager and president of hockey operations of the Edmonton Oilers.

Standings

Divisional standings

Eastern Conference

Schedule and results

Preseason 2019 preseason game log: 3–3–3 (Home: 3–0–2; Road: 0–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Recap 1 September 17 Chicago 3–5 Detroit Pickard 15,108 1–0–0 2 September 18 Detroit 1–2 Chicago Larsson 20,523 1–1–0 3 September 20 NY Islanders 4–3 Detroit OT Howard 15,427 1–1–1 4 September 22 Pittsburgh 2–3 Detroit OT Bernier 16,093 2–1–1 5 September 23 Detroit 2–3 NY Islanders OT Howard — 2–1–2 6 September 25 Detroit 2–4 Pittsburgh Bernier 15,112 2–2–2 7 September 26 St. Louis 1–4 Detroit Pickard — 3–2–2 8 September 27 Toronto 4–3 Detroit SO Bernier — 3–2–3 9 September 28 Detroit 0–5 Toronto Howard 18,892 3–3–3 Game was played at Calumet Colosseum in Calumet, Michigan.

Regular season 2019–20 game log: 17–49–5 (Home: 12–23–2; Road: 5–26–3)October: 4–8–1 (Home: 2–4–1; Road: 2–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 5 Detroit 5–3 Nashville Howard 17,539 1–0–0 2 2 October 6 Dallas 3–4 Detroit Bernier 19,515 2–0–0 4 3 October 8 Anaheim 3–1 Detroit Howard 18,209 2–1–0 4 4 October 10 Detroit 4–2 Montreal Bernier 21,302 3–1–0 6 5 October 12 Toronto 5–2 Detroit Howard 19,515 3–2–0 6 6 October 15 Detroit 1–5 Vancouver Bernier 18,183 3–3–0 6 7 October 17 Detroit 1–5 Calgary Howard 18,232 3–4–0 6 8 October 18 Detroit 1–2 Edmonton Bernier 17,420 3–5–0 6 9 October 22 Vancouver 5–2 Detroit Howard 18,455 3–6–0 6 10 October 23 Detroit 2–5 Ottawa Bernier 11,026 3–7–0 6 11 October 25 Buffalo 2–0 Detroit Howard 18,616 3–8–0 6 12 October 27 St. Louis 5–4 Detroit OT Bernier 18,331 3–8–1 7 13 October 29 Edmonton 1–3 Detroit Howard 19,515 4–8–1 9 November: 3–11–2 (Home: 2–5–0; Road: 1–6–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 14 November 1 Detroit 3–7 Carolina Howard 15,383 4–9–1 9 15 November 2 Detroit 0–4 Florida Bernier 14,411 4–10–1 9 16 November 4 Nashville 6–1 Detroit Howard 18,526 4–11–1 9 17 November 6 Detroit 1–5 NY Rangers Howard 16,804 4–12–1 9 18 November 8 Boston 2–4 Detroit Bernier 19,515 5–12–1 11 19 November 10 Vegas 2–3 Detroit Bernier 19,057 6–12–1 13 20 November 12 Detroit 4–3 Anaheim OT Bernier 15,046 7–12–1 15 21 November 14 Detroit 2–3 Los Angeles OT Bernier 16,871 7–12–2 16 22 November 16 Detroit 3–4 San Jose SO Howard 17,562 7–12–3 17 23 November 19 Ottawa 4–3 Detroit Bernier 19,156 7–13–3 17 24 November 21 Detroit 4–5 Columbus Howard 14,417 7–14–3 17 25 November 23 Detroit 1–5 New Jersey Bernier 16,514 7–15–3 17 26 November 24 Carolina 2–0 Detroit Howard 18,726 7–16–3 17 27 November 27 Toronto 6–0 Detroit Howard 19,515 7–17–3 17 28 November 29 Detroit 1–6 Philadelphia Pickard 18,566 7–18–3 17 29 November 30 Washington 5–2 Detroit Bernier 19,190 7–19–3 17 December: 3–9–0 (Home: 2–5–0; Road: 1–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 30 December 2 NY Islanders 4–1 Detroit Bernier 17,510 7–20–3 17 31 December 7 Pittsburgh 5–3 Detroit Bernier 19,515 7–21–3 17 32 December 10 Detroit 1–5 Winnipeg Comrie 15,325 7–22–3 17 33 December 12 Winnipeg 2–5 Detroit Bernier 18,832 8–22–3 19 34 December 14 Detroit 2–1 Montreal Bernier 21,302 9–22–3 21 35 December 15 Los Angeles 4–2 Detroit Comrie 18,540 9–23–3 21 36 December 17 Columbus 5–3 Detroit Bernier 17,639 9–24–3 21 37 December 21 Detroit 1–4 Toronto Pickard 19,080 9–25–3 21 38 December 22 Arizona 5–2 Detroit Howard 19,515 9–26–3 21 39 December 28 Detroit 4–5 Florida Howard 17,731 9–27–3 21 40 December 29 Detroit 1–2 Tampa Bay Bernier 19,092 9–28–3 21 41 December 31 San Jose 0–2 Detroit Bernier 19,515 10–28–3 23 January: 2–8–1 (Home: 2–2–1; Road: 0–6–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 42 January 3 Detroit 1–4 Dallas Bernier 18,532 10–29–3 23 43 January 5 Detroit 2–4 Chicago Howard 21,493 10–30–3 23 44 January 7 Montreal 3–4 Detroit Bernier 17,538 11–30–3 25 45 January 10 Ottawa 2–3 Detroit SO Bernier 18,724 12–30–3 27 46 January 12 Buffalo 5–1 Detroit Howard 18,312 12–31–3 27 47 January 14 Detroit 2–8 NY Islanders Howard 12,542 12–32–3 27 48 January 17 Pittsburgh 2–1 Detroit OT Howard 19,515 12–32–4 28 49 January 18 Florida 4–1 Detroit Howard 19,231 12–33–4 28 50 January 20 Detroit 3–6 Colorado Howard 18,110 12–34–4 28 51 January 22 Detroit 2–4 Minnesota Howard 17,212 12–35–4 28 All-Star Break in St. Louis 52 January 31 Detroit 2–4 NY Rangers Howard 17,169 12–36–4 28 February: 3–11–1 (Home: 2–5–0; Road: 1–6–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 53 February 1 NY Rangers 1–0 Detroit Bernier 19,515 12–37–4 28 54 February 3 Philadelphia 3–0 Detroit Bernier 17,526 12–38–4 28 55 February 6 Detroit 4–3 Buffalo SO Bernier 16,607 13–38–4 30 56 February 7 Detroit 0–2 Columbus Howard 18,978 13–39–4 30 57 February 9 Boston 1–3 Detroit Bernier 19,515 14–39–4 32 58 February 11 Detroit 2–3 Buffalo Bernier 16,588 14–40–4 32 59 February 13 Detroit 1–4 New Jersey Bernier 12,941 14–41–4 32 60 February 15 Detroit 1–4 Boston Bernier 17,850 14–42–4 32 61 February 16 Detroit 1–5 Pittsburgh Howard 18,654 14–43–4 32 62 February 18 Montreal 3–4 Detroit Bernier 18,947 15–43–4 34 63 February 21 Detroit 1–4 NY Islanders Bernier 13,917 15–44–4 34 64 February 23 Calgary 4–2 Detroit Bernier 18,022 15–45–4 34 65 February 25 New Jersey 4–1 Detroit Bernier 17,525 15–46–4 34 66 February 27 Minnesota 7–1 Detroit Howard 17,663 15–47–4 34 67 February 29 Detroit 3–4 Ottawa SO Bernier 15,505 15–47–5 35 March: 2–2–0 (Home: 2–2–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 68 March 2 Colorado 2–1 Detroit Bernier 17,708 15–48–5 35 69 March 6 Chicago 1–2 Detroit Bernier 19,515 16–48–5 37 70 March 8 Tampa Bay 4–5 Detroit SO Bernier 18,841 17–48–5 39 71 March 10 Carolina 5–2 Detroit Bernier 17,511 17–49–5 39 Cancelled games # Date Visitor Home 72 March 12 Detroit Washington 73 March 14 Detroit Tampa Bay 74 March 16 Florida Detroit 75 March 20 Detroit Arizona 76 March 21 Detroit Vegas 77 March 24 Detroit Boston 78 March 26 Philadelphia Detroit 79 March 28 Washington Detroit 80 March 31 Detroit St. Louis 81 April 2 Detroit Toronto 82 April 4 Tampa Bay DetroitLegend:

