Forward Max Plante’s season has hit a pause.
The Red Wings prospect, ranked No. 8 on DHN’s Top Red Wings Prospect list, is dealing with an upper body injury and is expected to be out on a week-to-week basis. Plante was hurt Saturday in Minnesota-Duluth’s second game against Long Island University during a weekend series.
It was still a productive stretch before the injury. The reigning Hobey Baker Award winner finished the weekend with two assists and five shots on goal. Last season, he put up 25 goals and 52 points in 40 games.
Minnesota-Duluth is back in action this weekend against Augustana, then faces a bigger test the following weekend against Minnesota.
Elsewhere around the Red Wings’ orbit, Alex DeBrincat is closing in on a couple of notable milestones. He has 296 goals, 303 assists and 599 points in 699 games, leaving him one point short of becoming the fourth forward from the 2016 NHL draft class to reach 600 points. Auston Matthews (785), Matthew Tkachuk (672) and Clayton Keller (603) are the others.
DeBrincat is also four goals away from becoming the fourth Michigan native to score 300 or more NHL goals. The others on that list are Mike Modano (561), Brian Rolston (342) and Kyle Connor (326).
On the farm side, the Grand Rapids Griffins have a busy weekend ahead. They host the Manitoba Moose on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Chicago Wolves on Sunday at 4 p.m., with a Saturday road trip to face the Milwaukee Admirals at 7 p.m.
A few other notes from around the Red Wings: no changes are planned for the club’s European operation, with Nick Lidstrom staying put. JT Compher remains a possibility for Friday’s game against the Seattle Kraken. And rookie defenseman William Wallinder continues to profile as a player who may not grab headlines, but can still handle a meaningful role on the blue line.
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Red Wings Have Two Very Different Roster Battles Unfolding
Michael Brandsegg-Nygards second NHL season is already looking different in the ways that matter most to coaches. Todd McLellan has seen a winger who looks more confident and assertive, with noticeable gains in his physical play and his positioning, the kind of progression that can turn a young player from merely surviving shifts to influencing them.
Carter Mazur, meanwhile, is in a much shakier spot as camp and roster decisions continue to loom. He is still trying to prove he belongs in Detroit, even after picking up his first NHL point in a win over the Ottawa Senators, and his immediate future remains one of the more interesting questions on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Fans Just Got Another Harsh Free Agency Reality Check
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For a fan base already used to parsing every whisper around Steve Yzerman, it is another reminder that a lot of the offseason buzz can be more noise than substance. It also comes against a backdrop of earlier speculation involving Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson, which has only made the need for clarity around Detroit's plans even sharper as the front office continues to navigate the market. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Front Office Shift Leaves One Big Question For Fans
The Red Wings front office is in motion after the removal of Steve Yzerman as general manager, with Shawn Horcoff stepping in as interim GM in Detroit and Dan Cleary taking the same interim role with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins. The organizational shuffle also sent Kris Draper from amateur scouting to lead pro scouting, elevated Jesse Wallin to director of amateur scouting and brought Mark Leach back into the scouting group, a reminder that the changes reach well beyond the top chair.
Niklas Lidstrom remains vice president of hockey operations, and his role now includes added responsibility for operations in Europe, where Niklas Kronwall and Hakan Andersson will continue in their current posts. Even with all that movement, the biggest question hanging over the team is still the one fans care about most: Lidstrom said he does not know whether Horcoff will end up holding the GM job on a full-time basis. [Read more 🡒]