2020–21 Detroit Red Wings season

The 2020–21 Detroit Red Wings season is the 95th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926.[1] It is the Red Wings' fourth season at Little Caesars Arena.

2020–21 Detroit Red Wings
2020–21 record	3–9–2
Home record	2–3–1
Road record	1–6–1
Goals for	27
Goals against	46
Team information
General manager	Steve Yzerman
Coach	Jeff Blashill
Captain	Dylan Larkin
Alternate captains	Luke Glendening Frans Nielsen
Arena	Little Caesars Arena
Minor league affiliate(s)	Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) Toledo Walleye (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Tyler Bertuzzi (5)
Assists	Filip Hronek (6)
Points	Dylan Larkin (9)
Penalty minutes	Bobby Ryan (17)
Plus/minus	Filip Zadina (+3)
Wins	Jonathan Bernier (2)
Goals against average	Calvin Pickard (2.22)

On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the Canada-United States border. As a result of this realignment the Red Wings returned to the Central Division for the first time since 2012–13 and are only playing games against the other teams in their new division during the regular season and potentially the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Standings

Divisional standings

Central Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Tampa Bay Lightning	10	8	1	1	7	36	19	+17	17
2	Columbus Blue Jackets	14	6	5	3	5	39	45	−6	15
3	Florida Panthers	9	6	1	2	3	30	27	+3	14
4	Carolina Hurricanes	10	7	3	0	4	34	27	+7	14
5	Chicago Blackhawks	13	5	4	4	4	37	40	−3	14
6	Dallas Stars	9	5	2	2	4	33	23	+10	12
7	Nashville Predators	12	5	7	0	2	30	40	−10	10
8	Detroit Red Wings	13	3	8	2	2	26	44	−18	8

Updated to game(s) played on February 8, 2021. Source: National Hockey League[2]
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of regulation wins (RW); 3) Greater amount of wins in regulation and overtime, excluding shootout wins (ROW); 4) Greater amount of total wins, including shootouts (W); 5) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 6) Greater goal differential (GD); 7) Greater amount of goals scored (GF)

Schedule and results

Regular season

2020–21 game log 3–9–2 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 1–6–1)[3]
January: 2–6–2 (Home: 2–3–1 ; Road: 0–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 January 14 Carolina 3–0 Detroit Greiss 0 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 January 16 Carolina 2–4 Detroit Bernier 0 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 January 18 Columbus 3–2 Detroit Greiss 0 1–2–0 2 Recap 4 January 19 Columbus 2–3 Detroit OT Bernier 0 2–2–0 4 Recap 5 January 22 Detroit 1–4 Chicago Greiss 0 2–3–0 4 Recap 6 January 24 Detroit 2–6 Chicago Bernier 0 2–4–0 4 Recap 7 January 26 Detroit 1–2 Dallas OT Greiss 4,109 2–4–1 5 Recap 8 January 28 Detroit 3–7 Dallas Greiss 4,214 2–5–1 5 Recap 9 January 30 Florida 3–2 Detroit OT Greiss 0 2–5–2 6 Recap 10 January 31 Florida 3–2 Detroit Greiss 0 2–6–2 6 Recap
February: 1–3–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 1–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 11 February 3 Detroit 1–5 Tampa Bay Greiss 0 2–7–2 6 Recap 12 February 5 Detroit 1–3 Tampa Bay Greiss 0 2–8–2 6 Recap 13 February 7 Detroit 4–1 Florida Greiss 3,706 3–8–2 8 Recap 14 February 9 Detroit 1–2 Florida Greiss 3,477 3–9–2 8 Recap 15 February 11 Detroit – Nashville 16 February 13 Detroit – Nashville 17 February 15 Chicago – Detroit 18 February 17 Chicago – Detroit 19 February 19 Florida – Detroit 20 February 20 Florida – Detroit 21 February 23 Nashville – Detroit 22 February 25 Nashville – Detroit 23 February 27 Detroit – Chicago 24 February 28 Detroit – Chicago
March: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 25 March 2 Detroit – Columbus 26 March 4 Detroit – Carolina 27 March 9 Tampa Bay – Detroit 28 March 11 Tampa Bay – Detroit 29 March 14 Carolina – Detroit 30 March 16 Carolina – Detroit 31 March 18 Dallas – Detroit 32 March 20 Dallas – Detroit 33 March 23 Detroit – Nashville 34 March 25 Detroit – Nashville 35 March 27 Columbus – Detroit 36 March 28 Columbus – Detroit 37 March 30 Detroit – Florida
April: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 38 April 1 Detroit – Florida 39 April 3 Detroit – Tampa Bay 40 April 4 Detroit – Tampa Bay 41 April 6 Nashville – Detroit 42 April 8 Nashville – Detroit 43 April 10 Detroit – Carolina 44 April 12 Detroit – Carolina 45 April 15 Chicago – Detroit 46 April 17 Chicago – Detroit 47 April 19 Detroit – Dallas 48 April 20 Detroit – Dallas 49 April 22 Dallas – Detroit 50 April 24 Dallas – Detroit 51 April 27 Detroit – Columbus 52 April 29 Detroit – Carolina
May: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 53 May 1 Tampa Bay – Detroit 54 May 2 Tampa Bay – Detroit 55 May 7 Detroit – Columbus 56 May 8 Detroit – Columbus Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Roster