Player statistics

Skaters Regular season Player 71 19 34 53 −21 39 71 21 27 48 −23 40 43 16 22 38 −7 34 † 52 14 17 31 −29 18 65 9 22 31 −38 46 ‡ 46 10 14 24 −45 26 70 6 15 21 −42 24 53 3 14 17 −16 34 68 9 7 16 −6 37 28 8 7 15 −13 2 ‡ 48 3 8 11 −32 32 60 6 3 9 −29 14 60 4 5 9 −13 8 64 1 8 9 −10 28 36 2 6 8 −26 6 26 2 5 7 −12 6 43 0 7 7 −22 20 56 2 3 5 −24 28 54 2 2 4 −21 2 † 39 1 3 4 −18 10 ‡ 16 1 3 4 3 4 8 0 4 4 0 4 21 2 1 3 −2 9 49 0 3 3 −14 25 49 0 3 3 −9 24 6 0 2 2 −5 2 6 1 0 1 −1 2 9 0 1 1 1 6 16 0 1 1 −6 14 18 0 0 0 −12 4 16 0 0 0 −4 23 4 0 0 0 −1 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 −1 0

Goaltenders Regular season Player 46 41 2,566 15 22 3 126 2.95 1,353 .907 1 0 3 4 27 27 1,372 2 23 2 96 4.20 817 .882 0 0 0 0 † 3 2 127 0 2 0 9 4.28 66 .864 0 0 0 0 3 1 165 0 2 0 15 5.46 74 .797 0 0 0 0 †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Red Wings. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only. ‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Awards and honours

Awards

Regular season Player Award Awarded NHL Second Star of the Week October 7, 2019

Milestones

Regular season Player Milestone Reached 700th career NHL game October 23, 2019 1st career NHL game October 25, 2019 500th career NHL point November 4, 2019 Givani Smith 1st career NHL point1st career NHL assist January 7, 2020 Givani Smith 1st career NHL goal January 14, 2020 300th career NHL assist January 17, 2020 100th career NHL goal January 18, 2020 1,000th career NHL game February 1, 2020 1st career NHL game February 6, 2020 100th career NHL point February 6, 2020 Mike Green 500th career NHL point February 18, 2020 Gustav Lindstrom 1st career NHL point1st career NHL assist March 6, 2020 500th career NHL game March 10, 2020

Transactions The Red Wings have been involved in the following transactions during the 2019–20 season.

Trades Date Details Ref To Vancouver CanucksDavid PopeTo Detroit Red WingsAlex Biega To Chicago BlackhawksAlec RegulaTo Detroit Red WingsBrendan Perlini To St. Louis BluesJacob de la RoseTo Detroit Red WingsRobby Fabbri To Arizona CoyotesVili SaarijarviTo Detroit Red WingsEric Comrie To Carolina HurricanesOliwer KaskiTo Detroit Red WingsKyle Wood To Edmonton OilersMike GreenTo Detroit Red WingsKyle BrodziakConditional draft pick in 2020 or 2021 To Edmonton OilersAndreas AthanasiouRyan KuffnerTo Detroit Red WingsSam Gagner2020 2nd-round pick2021 2nd-round pick To New York RangersFuture considerationsTo Detroit Red WingsMarc Staal2021 2nd-round pick Notes: Detroit to retain 50% ($2.6875 million) of salary as part of trade.

Free agents Date Player Team Contract term Ref Valtteri Filppula from New York Islanders 2-year Patrik Nemeth from Colorado Avalanche 2-year Calvin Pickard from Arizona Coyotes 2-year Martin Frk to Los Angeles Kings 1-year Luke Witkowski to Tampa Bay Lightning 2-year Zachary Gallant to San Jose Sharks 1-year

Retirement Date Player Ref Niklas Kronwall

Waivers Date Player Team Ref Cody Goloubef from Ottawa Senators Dmytro Timashov from Toronto Maple Leafs

Draft picks

Below are the Detroit Red Wings' selections at the 2019 NHL entry draft, which was held on June 21 and 22, 2019, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)16 Moritz Seider D Adler Mannheim (DEL)235 Antti Tuomisto D Ässät U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)2541 Robert Mastrosimone LW Chicago Steel (USHL)2602 Albert Johansson D Färjestad BK J20 (J20 SuperElit)366 Albin Grewe RW Djurgårdens IF J20 (J20 SuperElit)497 Ethan Phillips C Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)5128 Cooper Moore D Brunswick (USHS)6159 Elmer Soderblom RW Frölunda J20 (SuperElit)61773 Gustav Berglund D Frölunda J18 (J18 Elit)7190 Kirill Tyutyayev LW JHC Avto (MHL)71914 Carter Gylander G Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL) Notes: