The Hockey News’s Ismail Fasih spoke with Red Wings prospect and University of Minnesota-Duluth captain Max Plante about the upcoming college hockey season.

Plante has returned to UMD after winning the Hobey Baker Award in no small part to play alongside his brothers Victor (a Red Wings prospect) and Zam (a Penguins prospect)…

“That was definitely a big factor,” Plante said in an interview with The Hockey News. “I knew the team we were going to have coming back this year was going to be good. I think it weighed on me heavily just knowing that I had that good of a year … that hockey-wise, I probably could’ve been ready to turn pro, but I don’t think there is a big need to rush and I knew the opportunity might never be there to play with both brothers. Especially at this high of a level; and not only those two but the group of guys we have.”

Though Plante is staying put in Duluth, he is not out of the Red Wings’ attention. The highly coveted prospect is still subject to regular check-ins, who are so far loving Plante’s progress at Minnesota-Duluth.

“So far, during those meetings, (I am asked) just to keep (continue) doing what I am doing,” said Plante.

Plante might not have originally been viewed as as a highly coveted prospect in the 2024 NHL Draft, but Detroit took a chance on him as a playmaker with elite passing skills and wound up picking him 47th overall in the second round. That is a far cry from the elite goal-scorer he is now as his 25 goals topped the highly competitive NCHC conference in the 2025-26 season.

“A big testament to why I am scoring more goals is the guys whom I’m playing with pass me the puck a lot, so I’m put in situations to score more,” said Plante. “Obviously, just keep working on my shot. My shot’s definitely been getting better (after) putting in the time and hours and … that’s been a big thing for my game.”

Plante told Fasih that he and the Bulldogs fully believe that they can make a run at an NCAA title this upcoming season:

The Red Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center just after 3 PM today, without Simon Edvinsson, Jacob Bernard-Docker, or goaltender John Gibson:

#RedWings take the ice for a late afternoon practice. Andreas Englund, wearing 24, has joined the team. pic.twitter.com/TgTlxUtPep

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) September 28, 2026

Newly acquired defenseman Andreas Englund (picked up off waivers Saturday) skating with Red Wings today. pic.twitter.com/wUD79HLznA

— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) September 28, 2026

All the players on the bubble (Mazur, Wallinder, ASP, Anton Johansson) are practicing. Initial roster must be set by 5 today but it can and likely will be changed by Friday’s opener. pic.twitter.com/B43RL9YOe3

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) September 28, 2026

The Red Wings haven’t posted any formal press releases regarding the team’s 23-man roster, which is due to the NHL by 5 PM today, but NHL Rosters on Twitter posted this update on Detroit’s roster…

#RedWings have placed D Jacob Bernard-Docker on Injured Reserve.

— NHL Rosters (@NHL_Rosters) September 28, 2026

As such, the Hockey News’s Michael Whitaker surmises that a young defenseman could make the Wings’ roster out of training camp, if only temporarily:

This means that the chances of young defenseman Anton Johansson, who impressed during Training Camp and the preseason, could very well find himself on the Opening Night roster.

Additionally, the Red Wings recently claimed 6-foot-4 defenseman Andreas Englund off waivers from the Calgary Flames. 

I would honestly expect Englund to make the roster first…

Two more sets of preseason power rankings hit the web this morning, and both discuss the Detroit Red Wings–with one issuing more positivity than the other.

First, Daily Faceoff’s Mike Gould and Scott Maxwell weigh in with a set of season-opening rankings…

Too Bad to be Good, Too Good to be Bad

Detroit Red Wings

Scott: If Dylan Larkin stays, I like the Red Wings chances a little bit more. But even then, they still were on the outside looking in in a division which will be tougher this year. But Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are also too good for this team to tank. It feels like they’ll have to briefly retool (during a rebuild, mind you) before swinging back to playoff contention if they move on from Larkin.

Mike: Losing Patrick Kane is addition by subtraction, but there’s still not much to like here. Red Wings fans are understandably furious about everything that’s going on. They deserve better.

Continued; and Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon forced himself to say something positive about each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams:

26. Detroit Red Wings Dylan Larkin will expand his list of acceptable trade destinations one more time and the Wings will get the package they’re after. Moritz Seider will finish as runner-up for the Norris. 

Also continued; we can hope…

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: