DETROIT RED WINGS NHL SEASON PREVIEW 2025 2026
[Music] Welcome to the Wing Wheel Podcast, the number one source for news, analysis, and discussion on the Detroit Red Wings, the NHL, and all things hockey. Here are your hosts, Ryan Hannah, Brad Krisco, and Evan Lopsinger. [Music] the whole summer. We had the whole summer for all of these contracts. And then McDavid signs one absolutely insane contract, mind you. And the floodgates open and Eel signs and Connor signs and Eol sign. All these people are signing. It’s like we had the whole summer to make this interesting. And now all of this before our Detroit Red Wings season preview episode. There’s very few like bolt-on this episode’s going to be big. It does not matter what the news is. It’s going to be the entire episode is just this pre-baked content and it they just gravitate towards that. Were you hoping this was going to be a peaceful episode? I had no ambitions of a peaceful episode. I just Okay. I just thought it was weird that you rhymed off all the contracts but Wman. [Laughter] Hey, I’m just happy for Wman, honestly. Good for him. Well, well, okay. Well, I was going to say like if you’re on a boat in the middle of the summer, you’re not thinking about your contract. Oh, I was going now that you’re back to work, it’s time to, you know, think about those sorts of things. Evan, I don’t think you could have said anything less relatable for Brad and I to understand the the vibe here. Sorry. Imagine yourself being on a boat. Yeah. You can the amount of boats I was on over under.5. What are you guys taking? Well, if you’re on half a boat, that’s not good. Oh, yeah. You really are a dad, huh? You’re ready. Yes. Although, apparently you are still dealing with a kid who’s just, you know, sitting there ripping farts and not doing much else. So, he’s 75% gas right now. He comes by it honestly knowing you. Yes, folks. The Detroit Red Wings season preview episode of the Wing Wheel podcast. We’re going to get to all that news we talked about. Not to worry, we’re just kidding. We actually are excited that there’s a lot happening cuz it means hockeyy’s back. This is our last episode before the Detroit Red Wings drop the puck on their 2025 2026 season. Welcome to the Winged Wheel Podcast. Here to talk to you about all things Detroit Red Wings this upcoming year, the world of the NHL and lots more. I’m one of your hosts, Ryan Hannah. I’m Brad Krisco. I’m Evan. This episode of the Wing Wheel podcast is proudly presented by Greenlight Lending. Red lights are meant for lighting the lamp at the rink, not your home ownership goals. Head to go greenlightlanding.com today for creative mortgage solutions with flexible closing cost options. Licensed only in Michigan at MLS267-6683 and equal housing opportunity lender and proud sponsor of the Winged Wheel podcast. On this episode of the show, as you can put together, it’s our full Detroit Red Wings season preview. So top to bottom, we’re going to be covering our analysis, predictions, breakdowns, everything to do with Hockey Town this upcoming season. forwards, defense, goalies, special teams, coaching, storylines, predictions, points, standings, analysis, all of that and lots more. We’re going to be talking about Red Wings news that has come out within the last few days, the flood of NHL news, and whatever else we can get to before overtime. Probably going to be a bigger episode than usual, so our usual cadence is going to be a little bit more drawn out than what you would expect, you know, mid-season or offseason. But hey, these are the fun ones. Very quickly, Wing Wheel Podcast night at the LCA is Saturday, November 15th. Go to wingwheelpodcast.com/redwings to get your tickets. That is a partnered event between us and the Detroit Red Wings where we host a live episode of the Wingheel Podcast at Little Caesars Arena featuring special guests like Ken Daniels, Rob Ray, other special guests involving the the Centennial jersey and logo design with the Detroit Red Wings. You not only get tickets to the game and the pregame live recording of the podcast, you also get a sweet Wing Wheel podcast from Detroit Red Wings co-branded Centennial season themed blanket with their Centennial logo and our 10th anniversary logo. You also get access to the pregame meet and greet, merch, prizes, giveaways, all of that, and lots more. Every ticket is actually discounted. You get a special WWP discount and there is a donation to the Jamie Daniels Foundation baked into every ticket as well. So again, wingreelpodcast.com/redwings. All right, the forwards I think is a great place to start. And is this the most confident we’ve been in the Red Wings forwards coming into a season? Actually, I I think is this the most confident we’ve been in the Red Wings coming into a season since we started this podcast more than 10 years ago. Your phrasing there is very key. the most confident. Yes, but I am not confident. Yeah, there’s still questions. Yes, we are rising on the escalator here, but we are not at the top yet where I would consider that confident. I I don’t even know if confidence like the right word. Obviously, all jokes aside, cautiously optimistic is how I would phrase it. Mhm. I I see genuine upside here. I see