Author: George Malik

The Hockey News’s Jake Tye posted an article from THN’s yearbook, in which Jared Clinton profiles Red Wings goaltender John Gibson at significant length:

IN AN IDEAL WORLD – and some might suggest in a just one – John Gibson wouldn’t have such a big chip on his shoulder. There’s even an argument that he shouldn’t have one in the first place. After all, by just about any measure, Gibson has had a charmed career.

But at his introductory press conference as a new member of the Detroit Red Wings, Gibson couldn’t help but repeat that this is an opportunity to show that he has plenty left in the tank. Five times, he hit on some variation of that theme. He brought it up when talking about what excites him about heading to Hockeytown. He brought it up when he talked about his fit in the Red Wings’ lineup. And he brought up again when talking about leaving Anaheim.

With that last one, Gibson wasn’t striking an aggrieved tone or tenor. Not necessarily. The truth, however, is that the 32-year-old’s departure from the Ducks, with whom he has spent every moment of his big-league career, has been a long time coming.

For the past few years, Gibson’s name has been grist for the rumor mill, whether in-season or during the dog days of summer. There were moments when it seemed close. There was the moment when a public statement had to be made denying that he had demanded out of Anaheim. But what has long seemed fait accompli is now a reality. After more than 10 years, he’s on the move from the white-sand beaches of Southern California to the blue-collar Motor City. “It’s tough being in one place for so long, and you’ve got to say bye to a lot of close friendships with people within the organization and outside the organization,” Gibson told reporters. “But me and my family are ready for the next chapter. I still feel like I’ve got a lot left to prove.”

See? There Gibson goes, hinting at some unfinished business and sounding more like an upstart itching to make a name for himself than the well-credentialled keeper he is. And that phrase – “a lot to prove” – is going to come up again in these next 1,000-plus words. But maybe that’s because there’s something to it.

Continued

The Score’s John Matisz posted a list of his 10 people under the most pressure going into the 2025-2026 season, and no list of NHL players and executives would be complete these days without the Detroit Red Wings’ general manager:

Steve Yzerman

Armed with the so-called Yzerplan for rebuilding an Original Six franchise, Yzerman is about to embark upon Season 7 as the Red Wings’ GM.

Detroit has yet to make the playoffs, and it’s a coin flip if the skid ends at nine years given the competition for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Yzerman’s job should be hanging in the balance, but then again, he’s a franchise icon who’s ostensibly mastered the art of tempering expectations.

Detroit’s forward group is roughly NHL average. Its blue line is one gigantic question mark beyond cornerstones Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson. Goaltending’s been upgraded through the John Gibson acquisition. Todd McLellan, meanwhile, can flex his coaching muscles in his first full season.

Continued; I’m not going to bag on Yzerman like Steve Dangle did, and I’m going to emphasize the truth here: Steve Yzerman’s seat may be warm this season, but he is under absolutely no danger of losing his job as long as Marian and Christopher Ilitch are in charge of and/or own the team.

Has Yzerman been too cautious in terms of making trades to attempt to build a more competitive roster? For sure, 100% certain in my opinion.

Has he made some strange moves (see: the Jake Walman trade)?

Yes, of course. But has he swung and missed on free agents? That’s hard to say given that we don’t know which players were available to him to begin with.

Has he had to tear down Ken Holland’s team before beginning to build his own roster and slate of prospects? Again, 100% certain there. And that probably set what might be a 10-12 year rebuild back a couple of seasons.

Now do the fans deserve better, especially given that ticket prices have increased, and that non season ticket-holders have to buy a stupid 5-game plan in order to see Sergei Fedorov’s jersey retired? You bet. Chris Ilitch’s Red Wings are not Mike Ilitch’s Red Wings, and the customer service and guest experiences need some rebuilding, too.

But that’s not on the GM. And the Red Wings’ GM has assembled a significant pool of prospects with both the ability to improve the team and the ability to be traded in order to build the team through the trade market.

The Red Wings certainly need another top-six forward and another top-four defenseman as the 2025-2026 season progresses. This year’s roster still needs a lot of things to go right if they are to leapfrog Ottawa and Montreal for a playoff spot.

But there is hope in Detroit, there are hard-working players and prospects, and the management team didn’t get suckered into dropping a first-round pick, a prospect and a roster player for a Rickard Rakell or Bryan Rust this past offseason.

It’s up to the coaches and management to prove that the Todd McLellan effect sticks as of Thursday, and this team is going to have to avoid its month-long swoons, especially in February and March, in order to build a more consistent team that doesn’t bleed points away as the compressed Olympic schedule places unprecedented pressure on the Wings to perform better over far more limited periods of time.

But that’s what hockey is all about, and the pressure is on Yzerman, his management team, the coaches and the players to finally buck the experts’ expectations and finally at least be playoff-relevant all season long. That’s on everybody, and there’s more than enough pressure to go around.

The Athletic’s NHL beat writers named their best players as assessed to have participated in the NHL’s rookie tournaments, including one Red Wings player from the 2-game Prospect Games slate between Detroit and Dallas:

Nate Danielson, C

Danielson is such a smart player. He’s constantly in the right spots defensively, where he has a strong defensive stick, and is an easy-to-notice puck transporter and distributor as well. The question with him often comes down to whether his production will match his visual impact, and this weekend it largely did. Danielson scored a pretty goal and had an assist in two exhibition games against the Stars, getting off to a nice start to his preseason. He also looked a bit thicker, which will serve him well as he looks to win a job on the Red Wings to begin the season. — Max Bultman

Continued (paywall); Danielson’s earned accolades from beat writers all over the place this preseason, and now it’s up to him to prove the experts right.

USA Today’s Mike Brehm assesses the improvements made (or the lack thereof) by the NHL’s 32 teams this morning, issuing letter grades for every team. He affords the Red Wings the benefit of the doubt:

Detroit Red Wings – B

Gibson should upgrade the Red Wings’ goaltending, an offseason priority. They dealt disappointing forward Vladimir Tarasenko and added depth up front with Mason Appleton and James van Riemsdyk. Is it enough to get to the playoffs? Probably not on its own, but a full season of midseason replacement coach Todd McLellan could help.

Continued; the Red Wings still need to add a top-six forward and a top-four defenseman, but those moves may not happen until the upcoming season’s trade deadline.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff profiles Red Wings prospect Shai Buium, suggesting that the 22-year-old defenseman remains a “work in progress” per comments made by Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson:

Buium, 22, shows 68 games of AHL competition on his resume. He’s still adjusting. But the Red Wings also see plenty of progression in his journey.

“Defensively, he was better last year, so we expect just a more complete player,” Watson said of Year 2 projections for Buium. “He was in our lineup virtually and basically every single game, and then we expect that again.”

There are other expectations in mind for Buium.

“Can he take his offensive numbers to another level?” Watson asked. “You know, that’s going to be a question that we’ll have for him and see if he can do that.

“But the biggest thing is play without the puck and understanding the reads on the rush. When to pinch, when not to pinch. And we’re looking forward to working with him and hopefully continuing to develop him into an NHL defenseman.”

Continued

DobberHockey’s Eli Feldman posted a column discussing 5 skaters who are “multi-category” fantasy hockey stars, and Moritz Seider leads his list:

Moritz Seider, D, Detroit Red Wings

Few young defensemen have made as immediate an impact in the NHL as Moritz Seider. Since breaking into the league in 2021-2022, the Wings have leaned on Motown Seider in every situation, and he’s responded with the poise of a seasoned vet. He logs heavy minutes against top competition, matching up with opposing stars while driving play the other way.

Seider’s offensive game is as steady as they come, having recorded between 42 and 50 points in each of his four NHL seasons thus far. What makes him truly indispensable, however, is the edge with which he plays. Mo closes gaps with authority, never shying away from contact. His 212 hits ranked fifth among defensemen last season, and his 181 blocks ranked seventh.

Anchoring the Red Wings’ backend, Seider’s stellar blend of minutes, offense, and grit is pure gold in banger leagues.

Continued; Seider’s had his ups and downs, but he’s always showed up for the team (at least in my opinion). And I like the “Motown Seider” nickname.

FYI:

Debuting next month 🔥

Preorder at https://t.co/ZiDiQSteTx pic.twitter.com/iM9lv6CImV

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 15, 2025

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a subscriber-only article about 22-year-old center Amadeus Lombardi, who’s bigger (5’11” and 178 pounds instead of 5’10” and 160 pounds), stronger and more seasoned as he makes a push for a roster spot on the Red Wings:

This summer, he has worked on his faceoffs and his defensive game. The work on his defensive game involved watching video of top NHL defensive forwards.

“Playoff hockey, watching the right guys,” Lombardi said, explaining what he studied.

Lombardi plans to show his improved strength to the coaches with his play.

