From WXYZ’s Max White:

The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) announced its 2026-27 regular season will open the first weekend of December with six games and all 12 teams in action.

It’s the fourth season of the league and will feature the debut of PWHL Detroit and three other new teams in Las Vegas, Hamilton and San Jose.

PWHL Detroit will have its home opener in the second week of December, hosting the New York Sirens at Little Caesars Arena on Dec. 12 at 12 p.m. That game will feature a double-header with the Detroit Red Wings hosting the Florida Panthers at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Detroit will also be part of the home opener for PWHL Las Vegas on Sunday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. ET.

Tickets will go on sale at 11 a.m. ET for all 12 PWHL home openers. Fans can also purchase season tickets.

The Spot Detroit – Detroit 20 will be the official broadcast partner of PWHL Detroit during its inaugural season, bringing the team’s games to free, over-the-air television in Detroit.

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis performs the difficult task of naming a potential NHL rookie to watch on each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams. The Detroit Red Wings’ candidate for Ellis is still a rookie, technically speaking, because he’s played under 25 NHL games, but his name might still surprise you:

Detroit Red Wings: Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, RW, 20

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 last season. Brandsegg-Nygård will definitely have a shot to spend the year in Red Wings’ bottom six all year long.

Continued

The Athletic’s Jesse Granger states that a set of 8 NHL goalie coaches and 2 retired goalies were asked to rate the top 45 goaltenders in the NHL, and the panel ranks John Gibson as a “Tier 4” goaltender, meaning that Gibson is part of an “unproven or tandem” goaltending situation:

John Gibson

Average tier ranking: 3.5

It got off to a rough start, but Gibson ended up with a nice first season in Detroit. The veteran started the fifth-most games of any goalie in the NHL, and led the league with 23.63 GSAx after Dec. 8. It wasn’t quite enough to snap the Red Wings’ playoff drought, but it was more than enough to prove he’s still starter quality after several down years to end his tenure in Anaheim.

–“Man, he was really good at times last year,” said one goalie coach, who was the highest on Gibson. “He’s unique as a goalie. He’s getting up there in age, but I still have to go with Tier 2.”

–“He had a resurgence last year,” another coach said. “He looked revitalized, and stole a couple of games along the way.”

–Gibson turned 33 in July, and is entering the final year of his contract. Another strong year could potentially get him another deal in Detroit while the Red Wings wait for star prospect Trey Augustine, who is turning pro this season, to be ready.

I“It was a good bounce-back year, but he’s a Tier 5 for me,” a coach said. “I want him on my team if I can get him at the right price, for a backup, but I wouldn’t want him as a No. 1 guy.”

Last year’s ranking: Tier 4

Continued (paywall)

In a subscriber-only article, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff argues that Red Wings prospect defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka will not end up making Detroit’s season-opening roster, and that ASP will end up in Grand Rapids due to several factors working against #44:

The Wings gave Sandin-Pellikka some penalty-kill ice time in the preseason. At six feet and 189 pounds, he’s not a beast of a defender. Positional play is important so that he’s not outmuscled physically while defending.

The numbers game also isn’t working in Sandin-Pellikka’s favor. He can go down to the minors without first clearing AHL waivers.

He was minus-20 last season. The young Swede faces the challenge that all defensemen who enter the NHL must adapt to if they want to survive. Sandin-Pellikka must play well without the puck.

“It’s a hard league as a young D,” [defenseman Justin] Faulk said. “We’ve all, as D, have been there. It takes time.”

Faulk also recognizes there are elements to Sandin-Pellikka’s game that few NHL defenders possess.

“He can’t pick up on all the tendencies and stuff right away,” Faulk said. “But when you have the base that he has of the skating and the ability and the vision and the playmaking and the shooting and whatnot, it allows him to get around the ice a little bit more and kind of get comfortable playing that style a little bit.”

Continued at length (paywall)

ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton posted a massive set of NHL team previews combined with power rankings this morning, discussing the relative lots of each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and they do not rank the Red Wings particularly highly:

27. Detroit Red Wings

Last season: 41-31-10 (92 points), missed playoffs
Stanley Cup odds: +15000
Projected points: 79.7

Biggest strength: The Red Wings should feel good about their marquee players — namely, Moritz Seider, Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond. At 25, Seider is hitting his prime as a dominant threat at both ends of the ice. (Plus, he can handle huge minutes, such as last season’s 25:40 per game.) DeBrincat eclipsed the 40-goal mark in 2025-26 and was a key to Detroit’s excellent power play, which ranked 12th in the league, and he projects to be again. Raymond continues to expand his repertoire as a strong two-way forward who consistently punches in 20-plus goals per season. That’s a young, strong, smart group capable of stacking up with some of the NHL’s best performers.

