Five Red Wings make the Free Press’s cut for Detroit’s ‘All-21st Century Team’

The Detroit Free Press has been examining the first 25 years of the 21st century in Detroit sports recently, discussing the all-star teams for the Tigers, Lions (offense and defense), Pistons, Michigan State University’s basketball and football teams (offense and defense), the University of Michigan’s basketball and football teams (offense and defense), and yet, the Detroit Red Wings’ “All-21st Century Team” as well.

Today, the Free Press’s Christian Romo was tasked with naming the “All-21st Century Team” for each and every one of Detroit’s four big sports teams (and the Michigan State and Michigan varsity basketball and football teams), and here are the Red Wings on his list:

First, Darren McCarty earned an honorable mention…

Darren McCarty (Red Wings, 1993-2004, 2007-09)

A four-time Stanley Cup winner and longtime enforcer for the Red Wings, McCarty is probably best known for his role during Fight Night at the Joe on March 26, 1997, where he forced Colorado Avalanche winger Claude Lemieux to “turtle” on the ice during a fight. (He also scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in Game 4 of the Finals that season.) But that’s so last century.

Nowadays, McCarty may be better known for his celebrity status around Detroit, with his involvement in the local wrestling scene and television commercials maintaining his popularity in the city.

Jimmy Howard and Dylan Larkin just made the cut…

Continue reading Five Red Wings make the Free Press’s cut for Detroit’s ‘All-21st Century Team’

HSJ in the morning: Checking in with Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

The Free Press’s Helene St. James checks in on the progress made by Red Wings prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard this morning, discussing MBN’s 2024-2025 season…

“I’ve improved a lot in my skating – that’s one thing I focused a lot on in the last year, after I got drafted,” Brandsegg-Nygård said. “I’m young; I can develop everything. I just try to do everything at once.”

Everything all at once can overwhelm even those in the best of shape, but credit Brandsegg-Nygård for his enthusiasm. It’s shared by the Wings, who last year took the unusual step of bringing the forward to training camp in September, even though he already was embedded with his SHL team, Skellefteå. Because he already was 6 feet 1 and 207 pounds, Brandsegg-Nygård was able to hold his own physically against men.

Once the preseason was over, Brandsegg-Nygård was returned to his Swedish club. He posted five goals and six assists in 42 games, with another four goals and two assists in 11 playoff games.

“It was a tough season,” Brandsegg-Nygård said. “I wasn’t too happy about it. I’m not used to not getting as much points as you really want to make. But the team didn’t have a great season either, so pretty tough to have like you feel like you lose every game and you don’t help them enough. Just learn from it and get stronger in your mind.”

And his North American debut:

As soon as Skellefteå’s season ended, the Wings brought Brandsegg-Nygård to Grand Rapids so that he could experience AHL hockey.

“I thought as the games went along, he got better and better,” director of player development Dan Cleary said. “He’s got a good frame to him and he’s got a good mindset. He’s a very competitive player. He’s is really a super fun guy to be around. He’s always smiling.”

With the Griffins bowing out in three games and the series over by May 9, that freed up Brandsegg-Nygård to play at the World Championship, where he posted four assists in five games.

Continued; MBN is definitely going to have to adjust to the narrower North American ice surface (85 feet wide instead of 100 feet wide) and the faster pace of play in the AHL, but Brandsegg-Nygard’s shoot-first mentality should serve him well as he begins his North American apprenticeship in earnest.

Allen: Red Wings’ single-game tickets go on sale on Friday, August 8th

According to Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen, the Red Wings’ single-game tickets will go on sale on Friday, August 8th:

On August 8 (10 a.m) Detroit Red Wings single-game tickets can be purchased at DetroitRedWings.com/Tickets. Fans may register for the priority presale list for the opportunity to purchase tickets before the general public by visiting the 2025-26 Priority Presale page.

Former Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios to be inducted into Michigan Sports Hall of Fame’s class of 2025

As reported by MLive’s Ansar Khan, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen, the Free Press’s Christian Romo and the Associated Press, former Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios was named to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame’s induction class of 2025 this evening.

Chelios will be joined by Detroit Pistons star Rasheed Wallace, boxer Claressa Shields, Michigan State University basketball star Jason Richardson, Michigan State University football coach Mark Dantonio, Detroit Tigers GM David Dombrowski and Detroit Free Press baseball writer John Lowe.

