Scouting Tigers GM/Wings GM candidate Jeff Greenberg

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen scouts managerial candidate Jeff Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers, who Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported is in the mix to succeed former GM Steve Yzerman:

The Detroit Tigers have a two-person system with President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris over general manager Jeff Greenberg. Harris is the decision maker in this set-up.

Friedman confirmed what Detroit Hockey Now writers have been hearing that Greenberg is a possible candidate for a role with the Tigers. Friedman said he isn’t reporting that [Greenberg] is the favorite.

The question is whether Greenberg is interested because he could have a greater say with the Red Wings?

Continue reading Scouting Tigers GM/Wings GM candidate Jeff Greenberg

Regarding ‘bounce back’ players

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan names 6 Red Wings players who must “bounce back” from difficult 2025-2026 campaigns this upcoming season. Not all of the players he lists are offensive contributors, like J.T. Compher, Michael Rasmussen and Mason Appleton…

Mason Appleton

The free-agent signing from the previous summer had a poor first season, not giving much of the lift to the Wings’ bottom-six forward group. Appleton, 30, had one goal and two assists in his final 34 games, after a decent first half of the season. If Appleton can play at that first half level for 84 games, the Wings will be the better for it.

Appleton might be in a battle for playing time, after the acquisition of Keegan Kolesar and Carter Mazur’s expected promotion to the NHL. Maybe that’ll elevate Appleton’s performance.

But Kulfan does discuss two youngsters who need to improve in Marco Kasper and Axel Sandin Pellikka, as well as…Dylan Larkin?

Continue reading Regarding ‘bounce back’ players

Allen on the Red Wings’ (interim) power play

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses the state of the Red Wings’ power play without Patrick Kane or Dylan Larkin the lineup:

[D]on’t think for a minute that Moritz Seider, Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond haven’t thought about that power play trigger man Patrick Kane is gone and bumper Dylan Larkin is trying to get out of the door.

Detroit’s lack of scoring (ranked 22nd in 2025-26) has been a major offseason discussion. Imagine how bad it would have been if Detroit did not have a decent (ranked 12th at 22.6%) last season? The Red Wings scored 56 power play goals last season. Only six teams scored more. In 2024-25, the Red Wings’ 64 power play goals were tied for the league lead.

Kane contributed the goal or assist on 45.3% of the power play goals in 2024-25 and 29.6% last season. Meanwhile, Larkin was involved in 42.1% two seasons ago and 42.8% last season. Larkin has scored 57 power play goals over the past four seasons.

Continue reading Allen on the Red Wings’ (interim) power play

Discussing Simon Edvinsson’s high-end potential

Sports Illustrated’s Jason Fink discusses Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson’s unfulfilled potential as a legitimate top-pair defender on Detroit’s blueline:

Last season, Edvinsson played in 72 games while scoring nine goals and totaling 25 points. He tied his career high plus/minus from the year before by finishing plus 12. According to hockeyreference, Edvinsson averaged a little over 22 minutes a game in ice time while delivering 94 hits and blocking 148 shots, both improved totals from 2024-25. He had 89 giveaways, which were two less than the previous season.

Edvinsson has all the tools to be a dominant defenseman but the questions are bountiful in order for him to take his game to the next level. Can he consistently handle the opponents’ top forwards? Can the Red Wings trust him for 22-24 minutes on difficult nights? Can he continue to cut down on the turnovers and keep improving on the positioning mistakes that can plague an aggressive young defenseman?

While the Red Wings drafted Edvinsson for his defensive ability, there is potential offense in his repertoire that remains untapped. They don’t need him to be a 60-point defenseman, but he can certainly contribute more on the power play than the one assist he had in 2025-26. With better puck movement, joining the rush and creating more offense five-on-five, Edvinsson could make a huge difference.

The Red Wings are trying to break their ten-year playoff drought and in order to do that, they need players like Edvinsson to make tremendous strides. If he can reach the potential the Wings have mapped out for him, he could be a part of a two-headed monster along with fellow defenseman Moritz Seider. Edvinsson is one of the players whose internal improvement could be just as important as an outside acquisition.

Continued; at 23 and-a-half years of age, I’m just not worried about Edvinsson filling the skates of a top-pair defender. He’s still got to work on his discipline and poise in the defensive zone, but his skill set is still elite, and we watched moments last season in which he was absolutely dominant.

Edvinsson just needs to harness some better consistency in order to truly tap into his tremendous potential.

Talking about Trey Augustine

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff continues DHN’s examination of the Red Wings’ prospect pool with a discussion of goaltender Trey Augustine, Detroit’s highly-heralded netminding prospect:

Three Reasons Why Augustine Will Play in the NHL

  1. His combination of athleticism and technique is exactly what NHL teams look for in a goalie today. The days of robotic puck blockers are over. Agility is again a vital quality to be an elite-level NHL puckstopper.
  2. Augustine is a tremendous competitor. He battles to stop every shot. That’s a character trait shared by every one of the NHL’s all-time great netminders.
  3. He’s a winner. His resume already contains a list of successes that few NHL goalies can claim.

What May Hold Him Back

By traditional NHL standards, Augustine is undersized to be an NHL netminder. The average height for current NHL goalies is 6-foot-3 and 201 pounds.

Plenty of top college goalies have also peaked at the NCAA level. They struggle when going against the higher caliber of shooters they face in the NHL. Think Jean-Marc Pelletier, Robb Stauber, or Jeff Lerg, like Augustine, a Michigan State netminder.

Continued; EliteProspects lists Augustine at 6’1″ and 194 pounds, so he’s got enough bulk on him, and his reflexes are superb, but his demeanor is what gives him a real advantage.

Augustine is both extremely competitive and, at the same time, quite level-headed, so there’s a real balance to him.

Daniil Tarasov’s ‘KHL rights’ traded from Salavat Yulaev to SKA St. Petersburg

This is a weird one. SKA St. Petersburg acquired the rights to Red Wings goaltender Daniil Tarasov from Salavat Yulaev Ufa:

I spotted this “transfer” on EliteProspects’ transfers page, and it’s puzzling. The KHL’s richest, most powerful team has snagged the KHL rights to a player under an NHL contract.

Why? To poach him from the NHL? Or to simply offer Tarasov a KHL “off-ramp” if he doesn’t play a whole hell of a lot in Detroit this upcoming season?

Tarasov is 27 and has bounced around a bit from Columbus to Florida and now Detroit, and I’ll grant you that making around the same $2 million that he’s earning with Detroit playing for SKA St. Petersburg might be tempting, but if Tarasov wants to play in the NHL, he’s not going to book it for the eastern end of the Baltic Sea after one year.

Regarding the Wings’ urgency to extend Marco Kasper

After September 16th, 2026, NHL teams will no longer be allowed to sign their players to contracts of a maximum 8-year term; the “new CBA” drops the contract max down to 7 years.

Ironically enough, the Hockey News’s Erik Cruikshank suggests that it’s Marco Kasper who the Red Wings need to lock up for an 8-year term–at an affordable rate–before the salary cap skyrockets over the next couple of seasons:

Marco Kasper, Detroit Red Wings

The Dylan Larkin saga could have a ripple effect throughout the Detroit Red Wings’ organization if his trade request comes to fruition.

With a big hole potentially left at the center position in his absence, Marco Kasper suddenly emerges as a candidate to land a long-term extension.

The Austrian center saw a steep decline in offensive production during his sophomore season, scoring only nine goals and finishing with 19 points after potting 19 goals and 37 points in 2024-25.

That drop-off could create some reasonable concerns for the next GM in Detroit and impact their willingness to commit to an eight-year deal. However, the Red Wings might be in a position where they need to make bets on young players they already have in order to become relevant in the Atlantic Division.

There is enough talent to salvage this competitive window that the Red Wings have been building towards, with or without Larkin. If the organization believes Kasper’s latest season will only be a blip in his upward trajectory, an eight-year deal at a reasonable cap hit could pay off in spades.

Continued; I’m a big believer in the 22-year-old Austrian with the dog named Daisy. Kasper’s a stocky 6’1″ and 203 pounds, he loves to hit players on the forecheck, and while he struggled to win puck battles and utilize his strength over more than a hit-by-hit basis last season…

He’s a spunky competitor and a strong professionally-minded player. He’s going to rebound and he’s going to rebound well.

Is signing Kasper as important as signing Edvinsson as a restricted free agent? Not quite, but it would be really nice if the Wings could get both pieces of business done before training camp begins in mid-September.

Advice for Gibson

Sports Illustrated posted two articles discussing the ways in which the Red Wings’ forwards and defensemen could improve their games, and today, Jayd Serdy provides advice to the Red Wings’ presumptive goaltending tandem:

John Gibson: Improve Puck Handling

Gibson has spent more than a decade proving he can make difficult saves, and when he’s healthy, he’s still capable of stealing games. One area that could make an even bigger impact on Detroit’s success is his puck handling.

Making quicker, more decisive plays behind the net can help relieve pressure on the Red Wings’ defensemen and lead to cleaner breakouts. Rather than simply stopping the puck for a defenseman, effective puck movement can prevent prolonged offensive-zone time for opponents and allow Detroit to transition up ice faster. In Todd McLellan’s system, where clean exits are important, a goaltender who can consistently move the puck efficiently becomes another asset in the transition game.

Gibson doesn’t need to become one of the league’s elite puck-playing goaltenders, but improving that part of his game would complement an already strong foundation and make life easier for the defense in front of him.

Continued with advice for Daniil Tarasov;

Even I’ll admit that Gibson isn’t a strong puck-handler. He’ll come out of the net to block pucks rimming around the back boards, but he’s not very good at moving the puck, and he tends to “stay home” in the crease if he is able.

Video: Friedman discusses the Red Wings’ managerial search in YouTube form

Last night, I spotted a video link in which Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman discussed the Red Wings’ managerial search at length with the NHL Tonight crew.

Today, the NHL Network finally posted the clip in YouTube form, and Friedman addresses the Wings right off the bat:

Updated on Saturday at 3:24 PM: Here’s a mini-snippet of Friedman talking about the Wings…

Talking about Axel Sandin Pellikka

Two days ago, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a profile regarding one Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s NHL potential, and today, he discusses Axel Sandin Pellikka:

Three Reasons Why Sandin-Pellikka Will Play in the NHL

  1. He’s a poised puck-handler, unflappable when the puck is on his stick, comfortable with the puck in traffic. Unbothered by pressure.
  2. Knows how to guide his shots to the net. Has a knack of avoiding shot blockers. It’s his timing and instincts. His seven goals, on 68 shots, in 68 games, while averaging of 16 minutes per game, is noteworthy. That’s a shooting percentage of 10.3%. Seider had seven goals in his rookie season and five in his second season. He was playing 23 minutes per game. In his first two seasons, Seider had at least 140 shots in both seasons.
  3. The young Swede has a high hockey IQ. He anticipates well, appreciates how each play is developing.

What May Hold Him Back

His minus-21 plus-minus was an accurate reflection of how he played defensively in his first NHL campaign. He competed but often seemed overmatched. Late in games, Coach Todd McLellan didn’t always trust him, if they were trying to hold a lead. He needs to add some strength. Sandin-Pellikka said the Red Wings want him to bring more intensity.

Continued; I believe that Axel Sandin Pellikka will eventually become an excellent offensive defenseman, but I also feel that the Wings rushed him into action a bit last season.

Listed at 6′ and 185 pounds, he’s not small, but he really projects to be a Brian Rafalski-like defenseman in a best outcome–in other words, someone who’s not going to overwhelm your physically, but also someone whose skills with the puck are going to generate a whole lot of offense while improving his defensive play.