While we await the outcome of Dylan Larkin’s trade request, there’s one thing we can be supremely confident about: the Red Wings are about to receive a massive upgrade in leadership. That’s due to the fact that at some point prior to the start of the season, defensemen Mortiz Seider will be named the new team captain.

Recent Red Wings teams have been starved for leadership, but — over the 25 years of their playoff streak that’s become a distant memory — the organization was once spoiled in this department, having been led for 19 years by Steve Yzerman and then 6 years by Nick Lidstrom.

From 1986 to 2012, the Red Wings missed the playoffs once while winning 4 Stanley Cups, winning their Conference crown 6 times, and playing for the Conference title 10 times over that time frame. While Detroit had several advantages back then, most notably the ability to outspend nearly every other franchise, the leaders on those teams were some of the best in the business.

Back in 2020 when Dylan Larkin was appointed team captain, the organization had gone two years without a player wearing the C on his chest, leaving the captaincy vacant after Hank Zetterberg retired. I don’t criticize Steve Yzerman much, but I wasn’t thrilled with him naming Larkin captain for the 2020-21 season. At that time Larkin was understandably immature, with a rep around the league as a diver; he simply didn’t give off the vibes of a guy whose voice would be respected inside the locker room, let alone across the league.

Of course if you were going to appoint someone on that 2020 team as captain, it was going to be Larkin, and I suspect Yzerman felt bestowing the C on Larkin may help to mature the young center.

With great power comes great responsibility, that sort of thing.

We can now say conclusively that the captaincy did not suit Larkin, but it’s also fair to question Yzerman’s decision here: there was no reason he couldn’t have kept the C on ice for a few more seasons while his core developed before settling on the player who would lead the rebuild.

While I can see a decision tree that implied you either needed to name Larkin captain at some point around that time or trade him, but ultimately that’s how it’s going to play out after you’ve spent the past six years in the wilderness. That’s on Yzerman, and I am generally not one to point fingers at him.

Larkin never rose to the challenge, and Yzerman will make the correct decision when he passes the captain role to Moritz Seider.

Before we go any further, let me take a brief pit stop here and say that I agree with the general thought that leaders come in all sorts: extroverts and introverts, long-time vets and fresh faced youngsters, the biggest or the littlest guy in the room, forwards, defenders, and sure, even goalies. So while I have found Larkin wanting as a leader, it’s not due to age or any other easily definable characteristic.

Let’s take a short detour to remember a leader who was in a similar situation to the one Mo Seider will find himself in, a guy who went on to become loved by Detroiters as the face of a franchise that went on to play in 6 straight conference finals while appearing in two championship series, ultimately winning a league championship.

The Type of Leader Detroit Embraces

If there’s one leadership transition with a Detroit sports team I think fits most closely to the transition from Dylan Larkin to Moritz Seider, it would be the one that took place with the Detroit Pistons at the dawn of the century. Grant Hill’s leadership with those late ‘90s Pistons teams reminds me quite a bit of Larkin’s; Hill had it all, from the blue blood pedigree as a player at Duke, to the cheering section from the ESPN talking heads. So when the Pistons drafted Hill 3rd overall in 1994, he was believed to be the cornerstone who would return the Pistons back to being championship contenders following their 1989 and 1990 back to back NBA championships.

That didn’t happen.

Hill never fit the identity of what the Pistons have always been about when they were at their most formidable, and as such, was never fully embraced by the fans. A player who won at an absurd clip while surrounded by NBA lottery talent at Duke, Hill wasn’t capable of leading a team like the Pistons who weren’t going to out-talent teams on a nightly basis.

Grant Hill simply didn't have that dawg in him.

When it became obvious Hill wasn’t going to sign a contract extension in Detroit, general manager Joe Dumars traded him for the player who was unquestionably the centerpiece of the team that won the 2004 NBA championship: Ben Wallace.

While Grant Hill never won over Detroit sports fans, Ben Wallace was held up as a source of pride about what it meant to be a Detroiter. Wallace was an undersized 6 foot, 9 inch center; he played his college ball at places you’ve likely never heard of, first at Cuyahoga Community College and then Virginia Union. When the NBA held their 1996 entry draft, Wallace didn’t hear his name called.

Ben Wallace was the polar opposite of Grant Hill.

When the trade between Detroit and Orlando was announced, it was considered one-sided, but what could Joe Dumars be expected to do when he was reduced to a sign and trade situation with what was supposed to be his cornerstone piece, whom he was sending off to become the Magic’s cornerstone piece?

But then, something remarkable happened: Ben Wallace thrived in Detroit, and as he led those Pistons teams, he became a symbol for how Detroiter’s tend to view themselves. He came from a humble background, and through the hard work that’s been referred to as a blue collar work ethic, Wallace brought both himself and his team to the mountaintop. There was a phrase that came to symbolize the city back then:

Detroit Hustles Harder.

Point guard Chauncey Billups used to growl ‘if it ain’t rough, it ain’t right’ and that Pistons championship team fit Detroiters to a T.

Ted Lindsay could certainly appreciate an athlete like Ben Wallace. For opponents, nothing was ever going to come easy when facing the undersized center who, as a ferocious defender and rebounder, was the heart and soul of that era of DEETROIT BASKETBALL (if you know, you know).

Simply put, Ben Wallace was embraced by the city in a way Grant Hill could never hope to be appreciated outside of Durham, North Carolina.

The Moritz Seider Era

Now let’s not get it twisted: unlike Ben Wallace who went undrafted, Moritz Seider was the 6th overall draft pick in Steve Yzerman’s first draft class as Red Wings general manager. And while Seider being drafted that high was a shock on draft night, time has proven it was the correct decision.

With that caveat out of the way, I do believe Seider as captain will have the same impact on the Red Wings that Ben Wallace had on the Detroit Pistons.

There’s one important similarity between Wallace and Seider: Moritz plays internationally for Germany, a country that is not a hockey blue blood. At the start of each tournament, the expectation is for the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland to compete for the top medals.

Germany is often an afterthought.

Seider, however, has been impressive in these international tournaments where he’s been expected to play the most minutes each night, going up against the best of the best that the blue bloods put on the ice.

Moritz Seider has never shied away from that challenge. German National Team head coach Harold Kreis said this about Seider: “[he’s] a natural leader…someone who wants responsibility, takes responsibility.”

Mo Seider, like Ben Wallace, has got that dawg in him.

Detroiters embrace sports figures who they believe fit their perception of the Motor City, and they’ve never been shy about showing it. It’s become a thing for Jared Goff chants to break out in just about any situation in literally just about anywhere.

It’s the Detroit sports equivalent of shouting out Free Bird at a concert.

German fans did the same when Seider was representing their home nation earlier this spring in the World Championships.

Having Moritz Seider lead the Red Wings will be a breath of fresh air for an organization that has faltered down the stretch for four years running. Like Dylan Larkin who was put in a tough position as he assumed the captaincy, next season looks like a daunting one for the Red Wings in a stacked Atlantic division, but unlike Larkin, Seider is the type of player who will embrace the responsibility of leading one of the six original teams in the National Hockey League.

Larkin abdicated that responsibility when he complained about the team’s composition at the end of the 2024-25 season. From that moment, his time as the leader of the Detroit Red Wings was all but over.

The time has now come to bid farewell to Dylan Larkin and his thousand yard stare of leadership. In Moritz Seider the Red Wings will once again have a captain befitting one of the most successful organizations in professional sports.

Tidbits are starting to leak out regarding Dylan Larkin’s trade request, which became public last week. Red Wings beat reporter Helene St James is reporting that Larkin submitted a three team trade list to the organization: Vegas, Florida, and Minnesota. In response, Red Wings fans have begun to fume, as it would appear none of these organizations have trade pieces that would be appealing in an open trade market where every team could bid on Larkin’s contract.

That’s one of the downsides of giving players ironclad trade protection.

Of course Steve Yzerman doesn’t have to honor Larkin’s trade request. As I’ve posited in my two previous articles, this upcoming season was looking like an opportune time to retool the rebuild that began under Yzerman, so if it comes down to that, Larkin can sit out while the days on his trade protection slowly winds down.

I personally don’t expect this to happen.

Larkin is represented by Pat Brisson, one of the true pros when it comes to NHL agents. I view this short list as way for them to assert control by limiting the list of preferred choices. Yzerman will now need to do his due diligence and see what he can get from each club before weighing whether he likes the return.

My guess is he will not, with only one club being a legit dance partner. Let’s consider what each team may have to offer for Dylan Larkin’s services.

Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas has little in the way of young talent which would best fit Detroit’s window surrounding Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond. The Red Wings would ideally like to get a center in return, however the Knights’ centers are all on the tail end of their prime years. The one player who would likely interest Yzerman and fit Detroit’s window would be 25 year old Pavel Dorofeyev, who put up 37 goals this past season. He’s apparently played on both wings, so he would address Detroit’s need for a first line left wing.

