The Malik Report

We all know that Patrick Kane’s decision as to which team he plans on signing with as an unrestricted free agent will have ramifications throughout Detroit’s roster.

It’s entirely possible that the Wings will look to add some sort of nominal replacement play-maker in addition to the signing of Viktor Arvidsson; it’s entirely possible that Kane’s departure would affect Alex DeBrincat’s desire to re-sign with his hometown team; and there is no doubt in my mind that Kane and Dylan Larkin’s agent, Pat Brisson, are talking about rectifying both players’ future employment situations over the course of one fell swoop…

Anyway, as Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith notes this morning, there are a lot of moving parts here:

A week into free agency, the 37 year-old has remained mum on where he intends to sign, despite post-season comments indicating he was leaning towards staying put. Elliotte Friedman stated that he wasn’t sure he expected the veteran winger to return to Detroit. MLive’s Ansar Khan reported that Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings have a standing offer on the table for Kane, however he is still as of yet to sign it.

With Kane potentially on the way out the door the Red Wings future looks even more uncertain with the looming Dylan Larkin trade request.

What bothers me about this whole situation is simple: there have been, “I heard from a guy that…” rumors galore about Kane signing in Buffalo, Toronto, or even back in Chicago, but nobody’s been able to substantiate them. It’s mostly speculation at this point.

As Smith notes, the Wings would take a step back without Kane, at least if they don’t try to replace his production in a meaningful manner…

Continue reading Regarding Kane, DeBrincat and Yzerman

The Hockey Writers’ Tony Wolak is already projecting the Red Wings’ 2026-2027 regular season lineup, or two opening-night lineups, anyway. Tony suggests that the Red Wings may have to make the uncomfortable decision to retain Dylan Larkin’s services if they don’t find a suitable trade for the disgruntled captain:

I know what you’re thinking. Yes, there’s still a chance Larkin is part of the organization when the 2026-27 season kicks off.

Will it be awkward? Yes. Will Larkin want to be there? Probably not.

That said, he’s under contract with the Red Wings. Unless Larkin is traded before the campaign begins, he has a contractual obligation to show up for training camp as he normally would. Failure to do so would be a breach of contract, likely resulting in the team suspending him without pay.

All of this to say, Larkin is Detroit’s 1C until he isn’t. And, for now, I have Emmitt Finnie and Lucas Raymond joining him on the top line.

Wolak’s Larkin-included lineup is very realistic, with Viktor Arvidsson stepping into Patrick Kane’s spot on the second line, Carter Mazur and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard earning regular roster spots up front…

And he has William Wallinder (whose waiver-exempt status expires this fall) and Jacob Bernard-Docker battling for the #7 and #8 spots on the Wings’ defense.

Wolak also includes a Larkin-free lineup, minus any present-day player return, and it’s a little cringey in terms of the team’s depth at center, or the lack thereof.

I’m nodding my head at his conclusion as well:

Overall, Detroit’s offseason has already started to reshape the roster, but the lineup still feels more like a working draft than a finished product. Whether it’s a Kane reunion, additional moves from Yzerman, or a resolution to the Larkin situation, the Red Wings’ opening night lineup could still look significantly different by the time the puck drops.

Between the resolution of the Patrick Kane situation (which may involve rectifying Larkin’s situation, given that Dylan Larkin and Kane have the same agent in Pat Brisson), the Larkin trade, and some free agent signings to round out the lineup with scoring, speed and/or physicality, there is no doubt that the Wings’ lineup is a work in progress for now.

Kudos to Wolak for projecting a very solid lineup. I always like Tony’s work.

I can’t help but raise my eyebrow at this declaration from Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith:

The Red Wings, meanwhile, have yet to make another signing or trade of significance for the main roster since Day 1 of free agency. Patrick Kane remains unsigned, and by all reports seems to have moved on from Detroit, even if he has not yet settled on a new destination.

With a deep Atlantic division and the Metropolitan getting more top heavy, the Red Wings will need to find a way to get competitive in the marketplace fast.

I have PuckPedia’s signing tracker and EliteProspects’ “confirmed transfers” page bookmarked and open among the sea of tabs that I use on Firefox.

Aside from minor free agent signings and the Senators’ imminent re-signing of Claude Giroux and the Capitals re-upping Alex Ovechkin, teams have pretty much been signing their own players since July 1st, Leo Carlsson offer sheet excluded. Nobody’s been that proactive over the past 6 days (in my opinion).

Continue reading Are the Wings ‘stuck in neutral,’ or are free agency crickets just league-wide inertia?

As noted earlier today, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman discussed the possibility that the Red Wings might ask Dylan Larkin to consider being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of his final “32 Thoughts” podcast of the season (again, Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas talk about the Wings at 1 hour and 17 minutes)…

And this evening, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen offers this….

Well-connected hockey insider Elliotte Friedman said on his podcast that the Carolina Hurricanes are considering using an offer sheet to make a splash. He speculates Edvinsson is the target because they want to add a defenseman. Friedman believes Edvinsson would be an exceptional fit for Carolina’s system.

Edvinsson is a restricted free agent. It’s unknown how far apart they are on a new deal. The Edvinsson projection was a long-term contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $8.7 million (AFP Analytics). With this summer’s events, it might take closer to $10 million.

You guys and gals and in-betweeners know I hate speculation, but hey, it’s July 6th, let’s speculate!

At least it’s Allen (someone I trust) doing it…

Continue reading Friedman 2: Edvinsson offer sheet and DeBrincat extension Electric Boogaloo

MLive’s Ansar Khan places his ear to the hockey rumor-y railroad track and offers an update on Patrick Kane’s status this afternoon:

The Detroit Red Wings made a big push to re-sign Patrick Kane and have a standing offer on the table. But it doesn’t appear as if the future Hall-of-Famer will return.

Kane enjoyed his time in Detroit and likes the chemistry he has with longtime linemate Alex DeBrincat. But Dylan Larkin’s likely departure has prompted Kane to seek a better opportunity to win elsewhere.

His hometown Buffalo Sabres appear to be the most logical destination.

Viktor Arvidsson, who can play both wings, should replace Kane’s offense after signing a two-year deal for an average annual value of $5 million on July 1.

But the Red Wings still need more scoring, after ranking 22^nd in goals per game and 30^th in five-on-five goals. And on top of that, there’s no telling what they might get in return for Larkin if he’s traded.

Continued (paywall); as far as I’m concerned, I really do believe that superpower agent Pat Brisson is keeping up some communication between Larkin and Kane, who are both Brisson’s clients.

My realistic “gut feeling” is that Kane’s not making an easy decision between Detroit, Buffalo, and wherever else he may end up, and that the Wings’ roster situation will play heavily into his decision-making process. Otherwise, he would have already signed with the Sabres already:

The Sabres have about $8.6 million in cap space and could use some more offense after losing three-time 30-goal scorer and unrestricted free agent Alex Tuch in a sign-and-trade with Washington.

Buffalo ended a 14-year playoff drought and advanced to the second round before being eliminated by Montreal.

I’m just shaking my head at the admirable Adam Proteau’s off-key take on the situation between disgruntled Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin and Detroit’s players and management.

Proteau wonders aloud what would happen if the Red Wings brought a disgruntled Larkin to training camp, which is not going to happen…

While Yzerman can and should put up a brave front for public consumption and pretend that Larkin is going to play more games in a Red Wings uniform, picture what could happen if Larkin isn’t traded.

When training camp begins, there will be an army of media asking pointed questions. Could the Wings function and focus when, every day, there’ll be constant questions about Larkin’s future in Detroit? 

That potential situation could get sufficiently ugly to be a burden that Red Wings players have no choice but to deal with daily. It will be a constant distraction, and no amount of brave posturing will change the fact that Larkin has checked out.

Larkin knew there was no turning back once he informed Yzerman that he wanted a trade. And there’ll be a poisonous atmosphere in Motown if Larkin sticks around.

There are two points to be made here:

1. Yzerman’s not going to talk to the media until he wants to do so. For better or worse, he’s not a general manager that reaches out to the media, and I have a bad feeling that he’s not going to speak this summer/fall until the Larkin situation rectifies itself. It’s disappointing to have a hermit for a GM in terms of his relationship with the media (or the total lack thereof), but that’s his prerogative;
2. Again, there is no purpose in bringing Larkin to training camp. If he’s still a member of the Red Wings’ organization come September, the Wings should either sit him out or suspend him outright.

And this is why Yzerman should hold out for the best deal possible–because the most well-intentioned journalists just get the whole bloody point of trading Larkin if and only if there’s a commensurate return wrong:

Continue reading The Red Wings should not ‘settle’ for an OK Dylan Larkin trade simply to get it done and over with

EliteProspects/DLLS Sports/Shap Shots’ Sean Shapiro is back from a vacation to Michigan’s U.P., and he’s updated his Substack with thoughts regarding Dallas’ Jason Robertson’s decision to go the salary arbitration route, offering scuttlebutt and behind-the-scenes talk as to how the Dallas Stars’ organization works…

And Shapiro adds this about Dylan Larkin’s situation, reiterating what has become a more and more common theory–that Dylan Larkin’s value has only increased now that Leo Carlsson’s been offered $20 million per season:

On the “hockey is a business” note, the Leo Carlsson signed offer sheet and the Anaheim Ducks pending decision to match the Philadelphia Flyers or not feels like it just juiced up Dylan Larkin’s value.

Larkin was already a highly-desirable asset as a top-six center making $8.7 million per season, but with the rising cap and the Carlsson deal, that cap hit for five more season became even more valuable. Now whether that means he’s more valuable to the Red Wings or more valuable as a trade asset is fascinating, but it feels like this is just another reason to see Steve Yzerman dig in his heels and be more patient than anyone else would like him to be.

Continued (paywall); again, we’re all questioning whether Steve Yzerman should trade while the summertime “gettin’s good,” but I have a feeling that this is going to take all summer to play out.

Now it’s July 6th, and I’m coming out of a burnout-induced sickness haze, but I’m going to post this take on Patrick Kane’s value from Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith, and suggest that he may know something that we don’t:

The list of [free agent] names that remain unsigned includes forwards Patrick Kane, James van Riesmdyk, and David Perron alongside defenseman Travis Hamonic and goaltender Cam Talbot. For the Red Wings UFA class, it seems to be a case of trying to read if the winds will be able to carry them where they want to go.

Highlighting the top of the list, of course, is Kane. The mercurial winger is in his age 37 season, and came to Detroit after what could have been a career-ending hip resurfacing surgery hoping to cup chase.

Since then, Detroit has suffered three March collapses and missed the playoffs, while his hometown Buffalo Sabres have finally broken a 14 year playoff drought. Kane cares a lot about his family, and while he did express a desire to return to Detroit in his post season press conferences, that was before Dylan Larkin’s trade request went public.

Re-signing with Detroit could mean more playoff misses, and it’s not like Kane is getting younger, or healthier. Injuries limited 88 to just 67 games, though he still managed 57 points and crossed the 500 career goal mark. There’s certainly a market for Kane, but it seems for the moment that he’s more than willing to let the dust clear a bit more before he makes any decisions about where he plays next season.

Continued; there is a LOT of unofficial speculation that Kane is going to sign with Buffalo, but I’m contending that he may be waiting to see what happens with Dylan Larkin before making his decision. After all, the two players have the same agent in Pat Brisson…

But I guess what raises my eyebrow here is that I’m not sure we’d call Kane “mercurial,” nor would I suggest that he’s brittle. He suffered what was probably a broken wrist in a collision with the end boards and missed a bit chunk of time there.

No, he’s not quite as durable as he was prior to his hip resurfacing procedure, but he’s still 80% of what he used to be, and 80% of Patrick Kane is a hell of a lot better than most players in the NHL.

Earlier this morning, I posted the clip of Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas’ final “32 Thoughts” podcast of the 2025-2026 season, a massive 4-hour bonanza of coverage of each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams.

At the 1:17 mark, Friedman and Bukauskas discuss the Red Wings, and the Hockey News’s Michael Whitaker reports that Friedman and Bukauskas discuss a logical target with which the Wings could pursue a trade for Dylan Larkin–the Carolina Hurricanes:

Continue reading Friedman, annotated: is there Carolina-Larkin connection?

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills wraps up the team’s coverage of the Wings’ annual Summer Development Camp at Little Caesars Arena with a circumspect review this morning:

Getting a great look at the organization’s next wave of young talent, the Detroit Red Wings concluded their 2026 Development Camp at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center last Thursday.

“At the end of the day, it really is an educational camp where we try to give them everything we can and hopefully, they absorb as much as they can,” Red Wings Assistant Director of Player Development Dan Cleary said. “We have great people here. I just want to say how important it is to have the behind-the-scenes people that make this thing run very smoothly, and I can’t thank everybody enough.”

The Red Wings’ 2026 Development Camp roster consisted of 20 forwards, 11 defensemen and six goaltenders, including the seven new players the club took at the 2026 NHL Entry Draft at KeyBank Center last weekend. Additionally, all eight of the club’s picks from 2025, five from 2024, five from 2023 and two from 2022 were in attendance for the four-day event.

Sure, Development Camp has evolved over the years, but its purpose hasn’t changed: help these young skaters learn, grow and embrace what it means to be part of the organization.

“There’s a bunch of NHL and Detroit legends here that have way more experience than all of us,” Carter Bear said. “We got to listen to them, listen to what they say and what they want us to work on…I think it’s just unreal and pretty cool to have those people around the rink. Seeing what they did with the Detroit Red Wings back then and seeing them now is pretty special.”

Continue reading Article + video: Red Wings wrap up coverage of their Summer Development Camp