Sportsnet’s David Morassutti has posted a Red Wings season preview for the 2025-2026 NHL season today. He spotlights players to watch in John Gibson and Mason Appleton, he dishes some praise onto Trey Augustine as the Wings’ top prospect, and Morassutti asks three “Burning Questions” of the team:
Three Burning Questions
1. Will the goaltending be good enough to reach the playoffs?
For all of the progress Detroit has made in recent seasons, the team wasn’t going anywhere with the goaltenders they were trotting out. Last year’s goaltending tandem ranked 21st in the NHL with a 3.16 goals-against average and 20th with a .896 save percentage. That’s not going to be good enough against an Atlantic Division that had four teams (Toronto, Tampa, Florida and Ottawa) finish in the top 10 in goaltending stats. Bringing in a netminder like Gibson is certainly a worthwhile gamble for this team in the short term. At his best, Gibson has been capable of carrying a team but at his worst, he’s looked worn down from years of heavy workloads behind some below average defences. At the same time, the Red Wings will need to be better defensively to help Gibson.2. Does the team have enough secondary scoring that can deliver?
Detroit’s top line is set. Dylan Larkin remains one of the NHL’s most underrated two-way centres, Alex DeBrincat is a proven finisher, and Lucas Raymond is blossoming into a bona fide top-line winger. Patrick Kane, if healthy, still provides bursts of elite vision and playmaking. But the story of Detroit’s season may come down to whether the players behind them can chip in enough to keep the offence rolling. They are rolling the dice on James van Riemsdyk while also relying on young players like Michael Rasmussen, and Jonatan Berggren to take steps forward. If Appleton, J.T. Compher, and Elmer Söderblom can chip in consistently, the Wings will have a more balanced attack that can take some pressure of the top players.
3. Can this blue line take a step forward?
Moritz Seider is already one of the NHL’s top young defencemen, capable of handling heavy minutes against top competition while still driving play. But as good as Seider is, he alone can’t carry an entire blue line. For Detroit to truly take the next step, the supporting cast has to improve drastically. Now the spotlight is shining firmly on Simon Edvinsson and he’s taken strides forward in his defensive play. The 22-year-old has the size, skating, and puck-moving ability to grow into a top-four defenceman after skating over 21 minutes per game and blocking 144 shots. The Atlantic Division boasts some impressive blue lines, but the Red Wings are showing that they might have the right mix of youth and upside within their group. The challenge for Detroit will be consistency. Young defenders take time to develop and and in a division that features the firepower of Toronto, Florida, and Tampa Bay, there’s little margin for error. If Seider and Edvinsson can anchor the top four and the rest of the unit holds steady, Detroit’s defence be an underrated unit. If not, then the team will need Gibson to be better than he has been in the past.
Continued; these are pretty much the questions that you and I have regarding the Red Wings’ success or failure this upcoming season, save whether a full season under coach Todd McLellan will be able to deliver better consistency and no more March-and-April swoons.