Updated February 4, 2021[4][5]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
45		Jonathan Bernier	G	L	32	2018	Laval, Quebec
59		Tyler Bertuzzi	LW	L	25	2013	Sudbury, Ontario
3		Alex Biega	D	R	32	2019	Montreal, Quebec
86		Mathias Brome	LW	L	26	2020	Örby, Sweden
65		Danny DeKeyser	D	L	30	2013	Clay Township, Michigan
44		Christian Djoos	D	L	26	2021	Gothenburg, Sweden
73		Adam Erne	LW	L	25	2013	New Haven, Connecticut
14		Robby Fabbri	C	L	25	2019	Mississauga, Ontario
51		Valtteri Filppula	C	L	36	2019	Vantaa, Finland
36		Kaden Fulcher	G	L	22	2017	Brigden, Ontario
89		Sam Gagner	C	R	31	2020	London, Ontario
41		Luke Glendening (A)	C	R	31	2013	Grand Rapids, Michigan
29		Thomas Greiss	G	L	35	2020	Füssen, Germany
43		Darren Helm	C	L	34	2005	St. Andrews, Manitoba
67		Taro Hirose	LW	L	24	2019	Calgary, Alberta
17		Filip Hronek	D	R	23	2016	Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
71		Dylan Larkin (C)	C	L	24	2014	Waterford, Michigan
39		Anthony Mantha	RW	L	26	2013	Longueuil, Quebec
20		Dylan McIlrath	D	R	28	2017	Winnipeg, Manitoba
24		Jon Merrill	D	L	29	2020	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
92		Vladislav Namestnikov	C	L	28	2020	Voskresensk, Russia
81		Frans Nielsen (A)	C	L	36	2016	Herning, Denmark
22		Patrik Nemeth	D	L	29	2019	Stockholm, Sweden
31		Calvin Pickard	G	L	28	2019	Moncton, New Brunswick
54		Bobby Ryan	RW	R	33	2020	Cherry Hill, New Jersey
48		Givani Smith	RW	L	22	2016	Thornhill, Ontario
18		Marc Staal	D	L	34	2020	Thunder Bay, Ontario
70		Troy Stecher	D	R	26	2020	Richmond, British Columbia
11		Filip Zadina	RW	L	21	2018	Pardubice, Czech Republic

Transactions

The Red Wings have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
December 11, 2020	To New York Islanders Dmytro Timashov	To Detroit Red Wings Future considerations	[6]

Free agents

Date	Player	Team	Contract term	Ref
October 9, 2020	Bobby Ryan	from Ottawa Senators	1-year	[7]
October 9, 2020	Jon Merrill	from Vegas Golden Knights	1-year	[8]
October 9, 2020	Riley Barber	from Pittsburgh Penguins	2-year	[9]
October 9, 2020	Kevin Boyle	from Anaheim Ducks	1-year	[9]
October 9, 2020	Kyle Criscuolo	from Anaheim Ducks	1-year	[9]
October 10, 2020	Thomas Greiss	from New York Islanders	2-year	[10]
October 10, 2020	Troy Stecher	from Vancouver Canucks	2-year	[11]
October 11, 2020	Vladislav Namestnikov	from Colorado Avalanche	2-year	[12]

Contract terminations Date Player Via Ref October 7, 2020 Justin Abdelkader Unconditional waivers [13]

Retirement Date Player Ref October 26, 2020 Trevor Daley [14]

Signings

Date	Player	Contract term	Ref
October 28, 2020	Tyler Bertuzzi	1-year	[15]
November 3, 2020	Anthony Mantha	4-year	[16]

Draft picks

Below are the Detroit Red Wings' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on October 6 and 7, 2020, via video conference call due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	4	Lucas Raymond	LW	Sweden	Frölunda HC (SHL)
2	32	William Wallinder	D	Sweden	Modo J20 (J20 SuperElit)
2	51	Theodor Niederbach	C	Sweden	Frölunda J20 (J20 SuperElit)
2	55	Cross Hanas	LW	United States	Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
3	63	Donovan Sebrango	D	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
3	70	Eemil Viro	D	Finland	TPS (Liiga)
4	97	Sam Strange	RW	United States	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
4	107^1	Jan Bednar	G	Czech Republic	HC Baník Sokolov (Czech 2.liga)
5	132	Alex Cotton	D	Canada	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
6	156	Kyle Aucoin	D	Canada	Tri-City Storm (USHL)
7	187	Kienan Draper	RW	United States	Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL)
7	203	Chase Bradley	LW	United States	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)

Notes:

1. The Edmonton Oilers' fourth-round pick will go to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on February 23, 2020 that sent Mike Green to Edmonton in exchange for Kyle Brodziak and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).[17]

References

1. National Hockey League (2013). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. Diamond Sports Data, Inc. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-894801-26-3.
2. "NHL Hockey Standings". www.nhl.com. National Hockey League.
3. "Red Wings release 2020-21 season schedule". NHL.com. December 23, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
4. "Detroit Red Wings Roster". National Hockey League. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
5. "Detroit Red Wings Hockey Transactions". The Sports Network. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
6. Kujawa, Kyle (December 11, 2020). "Red Wings trade rights to Timashov to Islanders for future considerations". NHL.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
7. Kujawa, Kyle (October 9, 2020). "Red Wings agree to one-year deal with Bobby Ryan". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
8. Kujawa, Kyle (October 9, 2020). "Detroit, Jon Merrill reach one-year agreement". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
9. Kujawa, Kyle (October 9, 2020). "Red Wings add Riley Barber, Kyle Criscuolo and Kevin Boyle". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
10. Kujawa, Kyle (October 10, 2020). "Red Wings agree to terms with free agent goaltender Thomas Greiss". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
11. Kujawa, Kyle (October 10, 2020). "Detroit adds defenseman Troy Stecher". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
12. Kujawa, Kyle (October 11, 2020). "Namestnikov agrees to terms with Detroit". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
13. Kulfan, Ted (October 6, 2020). "Red Wings waive Justin Abdelkader in order to buy him out". The Detroit News. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
14. "Daley retires as player, joins Penguins as hockey operations adviser". NHL.com. October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
15. "Bertuzzi gets one-year, $3.5M contract with Red Wings from arbitrator". NHL.com. October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
16. Kujawa, Kyle (November 3, 2020). "Red Wings sign Anthony Mantha to four-year deal". NHL.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
17. "RELEASE: Oilers acquire Mike Green from Red Wings". February 23, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.