Red Wings forwards Jonatan Berggren and J.T. Compher spoke to the media after Thursday’s practice, as did coach Todd McLellan:

MLive’s Ansar Khan compares the statistical highlights of the Red Wings’ first 7-game winning streak under coach Todd McLellan to their current winning streak, and while the numbers are worth reading, I’m going to stick with the quotes Khan offers in his article:

The Red Wings (28-21-5, 61 points) are 15-4-1 since Todd McLellan took over as coach on Dec. 26 and coming off their first 4-0 trip since 1996.

“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, we won every game in a different form,” McLellan told FanDuel Sports Network.

The Red Wings have shown they can win with offense, defense, goaltending or special teams on any given night.

“We’ve been gutting out a lot of wins lately and it’s nice to see we can win in a lot of different ways,” goaltender Cam Talbot told media during the trip. “That obviously gives us a lot of confidence. We can win 2-1 games, 1-0 games, 5-2 games. We’re winning a whole different bunch of ways and that’s what good teams do this time of year.”

The variety of ways they’ve won has been evident during their streaks. They did it mainly with offense and the power play the first time around. They’re doing it mostly with strong goaltending from Talbot and Alex Lyon and solid defense during this latest run.

Continue reading for the statistical comparison…

NHL.com/de’s Stefan Herget asked several German NHL stars what they think about the possibility of playing in the 2026 Olympics in Milan, Italy, and how the German national team might perform in the Olympic ice hockey tournament. Moritz Seider gave a substantial answer:

Moritz Seider, Defender, Detroit Red Wings:

“This is a childhood dream that can come true for all the guys who will be there for the first time. I only know the stories of the other guys, and my girlfriend, who was lucky enough to have been to the Olympics three times. This is what they tell you about this: that is open to everyone and that is why they want to be part of the story. The biggest thing there is for an athlete is to win for his home country at the Olympics, and to be able to compete against the best in the world. You absolutely want to be there, and I will give everything for that. The league and the Players’ Association are on the right track to make this a great event. We still have to wait and see that everything comes together contractually. Then we will hopefully be there and have a great time.”

“Honestly, expectations in Germany have to be reduced somewhat. But the group stage can quickly go in one direction or another. Perhaps we can pester one or another opponent early. This always depends on what ice surface is played, whether the players from North America come up with ‘jet lag,’ and European food. Perhaps a team can take advantage of this. In the knockout phase, it’s a game in which a lot can always happen. You can keep your expectations open, but you can’t expect us to be a title candidate. But why not just look at what works, have a great tournament, and represent the country in the best possible way.”

Daily Faceoff’s Scott Maxwell posted a list of 6 players who he believes might be “dumped” by teams that will “buy” at the NHL’s March 7th trade deadline, and I’d like to know how the Wings could possibly move these two players:

Erik Gustafsson/Justin Holl, Detroit Red Wings

$2 million AAV w/ one year remaining | $3.4 million AAV w/ one year remaining

It doesn’t take an expert to recognize that the Detroit Red Wings have an issue with their defense. This season, they have the 10th-worst 5v5 expected goals against per 60 minutes on the year with 2.62. That hasn’t exactly improved under Todd McLellan either, as that number has increased to 2.79, the 7th-worst in the league, since he took over. But, that isn’t all on the coach, as the Red Wings blueline isn’t built to be a playoff contender’s.

The biggest issue with the Red Wings D-corps is how many bodies they have to work around. Beyond their younger options in Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson, they also have Ben Chiarot, Justin Holl Jeff Petry, Erik Gustafsson and William Lagesson, and that’s after already moving on from Shayne Gostisbehere, Jake Walman and Olli Maatta in the last calendar year. If the Red Wings were to make a much-needed addition to their blueline, at least one body will have to go the other way for roster space alone, never mind the fact that Detroit is working with less than $2 million in cap space right now.

Continued; if the Wings could upgrade their blueline with Gustafsson or Holl moving the other way as a compensatory warm body, they’d jump at it, but I find it hard to believe that two players with another year remaining on their contracts can be moved so easily.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen isn’t buying the persistent rumors that the Red Wings can and/or will swing a deal for Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens:

Detroit doesn’t have the cap space, and we are hearing that the Sabres are looking to make a hockey trade and are not interested in any of the high-salaried veterans Detroit would have to move to fit Cozens into their cap situation.

The Sabres supposedly aren’t looking to gain prospects or draft picks in a deal. If they move Cozens, and they may not, they want a player, or players, back who help them now. The Red Wings are not a good fit in that regard.

Plus, given their 15-4-1 record over the last 20 games, the Red Wings might be hesitant to make a trade that disrupts the chemistry.

Continued; I don’t see a deal happening, either, especially if the Sabres want roster players of the non-significant-salaried variety.

The Buffalo News’s Mike Harrington wasn’t kidding when he suggested that, should the Sabres not get a Raymond or Seider in return, they probably wouldn’t pull the trigger on a Cozens deal.

From the Red Wings:

How 'bout them #RedWings? pic.twitter.com/vDBa7mVz5L

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 6, 2025

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis lists 10 players who might wind up winning the NHL’s Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie, and while Marco Kasper isn’t going to win the award, it’s nice to see him get some national recognition:

8. Marco Kasper, LW (Detroit Red Wings)

After starting the season in the AHL, Kasper registered an assist in his first game up with Detroit on Oct. 19. He then went without a point for over a month and entered December with just five points in 19 games. But then January rolled around and everything changed. Kasper finished just one point behind Hutson for the most points among rookies last month with 12, and had the most goals with seven. All but one of the points came at 5-on-5, too. His ice time improved to 14:35, and now he’s skating on Detroit’s top line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. Kasper looks so comfortable right now, and his two-way game hasn’t wavered even after moving to the wing.

Continued; there was no “everything changed.” Kasper worked his way up the lineup over the course of October, November and December, and now, under coach McLellan, he’s doing a great job of playing as a “digger” and forechecker for Larkin and Raymond.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills spoke with Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson regarding his experiences at the 2025 AHL All-Star Game this past weekend in Coachella Valley, California:

Manning the bench for the Central Division at the 2025 American Hockey League All-Star Classic was one of many cool moments this past weekend for Grand Rapids Griffins head coach Dan Watson, whose wife and three children also took in what he summed up as a very special experience at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif.

“It’s always nice to represent your organization at any stage, any event you can,” Watson told DetroitRedWings.com on Wednesday morning. “It was nice to meet the other coaches that were there and share some talks with them, see how they do things. Met the players, too. It was a great, well-organized event.”

Watson is the first Griffins head coach to achieve the honor since Todd Nelson in 2017 and the fourth bench boss in franchise history to coach in an All-Star Game. The 45-year-old also coached in three ECHL All-Star Classics (2017, 2019 and 2022) with the Toledo Walleye.

“A great experience for myself, obviously I had my family there to share with them,” Watson said. “You never know when you get to do these things. I was fortunate enough to have a couple in the ECHL, but [the AHL] is tough. [The Griffins] did a really good job in the first half to get me there.”

But Watson wasn’t the only one who represented Grand Rapids in Coachella Valley, as goalie Sebastian Cossa and forward Austin Watson also made their first career AHL All-Star appearances.

Continued

From the NHL:

“2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series Preview Show” to Premiere February 6

Half-Hour Special to Provide Fans with Inside Look at March 1 Columbus Blue Jackets-Detroit Red Wings Outdoor Game

NEW YORK (Feb. 6, 2025) – To build on the excitement for the upcoming 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium featuring the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red Wings, NHL Productions will premiere a new half-hour special that will take fans inside the March 1 outdoor game. Produced by NHL Productions, the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series Preview Show will air on FanDuel Sports Network Ohio on Thursday, February 6, at 10 p.m. ET and on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit on February 7, at 11 p.m. ET. NHL Network will deliver the show to fans across the U.S. on Feb. 8, at 5 p.m.

Hosted by Alexa Landestoy, Brian Boyle and Tony Luftman, the special will offer fans exclusive access to the preparations for the Blue Jackets’ first-ever hockey game at the iconic football stadium on The Ohio State University campus, a preview of the musical performances by Ohio’s own Twenty One Pilots and O.A.R. and a look back on the history of NHL outdoor games.

Special guests include Commissioner Gary Bettman and former Blue Jackets player Jody Shelley joining the show to give their perspectives on NHL outdoor games. In addition, the show gives the backstory behind outdoor game traditions, including the coordinated outfits that players wear when arriving to the stadium, the specially-designed jerseys each team will wear for the game, and how each stadium’s transformation for outdoor hockey draws inspiration from the host city.

The show will re-air on each network throughout the month, leading up to the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game on Saturday, March 1. The general public can purchase tickets to the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ticketmaster.com. Ticketmaster is the only official marketplace of the NHL®, providing fans with the peace of mind in knowing the seats they buy on Ticketmaster.com and the Ticketmaster app are the seats they’ll get.

The Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses the rapid increases set for the NHL’s salary cap over the next three seasons–from $88 millions to $95.5 million next season, $104 million in 2026-2027 and $113.5 million in 2027-2028–and how it will impact the Red Wings over the short and long term.

I find his longer-term discussion of Detroit’s cap situation to be more interesting, but you’re probably going to want to read his take on the Wings’ short-term future, which probably includes a significant youth movement on the team’s blueline:

By the 2026 offseason, they could have significant flexibility on the blue line, with Seider the only defenseman currently under contract for that year — at what is expected to be just 8.2 percent of the cap — and Edvinsson and Johansson still under team control. There will also presumably be more blue-line prospects ready for the NHL by then, headlined by Axel Sandin Pellikka and potential third-pair options Shai Buium and William Wallinder.

I suspect Detroit will still want at least one outside veteran in that mix by then, though, which is why there would be some logic in pursuing that type of player either this offseason or next. Among the names currently slated to hit free agency, New Jersey’s Johnathan Kovacevic stands out as a big body with outstanding underlying numbers this season, though his prior track record in Montreal wasn’t as sterling. Los Angeles’ Vladislav Gavrikov could be a more proven option, albeit pricier and a left-hand shot.

The big intrigue this summer will be at forward, though. If Kane stays, Detroit could opt to effectively run it back with this current roster — it’s certainly working well so far under McLellan — and count on continued progress from young players such as Edvinsson, Johansson and Marco Kasper, plus potential call-ups Carter Mazur and Nate Danielson. There’s a path to improvement primarily through internal growth.

But if Detroit and Kane part ways, they’ll need to replace his impact. And if that happens, the good news is the forward position is shaping up to be the strength of this free agent class.

Landing a big fish such as Mikko Rantanen or Mitch Marner would of course make the biggest impact, bringing in an elite producer and power-play weapon. But while those options are long shots, there are notable names even a tier down from those stars, such as Florida’s Sam Bennett, Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers, Vancouver’s Brock Boeser and the Islanders’ Brock Nelson. There are also trade possibilities such as Buffalo’s Dylan Cozens.

Continued (paywall); I’m not expecting Kane to leave, frankly, but I do believe that the Red Wings will attempt to import a top-six forward who will score goals over the next couple of years.