“I can handle pressure,” Lombardi said. “I’m not going to be a guy that’s running around dropping guys left and right, but if I can be able to withstand some hits, protect the puck a little better, that’s gonna be a big thing. And then the other thing is just defensively, being more responsible, playing a 200-foot game and getting trust from the coach going into my third year with the same staff, getting comfortable with them, hopefully they trust me more .”

Lombardi believes that he can produce points at the NHL level as well as the AHL level, where he posted 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points in 44 games played for the Grand Rapids Griffins last season…

“I think the (Red Wings) know that the offense is there,” Lombardi said. “Now it’s about building the defensive side of my game, which is something I’ve been really focused on. And I think that when you get your foot in the door.”

That’s all Lombardi wants, a foot in the door. He feels he can do the rest.

“You’re most likely going to start in the bottom six,” Lombardi said. “So it’s about being able to be trusted in that bottom six, being able to be effective in the bottom six and then slowly work your way up. Obviously, I have goals, everyone has goals.”

Continued (paywall); it’s hard to root against “Ammo,” isn’t it? He’s got an incredibly realistic and mature take on where he will start in the NHL, and where he wants to end up.

Red Wings prospect Nate Danielson appears to be the topic of the day for the Red Wings’ media corps. MLive’s Ansar Khan is the latest to have written an article about the young center, who’s bulked up in order to make a stronger push for an NHL roster spot:

“You realize you need that little bit extra weight,” Danielson (6-1, 197) said. “I feel great. Especially down low in the corners and just being stronger on my skates. As the year goes on, you tend to lose a little bit of weight. So, it’s nice to come into camp a little bit heavier.”

Danielson is ready for his third training camp with the Red Wings starting Thursday in Traverse City. He was among the many prospects that got a head start this past weekend with a pair of games against their counterparts from the Dallas Stars.

Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson said Danielson was one of the best players on the ice in both games, playing on the top line and on both specialty teams.

“He did everything we asked him to do, and he was responsible,” Watson said. “He produced offense. He was good defensively, good on draws. I appreciate the work ethic and the leadership he provided this group.”

Danielson described his first year with the Griffins as a good learning season. He produced 12 goals and 27 assists in 71 games and scored one goal in three playoff games.

“Definitely at times it was hard,” Danielson said. “I felt like the start of the year was a challenge, just kind of figuring out what made me successful and what kind of worked for me. There’s just ups and downs throughout the year, times where you’d be playing really well, and it felt like everything was going right and then times where it wasn’t. I’m just kind of learning how to manage those better.”

Continued (paywall); consistency of performance will be key for Danielson if he is to earn a spot in the Wings’ lineup over the course of the next four weeks.

The Hockey News’s Jake Tye offers his takes on the Red Wings’ Prospect Games performances, praising Amadeus Lombardi, Shai Buium and Nate Danielson, and adding a word of caution regarding Axel Sandin Pellikka:

The most notable name for Detroit to come out of the showcase is Lombardi after playing a key role in three of the Red Wings‘ five goals on Sunday, it was hard to miss the 22-year-old forward. After playing in 116 games in the AHL with the Griffins and posting a near point-per-game average last season with 40 points in 44 games, it was expected that Lombardi would be contending for a spot with the Red Wings at training camp. 

His performance in the showcase only reminded management that they have a player who is too good for junior competition and will likely be a top player in the AHL once again. We could see an approach with Lombardi similar to Red Wings winger Elmer Soderblom last season, who played 38 games with the Griffins as well as 26 games up with the Red Wings. 

Buium on the other hand, may have an opportunity to carve out a meaningful role. The Red Wings struggled on backend last season with a bottom 12 defense in the league. They got some help in the crease when trading for former all-star goaltender John Gibson but more adds on the blueline are needed. They took a lottery ticket on former first round pick Jacob Benard-Docker but besides the former Senator, the Red Wings didn’t make any meaningful adds with their unit and could lead to opportunities for AHL defenseman like Buium. 

Last season, the San Diego native posted a 25 points in 67 games with Griffins assistant coach Brian Lashoff telling the Hockey News that he regularly relied on Buium and routinely gave him bigger minutes than most.  If he can show that his game translates to the NHL after spending the offseason training with his brother Zeev, who made a significant leap to the NHL with the Minnesota Wild last season and even earned power play time, Buium might be able to establish himself as a regular in Detroit sooner than expected. 

Continued; I’m not quite as optimistic about Lombardi or Buium becoming regulars on a crowded roster, but one never knows.