Vegas doesn’t have a first round draft pick until the 2028 draft, so there’s clearly not much to like when it comes to the Golden Knights. I’m not going to address Vegas’ cap situation — other than to say they currently have $4.6 million in cap space and need to sign 4 forwards and 3 defensemen — but that’s another factor that may make them a poor fit as a trade partner unless Detroit eats a lot of salary in the form of retention, which Yzerman has no incentive to do.

If I wanted to dig a bit deeper in order to try to make this trade work, I would take a look at 29 year old Noah Hanafin as a possible trade target. While Hanafin also has a no-trade clause, perhaps he could be persuaded to waive it in order to get a deal done. I recall hearing Detroit had some interest in Hanafin when the Flames put him on the trade market, but I’m not confident regarding the sources for that rumor.

In this scenario Detroit could ship Albert Johansson to Vegas, as he has a $1.1 million contract that would help the Knights balance the books. That gives Vegas the opportunity to sign impending UFA Rasmus Andersson to a new deal after trading for him this season. Generally speaking, they seem pretty cooked if Alex Piertrangelo attempts to come back from LTIR, but you should know to never count Vegas out when it comes to preposterous trade scenarios.

So here’s what I think a trade could look like:

To Vegas:

Dylan Larkin, Albert Johansson

To Detroit:

Pavel Dorofeyev, Noah Hanafin

Vegas gets center depth and cap relief. Detroit gets their 1LW and a 2LHD to play behind Simon Edvinsson. I really don’t like the complete lack of options for Detroit when it comes to scoring line center, which makes trading Larkin to the Golden Knights unappealing to me.

So Vegas seems like a non-starter, but you can’t blame a guy for trying.

Minnesota Wild

Minnesota traded their best young talent in the Quinn Hughes deal, and their first and second round draft picks in this summer’s draft, so it’s tough to see Detroit having much interest in anything the Wild would want to move while maintaining their aspirations for a long playoff run. Like Vegas, all their centers are at or near the wrong side of 30 as they traded Marco Rossi to Vancouver.

Detroit also wouldn’t seem to be a good landing spot for Jesper Wallstedt — who was reportedly dangled when Minnesota attempted to acquire Robert Thomas — unless the plan was to flip him, but goalies don’t have amazing value on the trade market. Like the Vegas trade scenario, if I was Steve Yzerman I would require Matt Boldy to be part of any trade that sent Larkin to the Wild, as he would fill that 1LW spot in Detroit’s lineup.

Minnesota also has Charlie Stramel as a young center prospect, but his current trajectory makes him unappealing, as there’s no way you view him as a potential scoring line center at this point in time. The other piece that was reportedly included in Guerin’s pursuit of Thomas was Danila Yurov, a young forward who doesn’t project to be a lock as a scoring line winger.

If Yzerman was going to propose a trade with Guerin, I suspect it would look something like this:

To Minnesota:

Dylan Larkin

To Detroit:

Matt Boldy, Charlie Stramel, 2027 first round draft pick

My guess is Bill Guerin wouldn’t agree to part with Boldy, which in my opinion makes consummating a deal impossible. Stramel, Yurov and even Wallstedt aren’t appealing enough to meet the value Detroit would send the other way.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers are the best and worst option: they are the best because they are the one team on Larkin’s list who could ship a young center to Detroit, but the worst because they are a division rival. Any trade that sends Larkin to Florida would likely include 24 year old Anton Lundell going the other way, as he’d fit the Seider and Raymond window. While it’s legitimate to wonder about his offensive upside — he has a career high of 18 goals and 45 points — he has a Stanley Cup pedigree and would provide Detroit with a badly needed pivot who could play alongside Marco Kasper, who has a similar profile as a player.

In an attempt to further bolster Detroit down the middle, Yzerman would certainly want Florida’s 9th overall pick, which has been reported to be in play as a trade chip. With that pick, the Red Wings may decide to select Viggo Björck in the NHL Draft, a diminutive center whom Elite Prospects praises for his passing, stick handling and hockey sense.

Finally, Yzerman may seek to pry one more piece out of the Panthers: right wing Mackie Samoskevich. Samoskevich provides depth scoring and could ultimately replace Patrick Kane’s place in the lineup if not his offensive production. The Red Wings need depth scoring, so a 23 year old winger capable of potting 10-15 goals would help the cause.

So putting a bow on it, here’s what I think Yzerman would want from Bill Zito:

To Florida:

Dylan Larkin

To Detroit:

Anton Lundell, 2026 9th overall pick, Mackie Samoskevich

Does Zito agree to pull the trigger on that deal? The Panthers are in win now mode, and the loss of Sahsa Barkov derailed their season. Adding another top 2 center firmly in his prime puts them back in the conversation for Stanley Cup favorites, but he gives up his best young center in return.

So in looking at the three options where we know for a fact Dylan Larkin would waive his no-trade clause, I think the Florida Panthers are the only team of the three that could a) provide adequate value and b) address Detroit’s biggest need in any deal that involves shipping out Dylan Larkin.

Not long after I hit send on my article yesterday, the news broke that Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin requested a trade. My article didn’t touch on Larkin much, other than to highlight his contentious relationship with Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman and — given the fact he’s set to cross the age 30 threshold — how difficult it would be to build a winner around him as the lone scoring line center.

I didn’t delve into Larkin’s future, mostly due to the fact he has trade protection, so instead I focused on trading two key figures who could help Detroit retool in an attempt to acquire a good, young scoring line center: Alex DeBrincat and John Gibson.

But this news truly changes everything. I am cautiously optimistic the organization can pivot so long as they get good value in trading their team captain.

Dylan Larkin’s Value

There are plenty of articles across the internet that will cover what it means for a professional athlete who grew up in Michigan, attended the local university, and then captained his professional team before spurning said team, so I won’t spend much time on that.

I’m going to bypass the emotional elements at play here, and give my opinion on how general manager Steve Yzerman can make the best of the hand he’s been dealt.

Dylan Larkin is on a fantastic deal for the remainder of his prime years. He’ll make $8.7 million against the salary cap for 5 more seasons. He nearly scored 35 goals last season and put up 70 points. He’s been forced to play some of the toughest minutes in Detroit so the second line can get the easy zone starts and do the scoring. He also played a big role on Team USA’s gold medal winning hockey team. The Olympics were a bit of a coming out party for Larkin across the hockey landscape.

When you combine this with the fact nearly every team in the league needs center depth, there’s every reason to believe there will be substantial interest in Larkin.

In my article yesterday I referenced the trades Montreal and Buffalo made to acquire their top line centers, and Larkin just opened up a window for Detroit to make that same trade. The expectation here should be for Yzerman to make what is termed a hockey trade: an exchange of talent that benefits both teams and fits within the windows when they plan to compete. In this scenario a team in win-now mode gets Larkin, and Detroit gets a young center who has yet to enter his prime.

While I’ve been skeptical about Larkin’s role as the team leader, I give him all the credit for realizing he needed change, and so long as he’s willing to work with the organization to find a deal that works for all parties involved, I harbor no ill will towards him.

Opinion towards Larkin has been harsh since this news broke, and to a certain extent I understand that sentiment. For me, Larkin’s time in Detroit reminds me quite a bit of the role Ben Chiarot was forced to take on when he was placed on the top pairing with Mortiz Seider due to the fact Detroit had no other top pairing d-men: more was asked from both of them than either player was capable of delivering.

When you are set up with what feels like an impossible task, at some point you have to say ‘no mas’. Yesterday was that day for Dylan Larkin, and I have nothing but respect for that decision. A change was badly needed.

The Hockey Trade

There will be no shortage of suitors who will be interested in acquiring a player of Larkin’s caliber who is signed long term to a very team-friendly contract. When it was rumored Robert Thomas was available for the equivalent of four first round draft picks, it gave a sense of how prized centers are within the league.

Of course Thomas is a few years younger and produces more offense, and crucially did not get traded, so it’s safe to say Larkin will not generate that return.

Elliotte Friedman touched on what Steve Yzerman may look to get in return:

Yzerman will not be backed into a corner. You cannot bully Steve Yzerman…[but[ he has to be practical…I think Yzerman will be pragmatic...is he going to try to trade [Larkin] for pieces that will help them now, or is he going to do another kind of…I’ll do futures or younger players who might be ready to play…and build this team around Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond?

The hope from my standpoint is Yzerman can get a good, young center who has a reasonable expectation of becoming a bonafide 1C and would fit Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond’s prime years.

Here are a few trade options and my thoughts on potential targets who may or may not position Detroit well following the Larkin era.

The Utah Mammoth

Utah has a great young center in Logan Cooley, and adding Larkin would open up their window for long playoff runs immediately. They also have very player-friendly team ownership, which may make the transition easier for Larkin after spending his entire life in Michigan.

