Author: George Malik

Today, NHL.com places the Red Wings under the microscope, attempting to discern the team’s situation despite the uncertainties surrounding Dylan Larkin’s trade request and the search for Steve Yzerman’s replacement.

Nicholas J. Cotsonika kicks NHL.com’s series of articles off with a team overview…

The Detroit Red Wings are at a crossroads. They have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for 10 straight seasons, the longest drought in their 100-year history and the longest active drought in the NHL. General manager Steve Yzerman is leaving his role. Captain and No. 1 center Dylan Larkin has requested a trade.

Until Yzerman’s successor is named and Larkin’s situation is resolved, the direction will be unclear.

But the Red Wings addressed a couple of their most pressing needs this offseason by adding forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Keegan Kolesar, and the next GM will inherit an organization with building blocks.

“I think they’re going in a great direction,” Kolesar said. “They have a lot of young studs who I have felt that have been good for a number of years and are tough to play against. I just want to bring whatever I can to (build) more of an identity for the team.”

Cotsonika also looks forward, asking 3 questions about the Red Wings for this upcoming season, and he doesn’t just talk about Larkin’s situation or Yzerman’s successor…

The Detroit Red Wings have signed their share of NHL and AHL veterans to load up the Grand Rapids Griffins this past summer, but the Hockey News’s Jake Tye notes that, one way or another, a wave of rookies–be they rookie pro players or North American rookies with European professional experience–should help power the Griffins going forward:

Earlier Sunday, we detailed how one of Detroit‘s lesser-known prospects, Finnish winger Jesse Kiiskinen, could emerge as a surprise scoring leader for Grand Rapids this season on the strength of his heavy shot. The 20-year-old won’t be alone in getting real opportunity. 

A wave of youth is expected to push into the Griffins lineup, headlined by high-profile names like Trey Augustine and Carter Bear, who figure to dominate the storylines throughout the year. Alongside them, an intriguing group of recent draft picks and rising prospects, including Anton Johansson, Kienan Draper, Noah Dower-Nilsson, Justice Christensen and Dylan James, are also expected to make the roster.

That youth movement will still be anchored by a core of returning Griffins looking to keep pushing for opportunities with the big club in Detroit, including Shai Buium, Ondřej Becher, John Leonard, Carter Mazur and returning team captain Dominik Shine.

Perhaps the most compelling storyline of the season will play out between the pipes. Trey Augustine is ticketed for his first full professional season with Grand Rapids, while Michal Postava, who broke out a year ago, will also see significant starts, setting up what looks like a genuine competition for the crease.

Continued; a few notes:

Kienan Draper and Justice Christensen are signed to AHL deals, and both Carter Mazur and John Leonard are in the mix for jobs in Detroit–as are William Wallinder and Axel Sandin Pellikka…

But the Griffins will look different this year thanks to an influx of younger players, and that’s a healthy thing.

The NHL Network aired a special program to list its top 20 defenseman for the 2025-2026 season, and they ranked Moritz Seider as the 9th-best defenseman in the league:

Mortiz Seider (@DetroitRedWings) is back on the Top 20 Defensemen Right Now list!

📺: #NHLTopPlayers on NHL Network pic.twitter.com/8kIwITCk3H

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) August 9, 2026

Here’s their full Top 20 list:

NHL Network's Top 20 Defensemen Right Now list has a total of:
• 21 total All-Star Game appearances
• 11 All-Rookie team honors
• Seven Norris Trophies
• Seven Olympic Gold Medals
• Four Calder Trophies
• Two Conn Smythe Trophies
• Six Stanley Cups

What do you think of… pic.twitter.com/lojAgF9y4V

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) August 10, 2026

In written form, from NHL.com:

9. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings

Seider set NHL career bests in goals (10), assists (50), points (60), power-play points (28) and average time on ice (25:40) while playing all 82 games for the fifth straight season. His streak of 410 consecutive games played is second among active NHL defensemen (Brent Burns, 1,007) and tied for fifth among all skaters. The 25-year-old was the first Detroit defenseman to have a 60-point season since Nicklas Lidstrom had 62 in 2010-11. He also led Red Wings defensemen with 180 blocked shots and was second with 128 hits, and finished fifth in voting for the Norris Trophy as the League’s top defenseman. The Red Wings were a different team with Seider on the ice– he had a 53.2 shot-attempts percentage at 5-on-5, compared to Detroit’s overall 49.2 percent.

And if you missed it, the NHL Network named Lucas Raymond its 20th-best “wing” in the league a week ago.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff wonders aloud whether 28-year-old forward John Leonard, who dominated at the AHL level and played solidly at the NHL level last season, might help the Red Wings supplement their scoring without Patrick Kane in the lineup this upcoming season:

What we know for sure is that Leonard can score goals. Last season, he led the Grand Rapids Griffins with 33 goals, even though he only played 47 AHL games. He was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team.

Over the past two seasons, including playoffs, Leonard has scored 80 goals. He potted a career-high 36 goals for the AHL Charlotte Checkers in 2024-25.

“I think I just try to put myself in good spots (to score),” Leonard said.

He played 11 games last season with the Red Wings, accounting for two goals and two assists. Leonard displayed a creative flair when given opportunities to skate among Detroit’s top-six forwards.

“He can make an impact on the game with his speed,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “But now his shot and his creativity offensively, they’re coming to the forefront as well.”

Continued; the Red Wings will have to get creative to generate even-strength scoring, and Leonard, Nate Danielson, Sheldon Dries, Theo Rochette and Wilmer Skoog will all be in the mix, as will other presumptive Grand Rapids Griffins-bound players.

The Red Wings drafted Liam Dower Nilsson back in 2021, and then Detroit drafted Liam’s brother, Noah, in 2023.

