DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills spoke with Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur, who’s battled through a slate of injuries over the course of his professional career.

Mazur inked a 2-year contract with the Wings on July 1st, and he will make his full-time NHL debut this upcoming season. Here’s what Mazur said about signing his contract with Detroit:

“It’s very exciting,” Mazur told DetroitRedWings.com last Thursday. “This is something I worked hard for, so I’m just excited for the opportunity.”

A native of Jackson, Mich., Mazur averaged 10:42 of ice time across eight games with the Red Wings during the 2025-26 campaign. The 24-year-old forward also skated in 16 regular-season contests with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, recording 16 points (11 goals, five assists) before collecting six points (five goals, one assist) in eight Calder Cup Playoff contests.

Having worked his way back from a lower-body injury that sidelined him from late October to late February, Mazur didn’t need much time to think when asked what the biggest takeaway from his season was.

“My resilience,” he said. “I think that’s something that’s just built in me now. Again, injuries happen. I know they do, but you just got to take what you get, so just to come back from those and be put in the right positions has been pretty successful for me.”

Mazur has learned more and more about himself since sustaining a season-ending injury during the second shift of his NHL debut on March 6, 2025, making his return to the Red Wings this spring especially rewarding.

“The first time I was here, that’s a tough way to start your NHL career,” Mazur said. “So, to get back here after the season I had was a very motivating thing for me and just having the confidence that I do belong. I just played my game and got back to it. I feel comfortable here. I know it’s a hard thing to do for sure, get used to playing in a bigger and faster league, but it gave me a lot of confidence.”

Continued at length (this is very good!)

I’m genuinely not certain how the Red Wings should address Patrick Kane’s seemingly imminent departure from Detroit (the rumors persist that he’s going to sign with Toronto, Buffalo or Chicago, but there’s nothing that’s been substantiated as of yet).

My theory is that Kane, who has the same agent as Dylan Larkin in Pat Brisson, may very well wait to see where Larkin ends up (and what return Detroit receives) before signing somewhere, but that’s just my gut feeling talking.

The available free agent forwards who can fill Kane’s skates here in Detroit are up-and-down performers–if you head over to PuckPedia, Eeli Tolvanen, former Wing Anthony Mantha (who might be amenable to a reunion) and former Wing Vladimir Tarasenko (who will definitely not return) headline a very weak class of inconsistent scoring forwards…

But Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith ponders how the Red Wings should move forward, should Kane sign elsewhere, which, again, appears likely, but is, for the present moment, a matter of rumor and “gut feelings” as opposed to substantiated facts:

Noise continues to grow around Kane’s hometown of Buffalo as a potential landing spot. Without Kane, Detroit’s second line breaks up, and much of their 5v5 scoring from last season disappears. To that end, there are still some options out on the market.

Eeli Tolvanen continues to be linked as a potential free agent target for the Red Wings. The former Kraken forward provides some flexibility to play on either wing spot and played at about a half point per game pace last year. Other [trade] options include Patrick Laine, though there have been no official links to the former Canadiens forward.

The Red Wings would have to bet on a bounce back season from the former no. 2 overall pick after he played in only five games last year. However, beggars can’t be choosers in a very shallow free agent market.

Detroit may have to end up looking for a secondary scorer with some snarl, like Michael Bunting, Evander Kane or center Reilly Smith, if they can’t land a Tolvanen or Mantha or Laine.

In any case, the Wings aren’t going to find someone with Kane’s work ethic or relative consistency, so it’s in the secondary scoring department where the Wings may very well take the biggest step back (unless prospects like Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Emmitt Finnie [who scored 13 goals during his rookie season] or Nate Danielson pick up the slack) this upcoming season.

Also of note from Smith this morning is a reminder that the World Junior Summer Showcase starts in Windsor, Ontario from July 26th to August 1st.

Continue reading Replacin’ Kane →

The Hockey Writers’ Tony Wolak has compiled a top-25 list of ranking the Detroit Red Wings’ top prospects, and he shares this list on THW today. As per usual, Tony’s list is well thought-out and thorough. His “final word” offers a good summary of a list that you should check out:

Detroit’s prospect pool is defined more by breadth than elite star power. There are relatively few prospects who project as impact NHL players, but the organization possesses an unusually large collection of players with legitimate NHL trajectories.

