The Athletic’s Max Bultman weighs in on the state of the Red Wings after the first day of free agency, and a Magic 8-Ball can sum up his take: “Outlook not good.”
The Red Wings will, of course, get something for [Dylan] Larkin whenever they trade him, whether it’s picks, prospects or ready-made players. Even if it’s the latter, though, it’s hard to see Detroit getting back a true No. 1 center ready to give Larkin-level impact in 2026.
Without that, even factoring in the needs addressed elsewhere, the Red Wings are likely to take a step back next season. That’s especially true in a division where so much of the competition is taking steps forward.
Yes, the Red Wings still have one heck of a building block in Moritz Seider — their 25-year-old franchise defenseman who just finished top five for the Norris Trophy. Simon Edvinsson, his defense partner, continues to rise, too, forming an enviable top pair on the blue line. Add in wingers Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat, two premium offensive talents, and you have a decent core, not unlike that of the Bruins, who made the playoffs last season.
But keep in mind, Boston already finished ahead of the Red Wings with Larkin. The Bruins have one of the top goaltenders in the sport in Jeremy Swayman. Maybe Ottawa falls off in the wake of Brady Tkachuk’s exit, and who knows how Toronto’s Darren Raddysh and Sergei Bobrovsky experiments go, but start stacking up the Red Wings against the bottom half of the division, and you find yourself straining to see who Detroit is clearly better than. That alone says a lot about where they stand.
Again, this offseason isn’t over, and there is presumably more (perhaps a lot more!) coming. If and when it does, Detroit’s outlook will be updated accordingly.
Right now, though, it looks like the Red Wings’ best path may be to simply steer into the skid, giving lots of prime ice time to young forwards Marco Kasper, Emmitt Finnie, Nate Danielson and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, as well as Carter Mazur, who re-upped on a two-year deal Wednesday. Surrounding them with players like Arvidsson and Kolesar doesn’t make the Red Wings a contender in a post-Larkin world, but it does still round out the lineup with the elements Detroit wanted, and now it can offer some opportunity to the players who will need to step up going forward.
Continued (paywall);
I would be fine with the Wings “leaning into the skid” in giving their young players more prominent roles on the team.
But I also believe that the Wings owe their fans at least a proper swing at earning a good return for Larkin, and that the team has to remain aggressive regarding its ability to make a trade this summer to help their center ice position.
Do things look shaky for the Wings? No doubt. But, as I said in my previous entry, July 1st is too early for me to abandon all hope.
