R.org’s Marco D’Amico spoke with Red Wings prospect and 19-year-old center Carter Bear recently. Bear tells D’Amico that he spent his summer in Detroit to prepare for his first professional season:

“First pro season incoming, a lot to learn about pro,” Bear said in an interview with R.org. “A lot of new faces and a new team coming as well. It’s pretty exciting to already know a bunch of the guys.”

Bear spent the summer training around the Red Wings organization, working closely with the team’s staff and getting to know several of the prospects who could be alongside him for years to come.

“Training here in Detroit is a privilege, to be around pro staff,” Bear said. “Trainers and stuff give me a sheet of what they want me to do, and I ask a lot of questions to make sure I’m doing it right. It’s a huge summer for me.”

For Bear, spending the summer in Detroit was about more than simply getting stronger or preparing physically for camp. It allowed him to become more familiar with the people, expectations and history surrounding an Original Six organization that has made no secret of wanting its young players to understand what wearing the winged wheel represents.

“It’s about having good chats and asking good questions,” Bear said. “Dan Cleary and Niklas Kronwall, they had a whole meeting with the players. They talked about what it means to be a Red Wing and talked about their stories and what they went through. It’s pretty cool how they talk about their experience and help get the best out of us.”

My understanding is that Bear spent the summer in a house with other Red Wings prospects who trained and practiced together…

Sports Illustrated’s Jason Fink constructed a Red Wings “Mount Rushmore” consisting of Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom and Terry Sawchuk. The most pertinent paragraphs in his article aren’t the profiles of the above-mentioned players, however, but instead, these remarks:

The Red Wings could build multiple Mount Rushmores from the players who didn’t make this one and still have four Hall of Fame-caliber faces staring down from the mountain.

Players such as Alex Delvecchio, Ted Lindsay, Red Kelly, Sergei Fedorov, Brendan Shanahan, Pavel Datsyuk, Norm Ullman, Chris Osgood and Henrik Zetterberg could fill the other ones.

Howe, Yzerman, Lidstrom, and Sawchuk have something extra. Howe established the standard while Sawchuk backstopped a dynasty. Yzerman restored the franchise to glory while Lidstrom kept it there. And nearly eight decades after Howe first pulled on the Winged Wheel, those four careers provide a complete history of what made the Detroit Red Wings the Detroit Red Wings.

Continued; I once penned a guest column for Greg Wyshynski’s Yahoo Sports blog, suggesting that Howe, Yzerman, Lidstrom and Ted Lindsay were the Wings’ all-time best players, but there are so many names that could be raised to the rafters of franchise glory that it’s silly.

Which players have built your “Red Wings Mt. Rushmore?”

In referencing Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis’ inclusion of 5 Red Wings prospects on Ellis’ “top 75 NHL-affiliated skater prospects” list, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen insists that the Red Wings should not be viewed as a “tear-down” franchise by the next GM:

The Red Wings have picked at No. 13 or later for the last three draft years, and in four of the last five years.

The ranked Detroit prospects this year: 43. Right Wing Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (15th, 2024, should make the Red Wings roster); 44. Left Wing: Carter Bear (13th, 2025, Grand Rapids Griffins); 61. JP Hurlbert (23rd, 2026, University of Michigan); 63. Center Nate Danielson (ninth, 20243, Griffins); 64. Center-Wing Max Plante (47th, 2024, Minnesota-Duluth).

Some of this comes from behind the Detroit Hockey Now paywall, so I’m not going to include a huge chunk of the article, but Allen suggests this:

The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman spoke with Jeff Marek on The Sheet recently, and she offered a counter-argument to suggestions that the Red Wings should remove the captain’s “C” from Dylan Larkin’s jersey.

