Dylan Larkin, Moritz Seider say trade deadline moves hurt Red Wings’ chances

Heading into the 2022-23 regular season, expectations were not too high for the Detroit Red Wings but, for a while at least, it looked like Dylan Larkin and Moritz Seider would help lead the team to a spot in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But following a rough stretch, Steve Yzerman made the decision to trade some key players, which both Larkin and Seider believe impacted the team down the stretch.

Key Points

• Expectations were not too high for the Red Wings heading into the season
• The Red Wings were in a position to make a run at one point
• After a rough stretch, Yzerman traded some key players
• Larkin and Seider believe those trades impacted the team negatively down the stretch

Dylan Larkin, Moritz Seider say trade deadline moves hurt Red Wings’ chances

Here is what Larkin and Seider had to say about the trade deadline moves hurting the Red Wings down the stretch.

Larkin’s comments

“It’s very disappointing,” Larkin said in the locker room at Amalie Arena. “It’s been very difficult since the trade deadline, emotionally, physically. We traded away a lot of guys, guys played through injuries. We wanted to get back to .500 and finish on a good note and it didn’t happen. The message was there, it’s been there — there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in this locker room, and I think hopefully — I say it every year, but hopefully we’re not in this position much longer.”

Seider’s comments

“It’s really hard if you’re missing key players, motors I want to even say, in the lineup,” Seider said. Had the Wings won Thursday, they would have at least been .500 — which also hasn’t happened since the last time they made the playoffs.

“It’s very disappointing. I think we all had higher expectations for that game, we wanted to be a .500 team, and we didn’t achieve that. I think frustration, a little bit of sadness, will be on the way back on the plane for sure. But other than that I think we can be very proud of ourselves, took big strides this year in almost every category. There’s a lot of positives to think back on.”

Bottom Line: The Red Wings are still a few seasons away from truly contending

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but the Red Wings really are not close to contending for a Stanley Cup. In fact, it could still be a couple of seasons before they are truly good enough to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That being said, Steve Yzerman seems to have a plan in place, but he believes the Red Wings will have to get lucky in the NHL Draft Lottery to speed up the process.