ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski asked the NHL players taking part in the NHL/NHLPA North American Media Player Tour many questions, but he only asked Alex DeBricat a simple query:

What was your favorite experience of the summer?

“I went to Scotland on a golf trip. That was probably my favorite. A couple good rounds, actually. Overall, it was just cool to experience those courses.” — Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings

Continued at length…

The Athletic’s Max Bultman offers an answer to a “Burning Question” as part of The Athletic’s survey of all 32 teams’ biggest questions heading into training camp, and Bultman believes that hiring a GM is the lynch-pin of the Wings’ struggles:

Detroit Red Wings

Who is the GM?

The answer could be “everything,” but let’s start at the top. The Red Wings don’t have a GM after removing Steve Yzerman from the post in mid-July. They also need to figure out how to resolve Dylan Larkin’s trade request, a new contract for Simon Edvinsson and ideally get some clarity on Alex DeBrincat’s future, too. But hiring a GM is the key domino for most of that, and also the biggest source of uncertainty right now. — Max Bultman

Continued (paywall)

Red Wings trade acquisition Sutter Muzzatti stands at 6’6” and 229 pounds, and the big forward could have chosen to continue the “family business” by following in the footsteps of his father, Jason Muzzatti, an NHL goaltender. According to Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, a simple “no” got the younger Muzzatti excused from crease duty:

“I tried,” Muzzatti said of netminding. “One game. I didn’t like it too much, so my dad didn’t force me into it. So grateful for that.”

Instead, as Duff notes, Muzzatti is a net-crashing 23-year-old, which has Red Wings prospect coach and Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson intrigued:

“I think it’s something that I’ve figured out I can do and have an impact with,” Muzzatti said. “So it’s definitely a big part of my game.”

Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson is already envisioning all the elements that the first-year pro can bring to the AHL.

“He moves well for his size,” Watson said. “He’s going to learn to protect pucks and make plays out of it, learn to hang on to pucks and spend some time offensively. But what I’ve seen already is he can play on the power play, he can be on the penalty kill, he can play against the other team’s top line. He’s very responsible, and he’s going to be very trustworthy already. So the size certainly helps. We’ve got to make sure that he uses it the right way.”

As he grew into his body, Muzzatti, who played college hockey at RPI and Notre Dame, recognized what destiny held for him as his role in the game. And he willingly embraced it.

“I think it was something that kind of had to get used to, and I kind of enjoyed being able to play the body and protect the puck for sure,” Muzzatti said. “Yeah, it’s definitely something I try to bring every night. Just finishing my hits, playing clean but playing hard.”

Continued

Casino.org’s Frank Seravalli suggests that the Red Wings are a good bet to finish last in the league due to their front office dysfunction:

Detroit Red Wings (+1900) to have the fewest points 

Yes, in a league with the Vancouver Canucks, this might seem like a stretch. Detroit finished 34 points clear of the Canucks last year, but their final position doesn’t tell the full story. 

But this is a bet on the dysfunction in Detroit with a Red Wings team closing in on training camp without a general manager. “It’s inexcusable how long this search has taken, truly baffling to me that a billion-dollar franchise would operate this way in 2026,” an NHL GM said.  

“When the league held its Zoom call with GMs and head coaches last week, we were all jockeying to try and figure out who was representing Detroit.” It was assistant GM Shawn Horcoff, alas.  

From an NHL’s Media Twitter/X post, via the Red Wings’ Twitter account, comes a 3:29 clip in which Tony Luftman, Mike Rupp and Corey Schneider discuss why the NHL Network has named Moritz Seider their 30th-best player in the league right now:

"If you're mentioned in the same breath as [Nicklas] Lidström, you had a heck of a year!" – @TonyLuftman

Moritz Seider (@DetroitRedWings) put together the best season of his career, earning him the #⃣3⃣0⃣ spot on NHL Network's Top 50 Players Right Now list.

📺: #NHLTopPlayers… https://t.co/B0YLLoHb5F pic.twitter.com/hqJkWQdzJL

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) September 14, 2026

The video’s available in YouTube format as well:

Several Red Wings beat writers have been rightfully singing the praises of 2025 13th overall pick Carter Bear as the plucky forward has displayed some dominant offensive instincts at the Red Wings’ 2026 prospect tournament…

But Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen split his attention between Bear, a first-round pick, and Myles Brosnan, Detroit’s 196th and final pick in the 2026 draft.

