Red Wings’ Alex DeBrincat: ‘Everyone is frustrated with how year went’
Detroit Red Wings’ Alex DeBrincat, April 19, 2025 in Detroit.
One of the last things Alex DeBrincat told reporters before the Detroit Red Wings broke for another long offseason was about the need to start well.
“Maybe we started the season off better, we’re in,” DeBrincat said, of course referencing the playoff picture.
A new season brings new hope that the now nine-year-old playoff drought may end, and now the Wings have the dates that will map their path. The NHL released the 2025-26 schedule, and the Wings start up Oct. 9 at home against an Original Six rival, the Montreal Canadiens.
The traditional New Year’s Eve game will be against the Winnipeg Jets – and then the Wings play Jan. 1 at the Pittsburgh Penguins.
There’s only four games in February as the NHL goes on break for the Olympic Games.
The Wings’ finale is April 15 at the Florida Panthers.
Here is the full schedule, with home game opponents in capital letters:
October9 Thu. vs. MONTREAL Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.11 Sat. vs. TORONTO Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.13 Mon. at Toronto Scotiabank Arena 4 p.m.15 Wed. vs. FLORIDA Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.17 Fri. vs. TAMPA BAY Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.19 Sun. vs. EDMONTON Little Caesars Arena 3 p.m.22 Wed. at Buffalo KeyBank Center 7:30 p.m.23 Thu. at N.Y. Islanders UBS Arena 7 p.m.25 Sat. vs. ST. LOUIS Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.28 Tue. at St. Louis Enterprise Center 8:15 p.m.30 Thu. at Los Angeles Crypto.com Arena 10:30 p.m.31 Fri. at Anaheim Honda Center 10 p.m.November2 Sun. at San Jose SAP Center 8 p.m.4 Tue. at Vegas T-Mobile Arena 10 p.m.7 Fri. vs. N.Y. RANGERS Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.9 Sun. vs. CHICAGO Little Caesars Arena 1 p.m.13 Thu. vs. ANAHEIM Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.15 Sat. vs. BUFFALO Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.16 Sun. at N.Y. Rangers Madison Square Garden 7 p.m.18 Tue. vs. SEATTLE Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.20 Thu. vs. N.Y. ISLANDERS Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.22 Sat. vs. COLUMBUS Little Caesars Arena 1 p.m.24 Mon. at New Jersey Prudential Center 7 p.m.26 Wed. vs. NASHVILLE Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.28 Fri. vs. TAMPA BAY Little Caesars Arena 1 p.m.29 Sat. at Boston TD Garden 7 p.m.December2 Tue. vs. BOSTON Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.4 Thu. at Columbus Nationwide Arena 7 p.m.6 Sat. at Seattle Climate Pledge Arena 10 p.m.8 Mon. at Vancouver Rogers Arena 10 p.m.10 Wed. at Calgary Scotiabank Saddledome 8:30 p.m.11 Thu. at Edmonton Rogers Place 9 p.m.13 Sat. at Chicago United Center 8 p.m.16 Tue. vs. N.Y. ISLANDERS Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.17 Wed. vs. UTAH Little Caesars Arena 7:30 p.m.20 Sat. at Washington Capital One Arena 12:30 p.m.21 Sun. vs. WASHINGTON Little Caesars Arena 1 p.m.23 Tue. vs. DALLAS Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.27 Sat. at Carolina Lenovo Center 7 p.m.28 Sun. vs. TORONTO Little Caesars Arena 5 p.m.31 Wed. vs. WINNIPEG Little Caesars Arena 6:30 p.m.January1 Thu. at Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena 7 p.m.3 Sat. vs. PITTSBURGH Little Caesars Arena Noon.5 Mon. at Ottawa Canadian Tire Centre 7:30 p.m.8 Thu. vs. VANCOUVER Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.10 Sat. at Montreal Bell Centre 7 p.m.12 Mon. vs. CAROLINA Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.13 Tue. at Boston TD Garden 7:30 p.m.16 Fri. vs. SAN JOSE Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.18 Sun. vs. OTTAWA Little Caesars Arena 5 p.m.21 Wed. at Toronto Scotiabank Arena 7 p.m.22 Thu. at Minnesota Xcel Energy Center 9:30 p.m.24 Sat. at Winnipeg Canada Life Centre 7 p.m.27 Tue. vs. LOS ANGELES Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.29 Thu. vs. WASHINGTON Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.31 Sat. vs. COLORADO Little Caesars Arena 1 p.m.February2 Mon. at Colorado Ball Arena 9 p.m.4 Wed. at Utah Delta Center 9 p.m.26 Thu. at Ottawa Canadian Tire Centre 7 p.m.28 Sat. at Carolina Lenovo Center 7 p.m.March2 Mon. at Nashville Bridgestone Arena 8 p.m.4 Wed. vs. VEGAS Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.6 Fri. vs. FLORIDA Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.8 Sun. at New Jersey Prudential Center 7 p.m.10 Tue. at Florida Amerant Bank Arena 7 p.m.12 Thu. at Tampa Bay Amalie Arena 7 p.m.14 Sat. at Dallas American Airlines Center 8 p.m.16 Mon. vs. CALGARY Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.19 Thu. vs. MONTREAL Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.21 Sat. vs. BOSTON Little Caesars Arena 8 p.m.24 Tue. vs. OTTAWA Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.27 Fri. at Buffalo KeyBank Center 7 p.m.28 Sat. vs. PHILADELPHIA Little Caesars Arena 8 p.m.31 Tue. at Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena 7 p.m.April2 Thu. at Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center 7 p.m.4 Sat. at N.Y. Rangers Madison Square Garden 12:30 p.m.5 Sun. vs. MINNESOTA Little Caesars Arena 1 p.m.7 Tue. vs. COLUMBUS Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.9 Thu. vs. PHILADELPHIA Little Caesars Arena 7 p.m.11 Sat. vs. NEW JERSEY Little Caesars Arena 5 p.m.13 Mon. at Tampa Bay Amalie Arena 7 p.m.15 Wed. at Florida Amerant Bank Arena 7 p.m.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her books: “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of Hockeytown,” and “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.