Month: September 2026

Failure’s inevitability is a self-predicted thing

According to the Hockey News’s Michael Whitaker, Red Wings coach Todd McLellan had to answer a question about the team’s annual March collapse on the first day of training camp, and coach McLellan suggested that Detroit’s locker room predicted its own demise:

“As far as the March part of our schedule, I can tell you exactly how I felt,” he said. “I felt that everybody in this building – most importantly in that locker room – was waiting for it to happen. Just waiting for it to happen, and it trickles in. We have to answer the questions you present, and you can feel it, and it becomes a burden, and eventually the mind goes, ‘Aw, here we are, we’re doing this again.’ And that’s exactly how it felt.

Red Wings interim general manager Shawn Horcoff, who spoke the day before, explained that his focus is on the immediate runway ahead for the club.

McLellan echoed Horcoff’s sentiments, saying that while the team will eventually have to deal with March approaching on the calendar this season, its immediate task is to win each day as it comes.

Continue reading Failure’s inevitability is a self-predicted thing

Video ‘short’: Red Wings post a ‘first day of training camp’ clip

These always embed funny, so I’ll post the Red Wings’ summary of the first day of training camp as a Tweet/X post first, then in YouTube form after a “read more” jump:

Continue reading Video ‘short’: Red Wings post a ‘first day of training camp’ clip

Was Dylan Larkin’s press conference ‘enough?’ Probably not.

I don’t often agree with the Hockey News’s Ryan Lambert, but, this evening, Lambert suggests that the Dylan Larkin press conference was far from satisfactory to the people who pay Larkin’s salary, and he’s 100% right here:

Unless there’s some real family-related stuff at play, like there seems to be with Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg, these answers just don’t cut it. Hellebuyck has at least obliquely referred to the fact that he doesn’t think the Winnipeg Jets can be competitive. So if that was the impetus for Larkin’s request as well, then he should say so.

That could be interpreted as saying he thinks his teammates aren’t good enough, collectively, and after a decade of playoff misses, you would think that’s just undeniable. NHL players know when their teams aren’t good and they know why, so if Larkin did say he doesn’t think he can win in Detroit, there’s not a guy in that room who could honestly say they don’t get it.

And if it was an Yzerman thing after all? Well, he isn’t his boss anymore. You don’t want to rock the boat with one of the league’s all-time greats, but if everyone understands that behind the scenes, then what’s the harm in saying that publicly?

Continue reading Was Dylan Larkin’s press conference ‘enough?’ Probably not.

Despite the organizational tumult, coach Todd McLellan’s still busy coaching his Red Wings charges

Despite all the distractions surrounding the Red Wings as a team and an organization, coach Todd McLellan and his staff had to prepare for training camp regardless of who happens to be on the roster happily. McLellan spoke with the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan about said preparation.

First and foremost, McLellan admitted, in his own way, that this past summer was…unique…

“It wasn’t a traditional summer,” McLellan said. “Things happened that maybe weren’t anticipated. It wasn’t a traditional summer, but that’s OK.”

But McLellan, interim GM Shawn Horcoff and the rest of the team’s coaching and management staffs had to be ready to teach today:

“We all have jobs and responsibilities, we knew what they were and we didn’t have to deviate from them,” McLellan said. “Players are ready for training camp, and organized and we’re good to go.”

Continue reading Despite the organizational tumult, coach Todd McLellan’s still busy coaching his Red Wings charges

Destination unknown

The start of training camp is usually an optimistic affair for the vast majority of NHL teams. The Red Wings may be an exception to this rule given the cloudy nature of Dylan Larkin’s future and Shawn Horcoff’s tenure of employment, but the Red Wings’ players and coach attempted to put on a brave face regarding coming into a season defined by a tumultuous off-season.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff took note of the clouds, and issued a difficult forecast for the Wings while mentioning the team’s defiance against, if not obliviousness(?) to their uncertain situation:

“We’ll be ready [for the season opener] October 2nd,” defenseman Ben Chiarot said. “I think all of us are on the same page: management, coaches, and players. We’re all moving forward as a team here. And I think the mentality in the room is good right now.”

Since we last left the Red Wings, following their 10th successive season without a playoff appearance, a lot has happened. None of it was good.

Steve Yzerman was removed as GM. Dylan Larkin requested a trade, and when no move was immediately forthcoming, he was stripped of the captaincy. Earlier this week, Shawn Horcoff was named interim GM because, apparently, the team couldn’t find someone to take the job on a full-time basis.

“No question, things were unsettled in the summer,” Chiarot said.