In return, Detroit could receive Caleb Desnoyers, the 4th overall draft pick in the most recent NHL draft. The 19 year old has dominated the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League and put up 6 points over 7 games for Team Canada at the U20 World Junior Championships.

Desnoyers was highly praised by Elite Prospects for his passing, hockey sense and physical play. He’d be the franchise forward and playmaking center the organization has lacked since Pavel Datsyuk retired.

Tij Iginla is another prospect who may interest Detroit. Former Calgary Flame Jarome Iginla’s son plays the game the way Todd McLellan would appreciate, but he’s more winger than center, so that wouldn’t address Detroit’s biggest need in this trade. In that case you may need to package Iginla to acquire a center from another organization.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Larkin is best friends with Zach Werenski, who just won the Norris Trophy, and Columbus is not far from metro Detroit. The number of Wolverines who play hockey in the home city of Ohio State University borders on pathos, but that’s a thought for another time.

The Blue Jackets have Adam Fantilli and Charlie Coyle at center, so adding Larkin would give them some of the best depth at the pivot position in the entire league. Columbus is also located in the Metro division, which looks like an easier path to playoff hockey than the gauntlet that is the Atlantic division.

Columbus is my dark horse candidate.

What would Detroit receive in return? My guess is it would center around Cayden Lindstrom and Jackson Smith. While Lindstrom was a 4th overall pick, he’s had back problems that have stunted his development and he’s gotten off to a slow start at Michigan State University. If the Red Wings brass thinks the 20 year old center still has the same ceiling he was expected to have when he was drafted back in 2024, he would be a solid acquisition.

I’m a bit skeptical on Lindstrom as a great fit, as he’s more power forward than playmaker, and the Red Wings sorely need a pivot who can distribute the puck.

So with those questions surrounding Lindstrom’s ceiling, I’d also ask for Jackson Smith, a 14th overall pick in last summer’s draft. Elite Prospects ranked Smith 6th overall in his draft class, highlighting his skating, passing, hockey sense and physical play as strengths. He just completed his freshman season at Penn State where he put up 0.74 points per game, respectable for an 18 year old rearguard playing in one of the toughest conferences in the NCAA.

I have plenty of time for Jackson Smith.

Minnesota Wild

The rumor mills have put 2 + 2 together and have suggested Larkin could be headed to Minnesota. I am a bit skeptical here, but acknowledge there are quite a few factors in the Wild’s favor. First off, they are a playoff team with an exciting brand of hockey; second, Quinn Hughes has called Larkin a ‘big brother’ so the Twin Cities are sure to be welcoming to Dylan; finally, there’s Minnesota GM Bill Guerin, who added Larkin to Team USA’s Olympic roster and has spoken highly of him.

With all that being the case, I can see why Minnesota has been the most popular organization among the teams rumored to be interested in Larkin.

The problem with Minnesota? I’m not sure they have the assets to make the deal truly enticing for Detroit. The rumors have suggested Detroit would receive goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, but those never really made sense unless the Red Wings plan to turn around and package him to another team.

Then there’s the lack of a true center prospect. The Wild drafted Charlie Stramel in the first round back in 2023, but there’s nothing to date to indicate he’s going to be the impact forward Detroit needs. His offensive production did pop in East Lansing last season, potting 19 goals for the Spartans. He simply hasn’t been the play driver he was expected to be following his 2021-22 season where he was basically a point per game player for the US National team.

If you acquire Stramel, the hope is there’s still some development left and that he can stick at center rather than play on the wing. That’s far from ideal.

Minnesota also traded Zeev Buium and Liam Ohgren to Vancouver when they acquired Quinn Hughes, two of their most promising young talents. While neither is a center, Buium projects to be a top pairing d-man and could theoretically be used as a trade piece. To take this a step further, if you acquired Buium, you could potentially trade him to San Jose for one of their young centers, ideally Michael Misa but more likely Will Smith. That ship has sailed.

So for me, this is probably the worst case scenario, a place that would appeal to Larkin but be a poor trade partner for Detroit.

Anaheim Ducks

Steve Yzerman is very close with Anaheim GM Pat Verbeek, and the two have been trade partners as recently as this past summer, when Yzerman acquired goaltender John Gibson. Anaheim is an intriguing team that is poised to rocket out of their slumber, having drafted high caliber talent across the organization. They also play an exciting style of hockey.

While the Ducks have one of the best young pivots in the game in Leo Carlsson, they have relied heavily on 34 year old Michael Granlund to do some of the heavy lifting at the center position. Granlund only has one more year under contract, so the Ducks could benefit from a high quality center who is firmly in his prime and signed to a team-friendly contract, which perfectly describes Larkin.

Anaheim has 23 year old Mason McTavish as one of their primary centers, but he has struggled with the consistency expected from a former 3rd overall draft pick. He was a healthy scratch during the playoffs, as the Ducks attempt to instill the discipline that will help him reach his ceiling as an NHL player.

While there have been rumors the Ducks will trade McTavish, Craig Johnston, who covers the NHL for the Athletic, has suggested the Ducks are in no hurry to move McTavish. The implication is the only way he’d be moved is if he brought back an impressive haul. Dylan Larkin would be that type of acquisition: pairing him with Carlsson would supercharge the Ducks organization over the next 3-5 years.

If I was Steve Yzerman, though, I’d target Roger McQueen. If you are lucky, McQueen becomes Detroit’s Tage Thompson: a massive pivot who alters the fate of a dormant franchise. Elite Prospects raved about McQueen’s shooting, passing, hockey sense, and physical play.

Like Cayden Lindstrom, he had a back injury, but had a solid season in the NCAA, playing 36 games and putting up 0.75 points per game.

With McTavish, the concern is whether he’ll develop the work ethic to reach his ceiling; with McQueen, the back issue seems to be behind him, and the suggestion from one NHL scout was that if not for the injury concern, he would have gone #2 in his draft class behind Matthew Schaefer.

That’s the type of swing I think Steve Yzerman needs to take, and I’d probably be willing to add to Larkin if Pat Verbeek drives a hard bargain.

Los Angeles Kings

Finally, we’ll close out this section with the Kings for a couple reasons: first off, Yzerman and LA GM Ken Holland have a very long working relationship; secondly, Ken Holland drafted Dylan Larkin so there may be a good relationship between the player and manager; and finally, Holland has committed to retooling the Kings rather than engaging a prolonged and painful rebuild.

Los Ángeles lost Anze Kopitar to retirement, so they will need to find another center to replace him and keep their five year playoff streak alive. There have been rumors linking Elias Pettersson to the Kings, and Larkin would be another solid option for the Los Angeles front office to consider. Either center would be a plug and play option, which would be attractive to an organization that is in win-now mode.

The problem from Detroit’s standpoint is the Kings’ prospect pool isn’t very attractive. They traded away arguably their best prospect in Liam Greentree when they acquired Artemi Panarin. They drafted centers with top 5 draft picks in back to back drafts in 2019 and 2020, but neither has impressed, with Quinton Byfield being able to keep his head above water, but not truly thrive. So while he’d be the most likely ask from either Vancouver or Detroit, the former #2 overall draft pick seems to have a solid floor but with big questions remaining regarding his ceiling as he approaches his 24th birthday this summer.

Revisiting the Retool

Dylan Larkin’s decision to request a trade has completely flipped the script as far as I’m concerned. Where just yesterday I thought the team would need to trade one of their best players in Alex DeBrincat in order to position themselves to draft a franchise forward, that position changed in a matter of hours.

Ultimately, I’m at ease with this change of events; DeBrincat is the sort of player you want to keep in Detroit, as he plays hard and is the first player in a Red Wings jersey to score 40 goals since Marian Hossa. Trading him would have been a bitter pill to swallow, but that seemed like the best path to getting out of the current malaise that has surrounded the organization.

With Larkin almost certainly being traded before opening night, this could heavily influence DeBrincat’s decision on whether he wants to stay in Detroit, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

With Larkin’s request, though, Detroit is positioned to make a hockey trade where they can hopefully acquire a young center who will fit in seamlessly with their young core. If that happens you can envision a scenario where the window opens up in another year or two as their top prospects push their way into the lineup.

When Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman met with the press in April after yet another lost season, he brought along head coach Todd McLellan. This is always a good sign, as Yzerman has a knack for saying as little as possible; McLellan, on the other hand, is always willing to spill the tea.

Yzerman commented that even when the Red Wings were firmly in playoff position earlier in the regular season, the GM and coach were skeptical the club was really that good. All you had to do was take a look at the goal differential to understand this was a team that consistently got outscored; it’s tough to overcome that shortcoming over a full 82 game season.

McLellan, though, delivered the eulogy for this current leadership group, saying they finished exactly where they deserved to be – outside the playoffs for a franchise record 10th straight season.

Todd McLellan has often spoken like a man who has the full backing of his general manager and by extension team ownership, referring to some of the players on this past season’s team as being ‘just jerseys’, meaning guys who skate but add little if anything to what it takes to win hockey games. It was a new take on the popular term ‘cardio merchant’ which has the exact same meaning.

While Yzerman took full blame for the current state of the franchise, McLellan’s comments combined with Yzerman’s tepid commitment to ‘look at everything’ suggests the current core’s time has come and gone.

The Bottom Six

Since that press conference, we've only had one comment on roster changes thus far from the beat reporters. Kevin Allen, who covers the team for Detroit Hockey Now, indicated the team is unlikely to extend their pending unrestricted free agents, with Patrick Kane being the lone exception.

On the one hand, this is truly a bit of ‘no shit’ reporting: nearly all of these players alluded to in Allen’s commentary are either at or very close to the end of their careers. Travis Hamonic, Justin Holl - who was traded before the trade deadline, Erik Gustafsson and Cam Talbot were non-entities for most if not all of the entire season, which is yet another black mark for the organization’s group of pro scouts.

But that’s another article for another day.

On the other hand, I think Allen’s take doesn’t go far enough. While that’s understandable for someone whose primary job is to report the facts, it’s also lamentable given the sad state of the franchise. Everyone is fed up with the listless nature of the team once the calendar hits March.

It’s a roster largely comprised of pretenders, not contenders.

To be fair to Allen, the organization gives out absolutely nothing in the way of information regarding their intentions, so beat reporters are stuck with offering up boring takes.

So you’re saying Travis Hamonic won’t be back? Thanks for the tip my guy.

Now randos like me? We can speculate wildly. And given how comfortable McLellan seems to be with offering up his biting criticism, I think it’s safe to say the changes will be quite large both over this summer and before next season’s trade deadline.

Support for the Current Core

Let’s take a quick trip back to the end of the 2024-25 season. In the locker clean out press conferences, team captain Dylan Larkin commented that ‘the room’ was disappointed there were no trade deadline acquisitions. While Larkin’s comment has received support from sections of the fan base, the benefit of hindsight has shown this leadership group simply cannot get the club over the hump.

Yzerman responded to Larkin’s comments last spring by mentioning there were other teams who weren’t buyers but still made the playoffs. While Yzerman didn’t analyze his own team when making this response, the club lost 2nd line center Andrew Copp for the season in February, and the team’s goaltending had been a chronic issue for years. So it was certainly defensible not to add to that particular team.

The general manager eventually made several trades, bringing in goaltender John Gibson over the summer, then adding defender Justin Faulk and forward David Perron to the roster in advance of this past season’s trade deadline. When asked about Larkin’s previous comments, Yzerman declined to respond to them directly, saying instead that you ‘can’t be tone deaf’ towards criticism.

How did the team respond? The same way they have for four straight seasons.

I didn’t include March 2023 when Yzerman traded away Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha, but that team won 5 games and lost 10 over that same March time frame. It’s been the same routine, despite the fact the team has added top flight young players in the form of Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson, and Lucas Raymond; the addition of 40 goal scorer Alex DeBrincat and his trusty sidekick Patrick Kane; the acquisition of a quality starting goaltender in John Gibson; and finally, a top 4 defender Justin Faulk.

This veteran group simply hasn’t positioned the team to take that next step. If they made the playoffs at least once or twice over this time frame, you could see a path where adding young prospects like Axel Sandin Pellikka, Carter Bear, and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard would result in the team becoming more competitive, but that simply hasn’t happened.

With this being the case, It wouldn’t shock me at all if Yzerman becomes a seller prior to next season’s trade deadline in order to build around his core of Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.

An underlying sentiment in Dylan Larkin’s comments a little over a year ago is that he’s grown tired of the rebuild. While on the one hand that’s completely understandable, on the other he was appointed team captain and is supposed to be the guy who encourages the team to keep pushing through adversity when the going gets tough.

That simply hasn’t happened.

To make matters worse, Larkin only scored two even-strength goals from February to the end of the season, while going -4 over that same time period. To be fair, he was spectacular in the face-off circle, routinely winning well north of 50% of his draws. He also suffered a knee injury during this stretch run, with injuries unfortunately becoming a common occurrence when the captain is doing double duty for both Detroit and the US national team.

Larkin is set to turn 30 this summer, and it’s worth pointing out that the last season where Pavel Datsyuk put up north of 70 points was his age 30 season. Henrik Zetterberg narrowly missed hitting 70 points in his age 31 season, then saw his production drop off. So there’s a good chance we’ll see perhaps one or two more seasons of Larkin at the height of his capabilities.

The issue facing the franchise is it’s at an important inflection point: with Buffalo having ended their 14 year streak of missing the playoffs, Detroit currently holds the longest streak in the league for missing the playoffs. This Red Wings team was booed off home ice at the end of last season, and the expectation is that something big needs to be done to alter the direction of a team that has become known as the Dead Things 2.0.

For me, the question is whether you continue to build around a core of Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, Andrew Copp, and John Gibson, when this core has never shown an ability to battle down the stretch to lock in a playoff berth?

The Time to Pivot

With Yzerman and McLellan seeming aligned, I think there’s a decent chance Detroit decides to move on from some of their veteran players, most notably guys who are due to hit free agency next summer, including Andrew Copp, John Gibson and Justin Faulk. If Yzerman decides to continue down the same path, you would expect these players, along with Alex DeBrincat, to be signed to new deals at some point on or after July 1.

When looking at the recent trade market, it’s not inconceivable to think Detroit could get first round draft picks for Copp, Gibson and Faulk.

For me, the next big question is whether the organization is going to stick with Alex DeBrincat?

On the one hand, trading a 40 goal scorer in DeBrincat sounds crazy; on the other, DeBrincat is 28 and his current contract ends after this upcoming season. If you aren’t convinced this leadership group is going to get this team to the playoffs, let alone go on a run to the Eastern Conference or Stanley Cup Finals, now may be the perfect time to cash in on guys who are firmly in their prime.

40 goal scorers are very difficult to come by, as only 15 players across the league scored that many goals this past season.

Should DeBrincat be put on the trade block, there would be plenty of good offers. The haul would be substantial, with the potential of multiple draft picks and perhaps even a young prospect.

Losing DeBrincat would be painful for a team that badly needs goal scoring, and I am not at all thrilled about this scenario. If you lose DeBrincat, you almost certainly lose Patrick Kane and that’s 57 goals gone from last year’s team, on a team that struggles to score goals. Detroit finished 22nd in the league for goals scored.

However when I look at where the team has been these past few seasons and what they still need on their roster in order to compete, I suspect DeBrincat may end up being a casualty as Detroit retools their rebuild.

The Missing Piece

Let’s take a quick look at what Detroit needs in order to complete the rebuild.

The one piece that has gone unfilled is unfortunately one of the most important ones: first line center. Teams with an 80+ point center are almost guaranteed to make the playoffs. There was only one team this past season with one such center that ended up missing the playoffs: Winnipeg with Mark Scheifele, who put up 103 points.

Dylan Larkin’s life would be much easier if the rebuild resulted in Detroit drafting a bonafide first-line center. The best opportunity was likely the 2020 NHL draft, but the lottery bumped Detroit - who had the absolute worst record in the league by a mile - from the first to fourth position, which prevented them from potentially drafting either Quinton Byfield or Tim Stutzle.

While Detroit made lemonade out of that draft by selecting Lucas Raymond at 4th overall, it denied them their one shot thus far at drafting a prospect capable of bumping Larkin down to the second line.

In recent drafts the Red Wings have selected Marco Kasper at 8th overall and Nate Danielson at 9th overall, but neither player has shown anything at this point to indicate they will become 80+ point centers in the NHL.

If Detroit is going to complete the rebuild that began under Steve Yzerman, they are going to need a first line center.

How does that happen?

There are typically three ways a team can address their needs. They are:

1. Acquire through the draft

2. Acquire via trade

3. Acquire via free agency

The vast majority of first-line centers are acquired through the draft. They are so important that a center often goes first overall. In drafts where they don’t, it’s typically because there isn’t believed to be a center of that caliber available. The 2026 draft is one such case.

Very rarely, one can be acquired via trade. Both Montreal and Buffalo acquired their top line center via trade, with Montreal trading Max Paccioretty to Vegas for Nick Suzuki, while Buffalo traded Ryan O’Reilly to St Louis for Tage Thompson. This is the exception, not the rule. Vegas acquired Jack Eichel via trade, but this was largely due to a medical dispute between Eichel and the Buffalo medical staff. There’s no need to go into the weeds here, other than to say that was a particularly unique circumstance, and as such isn’t repeatable.

Rarer still, teams will acquire a first line center via free agency. First line centers are so valuable that they rarely make it to free agency unless there is a combination of salary cap issues and the player has aged out of his prime. The most recent example is Steven Stamkos, who left Tampa for Nashville. Further back, John Tavares left New York at the age of 28 to play for his hometown Maple Leafs.

So your best odds of acquiring one of these centers is through the draft. Unfortunately, Detroit has progressed far enough through their rebuild that they are stuck in what has been termed the ‘mushy middle’: not good enough to be a respectable challenger, but not bad enough to get a top draft pick.

The Atlantic division, however, may have solved this problem, as it appears to be the most stacked division in the league.

The Atlantic division features two multiple Cup-winners in Tampa Bay and Florida, with Montreal and Buffalo both having very good young cores. Ottawa, Boston and Toronto are all teams with recent playoff appearances but have challenging questions surrounding their rosters.

Then there’s Detroit, the one team in the division that hasn’t made the playoffs over the previous three years. The rebuild has gotten Detroit to the position where they can compete for a playoff spot, but not punch their ticket to postseason play. If that’s going to change, I believe the organization is going to have to take a step back in an attempt to get that top line center just about every playoff team has on their roster.

The Athletic’s Max Bultman summed it up in one of his recent articles:

"...without a franchise forward, [other moves] may not matter. And for a team with multiple core players in their late 20s or early 30s, and still looking to just make the playoffs, that is a scary situation to be in."

Hence, my preference for the organization to sell off some pieces and retool the rebuild that began under Yzerman.

Light at the end of the Tunnel

There is some good news: if Steve Yzerman plays his cards right, he could address that glaring need for a franchise forward next summer. It just so happens the 2027 draft class is rich in depth at the center position.

How rich? Scott Wheeler has 6 centers currently ranked in the top 10, with three more in the top 15. While there doesn’t appear to be a generational forward — a defender is currently the top ranked prospect — there are enough options to feel good about the odds of addressing the organization’s biggest need: a franchise forward who is a playmaking center.

So if Steve Yzerman is willing to accept that his current core simply isn’t good enough – and we’ve got 4 straight seasons worth of data to suggest it’s not – he may decide to lean into what is by default his likely fate this upcoming season and position his club to pick as close to the top of the draft as possible.

How does that happen?

For starters, Yzerman can begin to sell off his impending free agents. The easiest to move would be Alex DeBrincat, as every team in the league needs goal scoring. You address two goals by moving DeBrincat: you reduce your team’s goal scoring output while also adding high quality draft capital, and perhaps a forward prospect who fits your younger core of players.

Another impact player he could decide to move would be John Gibson. While Gibson provided the first consistently high level of goaltending during the Yzerman era, trading him and turning the net over to the two goaltenders who spend most of this past season in Grand Rapids would likely result in the team surrendering more goals.

The combo of moving Gibson and DeBrincat instantly makes Detroit less competitive in a division that is the most competitive in the NHL.

Then, at the trade deadline, Yzerman may decide to move Justin Faulk and Andrew Copp. Faulk is a top 4 offensive d-man who can score goals at even strength, so odds are good you will get a good return for him, possibly a first round but at a bare minimum a second round draft pick. Copp has performed well in Detroit as a second line center and would provide enviable depth for a playoff-bound team. Again, a first round draft pick is a potential return, with a second rounder being the worst case scenario.

The Gamble

Are there downsides to this plan? Hell yes there are.

This is a team with a ten year streak of missing the playoffs, and its general manager would be signing up for year eleven before the puck drop on opening night. That is sure to go over poorly, and this team will get booed loudly off the ice at most home games. That’s not what any of these players signed up for.

Then there’s the 2027 draft you are pinning your hopes on in order to address that one remaining need. For starters, there doesn’t appear to be a Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, or Macklin Celebrini level talent. If there was, it would be easier to sell this retool. There was the famous rallying cry to ‘Fail for Nail’ back in 2012. The Oilers picked Nail Yakupov first overall in that draft, who ended up being one of the more notable busts in recent NHL draft history.

This is to say there’s no guarantee even if you do get the best center in this draft that he’s going to be everything you are pinning your hopes on.

Finally, there’s the draft lottery which determines your draft position through the luck of the draw. While the draft lottery isn’t as harsh towards the worst team in the league like it was back in 2020 when Detroit was moved down to the fourth position, there are no guarantees. The only guarantee if you finish the season dead last is that you will draft somewhere in the top 3. While that may sound good, it’s unlikely Detroit will be bad enough to finish with the worst record in the league.

Feel Lucky, Punk?

This current core’s window is tied to a quickly diminishing asset in Dylan Larkin, who in all likelihood has at most two more seasons of high level hockey left. Given the past four years of his prime, I believe there’s little reason to bet on this current core. Doing so would require signing many of your players in their final year of their current contract to expensive renewals.

And that’s while putting aside the question of whether players like Gibson, Faulk and Copp even want to continue to ply their trade in Detroit? It’s not unreasonable for them to want one more chance at a long playoff run, and that’s unlikely in Detroit over their final years as quality NHL players.

Beyond that, betting on this core would require paying an exorbitant amount of money, whether that be for the few free agents who will hit the market on July 1, or trades to acquire questionable upgrades, which — at best — extends this current core’s window for another 2 or 3 years.

The one trade I believe would have altered this current core’s chances of competing would have been for St Louis’ Robert Thomas, but it became clear as the trade deadline approached that he was staying put. Andy Strickland, who has covered the Blues, recently commented that Thomas isn’t being shopped.

So while on the one hand it would make sense to extend Alex DeBrincat, a more sober analysis lends itself to using what is one of your best trade chips to retool the core that has been drafted and developed.

Retooling Around the Next Core

Moritz Seider just finished 5th in Norris Trophy voting, indicating he’s one of the best defenders in the entire league. Lucas Raymond is an 80 point wing with plenty of years or elite play left in his career. These are the cornerstones you should be building around.

So while there’s no guarantee that selling off and bottoming out this upcoming season will get you that elite, franchise forward who is an 80+ point playmaking center, next summer gives you arguably your best chance at acquiring that player. If you are inclined to play the odds, my guess is those are the best ones for the future of this franchise.

If you do get that player, he perfectly fits the core of 19-25 year old players who should be expected to finally open up the franchise’s window to once again become competitive: Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson, Marco Kasper, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Axel Sandin Pellikka, Carter Bear, Max Plante, and Trey Augustine all look like high quality NHL talents.

So in my estimation, you have two options: continue to build around this current core with the hope of extending their ‘window’ for 2-3 more years until Larkin is well past his prime; or retool by selling your impending free agents with the hope of using that draft capital and a poor finish in the 2026-27 season to fill the final missing piece and complete the rebuild.

There are no easy answers, which is why I’m inclined to play the odds with an admittedly flawed draft lottery in 2027.

Credit: Max Bultman

In preparation for the Olympic break, I’ve been tinkering with articles surrounding the controversies that bubbled up during the Yzerplan. Perhaps the biggest was the Jake Walman trade to San Jose, which resulted in the first real criticism of Steve Yzerman in his return to Detroit.

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Credit: The Hockey Writers

With the Vancouver Canucks going through a nightmare season, the team has begun to sell off assets in an attempt to reformulate their roster into one that can compete for the playoffs in future seasons. Before Quinn Hughes was moved to the Wild, there were reports Detroit was interested in acquiring Hughes; I personally never v…

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Credit: Sportskeeda

The Detroit Red Wings have been one of the NHL’s bigger surprises during the first half of the season, competing near the top of the Eastern Conference with the likes of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes. The level of play was dicey early on as John Gibson got acclimated to playing in a new city, but once the veteran net…

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Credit: The Hockey Writers

When looking from a bird’s eye view at the Detroit Red Wings rebuild under general manager Steve Yzerman, a few things stand out:

1. Detroit will have one of the best defenses in the league as their window opens,…

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Credit: Winnipeg City News

The Red Wings are currently in first place in the Atlantic division and tied with Carolina atop the Eastern Conference, albeit with the Canes having three games in hand. While Detroit has been one of the pleasant surprises over the first half of the NHL season, the team has a few holes in their lineup General Manager Steve Yzer…

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Credit: Octopusthrower.com

On December 23, 2024, the Detroit Red Wings were beaten comprehensively by the St Louis Blues by a score of 4-0. Booed off the ice by the Little Caesars Arena crowd after each period, the team showed no signs of pulling out of its eight year streak of missing the playoffs.

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Credit: Pro Hockey Rumors

In the first part of this series, we took a look at a few options to help solidify Detroit’s third pairing on defense. This was considered the lowest hanging fruit as these players tend to be in less demand than scoring line forwards or top 4 defenders. In that article, I prioritized defenders who are strong PK’ers and have good…

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Credit: On Tap Sports Net

The Detroit Red Wings are currently first in their division. The last time they were in first place this late in the season was in 2015, when they were coached by Jeff Blashill in his first season as an NHL coach after Mike Babcock left to coach the Toronto Maple Leafs. That would be Pavel Datsyuk’s final season and when Pav le…

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Credit: USA Today

‘…when it got shitty [last season], we didn’t pull out of it’

-Todd McLellan, April 29th press conference

The Detroit Red Wings were in the process of putting the finishing touches on what appeared to be a routine win against a rudderless Buffalo Sabres team. As the game headed towards the third period, Detroit held a commanding 4-1 lead.…

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Credit: letsplayhockey.com

“We know [hockey’s] not more important than being a doctor and saving someone’s life. It’s just a sport; but that doesn’t mean we can’t give it our all.”

