According to Sportsnet, two Red Wings players, Alex DeBrincat and Moritz Seider, have earned significant “iron man” streaks of late:

A look at the NHL’s longest active Iron Man streaks as we approach the regular season 💪 pic.twitter.com/cPNfmVXa9c

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 26, 2026

Of brief Red Wings-related note over the last 12 hours:

DetroitRedWings.com: Jonathan Mills posted an off-day notebook last night which focused on the Wings’ preparations for both tonight’s exhibition finale vs. Columbus and the regular season as a whole:

“We’ll play close to our lineup [on Saturday], but it won’t be our complete lineup,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “Some guys have already used up their two games, and then we’ll decide after that. We talked yesterday about the business part of it. We talked about the roster size and how we want to put it together. Those decisions will be made after the game tomorrow and Sunday so that we can submit on Monday, like all the other teams, what we’re going to start with.”

McLellan has indicated most of the club’s 23-man Opening-Night roster is largely set with a handful of spots still up for grabs, barring further injuries, and that became even more clear on Friday afternoon when the Red Wings announced they trimmed their preseason roster to 28 players.

“The veterans that are here and were here last year have a spot until somebody takes that spot,” McLellan said. “I’m sure there’s debate: Why keep that guy? Why keep this guy? For me, I’ve watched him — Appleton, for example — and I think he’s played the last two games exactly the way we want him to play, and that’s a real good thing for him and for us. If he, or anybody else, can’t do it, then we have to find it somewhere. If that’s from within, great. If not, we’ll have to go out and get it.”

MLive: MLive’s Edward Pevos posted an article about some of the new merchandise offerings at Little Caesars Arena for this upcoming season;

Detroit Hockey Now: Bob Duff wrote an article about Mason Appleton’s attempt to keep his job and improve upon a disappointing first season with the Red Wings:

Both the Red Wings and Blue Jackets are icing NHL-ready lineups for tonight’s exhibition finale (7 PM EDT start on Detroit SportsNet/97.1 FM). Dylan Larkin won’t be ready for the game, but coach Todd McLellan told the assembled media that he’s working hard to return from his upper-body injury.

After the morning skate, Carter Mazur spoke with the media, as did coach Todd McLellan:

Also:

Tonight's squad vs. Columbus. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/MNtUTewXL0

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 26, 2026

Appleton has played his two-game max as a veteran, so Mazur in for his last shot to make an impression.

“It’s kind of do or die, in a way,” he said this morning https://t.co/5YBRDNxz2a

— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) September 26, 2026

Both the Red Wings and Blue Jackets are icing NHL-game ready lineups based upon today’s morning skate and the Blue Jackets’ roster Tweet ahead of tonight’s match-up (7 PM EDT start on Detroit SportsNet/97.1 FM).

After the morning skate, the Hockey News’s Michael Whitaker and MLive’s Ansar Khan posted updates on Dylan Larkin’s status, as well as the shape of the Wings’ leadership group…

Dylan Larkin will not play tonight; his status for Friday’s regular season opener has yet to be determined. #LGRW #RedWings

— Michael Whitaker (@mwhitaker_89) September 26, 2026

#RedWings McLellan said they might add a third alternate captain in addition to Seider and Raymond this season. (DeBrincat would seem the most likely choice.) Said he doesn’t know if Larkin will be ready for the season opener, saying he’s pushing harder to get ready.

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) September 26, 2026

Here’s the Blue Jackets’ roster and lineup for tonight’s game…

Tonight, the Detroit Red Wings face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight in the final preseason game for both teams (7 PM EDT start on Detroit SportsNet/97.1 the Ticket). Detroit boasts a 2-0-and-1 record; Columbus is 2-and-1.

#RedWings morning skate before tonight’s preseason finale vs. Columbus (7, DSN). Gibson stated to play the entire game. pic.twitter.com/lJ7MeEO80D

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) September 26, 2026

#RedWings lines at the skate:
DeBrincat-Copp-Raymond
Finnie-Kasper-Arvidsson
Rasmussen-Compher-Kolesar
Mazur-Danielson-MBN
Larkin/Appleton
The 8 D skating: Seider, Chiarot, Faulk, ASP, Albert and Anton Johansson, Wallinder and Edvinsson (unsigned). pic.twitter.com/RGthd6Faw9

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) September 26, 2026

Morning skate underway; Final preseason game later this evening against Columbus. #LGRW #RedWings pic.twitter.com/0D1YJKIv9e

— Michael Whitaker (@mwhitaker_89) September 26, 2026

#RedWings power play:
1. Arvidsson/Copp (net front/bumper rotating), DeBrincat-Raymond (flanks), Seider (point).
2. MBN/Kasper (net front/bumper rotating), ASP- Finnie (flanks), Faulk (point). pic.twitter.com/uOj5ktFnnf

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) September 26, 2026

The Blue Jackets have released their roster for tonight’s affair:

From the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRAND RAPIDS ANNOUNCES MULTIPLE TRANSACTIONS

The Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday assigned forwards Tag Bertuzzi, Kaden Bohlsen and Nolan Moyle, defenseman Marcus Crawford, and goaltender Jonathan Lemieux to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.

