Month: February 2025

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis discusses 10 NHL prospects who are playing well in the KHL, and he includes Red Wings prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov on his list;

Dmitri Buchelnikov, LW, 21 (Detroit Red Wings)

When Buchelnikov is thriving, so is his Vityaz KHL squad. He’s on pace for 55 points this year, which would be one of the most productive U-22 seasons in KHL history. The 5-foot-10 forward has always been a bit underrated due to his smaller frame, but he’s quick, skilled, and does excellent work with the puck. His lack of size will likely be an issue in the NHL, but Buchelnikov has boosted his draft stock in such a big way as a playmaker. Scouts are still a little mixed on him, but I like where Buchelnikov’s game is right now.

Continued

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed an afternoon notebook article in which he discusses the Red Wings’ in-the-playoff-picture status:

The Wings are now 14-4-1 under McLellan since he arrived Dec. 26. They are six games above NHL .500 (27-21-5) and with 59 points, are only one point from third-place Ottawa in the Atlantic Division. Don’t expect the attitude to change in the locker room despite the surge up the standings, [coach Todd] McLellan said.

“They’ll know that,” McLellan said of the Wings’ place in the standings. “I’ve been trying to get them to focus on one day at a time, but they know where they are and they know what they’ve done to climb back in. But by no means are we going to walk into the locker room (Tuesday) and say, Look where we are and what we’ve done’. We’re going to focus on rest, getting better and getting prepared to play against Seattle and not looking further than that.”

…

The contributions of young players such Marco Kasper, Albert Johansson, Simon Edvinsson, Jonatan Berggren and Elmer Soderblom during this win streak, and the for the past month, has been eye-opening. They’ve seamlessly entered the lineup, and the Wings have become the better for it.

All the while, veterans such Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin, Moritz Seider, DeBrincat and goaltenders Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon have thrived.

“The youth has invigorated the older players, and the older players have embraced the youth,” McLellan said. “That doesn’t always happen on teams. They can be divided at times. But as long as the youthful group continues to provide what they have, and it keeps the older ones honest, it’s a real good mix right now.”

Coach McLellan lauded the Wings’ embrace of their goaltenders as well:

“And you need two in the NHL to win, you can’t just ride one,” McLellan said. “The games are too intense and there’s (high) volume shooting, and the travel. You can see what we’re going through right now (on a long road trip). To have both of them playing the way they are is a good thing. But often that’s a reflection of the group, too. The team around them is doing things they need to do, whether it’s sacrificing around the net, or blocking shots or whatever it may be. It’s usually a group effort. I like the way the group is complementing each other.”

Continued (paywall)

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the Red Wings’ hot streak under coach Todd McLellan from a “belief” perspective:

This team already has risen to the challenge many times under McLellan, with winning streaks of seven and six games and road wins against elite teams Winnipeg, Florida and Edmonton.

McLellan said everyone around the team has a sense of belief, from the front office to the coaches to the players.

“When you come in and try to create an environment and try to introduce new concepts for the players, they’re either going to accept them and make it work or poke holes in them and basically say it doesn’t work,” he told media after Sunday’s game. “All of our players have chosen to try and make it work and the longer it goes the more they believe.”

Alex DeBrincat, who scored two goals Sunday including the overtime tally, said players always believed they were better than what their record indicated (13-17-4 before Christmas).

“Needed a bit of a fresh start, kind of a restart,” DeBrincat told reporters. “It feels like a new season and we’re winning games when maybe we haven’t played our best and that’s what good teams do, and we got to keep that up.”

Patrick Kane, who returned to the lineup Sunday after missing five games with an upper-body injury, said: “That’s how you get yourself back in the picture. You string wins together and you win games that maybe you shouldn’t. Obviously, we’ve had great goaltending, some timely goals, a lot of our top players have been really good through this stretch.”

Continued (paywall)

The Hockey Writers’ Tony Wolak posted an article about the fact that the NHL’s salary cap is supposed to rise to $95.5 million in 2025-2026, $104 million in 26-27, and $113.5 million in 27-28.

As it currently stands, the Red Wings have nine forwards, five defensemen, and one goalie signed for the 2025-26 season. If you throw in new deals for Albert Johansson, Jonatan Berggren, and Elmer Soderblom—and add in Sebastian Cossa—Detroit is left with roughly $19.8 million in cap space to address their remaining needs.

That means the Red Wings have flexibility to go big-game hunting this offseason if they so please. Elias Pettersson? Yep, they can definitely afford him. The same goes for Mikko Rantanen and Mitch Marner if they make it to free agency. 

Yes, all teams will get an extra $7.5 million in cap space to work with this summer. The point is that the Red Wings will have plenty of cap space at their disposal if they want to use the 2025 offseason as a springboard to contention.

The one caveat here is that Detroit should be conscious of what Simon Edvinsson’s next contract could look like. He’s the only Red Wings player who will be due for a significant pay raise in the next couple years. As one of the team’s most promising young defensemen, Edvinsson is expected to transition into a top-pairing role, solidifying himself as a cornerstone of Detroit’s blue line. With his current entry-level contract set to expire in 2026, his next deal will likely reflect his growing impact, especially if he continues to develop into the elite two-way defenseman the Red Wings envision.

It’s still going to take winning to make Detroit a destination for free agents again, and that’s going to take time. I’m not anticipating the Red Wings to contend for marquee free agents for a couple of years yet, honestly…

And this is the most important part of Wolak’s article: what happens to the Red Wings’ “internal cap” figure as the salary cap rises dramatically?

One thing I’m curious about, though, is how the organization will manage their internal cap. No player has a higher cap hit than Larkin[‘s $8.75 million contract]. Will that continue to be the unspoken rule moving into the future? Or will the Red Wings be comfortable throwing higher dollar amounts at other players? My guess is the latter, especially as Larkin approaches his 30s.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen lists “five factors” that have been less than vividly apparent over the course of the Red Wings’ six-game winning streak:

Elmer Soderstrom Makes a Statement

The 6-foot-8 forward has a four-game points streak (one goal and three assists) and has shown that he has learned to use his size and reach more effectively.

Coaches seem to like the idea of playing Soderblom with 6-foot-6 Michael Rasmussen. That’s a load for any opponent to handle.

“He looks like he belongs more and more every night,”  coach Todd McLellan said. “The size, the reach, but then the silkiness of his hands, the ability to make some plays. I have a lot of confidence in putting him on the ice right now. I’m not afraid or trying to hide him, or anything like that. He’s one of many that just come in and want to learn. He’s asking questions, he wants to get better and he works hard. ”

Albert Johansson Dependability Helps

Johansson played 22:08 against Vancouver. He played more than Simon Edvinsson and almost as much as Ben Chiarot. The trust in his smart defensive play is growing. He has averaged more than 20 minutes per game for the past five games. He’s plus-five in those games.

Give Trent Yawney, McLellan’s right-hand man, credit for deciding that the history of Edvinsson and Johansson playing together in Grand Rapids made them ideal candidates to play together in Detroit.

Johansson shows that he is crafty, one-on-one defender and an above average transition defenseman. Watch how he moves the puck out of his zone with purpose.

Continued; Johansson’s steadiness is the revelation of the second half of the season for me. He’s still a 6,’ 160-pound fellow, but he knows what he’s doing out there, and he makes himself effective, to the point that in Calgary, the Red Wings’ coaches placed Johansson out with Seider to shut down the Flames’ attempts at a comeback. He’s been fantastic of late.

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The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in overtime last night, and this morning, the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton has posted his customary morning-after-the-game notebook. Stockton discusses the fact that the Red Wings did not play an elegant game given their mental and physical fatigue after playing their 2nd game in less than 24 hours, as well as their 3rd game in 4 nights:

The schedule provides a clear reason for Detroit’s play to have been something short of its best, having played consecutive games in a 24-hour span with travel between.  As Patrick Kane—who returned to the lineup against Vancouver for the first time since Jan. 21—observed, “Obviously it’s a tough back-to-back.  Eight o’clock game for the boys last night and then coming in here for a five o’clock game, we knew it was going to be a little bit of a grind.  Found a way to get it done.”

Kane described his performance as “a little rusty,” while adding that it was “nice to get back into one and get the first one out of the way and hopefully be better next game for the team.”

Meanwhile, coach Todd McLellan—whose post-Christmas arrival could hardly have changed the trajectory of the season more—insisted that it’s taken an entire organization’s buy-in to achieve the present results.

“Not just the players, training staff and the coaching staff and everybody around the team has a sense of belief now,” he told reporters. “When you come in and you try to create an environment and you try to introduce new concepts for the players, they’re either going to accept them or making it work, or they’re gonna poke holes in it and basically say it doesn’t work.  All of our players have chosen to make it work.  The longer it goes, the more they believe.”

Continued

Per the NHLPA:

Hockey Players’ Unions Join the AFL-CIO

Affiliation of NHLPA and PHPA bring AFL-CIO membership up to 63 affiliated unions, represents historic momentum for the labor movement

(Washington, D.C.) Two of professional hockey’s North American players’ associationsthe National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA)announced today they are formally affiliating with the AFL-CIO and joining its Sports Council.

The NHLPA represents approximately 750 professional hockey players across 32 teams in the NHL, while the PHPA represents approximately 1,800 professional hockey players across 61 teams in the American Hockey League and the ECHL. Their membership brings the total number of unions under the nation’s largest labor federation to 63, representing more than 15 million workers.

“Whether our work is on the rink, in the classroom or on the factory floor, every worker deserves a voice on the job and the power that comes with union membership,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO. “We are thrilled to welcome the NHLPA and the PHPA into the federation and our Sports Council, and we look forward to supporting their work to ensure strong union contracts, fair wages, safe working conditions and professional development opportunities for professional hockey players. On the heels of SEIU’s affiliation earlier this month, America’s labor movement is more unified than ever. We will continue to channel that strength and momentum into the fight for workers’ rights.”

“The NHLPA’s membership is proud to join the AFL-CIO and its Sports Council during this important moment in the labor movement,” said Marty Walsh, executive director of the NHLPA. “We look forward to working together with other players’ associations and unions from across North America to ensure that workers in all industries have a collective voice in fighting for fair wages and safe and equitable workplaces.”

“We are so proud to be part of the 15 million-member AFL-CIO and their Sports Council, and our members are excited about taking an active role in working towards better outcomes for working people in every sector of the economy,” said Brian Ramsay, executive director of the PHPA. “As we begin collective bargaining negotiations, our members will now enjoy the full support of the AFL-CIO at the bargaining table. This is what solidarity is all about.”

The AFL-CIO Sports Council was formed in 2022 to build power across unions in the sports industry, amplify the voices of athletes and shine a light on the challenges they face as workers. It also aligns interests in areas of common concern with service, hospitality and other workers who support the professional sports industries. The Sports Council includes unions with members across professional sports: the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), the NWSL Players Association (NWSLPA), the USL Players Association-CWA (USLPA-CWA), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA) and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA).

Quoting the great Joey Tribiani from “Friends”…

There’s going to be some hype over the Red Wings’ 14-4-and-3 run under coach Todd McLellan over the next couple of days, and a lot of it is going to be clickbait, so I won’t post it.

I’m making an exception for Daily Faceoff’s Scott Maxwell and Hunter Crowther’s “power rankings,” however, because this week’s version milks the Wings’ run with a headline, “The Red Wings are hot again under Todd McLellan” and a picture of the coach doing his thing…

But when you come to the actual ranking, the Red Wings are both a) out of the top 16 and b) bagged upon by Crowther, as per usual:

20. Detroit Red Wings

Record: 27-21-5, -9
Last Week: 24th (+4)
Hunter’s Rank: 19th
Scott’s Rank: 21st

Hunter: Yes, I see the irony in chastising the Islanders for even trying to make the playoffs while heaping praise on the Red Wings for getting to this point. But the difference is: New York is a team in the middle who should start rebuilding as soon as possible, and Detroit hasn’t made the playoffs since the Chicago Cubs had a 100-plus year World Series drought. They’re currently holding on to the No. 1 Wildcard spot, and they’re another win or two away from finishing in the top three of the Atlantic Division. Are we witnessing greatness, or the beginning of what will turn out to be another heartbreaking collapse? 

Praise? By suggesting that the Wings haven’t been in the playoffs for a hundred years, and suggesting that the Wings will inevitably collapse?

Okay, moomer.

This is why “power rankings” don’t really matter as far as the Red Wings are concerned this season. They’re more or less someone making a list and finding a reason to add a message about each team to said list, and in the case of Maxwell and Crowther, they’re playing the clickbait game to perfection, or nearly so.

So, well:

The Red Wings may find themselves in the Eastern Conference’s first Wild Card spot this morning, but Red Wings coach Todd McLellan isn’t satisfied with his team’s progress yet.

We all know it, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen took note of McLellan’s comments after last night’s 3-2 OT win over the Vancouver Canucks:

With all of the excitement surrounding the Detroit Red Wings’ improved performance level, it’s noteworthy to hear coach Todd McLellan, the new ringmaster, saying: “All we’ve done is get back to the start line.”

He not trying to douse enthusiasm with cold water, but wants to point out that the work is far from over. The truth: Being in a playoff spot this morning guarantees them nothing.

The Red Wings have 29 games remaining to prove they deserve the position they are in — the No. 1 wildcard position in the Eastern Conference. They are only one point out of third place in the Atlantic Division.

How hard will it be for the Red Wings to hold their postseason berth? Tankathon.com lists Detroit as having the hardest remaining schedule.

Bob Duff’s story details McLellan’s plan to continue to take one step every day in the name of changing this team’s culture to one with an emphasis on consistency of effort.

“I’m not changing how I approach it,” McLellan said. “A game at a time, a practice at a time. Find ways to get better.”

Continued; the Red Wings may not make the playoffs, and that would be okay. As far as I’m concerned, the fact that they’re playoff-relevant speaks to McLellan’s ability to salvage the team’s season and build a better organization.

I still think that there are some personnel changes necessary before the team becomes a regular playoff-making organization, whether we’re talking about promotions from Grand Rapids or free agency/trade additions, but with McLellan behind the bench, the Red Wings are on their way to becoming a great team.