Author: George Malik

Red Wings prospect Carter Bear was honored for his accomplishments by his Peguis First Nations community on Saturday, and the CTV News Winnipeg’s Harrison Shin reports that all went well at the Peguis Multiplex, some two hours north of Winnipeg, on Saturday afternoon:

“Just an immense amount of pride. We haven’t stopped telling people where he’s from, and what our connections are to the community,” said Chief Stan Bird of Peguis First Nation. “It’s a real positive thing for our youth to see – to be part of history. 18-year-old Indigenous person being drafted by the Detroit Red Wings. That’s history itself.”

Chief Bird said he initially didn’t expect Bear to have the time to sign individual autographs and take pictures, but Bear made it happen on Saturday.

“We’re very pleased that he’ll take a few hours of his time, just to drive to Peguis, to meet with the people of Peguis. There’s a lot of pride here, and for him to come back and to interact with the people, I think it’s a really positive, uplifting experience for all of us.”

To mark Bear’s selection by the Red Wings, organizers served free hot wings at the event.

Bear was supposed to attend the event for an hour, but it appears that he took as long as necessary to to sign fans’ autographs and give the kids memories of meeting with the community’s first NHL-drafted athlete. Good on him.

Update: Here’s more from Winnipeg’s Classic 107’s Colleen Houde:

As part of NHL.com’s “32 in 32” series, which focuses upon the Detroit Red Wings today, NHL.com posted a 40-minute clip which compiles every goal that the Red Wings scored during the 2024-2025 season:

Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Kuehl was tasked with compiling a list of the top 25 players in Detroit Red Wings history this morning, and here are three of his selections:

8. Pavel Datsyuk (2001-2016)

One of the most gifted players in the modern era, Datsyuk was the epitome of a two-way center, but had hands that made him mesmerizing to watch. After making his debut on the legendary 2002 Stanley Cup team, Datsyuk became one of the more prominent players in the game in the salary cap era. The Russian scored over 80 points four years in a row, including back-to-back 97-point campaigns in 2007-08 and 2008-09. His 23 points in the ’08 playoffs helped Detroit capture the Stanley Cup. Along with winning the Selke three times, and the Lady Byng four times, Datsyuk ranks sixth in all-time as a Wing with 604 assists, sitting eighth in goals (314), seventh in points (918) and tied for ninth in games played (953).

7. Alex Delvecchio (1951-1974)

The epitome of class and longevity, Delvecchio is one of the few players to have spent over two decades with the Red Wings. All 24 of his seasons in the NHL were with the winged wheel, and no one could have asked for more from “Fats.” He took over the centerman role of The Production Line from Sid Abel, and went on to be one of the greatest to play the game. No. 10 was invited to the All-Star Game 13 times, second only to Gordie Howe, and won the Lady Byng three times. The three-time Cup winner is third on the franchise list in games played (1,550), goals (456) and points (1,281) while sitting fourth in assists (825).

6. Sergei Fedorov (1990-2003)

One of the most gifted players I’ve ever laid eyes on. In an era where Lemieux, Gretzky and Messier were considered the best in the game, Fedorov proved that he could outplay them on any given night. Blessed with the speed of a gazelle, the Russian star made opponents look silly with his skill. The Hall of Famer put himself in the limelight in 1993-94, winning the Hart and Selke Trophies, along with the Ted Lindsay Award (then known as the Lester B. Pearson Award), after scoring an exceptional 56 goals and 120 points. In 13 years with the Wings, Fedorov scored 400 goals (4th), 554 assists (7th) and 954 points (6th). He’s also third in points in the postseason with 163.

Continued; this is a very good representative list.

Yesterday, Lansing’s WILX 10’s Ben Shockley reported that Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur took part in a 3-on-3 hockey tournament in his hometown of Jackson, Michigan, as a coach. This morning, WILX’s YouTube channel posted a 51-second video of Mazur discussing his endeavor:

Okay, so…

Four days ago, RG.com’s Jimmy Murphy suggested that the Detroit Red Wings might be one of three teams interested in acquiring restricted free agent forward Mason McTavish from the Anaheim Ducks, with Murphy noting the long-time connection between Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman and his one-time right-hand man, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek…

The dog days of the 2025 NHL offseason are officially in session, but as the calendar turned to August, speculation surrounding Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish remained.

“I think there’s a better chance now that the Ducks keep him, but teams are still trying to get him from the Ducks and wondering where this is going, and it’s still in a circling pattern,” an NHL Executive source told RG on Tuesday night.  

“I’ve heard the Canadiens and Hurricanes have been keeping tabs, but one team I keep hearing that has continued to show strong interest is the Detroit Red Wings. Obviously there’s a history there with Pat [Verbeek] and Steve [Yzerman], and I really think Steve sees McTavish as a player that would clearly change the whole dynamic of his team up the middle there.”

But Murphy also suggested that the Red Wings would have to give up Axel Sandin Pellikka in exchange for McTavish. While McTavish is a gritty top-six forward with 20-goal-scoring potential, I’m not inclined to create a hole on the Red Wings’ blueline for the sake of filling a hole in terms of the Wings’ need for a top-six forward.

For me, that’s a non-starter.

Yesterday, NHL Trade Rumor’s Geoff Hannah (with whom I have no beef) wrote an article that I thought would have to be nothing more than something written for early August shock value, but it’s very slow out there, so the rumor got some frog’s legs, and started hopping around…

TSN’s BarDown offered us this at 12:43 AM on August 10th…

Who’s the greatest to ever suit up for Detroit? 🤔⤵️ pic.twitter.com/kpRTFGXHfT

— BarDown (@BarDown) August 10, 2025

So I answered honestly:

The answer is an unqualified “YES!” from me.

I loved Steve, Nick, Pavel, Sergei, Henrik, Alex, Ted, so many more Red Wings that you can refer to by their first names and know who you’re talking about…But Gordie is a phenomenon unto himself.

I shook is hand once. He was in Traverse City, and he had gotten pretty bad in terms of his dementia, but I saw Gordie Howe standing there and I knew that it would be my only time to ever say “Hello” to MY greatest of all time.

I said, “Hello, Sir, it’s an honor to meet you” and I grabbed his hand. This absolute meathook of a hand shook back with the strength of ten men.

He just…from stem to stern, from his boyhood until those final days, Gordie was the most vicious player on ice, and the kindest, most dignified and gentle soul off the ice, and they don’t make a player who’s his own enforcer any more.

Squeeze Yzerman’s skill, Fedorov’s natural athleticism and Probert’s brutality into one man, and give him the egoless grace of Lidstrom, and you’ve got a start. But only a start.

NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale and Pete Jensen offer a 5-article set which examines the summertime changes by the Detroit Red Wings.

We all know by now that the Red Wings believe that they will improve upon the team’s up-and-down 2024-2025 season, but Morreale’s “Inside Look at [the] Detroit Red Wings” asks the same questions most of us have for the team’s players and management:

The Detroit Red Wings feel they have the pieces in place to be the most competitive group in seven seasons under general manager Steve Yzerman.

“[Our team] is maybe constructed a little better than it was at this stage last year, so I’m hopeful that we take a step,” Yzerman said. “Overall, I think we’re a little bit better. How many points does that translate to in the season? We’re going to find out.”

The biggest reason for optimism is the addition of goalie John Gibson, who was acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks on June 28. The 32-year-old is 204-217-63 with a 2.89 GAA, .910 save percentage and 24 shutouts in 506 NHL games (494 starts) since 2013-14, all with Anaheim.

“Obviously we make that [trade for Gibson] with the intention that we’re better in net and we stop more pucks,” Yzerman said. “It makes us a better team and we’re expecting that of John and Cam (Talbot) as a pair.”

Detroit took a step back last season following a steady improvement since Yzerman became GM on April 19, 2019. After hitting rock bottom with 39 points (.275) in 2019-20, Detroit’s points percentage improved steadily each of the next four seasons — .429, .451, .488, .555. It dipped to .524 last season, when the Red Wings finished with 86 points, five behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

The Red Wings failed to qualify for the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, extending the longest drought in the team’s 99-season history.

“You grow up playing hockey and you play to win stuff,” forward Lucas Raymond said. “Obviously, not being able to do that is frustrating. It’s not fun at all. I think I speak for everyone when I say that. Everyone is very determined to change that and take that next step very soon.”

Continued, with discussion of the team’s coaching change this past season, the additions and subtractions to the roster, and the team’s yin-and-yang special teams play…

With that, we’re going to kind of skip to the end here, with Morreale asking “3 questions facing [the] Detroit Red Wings” a month before training camp.

The biggest question is a little repetitious here, but we have to ask it:

Will a full season under Todd McLellan and his coaching staff, utilizing a very similar roster to last year’s team, manage to “move the needle” as teams like Ottawa and Montreal more aggressively attempt to improve?

WILX’s Ben Shockley reports that Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur took part in a 3-on-3 hockey tournament this weekend–without taking to the ice–in his hometown of Jackson, Michigan:

Detroit Red Wings forward and Jackson native Carter Mazur hasn’t spent much time in the NHL yet, but he’s already giving back to the Jackson community. Mazur, 23, coached at a youth 3-on-3 hockey tournament in Jackson on Saturday and signed autographs for young hockey players afterward.

“It’s easy to give back to this community,” Mazur said. “It’s done a lot for me, so it’s pretty easy to give back and help out the little kids. I did this [tournament] when I was the same age as them and did it my whole Jackson career. It’s something I’ve grown up doing, and to see the kids out there, it’s just a special feeling.”

According to Hockeysverige.se’s Rasmus Kagstrom, the Red Wings are inviting towering defender Carl-Otto Magnusson to training camp.

It’s too late for the Red Wings or any other NHL team to sign the 6’7,” 223-pound 19-year-old from the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats (after July 15th, teams cannot sign overseas players until their next regular season ends, and in Magnusson’s case, he’s also still draft-eligible), but Magnusson was passed over in this past summer’s NHL Draft.

As such, Magnussuon can at least improve his standing to be drafted as a 20-year-old next June.

According to Kagstrom, Magnusson will play in the Red Wings’ two-game Prospect Games series against Dallas as well.

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Red Wings prospect Carter Bear will be honored by his Peguis First Nation chief and council in a public reception today between 12-1 PM Central Daylight Time at the Peguis Multiplex, about two hours north of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

I can’t embed it, but here’s a video link to Chief Stan Bird speaking with the CTV News Winnipeg regarding the event, and the example that Bear’s already setting as an 18-year-old.

As is predictable of a small-town event, they’re serving free hot wings at the reception. Cute.