Author: George Malik

The Detroit Red Wings are 54 games into their 82-game regular season schedule, having gone 13–17–4 under coach Derek Lalonde, and 15-4-and-1 under coach Todd McLellan.

The Wings have one game remaining before the Four Nations Face-Off break–on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning–and so they’ll play games 56 to 82 after a nearly two-week-long break due to the NHL’s tournament between teams representing Finland, Sweden, Canada and the United States.

As far as I’m concerned, given that the Wings had a very rough 34 games under coach Lalonde, and then a 20-game surge under coach McLellan, now is a very good time to give the team a mental and physical break before the “stretch run” begins. In my book, the Wings are still playing energetic, enthusiastic hockey…

But it’s also February, and they look like they’re a bit mentally and emotionally “gassed,” so I figure that now’s a good a time as any to recharge the team’s batteries.

In writing their “Super 16,” the NHL.com version of Power Rankings, NHL.com’s writers suggest that 1. the Red Wings belong in the “Super 16” for the first time in months and 2. that it’s a very bad time for the Wings to take a break from a winning streak:

Red Wings coach Todd McLellan confirmed to the Wings’ media corps that defenseman Jeff Petry will miss 6-8 weeks after having surgery for an undisclosed injury, as initially reported by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.

As such, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses the potential impact thereof:

Should the Red Wings lose another defenseman to injury over the next several weeks, William Lagesson would be the next man up. He has NHL experience (102 NHL games) and played impressively well for the Grand Rapids Griffins earlier in the season.

If the Red Wings have to dip into their prospect pool, the most experienced of the top prospects are William Wallinder and Antti Tuormisto, both of whom have made considerable progress since starting their AHL careers.

If the Red Wings should lose Erik Gustafsson to injury while Petry was injured, they might consider acquiring someone to replace Gustafsson as the No. 2 point man.

When healthy, Petry has been a power play point man.

Simon Edvinsson may be a point man at some point, but it doesn’t feel like coaches believe he’s ready yet for that job. The Red Wings like prospect Shai Buium on the Griffins power play, but he doesn’t even have enough AHL experience yet.

One intriguing young offensive defenseman who might be available in the trade market is Buffalo Sabres’ Bowen Byram (4th overall, 2019). The Red Wings should be willing to part with a 2025 first-rounder as part of a package to land him.

Continued; yeah, I’m not going with the Wings adding Byram just for depth’s sake. IF, and it’s a big IF, the Sabres are willing to move him to a division rival, they’re going to want a premium package, in the form of a defenseman in return, an NHL prospect and a 1st round pick.

IF he’s available, AND there’s a fit, AND the Sabres are willing to trade him, AND the teams can come to an amicable trade solution, sure, but that’s a lot of “If’s and but’s.”

Of Red Wings-related note this evening:

1. Sportsnet posted a Tweet of note regarding Patrick Kane’s status as the NHL’s all-time leader in shootout goals:

Patrick Kane stands alone atop the NHL's all-time shootout goals list 🎬 pic.twitter.com/wX4K8mgeTp

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 5, 2025

2. And Yardbarker’s Natalie Vaitas notes the point performances of three important Red Wings players over the course of Todd McLellan’s tenure as the Wings coach, all while discussing whether teams are “contenders or pretenders” for Wild Card spots:

Detroit Red Wings: Contenders

The Red Wings have been the best team in the league since Todd McLellan took over, going 15-4-1 with two separate seven game win streaks. They currently sit in the first wild-card spot and are just one point behind Ottawa for third place in the Atlantic. 

Detroit has also gotten some elite play from their stars during their recent run. Lucas Raymond (25 points in 20 games), Dylan Larkin (24 points in 20 games) and Moritz Seider (15 points in 20 games) have all been excellent. If they keep up their play, they should be in the postseason for the first time since 2016-17.

That’s a fantastic endorsement for the Red Wings’ leadership trio, and yes, that’s what they are now.

The Eastern Conference standings look like this today…

But you should not be surprised if the Wings “fall out of the playoff picture” before the Four Nations break, mostly because most NHL teams have several games during the balance of this week.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, for example, have 3 games, playing on Thursday vs. Ottawa, Saturday in Detroit, and Sunday in Montreal.

With the Boston Bruins also on the Wings’ trail, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses where the Wings stand as they accrue “games in hand” on other teams between Wednesday night and Saturday:

The Red Wings went 7-2-1 in their past 10 games and lost ground to the New York Islanders (8-2) in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They only gained one point on the Ottawa Senators (7-3).

How tight is the race in East? Six teams are within five points of each other fighting for third place in the Atlantic Division and two wildcard spots.

None of those teams had fewer than 10 points over the past 10 games.

Tonight, the Boston Bruins can move into a playoff spot if they earn one point against the New York Rangers. The idle Red Wings cannot fall out of the playoffs tonight.

Continued; Detroit’s going into the break with 54 games played; by Sunday, Tampa will have played 55, and most of the Eastern Conference’s other teams have at least 2 games remaining on their schedule.

So don’t despair if the Islanders or Blue Jackets gain ground on Detroit–the Wings will make up their games after the break.

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

UPDATE: The #RedWings have assigned Dominik Shine to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. pic.twitter.com/JGUt3MXfTj

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 5, 2025

Update: From the Red Wings:

The Detroit News posted its latest “Octopulse” podcast, and therein, Sportsnet’s prospect guru, Jason Bukala, discusses several Red Wings prospects who were drafted during Bukala’s time with the Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers:

Bukala was a scout with the Nashville Predators for five years, an assistant director of scouting for five years with the Florida Panthers and the director of scouting for the Panthers for four years. He’s now the founder of Pro Hockey Group, which focuses on player evaluations.

So:

The Hockey News’s Adam Proteau suggests that the Red Wings and Maple Leafs should add assets through trade acquisitions:

The Red Wings have played well enough since changing coaches in late December to get back in the thick of the playoff race. They’re in the first wild-card spot, but one point separates four teams. They should add one or two assets to push them into the post-season.

The Red Wings could use help at both ends of the ice. They’re currently 19th overall in goals-for per game and goals-against per game. That’s a mediocrity that can’t continue if Detroit wants to tighten its grip on a playoff spot. 

Yzerman has about $4.9 million in cap space, and he’s also got all of his first-round draft picks in the next three seasons. It’s time for him to put aside part of the future and send a first-rounder and/or above-average prospect to acquire a needle-mover and a depth component to solidify the Wings’ playoff push.

A third-line center like the Flyers’ Scott Laughton – who would also be a good fit with Toronto – has the talent to step in and give a bump in depth to the Red Wings. His $3-million salary makes him affordable for Detroit and the Leafs, and he has one more year left on his contract.

Continued; I’m going to remain pretty stubborn here. I don’t believe that the Red Wings should move any assets, present or future, unless the team can acquire a player who will be part of the team’s long-term future.

I could see the Wings adding another center or defenseman of the right-shooting variety, but the rental market is just not useful for the Wings to be dabbling in. The Wings have too many good prospects to waste the replaceable ones or draft picks on somebody who’s going to help for a couple of weeks and then bolt for free agency.

MLive’s Ansar Khan compares Red Wings coach Todd McLellan’s tenure to the first 20 games that other “new coaches” have coached for the team:

Todd McLellan (2024-25): 15-4-1, 31 points

He took over a team that was 13-17-4 and has since strung together two seven-game winning streaks and capped its first 4-0 road trip since 1996.

Derek Lalonde (2022-23): 11-5-4, 26 points

The team was tied for a playoff spot in late February before three consecutive losses, including a pair of decisive defeats in Ottawa, prompted general manager Steve Yzerman to sell at the trade deadline.

Jeff Blashill (2015-16): 10-8-2, 22 points

The Red Wings qualified for the playoffs on the final day of the season when Ottawa defeated Boston. They were eliminated by Tampa Bay in the first round and haven’t been back to the postseason since.

Mike Babcock (2005-06): 15-4-1, 31 points

A 12-1-0 start included a franchise record-tying nine-game winning streak for a team that won the Presidents’ Trophy with 124 points (58-16-8) only to lose to Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs.

The list continues…

FYI:

In speaking to sources , I’m told there’s been plenty of expressions of interest from clubs in @BuffaloSabres F Cozens including ; @CanadiensMTL @NHLFlames @MapleLeafs @DetroitRedWings . #SabreHood #HockeyX pic.twitter.com/EJGtKI36f6

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) February 5, 2025

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article which discusses the Red Wings’ 4-for-4 road trip and 7-game winning streak. Coach Todd McLellan was marginally satisfied with the Wings’ efforts, as he told FanDuel Sports Network Detroit last night:

“Above average,” said [Red Wings coach Todd] McLellan with a chuckle after the game on FSN Detroit. “To go home with eight points in the bank, I’m not sure we thought we would get that when we left, but we chipped away and chipped away. The spirit and the belief system have gone up. They’re playing to the structure that we put in. It’s easy when you’re winning, you can get people to believe in things a lot simpler than if you’re losing.”

Tuesday’s victory marked the second seven-game win streak the Wings have had under McLellan, who took over as the Wings’ coach on Dec. 26. They are 15-4-1 under McLellan, enabling the Wings to charge upward in the standings to the point the Wings now hold a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The difference before and after McLellan is startling. The penalty kill, which was porous before, has been better. The team defense is improved. But another realization in the resurgence is McLellan’s willingness to play the Wings’ young players, giving them larger roles, and watching them thrive.

Players such forwards Marco Kasper, Jonatan Berggren and Elmer Soderblom, and defensemen Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson are all playing regularly, in larger roles, and all are contributing. All made key contributions in Tuesday’s victory.

“It speaks to the organizational depth right now to have those kids come up and find a way to contribute,” McLellan told reporters afterward. “Everything is brand new for us (McLellan and assistant coach Trent Yawney). We just play them and see what we get out of them, and they’ve responded.”

Continued (paywall)