Only [Michael] Brandsegg-Nygard and Carter Bear have clear top-six potential. Likewise, [Trey] Augustine could very well be Detroit’s starting goalie in a few years. Beyond that, though, is depth talent – contributors and not game-changers.

Still, at least 12-14 prospects have NHL upside. With so much depth, consolidation can be considered – dealing surplus players at one position for players who can address organizational weaknesses. Trading Cossa (goalie surplus) to the Utah Mammoth for what turned out to be J.P. Hurlbert (offensive talent) is a prime example of that.

So while there’s uncertainty with the NHL roster, it’s encouraging to see an above-average prospect pipeline that can be deployed any number of ways.

Tony continues at length…

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff offers some prospect news this morning, discussing some later-round picks by the Red Wings from the 2026 NHL Draft.

Finnish winger Luka Arkko was selected by the OHL’s Erie Otters in the OHL Import Draft; Duff notes that the 6’3,” 212-pound winger is “coming over” this season (Arkko matriculated with the Pelicans Lahti in Finland):

Red Wings assistant director of player development Dan Cleary likes the approach he immediately encountered from Arkko.

“He right away wanted to come over,” Cleary said. Arkko will play in the OHL this season with the Erie Otters. “It’s great. I’m super excited. We’re going to be able to see him quite a bit. My first impression of Arkko would be that he’s big, and he’s got pretty decent hands. He seems like a really nice kid.”

Duff also offers a rumor regarding the playing destination for Wings 7th round pick Myles Brosnan, a 6,’ 194-pound defenseman selected 194th overall. The Wings picked Brosnan after he dominated at Dexter Southfield School in Massachusetts…

But I’ve received a couple of Google News alerts suggesting that Brosnan’s going to spend a season or two with the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats before heading to Harvard.

Duff’s got the same “intel” from the Moncton fan base, which has been buzzing with the rumor over the past week:

Continue reading Three DHN things: Arkko’s ‘coming over’; fan buzz about Brosnan heading to Moncton; on emulating Finnie →

This is a classic “Summertime Entry” in that it’s a minor detail that may interest Red Wings fans in the Metro Toronto area.

Former Red Wings enforcer Joe Kocur is a charitable force in Southeastern Michigan thanks to the Red Wings Alumni Association and the Joe Kocur Foundation For Children.

This August, you’ll be able to watch Kocur play in a charitable hockey game in Brampton, Ontario, per InBrampton’s Steve Pecar.

The following quote includes some links to the purpose behind “Hockey Night in Brampton” and a Ticketmaster link (tickets start at $36 CDN) as well:

Brampton has unveiled another star-studded lineup for the fifth annual charity game, with current NHL players Dylan Strome of the Washington Capitals and Owen Power of the Buffalo Sabres joining former NHL standouts Ryan Getzlaf, Joe Kocur, Kirk Muller and Cody Hodgson on the ice.

Toronto Maple Leafs legends Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark will once again serve as coaches, while former NHL star and Stanley Cup champion Gary Roberts joins the bench for this year’s event.

The game takes place on Wednesday, Aug. 19, at the CAA Centre in Brampton. Doors open at 6 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m.

Continue reading Red Wings alumnus Joe Kocur to take part in ‘Hockey Night in Brampton’ on August 19th →

A couple of days ago, I was able to post a snippet from Axel Sandin Pellikka’s interview with Norran–a behind-the-paywall Swedish newspaper–as shared with us by Hockeysverige.se’s Linnea Andersson.

Early this morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff provides us with a peek behind the paywall, as ASP discussed the possibility that he may not start the 2026-2027 season in Detroit.

Duff reports that Sandin Pellikka discussed his late-season demotion to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins with Norran’s Mille Dybro…

“Just developing as a player,” Sandin-Pellikka said. “It never hurts to get more games over here and just work on defense, work on offense. Play to the best of my abilities and just get better as a hockey player.”

The Wings added free agent defenseman Jacob Bryson, a 28-year-old NHL veteran, as a depth signing, and prospect D William Wallinder, who will be 24 on July 28th, is out of waiver options. As such:

Continue reading A bit more from Axel Sandin Pellikka’s interview with Norran via DHN →

The Fourth Period offered an update on the Dylan Larkin and Patrick Kane situations, based upon MLive’s Ansar Khan’s report that Larkin has added the Dallas Stars to his 3-team trade list of Vegas, Florida and and Minnesota:

According to Khan, the Red Wings initially asked the Stars for Wyatt Johnston in exchange for Larkin, but that was a non-starter for Dallas GM Jim Nill.

