Month: October 2025

About the Red Wings’ letter men

MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of Red Wings coach Todd McLellan’s comments regarding the coaching staff’s decision to name Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond as the team’s alternate captains:

“When I got here last year, (Dylan) Larkin was the captain, but we had six, seven rotating A’s. I didn’t even know who wore them on any given night,” coach Todd McLellan said. “We’re Original Six. All my years here (previously as an assistant coach from 2005-2008), there was clear definition of who was going to (wear the A), but that didn’t prevent, you know, when Nik Kronwall was a younger player when I was here or whoever else was around that group, Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, they didn’t wear A’s, but they led. And that’s what we’re going with.”

McLellan said the leadership group includes many more players. Veterans such as Patrick Kane, Ben Chiarot, Andrew Copp, Alex DeBrincat and J.T. Compher all have worn the ‘A’ at one time or another or are looked upon as leaders.

“I expect our younger letter-wearers to lean on Patrick Kane and Copp and Compher and Chiarot and who else had them last year,” McLellan said. “They all have good experience. And the ones that were wearing them, I don’t expect them to change one bit. They’ve been great. So, I think we’re in a good spot.”

McLellan also made a surprising comment about the ways in which the coaching staff interacts with the players:

Continue reading About the Red Wings’ letter men

Video: Patrick Kane and coach Todd McLellan speak with the media

The Detroit Red Wings practiced with what appears to be their lineup for Thursday night’s home opener vs. Montreal on Tuesday morning, and this afternoon, coach Todd McLellan revealed that Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond will wear the alternate captains’ “A’s” on a permanent basis this upcoming season.

He also discussed the concept of building chemistry within the roster over the course of the preseason and regular season ahead.

The Red Wings just posted a clip of both Patrick Kane and coach McLellan speaking with the media today:

Also of Red Wings-related note this afternoon: The Free Press’s Helene St. James also posted a clip of coach McLellan’s presser in non-embeddable form;

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted this highlight from McLellan’s presser:

And I can’t embed it, but Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson spoke with WOOD Radio over the course of a 4-minute interview this morning.

One more:

Tweet of note: FloHockey.tv to stream Saturday’s Griffins-Texas Stars game for free

FYI:

Post-practice Tweets: on the schedule, Lego LCA and Seider and Raymond to wear the alternate captains’ ‘A’s’

The Detroit Red Wings broke in their Centennial Jersey gear as the team practiced on Tuesday, in anticipation of Thursday’s home opener vs. Montreal (7 PM on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit) and a difficult opening-month schedule, which includes a home-and-home series with Toronto, games against Florida and Tampa Bay, Edmonton, and…

Hell, here’s the schedule for you to peruse:

Not an easy run for the Wings in October, and it doesn’t get much easier in November thanks to a 5-game West Coast swing:

Anyway, the Wings’ media corps entered the locker room after Thursday’s practice to speak with the players and coach McLellan, and they received a Lego surprise:

Continue reading Post-practice Tweets: on the schedule, Lego LCA and Seider and Raymond to wear the alternate captains’ ‘A’s’

A prediction about John Gibson’s ‘fantasy [hockey] renaissance’

Rotowire’s John Britt makes fantasy hockey predictions for the 2025-2026 season, and he’s bullish on Red Wings goaltender John Gibson’s resurgence:

John Gibson’s fantasy renaissance in Detroit

Gibson has every tool to re-emerge as a top-10 fantasy goalie now that he’s found new life in Detroit. Anaheim’s defensive collapse over the last several seasons skewed his stat line beyond recognition. In 2022-23, the Ducks ranked last in expected goals against per 60 at 5-on-5 and followed it up by coughing up more than 32 shots against per game in 2024-25. Regardless of his performance, that environment was a recipe that decimated Gibson’s win totals and ballooned his GAA. However, a closer look at last season’s numbers reveals some signs of improvement. In 29 games, he registered a solid 2.77 GAA and .912 save percentage. More importantly, his shot-quality numbers turned positive again: he finished with a Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA) above zero for the first time in five years.

