The Detroit Red Wings finished the 2024-25 season with a record of 39-35-8, which was good for sixth place in the Atlantic Division. Head coach of the Red Wings, Todd McLellan, who took over for Derek Lalonde in late December, felt that the team “pissed away points” towards the end of the season. The Toronto Maple Leafs finished the season with a record of 52-26-4. The 108 points that the Maple Leafs earned were 22 more points than the Red Wings earned.
The Maple Leafs are expected to take a step back during the 2025-26 season because of Mitch Marner signing with the Vegas Golden Knights before free agency. Marner had 102 points for the Maple Leafs in 81 games played during the 2024-25 season. The captain of the Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews, will have to shoulder the scoring load for the team with the departure of Marner. The Maple Leafs and every other Atlantic Division team are chasing the Panthers, who have won back-to-back Stanley Cups.
The Atlantic Division is the class of the NHL, having a team representing the division in the Stanley Cup Finals for seven seasons in a row. The Florida Panthers have won two Stanley Cups in a row. The Red Wings and many other teams have recently tried to emulate the roster construction of the Panthers. The Tampa Bay Lightning also won the Stanley Cup in 2021. How far away are the Red Wings from emulating these two Atlantic Division foes?
The Panthers re-signed all the free agents who helped them win the second of their back-to-back Stanley Cups. Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, and Aaron Ekblad all play with a physical style that helps them be successful. This is something that was thought to be unlikely going into free agency. Much has been made of the fact that the Panthers play in a no-income tax state. This is akin to the Red Wings winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in the 1990s when the NHL did not have a salary cap.
Marchand ended up on the Panthers due to the Boston Bruins falling out of the playoffs before the NHL’s trade deadline. The 76points were good for eighth place in the Atlantic Division. This was the worst finish for the Bruins in 29 seasons. Marchand was traded to the Panthers for a conditional second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. This would have been unthinkable for the Bruins at the beginning of the 2024-25 season.
The Atlantic Division team that has been the biggest rival of the Red Wings recently has been the Ottawa Senators. During the 2021-22 season, the Senators defeated the Red Wings in two straight games that squandering the Red Wings’ playoff chances. This is yet another example of the Red Wings not being difficult to play against.
The Buffalo Sabres signed goaltender Alex Lyon to a one-year contract. Lyon, a former Red Wing, is looking for a fresh start with the Sabres. “I’m going to be the best version of myself I possibly can be, I’m going to be the most competitive version of myself I possibly can be,” Lyon said after signing the contract. Beyond that, the Sabres re-signed defenseman Bowen Byram to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $6.25 million. The Red Wings’ signing a player such as Jacob Bernard-Docker from the Sabres only helps the team leapfrog a divisional opponent.
The Red Wings will begin the 2025-26 NHL season with a game against the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens finished the 2024-25 season with 91 points, five more than the Red Wings. 56 of those 86 points came with McLellan as head coach. The Canadiens signed former Red Wing center Joe Veleno. Veleno was drafted by the Red Wings with the 30th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. In 74 games played for the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2024-25 season, Veleno scored eight goals and added nine assists.
While the Red Wings could not acquire a top-four defenseman or forward in free agency, the team made many signings and acquisitions before the start of free agency. Goaltender John Gibson, whom the team acquired from the Anaheim Ducks, is expected to be the starting goaltender for the Red Wings for the majority of the 2025-26 season. According to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, the Red Wings have the 3rd and 8th-ranked goaltender prospects. The Red Wings will have Cam Talbot, at 38 years old, as their backup goalie as of right now.
Trey Augustine, who was drafted by the Red Wings with the 41st overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, will return to Michigan State University for his third season. On the other hand, Sebastian Cossa, who was drafted by the Red Wings with the 15th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, will start the 2024-25 season with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. The amount of draft capital used to acquire the pick that the Red Wings used to draft Cossa makes it imperative that the Hamilton, Ontario native pans out.
General manager of the Red Wings, Steve Yzerman, said that the team would likely need to improve its roster through trading, given that they were not able to sign any high-end free agents. Rumors have circulated that the team is looking to acquire a top-four forward and a top-four defenseman. One name that has been consistently associated with the Red Wings is defenseman Erik Karlsson. Karlsson scored 11 goals and added 42 assists in 82 games played for the Penguins at 35 years old.
Karlsson is only on the market because the Pittsburgh Penguins are not trying to improve, despite having Sidney Crosby on their roster. Whether or not these rumors have any truth to them remains to be seen. One thing is certain: Yzerman will not tip his hand. This was evident when Yzerman was asked if he had rethought the move that saw him send defenseman Jake Walman to the San Jose Sharks in addition to a second-round pick for future considerations.
Defensemen James van Riemsdyk and Jacob Bernard-Docker were signed to make the Red Wings more difficult to play against. Fair or not, the Red Wings team has been seen as “soft.” The number of moves made by the team can only lead to success if they find the scoring help that the Panthers have.
ITR 47: Then There Was Nothing – Inside The Rink
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