The YouTube short which I’ve embedded is massive in size, so I’m posting it after a “break”:

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis offers an article ranking his top 75 NHL-affiliated skater prospects this morning, and here’s where the Red Wings’ top prospects landed (with a caveat here in that Axel Sandin Pellikka is considered a graduate due to his NHL experience last season):

43. Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, RW, 20 (Detroit Red Wings)

2025-26 Rank: 61st (+12)

The strong, two-way forward is easily one of the best players to come out of Norway in recent memory, so it was nice to see him have a strong performance at the World Championship. Brandsegg-Nygård helped Norway win bronze, building on an excellent first year with the Griffins in the AHL. He proved he could dominate shifts with his two-way game and his excellent release, and his off-puck game is already so established for a player his age. The 6-foot-1, 207-pound winger is as competitive as they come, and he showed that during his 14-game run with the big club this past year. Brandsegg-Nygård will definitely be in the running to crack the Red Wings’ bottom six this year. But if he misses out, he’ll be one of Grand Rapids’ top players yet again.

44. Carter Bear, LW, 19 (Detroit Red Wings)

2025-26 Rank: 43rd (-1)

Bear is coming off a productive three years with the Silvertips – and he probably would have had 90 points had he played the full 2025-26 season. I love his competitive nature, great shot and his net-front presence. He was one of Everett’s top players when the games started to really matter this past year, showing that he craves big minutes. I still wish we had seen more of him with Canada’s World Junior team – he had the skill and hockey sense the team really needed. Bear is set for his first year of pro hockey, and I fully expect him to spend some time with Detroit – maybe even out of training camp. Consider me a big fan.

MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with the Oilers Now With Bob Stauffer podcast last Thursday, and the interview is being widely quoted by the popular NHL Rumour Report Twitter/X account.

Khan spoke with Oilers Now producer Ayden Ganam regarding Dylan Larkin’s situation, the re-signing of Simon Edvinsson, the extension due to Alex DeBrincat,the Wings’ GM search, Detroit’s modest offseason additions and Detroit’s struggles to make the playoffs thanks to their stretch drive stumbles, among other topics.

There are commercials in the middle of the interview, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Scroll down a bit to listen and/or download:

Ansar Khan: Re Red Wings: Dylan Larkin has not rescinded his trade request, but…I think there is at least a little bit more optimism that maybe the new GM…is able to maybe patch up the differences; really his main issue was Steve Yzerman – Oilers Now (8/27)

— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) August 29, 2026

Ansar Khan: Re Simon Edvinsson/Red Wings negotiations: I would expect that deal to get done fairly soon after a new GM is hired; it's apparent…nobody's going to make him an offer sheet; from everything I've been told…the Wings would match it – Oilers Now (8/27)
____
NHLRR:…

— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) August 30, 2026

Ansar Khan: Florida and Vegas showed only lukewarm interest in Dylan Larkin, they don't need him; Minnesota could really use him – Oilers Now (8/27)

— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) August 30, 2026

Ansar Khan: Re Alex DeBrincat future/Red Wings: It's a place that he likes, his family is here; my guess is they will get something done with him well before the trade deadline – Oilers Now (8/27)
____
NHLRR: Despite some early summer concerns, most reports suggest DeBrincat…

— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) August 31, 2026

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff penned a bit of an editorial article this morning in discussing both Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck’s trade requests. As far as Duff is concerned, both Detroit’s Larkin and Winnipeg’s Hellebuyck deserve some blame for what they’re doing:

We get it. Pro sports is a business. And business is business. Larkin and Hellebuyck have the right to do what they think is best for them.

That said, their teams have every right to be angry, perhaps even offended, by these players’ actions. And certainly, so does each team’s fanbase.

Their teams stepped up for these players. They made long-term commitments. Larkin will earn $8.7 million a year over the next five years. Hellebuyck will pull down $8.5 million each of the next five NHL seasons.

When they signed these deals, those prices were at the high end of NHL contracts. That’s no longer the case. This summer, with significant upward movement in the NHL salary cap, top players are signing for $18-$20 million per season. Whoever ultimately gets Larkin or Hellebuyck will basically be getting a bargain.

That commitment from their teams isn’t being honored. And again, no one is saying that Larkin or Hellebuyck don’t have the right to ask to be moved. But both players must remember that business is a two-way street.Their teams aren’t going to just give away key assets. They will wait for a deal that works for them, which is their right.

As for the fans, they don’t want to hear about business. They’re all about passion. Their loyalty is to the jersey that Larkin and Hellebuyck no longer want to wear.

Continued; Duff also discusses the numbers that will be worn by Detroit’s new players this upcoming season, which DetroitHockey.net’s Clark Rasmussen covered last Thursday…

And I get that Larkin and Hellebuyck are empowering themselves in an era where players are “finally” taking control of the directions which their careers take…

But, at the same time, I agree with Duff. A long-term, big-money contract is like a marriage deal with a team, and far too many players are choosing to divorce their teams for greener pastures these days.

As Duff ultimately suggests, fans will have every right to boo Larkin and Hellebuyck if one or both players start the 2026-2027 season in Detroit or Winnipeg, respectively.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Tim Benz posted part of a podcast interview with former Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins (among other teams) defenseman Larry Murphy this morning. Murphy discusses his famous flip pass into the offensive zone, which Penguins announcer Mike Lange deemed the “Murphy Dump”:

Few who played the game were more consistent at keeping the puck in the attacking zone — especially on the man-advantage. It’s part of the reason why Murphy can boast 547 power play points, sixth-most among defensemen in the history of the league. The other was the fabled “Murphy Dump.”

“Keeping the puck in, a lot of that is hand-eye coordination and evaluating the situation,” Murphy told me on a recent “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. “I wasn’t a guy that played with a lot of speed or had the hardest shot, but I really prided myself on being in the right position at the right time and making the right decisions. When the puck was on my stick, the chances were that I was going to get it to somebody and put him in a good position.”

The “Murphy Dump” was a basic aspect of the game that Murphy did with such regularity that the act eventually became branded with his name. Murphy claims that the moniker came from his former teammate Bob Errey, and was eventually mainstreamed by legendary Penguins broadcaster Mike Lange.

Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur is 24 now, and the 6,’ 196-pound winger would have to clear waivers to be sent down to Grand Rapids, so this is the year that might “make or break” his hockey career.

That’s easier said than done given the numerous injuries that Mazur has sustained over the past couple of seasons in the NHL and AHL. Mazur suffered a broken elbow during his NHL debut, and he spent most of this past season on the IR in Grand Rapids. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan notes as much in profiling the physical forward from Jackson, MI:

Mazur plays a gritty, abrasive style that fits well into a fourth-line role, but he also the ability to supply offense. Mazur has shown the ability to score goals, getting to the net and knocking in pucks, and the Wings have been desperate for increased goals from anywhere in the lineup.

Though not getting on the scoresheet in his [10-game] NHL appearance in April, Mazur felt it was crucial experience.

“It’s been night and day,” Mazur said when the season ended. “Learned a lot, a lot more comfortable. Invaluable for development. Every game I kind of felt a lot more comfortable and started to get back to my game.”

Getting a late start this morning due to caregiving stuff…

With a day-and-a-half remaining before the final server bill comes due, there’s some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that our GoFundMe for Aunt Annie’s property tax bill is fully funded. We’re going to be able to pay the $1,500 bill, which is amazing.

The not-so-great news is that we’re still $200 short in terms of fundraising for my bill from “Jetpack,” and if I may be completely honest, I’m down an extra $100 due to having to buy more medical supplies for my bed-bound aunt, as well as having to drop $50 for a medication not covered by her insurance.

I need to raise $200 over the next day-and-a-half to afford the final blog subscription service that’s due on September 1st; it would be great if we could raise $300 so that our very modest budget for early September doesn’t take a body blow.

At this point, I don’t know whether we’re going to hit the goal. I understand that late August is not the best time to raise funds for the blog, and I get that times are tough, but I’ve got nowhere else to turn right now, so: