{"id":555956,"date":"2026-04-19T11:27:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T11:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/555956\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T11:27:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T11:27:25","slug":"debrincat-red-wings-should-be-embarassed-to-miss-playoffs-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/555956\/","title":{"rendered":"DeBrincat: Red Wings Should be Embarassed to Miss Playoffs Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alex DeBrincat<\/a> lit 41 red lamps to lead the Detroit<\/a> Red Wings in goal scoring this season. He also established a career high with 85 points, also leading the club in that department.<\/p>\n

As the players gathered to explain the club\u2019s 10th straight season without playoff hockey, DeBrincat was seeing red.<\/p>\n

You could even say that he was seething mad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think all of us in the locker room are frustrated and, frankly, embarrassed,\u201d DeBrincat said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a good word for it. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of tough to do what we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

On January 25, Detroit was the first-place team in the Atlantic Division and tied for first overall in the NHL\u2019s Eastern Conference. The Wings were 12 points clear of the playoff cutoff.<\/p>\n

By the conclusion of the regular season, the Red Wings had slid all the way to 10th in the East, seven points out of a playoff spot.<\/p>\n

Alex DeBrincat on emotions in Red Wings\u2019 locker room: \u201cFrustration. Disbelief, from where we were at to where we are now \u2014 not acceptable. We\u2019re embarrassed with the spot we\u2019re in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough to do what we did.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/O8iQOhEBHF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) April 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

DeBrincat described his emotions at season\u2019s end as, \u201cfrustration and honestly, disbelief.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, I think we played good hockey for three-fourths of the season and put ourselves in a great spot,\u201d DeBrincat said. \u201cWe came to the rink ready to play and confident we could beat any team in the league for a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that kind of slipped. I don\u2019t know exactly when it slipped or what happened, but then you see the mental side of the game come in. We feel defeated, and you can see it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Red Wings Lost Their Way<\/p>\n

DeBrincat thinks that the Red Wings simply lost their way when the games mattered the most. And until they change that part of their DNA, they can\u2019t expect to change the season outcome in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to find a way to work hard every game to the end of the season,\u201d DeBrincat said.<\/p>\n

He pointed to the season-ending 8-1 drubbing at Florida as his low point as a Red Wings player.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think our last game was probably one of the most embarrassing games I\u2019ve played in myself,\u201d DeBrincat<\/a> said. \u201cIt seems like we weren\u2019t working hard. I know it didn\u2019t mean anything, but you could kind of see that creep into our game the last bit there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teammates Share DeBrincat\u2019s Emotions and Concerns<\/p>\n

DeBrincat isn\u2019t the only Detroit player who feels that way about how they finished the 2025-26 NHL season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this team\u2019s better than some teams that are in the playoffs,\u201d Red Wings forward Patrick Kane<\/a> stated flatly. \u201cI definitely think we underachieved. You can say that. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think about the position we were in coming into the end of the season. Everyone\u2019s very frustrated by it and somewhat embarrassed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seeing other teams participate in the playoffs is a galling sensation for Detroit defenseman Ben Chiarot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sucks sitting at home watching,\u201d Chiarot said. \u201cYou feel like you didn\u2019t do your job to a good enough level to be part of that, because we didn\u2019t this year. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt least not the last six, seven weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Chiarot on Red Wings\u2019 collapse: \u201cFor about 65 games this year, there wasn\u2019t a second where I didn\u2019t think this was gonna be a playoff team.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd as we got into the last six, seven weeks of the season and things started to go sideways on us, we pissed it away.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/czHuejngeO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) April 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Chiarot doesn\u2019t think desire is an issue in the Detroit dressing room. But he also noted that the facts speak for themselves. Once again, the fact is that the Red Wings missed the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we have a lot of good players in our room and guys that honestly want to do well and make the playoffs and push the team into the playoffs,\u201d Chiarot said. \u201cBut we weren\u2019t getting it done. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s clear with where we\u2019re sitting today. \u201c<\/p>\n