If we are to assume that the Red Wings will carry 2 goaltenders, 8 defensemen and 13 forwards, the Red Wings currently have 12 signed forwards at the NHL level…

So Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen debated whether the Red Wings might utilize a top prospect like Nate Danielson or Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, a gritty forward like Carter Mazur or the speedy Amadeus Lombardi, the Wings organization’s resident enforcer, Austin Watson, or even free agent forward Eduards Tralmaks in that spot.

Here’s what Allen has to say about the “middle six” guys:

Amadeus Lombardi has the passion, drive, and determination to make his NHL debut as a fourth-line forechecker. The only issue is his lack of size. It will be interesting to see how much stronger he has gotten in the offseason. Lombardi is another player who could start on the fourth line and work himself into a scoring line position. He was a dependable, exciting offensive producer last season.

Meanwhile, Mazur has added bulk to his frame. That could help him stay in the lineup. He is a feisty competitor, likes to stick his nose into trouble, and he can score.

“I think we all know and love Maze,” said Detroit director of player development Dan Cleary. “He’s a great kid. He’s a good player. But he played a minute. Just his elbow and before that his collarbone. So he’s had some tough luck injuries here over the course of his pro life, which has been unfortunate.

“But like I tell him, I’m like, I know this sucks, but you gotta start over, you gotta dig in, you gotta rehab, you gotta keep going because he was in such a good place last year. Put in tremendous work. He’s put on good weight to his frame. He’s been able to keep it, and he’s gonna need it. But I think for him it’s just that he’s had some bad luck. And I’m hoping he can get past that bad luck, and I know he does, too, and I believe he will. ”

Continued; I’m not much of one for “thought experiments” at this time of the year, at least regarding the shape of the Wings’ roster, but Allen offers a thoughtful and thought-out exercise here. It’s worth your time.

Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen posted a list of “What’s Left to Do” for every one of the NHL’s 32 teams over the balance of the offseason, and he offers the following regarding the Red Wings’ remaining offseason needs:

DETROIT RED WINGS

Notable acquisitions: John Gibson, Mason Appleton, James van Riemsdyk, Jacob Bernard-Docker
Notable departures: Petr Mrazek, Craig Smith, Alex Lyon, Jeff Petry, Vladimir Tarasenko
Cap space remaining: $12.086 million

From the 32 Thoughts Podcast: “The thing about Yzerman is he believes in himself. Even if nobody else believes in what he’s doing he thinks he’s doing the right thing, and that is drafting and developing their guys. So unless he can hit a big home run, and this year would have been a guy like Ehlers, he’s not going to do that anymore with four- and five-year terms. Yzerman is betting his reputation on when all these kids we’ve drafted and developed are ready, they’re going to be players.”

What the GM has said: “We’ve got 12 (forwards) signed right now, our debate is do we sign another one to have that 13th forward, or do we leave that spot open and see if something comes up over the summer, or leave it open and let (a prospect) earn that spot?” – Steve Yzerman.

What to watch for this summer: It seems the Wings wanted to be in on a lot of the bigger players who were in line to hit the free-agent market, but those hopes were dashed when the vast majority re-signed with the teams they were with. The Wings wanted to make a pitch to Nikolaj Ehlers who did make it to market, but he didn’t entertain a move to Michigan. And so Yzerman’s team is in a tough spot after they fell back in the standings in 2024-25. The build-up isn’t so direct and they’re relying on recent drafts paying off some time in the near future. Every year now Yzerman’s plan is being put under the microscope and in some corners, doubt is seeping in that it will work out. Right now, Yzerman’s biggest move was to acquire another goalie — after his big trade deadline move was to acquire a netminder.

Continued; one way or another, the Red Wings need to add another top-six forward and/or a top-four defenseman, hopefully via trade. Whether they do so this summer is up for debate.

Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond spoke with NHL.com/sv’s Sebastian Noren regarding his 2024-2025 season and his expectations for the upcoming year. Here’s a rough translation of the article:

2024-25 in the rear-view mirror: Lucas Raymond

The Red Wings forward continued his journey toward elite status in the league: “A complete player”

From the shooting star Leo Carlsson to the experienced Victor Hedman, NHL.com/sv takes a look at the biggest Swedish stars’ rear-view mirrors as we go through the seasons for nine of the biggest Swedish pros in the league during 2024 2025.

Today: Lucas Raymond

Lucas Raymond continued his journey toward becoming one of the league’s best right wingers in 2024-2025. The 23-year-old native of Gothenburg posted a new personal best in assists (53) and points (80) this past season, and he topped the Detroit Red Wings’ points league for the second year in a row.

He finished in third place among the Swedish scoring league, behind Jesper Bratt (88 points for New Jersey) and William Nylander (84 points for Toronto). Even so, the main character is far from satisfied.

“I want to take further steps forward in my game,” Raymond told NHL.com/sv. “I think that I took a step already this past year, but I also feel that I have a lot left to develop. You always try to develop some specific things every summer, and it isn’t any different for me now. I will put in the work that’s required and hopefully I will earn a dividend.”

In the fantasy hockey department, DobberHockey’s Puneet Sharma suggests that Red Wings goaltender John Gibson has gained fantasy hockey value after being traded to Detroit from Anaheim:

John Gibson – Detroit Red Wings

John Gibson finally gets a fresh start, landing in Detroit after years of trade rumors. The Red Wings desperately needed stability in net after cycling through five goalies last season, and Gibson brings experience and pedigree to the crease. The upside is still there, as when healthy, Gibson has shown he can be a legit difference-maker. Detroit offers a more structured system, giving up fewer shots and high-danger chances than Anaheim, which could go a long way in stabilizing his game. Still, durability is a concern. Cam Talbot is still in the mix, so Gibson has to prove that he can handle a lion’s share of the workload.

Continued; Gibson’s been banged-up off-and-on over the course of the past two seasons, so here’ hoping that his health holds up.

The Hockey News’s Matt Larkin attempts to discern the “Stanley Cup windows” for the Atlantic Division’s teams this upcoming season, and he suggests that the Red Wings have a “foggy window.” It sounds like Larkin’s more frustrated with the Red Wings’ lack of progress than Red Wings fans themselves:

Detroit Red Wings

Sigh. Can I get you anything, Red Wings fans? Cup of tea? Should we sit down and let you vent? I feel for you. It’s now nine years since Detroit competed in a playoff game. Because GM Steve Yzerman flinched too early in the rebuild and added a slew of Mid veterans a few years back, this team has spun its wheels on the playoff bubble for several seasons now. On one hand: we’re watching Lucas Raymond become a star, Moritz Seider is a horse on defense, we’re seeing lots of promise from forward Marco Kasper and defenseman Simon Edvinsson, and Detroit’s prospect pool remains packed. On the other hand: this team struggles to defend, it’s supposed to be contending now during Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat’s primes, and…Yzerman’s only offseason addition on defense is Jacob Bernard-Docker. What is this team doing? A win-now operation that did very little to win now this off-season inspires little confidence in the short term.

Continued; the Red Wings have work to do in the trade department to help bolster their top-six forward corps and their top-four on defense. Whether those trades happen this summer is a pressing question.

It’s Red Wings goaltender John Gibson’s 32nd birthday today. The Red Wings acquired the 6’2,” 214-pound goaltender from the Anaheim Ducks on June 28th, and he’s signed for the next two seasons.

HBD, Gibby! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/H5WzazK63r

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 14, 2025

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills spoke with Elmer Soderblom recently. Soderblom re-signed with the Red Wings on July 2nd, signing a 2-year, $2.25 million contract, and he tells Mills that he’s preparing for the 2025-2026 season in earnest:

Soderblom has appeared in 47 games — 26 in 2024-25 and 21 in 2022-23 — across his NHL career with the Red Wings, totaling 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) and a plus-two rating. And because he missed Detroit’s final five games of last season due to an undisclosed injury, but did return to play in three Calder Cup Playoff contests with the Griffins, Soderblom has been really putting in the offseason work to prepare himself for the campaign ahead.

“It’s all about keeping that momentum going and doing all of the little things right,” the Red Wings’ former sixth-round pick (No. 159 overall) in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft said.

Soderblom has spent his last three summers training with other NHL players in his hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden. This summer, the 6-foot-8, 246-pound forward is skating three to four days a week, focusing on all the small details he knows go into achieving success at the game’s highest level.

“We have a schedule and training group,” Soderblom explained. “I usually start in the gym at 9 o’clock, and we have different workouts each day. For example, we have a little bit more conditioning at the end on Fridays, so that’s tougher. We always finish hard on Fridays. The on-ice sessions usually depend on where we have the opportunity, so it can vary. But in August, since the season is coming up, we try to ramp it up.”

Soderblom tells Mills that he’s doing what the Red Wings’ coaches and training staff prescribed for him to work on this offseason…

“They want me to keep improving on things like my skating and explosiveness,” he said. “Keep using my size to my advantage, be physical around the net, get to pucks. I’ve been working on a lot of that on the ice, but also off the ice I’ve been getting stronger with my body and working on getting faster. It’s been good to have a goal to train towards. It feels like I’m getting closer and closer to a better me.”

And he’s excited about what the future might bring:

“It’s going to be really good to have [head coach] Todd [McLellan] there on Day 1 of camp,” Soderblom said. “Then, just keep going the whole season. Hopefully, we can just win enough games to make the playoffs. That’s the goal everyone wants to go for.”

From an NHL press release:

The complete 2025-26 NHL regular-season schedule is set to be announced on Wednesday, July 16, at 1 p.m. ET. In addition, at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, NHL Network will air a one-hour special edition of NHL Tonight covering the schedule release, which will be hosted by Jamison Coyle, Mike Rupp and E.J. Hradek. The special edition programming will also stream on NHL.com. NHL Network will continue to break down the schedule during its regularly scheduled NHL Tonight show at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler posted a list of his top 100 prospects drafted by NHL teams this morning. Four Red Wings prospects–Axel Sandin Pellikka (18), Carter Bear (36), Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (55) and Nate Danielson (56)–make his list, and while I cannot share all of his prospect assessments, he’s quite voluminous regarding ASP:

Sandin Pellikka had a brilliant run in the SHL the last two seasons, producing at near-historic rates as a teenager in both, winning an SHL title, winning back-to-back directorate awards as the top defenseman at the World Juniors (he was Sweden’s youngest defenseman the first time he did, too) and emerging last season to play 20 minutes per game and become one of the league’s most productive defensemen regardless of age before coming over for a fine but unspectacular introduction to the AHL.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posts a “prospect report” this morning, discussing 20-year-old defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka. ASP played this past season with Skelleftea AIK of the SHL, so he’s likely to play for the Grand Rapids Griffins this upcoming season…

But I know that many Wings fans are hoping that the 5’11,” 185-pound defenseman skips a couple of developmental steps, and ends up on Detroit’s blueline this fall:

Anyway, here’s St. James’ missive:

Sandin Pellikka is a smart, offensively gifted defenseman who shoots right – remember, when the Wings drafted him at No. 17 in 2023, it was with the pick they received from the Vancouver Canucks for Filip Hronek, another right-shot offensively gifted defenseman. Sandin Pellikka had such a good first full season for Skellefteå’s SHL squad (18 points in 39 games) he received the Salming Trophy, awarded to the best Swedish-born defenseman playing in Sweden. He had 29 points in 46 games in 2024-25, and then joined the Griffins for the last two regular-season games and the three-game playoff run.

Red Wings assistant director of player development Dan Cleary weighed in: