Author: George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

Tweets of note: Copp’s birthday and a schedule-guessing contest

Of Red Wings Twitter-related note:

First, Red Wings forward Andrew Copp turns 31 today…

And, as the NHL release its 2025-2026 season schedule around the middle of this month, the Red Wings are holding a contest in which they ask fans to guess the opponents in the Red Wings’ “biggest games of the 2025-2026 schedule”:

Red Wings goaltending coach Michael Leighton’s ready for his new role

Yesterday, the Red Wings hired former NHL goaltender Michael Leighton as their goaltending coach. Today, the Windsor Star’s Jim Parker spoke with Leighton, who lives in the Windsor suburb of LaSalle, Ontario.

Leighton told Parker that he wished to stay “close to home” after a career spent bouncing around the NHL, AHL and European leagues, and, after a stint as the Windsor Spitfires’ goalie coach in the OHL, he asked around as to whether the Red Wings had an opening…

“I just heard they were looking for somebody and I reached out to somebody that I knew in the organization and he said send me a resume,” Leighton said.

It will now be Leighton’s job to get enough out of recently acquired John Gibson, who is a three-time NHL all-star, and Talbot, who is a two-time NHL all-star, to help Detroit end its nine-year playoff drought.

“Gibson’s a great goalie and shown he can be a top goalie and I’m excited to work with him and Talbot’s had some great years,” Leighton said.

It’s a much different assignment than his time with the Spitfires, which was a part-time role. The Detroit post is a full-time position and Leighton will hit the road with the club as well as be around on a daily basis.

“With the Spits, it was a part-time thing and I was not there all the time,” Leighton said. “I took as much as I can from that experience. I’ve had a lot of goalie coaches over years in NHL and AHL and watched how they’ve done things. I’ve taken that and seen how to be a good goalie coach. That’s having good communication with the coaches and building relationships with goalies to build trust. They have to trust I know what I’m talking about.”

While junior hockey was more about molding a developing players, at the NHL level Leighton isn’t looking to do more refining of players that have already been established with the 31-year-old Gibson and the 38-year-old Talbot each boasting 12 years of NHL experience.

“They’ve been around, they know the game and they’ve had their share of goalie coaches,” Leighton said. “But I’ll watch and tell them what I like and don’t like and build that relationships. You just try to bring out the best in both and goaltending’s my speciality and what I’ve done all my life.”

Bultman discusses the Wings’ ‘depth chart’

The Athletic’s Max Bultman issues a 3-roster set of educated guesses as to what the Red Wings’ opening-night lineup might look this October. We’ll start at the beginning of Bultman’s article, in which he explains why he offers three versions of the 2025-2026 roster:

The Detroit Red Wings’ offseason might or might not be done.

When general manager Steve Yzerman met with the media last week, he still alluded to the possibility of trade opportunities that could arise in the wake of free agency. He even mentioned there were “a couple teams looking to do some things that we do have some interest in and are possibilities.”

In the days (and possibly weeks) to come, we’ll find out whether any of those will materialize into anything more than tire kicking. If not, perhaps a 13th forward or third goaltender will come into the mix instead.

For what it’s worth, I think that it’s highly probable that the Red Wings will add a Max Pacioretty up front, a Matt Grzelcyk on defense, and/or a third goalie to push the Wings’ incumbents in John Gibson and Cam Talbot (and to support Sebastian Cossa and Michal Postava as necessary) than it is that the Wings manage to cobble together a roster-changing trade or two.

In my opinion, the Wings may have to wait until the regular season, if not next year’s trade deadline, to truly address their roster issues.

But as of now, as the dust begins to settle, Yzerman and the Red Wings have a roster in place. And that means the rest of us have a chance to start imagining how the pieces could fit together.

Granted, coach Todd McLellan doesn’t have to pick just one arrangement. Throughout the long NHL season, there are all kinds of combinations he can experiment with — more than we can realistically project here. And the new lineup players the Red Wings added — wingers James van Riemsdyk and Mason Appleton, defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker — give McLellan plenty of flexibility.

So today, even acknowledging the possibility of one more move, it’s worth examining what kind of options Detroit is looking at with its new depth chart.

Continued (paywall); it’s also important to remember that Bultman’s three rosters suggest that the Wings will be fully healthy after an 8-games-in-12-nights exhibition season.

While he offers a roster with a “surprising rookie” making the roster in Nate Danielson, it’s entirely probable that the Wings will have to recall a Grand Rapids Griffin or two to fill in for a player or players that suffer preseason injuries.

The Wings’ roster probably won’t truly establish itself until the team is fully healthy, which it hopefully will be at some point early in the upcoming season.

Anyway, in the absence of Bultman’s rosters, I’d be very interested if you would share your roster estimations in the comment section. Let’s have some fun with this one!

ESPN gives the Red Wings a ‘B’ grade for draft, free agency performance

ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton have issued draft and/or free agency grades for the NHL’s 32 teams, and they’re surprisingly bullish on the state of the Red Wings:

Detroit Red Wings

Key players added: G John Gibson, F Mason Appleton
Key players lost: G Petr Mrazek
Remaining cap space: $12,086,628

Overall grade: B

Credit to GM Steve Yzerman for finally finding a new home for Gibson. That pre-free agency trade felt like a long time coming and not only gives Gibson a fresh start but also upgrades Detroit’s goaltending situation (which was a clear priority heading into the offseason).

But Yzerman seemed content to let that be the only serious changes to the Red Wings’ roster. He filled in the edges a bit with bottom-six wingers Appleton and James van Riemsdyk, and has another third-pairing defense option in Jacob Bernard-Docker, but beyond that Detroit will (barring any other movement) enter this season much the way it exited the last.

Depth is a good thing to have. But the Red Wings needed a bigger name to boost their back end, and would have also have benefitted from improved top-six scoring potential. Those areas might still need to be addressed.

Continued; I’d argue that Yzerman isn’t exactly content with the way free agency turned out.

There’s no doubt that the Red Wings need a top-four defenseman and/or top-six scoring forward, but I wonder whether those trades might not take place until the regular season, given the circumstances.

In the interim, the Wings’ young players will have to take steps forward, and the veterans will have to exceed expectations as well.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s ready to play AHL hockey

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a subscriber-only article about Red Wings prospect and prospective Grand Rapids Griffins forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, who’s looking forward to taking part in his first North American pro season:

Brandsegg-Nygard, who joined the Griffins in April with Skelleftea AIK teammate Axel Sandin Pellikka, had no points in two regular season games and three points (two goals, an assist) in three games in their playoff series loss vs. Texas.

“It was a great experience,” Brandsegg-Nygard said last week during Red Wings development camp at Little Caesars Arena. “It just feels like it’s a fun hockey to play.”

“I feel like you have to keep your speed all the way and not, like, stop. That was a big difference for me. And you’re so much closer to the net, too, so you feel like you could just shoot all over the place. That’s how I like that. I feel like the longer I was there, I got more comfortable and learned. So hopefully I’m having a good season and learn more and more when I’m there this season.”

He added: “I’m young, so I got to develop everything, but a few things I focus more on is my speed, to have a lot of speed. Have quick turns and stuff like that.”

Continued; Brandsegg-Nygard isn’t huge at 6’1,” but Khan reports that MBN already weighs 206 pounds, and I’d imagine that the budding power sniper could put on another 10 pounds of muscle and remain a mobile hockey player.

Selling Savage on an AHL deal

I was very surprised when I read that the Red Wings weren’t speaking with 22-year-old Michigan State captain and plucky center Red Savage, who the team drafted in 2021. The 5’11,” 185-pound center isn’t a big man by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s extraordinarily competitive and gritty in a 3rd/4th line role.

I felt that his professionalism and compete level would at least fit in well in Grand Rapids, if not Detroit, down the line.

When Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman told the Wings’ media corps that Savage’s situation was a question for Shawn Horcoff, who is both the Wings’ assistant GM and the Grand Rapids Griffins’ GM, I hoped that the Wings would at least sign Savage to an AHL contract before his rights expire on August 15th.

This morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff suggests that the Wings could very well Savage to an AHL deal, with the possibility of earning an NHL contract down the line:

“His rights expire Aug. 15,” Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman said of the player they drafted 114th overall in 2021. “I think we’ve had some discussions. I haven’t got an update on it, but potentially looking at Red remaining in the fold on some type of contract.”

Yzerman admitted that this was more of a question for assistant GM Shawn Horcoff. Since one of the main duties fulfilled by Horcoff is serving as GM of the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, putting two and two together, it would seem likely that Detroit is trying to get Savage to agree to terms on an AHL contract.