-Derek Plante

First, a confession: while I was intrigued with the Detroit Red Wings’ selection of Max Plante in the second round of the 2024 draft, I wasn’t impressed with his …

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…in the salary cap era, only 10 of 72 teams four or more points out of the playoffs after games on [November 1st] recovered to make it.

A lot of people talk American Thanksgiving, but your season can be over weeks before that.

-Elliotte Friedman

On October 30, the Red Wings looked to have dispatched the Los Angeles Kings. The scoreline read Detroit 3, Los…

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Credit: Sportsnet.ca

This is a follow up to my previous article on defensemen who could be trade targets for Steve Yzerman. I’m basing these articles on the general manager’s comments earlier this summer that, while he didn’t expect to be able to fill key organizational needs via free agency, he was prepared to do so via trades. In my very long article on the state of the rebuild, I made the case that the Red Wings need to fill three holes in order for the rebuild to be considered complete:

1. Top 4 left-shooting defenseman

2. Top line left wing

3. Starting goaltender

The hope is the starting goaltender position has been addressed via trade when Yzerman acquired John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks back in June. Gibson ideally provides upper half of the league goaltender play until Sebastian Cossa and/or Trey Augustine can claim spots in the Detroit lineup.

In my article on defenders, I looked at eight rearguards who could potentially be available via trade at some point this season. Seven fit the stated goal of being top 4, left shooting defenders, while the other is a top 4 right shooting d-man. Today we’re looking at wingers generally, but more specifically top line left wingers as that’s the most obvious need for this current iteration of the Red Wings.

Detroit’s Current Scoring Line Forwards

Let’s start off by taking a look at what the Red Wings currently have in place on their top two scoring lines.

Scoring line centers

The Red Wings currently have two scoring line centers in Dylan Larkin and Marco Kasper. Larkin is very well established with over 700 games played, nearly 600 points, and five 30-goal seasons in his career to date. He’s been Detroit’s first-line center since he turned 22.

Kasper had a very strong rookie campaign last year, scoring the same number of even strength goals as Macklin Celebrini, only one goal behind rookie leaders Cutter Gauthier and Matvei Michkov. He ranked first in total number of 5v5 goals and hits among rookie centers, and finished second to Macklin Celebrini among rookie centers for blocked shots. It would be a surprise if he isn’t the 2C for this upcoming season.

Scoring line right wings

Lucas Raymond is just entering his prime and provides elite play on the first line at the right wing spot. He led the league in point production for forwards under the age of 23, and finished fifth for goals scored.

Patrick Kane is nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career. He’s currently the right wing on the second line, playing alongside Marco Kasper and Alex DeBrincat. While he’ll need to be replaced at some point as Detroit’s contention window begins to open, he’s fine in this role for now as the Red Wings wait for a prospect - perhaps Michael Brandsegg-Nygård - to develop into a right wing scoring line contributor.

Lucas Raymond has the 1RW spot on lock, which makes acquiring the 2RW less of a priority.

Scoring line left wings

Alex DeBrincat is the sole proven entity on left wing. He’s played 600 career games, amassed over 250 career goals, and is firmly in his prime. He scored 40-ish goals in three seasons (two at 41, one at 39) and only has one season in his NHL career where he’s scored below 27 goals. Right now he’s a fixture on the second line, playing alongside Marco Kasper and his bestie Patrick Kane. While there’s the potential for DeBrincat to move up to the first line, for now he can be penciled in as the 2LW.

As we prepare for the start of training camp, there are currently no obvious choices for the 1LW spot alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. Jonatan Berggren put up some solid offensive stats when he was placed on this line, but he’s not cut out for the heavy lifting this line does game in and game out over an 82 game season.

Free agent signing James van Riemsdyk can play up and down the lineup, but he’s not cut out to play heavy top line minutes at this stage of his career.

My darkhorse for the 1LW spot based on the current roster is Elmer Söderblom, as he has the requisite size, had a high percentage of defensive zone starts last season, and is at the stage of his career where he could develop into a pleasant surprise. Last season he played 67:30 with Larkin and Raymond and their zone starts were gnarly: they only took 29.79% of their faceoffs in the o-zone, but they still outscored the opposition by one goal. Larkin and Raymond routinely get the toughest matchups among Detroit’s current group of forwards, and there’s reason to believe Söderblom could hang with them as the primary option at 1LW.

So while my hope is Todd McLellan will give Elmer Söderblom a long look on the top line, Detroit could certainly use a plug and play, first line left wing. Get in line, I can hear fans across the league say, but we’re only talking about two positions at this point in the form of a top 4 defender and top line left wing as holes that weren’t filled through drafting and development and a few trades. That’s not bad considering where the NHL roster was back in 2019.

Only Larkin remains from this lineup that was iced shortly after Yzerman took over

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Credit: Sportsnet

When he was interviewed during this summer’s NHL draft, Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman indicated he didn’t expect to have much luck during the free agency period that kicked off on July 1st. With lots of teams re-signing their own impending free agents - spurred on by a salary cap that is expected to grow dramatically over the coming seasons - there were few high quality options available. Given the Red Wings are still in the process of pulling out from a prolonged rebuild, Detroit also wasn’t an attractive destination for players like Mitch Marner or Nikolaj Ehlers.

Yzerman indicated during that interview that he felt trades would be his best avenue for addressing team needs. In my very long article on the state of the rebuild, I made the case that the Red Wings need to fill three holes in order for the rebuild to be considered complete:

1. Top 4 left-handed defenseman

2. Top line left wing

3. Starting goaltender

Yzerman looks to have filled that need in net with the trade for John Gibson. Defense, however, has proven particularly difficult to address, despite the fact the Red Wings have signed loads of defenders over the past three years during free agency; most of those rearguards, unfortunately, are best suited as bottom pair defenders. Ben Chiarot is likely the best of the bunch, but he’s simply not suited to play top pairing minutes alongside Moritz Seider.

As soon as this upcoming season, I suspect Todd McLellan will lean heavily on a pairing of Simon Edvinsson and Seider, which looks to be one of the best pairings in the entire league. In their 5v5 play together last season, the team outscored the opposition by +8 goals. That’s the type of domination I expect the new coach to build from.

As mentioned previously, Detroit has no shortage of options on the third pair. That leaves the second pairing as the one that needs to be addressed.

Albert Johansson had a low key impressive rookie season last year, playing the bulk of his minutes alongside Simon Edvinsson on the second pairing. The question remains whether he can hold down that spot if Ed moves up to become Mo’s full time partner? Acquiring a rock solid top 4 defender would increase the chances Johansson could stick on that second pairing next season.

It’s worth mentioning that while Johansson is a left shooting stickhandler, he performed well on the right side, so this article is going to focus primarily on acquiring a defender who is a left sided shot. This also works in case Axel Sandin-Pellikka makes the team out of training camp; Ax is Detroit’s number one prospect, and it’s simply a matter of time until he joins the Detroit line up. Sandin-Pellikka is a right side shot, so ideally he’d have a left sided partner once he works his way into Detroit’s top 4 on defense.

Identifying Trade Targets on Defense

Making trades during the dog days of summer is tough, as it follows the recently concluded NHL draft and free agency period. Right now most rosters are pretty much settled as teams prepare for the start of fall camp. With that being the case, I don’t expect there to be many trade options available before the puck drops to start the season. Trades will be more likely to take place once the calendar turns to November 1.

Elliotte Friedman has pointed out playoff contention is pretty much settled by November 1, meaning if your franchise is on the outside looking in by that point, the odds of making the playoffs are against you. In a normal year, teams outside the playoff picture may be inclined to double down and become a buyer in an effort to make the playoffs, but this may be one season where teams will have a strong incentive to become an early seller.

Credit: Daily Faceoff

An important factor to consider is June 2026 is the Gavin McKenna draft. McKenna is considered the greatest prospect since Connor McDavid, so teams will have a strong incentive to improve their lottery odds should their season prove disappointing.

Teams have conducted what are called ‘mini tanks’ where they sell off assets to move down the NHL standings in the hope of acquiring a highly talented player before rebounding the following season. The Washington Capitals are a good example, missing the playoffs in 2022-23 which enabled them to draft Ryan Leonard 8th overall that summer. The Bruins are hoping to follow the same playbook after drafting James Hagens 7th overall this past June.

This article is going to focus primarily on older defenders who have little term left on their current deals and will be unrestricted free agents when those contracts expire, as those are the players most likely to be moved during a mini tank. I cannot predict which teams will have poor seasons, so please bear this in mind - the focus is entirely on players who would likely prove attractive to Steve Yzerman should they become available during this upcoming season.

So putting it in simple terms: we’re looking at first or second pair defenders who have 1-2 years remaining on their contracts and will be unrestricted free agents when their contract expires. The preference is for left shooting defenders.

Some of these defenders may have no movement clauses which would allow them to block a trade to Detroit, but I don’t want to get too far into the weeds at this point other than acknowledging when such a clause is part of their current contract. Detroit has plenty of draft capital and a strong prospect pool, so Yzerman has the assets necessary to be a buyer should the right deal materialize.

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With the Red Wings preparing to celebrate their 100th season of hockey, now seems like a great time to step back into the franchise’s history to determine the greatest players to ever wear the sweater adorned with a winged wheel. With a history that spans back a century and a franchise that has won the third most Stanley Cups in league history, there are no shortage of qualified candidates - other than at right defense, but we’ll get to that shortly.

In order to come up with this list, it’s important to establish some ground rules. While you probably disagree with some of my selections, let me spell out the criteria I used when making my choices. Different criteria would likely yield several different selections.

Red Wings Centennial Team: Rules for Selection

Here are the guidelines I used to determine the players I selected:

1. This will be a 23 man roster. For one, this allows four extra players to be recognized, but it also creates a clear cut off line while factoring into a few other rules.

2. I’m only going to include one member from the teams that won Stanley Cups between 1935 and 1943. There’s simply too little available for me to make any insightful comments on their play, so I’ll leave it to others to make the case for the players who led the earliest Cup winners. This team is going to heavily feature players from the Production Line and Hockeytown eras.

3. The goal will be to create a real team, meaning the 4th liners are 4th liners, not 1st or 2nd liners who can’t fit on a scoring line. There are one or two exceptions here, and they are mostly on defense.

4. Each player has to be slotted into his actual position he played throughout his career. So no left side defenders playing right side defense.

5. The player has to have played a significant amount of his career in Detroit, and the Red Wings should be the team fans across the league would associate that player with. There will be none of this Colorado retires Ray Bourque’s number nonsense. So players like Brian Rafalski, Chris Chelios, Larry Murphy, Mathieu Schneider, Marcel Dionne, Brett Hull, Dominik Hašek and Luc Robitaille are ineligible.

With that out of the way, let’s get on with building our team.

Red Wings Centennial Team: The Forwards

We’ll go with 13 forwards, which fits perfectly on a team that features Pavel Datsyuk.

First Line Forwards

Left Wing: Ted Lindsay (Hall of Fame inductee)

Terrible Ted Lindsay’s size (5’8”, 160lbs) belied his impact on the ice. Lindsay played during the Original 6 era when it wasn’t a massive stretch to call the game a war on ice. A typical season for Lindsay included 30 goals, 70 points and 100 PIMs, so he wouldn’t be on anyone’s short list for the Lady Byng award. If there’s a current player who comes closest to representing Lindsay’s stature and style of play it’s Brad Marchand, but Ted Lindsay was truly one of one.

Ted has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup 4 times; he was also a 9 time All Star, and won the Art Ross award following the 1949-50 season. Lindsay is also a member of the NHL’s 100th anniversary team, which indicates he’s highly rated across the league.

Center: Steve Yzerman (Hall of Fame inductee)

Steve Yzerman was the player who spearheaded the revival of a franchise that had become known as the Dead Things. Yzerman started his career as a gifted scorer, and when all was said and done on his Hall of Fame career, he was one of the top 10 goal scorers and point producers in league history. Yzerman famously adapted his game following the arrival of Scotty Bowman as head coach. Before Taylor Swift had her eras, there was the Steve Yzerman Selke era where he was recognized as one of the best defensive forwards in the league.

Yzerman missed out on several first team All Star awards due to the simple fact he happened to play at the same time as Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. He went on to win 3 Stanley Cups, the 1997-98 Conn Smythe award as playoff MVP, and is a member of the NHL’s 100th anniversary team.

Right Wing: Gordie Howe (Hall of Fame inductee)

The undisputed greatest hockey player of all time until about 1990 when Wayne Gretzky started claiming every single one of his records. While he stood 6 foot tall, it may as well have been 6’5”, particularly if you were unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of one of his famous elbows. The original power forward, Howe would threaten 50 goals, 90 points and 80 PIMs on the regular. There was a three year stretch where he averaged just under 39 even-strength goals per year. Gordie was the man.

His accolades are as impressive as they are long: 6 time Art Ross winner, 6 time Hart trophy winner, 21 time All Star, 4 time Stanley Cup winner. He also won the WHA league trophy twice in his mid 40s. Howe is also a member of the NHL’s 100th anniversary team.

Second Line Forwards

Left Wing: Brendan Shanahan (Hall of Fame inductee)

Shanny didn’t make it to Detroit until he turned 28, but the dominant power forward of his era was one of the final pieces - along with Mike Vernon - who pushed the Red Wings from contender to Cup champion in the late 90s. While the 90s Red Wings had loads of skill, Shanahan’s combo of goal scoring combined with physical play - it wasn’t unusual for him to rack up 130 or more PIMs in a single season - helped the franchise brush aside the Avalanche during one of sport’s greatest rivalries.

Shanny won the Cup three times with Detroit and was a three-time All Star. He’s also a member of the NHL’s 100th anniversary team.

Center: Sergei Fedorov (Hall of Fame inductee)

There’s a strong case to be made that Sergei is the third greatest forward in Red Wings history, arguably behind Steve Yzerman, but undebatably behind Gordie Howe. He was the OG Pavel Datsyuk, one of the most exciting forwards in league history. Sergei had all the skill in the world, as evidenced by his Hart, Selke and Art Ross trophies. He pushed for contracts and salaries that reflected his sheer dominance, and that ultimately ended his time in Detroit. His exit played a role in his number still not being retired by the franchise, an honor his play certainly warrants.

Feds won 3 Stanley Cups, was a 1-time All Star, and is a member of the NHL’s 100th anniversary team.

Right Wing: Mud Bruneteau

Mud will be the lone selection from those early Cup winning teams. He fits the bill as he was a member of the first three Cup winning teams in franchise history. His most famous involvement in NHL history is that he ended the longest game ever by scoring the game-winning goal in the 6th overtime, as the Red Wings claimed the first game en route to sweeping Montreal in their 1936 playoff series. That team would go on to win the first championship in franchise history.

Third Line Forwards

Left Wing: Tomas Holmström

It’s important to keep in mind that while this is a list of all time greats, we want it to resemble what a successful hockey team would look like on the ice and, in the case of Homer, in the locker room as well. While the Demolition Man wasn’t an All Star, Art Ross or Hart trophy candidate, he was an elite net-front presence who could throw the best goalies in the league off their game. Over a 7 year stretch from 2005-06 to 2011-12, Holmström averaged nearly 11 power play goals per season. He also created an untold number of goals for his teammates by screening the goaltender.

While Homer was a royal PITA on the ice for opposing players, he was known in the dressing room for his ‘Homerisms’ which would keep the the mood from getting too tense, no matter the situation.

Center: Pavel Datsyuk (Hall of Fame inductee)

During the early days of the advanced stats era, there were two Red Wings who were dominant: Niklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsuyk. Pavs has also become quite popular on You Tube, where his genius stick handling skills rack up millions of views; poor Tomáš Vokoun repeatedly ends up out on fourth street.

Datsyuk’s dazzling stick work wasn’t just limited to humbling NHL goaltenders. He was one of the best defensive forwards of his era, recognized for his defensive work by being awarded the Selke trophy three times. Pav’s best seasons were from 2005 through 2009, where he averaged 92 points and a +34 plus/minus rating.

The Magic Man won 2 Stanley Cups and was selected to the NHL’s 100th anniversary team.

Right Wing: Henrik Zetterberg

While Zetterberg was a center, he would often play with Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmström, so putting him on Datsyuk’s wing, while debatable, is spiritually accurate. With this third line, I’m basically just copying and pasting Mike Babcock’s top line during the aughts, when Detroit was still one of the best teams in the league.

Hank finished second in Calder voting during his rookie year, which presaged a great career in Detroit. He would go on to win the Conn Smythe trophy during Detroit’s last Stanley Cup winning season in 2008.

Fourth Line Forwards

Left Wing: Bob Probert

Probert was the apex predator among enforcers, but don’t get it twisted: Probie could hockey. He had a career high 29 goals, 62 points and 398 PIMs in his age 22 season in Detroit. The phrase ‘give blood, fight Probie’ persists across the internet, largely as an e-commerce hustle, but some of us still remember. Probie’s ticket to the show took its toll, but it enabled players like Steve Yzerman to skate a bit more freely. Yzerman made his feelings for Probert perfectly clear when it came time to say goodbye.