Allen duly notes that Bear’s looking a lot like a star in the making already (which is a significant compliment for someone after two prospect tournament games), but Allen also rightfully points out that Brosnan, who played high school hockey for Dexter Southline High School in Brookline, MA last season, is looking like a special prospect in his own right:

Meanwhile, Brosnan is noticeable because of his blend of skills and plucky, aggressive play. He is showing a prickly side, even playing against more experienced players

“A quality that most players need to have still is the ability to handle pressure, to be physical in the right areas to win 50-50 battles, be competitive,” [Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan] Watson said. “And he seems to be doing that. He’s a good skater, he moves well on the ice, and he’s a young guy who’s just learning right now. But what we have noticed is. he’s around the net, he’s hard in the corners.”

The Red Wings drafted him 196th and even then there was a suggestion that he could have, or should have, gone higher. The Red Wings are undoubtedly pleased that he will play for Gardiner MacDougall, the highly respected coach of the Moncton Wildcats in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Brosnan has also committed to play for Harvard in two seasons.

Continued (paywall); Bear’s heading to Grand Rapids to begin his professional hockey career this fall, while the 6,’ 194-pound Brosnan will head to New Brunswick to play for Moncton. Over the course of two games, both have made a significant impact, and that’s impressive regardless of their respective drat rankings.

Given that the Red Wings’ 2026 prospect tournament is sponsored by Camping World, I guess this question was inevitable:

The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reports that nothing new happens to be happening between Simon Edvinsson and the GM-less Red Wings:

Status quo on the Simon Edvinsson front as of Monday. Talks remain on hold until the Detroit Red Wings hire a new GM or head of hockey operations.

The RFA defenseman was still expected to be at training camp this week, signed or not.

Continued, with scuttlebutt upon many other topics…

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spoke with Red Wings prospect goaltender Trey Augustine about adjusting to the professional game after Augustine, 21, spent 3 seasons with the Michigan State University Spartans. Augustine spent some time with the Grand Rapids Griffins next spring, but he understands that hockey becoming his full-time job is a whole new ball of yarn:

[G]etting back into the net during a 4-3 shootout victory over Dallas on Saturday, Sept. 12, in the prospects tournament at BELFOR Training Center was a situation of getting re-acclimated — and not surprisingly — Augustine finding his comfort level as the evening progressed.

“I felt a lot better throughout the game, but that’s just because you’re playing hockey again,” the former Michigan State standout said after the Wings’ victory.

Augustine, a South Lyon native and a Wings 2023 second-round draft pick, was credited with 26 saves in the victory, He then stopped all eight Stars shooters in the shootout to secure the win for a team of Wings prospects.

“There’s nothing like playing games, definitely for younger guys including myself coming in here,” Augustine said. “It’s really exciting, a new chapter of my life now, and I’m just really excited to be a professional hockey player. I’m really excited to be part of this organization.”

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a profile of Red Wings free agent signing Theo Rochette, a 24-year-old center who stands at 5’11” and 174 pounds.

The Red Wings signed the free agent Rochette, 24, to a one-year entry-level contract in June, after a strong season with Lausanne HC, where he finished tied for third in goals (22) and tied for eighth in points (43) in 46 games in the Swiss-A league.

He felt the time was right to give the NHL another try after going undrafted despite two prolific seasons with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL in 2021-22 and 2022-23 (75 goals, 205 points, plus-109 in 131 games). He was part of the Remparts’ Memorial Cup-winning team in 2023, coached by Patrick Roy.

“My dream is to play in the NHL, so I don’t want to have any regret not trying,” Rochette said. “I went to Europe first because I didn’t have any opportunities here. It was really good to play in Europe. Switzerland is a great league and helped me a lot. Now I felt ready to try to play in North America again.”

…

Rochette wants to show he’s capable of playing the North American game.

“I think I’m good around the net, either making plays or shooting the puck,” he said. “I still need to work on my (strength), but also on my defensive game. I think I’m responsible, but still some details to work on.”

He gained confidence at the World Championship, tallying three goals and six points in 10 games as host Switzerland lost 1-0 in overtime to Finland in the gold medal game.

“To play with great players like that and have the opportunity to learn from them, it was really good for me and a lot of experience gained from it,” Rochette said.

Continued (paywall); Rochette’s looked fantastic in the prospect tournament, but he’s going to have to hold up in main camp and the exhibition season.