2017–18 Detroit Red Wings season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	2017–18
Year:	2017
Team:	Detroit Red Wings
Division:	Atlantic
Divisionrank:	5th
Conference:	Eastern
Conferencerank:	13th
Record:	30–39–13
Homerecord:	16–16–9
Roadrecord:	14–23–4
Goalsfor:	217
Goalsagainst:	255
Generalmanager:	Ken Holland
Coach:	Jeff Blashill
Captain:	Henrik Zetterberg
Altcaptain:	Justin Abdelkader Niklas Kronwall
Arena:	Little Caesars Arena
Attendance:	19,515^[1]
Minorleague:	Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) Toledo Walleye (ECHL)
Goalsleader:	Anthony Mantha (24)
Assistsleader:	Dylan Larkin (47)
Pointsleader:	Dylan Larkin (63)
Plusminusleader:	Joe Hicketts (+5)
Pimleader:	Justin Abdelkader (78)
Winsleader:	Jimmy Howard (22)
Gaaleader:	Jimmy Howard (2.85)

The 2017–18 Detroit Red Wings season was the 92nd season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926.^[2] It was also the Red Wings' first season at Little Caesars Arena. The team missed the playoffs for the second year in a row, marking the first time since 1982–83 that the Red Wings missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons.

Schedule and results

Preseason

2017 preseason game log: 3–4–1 (Home: 2–2–0; Road: 1–2–1)^[3]
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 19	Detroit	2–4				16,309	0–1–0	Recap
2	September 20	Detroit	5–6		OT		17,784	0–1–1	Recap
3	September 21	Detroit	1–6			Mrazek	20,342	0–2–1	Recap
4	September 23		1–5	Detroit			17,314	1–2–1	Recap
5	September 25		1–4	Detroit		Howard	16,770	2–2–1	Recap
6	September 28		4–2	Detroit		Mrazek	17,089	2–3–1	Recap
7	September 29		4–2	Detroit		Howard	17,746	2–4–1	Recap
8	September 30	Detroit	3–2		SO		—	3–4–1	Recap

Regular season

2017–18 game log: 30–39–13 (Home: 16–16–9; Road: 14–23–4)^[4]
October: 6–6–1 (Home: 2–2–1 ; Road: 4–4–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 5 2–4 Detroit 19,515 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 7 Detroit 2–1 SO Howard 14,883 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 October 10 Detroit 2–4 18,119 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 12 Detroit 4–2 Howard 13,584 3–1–0 6 Recap 5 October 13 Detroit 6–3 Mrazek 17,645 4–1–0 8 Recap 6 October 16 3–2 Detroit Howard 19,515 4–2–0 8 Recap 7 October 18 Detroit 3–6 Mrazek 19,158 4–3–0 8 Recap 8 October 20 4–3 Detroit OT Mrazek 19,515 4–3–1 9 Recap 9 October 22 4–1 Detroit Howard 19,515 4–4–1 9 Recap 10 October 24 Detroit 0–1 Howard 16,882 4–5–1 9 Recap 11 October 26 Detroit 2–3 Howard 19,092 4–6–1 9 Recap 12 October 28 Detroit 3–2 SO Howard 13,085 5–6–1 11 Recap 13 October 31 3–5 Detroit Howard 19,515 6–6–1 13 Recap
November: 4–5–4 (Home: 2–3–3 ; Road: 2–2–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 14 November 2 Detroit 1–3 14,724 6–7–1 13 Recap 15 November 5 Detroit 4–0 18,347 7–7–1 15 Recap 16 November 6 Detroit 3–2 Howard 17,836 8–7–1 17 Recap 17 November 9 Detroit 3–6 Mrazek 18,788 8–8–1 17 Recap 18 November 11 2–1 Detroit SO Howard 19,515 8–8–2 18 Recap 19 November 15 2–8 Detroit Howard 19,515 9–8–2 20 Recap 20 November 17 1–3 Detroit Howard 19,515 10–8–2 22 Recap 21 November 19 4–3 Detroit OT Howard 19,515 10–8–3 23 Recap 22 November 22 6–2 Detroit Howard 19,515 10–9–3 23 Recap 23 November 24 Detroit 1–2 OT Howard 18,006 10–9–4 24 Recap 24 November 25 4–3 Detroit OT Howard 19,515 10–9–5 25 Recap 25 November 28 4–1 Detroit Howard 19,515 10–10–5 25 Recap 26 November 30 6–3 Detroit Howard 19,515 10–11–5 25 Recap
December: 5–5–2 (Home: 4–1–2 ; Road: 1–4–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 27 December 2 Detroit 1–10 21,302 10–12–5 25 Recap 28 December 5 1–5 Detroit 19,515 11–12–5 27 Recap 29 December 9 6–1 Detroit Howard 19,515 11–13–5 27 Recap 30 December 11 2–1 Detroit OT Howard 19,515 11–13–6 28 Recap 31 December 13 3–2 Detroit OT Howard 19,515 11–13–7 29 Recap 32 December 15 1–3 Detroit Howard 19,515 12–13–7 31 Recap 33 December 19 Detroit 6–3 Mrazek 10,511 13–13–7 33 Recap 34 December 20 Detroit 3–4 Howard 19,674 13–14–7 33 Recap 35 December 23 Detroit 1–3 Howard 17,565 13–15–7 33 Recap 36 December 27 Detroit 1–3 Howard 16,514 13–16–7 33 Recap 37 December 29 2–3 Detroit SO Howard 19,515 14–16–7 35 Recap 38 December 31 1–4 Detroit Howard 19,515 15–16–7 37 Recap
January: 5–5–1 (Home: 3–4–1 ; Road: 2–1–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 39 January 3 1–2 Detroit OT 19,515 16–16–7 39 Recap 40 January 5 2–4 Detroit Howard 19,515 17–16–7 41 Recap 41 January 7 5–2 Detroit 19,515 17–17–7 41 Recap 42 January 13 Detroit 1–4 Howard 18,637 17–18–7 41 Recap 43 January 14 Detroit 4–0 Mrazek 21,830 18–18–7 43 Recap 44 January 16 4–2 Detroit Howard 19,515 18–19–7 43 Recap 45 January 20 3–1 Detroit Howard 19,515 18–20–7 43 Recap 46 January 22 Detroit 3–0 Mrazek 13,847 19–20–7 45 Recap 47 January 23 3–2 Detroit OT Mrazek 19,515 19–20–8 46 Recap 48 January 25 5–1 Detroit Howard 19,515 19–21–8 46 Recap All-Star Break in Tampa 49 January 31 1–2 Detroit SO Mrazek 19,515 20–21–8 48 Recap
February: 6–6–2 (Home: 2–3–1 ; Road: 4–3–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 50 February 2 Detroit 4–1 18,126 21–21–8 50 Recap 51 February 3 Detroit 2–3 Mrazek 17,987 21–22–8 50 Recap 52 February 6 3–2 Detroit 19,515 21–23–8 50 Recap 53 February 9 Detroit 6–7 OT Mrazek 11,847 21–23–9 51 Recap 54 February 11 Detroit 5–4 OT Howard 18,506 22–23–9 53 Recap 55 February 13 1–2 Detroit Howard 19,515 23–23–9 55 Recap 56 February 15 Detroit 1–4 Howard 19,092 23–24–9 55 Recap 57 February 17 Detroit 3–1 Mrazek 17,561 24–24–9 57 Recap 58 February 18 3–2 Detroit Mrazek 19,515 24–25–9 57 Recap 59 February 20 3–2 Detroit Howard 19,515 24–26–9 57 Recap 60 February 22 3–2 Detroit OT Howard 19,515 24–26–10 58 Recap 61 February 24 1–3 Detroit Howard 19,515 25–26–10 60 Recap 62 February 25 Detroit 3–2 OT Howard 18,006 26–26–10 62 Recap 63 February 28 Detroit 1–2 Howard 18,813 26–27–10 62 Recap
March: 4–11–1 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 1–9–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 64 March 2 Detroit 3–4 15,321 26–28–10 62 Recap 65 March 4 Detroit 1–4 Howard 19,037 26–29–10 62 Recap 66 March 6 Detroit 5–6 OT Howard 17,565 26–29–11 63 Recap 67 March 8 4–0 Detroit Howard 19,515 26–30–11 63 Recap 68 March 9 Detroit 2–3 17,284 26–31–11 63 Recap 69 March 12 Detroit 3–5 Howard 17,199 26–32–11 63 Recap 70 March 15 Detroit 1–4 Coreau 18,230 26–33–11 63 Recap 71 March 16 Detroit 2–4 Howard 17,243 26–34–11 63 Recap 72 March 18 Detroit 1–5 Coreau 18,032 26–35–11 63 Recap 73 March 20 4–5 Detroit SO Howard 19,515 27–35–11 65 Recap 74 March 22 1–0 Detroit Howard 19,515 27–36–11 65 Recap 75 March 24 Detroit 3–4 Howard 19,154 27–37–11 65 Recap 76 March 26 Detroit 2–4 Coreau 21,302 27–38–11 65 Recap 77 March 27 2–5 Detroit Howard 19,515 28–38–11 67 Recap 78 March 29 Detroit 6–3 Howard 18,493 29–38–11 69 Recap 79 March 31 0–2 Detroit Howard 19,515 30–38–11 71 Recap
April: 0–1–2 (Home: 0–1–1 ; Road: 0–0–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 80 April 3 Detroit 4–5 OT 18,477 30–38–12 72 Recap 81 April 5 4–3 Detroit 19,515 30–39–12 72 Recap 82 April 7 4–3 Detroit OT Coreau 19,515 30–39–13 73 Recap
Legend:

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season

Player					data-sort-type="number"
	82	16	47	63	−9	61
	82	11	45	56	1	14
	80	24	24	48	−1	52
	82	21	19	40	−2	20
	75	13	22	35	−11	78
	79	16	17	33	1	14
	71	16	17	33	−15	16
	66	8	25	33	−14	38
	75	13	18	31	3	39
^‡	62	16	12	28	−8	24
	79	4	23	27	−14	36
	68	11	14	25	−14	14
	48	7	17	24	−7	39
	69	11	8	19	−14	17
	77	9	7	16	−5	36
	81	0	15	15	−8	27
	81	3	10	13	−7	47
	65	6	6	12	2	28
	45	0	7	7	−3	6
	28	4	1	5	−5	10
	14	2	2	4	−2	8
	31	1	3	4	−1	68
	5	0	3	3	5	0
^†‡	17	0	0	0	−1	0
	3	0	0	0	−1	2

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player
	60	57	3,368	22	27	9	160	2.85	1,770	.910	0	0	0	6
^‡	22	18	1,184	8	7	3	57	2.89	573	.910	3	0	0	0
	7	7	381	0	5	1	27	4.26	176	.867	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Red Wings. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Awards and honours

Milestones

Regular season

Player	Milestone	data-sort-type="date"	Reached
	1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point	October 5, 2017
	300th career NHL assist	October 5, 2017
	200th career NHL win	October 5, 2017
	100th career NHL game	October 12, 2017
	900th career NHL game	October 16, 2017
	300th career NHL game	October 16, 2017
	500th career NHL game	October 18, 2017
	100th career NHL goal	October 18, 2017
	800th career NHL game	October 20, 2017
	700th career NHL game	November 5, 2017
Tomas Tatar	200th career NHL point	November 6, 2017
Frans Nielsen	400th career NHL point	November 28, 2017
	100th career NHL point	December 2, 2017
	100th career NHL game	December 11, 2017
	1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point	December 27, 2017
	100th career NHL goal	December 31, 2017
Dylan Larkin	200th career NHL game	January 5, 2018
	600th career NHL assist	January 5, 2018
	1st career NHL game	January 14, 2018
Tyler Bertuzzi	1st career NHL goal	January 14, 2018
	1st career NHL game	January 22, 2018
Tomas Tatar	400th career NHL game	February 13, 2018
	1st career NHL goal	February 17, 2018
Henrik Zetterberg	100th career NHL power-play goal	February 24, 2018
	1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point	March 20, 2018
Joe Hicketts	1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point	March 27, 2018
Niklas Kronwall	400th career NHL point	March 27, 2018
Evgeny Svechnikov	1st career NHL assist	March 29, 2018
	100th career NHL goal	April 7, 2018

Suspensions/fines

Player	Explanation	Length	Salary	Date issued
	Returning to the ice to take part in an altercation after being escorted off by an official	10 games	$40,322.58	November 16, 2017^[5]
	Spearing New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield in New York on Tuesday, December 19, 2017, at 19:17 of the first period.	—	$5,000.00	December 20, 2017^[6]

Transactions

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
July 1, 2017	To Calgary Flames Conditional 7th-round pick in 2018	To Detroit Red Wings Tom McCollum	^[7]
October 21, 2017	To New York Rangers Ryan Sproul	To Detroit Red Wings Matt Puempel	^[8]
October 21, 2017	To Pittsburgh Penguins Riley Sheahan 5th-round pick in 2018	To Detroit Red Wings Scott Wilson 3rd-round pick in 2018	^[9]
December 4, 2017	To Buffalo Sabres Scott Wilson	To Detroit Red Wings 5th-round pick in 2019	^[10]
February 19, 2018	To Philadelphia Flyers Petr Mrazek	To Detroit Red Wings Conditional 4th-round pick in 2018 Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2019	^[11]
February 26, 2018	To Vegas Golden Knights Tomas Tatar	To Detroit Red Wings 1st-round pick in 2018 2nd-round pick in 2019 3rd-round pick in 2021	^[12]

Notes:

• Detroit to retain 50% ($2 million) of salary as part of trade.

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
			3-year, $9.53 million	^[13]
			2-year, $1.5 million	^[14]
			1-year, $650,000	^[15]
			1-year, $700,000	^[16]
			3-year, $2.15 million entry-level contract	^[17]
			1-year, $925,000 entry-level contract	^[18]

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
			2-year, $1.4 million	^[19]
			1-year, $700,000
	Jake Paterson		2-year, $1.4 million	^[20]
			3-year	^[21]
			1-year	^[22]

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
		1-year, $650,000 contract extension	^[23]
		2-year, $1.3 million contract extension	^[24]
		2-year, $1.3 million contract extension
		2-year, $2.5 million contract extension	^[25]
		1-year, $650,000 contract extension	^[26]
		4-year, $21.2 million contract extension	^[27]
		3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract	^[28]
		2-year, $1.3 million contract extension	^[29]
		1-year, $1.3875 million contract extension	^[30]
		2-year, $2.875 million entry-level contract	^[31]
		3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract	^[32]

Draft picks

See also: List of Detroit Red Wings draft picks. Below are the Detroit Red Wings' selections at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 23–24, 2017 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Round		Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	9	Michael Rasmussen	C		Tri-City Americans (WHL)
2	38	Gustav Lindstrom	D		Almtuna IS (Allsvenskan)
3	71^1	Kasper Kotkansalo	D		Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
3	79^2	Lane Zablocki	C		Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
3	83^3	Zach Gallant	C		Peterborough Petes (OHL)
3	88^4	Keith Petruzzelli	G		Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)
4	100	Malte Setkov	D		Malmö Redhawks (J20 SuperElit)
5	131	Cole Fraser	D		Peterborough Petes (OHL)
6	162	John Adams	RW		Fargo Force (USHL)
6	164^5	Reilly Webb	D		Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)
7	193	Brady Gilmour	C		Saginaw Spirit (OHL)

Draft notes

1. The Florida Panthers' third-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on March 1, 2017 that sent Thomas Vanek to Florida in exchange for Dylan McIlrath and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).^[33] The condition – Detroit will receive a third-round pick in 2017 if Florida fails to qualify for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs – was converted on March 30, 2017.^[34]
2. The Toronto Maple Leafs' third-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as compensation for Toronto hiring Mike Babcock as their head coach on May 20, 2015.^[35]
3. The New York Rangers' third-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on February 28, 2017 that sent Brendan Smith to New York in exchange for Ottawa's second-round pick in 2018 and this pick.^[36]
4. The Chicago Blackhawks' third-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on February 24, 2017 that sent Tomas Jurco to Chicago in exchange for this pick.^[37]
5. The Florida Panthers' sixth-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on February 27, 2016 that sent Jakub Kindl to Florida in exchange for this pick.^[38]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2017-2018 NHL Attendance . ESPN.com . November 7, 2021.
2. Book: National Hockey League. The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. 2013. Diamond Sports Data, Inc.. 57. 978-1-894801-26-3.
3. Web site: Red Wings release 2017-18 preseason schedule. Detroit Red Wings. Alex. DiFilippo. June 8, 2017. June 8, 2017.
4. Web site: Red Wings reveal schedule for Inaugural Season at Little Caesars Arena. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. June 22, 2017. June 22, 2017.
5. Web site: Witkowski suspended 10 games for actions in Red Wings game against Flames. National Hockey League. November 16, 2017. November 16, 2017.
6. Web site: Abdelkader fined for spearing in Red Wings game against Islanders. National Hockey League. December 20, 2017. December 20, 2017.
7. Web site: Red Wings acquire goaltender Tom Mccollum from Calgary. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. July 1, 2017. July 1, 2017.
8. Web site: Detroit acquires Matt Puempel from New York Rangers. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. October 21, 2017. October 21, 2017.
9. Web site: Scott Wilson and third-round draft pick acquired from Pittsburgh. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. October 21, 2017. October 21, 2017.
10. Web site: Kujawa. Kyle. Detroit acquires fifth-round pick from Buffalo for Scott Wilson. NHL.com. December 4, 2017. December 4, 2017.
11. Web site: Kujawa. Kyle. Red Wings acquire conditional draft picks from Philadelphia for Mrazek. NHL.com. February 19, 2018. February 19, 2018.
12. Web site: Kujawa. Kyle. Red Wings acquire trio of picks from Vegas for Tomas Tatar. NHL.com. February 26, 2018. February 26, 2018.
13. Web site: Red Wings sign free agent defenseman Trevor Daley. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. July 1, 2017. July 1, 2017.
14. Web site: Detroit adds defenseman Luke Witkowski. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. July 1, 2017. July 1, 2017.
15. Web site: Red Wings agree to terms with forward Turner Elson. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. July 1, 2017. July 1, 2017.
16. Web site: Red Wings sign David Booth to one-year contract. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. October 2, 2017. October 2, 2017.
17. Web site: Detroit signs Goaltender Kaden Fulcher to entry-level deal. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. October 3, 2017. October 3, 2017.
18. Web site: Kujawa. Kyle. Red Wings add free agent goaltender Patrik Rybar. Detroit Red Wings. May 21, 2018. May 21, 2018.
19. Web site: Oilers sign seven . . July 1, 2017 . July 1, 2017.
20. Web site: Admirals Sign Paterson to AHL Deal . . August 10, 2017.
21. Web site: PRVNÍ VELKÁ POSILA: BRANKÁŘ MATĚJ MACHOVSKÝ. hcsparta.cz. May 1, 2018. June 11, 2019. cs.
22. Web site: Griffins Re-Sign Elson and Shine. griffinshockey.com. June 18, 2018. June 11, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20180620024235/http://griffinshockey.com/news-stats/?article_id=4099. June 20, 2018. dead.
23. Web site: Detroit extends Ben Street. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. June 27, 2017. June 27, 2017.
24. Web site: Lashoff and Mcilrath signed to two-year contract extensions. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. June 29, 2017. June 29, 2017.
25. Web site: Red Wings and Ouellet agree to terms on two-year deal. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. July 3, 2017. July 3, 2017.
26. Web site: Red Wings re-sign winger Martin Frk. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. July 18, 2017. July 21, 2017.
27. Web site: Red Wings and Tatar agree to four-year-deal. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. July 21, 2017. July 21, 2017.
28. Web site: Detroit agrees to terms with 2017 first-round pick Michael Rasmussen. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. August 5, 2017. August 5, 2017.
29. Web site: Red Wings agree to terms with defenseman Robbie Russo. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. September 5, 2017. September 5, 2017.
30. Web site: Kujawa. Kyle. Red Wings agree in principle with Andreas Athanasiou. Detroit Red Wings. October 22, 2017. October 21, 2017.
31. Web site: Kujawa. Kyle. Red Wings sign David Pope to entry-level deal. Detroit Red Wings. May 8, 2018. May 7, 2018.
32. Web site: DiFilippo. Alex. Red Wings agree to terms with Gustav Lindstrom on entry-level deal. Detroit Red Wings. May 25, 2018. May 25, 2018.
33. Web site: Red Wings acquire pick and defenseman for Vanek. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. March 1, 2017. March 1, 2017.
34. Web site: Panthers eliminated from playoff contention with loss to Canadiens. March 30, 2017. May 31, 2017.
35. Web site: Mike Babcock hired by Maple Leafs as coach. National Hockey League. May 20, 2015. May 31, 2017.
36. Web site: Defenseman Brendan Smith traded to New York Rangers. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. February 28, 2017. May 31, 2017.
37. Web site: Third-round pick acquired from Blackhawks for Jurco. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. February 24, 2017. May 31, 2017.
38. Web site: Red Wings trade Kindl to Panthers. Detroit Red Wings. Kyle. Kujawa. February 27, 2016. May 31, 2017.