While the league has taken steps to move away from the game’s violent past, Mickey Redmond has said on more than one occasion to the TV audience - with an implied wink while a skirmish takes place and the fans roar their approval - “the fans sure don’t like fighting, do they?”

Center: Kris Draper

When Scotty Bowman was coach, there were times when he’d want to set the tone for a game. This would often occur during the playoffs, and in those games he’d send the Grind Line out to take the opening face-off. Buckle up, and say goodbye to open ice. Kris Draper was the longest serving member of the Grind Line, with his most common linemate over those years being Kirk Maltby.

Draper’s speed made him the perfect pivot for a checking line and the penalty kill, and he was highly successful in the face-off dot. In 2004 he was acknowledged for his defensive play when he was awarded the Selke trophy. Draper was a member of all 4 teams that won the Stanley Cup during the Hockeytown era.

Right Wing: Darren McCarty

For the final member of the 4th line, we have to go with Darren McCarty. There are two main reason he gets the nod over Kirk Maltby. The first was the fight against Claude Lemieux that all but announced the Red Wings had put an end to Colorado’s domination in the rivalry. The other reason is McCarty providing the icing on the cake for that first Cup lift in 42 years.

While D-Mac was never an All Star and will never get the call to announce he’s been welcomed into the Hall of Fame, he’s a 4-time Cup winner and is beloved by the fans.

13th Forward

Center: Alex Delvecchio (Hall of Fame inductee)

If not for Detroit’s absurd depth at center - every single pivot listed for the top three lines is a Hall of Famer and made the NHL 100th Anniversary team - Fats would be in the opening lineup. A member of Detroit’s great teams from the 1950s, Delvecchio was the mild mannered one, winning the Lady Byng trophy three times. While Delvechio didn’t have a single season where his point total would turn heads, his consistency in churning out 60ish point seasons with rock solid defensive play was impressive. From the 1957-58 through 1972-73 seasons, Fats averaged 63 points per year. He had a career best 83 points and +42 plus/minus rating along with a Lady Byng win during his age 36 season.

Delvecchio won 3 Stanley Cups, was a 2-time All Star, and is a member of the NHL’s 100th anniversary team.

Red Wings Centennial Team: The Defenders

We’ll go with 8 defenders, and I’ll say in advance the right side is…interesting.

First Pairing Defenders

Left Defense: Nick Lidstrom (Hall of Fame inductee)

Widely regarded as one of the top three greatest defenders of all time, the Perfect Human amassed 1,142 career points and an eye popping +450 plus/minus while going up against the best talent the league had to offer from 1991 to 2012. Lidstrom was a 7-time Norris winner and you could make the case he should have won a few more. Lidstrom wouldn’t run you through the boards; no, his MO was to strip you of the puck and headman it with a perfect tape to tape pass to send a forward in all alone on the opposing goal. The league eventually grew to appreciate his style of defending.

His list of accolades is nearly as long as Gordie’s: 4 time Cup winner, Conn Smythe winner, 12 time All Star, the aforementioned 7 Norris wins, and of course he’s a member of the NHL’s 100th anniversary team.

Right Defense: Reed Larson

Reed Larson benefited from playing during the open era when NHL scoring was at its apex, but he still holds 9 of the top 10 spots for highest scoring seasons from a right shooting defender in franchise history. Plus, you could put a traffic cone on the ice as Lidstrom’s partner and that orange cone would rank top 10 among all NHL defenders in every key advanced stat. We’re not putting Brian Rafalski here because he’s best known for his years with the Devils, and Cheli doesn’t fit due to him being known primarily as a Blackhawk.

Larson did receive some acknowledgement for his play across the league, finishing 5th in Calder voting the year Mike Bossy won the award, had several decent showings in All Star voting; he even finished as high as 8th place for Norris voting. So that makes him the best right side defender for this top pairing - at least for now.

Second Pairing Defenders

Left Defense: Red Kelly (Hall of Fame inductee)

If you judge players simply by the number of titles they’ve won, you can’t do much better than Red Kelly, who won 8 Stanley Cup championships. Red made a name for himself in Detroit as a defender after a Toronto scout said he wouldn’t last 20 games in the league. Red would eventually go on to play center for the Maple Leafs after a long career as a Red Wing, but Kelly was an NHL All Star in a span of 6 out of 7 seasons during his time in Detroit. He won three Byng trophies as a Red Wing but only one in Toronto. Simply put, Red’s best years were in Detroit.

Kelly won the Norris trophy for the 1953-54 season and was part of 4 Stanley Cup winning teams in Detroit. He’s also a member of the NHL’s 100th anniversary team.

Right Defense: Vladimir Konstantinov

With Vlad the Impaler, the question is what might have been? His career was cut short just as he was entering his prime: he had an absurd +60 plus/minus in 1995-96 and finished 4th and 2nd in Norris trophy voting before the limousine accident that stole his career. Like Gordie, Vlad played much bigger than his size. He was the quintessential shut down defender who would rack up the hits and PIMs, but could also score: Konstantinov had 12 and 14 goal seasons.

Third Pairing Defenders

Left Defense: Marcel Pronovost (Hall of Fame inductee)

Marcel played the bulk of his career in Detroit, racking up 5 top-five Norris trophy finishes during his time as a Red Wing. Always eager to join the rush, Pronovost was considered Detroit’s Flying Frenchman. He was an alternate captain who was named to 4 All Star teams.

Pronovost made 8 appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals for Detroit, winning four of them.

Right Defense: Bob Goldham

Golden Boy played 6 seasons as a Red Wing. While he was on two Cup-winning teams in Toronto at the start of his career, he was not a key member of those teams, playing 19 and 11 games in each of those seasons. As a member of the Red Wings, he never played fewer than 61 games and finished 4th in Norris voting in 1955. Goldman was called a second goalie due to the way he’d throw his 6’2” body in front of shots.

Goldham was a key member of three Stanley Cup winning teams in Detroit.

Depth Defenders

We’ll add on two depth defenders to help us fill out our 23 man roster.

Left Defense: Niklas Kronwall

Kronner was a key member of the Red Wings throughout the aughts, delivering vicious open ice hits while running Detroit’s second power play unit. Kronwall was at his best as a second pairing defender, and had his greatest success when paired with Brad Stuart, another right defenseman the Red Wings acquired via trade.

Right Defense: Moritz Seider

The lone current member of the Red Wings, Seider’s inclusion is due in large part to the franchise relying so heavily on right side defenders who were acquired from other organizations. Even with that being the case, Mo’s career has gotten off to a fine start, winning the Calder trophy in 2022. Seider has routinely been called on to play some of the toughest minutes in the league, gets a boatload of short-handed minutes, and features on Detroit’s highly-successful power play.

It’s not difficult to see Mo moving up the lineup in future versions of this team.

Red Wings Centennial Team: The Goaltenders

No, we’re not including Dom. One starter, one backup.

Starting Goalie

Terry Sawchuk (Hall of Fame inductee)

Like Gordie, Sawchuk was long considered the greatest of all time before players like Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy chipped away at all of his records. Terry quickly established himself as the greatest to ever play the game, winning the Calder during his age 21 season while also being named to the All Star team. He would go on to win the Vezina trophy in three of the next four seasons. Ukey would earn top four Hart trophy votes in 3 of his first 9 professional seasons. When he retired he held every significant goalie record.

Sawchuk backstopped the Red Wings to three Stanley Cup victories over a five year period, was a 7-time All Star, won 4 Vezina trophies, and is a member of the NHL’s 100th anniversary team.

Backup Goalie

Chris Osgood

The margin likely preventing Chris Osgood from making the Hall of Fame is one goal, that being in Game 7 of the 2009 NHL Finals. If that game goes to overtime, there’s a decent chance Detroit wins the series and if that was to happen, there’s a strong case for Osgood winning the Conn Smythe. It simply wasn’t meant to be, but a Conn Smythe win goes a long way towards clinching Osgood’s entry to the Hall of Fame.

400 regular season wins, 74 playoff wins, .930 and .926 playoff save percentages in 2008 and 2009 when called into action due to Dom Hašek’s career coming to an end; add in a Conn Smythe and you could make the case for Osgood getting that call.

Early in his career, Osgood was considered the beneficiary of a dominant Red Wings team. His case wasn’t helped by the fact the team needed to trade for Mike Vernon to get that first Cup win in 42 years. But Osgood remained a Red Wing, with a short detour to Long Island and then St Louis. He also refined his technique, and it paid dividends towards the tail end of his career when he had two of his better seasons.

Ozzie won three Stanley Cups and was part of a tandem in goal that won two Jennings awards.

Credit: Marqueur.com

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Credit: Sportsnet.ca

While free agency got off to a bang on July 1st, Steve Yzerman opted for a few depth moves in the opening days of free agency, signing players who will provide depth in Detroit if not play for Grand Rapids. Today we are going to cover the signing of left wing James van Riemsdyk, a former #2 overall pick who has played for Philadelphi…

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