A tier-four-out-of-five defense?

TSN’s Travis Yost ranks the NHL’s 32 teams’ defensive corps into tiers today, and he suggests that the Red Wings’ defense ranks 4th in terms of a 1-to-5 tier system:

Detroit Red Wings (T4) — Consider me eager to see what 22-year old Simon Edvinsson brings to the table in his second full season. Detroit’s been looking for defensive quality beyond Moritz Seider ever since Filip Hronek was traded to Vancouver, and Edvinsson impressed in his rookie campaign with 31 points in 78 games. Only four defenders of a similar age produced better than that rate, and it’s an encouraging group: Montreal’s Lane Hutson, New Jersey’s Luke Hughes, Buffalo’s Owen Power, and Los Angeles’ Brandt Clarke.

Continued; I would politely disagree regarding the Red Wings’ defensive corps’ relative flimsiness–there’s more than Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson and “everyone else”–but I would suggest that trading Filip Hronek was taking a step back to take a step forward in terms of Axel Sandin Pellikka’s sky-high potential.

Bultman discusses ‘prospect timelines’

The Athletic’s Max Bultman attempts to discern the “timelines” of the Red Wings’ top prospects this morning. Bultman discusses the probable dates at which time the Wings’ prospects might make their NHL debuts, and then at some point, become regular NHL players:

In the “coming soon” department are Carter Mazur, Nate Danielson and Sebastian Cossa:

Carter Mazur

Long-term projection: Bottom-six forward

Estimated arrival: 2025-26

Mazur made his debut already, and for that reason, he’s probably the slight favorite for the next young player to get the call. His debut was short-lived, of course. He sustained a season-ending injury just over a minute into his first game, but the work Mazur put in to earn that call-up last spring didn’t just vanish when he got hurt.

When healthy,  the 23-year-old Mazur has lived up to his reputation as a gritty forward with a nose for the net, willing to dig out pucks for second chances and boasting an impressive shot. That could give him a nice path to a bottom-six role soon, adding the kind of hard offense Detroit needs more of.

He’ll need to deliver a strong preseason — and stay healthy — but I could see him jumping into the bottom six more regularly this season, and possibly early.

Nate Danielson

Long-term projection: Second-line center

Estimated arrival: 2025-26

Danielson has all the tools to be a legit second-line center in the NHL as a smart, responsible, 6-foot-2 center who skates well and can make plays with the puck.

The main question on whether he will reach that level is the production — which, in fairness, was virtually identical to what Kasper did in the same league at the same point in his development. But the two are different players, and it remains to be seen if Danielson can find the same hard-area offense Kasper has. So if you wanted to say “middle-six center” as the projection, I could understand that too. Especially with Kasper looking like Detroit’s long-term 2C.

But whatever the long-term role, I think Danielson makes his way to Detroit at some point this coming season. He’d need a big camp to make the team for opening night, with the Red Wings typically preferring their top prospects play a major role in Grand Rapids, but it’s easy to imagine him getting a look at some point this season and earning his keep when he does.

Danielson has a lot of tools to work with and a lot of ways to contribute in a top nine very soon.

Bultman continues (paywall)

Pavel Datsyuk addresses the Red Wings’ rebuild in an interview with RG.com

RG.com’s Sergey Demidov spoke with former Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk ahead of a charity game in his hometown of Yekaterinburg, Russia on August 30th. Datsyuk addresses an array of topics, including the state of the Red Wings:

In the summer of 2024, Datsyuk returned to the Detroit Red Wings, the club he starred for from 2001 to 2016, attending their development camp.

“It was an interesting experience for me – and I hope for them too,” he says.

Detroit, once the NHL’s model franchise with 25 straight playoff appearances and Stanley Cups in 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008, remains in a drawn-out rebuild. They missed the postseason again in 2024–25 – their ninth straight absence – despite late-season wins over playoff teams like New Jersey. Young stars Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider give hope, but the climb back is steep.

“The Red Wings were at the top for a long time, winning many titles, so it’s understandable that their rebuild is taking more time than usual,” Datsyuk explains. “They say a rebuild takes about seven years, but since Detroit was so high up, the road back to the top takes even longer. Now Detroit has a great arena, which is already a big plus. Perhaps what the team lacks is standout leaders – but that’s true not only for Detroit, it applies to hockey in general. Players are maturing more slowly these days, and some never mature at all, staying teenagers forever.”

That being said, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin receives Datsyuk’s stamp of approval…

Captain Dylan Larkin is now the face of the team. Datsyuk played alongside him in Larkin’s rookie year.

“It’s hard to give advice when I haven’t seen him in 10 years,” he says. “I played with him when he was still very young. A lot of time has passed. He stands out now, already an experienced and mature player. He understands everything. As a team, they probably just lack confidence.”

And you can take this for what you will:

Looking ahead to 2026, Datsyuk offers a bold forecast: “Here’s my prediction – Detroit will reach the conference final. As for Florida, which has won two Stanley Cups, it will be hard to win a third in a row. I think it will be very difficult for them – partly because of the short summer, and also because motivation won’t be quite the same.”

Carter Bear took time out for his First Nations community on Saturday

Red Wings prospect Carter Bear was honored for his accomplishments by his Peguis First Nations community on Saturday, and the CTV News Winnipeg’s Harrison Shin reports that all went well at the Peguis Multiplex, some two hours north of Winnipeg, on Saturday afternoon:

“Just an immense amount of pride. We haven’t stopped telling people where he’s from, and what our connections are to the community,” said Chief Stan Bird of Peguis First Nation. “It’s a real positive thing for our youth to see – to be part of history. 18-year-old Indigenous person being drafted by the Detroit Red Wings. That’s history itself.”

Chief Bird said he initially didn’t expect Bear to have the time to sign individual autographs and take pictures, but Bear made it happen on Saturday.

“We’re very pleased that he’ll take a few hours of his time, just to drive to Peguis, to meet with the people of Peguis. There’s a lot of pride here, and for him to come back and to interact with the people, I think it’s a really positive, uplifting experience for all of us.”

To mark Bear’s selection by the Red Wings, organizers served free hot wings at the event.

Bear was supposed to attend the event for an hour, but it appears that he took as long as necessary to to sign fans’ autographs and give the kids memories of meeting with the community’s first NHL-drafted athlete. Good on him.

Update: Here’s more from Winnipeg’s Classic 107’s Colleen Houde:

Continue reading Carter Bear took time out for his First Nations community on Saturday

Talking about All-Time top Red Wings players

Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Kuehl was tasked with compiling a list of the top 25 players in Detroit Red Wings history this morning, and here are three of his selections:

8. Pavel Datsyuk (2001-2016)

One of the most gifted players in the modern era, Datsyuk was the epitome of a two-way center, but had hands that made him mesmerizing to watch. After making his debut on the legendary 2002 Stanley Cup team, Datsyuk became one of the more prominent players in the game in the salary cap era. The Russian scored over 80 points four years in a row, including back-to-back 97-point campaigns in 2007-08 and 2008-09. His 23 points in the ’08 playoffs helped Detroit capture the Stanley Cup. Along with winning the Selke three times, and the Lady Byng four times, Datsyuk ranks sixth in all-time as a Wing with 604 assists, sitting eighth in goals (314), seventh in points (918) and tied for ninth in games played (953).

7. Alex Delvecchio (1951-1974)

The epitome of class and longevity, Delvecchio is one of the few players to have spent over two decades with the Red Wings. All 24 of his seasons in the NHL were with the winged wheel, and no one could have asked for more from “Fats.” He took over the centerman role of The Production Line from Sid Abel, and went on to be one of the greatest to play the game. No. 10 was invited to the All-Star Game 13 times, second only to Gordie Howe, and won the Lady Byng three times. The three-time Cup winner is third on the franchise list in games played (1,550), goals (456) and points (1,281) while sitting fourth in assists (825).

6. Sergei Fedorov (1990-2003)

One of the most gifted players I’ve ever laid eyes on. In an era where Lemieux, Gretzky and Messier were considered the best in the game, Fedorov proved that he could outplay them on any given night. Blessed with the speed of a gazelle, the Russian star made opponents look silly with his skill. The Hall of Famer put himself in the limelight in 1993-94, winning the Hart and Selke Trophies, along with the Ted Lindsay Award (then known as the Lester B. Pearson Award), after scoring an exceptional 56 goals and 120 points. In 13 years with the Wings, Fedorov scored 400 goals (4th), 554 assists (7th) and 954 points (6th). He’s also third in points in the postseason with 163.

Continued; this is a very good representative list.

The Mason McTavish-for-ASP rumor grows legs and goes for a walk

Okay, so…

Four days ago, RG.com’s Jimmy Murphy suggested that the Detroit Red Wings might be one of three teams interested in acquiring restricted free agent forward Mason McTavish from the Anaheim Ducks, with Murphy noting the long-time connection between Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman and his one-time right-hand man, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek…

The dog days of the 2025 NHL offseason are officially in session, but as the calendar turned to August, speculation surrounding Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish remained.

“I think there’s a better chance now that the Ducks keep him, but teams are still trying to get him from the Ducks and wondering where this is going, and it’s still in a circling pattern,” an NHL Executive source told RG on Tuesday night.  