The Griffins will play two preseason games this Saturday and Sunday against the Cleveland Monsters at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. Grand Rapids will begin the AHL’s regular season on Friday, Oct. 2 when they travel to Rocket Arena to face the Monsters.

Early this morning, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that disgruntled Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin has expanded his potential trade list from 3 teams–the Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild–to 8 teams, including the Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and a mystery team.

This afternoon, MLive’s Ansar Khan ponders the feasibility of Friedman’s report…

None of the seven teams Larkin may or may not be willing to join has anywhere close to the cap space to absorb his $8.7 million cap hit, requiring them to shed a significant amount of salary.

According to puckpedia.com, Vegas ($8.96 million) and Florida ($896,000) are over the cap while Washington ($75K), Dallas ($350K), Colorado ($404K), Minnesota ($928K) and Tampa Bay ($1.85 million) are right up against the cap.

Red Wings interim GM Shawn Horcoff, while declining to discuss the Larkin situation during his lone media address on Sept. 16, indicated he’s not looking to rebuild.

If the Red Wings trade Larkin, they’re determined to get NHL-ready players in return and would need a top-line center.

The Red Wings also realize they have a good value in Larkin, who’s scored 30 or more goals the past five seasons and has five years remaining on his contract.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen also weighed in:

Updated significantly at 4:08 PM: The Detroit Red Wings have assigned 17 players to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, and released 4 more from pro try-outs, all ahead of a weekend in which the Griffins will play back-to-back exhibition games against the Cleveland Monsters at Toledo’s Huntington Center:

Detroit Announces Multiple Transactions

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Friday assigned forwards Ondrej Becher, Cameron Butler, Sheldon Dries, Noah Dower Nilsson, Dylan James, Jesse Kiiskinen, John Leonard, Sutter Muzzatti, Theo Rochette, Dominik Shine and Wilmer Skoog, defensemen Ronnie Attard, Jacob Bryson, Shai Buium and William Lagesson, and goaltenders Trey Augustine and Michal Postava to the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The Red Wings also released forward Kienan Draper, and defensemen Justice Christensen, Alex Kannok Leipert and Jacob Truscott from their professional tryouts, returning them to Grand Rapids.

The Griffins will play two preseason games this Saturday and Sunday against the Cleveland Monsters at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. Grand Rapids will begin the AHL’s regular season on Friday, Oct. 2 when they travel to Rocket Arena to face the Monsters.

Update: Here’s the Red Wings’ version of the press release:

Sportsnet’s Justin Bourne offers a 2-sentence summary of where he sees each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams just before the commencement of the 2026-2027 season, and he offers this take on the Red Wings’ lot in hockey life:

Detroit Red Wings: Ten straight years of missing the playoffs and outside of Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson, there’s not exactly a young star to be found to fix it, all while Dylan Larkin asks out and Alex DeBrincat is appearing on early trade boards. The roster doesn’t even look bad, but they seem destined to hit 90 points and pick 14^th.

Continued; I guess Lucas Raymond doesn’t count as a young star…

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a post-practice notebook which focuses on Red Wings prospect forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard today, discussing the young man’s increased confidence, physicality and finishing skills as “MBN” prepares for his second NHL campaign:

“I feel much more confident,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “Last year I didn’t really expect to make the team. This year I have a goal to make the team, and that’s what I’ve been focusing and working on the whole summer.”

Brandsegg-Nygard actually made the Wings’ opening-night roster last season but after nine games, his performance sagged and confidence appeared to wane.

But Brandsegg-Nygard scored 20 goals in Grand Rapids, prompting another late-season callup to the Wings. All told, he had one point (an assist) in 14 NHL games.

“His entry into North American hockey, like real intense North American hockey, was at the NHL level and it started well,” McLellan said. “But we could see that we probably weren’t going to get him what he needed to develop. We brought him back later in the year and that return stint had already shown or proved to us that he was physically more engaged, and more confident in where he was going on the ice to get the puck. He didn’t defer to somebody else for shots. He’s got a great shot and he used it.”

Coach McLellan also says that Brandsegg-Nygard is more outgoing this time around:

“Last year when I said good morning to him, he would kind of put his head down,” McLellan said. “Now he’s willing to talk and have a conversation. He knows teammates, knows trainers, knows the system and the structure. He’s one year stronger, physically and mentally. He should be as confident as he’s ever been.”