The Stars are believed to be willing to move restricted free agent sniper Jason Robertson to Detroit for Larkin, but such a move would require additional pieces involved and that has resulted in multiple hurdles, including whether Robertson would sign a long-term extension with Detroit, where he spends part of his off-season.

Several other teams have expressed interest in Larkin, including the San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken and New Jersey Devils, but Larkin has not yet been willing to significantly expand his list of teams, prompting Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman to declare he has not offered any guarantees to a move.

After discussing Larkin’s actual aggregate salary owed…

Continue reading The Fourth Period discusses Dylan Larkin and Patrick Kane scuttlebutt →

In a life that’s taken many twists and turns, I hate dealing in hypothetical situations.

The “What if’s” and “should’ves and could’ves” of existence are questions and declarations that don’t really help us reexamine wrong decisions we’ve made, the unfulfilled wishes that we have or the potential situations where we might have found ourselves in a very different place, had things gone differently.

We can only learn from the past, not re-litigate it, and we can only affect our present and our future. We can figure out what went wrong by performing an autopsy/audit of how we screwed up, we can try to implement plans to do things differently and/or avoid making the same mistake(s) today and tomorrow, and then, we have to move forward.

As such, I’m not posting a very well-written article from Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff that wonders “What If the Red Wings Had Made the Playoffs?” because Detroit didn’t do that.

I don’t believe that Dylan Larkin or Patrick Kane’s nebulous off-season destinations would not be in doubt simply because the Wings earned a playoff spot.

To me, maybe it’s wistful to wonder whether we’d be talking about a Larkin trade scenario if Detroit hadn’t face-planted over the course of the second half of this past season…

But it’s not useful to try to re-play those games for the sake of anything other than to perform an autopsy/audit on what actually happened, and to examine past practices so that the Red Wings can attempt to avoid them in the future.

I feel a somewhat similarly regarding draft pick development.

It’s really easy to say that team X should have drafted player Y instead of player Z, but second-guessing and third-guessing picks that weren’t made doesn’t help with having to develop the players that you’ve got to their maximum potential. You can’t redraft; you can make better choices next time around.

Along those lines, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen has discusses “Why Draft Picks Don’t Work in [a] Larkin Deal” this morning.

Let’s talk “present and future” regarding a Larkin trade, at least as best as we are able:

Continue reading Why the Red Wings will try to ‘lose with dignity’ in any Dylan Larkin trade →

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS SIGN NOLAN MOYLE TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday signed forward Nolan Moyle to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season.   

Moyle, a fourth-year professional out of the University of Michigan, made his AHL debut with the Griffins on Nov. 12, 2025, and concluded last season with two points (1-1—2), 15 penalty minutes and a plus-five rating in 16 outings with Grand Rapids. Also in 2025-26, the 27-year-old showed 10 points (5-5—10) in nine games with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, and eight points (1-7—8) in six appearances with EC-KAC in the ICEHL (Austria’s top pro league). The Royal Oak, Michigan, native began his pro career with the Kunlun Red Star in the KHL (China) from 2023-25 and totaled 13 points (5-8—13), 37 penalty minutes and a minus-eight rating in 67 combined outings before joining Toledo midway through the 2024-25 campaign. As a pro, Moyle has 48 points (18-30—48) and 86 penalty minutes in 130 contests from 2023-26.

Prior to turning pro, Moyle spent five seasons at the University of Michigan from 2018-23, serving as captain as a fifth-year senior in 2022-23. Moyle became a two-time Big Ten champion with the Wolverines (2021-22, 2022-23) and accumulated 46 points (24-22—46), 156 penalty minutes and a plus-15 rating in 164 career games. Moyle also spent two seasons in the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers from 2016-18 and notched 60 points (24-36—60) in 116 career contests.

We already knew that Red Wings prospect goaltender Rudy Guimond was headed to Harvard University this upcoming season, but in case you’ve forgotten about his circuitous journey to the men’s hockey program, Harvard made sure to post a quick “welcome!” message to Guimond yesterday:

Welcome to Harvard, Rudy Guimond 🔴#GoCrimson | #OneCrimson pic.twitter.com/I8L2n5FDt1

— Harvard Men's Hockey (@HarvardMHockey) July 9, 2026