Month: September 2025

Red Wings earn a ‘C’ grade in terms of their chances of winning the Cup this year

Bleacher Report’s Adam Gretz grades every NHL team’s “Stanley Cup chances” as training camps begin today, and he gives the Red Wings a surprisingly positive grade:

Detroit Red Wings: C

So far it’s been another underwhelming offseason for Steve Yzerman and the Yzerplan, continuing a rather underwhelming tenure.

The Red Wings have remained in the NHL’s no-man’s land where they are not quite good enough to make the playoffs, not quite bad enough to be a top lottery team and not quite interesting enough to make people pay attention to them.

There is still a promising collection of young talent here and a nice prospect pool, but they need to start getting some return on it. They also have more than $11 million in salary cap space, which is baffling to look at when you realize how long this team has been outside of the playoffs and how many holes it still has.

The playoffs can be within reach, and should be within reach, but they need some more help before they can get there.

Continued; top-six forward, top-four defenseman wanted. Apply within, before the 2025-2026 trade deadline.

As for the rest of it, I don’t mind the Red Wings running a little leaner in terms of depth this season, because it means that we’ve got a better chance of seeing young players cracking the roster.

Several milestones are on tap for Patrick Kane this season

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin looks forward to NHL players’ probable statistical milestones over the course of the 2025-2026 season, and Patrick Kane makes his list:

Patrick Kane: AMERICAN-BORN POINTS RECORD (1,375)

While Brett Hull technically has the American record at 1,391 points, he was born in Canada. Mike Modano’s mark of 1,374 is generally acknowledged as the “real” record for U.S.-born players. Kane opens the season with the Detroit Red Wings at 1,343, needing 32 to become the top American-born scorer ever. It’s something he takes pride in; he told us at the Player Media Tour last week he’s “really excited” about some of the milestones he could reach this season.

Kane is also 8 goals from 500.

Seider’s long odds to win the Norris Trophy

The New York Post’s Michael Leboff offers betting odds for the likely winner of the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman this upcoming season, and here’s what he has to say about Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider:

Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings (500/1, FanDuel)

It’s been a funky career path for Moritz Seider.

He burst onto the scene with 50 points and a Calder Trophy in 2021-22, but his numbers have plateaued since then, and the Red Wings have struggled, causing the German to become somewhat of a forgotten man. 

That’s good news for us, as Seider has drifted to a ridiculous 500/1 despite being a threat to register 60-plus points while playing more than 25 minutes a night.

If Seider hits those marks and the Wings make the playoffs, he’ll be on plenty of ballots.

Continued; I’m not a sports bettor, but Seider may yet have another gear.

Discussing the Red Wings’ ‘contention window’

The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn and Harman Dayal discuss the respective positions in the “contention cycle” of each and every NHL team, and here’s what they have to say about the Red Wings:

WINDOW OPENING

Present Outlook (Rating: 4.4)

Last year the Red Wings faced important questions regarding whether the core they were building would be strong enough. Since then, we’ve gotten some answers. Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond both took big steps forward, entrenching themselves in Tier 3 and joining Dylan Larkin. Both flashed Tier 2 upside and one or both taking that step will be the key to Detroit jumping over the Present Rating line toward the bona fide playoff teams. The other consideration is Simon Edvinsson, who debuts in 5B. How far he can climb, and whether another Red Wing can debut next season, can also dictate where Detroit lands. For now, based on their stars, it’s still on the outside looking in.

Future Outlook (Rating: 8.7)

The Red Wings have chosen with their drafting and the core they’ve committed to try to win more like the Blues did — as a top-to-to-bottom team of like-minded players — rather than with the star power that drove the Panthers, Avalanche and Lightning. Red Wings fans will remind you that their poor lottery luck may have forced them down that path, too, and they’d have a point. But where they are is still where they are, and that’s with a cast of very good players and prospects but missing a Tier 1/2 guy (or three). Even if a Raymond or a Seider can move into the bottom of Tier 2, that probably won’t be enough either. Edvinsson looks like a stud and should help them go from the playoff fringes into the wild-card as he continues to establish himself as a No. 2 D. Marco Kasper took an important step last year. Carter Bear’s going to be a real player for them in the Zach Hyman mold. Nate Danielson is on his own path to becoming an NHLer. They should have their goalie of the future in one of Trey Augustine or Sebastian Cossa. But they don’t have a truly elite, drag-you-to-a-Cup player and they don’t have one of the very few prospects in the game who can become that. That’s going to make contending with the current powers in the Atlantic tough in the short and medium term, and leaves them behind the Habs in terms of future outlook in the long term as well.

Path to contention

There’s a reason the 2019 Blues were a lightning-in-a-bottle anomaly. Is it possible to win with that kind of team? Sure. Is it harder to pull off than on the back of the league’s true horses? There shouldn’t be any debating that anymore. It’s harder. The Red Wings are going to have to be deeper than everybody else and put on their big-boy pants when it matters most.

Continued (paywall); we can always hope…

Bultman’s reasons why the Wings’ rebuild has ‘dragged’ include the pro scouting elephant in the room

The Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses the reasons why the Red Wings’ rebuild, or the “Yzerplan,” has “dragged out” over the past couple of years, discussing the Jakub Vrana trade, the Wings’ struggles to beat the Senators, the Jake Walman trade, and what I believe is the most important issue:

Pro scouting departures and fallout

The Yzerman front office has been in place for six years, but it underwent a fairly significant makeover right around the midway point. Mark Howe, who had been the team’s director of pro scouting since 2005 (and a scout since 1995) retired in 2021. Then, during the 2021-22 season, the Red Wings lost another huge voice in that area when assistant general manager Pat Verbeek left to become Anaheim Ducks general manager.

That’s two prominent executives to lose from a key department in a span of months.

The very next offseason, in 2022, saw Detroit get a bit more aggressive in trying to climb the standings. After moving on from head coach Jeff Blashill and bringing in Derek Lalonde, the Red Wings also made their first real push in free agency that year, signing veterans David Perron, Andrew Copp, Ben Chiarot, Olli Määttä and Dominik Kubalik and trading for goaltender Ville Husso.

That free-agent class has aged a bit better than it once appeared it would, but the player acquisitions since then have been a mixed bag. Despite two big wins in trading for DeBrincat in 2023 and signing Kane four months later, the pro scouting department has taken a lot of valid criticism for the 2023 and 2024 offseasons in particular.

Detroit spent a combined $12.49 million per year on Justin Holl, Jeff Petry, Vladimir Tarasenko and Klim Kostin (a trade acquisition) in those summers, which left the Red Wings squeezed against the salary cap. That led to some difficult departures in 2024, including a key leader in Perron and a significant puck mover in Shayne Gostisbehere (himself a 2023 signing), as well as Jake Walman via trade.

Yzerman defended his pro scouting group — which never technically hired a director to replace Howe — at the end of last season, saying: “I think very highly of these young men (on the scouting staff). … They’re starting to learn the league more, understand what we’re trying to do, understand the value of the dollar amount. So I think as a pro scouting staff, we’re becoming a better team. We just simply have to walk away from some of these contracts.”

Continued (paywall); the Red Wings’ pro scouting department has to do much, much better in terms of recruiting players as both undrafted players and as unrestricted free agents. The team needs to import a goal-scorer and a top-four defenseman, and they’ve got to sign players that are better fits for the organization–or just not sign anybody at all some summers.

Morning Khan: Red Wings’ youth movement, ‘top six’ among training camp questions

MLive’s Ansar Khan has posted his morning column, and today, he asks five questions of the Red Wings as training camp is set to begin tomorrow morning:

Which rookies are best positioned to earn a job?

It’s entirely possible, if not probable, that no rookie makes the season-opening roster. Gritty winger Carter Mazur, who suffered a season-ending elbow injury in his NHL debut, has the best chance. But, like all waiver-exempt players, he’s not sticking around as the 13th forward, he’ll need to be part of the every-night lineup to earn a job. Other forwards eyeing a spot but likely needing more seasoning with the Grand Rapids Griffins include Amadeus Lombardi and first-round picks Nate Danielson and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. Heralded defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka is almost certain to start in Grand Rapids since there are eight NHL-experienced D-men on the roster and it typically takes a defenseman longer than a forward to be ready for the highest level.

Who is going to fill out the top six on the forward lines?

Pencil in five players for their top six – Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane and Marco Kasper. Who’ll join them? Chances are, Kasper will center the second line with DeBrincat and Kane. Possibilities to play right wing with Larkin and Raymond include young Jonatan Berggren and veteran van Riemsdyk. Berggren has untapped potential, but defensive issues have prevented him from establishing himself, and this season could be his last opportunity in Detroit. Van Riemsdyk would provide a net-front presence for Larkin and Raymond.

Continued (paywall); Khan also asks whether there’s room on the roster for more substantial changes, who might be partnered with Moritz Seider, and how the Wings’ bottom defensive pairing will shake out.

The Red Wings’ biggest ‘burning question’ surrounds its goaltending situation

ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton discuss the biggest “burning question” facing every NHL team this morning, and there’s a trend in terms of the Red Wings’ situation:

Detroit Red Wings
Will John Gibson be a game-changer for the Red Wings?

It’s not like Detroit hasn’t had decent goaltending in recent years. What the Red Wings have lacked is consistency. For all the good runs Ville Husso or Petr Mrazek managed to put together, they inevitably bookended too many subpar stretches that, combined with Detroit’s below-average defensive play, held the Red Wings back from fulfilling their potential.

Well, the midseason addition of new head coach Todd McLellan yielded improvement. And now, enter John Gibson. GM Steve Yzerman traded for the veteran netminder from Anaheim in a bold offseason move that could be the difference between whether Detroit sinks or swims this season.

Gibson may have struggled with the rebuilding Ducks, but the Red Wings are a more established team with enough talent to support him. He still posted a .911 save percentage in 29 appearances last season, showing he has the potential to reclaim his form as a No. 1 goalie. If Gibson can indicate early on he’s a reliable presence in the crease, then confidence should spread in Detroit and give them a boost that’s been missing. Can Gibson provide all that in Year One? We’ll find out.

Continued; I’m not expecting any miracles here, but a steady Gibson and a less-overworked Cam Talbot should equal a solid goaltending pair, with Sebastian Cossa and/or Michal Postava waiting in the wings.

Record-Eagle: Red Wings’ training camp activities in Traverse City will be short, but they’re going to scrimmage each day

This year’s training camp consists of a very short stay in Traverse City for the Red Wings’ organization. In previous seasons, when Detroit’s prospect tournament was a hopping 8-team event, the Wings would set up camp in Traverse City for a full two weeks.

This year, between the two “Prospect Games” taking place in Frisco, Texas and the Red vs. White Game taking place in Grand Rapids, the Wings will only spend three days skating at Centre ICE Arena.

The “Prospect Games” will shift back to Traverse City next year, but for now, the Traverse City Record-Eagle’s James Cook reports that Centre ICE will make the best of what it’s got this fall…

And Cook also reports that the Red Wings will take part in an intra-squad scrimmage each day:

The Red Wings practice and scrimmage from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. each day Thursday-Saturday. Scrimmages returning helps lessen the sting of the Red & White Game moving to Grand Rapids for a year. Former head coach Jeff Blashill did away with scrimmages as part of training camp during his tenure.

“It’s almost like a Prospect Tournament,” training camp director Tom Rodes said. “You have guys battling for a job. They get to showcase themselves more than in drills.”

The Red Wings moved their Development Camp from Traverse City to Detroit in 2018, and general manager Steve Yzerman has indicated the Prospect Showcase — previously known as the Prospect Tournament when as many as eight teams converged on Traverse City for a week — will alternate between Dallas and Traverse City, unless they can find more franchises to participate in more of a tournament setting.

“We’re looking for more teams,” Rodes said. “It seems like since Covid, more teams are looking to stay closer to home.”

Put bluntly, the teams that saw what Detroit had going in Traverse City wanted a piece of the action for themselves, and they got a little cheap, too, in terms of the expense of flying their prospects to Traverse City to stay for a week, so teams have chosen to stay closer to home for the most part. That being said, I believe that 22 or 23 of the NHL’s 32 teams have some sort of prospect vs. prospect tournament these days.

Also, regarding the Red & White Game:

Continue reading Record-Eagle: Red Wings’ training camp activities in Traverse City will be short, but they’re going to scrimmage each day