Press release: Red Wings offer opening night and ‘red carpet walk’ details, highlight centennial season offerings

From the Detroit Red Wings:

DETROIT RED WINGS ANNOUNCE DETAILS FOR OPENING NIGHT, RED CARPET WALK AND WHAT FANS CAN EXPECT THROUGHOUT RED WINGS CENTENNIAL 

  • Fans can celebrate beginning of Red Wings season with Red Carpet Walk ahead of Opening Night, presented by Coca-Cola and Meijer, on Oct. 9 vs. Canadiens
  • New experiences throughout Little Caesars Arena available for 2025-26 season 
  • New food, beverage and retail items announced to celebrate Red Wings Centennial          

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings will usher in a highly anticipated 2025-26 centennial season on Thursday, Oct. 9 when the Red Wings host the Original Six-rival Montreal Canadiens.

Opening Night & Hockeytown Red Carpet Walk

Red Wings Opening Night, presented by Coca-Cola and Meijer, will begin on Oct. 9 with the annual Hockeytown Red Carpet Walk in the Chevrolet Plaza outside Little Caesars Arena, with gates opening at 2:30 p.m. The fan-favorite Hockeytown Red Carpet Walk is a free event, open to fans of all ages with or without game tickets, where attendees can interact with Red Wings players and coaches from 3-4 p.m. Little Caesars Arena fan information is available here.

Escorting players on the Red Carpet will be youth participants from organizations that partner with the Detroit Red Wings Foundation, such as Red Wings for Reading, American Cancer Society, Little Caesars Amateur Hockey, Special Olympics Michigan, United Service Organization, Boys and Girls Clubs, Michigan Humane and Make-A-Wish. Michigan Humane will also have a presence on the Red Carpet, featuring dogs available for adoption as players make their entrances to the arena.

Continue reading Press release: Red Wings offer opening night and ‘red carpet walk’ details, highlight centennial season offerings

Tweets from Tuesday’s practice: lineup taking shape

Updated at 11:49 AM: The Detroit Red Wings are practicing at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center ahead of heading to today’s Detroit Tigers game, and The Athletic’s Max Bultman was first to report the Wings’ initial practice lines:

MLive’s Ansar Khan weighed in as well…

‘Question marks’ on the Wings’ blueline

The Athletic’s Harman Dayal and James Mirtle ranked the NHL’s 32 teams’ defensive corps into “tiers” today, and they suggest that the Red Wings’ blueline is in the “question marks” territory because it’s full of holes–Axel Sandin Pellikka exempted:

Detroit Red Wings

Ben Chiarot – Moritz Seider
Albert Johansson – Simon Edvinsson
Erik Gustafsson – Jacob Bernard-Docker

Extras: Justin Holl, Travis Hamonic

We are big believers in Edvinsson’s potential, something he flashed more and more late in the year. And Seider’s step forward was pivotal, too, for the Yzerplan to finally bear fruit.

But they’re otherwise surrounded by a ton of question marks on a back end that has too many overpaid, mistake-prone types who have been dumped by better teams.

Airlifting in Hamonic as part of the answer raises additional red flags given his well-documented recent struggles.

Continued (paywall); Johansson plays the right point, and it appears that Sandin Pellikka will have a place on the blueline to start instead of Erik Gustafsson. Those changes might be “minor,” but they matter…

And as I’ve said all summer long, and into the fall, the Wings aren’t going to receive any respect, earned or unearned, from NHL pundits going into this season. It’s up to Detroit to prove its detractors wrong.

Kulfan’s takes on the Red Wings’ roster players

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan has kicked off the News’s 2025-2026 NHL season preview with “character sketches” of the Red Wings’ opening-night roster players:

Axel Sandin-Pellikka

▶ Age: 20

▶ Height: 6-0

▶ Weight: 186

▶ 2024-25 stats: (Skelleftea, Sweden) 46 games, 12 goals, 17 assists, 29 points

▶ Analysis: Was expected to spend some time in Grand Rapids but simply showed too much potential and skill not to go directly into the NHL. Sandin-Pellikka is as an exciting offensive defenseman prospect the Wings have had in a long time.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

▶ Age: 19

▶ Height: 6-1

▶ Weight: 204 

▶ 2024-25 stats: (Skelleftea, Sweden) 42 games, five goals, six assists, 11 points 

▶ Analysis: A young player who plays and carries himself as if he’s been a pro for many years, Brandsegg-Nygard made the Wings’ roster after an outstanding exhibition season. He has a powerful shot, but it’s the ability to play a hard-nosed physical game, at age 19, that’s eye-opening.

Continue reading Kulfan’s takes on the Red Wings’ roster players

Tweets of note: Red Wings fans attending home opener encouraged to be in their seats by 6:35 PM

The Detroit Red Wings have posted a few instructions as to how one may attend Thursday’s home opener festivities:

Talking about a Simon Edvinsson extension

The Hockey News’s Jake Tye argues that the Red Wings need to re-sign Simon Edvinsson, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, as soon as possible, especially given that the Anaheim Ducks signed young defenseman Jackson LaCombe to a massive contract recently:

The young blueliner has been steadily improving with 43 points in 75 games last season. LaCombe’s eight-year, $72 million contract with a cap hit at $9 million has reset the market in terms of what others defenders are asking for as Montreal is currently in a dispute with 2024-25 breakout Lane Hutson. This could also have an effect on the Detroit Red Wings as they too have a young defenseman that finished with 12 points less than LaCombe last season and is due for a new deal in Simon Edvinsson. 

The 22-year-old pending restricted free agent is younger than LaCombe but has shown to be a solid top four defenseman at the NHL level for at least one season and the longer that the Red Wings management staff waits to extend him, it could mean the dollar amount climbs. 

Continue reading Talking about a Simon Edvinsson extension

Bultman discusses the Red Wings’ trio of rookie roster players

The Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses the reasons why Emmitt Finnie, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Axel Sandin Pellikka have earned their places on the Red Wings’ opening-night roster:

When the Red Wings hit the ice for practice Monday with 23 skaters, 20-year-old seventh-round pick Emmitt Finnie was still skating on the top line next to Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. 2024 first-round pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygård was on the third line with Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher. And 2023 first-round pick Axel Sandin-Pellikka was running the second power-play unit from the point, and looked to be skating with Simon Edvinsson on what could be the second defense pairing.

At the time of head coach Todd McLellan’s press conference, nobody was quite ready to say whether the three rookies had formally “made” the Red Wings. But the writing sure seemed to be on the wall.

“Well, they were here at practice today, so that’s a real good sign for them,” McLellan said. “We skated with 23 players. Obviously, we’re allowed to submit our opening roster with as many as 23, so that’s obviously a real good sign for them. Everything they’ve done to this point has led to them getting this day, and we’ll just take it day by day.”

Another strong indication came later Monday afternoon, when Detroit released its initial 23-man roster with all three rookies listed. A day earlier, the Red Wings had waived defensemen Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson, and on Monday they assigned Holl to Grand Rapids.

So while we don’t yet know the Red Wings’ precise lineup for their season-opener Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens, all the signs right now are pointing in the same direction.

“They’re really good kids, and I’m really excited for them,” Larkin said. “And I’m excited for our team because of them.”

Finnie, Brandsegg-Nygård and Sandin-Pellikka have indeed been a jolt of excitement, both in the Red Wings locker room and throughout the fan base. This is an organization that for years has operated with an abundance of patience in promoting its prospects, and so for three rookies to all come in and make the initial 23-man roster speaks volumes about what they were able to accomplish over the last three weeks.

Continued at length (paywall)

Tuesday morning’s ‘Season Preview’ round-up

Of NHL season preview-related note this morning:

  1. The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe posted “oddly specific predictions” for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams:

Detroit Red Wings

Patrick Kane comes into the season only 31 points away from tying Mike Modano for most career points by a U.S.-born player, and 48 points back of Brett Hull for the most by an “American” player. He’s got a good chance to hit both marks, but we’re going to go with something far less likely. Did you know that of his 1,343 points, only one has come short-handed? That was an assist back in 2009, meaning one of the most dynamic forwards of his generation has played 18 NHL seasons without ever scoring a short-handed goal. It’s going to be tough ask for a guy who never kills penalties, but I’m saying he gets one this year. (And if that goal also breaks one of the scoring records, I’ll retire this column permanently.)

2. USA Today’s Mike Brehm mentions the Red Wings in a roundabout way in his NHL preview articles, saying this about the Wings’ situation…

The Detroit Red Wings hoped they addressed their goaltending concerns by adding John Gibson.

3. And ranking the Wings’ two 21st century Stanley Cup-winning teams fairly highly…

Continue reading Tuesday morning’s ‘Season Preview’ round-up

HSJ in the morning: Red Wings have Tigers fever, too

The Free Press’s Helene St. James reports that the break between the end of the Red Wings’ preseason and the start of the regular season affords the team the ability to attend today’s Detroit Tigers playoff game:

“The locker room is in a really good spot,” captain Dylan Larkin said after practice on Monday. “We’re going to be going to the Tigers game on (Tuesday), so do a little root for them and hopefully, you know, be ready to go Thursday night.”

The Detroit Tigers host the Seattle Mariners in Game 3 of the ALDS, with first pitch scheduled for 4:08 p.m. at Comerica Park.

The Wings weren’t able to do something similar last October because they were playing games.

“I don’t think last year we were able to go to a playoff game with our schedule and their schedule,” Larkin said. “So it will be my first ever playoff baseball game, so I’m excited about it.”

Axel Sandin Pellikka, a Swede, is looking forward to the outing, even if he may need some explainers.

“It will be fun,” he said. “I’ve been to one when they play the Mets, I think. I’m still learning about everything. I’m learning umpire, or strike – all those kinds of stuff. I’m still learning.”

Continued

Bloggy blog update: back soon!

Hey, everybody. I certainly did not intend to spend two weeks on the IR, but my physical health was not good over the course of the last two weeks.

I know today is a busy day, with Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson clearing waivers and the Wings due to release their opening-night lineup by 5 PM today, but Aunt Annie and I received a visit from our Adult Services caseworker, and my job as Aunt Annie’s caregiver supersedes this job at times.

So I’m going to return within the next day or two, and things might sputter to life, but I’ll both try to keep up with the cascading cavalcade of stories ahead of the 2024-2025 Red Wings’ season debut, and I’m going to do my best to try and spotlight the stuff that you might want to pay attention to from my absence.

Here’s hoping that the Wings’ long-term roster includes Sandin Pellikka and Brandsegg-Nygard. Finnie, too.