The 2019–20 Detroit Red Wings season was the 94th season for the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. It was the Red Wings' third season at

Little Caesars Arena Little Caesars Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Midtown Detroit. Opening on September 5, 2017, the arena, which cost $862.9 million to construct, replaced Joe Louis Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of t ...

. The Red Wings were eliminated from playoff contention on February 21, 2020 following a 4–1 loss to the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

, marking the Red Wings' fourth season in a row out of the playoffs and the first team to be eliminated before

trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft ...

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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 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 The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, and the subsequent start of the

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Seve ...

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 Stephen Gregory Yzerman ( ; born May 9, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player currently serving as executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he spent all 22 seasons of his NHL playing ...

was named executive vice president and general manager of the Red Wings.

Ken Holland Kenneth Mark Holland (born November 10, 1955) is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former goaltender, and is currently serving as the vice president and general manager of the Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League. Holland most not ...

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 The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

Standings

Divisional standings

Eastern Conference

Schedule and results

Preseason

Regular season

Player statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders

^†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

Milestones

Transactions

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

Trades

Notes: * Detroit to retain 50% ($2.6875 million) of salary as part of trade.

Free agents

Retirement

Waivers

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 Rogers Arena, (formerly General Motors Place), is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, arena at 800 Griffiths Way in the Downtown Vancouver, downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. Notes: # The

' second-round pick went to the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

as the result of a trade on February 26, 2018, that sent

Tomas Tatar Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomàs, a Catalan given name and surname * ...

to Vegas in exchange for a first-round pick in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, a third-round pick in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and this pick. # The

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

' second-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on February 24, 2019, that sent

Gustav Nyquist Gustav Nyquist (born 1 September 1989) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nyquist was drafted 121st overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2008 NHL entry draft, with whom he ...

to San Jose in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). # The

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

' sixth-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on June 22, 2019, that sent Columbus' fifth-round pick in 2019 (143rd overall) to Buffalo in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2019 (191st overall) and this pick. # The

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

' seventh-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on June 22, 2019, that sent Columbus' fifth-round pick in 2019 (143rd overall) to Buffalo in exchange for Toronto's sixth-round pick in 2019 (177th overall) and this pick.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 Detroit Red Wings season

Detroit Red Wings seasons