The Malik Report

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses the Red Wings’ salary cap situation heading into the 2026-2027 season, as well as the team’s cap outlook for the 2027 free agent period:

Even if they have to pay restricted free agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson an average annual salary of more than $9 million, the Red Wings could carry cap space of more than $10 million into the season. That figure could be as high as $18.7 million, depending on what they take back in salary in a Dylan Larkin trade.

This could help set up the team’s new director of hockey operations to have a bundle of cap space next summer.

As it stands now, the 2027 unrestricted free agent class could include Cale Makar, Nikita Kucherov and Quinn Hughes, plus Mark Stone, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, Drake Batherson and Vince Dunn.

Obviously, Hughes could re-sign with Minnesota this week, and no one expects Cale Makar or Crosby to leave their current teams. Others will re-sign as well. But Detroit’s new management will be in a position to compete for whoever is left.

The Red Wings also have Alex DeBrincat ($7.75 million), Justin Faulk ($6.5 million), John Gibson ($6.4 million) Andrew Copp ($5.625 million), Mason Appleton ($2.9 million), Daniil Tarasov ($2 million) and Jacob Bryson ($850,000) coming off the books next summer. DeBrincat will be a highly sought after UFA if he doesn’t re-sign

That’s an additional $34 million Steve Yzerman’s replacement can use to shake up the roster.

Continued; this complements SI’s Laura Lambert’s discussion of the 9 restricted and unrestricted free agents on the Wings going into next summer, with Lambert weighing in on the RFAs:

Continue reading On the Red Wings’ cap space, and *next* summer’s restricted and unrestricted free agents

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a profile of Red Wings prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka today, discussing last March’s demotion to the AHL as a learning experience for the promising defenseman:

At 21 years old, it has to remembered Sandin-Pellikka is far from a finished product. There’s plenty to learn, especially being a young defenseman. He’s still learning the fact that good defense can lead to more offensive time.

“Very good defense builds good offense,” Sandin-Pellikka said. “If we’re good at defending, we’re going to have (offensive) zone time. There’s an old coach I had in Skelleftea (Sweden) who said offense wins games, but defense wins championships. That’s a good way to say it.”

Being a smaller defenseman (6-foot, 186 pounds) also can make things difficult, particularly around the net on the defensive end. But during last season, Wings coach Todd McLellan occasionally would single out former defenseman Dan Boyle, a longtime star who McLellan coached in San Jose.

Continue reading Kulfan discusses Axel Sandin Pellikka’s defensive maturation

The Red Wings posted a 12-minute video which follows JP Hurlbert, Victor Plante and Carter Bear from draft day (for Hurlbert and Plante) through Detroit’s 2026 Summer Development Camp:

EliteProspects’ Kareem Elshafey compiled a list of 10 1st-round draft picks who face pressure to perform well and/or “break out” this upcoming season, and it’s no surprise that Red Wings forwards Marco Kasper and Nate Danielson are on Elshafey’s list:

Marco Kasper & Nate Danielson, Cs, Detroit Red Wings

Coming out of the 2023 NHL Draft, Detroit had to have felt good about their future at the centre position with captain Dylan Larkin and a pair of highly drafted pivots in Marco Kasper and Nate Danielson. 

Fast forward three years, and that future has become much murkier. Two seasons ago, Kasper (who graduated prospect status a while ago but remains just 22 years old) looked the part with a rookie year that nearly finished with 20 goals. Last season was a considerable step back, though, and having back-to-back regressive years would be a real gut punch for Detroit. 

For Danielson, the question has never been about his ability to defend or stick as a centre; it’s about the offensive upside. He’s produced at a respectable rate in his AHL time, but the offence isn’t coming in inspiring ways. Lots of the plays he makes are successful when in structure or in straight lines, which only works up to a certain point. Any spontaneous action that requires him to deceive, manipulate, or create space in a non-predictable fashion is not easy for Danielson. A centre who is constantly conscious of the defensive side is still valuable. Still, if that comes with a clear trade-off of the creative aspect of his offence, it will lead to limitations in his game that may prevent him from justifying his top-ten selection. 