Of Dylan Larkin-related note this morning:

Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses the situation surrounding disgruntled Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin today, offering this regarding his trade status and trade list:

A person within the NHL – granted anonymity because they are unauthorized to speak publicly – confirmed to the Free Press over the weekend that in addition to the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights, Larkin’s list now also includes the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars (the Wings already have talked to that organization, who’s GM, Jim Nill, has long and deep ties to the Wings) as well as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals. Basically, U.S.-based teams poised to contend for the Stanley Cup.

As the Wings finalize preparations for their 2026-27 season opener against the New York Rangers on Friday, Oct. 2 (6:30 p.m., TNT/truTV), Larkin’s trade request remains in play, even as a reconciliation continues to make the most sense.

St. James reports that Larkin has been offered at least one trade scenario despite having a no-trade clause in his contract…

It does not, and has not, prevented any NHL team from calling the Wings and proposing a trade, which, should the Wings like the offer, they could then take to Larkin’s camp. The Utah Mammoth were interested, for example, but their offer wasn’t close to what the Wings want in return for one of their top assets.

Shawn Horcoff – whose agent in his playing days, Pat Brisson, is the same agent who represents Larkin – was named interim general manager on Sept. 15, two months to the day Steve Yzerman was removed from the GM role he had held for seven-plus years and instead made a senior advisor.

And St. James states the truth regarding Christopher Ilitch’s role in any trade:

The Grand Rapids Griffins swept their back-to-back slate of exhibition games against the Cleveland Monsters on Saturday and Sunday at Toledo’s Huntington Center, the rink which the Red Wings’ ECHL affiliate, the Toledo Walleye, calls home.

After Sunday’s game, Griffins coach Dan Watson, who coached Toledo for 7 seasons, spoke with the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe about coming back to his old stomping grounds:

“I know how unbelievable the fans are, and they support winning hockey,” Watson said. “That’s what they’ve come to expect here. Those are standards that have been set. Pat [Mikesch] and his staff have done a good job continuing what I feel I left. I’m here at playoff games when I can be and hope that they always do well. That first championship, I’ll be in that celebration with all the other fans.”

The Grand Rapids Griffins’ players were also impressed with playing in Toledo this weekend:

Grand Rapids goalie Trey Augustine, a second-round draft choice of the Red Wings and former Michigan State standout, earned the win with 23 saves on 25 shots.

“It was fun getting the group together these last couple days here. We’re starting to become a team,” Augustine said. “It was a good step for us.”

Most fans in the crowd of 3,421 at the Bank Tank supported Grand Rapids and celebrated goals from Ronnie Attard, Dylan James, Noah Dower Nilsson, Sutter Muzzatti, and Ondrej Becher. Cleveland’s goals came from Luca Pinelli and Dante Sheriff.

Grand Rapids defenseman Jacob Truscott, who played in 51 games for the Walleye last season, had an assist on the first goal. Truscott was Toledo’s third-leading scorer among d-men last season with 23 points. Truscott, who had four goals and 19 assists, then played in 12 playoff games for the Walleye. He is fighting for a roster spot in Grand Rapids.

“It was great in Toledo,” Truscott said. “Toledo’s a great organization, and they treated me unbelievably. The staff, players, and fans were all great to me. It’s such a great city. Obviously I’m trying to make Grand Rapids here, and we’ll go from there. That’s my main focus right now, but I had a great experience last year.”

…

“It was awesome here,” [Griffins defenseman Ronnie] Attard said. “I had a couple of friends that played here before, and they said nothing but great things. So seeing their setup they have in here and their atmosphere, it was great.”

Continued

The Grand Rapids Griffins swept the Lake Erie Monsters in the teams’ back-to-back preseason games held at Toledo’s Huntington Center. On Saturday, the Griffins defeated Cleveland 3-1; today, the Griffins took a 5-2 decision:

That’s A Wrap On Preseason

GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 5 at Cleveland Monsters 2

TOLEDO, Ohio — The Grand Rapids Griffins received goals from five different players in a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Monsters at the Huntington Center. 

