The Red Wings are staring at a season that could look a lot different, and not just because of the usual roster churn. With a Dylan Larkin-sized void hanging over the coming months, Detroit is heading into uncertain territory, and that makes the next wave of prospects even more important.
Last season, the organization already gave fans a glimpse of that future. On opening night, the Red Wings dressed three rookies: Emmitt Finnie, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Axel Sandin-Pellikka.
Only one of them played all 82 games, but it still signaled that the club was willing to lean on youth. Nearly a year later, the change is here - just not in the way most people expected.
And with the Atlantic division what it is, plus the fact that Detroit hasn’t made substantial upgrades, it’s fair to start looking ahead. These three prospects could, and really should, be full-time Red Wings next season.
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard is the most obvious offensive wild card. Among the forwards pushing for a spot, he brings a combination you don’t find every day: a hard-hitting, physical edge with real scoring ability. He wrapped up his season with the Grand Rapids Griffins at 20 goals and 44 points in 64 games, which is the kind of production that keeps a name in the conversation.
Brandsegg-Nygard also got two looks in Detroit - one at the beginning of the season and another near the end. The numbers weren’t flashy, with just one point in 14 games, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
His usage was frustrating, to put it mildly. He was often parked in the bottom six and logged only eight to 11 minutes a night.
If he gets a real chance next season, the Red Wings could finally see more of what he can do.
Axel Sandin-Pellikka’s season came with more bumps, but that’s part of the process too. He opened the year in Detroit and showed some strong production early on. Over time, though, the mistakes piled up, and the team sent him back to Grand Rapids for the rest of the season.
That shouldn’t be read as a dead end. It was Sandin-Pellikka’s first season on North American ice, and defensemen usually need more time to adjust at the pro level.
He held his own, but he also showed he still needed seasoning. With a full offseason of training and a strong showing at camp, there’s a clear path for him to force his way onto the roster.
Then there’s Nate Danielson, whose clock is getting louder. His path has become the tightest of the group, and not because he hasn’t tried.
He looked too good for the AHL at times, but by the middle of last season he still wasn’t quite ready for the NHL. He had a decent stint with Detroit, yet the feeling remained that he needed more time at the AHL level.
An injury also kept him from fully getting back on track last season, which only complicated things further. Danielson will be 22 when next season begins, and that matters.
If he doesn’t make the roster by then, people are going to start wondering what his ceiling really is at the NHL level. The Red Wings need to give him a real shot.
If they don’t let him try to swim, they won’t know what they have in him as a prospect or a player.
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 🡒]