Coach McLellan offered an honest assessment of where the Red Wings are headed this season…

Continue reading Destination unknown

HSJ (and Khan) in the afternoon: Ben Chiarot, J.T. Compher and coach McLellan weigh in on the Dylan Larkin situation

Updated at 4:27 PM: Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot, forward J.T. Compher and coach Todd McLellan spoke with the media for a grand total of 30 minutes on Thursday, and if you don’t have time to watch the video thereof, provided by the Red Wings, the Free Press’s Helene St. James summarized their remarks regarding the…unusual…situation surrounding Dylan Larkin:

“Everything that’s gone on, we spoke about it as a team,” Chiarot said. “Dylan addressed the team. I think we keep that in here between the guys on the team. We’ve taken care of it, and we’ll keep our feelings to ourselves. We’ve addressed the situations that need to be addressed as a team together. That’s all that matters. We’re a team in here, and we’ll be ready to go on October 2. Everyone in here has a job to do. You come in, you worry about doing your job. The leaders on the team worry about bringing the team together and making sure we’re a unit. We’re all together, and we’re all on the same page, along with the coaches and managers. I think that’s what we have now, and that’s all we need.”

Veteran forward J.T. Compher echoed that sentiment: “I think we’ll ask of Dylan what we ask of every guy − to come here and help us try and win games. Whether that’s physically, attitude-wise, whatever role the coaches ask you to play on this team, that’s what we need out of each guy. This league’s too hard to be thinking about any other thing. When the season starts October 2, every team that comes in here is not going to care what’s going on.”

Chiarot and J.T. Compher both found out about Larkin’s trade request via the internet. Neither took it personally.

Continue reading HSJ (and Khan) in the afternoon: Ben Chiarot, J.T. Compher and coach McLellan weigh in on the Dylan Larkin situation

Cotsonika gets coach Todd McLellan’s takes on both Simon Edvinsson and Dylan Larkin’s respective situations

Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson took part in today’s training camp activities…for the most part. H

e did not scrimmage for his own protection as he remains a restricted free agent, but NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika noted Edvinsson’s presence…and the lack thereof:

The 23-year-old defenseman did not participate in a full-contact scrimmage and declined to speak to the media, saying he wanted to wait until his contract was signed.

“There are some business things that have to be taken care of, and they will get taken care of,” coach Todd McLellan said. “But I give Simon a lot of credit. It would have been easy for him to say, ‘I’m staying at home in Sweden. I don’t want to be around my teammates.’ He recognized the situation we were all in. He showed up, and he was ready to perform. His team and the team of managers that we have right now are working diligently to get something done, and we can’t wait to have this guy back on the ice, because he means a lot to our group.”

Shawn Horcoff, who was named interim general manager Tuesday, said Wednesday that signing Edvinsson is a priority.

“Simon is a fantastic player and a bright spot in our organization,” Horcoff said, “so we’re going to get to work on that contract as soon as we can and hopefully have something done here shortly.”

Continued; Cotsonika also wrote an article about Dylan Larkin’s situation, and you may take this for what you will:

Continue reading Cotsonika gets coach Todd McLellan’s takes on both Simon Edvinsson and Dylan Larkin’s respective situations

Talking about the Red Wings…Totem pole and/or leadership hierarchy

Red Wings coach Todd McLellan was asked to weigh in on Dylan Larkin’s press conference comment that he’s now “on the bottom of the totem pole” in terms of the team’s hierarchy after having relinquished the captaincy due to his trade demands.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith took note of coach McLellan’s response:

‘We’re all on the totem pole, and there can only be one guy on top. Is it Mo? Is it Cat?,’ Said McLellan, ‘Is it Razor? We can be interchangeable pieces on the top and everywhere else on the pole… Other guys have to step up in moments and provide that leadership.’

The Red Wings and Larkin find themselves in an odd transitional period as they await a new general manager, and potentially a new home for Larkin. Where that leaves the rest of the Red Wings roster is still in flux. But one way or another, the team will need to sort its own problems out over the NHL’s newly shortened training camp schedule.

‘I think I said this in the past- We do pick the team, but we don’t really pick the team,’ Said McLellan, ‘The players do. They’re going to sort themselves out, and we need the best version of the Red Wings we can possibly find.’

Continued; everybody’s going to have to row the boat in the same direction, Larkin included for as long as he’s here, or the Wings will go nowhere, fast.

Then there’s this:

Video: Ben Chiarot, J.T. Compher and coach Todd McLellan speak for 29:35

The Red Wings posted a 29:35 super-cut of Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot, forward J.T. Compher and coach Todd McLellan all speaking with the media on Thursday afternoon:

Update: The Free Press’s Helene St. James did post an 8:40 clip of coach McLellan’s press conference, too.