Detroit Red Wings have progressed in 5 years under Steve Yzerman. Playoff chase is proof.

Disappointing as it is that the Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs again, tempting as it is to wonder what might have been, a little perspective is in order.

When the Wings opened the visitor's locker room at Centre Bell to reporters after Tuesday's events, players looked and sounded devastated. They had done what they could, rallying from a third-period deficit for the 14th time and winning in a shootout, only to find it was moot because the Washington Capitals won their game, ending the Wings' playoff chase.

That it's over is a letdown — but consider where the team was five years ago when Steve Yzerman was named general manager on April 19, 2019: Fourth from the bottom. The next year, the Wings finished at the bottom of the standings, 23 points below the 30th-place team.

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To be in contention for a playoff spot all the way to Game 82 just four years later is tremendous progress. These past two weeks, when the Wings took 11 of 16 possible points while facing one opponent after another with something of their own to play for — is something that stands to pay dividends next season.

It was a remarkable finish, especially after what transpired over the past seven weeks. On Feb. 27, the Wings were 13 games above .500 and in the first wild card spot, only two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division. The Wings lost their next three games, but two of those were to the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche, both elite opponents. The team looked deep enough, and had promising prospects in the minor, that Yzerman stood pat at the trade deadline.

Then came a stretch so ugly it still baffles. The Wings lost Larkin to injury from March 2-21, and went 2-9 without him in the lineup. Most egregiously, the Wings lost twice in a week to the Arizona Coyotes, one of the worst teams in the NHL.

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The nadir of the season was the first period against the lottery-bound Columbus Blue Jackets on March 19, which was such an aberration coach Derek Lalonde publicly wondered if the team had quit, a damning indictment; but at least that night, the Wings rallied to win in overtime. It was a different story when they played the bottom-dwelling San Jose Sharks back on Dec. 7, when the Wings blew a 4-0 lead to lose in overtime. Those five points left on the table against two inferior opponents look glaring as the Wings finished with 91 points, tying the Washington Capitals, but missing the playoffs because Washington owned the tiebreaker.

That stretch in March will need to be examined in the offseason, but it doesn't eclipse the progress made. It has been a tough rebuild no lottery luck, either being pushed back or staying in place each time. Consider the Buffalo Sabres, who drafted first overall in 2018 and 2021, and now have missed the playoffs for 13 straight years. Consider the Ottawa Senators, who drafted third overall in 2020, and just missed for a seventh straight year.

The highest the Wings have picked since missing the playoffs is fourth, once, in 2020. Going back a little further, the rebuild was set back by the former regime's draft picks, with first-round picks in 2015 (Evgeny Svechnikov), 2016 (Dennis Cholowski) and 2018 (Filip Zadina) all failing to develop. Consider what an impact Yzerman's first two first-round picks – Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond – have made in comparison. Consider how promising 2021 first-round pick Simon Edvinsson looks. It's tough to feed a rebuild without development from within, especially of those players counted on the most, as first-round picks are.

The Wings head into another long offseason, and Yzerman's workload remains heavy. But for all the sting of missing the playoffs again, seeing the Wings come that close is also a balm.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her @helenestjames.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from  Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Playoff chase shows Detroit Red Wings have progressed under Yzerman