Hockey is back in Detroit, and the Red Wings are heading into training camp with a roster that already says plenty about where things stand.
On Thursday, the club unveiled a 49-man camp group made up of 28 forwards, 16 defensemen and five goaltenders. Preseason follows quickly, with Detroit opening against the Columbus Blue Jackets on September 21. Two weeks from now, the NHL season begins again, and the Red Wings will skate in their home opener for the 101st time in franchise history.
This camp also opens a new chapter. The Red Wings are entering the 2026-27 season with a new GM, no captain and a fresh shot at defining the future.
Those bigger questions can wait. Right now, the most interesting stories are the players fighting for their place.
Simon Edvinsson is one of them, and in some ways he may be the biggest one. He remains unsigned, making him the only restricted free agent still on the roster and one of only a handful left in the NHL.
Talks are believed to be ongoing, but until a deal is done, he’ll be taking part in camp without a contract. His agent has said the next deal should come in around $7-9 million per season, though the term is still unsettled.
It could be a short bridge or a longer commitment to keep him on the blue line for years.
Then there’s Carter Bear, the player most people will be watching. The 2025 first round pick has a real chance to make the team this season, and his prospect tournament showing only sharpened that focus.
If he carries that play into camp, he’ll force the front office to keep him in the conversation. Horcoff’s comments suggest younger players may have a better path to the roster, and Bear fits exactly what this team needs: offense.
Anton Johansson is another name that could pop. He looked ready for NHL minutes with the Grand Rapids Griffins, and his brief time there last season - and the season before - only strengthened that impression.
At 22, he seems close. The issue is the numbers game.
Detroit’s defense appears mostly set, with Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson on the top pair, Ben Chiarot and Justin Faulk on the second, and Albert Johansson and Jacob Bernard-Docker on the third. Bernard-Docker may be the most vulnerable of the group, but he also just signed an extension with the organization.
Anton Johansson will also have to contend with Axel Sandin-Pellikka, who is pushing for a full-time role, and William Wallinder, who is at a make or break point in his career.
Up front, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard looks like he’s already got a spot penciled in. Todd McLellan’s camp lines have him on the third line with Carter Mazur and Nate Danielson, a young trio that brings energy and a bit of bite.
Brandsegg-Nygard may have the cleanest path of the young forwards trying to break through. He was the first forward called up from Grand Rapids at the end of last season and made the roster out of camp early on.
If his AHL scoring translates to the NHL, he could become a regular in the middle six for a long time.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Suddenly Face A Worrying Core Contract Problem
Contract questions have a way of hanging over a franchise long after the trade chatter fades, and Detroit knows the feeling as well as anyone. Reports said Red Wings management was split over the idea of moving Dylan Larkin, with Steve Yzerman cautioning that any return would not give the club an immediate boost, only help further down the road. That kind of tension says plenty about where a team is in its timeline, especially when a cornerstone player becomes part of a bigger debate about when to push and when to wait.
For the Blue Jackets, the broader lesson is hard to miss. Columbus is staring at its own uncertainty around the contract statuses of Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko, the sort of core questions that can shape everything from roster planning to the mood around the room. Around the league, these situations keep surfacing in different forms, whether it is Winnipeg trying to navigate a goaltender trade request or Minnesota brushing off noise during extension talks, and the common thread is simple: until those key deals are settled, nothing really feels stable. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Fans Just Got A Bigger Dylan Larkin Trade Concern
The Dylan Larkin conversation around Detroit has taken on a new layer, and it is not just about whether the captain would ever be moved. Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman reported that former Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman once had the opportunity to trade Larkin, but ownership would not approve any return that did not bring immediate help back to the roster. For a franchise still trying to climb back into contender status, that detail matters because it suggests the bar for any major hockey trade has been set far higher than a simple long-term reset.
Chris Ilitch has publicly said he gives his sports leaders autonomy, but previous reports have already pointed in a different direction, including one involving Steven Stamkos earlier this offseason. Now the question is whether interim GM Shawn Horcoff has the freedom to explore anything substantial with Larkin at all, or whether the same ownership guardrails are still in place. For Wings fans, that makes the trade chatter less about rumor and more about who really gets the final say in Detroit. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Need More From Nate Danielson In Key Center Battle
Nate Danielson enters training camp with a cleaner runway than he had a year ago, and the Red Wings are eager to see what that means for his place in the center mix. The young pivot already showed he can handle NHL minutes in a responsible, defense-first role, appearing in 27 games last season, and coaches have liked the maturity in his game. He is healthy now after dealing with injuries that interrupted his development, and Detroit views this camp as an important chance for him to keep pushing toward a regular job.
What makes Danielson such an intriguing part of the roster battle is the same trait that has helped him earn trust from the staff. The Red Wings want more offense from him, especially as they look to upgrade down the middle, but they also value the detail and reliability he brings. There is optimism around his upside, and training camp will offer a first real look at whether he can add more finishing touch without losing the defensive edge that has kept him in the conversation. [Read more 🡒]