Author: George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

Tweets of note: Coach McLellan was an unhappy camper after the Red Wings’ final day of training camp

Of note from Red Wings coach Todd McLellan’s press conference after the final day of training camp:

Here’s the video again:

Video: Viktor Arvidsson, Daniil Tarasov and coach Todd McLellan speak to the media after the final day of Red Wings 2026 training camp

New Red Wings forward Viktor Arvidsson and goaltender Daniil Tarasov spoke with the assembled media today, as did Red Wings coach Todd McLellan, marking the end of the Wings’ 2026 training camp:

Update:

The Free Press’s Helene St. James also posted a 6:39 clip of McLellan’s presser.

Copp on top (for now)

Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith discusses Andrew Copp’s status as the team’s interim #1 center thanks to his chemistry with Alex DeBrincat, and Smith weighs whether Copp may end up playing as a 2nd or 3rd-line pivot when Detroit’s fully healthy:

The former [Winnipeg Jets] forward is filling in on the top line between Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat while the Red Wings usual top line center and former captain Dylan Larkin sits out with injury. Meanwhile, Copp finds himself in the last year of his contract after he was part of the Red Wings most productive line down the stretch last season.

However, most of Copp’s work doesn’t end up showing up on the stat sheet under his name.

‘He probably didn’t have a great year as far as goals go, offense, five on five, but he produced with the other two [Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane] in different ways.’ Said head coach Todd McLellan.

Now, with the team’s future at center anything but certain, figuring out where Copp lands in the lineup gets hard to predict when, or if Dylan Larkin does return to play for the Red Wings this season.

Continued at length; Copp’s good enough to play as an interim #1 center, but he’s better-suited to 2nd or 3rd-line duty.

Tweet of note: new Red Wings forward Viktor Arvidsson ‘mic’d up’

The Red Wings posted a 1:29 clip of new forward Viktor Arvidsson being “mic’d up” during Detroit’s training camp at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training center:

Update: Here’s the YouTube “short” version:

Continue reading Tweet of note: new Red Wings forward Viktor Arvidsson ‘mic’d up’

Tweets of note from the fourth and final day of the Red Wings’ 2026 training camp: Detroit shifts it focus to preparing for preseason games

Updated 3x at 12:05 PM: The Detroit Red Wings took to the ice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center this morning to participate in their fourth and final day of training camp.

Back-to-back exhibition games loom, in Columbus against the Blue Jackets tomorrow (7 PM EDT start) and Pittsburgh on Tuesday (7 PM EDT start), and both games will be streamed on DetroitRedWings.com.

Here are the Tweets/X posts of note from Sunday’s on-ice sessions.

This post will be updated repeatedly, so “stay tuned!”

MLive’s Ansar Khan kicked off the party by noting the line combinations for the “first group” that hit the ice at 10 AM:

Continue reading Tweets of note from the fourth and final day of the Red Wings’ 2026 training camp: Detroit shifts it focus to preparing for preseason games

An outside perspective regarding the Dylan Larkin situation

Sportsnet’s Mike Amato offers “Sunday overreactions” this morning, discussing several topics which Amato feels are either overreactions to current news items, or accurate interpretations thereof. Amato suggests that the Red Wings and their fans could prepare for Dylan Larkin beginning the season with the team given his…complicated…trade request:

Dylan Larkin has played his last game for the Red Wings

The relationship between Larkin and the Detroit Red Wings is hanging by a thread. Larkin requested a trade out of Detroit in June and with nothing materializing on that front, the Red Wings stripped him of the captaincy heading into training camp. The veteran centre also hasn’t taken the ice yet with his teammates due to an upper-body injury suffered while training. Larkin has reportedly only given the Wings a few teams to which he’s willing to be dealt, so player and organization appear to be at a stalemate until things get sorted. It’s hard to see a scenario where Larkin ever puts on a Red Wings sweater ever again.

Overreaction? Yes

While it seems unlikely, it’s at least possible. If there’s any chance, it depends on the new general manager and if there’s any way they can mend the relationship with Larkin. It’s no secret that Larkin and Steve Yzerman weren’t on the best of terms, so maybe a new voice can settle things down and get Larkin to a place where he’s willing to play while he waits for a deal to be made.

If Larkin doesn’t want to expand his list of teams, it may take quite a while for a deal to take shape, and that means he’d have to sit at home waiting. That’s not going to help his trade value, and an interested team may be more willing to make a play for Larkin if they see him excelling on the ice. I’m not saying the Wings can smooth things over entirely with their former captain, but I do think there’s a world where he plays games in Detroit until a deal gets consummated.

Continued; I believe that Larkin will play some regular season games for Detroit at the very least as the mechanics of a trade are worked out.

Aiming for better team defense involves better execution

According to Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, the Red Wings have discussed the mechanics involved in improving their defensive game this upcoming season. Andrew Copp and coach Todd McLellan suggest that the team can bear down and check their way to better outcomes:

“Goaltending is going to have to be good,” Copp said. “We obviously got to find a way to produce offense too. But I think if the defense takes care of their defensive side, the offense will take care of itself.

“So check, check hard, and hopefully that gives us a little bit more time in the offensive zone. We can turn pucks over, get a little bit more odd-man rushes, more entries, which is kind of where we excel.

“So I think that’s gonna have to be the focus for sure to start. How little time can we spend in our own zone, and how structured can we be?”

Coach McLellan duly notes that belief and execution are two very different things:

Continue reading Aiming for better team defense involves better execution

Andrew Copp believes that the Red Wings should aim for a playoff spot

According to the Hockey News’s Michael Whitaker, Red Wings forward Andrew Copp still feels that he Wings should make the playoffs this season at a very minimum, regardless of distractions in terms of tumult surrounding the front office and disgruntled forward Dylan Larkin:

“We can’t accept anything less,” Copp said of making the playoffs.  “I don’t think there’s any other way to look at it – what more growth can we do without making the playoffs? We’ve done all that the last three or four years since I’ve been here,” he continued. “So there’s only really one way to go.”

As far as his own contract status goes, he said that there are more pressing matters that have his attention at the moment. 

“I have enough to concentrate on my game this year, that’s kind of where my mind’s at right now,” he said.

Head coach Todd McLellan, who said that the top center spot belongs to Copp for now in Larkin’s absence, praised the former Wolverine’s mindset.

“Copper is a very cerebral player, a very deep thinker about the game,” McLellan said. “(He’ll) be a coach one day, if he wants to be,” McLellan continued. “He’s got that type of mindset. He probably didn’t have a great year as far as goals go, offense, and five-on-five, but he produced with the other two (power-play and shorthanded) in other ways. A lot of helpers, a lot of net-front stuff.”

Continued

Allen on Axel Sandin Pellikka’s road toward joining the Red Wings on a full-time basis

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen offers theories as to what Red Wings prospect defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka will have to show Detroit’s coaching staff to make the Red Wings’ roster this upcoming season:

Today, the numbers don’t add up in his favor. Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson, Justin Faulk and Ben Chiarot own the top four spots. Albert Johansson isn’t going to let himself become displaced. Jacob Benard-Docker has also earned some trust.

Even if Detroit carries eight defensemen, no general manager wants an intriguing 21-year-old defenseman prospect in a No. 7 defenseman role. He wants him playing 20-plus minutes per game in the American Hockey League.

It doesn’t help Sandin-Pellikka’s cause that he is still waivers exempt, meaning he can be sent down without putting him on waivers.

“It’s hard to crack the league,” McLellan said. “It’s even harder to crack this league as a small offensive guy because he’s got to figure some things out.”

The Red Wings want Sandin-Pellikka to figure out how to master his defensive responsibilities because they respect his offensive knack. He totaled seven goals and 21 points last season. That made him the third-highest scoring defenseman on the team. He did that averaging 16 minutes per game, and there were a meaningful number of games when he played three, four or five fewer minutes.

“We’re not overly concerned at all about the offensive part,” McLellan said. “He’s got great vision, good legs going down the wall. He shoots the puck well.”

Continued at length…

Two things: Alex DeBrincat wants to remain a Red Wing, and he hopes to lead the Wings’ offensive machine

Of Alex DeBrincat-related note this morning:

  1. The Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat’s desire to remain in Detroit this morning. St. James notes that DeBrincat understands why negotiations with the Wings have been drawn out over the course of the summer…

DeBrincat, 28, is in line to receive a significant raise on the $7.88 million annual average value he carries right now, given his status as a 40-goal scorer. He’s been eligible for an extension since July 1, but two weeks after that the Wings parted ways with Steve Yzerman as general manager, and it took until Sept. 15 – two days before the start of camp – to name Shawn Horcoff interim.

“I think we kind of, once it all happened, we kind of knew the lowdown,” DeBrincat said. “It wasn’t something I think probably either sides wanted to do without anyone there. But we’ll see what happens here. I think we’ll leave the business side to them and my agent.”

But DeBrincat’s bottom line is fairly simple:

“I love playing here,” he said, “but I think all that is kind of put to the side right now. I’m focused on the season, focused on getting the new systems and all that stuff, meeting the new guys and just playing well.

“I take a lot of pride playing for the Red Wings, putting that jersey on every night. I think all of us in this room take a lot of pride in that and the history that comes with it. There’s so much respect behind that crest. I definitely want to be part of the solution here and get back to the glory days.”

2. Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith also discusses DeBrincat and his role as a leader in terms of generating offense for the team:

Continue reading Two things: Alex DeBrincat wants to remain a Red Wing, and he hopes to lead the Wings’ offensive machine