Liam chose to stay with Bjorkloven, which was playing in the Allsvenskan at the time, when the Red Wings wanted him to come over to the AHL, so the Wings chose not to sign Liam;

Noah signed his entry-level contract this past spring.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff notes that, ironically, Liam has replaced Noah on Frolunda HC of the SHL.

Duff also posted quotes via a “peek behind the paywall” article from Hockeynews.se’s Linnea Andersson this morning, in which both brothers discuss each other’s success:

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen scouts managerial candidate Jeff Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers, who Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported is in the mix to succeed former GM Steve Yzerman:

The Detroit Tigers have a two-person system with President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris over general manager Jeff Greenberg. Harris is the decision maker in this set-up.

Friedman confirmed what Detroit Hockey Now writers have been hearing that Greenberg is a possible candidate for a role with the Tigers. Friedman said he isn’t reporting that [Greenberg] is the favorite.

The question is whether Greenberg is interested because he could have a greater say with the Red Wings?

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan names 6 Red Wings players who must “bounce back” from difficult 2025-2026 campaigns this upcoming season. Not all of the players he lists are offensive contributors, like J.T. Compher, Michael Rasmussen and Mason Appleton…

Mason Appleton

The free-agent signing from the previous summer had a poor first season, not giving much of the lift to the Wings’ bottom-six forward group. Appleton, 30, had one goal and two assists in his final 34 games, after a decent first half of the season. If Appleton can play at that first half level for 84 games, the Wings will be the better for it.

Appleton might be in a battle for playing time, after the acquisition of Keegan Kolesar and Carter Mazur’s expected promotion to the NHL. Maybe that’ll elevate Appleton’s performance.

But Kulfan does discuss two youngsters who need to improve in Marco Kasper and Axel Sandin Pellikka, as well as…Dylan Larkin?

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses the state of the Red Wings’ power play without Patrick Kane or Dylan Larkin the lineup:

[D]on’t think for a minute that Moritz Seider, Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond haven’t thought about that power play trigger man Patrick Kane is gone and bumper Dylan Larkin is trying to get out of the door.

Detroit’s lack of scoring (ranked 22nd in 2025-26) has been a major offseason discussion. Imagine how bad it would have been if Detroit did not have a decent (ranked 12th at 22.6%) last season? The Red Wings scored 56 power play goals last season. Only six teams scored more. In 2024-25, the Red Wings’ 64 power play goals were tied for the league lead.

Kane contributed the goal or assist on 45.3% of the power play goals in 2024-25 and 29.6% last season. Meanwhile, Larkin was involved in 42.1% two seasons ago and 42.8% last season. Larkin has scored 57 power play goals over the past four seasons.

Sports Illustrated’s Jason Fink discusses Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson’s unfulfilled potential as a legitimate top-pair defender on Detroit’s blueline:

Last season, Edvinsson played in 72 games while scoring nine goals and totaling 25 points. He tied his career high plus/minus from the year before by finishing plus 12. According to hockeyreference, Edvinsson averaged a little over 22 minutes a game in ice time while delivering 94 hits and blocking 148 shots, both improved totals from 2024-25. He had 89 giveaways, which were two less than the previous season.

Edvinsson has all the tools to be a dominant defenseman but the questions are bountiful in order for him to take his game to the next level. Can he consistently handle the opponents’ top forwards? Can the Red Wings trust him for 22-24 minutes on difficult nights? Can he continue to cut down on the turnovers and keep improving on the positioning mistakes that can plague an aggressive young defenseman?

While the Red Wings drafted Edvinsson for his defensive ability, there is potential offense in his repertoire that remains untapped. They don’t need him to be a 60-point defenseman, but he can certainly contribute more on the power play than the one assist he had in 2025-26. With better puck movement, joining the rush and creating more offense five-on-five, Edvinsson could make a huge difference.

The Red Wings are trying to break their ten-year playoff drought and in order to do that, they need players like Edvinsson to make tremendous strides. If he can reach the potential the Wings have mapped out for him, he could be a part of a two-headed monster along with fellow defenseman Moritz Seider. Edvinsson is one of the players whose internal improvement could be just as important as an outside acquisition.

Continued; at 23 and-a-half years of age, I’m just not worried about Edvinsson filling the skates of a top-pair defender. He’s still got to work on his discipline and poise in the defensive zone, but his skill set is still elite, and we watched moments last season in which he was absolutely dominant.

Edvinsson just needs to harness some better consistency in order to truly tap into his tremendous potential.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff continues DHN’s examination of the Red Wings’ prospect pool with a discussion of goaltender Trey Augustine, Detroit’s highly-heralded netminding prospect:

Three Reasons Why Augustine Will Play in the NHL

1. His combination of athleticism and technique is exactly what NHL teams look for in a goalie today. The days of robotic puck blockers are over. Agility is again a vital quality to be an elite-level NHL puckstopper.
2. Augustine is a tremendous competitor. He battles to stop every shot. That’s a character trait shared by every one of the NHL’s all-time great netminders.
3. He’s a winner. His resume already contains a list of successes that few NHL goalies can claim.

What May Hold Him Back

By traditional NHL standards, Augustine is undersized to be an NHL netminder. The average height for current NHL goalies is 6-foot-3 and 201 pounds.

Plenty of top college goalies have also peaked at the NCAA level. They struggle when going against the higher caliber of shooters they face in the NHL. Think Jean-Marc Pelletier, Robb Stauber, or Jeff Lerg, like Augustine, a Michigan State netminder.

Continued; EliteProspects lists Augustine at 6’1″ and 194 pounds, so he’s got enough bulk on him, and his reflexes are superb, but his demeanor is what gives him a real advantage.

Augustine is both extremely competitive and, at the same time, quite level-headed, so there’s a real balance to him.