Today’s press release states that Chelios and company will be inducted at the MotorCity Casino on December 19th, and they describe Chelios as follows:

Chris Chelios

A Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman who played a decade for the Detroit Red Wings, Chris Chelios helped lead the team to two of its Stanley Cup Championships. Named one of the NHL’s 100 all-time greatest players, Chelios played all of his seasons in Detroit after the age of 37, leading the league in plus/minus in the championship season of 2001-2002.


It’s also worth noting that late Detroit sports superfan Andy Isaac, a.k.a. @Worldofisaac on Twitter, will be inducted posthumously as a winner of the “Courage Award.”

Kulfan attempts to predict the Red Wings’ likely AHL recalls

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan attempts to discern which players who will begin this season with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins might end up playing important injury replacement roles on the Red Wings’ roster.

Among Kulfan’s picks are the following players:

▶ Carter Mazur, left wing, 2021 third-round selection: The Jackson native made the NHL in March, but in his first game dislocated an elbow and missed the rest of his hockey season.

Mazur, 23, would seem to have a legitimate shot at grabbing what looks like one available forward spot on the roster. But the Wings, understandably, usually don’t like to put young players in a spot where they don’t regularly play. Better to play regularly, and get plenty of playing time, at the AHL level.

Mazur has gotten stronger physically this summer, something that was important. Injuries have set Mazur (6-foot, 170 pounds) back; otherwise he possibly would have been in the NHL already.

“He’s a great kid and a good player,” said Dan Cleary, the Wings director of player development. “He’s had some tough luck with injuries during his pro career which has been unfortunate. I tell him it stinks, but you have to start over and dig in and rehab and keep going. He was in such a good place last year and had put in tremendous work. He’s put good weight on his frame and been able to keep it, and he’s going to need it. For him, it’s just he has had some bad luck. I’m hoping he can get past the bad luck, and I know he does too, and I believe he will.”

▶ Nate Danielson, center, 2023 first-round selection: The Wings’ first-round pick in 2023, Danielson had 12 goals and 39 points in his first pro season in Grand Rapids. Danielson, 20, is a sound two-way center who impressed on the defensive side of the rink and overcame a slow start offensively in the AHL. Danielson (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) can make the NHL if he impresses in training camp and can win a regular spot in the lineup.

“It’s just learning to do it, particularly as a centerman, to do a lot of the little things with and without the puck, that really make you effective maybe at the pro level,” said Yzerman said of Danielson.  “When you’re a good skater and junior or any lower league, you can kind of skate your way through everything, and you need to do more than that. It’s been a good year for him. He’s worked hard. Early in the season, he suffered a pretty significant injury, a facial injury, and to his credit, I don’t know that he missed the game. He put the face mask on and away he went, which is very encouraging for us.”

Continued; Kulfan also lists Axel Sandin Pellikka, Sebastian Cossa, Michal Postava, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, William Wallinder and Amadeus Lombardi as possible call-ups.

Tweet of note: PuckPedia prepares us for NCAA free agency

PuckPedia posted a Tweet which lists the NCAA-playing graduates whose NHL-drafting teams’ rights expire on August 15th, making the players unrestricted free agents.

The list includes 22-year-old outgoing Michigan State University captain and 2021 Detroit draft pick Red Savage, who may be holding out to try and land an NHL contract. My gut feeling is that the Red Wings are trying to sign the hard-working grinding forward to an AHL deal, and he may expect more, contractually speaking.

The PuckPedia list mostly includes some solid depth players this summer, but it would not surprise me if an NHL contract or three were doled out to these players. Isaac Howard being traded to Edmonton kind of took the air out of the NCAA free agency balloon.

Roughly translated: Marco Kasper takes part in a charity golf tournament with EC-KAC in Klagenfurt, Austria

The Kleine Zeitung’s Martin Quendler-Trabesinger reports that Red Wings forward Marco Kasper and members of EC-KAC Klagenfurt of the ICE Hockey League took part in a charity golf tournament on Friday.

