[1] In the 2013–14 season, the Wings went 39–28–15, finishing fourth in the Atlantic Division and qualifying for the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs as a Wildcard.
The team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, losing the best-of-seven series to the Boston Bruins, four games to one.
Detroit will be in a division with the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference as opposed to the Red Wings long standing within the Western Conference.
It is likely that there will be an NHL league expansion in the near future, but Detroit will likely remain in the Eastern Conference permanently after a hard-fought campaign over the years to be moved East.
[4] On June 18, 2013, the Red Wings re-signed fan favorite and all-star Pavel Datsyuk to a three-year extension that will keep him in Detroit through the 2016–17 season and pay him $23 million.
"It pretty much came down to a selfish decision in terms of I have not won a Stanley Cup, a big priority for me," Alfredsson explained in a candid conference call with the media.
Signing Alfredsson seemed to close the door on young bright spot from the prior season, Damien Brunner.
Detroit added on the same day centre Stephen Weiss, a former fourth overall pick in 2001 of the Florida Panthers.
Detroit ended the season with 421 man-games lost, second only to the Pittsburgh Penguins, including six key players who missed at least 25 games.
The Detroit Red Wings' picks at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, held in Newark, New Jersey on June 30, 2013.