The Detroit Red Wings have already made their first big moves of the offseason, but the roster still has one giant question hanging over it: Dylan Larkin.
Detroit came into the summer with two clear targets - score more at five-on-five and become tougher to play against - and on July 1, the team took steps toward both. The Red Wings have added three NHL players so far: Viktor Arvidsson, Keegan Kolesar, and goaltender Daniil Tarasov.
That gives the lineup projection a different look, even with plenty still unsettled. Up front, the top line in this version keeps Larkin in the middle, flanked by Emmitt Finnie and Lucas Raymond. If Larkin is still in the organization when 2026-27 opens, he remains Detroit’s 1C until that changes.
There’s no mystery about the awkwardness if that’s how it plays out. Larkin is under contract, and unless he’s traded before the season, he would be expected to report to training camp. If he doesn’t, the team could suspend him without pay for breaching the deal.
Behind that first line, Arvidsson slides into the spot Patrick Kane would occupy if he remains unsigned. In this projection, Arvidsson joins Alex DeBrincat and Andrew Copp on the second unit.
Kane could still return to Detroit, and if he does, the forward group would need to be reshuffled. For now, Arvidsson’s pace and compete level make him a natural fit there.
The middle and lower parts of the forward group give Todd McLellan options. One version has J.T.
Compher centering Marco Kasper and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard as a third scoring line, while Michael Rasmussen anchors a heavier fourth line with Kolesar and Carter Mazur. Mazur could also move up with Kasper and Brandsegg-Nygard, creating a younger, more energetic line with some finishing ability.
That flexibility is part of the point. McLellan has already said he wants these lines to develop an identity, and Detroit has several ways to build that depending on the night and the matchup.
On defense, the structure is mostly familiar, with one possible wrinkle. Simon Edvinsson and Moritz Seider remain the top pair, with John Gibson in goal. Ben Chiarot and Justin Faulk form the second pair, while Albert Johansson, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, William Wallinder, and Jacob Bernard-Docker fill out the rest of the blue line mix.
Sandin-Pellikka may not stay in Detroit, though. The Red Wings could send him to Grand Rapids, where he would get impact minutes for the Griffins and continue working on the defensive side of his game in all situations. If that happens, newly signed Jacob Bryson would take his place on the NHL roster.
If Larkin is no longer part of the picture, the whole forward group changes. In that alternate setup, Detroit would be looking at Alex DeBrincat, Marco Kasper, and Lucas Raymond on the top line, with Finnie, Andrew Copp, and Arvidsson behind them.
John Leonard would enter the mix on the third line with Compher and Brandsegg-Nygard, while Kolesar, Rasmussen, and Mazur would remain together on the fourth unit. The back end and goaltending would stay the same in this projection.
That version of the roster does not look like a playoff team, and it would run counter to the franchise’s goal of improving every year. Unless Detroit gets high-end NHL talent back in a Larkin deal, a lineup without him would almost certainly be a step backward in 2026-27.
For now, the Red Wings have at least started to reshape the roster. Arvidsson and Kolesar in particular fit the club’s stated goals of making life harder on opponents and producing more offense at five-on-five.
But there’s still unfinished business. Simon Edvinsson still needs a contract.
Kane could still return. And Larkin’s trade request continues to hang over Hockeytown.
Detroit’s offseason has changed the look of the team, but the lineup still feels like a draft, not a final version. By opening night, it could look very different again.
In Other News...
Red Wings Fans Just Got Another Reason To Doubt Larkin Pick Packages
Bill Armstrongs explanation for why Utah matched the Barrett Hayton offer sheet landed well beyond Salt Lake City, because it put a familiar NHL debate back in the spotlight: how much trust should a general manager place in draft picks when a proven center is on the table? For Red Wings fans, it is the same tension that always follows Dylan Larkin chatter. Steve Yzerman has been careful about the kind of return he would even consider, and the broader message from around the league is clear enough. Picks are useful, but they are far from sure things, especially when the player in question is already established.
The numbers only sharpen that caution. Second-round selections from 2011 to 2020 have turned into regular NHL players only about 30 to 34 percent of the time, while even late first-rounders are hardly locks. That is why teams keep treating premium centers like assets you do not replace with a stack of futures unless the offer is loaded with real certainty. For Detroit, it is another reminder that any Larkin package would have to be built around proven help, not just the promise of what might develop years down the road. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Face Growing Tension Around Simon Edvinsson's Future
Simon Edvinssons offseason has already become one of the more closely watched items on the Red Wings docket, even after a season that showed why Detroit wants him around. The young defenseman played 72 games and set career highs in goals and assists, giving the blue line the kind of two-way growth the organization has been building toward as it tries to keep its core intact.
Lucas Raymond, meanwhile, is moving into the third season of his eight-year extension and was recently seen alongside Edvinsson and Rasmus Dahlin at a Luke Combs concert, a reminder of how intertwined these young Swedish stars remain away from the rink. For Detroit, the bigger question is how quickly the Edvinsson situation settles, because every passing week keeps the focus on a player whose next step matters to the roster and to the teams long-term plans. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Offseason Is Stuck On One Massive Unresolved Situation
Dylan Larkins situation has become the kind of offseason hold-up that can shape everything else around it. The Red Wings captain remains at the center of a trade discussion with Steve Yzerman, and until there is clarity on where that goes, Detroits roster picture stays a little blurry. It is the sort of unresolved business that hangs over a teams summer, especially when the player involved is still under contract and the front office is trying to map out the next step without forcing the issue.
Yzerman does have time to work through it, with months still left to find a deal that makes sense for the organization. The wrinkle is that Detroit is not approaching this like a standard futures swap, which narrows the field and makes the negotiation more delicate. If nothing comes together, Larkin could still be on the roster when the season opens, a possibility that keeps this from being a clean break and leaves the Red Wings waiting on a decision that could define the direction of the whole offseason. [Read more 🡒]