A dislocated shoulder was cutting Savage’s senior season short. He suffered the season-ending injury on January 17, limiting him to 20 games. There was some speculation that Savage might seek a fifth season as an NCAA hardship case, but that never materialized.

The left-shot center finished with 5-6-11 totals in 20 games. Were he to turn down the Detroit offer, Savage could become a UFA on Aug. 15, as Yzerman noted.

Continued; Savage may be holding out for two-way NHL/AHL contract offers when he becomes a free agent this August, but I really do hope that the Wings manage to sign him.

He’s a mini Tomas Nosek in terms of his faceoff prowess, determination and desire to win every puck battle, and I believe that he will be an asset to one of the NHL’s 32 teams.

Tweet of note: Dmitri Buchelnikov to take place in charity game vs. NHL’ers on July 13th

From Red Wings prospects on Twitter:

Reviewing Yzerman’s free agency remarks

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills looks back toward Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s post-free agency press conference, noting Yzerman’s blunt remarks regarding the team’s offseason outlook:

“Going into free agency, we all recognized that it was going to be difficult all around the League,” Yzerman said. “For whatever reason, there weren’t as many what we would all consider high-end free agents available this year. So, it wasn’t really a shock to us that we weren’t able to get anything done with any of the bigger-name guys.”

But that didn’t prevent Detroit from complementing its already-talented core.

“Jacob Bernard-Docker gives us a little bit of depth on defense,” Yzerman said. “Not a big-name signing but has been an effective player in his time in Ottawa in particular. He plays hard and competes…Up front with JVR, on the left wing, bigger body…Mason Appleton as well, a right winger that plays on the penalty kill and chips in a little bit of offense.”

And the offseason isn’t over yet. So, even with these new faces being added to the mix, Yzerman said the Red Wings will continue exploring opportunities to improve the roster.

“It’s just been my experience over the years that things kind of work themselves out,” Yzerman said. “Opportunities arise. You try to force it or chase it, there’s too many years, too many dollars or you give up too much in a trade…Trying to be diligent, maybe patient, just wait for the right player, the right opportunity, whether it is in a trade or in free agency, to add to our lineup and use our assets wisely if we can.”

Continued; Yzerman may or may not have done enough to improve his team’s roster through the free agent marketplace alone, but he was completely honest about how things worked out.

The Red Wings’ goaltending is better, but it still needs help

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin offers a set of “Goalie musical chairs” rankings for the 2025 offseason, and he suggests that the Red Wings’ goaltending stock has improved…sort of…

Detroit Red Wings (Stock up)

John Gibson (acquired from Ana)
Cam Talbot

(Out: Alex Lyon)

Among the clearly available netminders this offseason, Gibson was the top option, fresh off his best season in six years. He slides in as Detroit’s No. 1 and forms what looks like a pretty strong duo alongside Talbot, keeping the seat warm until Sebastian Cossa gets a larger opportunity. But after Gibson has spent so many seasons of his career bailing out bad defensive teams, it would’ve been fun to see him flourish in a stingy system. Instead, he’s set up to be shelled once again. The Red Wings iced the worst penalty kill of any NHL team in the past 42 years, and the fourth-worst of all-time, this past season. The Ducks had the most expected goals against in the league at 5-on-5, but the Wings were bottom-third, too, so Gibson will continue getting major workouts, especially when Detroit has barely done anything to improve its D-corps this offseason. Detroit already had above-average goaltending this past season, so Gibson isn’t a savior. He’ll help, but it won’t be enough if the Wings keep bleeding scoring chances.

Continued; man, it’s “Bag on the Wings” season…

Duff confirms that Wings-Stars prospect games will take place in Frisco, Texas this year

The multi-talented Sean Shapiro Tweeted out that the Red Wings’ Prospect Games against the Dallas Stars would not take place in Traverse City, MI this year, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff confirms the news:

This fall, that won’t be happening. A tournament that dates back to 1998 isn’t taking place this fall. The Red Wings are heading to Frisco, Texas to partake in a pair of games against the Dallas Stars rookies.

Last year, you will recall that the Stars were the only team other than the Wings in Traverse City for rookie games.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the plan is for the two teams to continue to alternate hosting rookie games. That would mean the Stars will be again visiting Traverse City in the fall of 2026.

Continued