“I’ve heard the Canadiens and Hurricanes have been keeping tabs, but one team I keep hearing that has continued to show strong interest is the Detroit Red Wings. Obviously there’s a history there with Pat [Verbeek] and Steve [Yzerman], and I really think Steve sees McTavish as a player that would clearly change the whole dynamic of his team up the middle there.”

But Murphy also suggested that the Red Wings would have to give up Axel Sandin Pellikka in exchange for McTavish. While McTavish is a gritty top-six forward with 20-goal-scoring potential, I’m not inclined to create a hole on the Red Wings’ blueline for the sake of filling a hole in terms of the Wings’ need for a top-six forward.

For me, that’s a non-starter.

Yesterday, NHL Trade Rumor’s Geoff Hannah (with whom I have no beef) wrote an article that I thought would have to be nothing more than something written for early August shock value, but it’s very slow out there, so the rumor got some frog’s legs, and started hopping around…

Continue reading The Mason McTavish-for-ASP rumor grows legs and goes for a walk

Tweet of note: Gordie Howe was the greatest of them all

TSN’s BarDown offered us this at 12:43 AM on August 10th…

So I answered honestly:

The answer is an unqualified “YES!” from me.

I loved Steve, Nick, Pavel, Sergei, Henrik, Alex, Ted, so many more Red Wings that you can refer to by their first names and know who you’re talking about…But Gordie is a phenomenon unto himself.

I shook is hand once. He was in Traverse City, and he had gotten pretty bad in terms of his dementia, but I saw Gordie Howe standing there and I knew that it would be my only time to ever say “Hello” to MY greatest of all time.

I said, “Hello, Sir, it’s an honor to meet you” and I grabbed his hand. This absolute meathook of a hand shook back with the strength of ten men.

He just…from stem to stern, from his boyhood until those final days, Gordie was the most vicious player on ice, and the kindest, most dignified and gentle soul off the ice, and they don’t make a player who’s his own enforcer any more.

Squeeze Yzerman’s skill, Fedorov’s natural athleticism and Probert’s brutality into one man, and give him the egoless grace of Lidstrom, and you’ve got a start. But only a start.

NHL.com’s ’32 in 32′ series examines the Detroit Red Wings

NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale and Pete Jensen offer a 5-article set which examines the summertime changes by the Detroit Red Wings.

We all know by now that the Red Wings believe that they will improve upon the team’s up-and-down 2024-2025 season, but Morreale’s “Inside Look at [the] Detroit Red Wings” asks the same questions most of us have for the team’s players and management:

The Detroit Red Wings feel they have the pieces in place to be the most competitive group in seven seasons under general manager Steve Yzerman.

“[Our team] is maybe constructed a little better than it was at this stage last year, so I’m hopeful that we take a step,” Yzerman said. “Overall, I think we’re a little bit better. How many points does that translate to in the season? We’re going to find out.”

The biggest reason for optimism is the addition of goalie John Gibson, who was acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks on June 28. The 32-year-old is 204-217-63 with a 2.89 GAA, .910 save percentage and 24 shutouts in 506 NHL games (494 starts) since 2013-14, all with Anaheim.

“Obviously we make that [trade for Gibson] with the intention that we’re better in net and we stop more pucks,” Yzerman said. “It makes us a better team and we’re expecting that of John and Cam (Talbot) as a pair.”

Detroit took a step back last season following a steady improvement since Yzerman became GM on April 19, 2019. After hitting rock bottom with 39 points (.275) in 2019-20, Detroit’s points percentage improved steadily each of the next four seasons — .429, .451, .488, .555. It dipped to .524 last season, when the Red Wings finished with 86 points, five behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

The Red Wings failed to qualify for the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, extending the longest drought in the team’s 99-season history.

“You grow up playing hockey and you play to win stuff,” forward Lucas Raymond said. “Obviously, not being able to do that is frustrating. It’s not fun at all. I think I speak for everyone when I say that. Everyone is very determined to change that and take that next step very soon.”

Continued, with discussion of the team’s coaching change this past season, the additions and subtractions to the roster, and the team’s yin-and-yang special teams play…

With that, we’re going to kind of skip to the end here, with Morreale asking “3 questions facing [the] Detroit Red Wings” a month before training camp.

The biggest question is a little repetitious here, but we have to ask it:

Will a full season under Todd McLellan and his coaching staff, utilizing a very similar roster to last year’s team, manage to “move the needle” as teams like Ottawa and Montreal more aggressively attempt to improve?

Continue reading NHL.com’s ’32 in 32′ series examines the Detroit Red Wings