To top it all off, the Larkin trade request only elevates the pressure on the two young centres to potentially fill that void. But it’s too early to disregard either of them as foundational pieces, which is why they’re on this list going into the season. 

Continued; as the Red Wings attempt to build depth at center in what will presumably, eventually, be a post-Dylan Larkin world, Danielson’s got to at least step up and play like the player J.T. Compher was advertised to be in a dependable two-way center…

Kasper definitely has to step up regardless of where he plays on the ice. Kasper was very physically engaged during last season, but he struggled with the puck on his stick, and he struggled to win puck battles, and I’m hoping that his sophomore slump was due in no small part to an undisclosed knee injury…

We’ll find out when the puck drops on the upcoming season come October 2nd.

Updated at 12:00 PM: This morning, the Hockey Writers’ Tony Wolak discusses the Red Wings’ need to re-sign restricted free agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson, arguing that this summer’s shorter-term signings of restricted free agents has cost Detroit the ability to ink Edvinsson to an 8-year contract extension:

Chicago’s Bowen Byram topped the market with a six-year, $12.5 million AAV deal. Contracts signed by Pavel Mintyukov (five years, $7.4 million AAV) and Simon Nemec (five years, $7.25 million AAV) were also noteworthy.

For Mintyukov, Nemec, and others, five-year contracts are becoming an increasingly attractive option because they allow them to reach unrestricted free agency while they are still in their prime. Rather than giving up their entire 20s to one contract, players can maximize their earning potential by taking a shorter deal and negotiating another massive contract when the salary cap is considerably higher.

That creates a difficult decision for teams. They can pay a premium for long-term security now—provided the player is open to a max-term deal—or they can save money in the short term and potentially face a much more expensive negotiation later.

For Detroit, an eight-year contract would have bought the Red Wings cost certainty through Edvinsson’s prime years while potentially becoming increasingly valuable as the salary cap rises. But instead, Detroit has allowed the market to move.

And there is another complication: time is running out on the ability to offer Edvinsson an eight-year deal. Under the NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement, the maximum contract length is being reduced – Sept. 15 is effectively the final day for teams to secure an eight-year agreement before the seven-year maximum takes effect.

That makes the next month particularly important for the Red Wings. Unfortunately, though, Detroit doesn’t currently have a general manager.

Wolak continues, suggesting that the Wings would have to pay Edvinsson more than an estimated $8.5 million per season if they want to lock him up for 8 years–presuming that the team has a general manager to re-sign #77 before September 15th…

And, if you recall, I translated an article in which Edvinsson’s agent, Peter Werner, told Expressen’s Gunnar Nordstrom that “We don’t speculate about anything, we’re patiently waiting for the new general manager,” so the Edvinsson camp is in a holding pattern, too.

Update: Brian La Rose from Pro Hockey Rumors has weighed in as well:

Continue reading THW’s Wolak discusses Simon Edvinsson’s contractual situation

Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith argues that the Red Wings might want to trade one of their prominent unrestricted free agents-to-be in Justin Faulk.

Smith suggests that, unlike Alex DeBrincat or John Gibson, the Wings have enough depth on defense to jettison Faulk and substitute a prospect into the lineup:

Acquired at the trade deadline, Faulk would’ve been one of Detroit’s top five goal-scorers last year if his totals came solely from his time in a Red Wings uniform, which would mean another hit to the team’s offense.

Faulk’s time in Detroit would be a blip on the radar after being acquired, which did cost the Red Wings their first round pick in the 2026 draft, but his acquisition was under a far different set of circumstances than the team finds itself in even now. However, with Axel Sandin-Pellikka waiting in the wings, the team could afford to move off his contract for a return more suited to the team’s future roster needs.

Right now the Red Wings roster is at the very least abundant with defenseman, including Jacob Bernard-Docker and William Wallinder. Not enough of them are clear, impact making right shots, but the Red Wings could move Faulk out of the room and move someone else up the lineup if another team is willing to provide a decent package to acquire him.

Continued; if anyone is truly expendable on the roster, to me, it’s Jacob Bernard-Docker, who’s played fairly well on the Wings’ third defensive pair.

Despite Faulk being 34 years of age, I don’t see the Wings trading his skills and leadership ability unless the team’s truly scuttled its 26-27 season and Faulk’s had a good season in Detroit.

If the Wings are struggling at the trade deadline, I could see Faulk being moved. Early or in the middle of the season, it’s much more likely that a prospect could replace JBD in the lineup.

Swisshabs.ch posted a French-language article about Red Wings free agent signing Theo Rochette, a 24-year-old Swiss/Canadian center who posted 43 points (22 goals and 21 assists) in 43 games played for Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League last season.

The article is uncredited, but its author does include one encouraging quote from Rochette, whose 5’11,” 172-pound frame may or may not take some readjusting to the North American game (as Rochette captained the Quebec Remparts for two of his four QMJHL seasons).

Here’s a rough translation thereof:

Continue reading Roughly translated: Swisshabs.ch speaks with Red Wings free agent signing Theo Rochette

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff suggests that disgruntled Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin will attending training camp and play for his current team if Larkin is not traded by mid-September:

He has 8.7 million reasons not to pursue this tack. That’s what the Red Wings will be paying Larkin this season – $8.7 million.

He’s not going to give the team a reason not to pay him that money. And a holdout seeking to force the team’s hand into trading him more quickly would only play into the team’s hands.

If Larkin were to withhold his services, it would allow management not to pay Larkin all that money. The Red Wings could simply suspend Larkin for refusing to honor his contract.

Continue reading Duff expects Dylan Larkin to attend training camp, play for Detroit until/unless the Red Wings trade #71

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff profiles Red Wings prospect Nate Danielson this morning, discussing Danielson’s pluses and minuses ahead of a likely first full NHL season for the 21-year-old center:

Three Reasons Why Danielson Will Play in the NHL

1. He plays a 200-foot-game. The NHL loves players to be responsible all over the ice in today’s game. Danielson was already that type of player in junior.
2. His hockey sense. Danielson thinks the game well. He can be counted on to do the right thing in any situation on the ice.
3. He’s a strong skater. Danielson can get around the ice quickly. That plays a major role in his ability to check and to create in attack.

What May Hold Him Back

The same issue evident in Danielson’s first NHL stint remains a concern with his game. Can he generate enough offense to be a productive NHLer? The answer to this question will determine whether Danielson can be a top-nine forward or a fourth-line checker.

Injuries are also an ongoing worry with Danielson. It was a preseason injury that prevented him from making the Red Wings out of training camp. And he missed most of the second half of the season and all of the AHL Calder Cup playoffs with an undisclosed injury that was believed to be a hip ailment.

Continued; this is quite good.

Red Wings prospects Max and Victor Plante are set to play together at the University of Minnesota-Duluth this season, perhaps even skating on a line with their older brother, Zam. Fox 21’s Neil Vierzba reports that the boys’ father, former NHL’er Derek Plante, discussed his sons’ collective decision to skate for the same college team:

Bulldog fans are anxiously waiting to see Max, Zam, and Victor Plante take to the ice this season as teammates. But they aren’t the only ones having a hard time containing their excitement.

The trio’s dad, Derek is a former Bulldog player and assistant coach. He was one of 100 alums that were in attendance this past weekend at the 26th annual UMD men’s hockey alumni golf tournament.

Plante shared with our own Isaiah Wiita what it will feel like once the three compete together.

“It’s been a blessing for them to have the opportunity to come play at Duluth. It gave me goosebumps when they first put on the jerseys, so I’m assuming that when this year when Victor gets a chance to go out there and play too it will be pretty touching. It’s pretty cool that those guys grew up Bulldogs and they absolutely always dreamed of playing for the Bulldogs. And now they’ll maybe get their chance to all play together, which they’ve never played together before so that in itself will be pretty fun,” said Plante.

A short video accompanies the story, but I can’t embed it.