Ondrej Becher (1-2—3) led all Griffins with three points, while Noah Dower Nilsson (1-1—2) and Jesse Kiiskinen (0-2—2) chipped in with two points. Rookie netminder Trey Augustine showed 23 saves on 25 shots. 

Defenseman Ronnie Attard got things going in the first period with his wrister from the high slot that sailed over the glove of Pheonix Copley 9:28 into the outing. 

Dylan James made it a two-goal game on a breakaway at the 9:08 mark of the second frame. Cleveland’s Luca Pinelli responded with 5:13 remaining from the top of the crease. Dower Nilsson capped off the second period with a power-play goal at 16:45 from the right circle, giving the Griffins a 3-1 lead going into the third. 

Sutter Muzzatti collected his first goal as a Griffin at the 7:13 mark of the third period to give Grand Rapids a 4-1 advantage. The Monsters’ Dante Sheriff made it a two-goal deficit with 10:10 remaining, and Becher made it a 5-2 contest with his shot from the low slot at 12:15. 

Notes

• Cleveland has been the Griffins’ opponent for 10 of their last 11 preseason games, dating back to 2012.
• The Griffins will begin the regular season this Friday when they travel to Rocket Arena to face Cleveland. 

Here’s a clip of post-game comments from Trey Augustine, Ronnie Attard and coach Dan Watson:

After Dylan Larkin stepped down as the Red Wings’ captain, coach Todd McLellan stated that the Red Wings will begin the 2026-2027 season with three alternate captains wearing “A’s” on their jerseys.

It’s a given that Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond will remain part of the Wings’ leadership group, so the Hockey News’s Michael Whitaker suggests that Alex DeBrincat should join Seider and Raymond:

According to head coach Todd McLellan, DeBrincat has helped fill the leadership void left by Patrick Kane’s departure, while also providing a steady presence amid the uncertainty surrounding Larkin’s situation. He is also a candidate to be named an alternate captain.

“He’s done a really good job of providing leadership in the void that’s there right now. It’s not out of character; he hasn’t changed from what he’s done last year,” McLellan said of DeBrincat. “Maybe away from the rink a little bit more with the guys to bring them together, but at the rink, he’s still Cat, and he would certainly be a candidate to be that.”

However, according to McLellan, wearing a letter on his jersey won’t change the way DeBrincat conducts himself in the locker room or on the ice.

“The thing with Cat, though, is we could probably put the whole alphabet across his chest, and he would still be Cat. And if we took every letter of the alphabet away from him, he would still be Cat. He’s not going to change who he is based on that little piece of felt.”

As Whitaker points out, DeBrincat has already been vocal about his desire to serve as a leader on the Red Wings team:

“I take a lot of pride playing with the Red Wings,” DeBrincat said earlier in the month. “Putting on that jersey every night, I think all of us in this room take a lot of pride in that and the history that comes with it.

“There’s so much respect that comes with that crest – it’s a privilege,” he continued. “It’s something I don’t take lightly, and I definitely want to be part of the solution, get back to the glory days, and be a big part of that.”

Sports Illustrated’s Miguel Mike Medina took note of Red Wings forward Marco Kasper’s self-reflective thoughts spoken to the Wings’ media corps after last night’s exhibition season finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets, which yielded a 3-2 defeat:

“Some things in our game, we definitely have to step up,” Kasper said. “We played very well; our forecheck and controlled forecheck were really good, but then we turned a lot of pucks over, and we couldn’t really connect on passes. So I think that’s got to get a lot better, and just trying to find the open guy and not maybe try to go lateral too much but be a little bit more direct going to forecheck when those pucks are there. We got some goals from shooting from the point even the last few games, and I think that’s what we got to do to create from the forecheck.”

Kasper’s mission is to contribute as much as he can to help the team win. He’s very skillful and crafty when he attacks the net. He played 81 games last season and scored 19 points (9 goals, 10 assists). For a young player, he has the right mindset of a winner and leader. The Red Wings have several young guys with leadership qualities, and he’s one of them.

“We practice hard, we play a little bit of a new system, and try to get adjusted to that and be ready for next week,” Kasper said.

Kasper realizes how talented this team is and how good they can be when everyone, including himself, gives it 100 percent effort night in and night out. 

“I think there’s a lot of great players here, so everybody can play with everybody and just try to get out there. Whatever I do, I think I’ve got to try to do it 100 percent,” Kasper said. 

You can watch Kasper’s comments here: