Kulfan, Allen set up the home-and-Stadium Series series between the Red Wings and Blue Jackets

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan sets up the upcoming home-and-home series with the Columbus Blue Jackets thusly:

The Wings hold the top spot on the Eastern Conference wild-card chase with 66 points. Columbus has the second and final wild-card spot with 64 points. Three teams were tied entering Wednesday’s games with 62 points (Ottawa was the only one of the three playing Wednesday night).

So, you have the excitement and hype of the outdoor game definitely present. But the Wings realize a big part of this weekend is staying in business mode and understanding the big picture of the playoff puzzle.

“We’re fighting for that wild card and fighting to move up in our division,” goaltender Cam Talbot said. “It’s going to be four big points on the line, an eight-point swing (potentially) one way or another. It just can’t be an experience (of playing the outdoor game), it has to be a game and you have to approach it that way. Business as usual.”

The Wings were able to keep their two-point lead on Columbus, thanks to an impressive 3-2 victory Tuesday in Minnesota. The Wings have won nine of their last 12 games (9-1-2), are doing it in a variety of ways, and now are seeing more players contribute to the winning ways.

Continue reading Kulfan, Allen set up the home-and-Stadium Series series between the Red Wings and Blue Jackets

Tweets of note: Welcome to Stadium Series hype

From the NHL:

A bit of praise for Dylan Larkin’s Olympic stock

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin posted a list of players whose “stock” rose or sank for the 2026 Olympics in Milan, and he included a certain Red Wings captain on his list;

Dylan Larkin, C, USA

It was apparent from the Americans’ first game that a bottom-six deployment wouldn’t stop Larkin from becoming a crucial component. His blinding speed made him a chore to defend. He delivered the game-winner in USA’s unforgettable round-robin victory over Canada. It was telling that, after Matthew Tkachuk exited the championship contest due to injury, the U.S. turned to Larkin, elevating him into top-six duty. For the tourney, the U.S. had a 5-on-5 expected goals percentage right around 60 when Larkin was on the ice. He began the 4 Nations as a fourth-liner, but he seems to have cemented himself as a third-liner next time around.

Continued; Larkin has shown at both the World Championship and Four Nations Face-Off levels that he’s more than willing to play in any role that he’s given, but his speed and skill levels are clearly high enough that he can be utilized in a first-line role with ease.

Bultman: Wings can replace Copp from within, outside the organization

The Athletic’s Max Bultman offers 2 options for the Red Wings to utilize if the team wishes to replace the injured Andrew Copp–either looking internally or making a trade–and I’ll help you take a gander at the first option:

Their easiest — and perhaps best — option is the one they chose Tuesday, bumping J.T. Compher up into the second-line center spot between Kane and DeBrincat. Compher’s production has dipped a bit this season, but his profile is quite similar to Copp’s as a hard-nosed, responsible center who can play in the hard areas of the ice and provide complementary offense.

In fact, Compher was Detroit’s second-line center over Copp for much of last season, playing just over 300 minutes with Kane and nearly 400 with DeBrincat. Like Copp, Compher won’t usually put up gaudy point totals or flashy offense, but what he does well certainly fits between two more offensively-tilted wingers. There’s a reason Detroit went with him as its first option Tuesday, and if we’re handicapping the possible outcomes for replacing Copp, this is the likeliest possibility by a wide margin.

Once Michael Rasmussen returns from an upper-body injury (McLellan said he was day to day), that would slot Rasmussen in as the No. 3 center and Joe Veleno as the No. 4 — with both Tyler Motte and Christian Fischer able to play that position on a checking line as well.

One other option could be playing Marco Kasper as either the second- or third-line center — which Detroit did earlier this season — but I wouldn’t call it likely at this time. Kasper has worked well playing on the wing on Detroit’s top line, with his speed and forechecking fitting in nicely alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond.

In the long term, Kasper still projects as a center for the Red Wings. But the rookie has 16 points in 18 games since January 10, and it doesn’t sound like McLellan is too eager to shake up something that’s working.

“We’d like to keep him there (with Larkin and Raymond),” McLellan said.

Continued with trade talk (paywall)

McIndoe plays ‘devil’s advocate’ regarding teams making blockbuster trades

The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe plays a devil’s advocate this morning, suggesting why every team should and/or should not make a blockbuster trade at or before the 2025 trade deadline on Friday, March 7th. Here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings:

Detroit Red Wings

Obviously not, because: After years of spinning their wheels, the switch to Todd McLellan seems to have finally flipped the switch. Steve Yzerman has never been a big deadline guy, so he certainly shouldn’t make any panic moves now that things are actually clicking.

BUT: You could play it safe, the way this franchise has done for the better part of a decade. But with a playoff spot in the East there for the taking, and no guarantee that the McLellan bounce will be a long-term effect, doesn’t Yzerman owe it to his exceedingly patient fan base to finally take the next step?

Continued (paywall); I don’t see the Wings’ fan base as exceedingly patient, first and foremost…

And, in all honesty, I’m just not expecting the Red Wings to expend assets for a rental player. If there’s a long-term fit, I could see the Wings make a move, but if it’s just for two or three months, no, thank you.

No fit for Karlsson in Detroit

The Score’s Josh Wegman suggested three possible destinations for Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson, and I think he’s a little off in naming the Red Wings as a possible landing spot for the 34-year-old with a $10 million cap hit (which Wegman suggests the Penguins might be willing to eat half of just to get rid of Karlsson):

If you told a hockey fan in the mid-2010s that Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Erik Karlsson could all be on the same roster, they’d assume that team would be genuinely competing for a Cup. But that’s not the case in 2025.

The Red Wings are on the fringe of the playoff picture as they aim to end an eight-year postseason drought. They enter Tuesday occupying the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but the race is incredibly tight. That begs the question whether Karlsson would even waive his no-movement clause to join Detroit.

For Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, it makes more sense to surrender assets for a player with additional term like Karlsson rather than a rental. Karlsson could slot in on the team’s second pair behind Moritz Seider and serve as a key mentor for both Seider and Simon Edvinsson.

LDRD
Ben ChiarotMoritz Seider
Simon EdvinssonErik Karlsson
Erik GustafssonJustin Holl

Detroit could make a trade work more easily than the other teams on this list. Yzerman has a full cupboard of draft picks and one of the NHL’s deepest farm systems. The club also has enough cap space to take on the entirety of Karlsson’s contract, if necessary.

If Karlsson’s willing to go, there’s no reason why Yzerman shouldn’t try to make it happen.

Continued; I just don’t see the point of adding Karlsson and his contract when the Wings could add a more affordable third-pair offensive defenseman and/or a shut-down defender for the third pair.

Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson are doing a fine job in the second pair, so why mess with success?

Just as importantly, Karlsson both makes a lot of money for the next three seasons, and he’s also got a no-move clause, so I don’t see him waiving it to go to an up-and-coming team like Detroit when he wants to win a Cup ASAP.

There’s just not a fit here.

An early Red Wings-Blue Jackets preview

The AP posted an early preview of tomorrow night’s game between the Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets:

BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Red Wings host the Columbus Blue Jackets after Simon Edvinsson scored two goals in the Red Wings’ 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild.

Detroit is 30-22-6 overall and 16-12-3 at home. The Red Wings lead the Eastern Conference with 51 power-play goals.

Columbus is 28-22-8 overall and 9-16-4 in road games. The Blue Jackets have a 24-8-4 record in games they score three or more goals.

Thursday’s game is the second time these teams meet this season. The Red Wings won the previous meeting 5-4.

TOP PERFORMERS: Alex DeBrincat has 26 goals and 24 assists for the Red Wings. Marco Kasper has four goals and five assists over the last 10 games.

Kirill Marchenko has 23 goals and 36 assists for the Blue Jackets. Kent Johnson has six goals and five assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Wings: 8-1-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.6 assists, 2.5 penalties and 5.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.

Blue Jackets: 5-4-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.7 assists, 2.5 penalties and 6.1 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game.

Examining some trade targets for the Red Wings at the center position

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff examines some possible trade targets for the Red Wings to utilize to replace the injured-and-out-for-the-season Andrew Copp in the lineup. Among them:

Dylan Cozens, Buffalo Sabres

On the wish list of most Red Wings fans, this would be top priority. That’s understandable. Cozens is 24. He’s an ideal long-term add to a team that is growing together as a group. Cozens has seven years left on a contract with an AAV of $7.1 million.

Here’s the issue with this move. The Sabres want to make a hockey trade, similar to the Casey Mittelstadt for Bowen Byram deal made at last year’s deadline. In trade talks, NHL sources tell DHN the Red Wings offer has been a package of prospects and draft picks.

Ryan Strome, Anaheim Ducks

Strome scored against the Wings in Sunday’s game, which he seems to do a lot when he plays Detroit. In 26 games facing the Red Wings, Strome has seven goals.

He’s 31, with two years to go on a pact paying him $5 million per season. He’s been playing as Anaheim’s No. 1 center. Strome’s game is more suited to the middle-six role he’d be given in Detroit.

Continued with four more targets; we all know that very few tidbits escape the Red Wings’ front office, but it makes sense that the Wings wouldn’t want to move an NHL player off their roster for Cozens, and that the Sabres would prefer exactly what the Wings aren’t offering.

When the Buffalo News’s Mike Harrington suggested that the Sabres shouldn’t make a move unless they get a Raymond or Seider in return, he wasn’t kidding. The Sabres would probably want Kasper, Edvinsson and/or Johansson, too. That’s a no-go.

HSJ in the morning: the Wings’ youth movement helped Detroit beat Minnesota

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an article which discusses the Red Wings youngsters’ performances over the course of the team’s 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, noting that Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson (among others) played large roles in the team’s victories of late:

If not quite excellence, the Wings (30-22-6) are displaying resiliency and depth as they work towards securing a spot in the playoff picture. They head into a huge two-game series against the Columbus Blue Jackets having banked five of six points since emerging from the 4 Nations Face-Off break – and the most recent victory didn’t include scoring from any of the usual suspects.

Edvinsson was in the spotlight after Tuesday’s game at Xcel Energy Center because he had scored the tying and winning goal in the 3-2 final over the Minnesota Wild.

“He’s obviously a very, very talented player,” coach Todd McLellan said. “He’s got great legs. He anticipates well. He’s got a tremendous shot. His stamina and his energy is very strong. He took a lot of pride in defending, too, and when you defend well, you often get rewarded at the other end. Terrific night for him and his partner.”

The partner is Albert Johansson, 24, who is a rookie. Edvinsson, 22, technically is not, but this is his first full year with the Wings. The other guy involved in the winning-goal play was Elmer Söderblom, who only joined the team in January. That’s how the Wings are rolling right now: No hesitancy in playing guys with light resumes.

“One, we don’t have a choice because we have a lot of young guys, and they’re very capable of playing,” McLellan said. “We don’t hesitate to put them out there. We feel comfortable with the job they can do and they’re gaining valuable experience.

“And then secondly, the veterans appreciate them. It’s a two-way street – there’s nothing worse than having an old and a young team divided. I think we have a good mixture of just being a Red Wings team. We don’t talk about a lot about young and old, veteran and rookie.”

Continued; Elmer Soderblom registered 7 hits last night; Marco Kasper was strong as usual on the Dylan Larkin line, Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond have been tremendous as “more established” young players, etc. etc.