Video: Anton Johansson, Justin Faulk and coach McLellan speak with the media after the Red Wings’ morning skate

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The Detroit Red Wings open their 2026-2027 campaign against the New York Rangers tonight at LCA (6:30 PM EDT start on TNT/97.1 FM). Detroit held their morning skate at 9:30 AM due to the early start, and it appears that John Gibson will start in goal vs. Dylan Garand and the 1-and-1 Rangers, who defeated Tampa Bay 5-1 last night; Anton Johansson will make his NHL debut.

The Red Wings just posted a video of Anton Johansson, Justin Faulk and coach Todd McLellan speaking with the media:

Tweets of note: PWHL Detroit releases its 2026-2027 schedule

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From PWHL Detroit:

Alex DeBrincat, member of the ‘all-intrigue’ team

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The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe posted an “all-intrigue” team as the 2026-2027 season begins, and McIndoe suggests that the situation surrounding Alex DeBrincat is worth monitoring:

Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings

Dylan Larkin is the easy pick here, and yeah, I can’t wait to see what kind of reaction he gets if and when he actually suits up. But we know that trade is coming soon. What do they do with DeBrincat, coming off a 41-goal season and set for a windfall when he hits the UFA market next summer? If you’re the Wings, do you extend him on a long-term deal that would take him to his mid-30s? Trade him? Let it play out? And maybe the most important question: Are the Wings even capable of making that kind of decision these days? I’m not sure they are, but every DeBrincat goal is only going to ramp up the pressure.

Continued (paywall)

Red Wings-Rangers quickie preview: Detroit’s got to find its sea legs in a hurry against Dylan Garand and New York, who enters tonight’s game on a roll

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Updated at 11:18 AM: The Detroit Red Wings kick off their 2026-2027 season against the New York Rangers tonight (6:30 PM EDT start on TNT/97.1 FM).

The New York Rangers have played in two games already: on Tuesday, they lost 3-0 to the Boston Bruins, and last night, goaltender Igor Shesterkin scored a goal as the Rangers defeated Tampa Bay 5-1. As such, the Rangers won’t hold a morning skate today.

As the Free Press’s Helene St. James noted this morning, the Red Wings may be a little rusty given that the Rangers have their sea legs underneath them:

“I think we’re super excited,” Alex DeBrincat said Thursday. “You’re watching the games on TV the past couple nights, and you see the intensity and it looks so fun out there. So we’re definitely excited to get going and start off strong.”

The Wings may have an edge in rest − or they may look rusty against an opponent that already is up and running. Last year, the Wings looked sharp in camp only to flunk their first test, falling 5-1 at home to the Montreal Canadiens in a chaotic performance.

There’s only one way to find out if a lesson was learned.

“The first game, as I’ve shared with you before, is so unpredictable,” coach Todd McLellan said. “You don’t know how it’s going to go. After that, you seem to settle in. Last year we didn’t perform very well on opening night. It gave us a chance to bark a little bit. We put it back together and we were better after that. We went on a little run right away.

“As far as this year goes, it’s a brand new season. Unpredictable to start with. We’ll play the game. The games have been sloppy, in my opinion, watching again last night. If we can eliminate that, we’ll give ourselves a better chance at winning. Come Saturday morning, we’ll have a blueprint, more to work off of.”

Coach McLellan insisted that the Red Wings’ lack of depth up front has a positive aspect for Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond…

Continue reading Red Wings-Rangers quickie preview: Detroit’s got to find its sea legs in a hurry against Dylan Garand and New York, who enters tonight’s game on a roll →

Red Wings-Rangers morning skate Tweets: Gibson starts, Anton Johansson debuts

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The Detroit Red Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena a little early this morning, ahead of tonight’s home opener vs. the New York Rangers (6:30 PM EDT start on TNT/97.1 FM):

Continue reading Red Wings-Rangers morning skate Tweets: Gibson starts, Anton Johansson debuts →

4 AM Duff: the Red Wings need Michael Brandsegg-Nygard to translate last season’s AHL performance into this season’s NHL results

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The Red Wings hope that the Michael Brandsegg-Nygard who posted a lone assist over the course of his first 14 NHL games last season has become the Michael Brandsegg-Nygard who also fired off 20 goals and 24 assists for 44 points over the course of 60 games played for the Grand Rapids Griffins last season, and then blazed through 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points in 8 playoff games.

MBN seemed to lose his confidence while making his NHL debut early in the 2025-2026 season, but there’s no doubt that he found his goals in Grand Rapids, and, going into the 2026-2027 season, the Red Wings need MBN to find his scoring touch at the NHL level.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted a 4 AM column discussing coach Todd McLellan’s hopes for the 20-year-old power forward…

“He’s proven he could shoot a puck in the net and put himself in position to do that,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “So we need him to get confident fast and feel good about his game. We’re really hoping he can [score], for the goal totals that we lost. Especially without Larks (Dylan Larkin) right now, that’s significant.”

“I did watch him in the [AHL] playoffs, and he did grow,” McLellan said. “His entry into North American hockey, like real intense North American hockey, was at the NHL level. It started well, but we could see that we probably weren’t going to get him what he needed to develop. And then he went down. We brought him back later in the year, and I think that return stint had already shown or proved to us that he was physically more engaged. He was more confident in where he was going on the ice to get the puck.

“He didn’t defer to somebody else for shots. He’s got a great shot. He used it. And then he went back to Grand Rapids for the playoffs, and yes, we did get to see him play a little bit. And I thought he used all of those tools and became a real effective player mentally.”

Brandsegg-Nygard told Duff that he understands his role is different now, and that he’s willing to put the work in that’s necessary for him to remain with the NHL team for the entirety of the 2026-2027 campaign:

“I feel more grown and know the game over here a little more,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “I feel much more confident.

“Just being around the group here and knowing everyone better and feeling welcome to be here. So I’m happy to be here, and I really want to be here the whole season. So I’m going to work hard for that.”

Continued; cross your fingers…

Tweet of note: It’s a (sanitized) Red Wings hype video

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The Detroit Red Wings posted a “hype video” ahead of tonight’s home opener, and I’ve got to give them credit–they managed to find a handful of highlights from last season that didn’t include Dylan Larkin, Simon Edvinsson, or the departed Patrick Kane:

I hope this season works out, I really do, and I hope that Simon Edvinsson’s back in Detroit ASAP.

Two times two: Kulfan sets up the Red Wings’ uncertain season to come; Galli discusses the Larkin situation and speaks with Nate Danielson

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Of Red Wings-related note very early on Friday morning:

  1. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a very brief set of Red Wings season preview articles, including “5 factors that could help the Red Wings surprise” the NHL in 2026-2027. The first and most obvious one is simple–manage the chaos surrounding Dylan Larkin’s trade request and the team’s inability to sign Simon Edvinsson in a timely fashion by playing the best hockey that the players can play, and coaching the best hockey that the coaches can coach:

Coach Todd McLellan is keeping it as simple and direct as he can, and the Wings have responded in kind.

“We have a good practice, we get ready for the game, and if you’re in a Red Wing jersey, then you’re playing,” McLellan said. “That’s the only way we can deal with it. Everybody has to have their hands on the wheel.”

Forward Andrew Copp believes there are enough hockey-centric matters to concentrate on a daily basis, that keep players’ attentions focused.

“I can’t really worry about if Simon’s going to be here Friday or not, and everyone in here just needs to kind of like focus,” Copp said. “There’s enough to focus on with each individual game, your own line, special teams, the systems, being prepared yourself and as a team to play.”

2. Kulfan also posted a set of player biographies, and we’re going to accentuate the positive here:

Continue reading Two times two: Kulfan sets up the Red Wings’ uncertain season to come; Galli discusses the Larkin situation and speaks with Nate Danielson →

Videos: Dan Watson on the Grand Rapids Griffins’ leadership group, Max Bultman and Brad Galli talk Red Wings season preview, and DFO talks Simon Edvinsson

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Of disparate Red Wings-related note tonight:

First, WZZM 13 spoke with Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson about the surprising continuity of the Griffins’ leadership group going into tomorrow’s season opener in Cleveland, and the importance thereof…

The Athletic’s Max Bultman appeared on the Brad Galli Show to issue a Red Wings season preview…

And, after the jump, there’s a video short of David Pagnotta and Jeff Marek discussing Simon Edvinsson’s future as a Red Wing:

Continue reading Videos: Dan Watson on the Grand Rapids Griffins’ leadership group, Max Bultman and Brad Galli talk Red Wings season preview, and DFO talks Simon Edvinsson →

The Red Wings are both excited about and cautious regarding Friday’s home opener vs. the New York Rangers

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According to DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills, the Red Wings’ players and coach are “champing at the bit” to get the regular season started tomorrow when Detroit hosts the New York Rangers (6:30 PM EDT start on TNT/97.1 FM)…

“We’re super excited,” Alex DeBrincat said after Thursday morning’s practice. “Being one of the later games too —you’re watching the games on TV the past couple of nights, and you see the intensity, and it looks so fun out there. I think we’re definitely excited to get going and start off strong.”

Several Red Wings players and head coach Todd McLellan have shared they would rather have started their regular season a little earlier than Friday, but they know they can’t control how the 84-game slate is pieced together.

“We got to show up and be ready for the game,” DeBrincat said. “I think having a couple games on the nights before, we know the intensity is going to be there. It’ll be the Rangers’ third game and our first, so we got to be ready to play. They will have gotten some stuff out of their legs and made mistakes already, and we haven’t. We got to show up on time.”

But coach Todd McLellan is very aware of the fact that home openers can be a little rocky in terms of implementing a game plan, so he’s cautioning the Wings’ players to be ready for the unexpected…

“We’ll play the game,” McLellan said. “The games have been sloppy, in my opinion, watching again last night. So, if we can eliminate that, we’ll give ourselves a better chance of winning, and come Saturday morning, we’ll have a blueprint more to work off of.”

With coach McLellan emphasizing that getting off to a good start is essential for his charges:

Of Detroit’s 14 contests in October, only five are on the road — and seven of their first eight are at home.

“Early urgency,” McLellan said. “Another reason why we adopted that moniker, if you will. A chance to put our game together here at home. I don’t think fatigue should be a factor in these first eight or nine games. We’re not traveling all over the place, one back-to-back, so we should have good practice time. We should feel good about being in our building and being in front of our fans.”

Continued; McLellan’s right. Home openers are weird, and teams have to adapt in a hurry to the emotional ups and downs thereof.

Moreover, the New York Rangers come into tomorrow night’s game having played their home opener tonight, hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning this evening, so the Rangers are going to have their game legs under them going into their 3rd game of the season, and Detroit’s got to prepare for the probability of needing to work the kinks out without committing too many mistakes.

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