Continue reading A prediction about John Gibson’s ‘fantasy [hockey] renaissance’

Press release: Red Wings offer opening night and ‘red carpet walk’ details, highlight centennial season offerings

From the Detroit Red Wings:

DETROIT RED WINGS ANNOUNCE DETAILS FOR OPENING NIGHT, RED CARPET WALK AND WHAT FANS CAN EXPECT THROUGHOUT RED WINGS CENTENNIAL 

  • Fans can celebrate beginning of Red Wings season with Red Carpet Walk ahead of Opening Night, presented by Coca-Cola and Meijer, on Oct. 9 vs. Canadiens
  • New experiences throughout Little Caesars Arena available for 2025-26 season 
  • New food, beverage and retail items announced to celebrate Red Wings Centennial          

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings will usher in a highly anticipated 2025-26 centennial season on Thursday, Oct. 9 when the Red Wings host the Original Six-rival Montreal Canadiens.

Opening Night & Hockeytown Red Carpet Walk

Red Wings Opening Night, presented by Coca-Cola and Meijer, will begin on Oct. 9 with the annual Hockeytown Red Carpet Walk in the Chevrolet Plaza outside Little Caesars Arena, with gates opening at 2:30 p.m. The fan-favorite Hockeytown Red Carpet Walk is a free event, open to fans of all ages with or without game tickets, where attendees can interact with Red Wings players and coaches from 3-4 p.m. Little Caesars Arena fan information is available here.

Escorting players on the Red Carpet will be youth participants from organizations that partner with the Detroit Red Wings Foundation, such as Red Wings for Reading, American Cancer Society, Little Caesars Amateur Hockey, Special Olympics Michigan, United Service Organization, Boys and Girls Clubs, Michigan Humane and Make-A-Wish. Michigan Humane will also have a presence on the Red Carpet, featuring dogs available for adoption as players make their entrances to the arena.

Continue reading Press release: Red Wings offer opening night and ‘red carpet walk’ details, highlight centennial season offerings

Tweets from Tuesday’s practice: lineup taking shape

Updated at 11:49 AM: The Detroit Red Wings are practicing at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center ahead of heading to today’s Detroit Tigers game, and The Athletic’s Max Bultman was first to report the Wings’ initial practice lines:

MLive’s Ansar Khan weighed in as well…

‘Question marks’ on the Wings’ blueline

The Athletic’s Harman Dayal and James Mirtle ranked the NHL’s 32 teams’ defensive corps into “tiers” today, and they suggest that the Red Wings’ blueline is in the “question marks” territory because it’s full of holes–Axel Sandin Pellikka exempted:

Detroit Red Wings

Ben Chiarot – Moritz Seider
Albert Johansson – Simon Edvinsson
Erik Gustafsson – Jacob Bernard-Docker

Extras: Justin Holl, Travis Hamonic

We are big believers in Edvinsson’s potential, something he flashed more and more late in the year. And Seider’s step forward was pivotal, too, for the Yzerplan to finally bear fruit.

But they’re otherwise surrounded by a ton of question marks on a back end that has too many overpaid, mistake-prone types who have been dumped by better teams.

Airlifting in Hamonic as part of the answer raises additional red flags given his well-documented recent struggles.

Continued (paywall); Johansson plays the right point, and it appears that Sandin Pellikka will have a place on the blueline to start instead of Erik Gustafsson. Those changes might be “minor,” but they matter…

And as I’ve said all summer long, and into the fall, the Wings aren’t going to receive any respect, earned or unearned, from NHL pundits going into this season. It’s up to Detroit to prove its detractors wrong.

Kulfan’s takes on the Red Wings’ roster players

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan has kicked off the News’s 2025-2026 NHL season preview with “character sketches” of the Red Wings’ opening-night roster players:

Axel Sandin-Pellikka

▶ Age: 20

▶ Height: 6-0

▶ Weight: 186

▶ 2024-25 stats: (Skelleftea, Sweden) 46 games, 12 goals, 17 assists, 29 points

▶ Analysis: Was expected to spend some time in Grand Rapids but simply showed too much potential and skill not to go directly into the NHL. Sandin-Pellikka is as an exciting offensive defenseman prospect the Wings have had in a long time.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

▶ Age: 19

▶ Height: 6-1

▶ Weight: 204 

▶ 2024-25 stats: (Skelleftea, Sweden) 42 games, five goals, six assists, 11 points 

▶ Analysis: A young player who plays and carries himself as if he’s been a pro for many years, Brandsegg-Nygard made the Wings’ roster after an outstanding exhibition season. He has a powerful shot, but it’s the ability to play a hard-nosed physical game, at age 19, that’s eye-opening.

Continue reading Kulfan’s takes on the Red Wings’ roster players