The Austrian German translation is a little garbled, and Quendler-Trabesinger focuses on naming everybody who participated in and sponsored the golf tournament, so the real “goodie” here consists of the pictures of Kasper and company on the course, which you’ll have to click here to see, and there’s a 3:08 embedded video chronicling the tournament. It’s in Austrian German, however, so it’s a little hard for me to translate.

Anyway, here’s a rough translation of the article:

Continue reading Roughly translated: Marco Kasper takes part in a charity golf tournament with EC-KAC in Klagenfurt, Austria

Press release: Red Wings unveil centennial season promotional schedule

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

Red Wings announce 2025-26 theme nights & promotional schedule, including Centennial Era celebrations

  • Single-game tickets on sale August 8, presale access available at detroitredwings.com
  • Centennial Eras focusing on historic seasons, events and players throughout franchise history
  • Fan-favorite theme nights return, including Thanksgiving Eve and New Year’s Eve, Star Wars Night, Tigers Night, Heritage Nights and College Nights
  • Giveaways include Zamboni gravy boat, vintage bobblehead and Joe Louis Arena coffee mug

DETROIT – Following last week’s reveal of the 2025-26 Detroit Red Wings regular season schedule, the team today announced its slate of promotional and theme nights. Included within that announcement are several Centennial Era Nights, dedicated to celebrating specific periods within the 100 Years of Hockeytown.

On August 8 at 10 a.m., single-game tickets can be purchased on DetroitRedWings.com/Tickets. Fans can sign up for the priority presale list today for the opportunity to purchase tickets before the general public by visiting the 2025-26 Priority Presale page.

Red Wings Centennial appropriately begins with an Original Six matchup against the Montreal Canadiens on October 9 at Little Caesars Arena. The game will be preceded by the fan-favorite Red Carpet Walk, presented by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and Meijer, allowing all fans to join in Opening Night festivities in Chevy Plaza.

Red Wings Centennial

The 2025-26 season has added significance, with Red Wings Centennial celebrating 100 years of Hockeytown dating back to the team’s founding in 1926. As part of Red Wings Centennial, presented by Meijer, the organization will host a series of events and alumni appearances, produce original exclusive content, unveil a commemorative jersey design and lead community initiatives to honor a century of excellence on and off the ice.

Throughout the upcoming season, the team’s rich history will be celebrated through five distinct Eras. This begins with Origins Era (October), Dynasty Era (November), Iconic Moments from Olympia Stadium and Joe Louis Arena (December), Dominance Era (January) and Next Flight Era (March and April). Each Era will have a specific night of celebration at Little Caesars Arena featuring legendary teams, players and moments.

Hockeytown Centennial FanFest is a four-day immersive experience taking place from November 6-9, 2025, at MotorCity Casino Hotel, while 100 Years of Hockeytown: A Night at the Fox Theatre, a unique multimedia celebration bringing Red Wings history to life through music, video and live storytelling, will be held on Saturday, November 8 at Detroit’s iconic Fox Theatre. For more information on these celebrations, fans can click here. Tickets for the Hockeytown Centennial FanFest and 100 Years of Hockeytown: A Night at the Fox Theatre are now available at DetroitRedWings.com/100.

The full 2025-26 season promotional calendar, including theme nights, fan giveaway items and group ticket specials, is listed below.

Red Wings 2025-26 Promotional, Giveaway and Theme Game Calendar

Continue reading Press release: Red Wings unveil centennial season promotional schedule

Tweet of note: Red Wings to hold ‘eras nights’ this upcoming season

Per the Detroit Red Wings on Twitter, the Red Wings will hold 7 “theme nights” which spotlight the team’s evolution this upcoming season:

A third take on the sky-high compensation prices for Rust and Rakell

The trade rumors regarding Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell have been stirring since the start of the free agent period.

This week, both Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski and Bleacher Report’s Adam Gretz offered takes on the respective values of Rust and Rakell as consolation prizes for the teams that were unable to land a top-six forward via free agency.

This evening, we receive another take from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ press, via the Hockey News’s Kelsey Surmacz, and she believes that one of said players is worth a compensation package that includes one high or two late first-round draft picks.

According to Surmacz, the Penguins shouldn’t be interested in an offer from the Detroit Red Wings or any other team unless Penguins GM and President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas can get into the late 1st round at least once, if not twice:

Continue reading A third take on the sky-high compensation prices for Rust and Rakell