reason to believe the bottom six won’t be the offensive black hole that it’s been for the entirety of this podcast. Until I see it actually happen, again, I can’t say I’m confident in that, but cautiously optimistic, I think, is where I’m at on that group. So before we actually jump into the playerby-player line by line analysis, I should say the official rosters were registered on Monday by 5 Eastern. And as predicted, the three kids who are healthy and challenging for the roster did make it. EMTT Finny makes it. Michael Branzard makes it. And on defense, Axel Sandine Pelica makes it. Obviously, Nate Danielson is injured. Probably out for a little bit here at least. Otherwise, he very well could have made that conversation even more interesting. The waving of Justin Hall and Eric Gusson, both of them cleared waiverss. Hall was sent down. Gusson, not yet. They have the option to do it. JVR because he was away for family reasons. They they can technically call him non-roster now. He’s easing his way back in. Not playing Thursday. They’re going to see about Saturday just as he gets up to game speed. But when he slots back in, someone will have to come out. So, we’ll see who that is. But the three kids did indeed make it. Everything else was as expected. So, I mean, we have to start with the the key players here. And let’s start with the captain, Dylan Larkin. What are you looking at this season for Dylan Larkin? What are your predictions? And and what has to happen for Dylan Larkin this year for this to be a successful Red Wing season? He’s got to stay healthy. I think it’s that simple. Dylan Larkin at this point in his career, I think anybody who’s watched the Red Wings for longer than two years has a really good idea of what he is. He’ll flirt with a point per game. He’s going to get you 30 goals. You know, good 200 foot player, the engine of that forward group, ultra high compete. But there have not been a lot of years where we have seen that consistently for 82 games because a bunch of times he’s missed a good chunk of games or like last season he was playing very obviously hurt for the last what would you call it six weeks six to eight weeks of the season and it affects him. It’s noticeable. I I I love that he is this consistent when he’s playing in terms of what he brings offensively, defensively from a leadership role, but the style of game he plays comes with a price and that is he’s going to get knocked around a lot and when that happens, injuries almost feel inevitable. So hopefully this is the season where he can string that together for 78 to 82 games. So last year 30 goals, 40 assists, 70 points in a full 82 games. But like you said, Brad, after four nations, he just wasn’t the same. You really didn’t see him come back to any kind of form until like the 11th hour of the season. Raymond, we’ll talk about him in a second here, had the same kind of slump to start after Four Nations, but then came back to form earlier. But still 70 points. I I don’t want to call him Detroit’s most important player cuz I don’t think that’s true anymore. At least not like, you know, unanimous if you were to pull Red Wings fans, but he is in the most important tier of Red Wings players. And if his season isn’t to the level that the Red Wings need to be, then the season’s a right-off. He is that important. He is a cornerstone piece. So yeah, I like it’s not a worry about Dylan Lorin’s game or what he brings or the passion or anything like that. It’s just the health and the only reason that is just a continued conversation to the same intensity as last year is cuz this year you have the Olympic tournament. It’s a longer time frame, but it’s also it’s going to be less of a pace, I think, in terms of the intensity like Bash Bros brute force that the Four Nations was, but it’s still going to be an extra ask of him on his body and at a time of the year where it’s not a lot of time left after that to to kind of recover if the Red Wings are on the fringe of a playoff spot, which with a good result this year is where they hope to be. So, there’s all the faith in the world in what Dylan Lin can do. It’s not a question of how he can improve his game or or produce or anything like that. He does that in spades. It’s just doing it in March and April is going to be key. Yeah. The the key is health and availability, right? And I would assume now that he’s kind of done one iteration through I’ll say international play midseason that he took some good learnings from that and and can help pace himself and and keep his body in a good spot to be able to play at the same level for the entirety of the season because like we noted last episode, the Atlantic hasn’t gotten any less competitive every game from day one until game 82 is going to be critically important, especially the interdivision play. He has to be available and has to be able to keep it running as high as he possibly can the whole season. In terms of points, you know, even a 70 point season, I think that would be the lower end of what you would expect for a a healthy season from Larkin. I still think he could be a guy that could be even over a point per game, but it just depends right on that that topline winger spot. And the best players in the league will reach certain plateaus just off their own talent, but you move off of that super super superstar tier. There are guys who have 80, 90, even 100 point potential, but they’re not going to crack that unless they have a full complement of players around them at the very least on their own forward line, not to mention on defense as well. If you think of the Colorado and they have Macar behind them kind of thing to to be able to ascend to the 90 point range, 100 point range. So, I I think Linen has more in him offensively. And this isn’t a knock on Finny or whoever else lands in that spot, but the hope this season isn’t that the Red Wings have someone who is a true topline left wing there. The hope for the Red Wings is just that they have someone who can stick there somewhat consistently. Like the the bar is so much lower than what Larkin would need to to kind of take that next step in terms of production. That part’s always been frustrating for me where I’m like, I know I think we all know Larkin could put out more, but it’s just very rarely has he had a full set of true topline wingers, but that that’s that’s secondary this year to everything else we just mentioned in my mind. He still has Lucas Raymond who’s only getting better every year, 100%. Speaking of which, Lucas Raymond, 27 goals, 53 assists, 80 points last year. And again, barring that for nation slump afterwards, he probably would have been in in conversation with, you know, the Alex de Brinka types for team MVP last season. And Lucas Raymond, even with having that cold streak, had an 80 point year and we’ve been watching him for four years now get better and better and better and better. Is there another step this year? I think so. Like you said, because of the cold streak that hindered what he could have done last year. He’s young enough that there’s still room for improvement. He’s not a guy who relies on speed to be as great as he is. So, I think he’s one of those guys who could keep getting better all the way to 26, 27 years old before he starts to hit that, you know, peak of his performance. you know, not saying he’s going to be a 100 point guy, but I think it’s very possible that if they can figure out that leftwing spot with him and Lurin that he’s going to be a 90 point plus guy and honestly the power play could be a huge reason for that cuz they haven’t broken up that unit and there’s no reason to. So even if you know Finn is only a column 30 40 point guy, I think 90 points is still within reach for Raymond just because of the power play, the natural progression to his game. And again, it’s relevant to him as well hopefully a healthy 82 games out of his centerman Dylan Lurin. Yeah. And I mean, we’ll talk about defense later, but if ASP sticks on this roster, that is a an offensive weapon added back to the blue line that the Red Wings were kind of missing last year after they lost Shane Gosses Bear from the the season prior. So, there is more around him. Lucas Raymond I see is a complete player. Like, he’s that kind of guy where when people who don’t watch the Red Wings watch him play, they’re like, “Oh, wow. He does everything good, huh?” And you’re like, “Yeah, that that’s that’s Lucas Raymond. He really does it all and he doesn’t play like a soft game. He doesn’t play a small game. He He’s reliable and he works hard in both directions up and down the ice and gets to the soft areas. You can see him figure things out in terms of like finding space, but he’ll he’ll power through areas as well. There’s always always always a want from Red Wings fans for Lucas Raymond to lean on his shot more cuz I think he has more in him that way, which is a great problem to have, right? Like you you score 27 goals and people are like, “You could have put up 35 easy.” Good. That’s That’s only room for improvement. This is his forward group in my mind. Like this team goes as Lucas Raymond goes more than anyone else on offense and there’s really not any concern to a lesser degree, but still with what we talked about with Larkin the Olympics. You’re going to be looking out to see how he handles that afterwards. But other than that, like Lucas Raymond has been like the question is does he change people’s mind and and truly become a superstar this year? I think for me, you know, if Dylan Larkin’s the engine of the forward group, then Lucas Raymond is sort of the the tip of the spear. Like he needs to be the best forward on the team. He is absolutely the guy who who could be chasing a 100 point season and I think he’s got the tools to do it. Mind you, we’re going to take a shot every time we say if they figure out the left wing position on the top line. if they had good think we have three bottles of JP Wiser’s Red Wings special edition. That might not be enough. That might not be enough. But in reality with how the team’s currently set up, he is the best forward on this team. And I this season and next are going to be when we find out if Lucas Raymond’s going to send to, you know, the 100 point, you know, that’s a different tier of winger in the NHL. Does he have that in him? By all rights. you know, every year he keeps getting better and better and better on a, you know, team has been a nonplayoff team. So, I I think he’s got the tools to do it. Like you said, he could easily be a 30 goal scorer. Easily. I’m really excited to see what he can do, whether that’s with Finny or Van Reamdike or Soderblum on their left wing. He is the the key forward, the key point producer on this team. 30 goal scorer this season prior for what it’s worth. 31 that year. So, we know he can do it. When you hear the term modern hockey thrown around, like the style of play, I think of all forwards on the Red Wings that suits Lucas Raymond the best and he thrives in it the most. Everybody needs to play quick, but not in the sense of like a Conor McDavid or a Nathan McKinnon where you’re going to pick the puck up and you’re just going to rush down the billion miles an hour and make something happen off the rush. If you watch all the elite teams in the league, they can get the puck in the offensive zone and just keep it there for a minute, minute and a half, two minutes. We saw them do it against Toronto on Saturday where they literally got a full line change in and Patrick Kane ended up scoring at the end of it. But that was started with the Lark and Raymond line where they pinned Toronto for a minute and a half. And what I mean by that is these elite teams and these elite players have the ability to get the puck in the offensive zone and basically play keep away until they get a look they like because they’re not skating fast, but everything’s happening fast. Quick giving goes, reads, find the seam, find the soft spot when you don’t have the puck, move. And it’s just this, you know, game of passing and move and give and go and you’re you’re keeping the defense so far on their heels, they can’t ever pressure you because everything you’re doing is so fast. Larkin and Raymond excel at that. Raymond especially. It’s why a guy like Patrick Kane at his age can still be effective because he doesn’t move fast but he can play fast and Casper and Debrinki can obviously do that and we know Larkin and Raymond can do it but Raymond I think does it better than anybody on the Red Wings. We know to varying degrees what Soderblum and Finny and Cop and JVR are good at. The reason I think everybody has a concern with whoever plays there on that top line is Larkin and Raymond play a very fast, very high IQ game. And that is not easy to keep up with because if you’re playing with them and you get that puck in one of these bang bang plays and you don’t make the right read or you don’t get to your spot quick enough, it kills the whole play. And I think if they find someone that can keep up with Larkin and Raymond in that modern style of offense, that line’s damn near unstoppable. We’ve seen it at points, but if they don’t, that’s the only real hesitation I have to Raymond and Larkin hitting their ceilings this year because they just need someone who can not only be that, you know, go in and get the puck guy like Finny is, but once they have it, you got to keep up. And let’s now jump into EMTT Finny. So, this is about, you know, the player, but also the position. So, it’s kind of two different conversations here, but EMTT Finny by all rights right now is is the guy who should get at least a look on that first line left wing position. You know, the second line is solidified. It looks like the third line they’re going to try to go with Cob Confer Branzard and then the fourth line being whatever it is. Finny is is the only one who’s made a real claim to that first line left wing spot. And as a rookie, like the expectations of him have to be divorced from what the Red Wings need from that first line left wing spot, which is why the the kind of theme of this whole season is there’s so much to be excited for, but at the end of the day, the Red Wings are making the decision to potentially go with a very young team, and that could mean things don’t all click right away. So, with Eminia, I see a guy who has an insanely high motor, you know, skates extremely well, but it’s also the compete in there, too. I think he has shown way more offensive talent than a seventh round pick typically has. You know, when he steps on the ice, he’ll be the first Red Wings rookie seventh round pick to make the team as a rookie since Henrik Zederberg on the opening night roster, which is a phenomenal accomplishment to be the first guy to do that in 23 years. You can’t take that away from him and and for him to be able to to step into the role on the first line is something too. Like they they’re not just handing this to him. They’re doing it because he has a skating to keep up with those two. As Brad said, they’re doing it because they think he has some ability offensively. He could potentially not look out of place. I’m stopping short of saying he won’t look out of place. Like, you have to not pin too high of expectations on the kids because it they’re going to make a name for themselves in this league and on this team, but it might not be right away in how we all think. So, I’m just trying to temper expectations. But for Finny, I see a guy who, if all things go well, one, a measure of success is that he just sticks there. But two, I think he he could be that kind of piano puller. What the Red Wings fancied the, you know, I hate to say it, but like the Abdulcator helm types back when they were at the the peak of their performances back in the day with the Red Wings talented forwards back then. I knew Abdulcator was coming, but you had to. I had to, but not but not in a derogatory way. Oh, he had good years with Datsuk and Zederberg. He got that contract for a reason. Yeah. Whether or not he should have, but he the numbers were there. Like the expectations for Finny have to be very realistic. He’s not going to stick on that line all year in all likelihood. And people need to come to peace with that. Now, they’re going to try different people there. He’s going to have varying degrees of success. And like I said, there’s not an insignificant chance he ends up back in Grand Rapids and that’s going to be the right call because you have to look at it this way. If he plays 82 games with Larkin and Raymond, he’s getting Calder votes. Because the only way he plays 82 games with Larkin and Raymond is if it’s going really, really well. Or he’s like that 40 point guy that you mentioned. Yeah. He’s going to get 40 to 50 points. And because he’s got that story attached to him that’s so wonderful. Not saying he’s going to win the Calder, but he’ll get on the ballot if he’s if he’s putting up 40 points. Dude, if he puts up 4550 points on that line, he’s on he’s getting nominated. Demod is probably going to pop off for 80, but I’m just saying he’ll get on the ballot. So, but again, if that is your expectation for EMTT Finny this year, your odds of disappointment are 98%. because that’s insanity. Like we want to talk about and get all excited about the rookies. I can stay in that frame of mind and give you a very good reason why to temper expectations still because the one guy I really want to see get a look on that line and we’ll talk about him later is Michael Brinseard, right? Like he also earned his spot on the team and I think he’s well suited to play that role as well. And I think Finny has the toolkit to also play where Bren Segard is playing in the lineup right now. Like the possibilities are and the range of outcomes here are very very wide. If EMTT Finny plays 20 games with the Red Wings, puts up five points and gets sent back to Grand Rapids for the rest of the year, that is still a huge success story. So, how you’ve put your mindset around this is going to frame the narrative that you have with EMTT Finny. He’s on the roster. He’s going to play games. Two years removed from being a seventh round pick out of the WHL. Usually the late round picks that make the NHL this quickly come from some backwoods league in Europe that wasn’t scouted enough or where the translatability is harder to determine like some guy in the scan who was a point per game player and then all of a sudden seventh round picks out of the CHL do not make the NHL in two years. It doesn’t happen. It is unbelievably rare and to be doing that starting on the first line is insanity. Yeah. I almost want to ask insanity. We had to. But the Well, let’s call a spade a spade. And this is not an anti-ET Finny comment, but it’s like, who else do you put there? Yeah. He sees an opportunity that that wouldn’t exist in every team. It’s not like he kicked out Lucas Raymond, you know? Yeah. All the stars had to align for him here. The whole point I’m making is anything he does from this point out in a positive manner is a success. Whether that lasts 10, 20, 40 or 80 games, this is a win. Everybody’s opinion and mindset around him needs to be that going into the season. And anything, every point, every goal, every good forch check is added value to this team. It’s found money, right? Like, yeah, it’s a good for everything you said, it it’s found money. And I think money. Finny, shut up. There’s something there. You keep going. You keep you keep workshopping that one. Yeah, I know my first comment on EMTT Finny makes it sound like I’m down on him. I am very much part of Finnsanity. So, I want to make that very clear. And I I think I know he’s one of the best at this moment, one of the 12 best forwards on this team. So, if they want to put MBN up on the first line and put EMTT Finny on the third line, that’s still a net positive. I still think he adds an element to any of those lines and it’s still better than what the Red Wings have been trotting out the past few years. So, this is not an anti-ET Finny conversation. I’m super excited to see what happens. And he was awesome in the preseason. He he has an element there, many elements that I don’t think anybody expected. So, it’ll be very interesting to see what happens when he gets thrust into the limelight on the first line left wing position or we’ll see what happens if he gets down further in the lineup if he can be that honey badger and produce with lesser players. We very clearly stated here, what’s the measure of success for EMTT Finny? Well, he he’s already accomplished it. Beyond this, the cherries on top and the sprinkles and everything else would be you just hang with an NHL pace, physicality, grind of a season for as much of it as possible. If he goes down to the AHL, it doesn’t mean he’s there all year. He could come back up and and that doesn’t mean it’s a failure. But if this guy plays 82 games, that is a that’s a leaguewide story success whether people want to recognize it or not. So kudos to Emtt Finny who’s been just electric from the moment he was drafted. And I cannot wait. This is found money is the exact right way to put it. I’m so pumped to see what he can do. Even if it is five points in 20 games, who cares? This is awesome. Another awesome story, continuation from last season, and who now has uh a lot on his shoulders, which is a continuation from last season, Marco Casper on the second line. And whether he stays there or whether he’s a guy that’s also moved around remains to be seen, but for now, that second line looks rock solid. What are you looking for from Marco Casper this season? who just completely blew everyone’s socks off last year. Just avoid the sophomore slump. I’m not saying he needs to put up 50, 60, 70 points, but if he can anchor that second line, put up 40 to 50 points, let De Brink and Kane do their thing, that’s a good season. Obviously, we know the ceiling for him is higher than that, but it doesn’t mean he has to hit it this year. He’s going into his sophomore season. He was a rookie last year. Like we got to keep that in the back of our minds because some of the conversations around Casper though optimistic and true feel like we’re getting out over our skis a little bit. Like, oh yeah, this guy’s a number two 75 point center. Yeah, he there’s a very good chance he becomes that. Doesn’t mean it’s this year. Just avoid the slump. Continue his progression. be that rock solid 200 ft 2C to free up Kane and to Brinket to do their thing. Chip in enough offense, I’m happy. If there’s any regression, obviously that’s probably a disappointment even though it is common to happen. The sophomore slump is a thing for a reason, but just continue the progression, continue working towards that ceiling, and it’s a win for him. The nice thing is is he can look up the lineup and Dylan Larkin’s there so he can lean on him to learn how to be a pro going into his second season. And then he’s got Patrick Kane on his line. Just another guy that he can lean on and how to stay and and and maintain his level of play at the NHL level. like this is the reason why you bring some of these kids in and why you bring in some of these older guys to really teach this younger core how to be NHL players day in and day out. So if Marco Casper avoids a sophomore slump, it won’t be just on him. Yeah, that he he feels like found money almost as well. Like we were searching for the second line center and out trots Marco Casper. We were hoping that yeah, maybe he’ll be a middle six forward on this team and he took that position and it just looks like he looks like such a natural out there. It seems like it was a no-brainer the whole time. Marco Casper through 77 games last year, had 19 goals, 18 assists for 37 points. If you’re going to benchmark it, I’d love to see him flirt with that 50 point total. I think, as Brad said, he could blow right past it or it could just be like 13 extra points is a huge step. So, if he’s getting in and around there, I think that’s great for a 2C. And one more thing I’ll add before we’ll jump over to one of his wingers is it’s not just learning from Larkin. It’s, you know, MBN is coming in and they see a lot of Marco Casper’s game that they want to exist in Brans Negard’s game and he plays a lot of the same way. And so, it’s great for MBN to be able to look at Marco Casper like, hey, what’s he doing? not always at the same position, right? Of course, but still like just the fundamentally what is he bringing to this team on and off the ice that made him so successful last year where he is now in a two seat role in his second season. MBN can look at that and say, not only is my path forward achievable, it’s represented right in front of me and there’s a a template for what I have to do from a guy who plays a lot like me. So, I think that’s that’s a really cool thing to expect from Marco Casper as well. Alex Dbrinket who I mean 39 goals last year nearly a 40 goal season 70 points played all 82 games for most people’s money was the Red Wings MVP for the year was the most consistent player a guy who really kind of found his comfort zone after his first season in Detroit and it just looks like the kind of Alex de Brinket that the Red Wings knew they were getting when they brought him in. So what do you see from him in year three in the winged wheel? 40 goals or he’s a complete failure. 39 and a2 best we can give you. No, the the reality for de Brinkit whether it’s fair or unfair to put it on him. He’s playing with Casper and Patrick Kane. His expectation is he needs to score goals. That 39 goals is great. That that is an A+ season in everybody’s books for Alex to Brinkit. He doesn’t have a lot of room to drop off from that if the Red Wings are going to be good. Patrick Haynes is going to get his goals. Marco Casper is going to get his goals. But we know who’s got to carry the load putting the puck in the net on that line. It’s Alex Debrink. So all the other things he brings to the table, you know, we’ve we’ve talked glowingly about he’s got some snarl to his game, he’s got some pace to his game, and he’s got some underrated playmaking. Someone on YouTube called him Elgato. I think we should roll with that. I don’t get it. You can figure this out. I I believe in you, Evan. Elgato. Evan. Oh, what? You okay? You keep going, Brad, and you shout when you figure it out. We’re going to be here a long time. How big’s that SD card? But the primary responsibility for Alex Brinket is to score goals. Like we talked about with Finny, everything he does is found money. Every scrap, every scrum, every assist, everything to Brinket does in that sense is found money. As long as he’s scoring goals, I’m happy. And again, it’s a lot of pressure to put on a guy, especially if he’s played on the second line all year. But with who he’s playing with, with the way that power play is supposed to look, yeah, I I think 35 goals is the minimum for him to be like a successful season for where the Red Wings at. If he surprises the hell out of us and puts up 45 50 assists, okay, great. Maybe we can adjust that number. But if he’s putting up relatively the same ratios, I I think that’s kind of the range he’s got to be in for it to be considered successful and for the Red Wings to truly have a chance of making the playoffs. Did you say Elgato or Kato? I said Elgato. Ah, it’s still okay. I don’t get it still. But anyway, no, but you do. You’re on the right track, man. Okay, Evan. Me and Tully might have the same amount of body hair, but I do not speak Spanish like him. Okay. What do you think Elgato means in Spanish? I have no idea. I don’t speak Spanish. Debrink. Debrink. Oh, yes. That’s why I thought maybe you’re saying Kato. Anyway, when I think of De Brinkit, I think of that kind of more complete game that people give him credit for. As Brad was alluding to, I think his playmaking is really underrated and not to be overlooked. I think his snarl, I love how much of a mean streak and how nasty he is and how much he’s willing to get into his scrums. I I think like that he brought that energy and that juice and that spark so many different games where the Redskins looked lifeless last year where a lot of the times where I said they this team looked turned around from the year prior. He was the one driving that and he’d put the puck in the net. And it wasn’t just with the the classic Kane de Brinket connection. It was the Lucas Raymond high to low pass Alex Dbrinket who is at a tight angle. But the same way when Lucas Raymond is holding the puck and he’s confident and you know he’s going to make something happen, Alex de Brinket shooting from those spots, you know, he knows he can put that puck in the net. So just a continuation from last year is what you want to see from him. Yeah. And I think his 200 foot game has come a long way as well. I think when you think of guys who score 40ish goals, you think, “Oh, they’re kind of one-dimensional or they’re the best players on the planet.” But I think his game has come a long, long way. Not only his playmaking, we’ve seen take a a big step, but his board play and one-on-one play has improved exponentially since he’s come to Detroit. So honestly, I don’t think there’s a lot more you need to see out of Alex Debrinket to to validate his existence on this team or what would be a successful season for him. I think, you know, if that second line can contribute a little bit more at five on five rather than the Red Wings power play was otherworldly last year. So if they can be better at five on five, I think that would be a real success. But Alex Abrink’s one of the best players on this team and he he he brings that sort of mojo every game and there’s not a lot to to quantify other than that. Patrick Kane last year 72 games, 21 goals, 38 assists, 59 points and I think importantly really seemed to come alive after they moved away from Derrick Alone and into Todd Mlullen who who came in and and said, you know, we we talked about it a lot. He just said play F in hockey and really seemed to open up this team to do what they were able to do offensively and allowed them to lean on that and and play of a more kind of offensively confident mindset like just seemed to unlock something and it a lot of people were surprised that Mlullen did that and one of the biggest benefactors was Patrick Kane who didn’t really mince words when talking about what he thought was going wrong with the Red Wings before they moved away from from Lol either. So, do you see that kind of continued offensive performance from Patrick Kane last year to this year? You know, 59 points. Do you see him repeating that or is there going to be a drop off? Where do you see him kind of fitting into the the offensive output? At his age, it’s almost unfair to expect him to put up 59 points again. I think he might do it, though. I think it’s reasonable. You know, if he only gets 50 points this year, 45, I don’t think anybody’s going to look at that and go, “Oh man, how could you?” Like, he’s like a 100 years old on like half a hip. It’s very understandable if he regresses a little bit and then hopefully that’s offset by possibly some Marco Casper progression. That’s hockey. That’s the point of the game. You don’t know until you play. But the way he looked last year, the way he’s looked in preeason, he hasn’t given me any reason to doubt that he’s going to repeat that performance. And again, playing with a guy like Casper, playing a guy like to break it, playing on a power play unit like the Red Wings have, man, that all feeds right into his strengths. So, I I don’t expect him to be a Selki nominee this year. I don’t expect him to be the guy primarily transporting the puck or, you know, I I’m not even sure I expect him to have a single for check this year, a single effective pressure in the offensive zone. Not my job. But I still think that equates to him having a very good year. And if he finished between 50 and 59 points again, I would not be surprised in the slightest. I’ll be shocked if he has less than 55 points this year. I think, you know, another year on from hip resurfacing surgery, he said he’s painfree. He’s on a line with with guys he wants to play with, two honey badgers and one guy who’s an ultimate goal scorer. Uh, you know, this is also an Olympic year. And whether you believe Patrick Kane is one of the best American players and can play on that US team or not, I think he’s got some motivation after being invited to the the summer camp. I I think this will be a really interesting year for Patrick Kane. And if I’m gonna put my neck out a little bit, I’ll say he gets 65 plus points. Wow. And you know what? Like most other guys where you look at the age and the injury history and whatever you do that calculation, they’d call both of you Brad and Evan insane. But this is a generational talent who has shown that he can with the health that he now has age in a way that’s cerebral and leaning into his his strengths and you can see what he brings to the ice. It’s like you can focus on the warts all you want, but find me another 36, 37y old who can do what Patrick Kane’s doing out there. And I think you’re both exactly right in terms of yeah, he’s playing with Dbrinka who he has a history with across two teams now. He’s playing with Casper who plays the kind of game that Kane needs. It’s a really good recipe there to maximize what Kane brings. And then the the effects that he has on the rest of the team like I don’t doubt what Lucas Raymond says when Lucas Raymond says, “Patrick Kane made a big difference in my game.” not just in terms of how he shows up on the ice, but off the ice as well. Like he brings a gravity to the room that means something. And I know we’ll get to this, but I think it’s important when we talk about last season. If you do one full season with Todd McClullen last year rather than 30 games with Lon at the start, there’s no doubt in my mind he’s a 60 plus point player. No doubt. Yeah. Yeah. I I completely agree. And like he said he talked about what he thought they were doing wrong. And I mean he it was put up or shut up and he put up after Mlullen came in like he was one of the guys who really opened up and turned his game around. Not that he was the problem in Detroit but he became an offensive factor again in a huge way. It’ll be really exciting to watch this season. Yeah. Okay. We’re going to take a quick break and when we come back Michael Branzig Negard and the rest of the forwards. But first, a word from our sponsors. [Applause] Hair loss isn’t just about what’s on your head. It’s about how you feel when you look in the mirror. And just like getting back into game shape after a long off season, sometimes you need a little help regaining that confidence. With HIMS, you can take that next step toward feeling like yourself again. They provide access to personalized care that fits your life. No blockbuster trades required. Hims offers access to a range of prescription hair loss treatments with ingredients that are proven to work. And if prescribed, they can help stop hair loss and even regrow hair in as little as 3 to 6 months. That’s a shorter turnaround time than some rebuilding teams manage. 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Three main ingredients go into our early morning offseason episodes. sarcasm, a healthy dose of blind optimism for a deep playoff run next season, and really good coffee. And that’s where we have to give a shout out to Coffee Cult. We started drinking it after one too many late night editing sessions, and it honestly ruined other coffee for us. You can actually taste the difference. Seriously, they use specialty grade Arabica beans, work directly with farmers, and they roast everything after you order. So, you’re not getting stale beans that have been sitting around. It’s roasted fresh, and it shows. The dark roast, which is Evan’s personal favorite, is smooth, fullbodied, and has notes of caramel and chocolate without that burnt aftertaste. The Somatra is awesome and my go-to. Really rich, deeper flavor with a bit of that brown sugar note to it. And they’ve got tons of single origin options for you as well. Colombia, Brazil, Kenya, you name it. And you can get 15% off any coffee with the code WWP. Plus free US shipping if you spend over $49. Check them out at coffeeult.com. That’s ko fuel l.com. Use code WWP. Get the discount, grab some cool apparel, and enjoy better coffee. Coffee cult spelled with a K. [Applause] Welcome back. Michael Branseg Nigard, one of the trio who made this team surprisingly out of camp and a guy who Red Wings fans are excited about for good reason. Didn’t just lead the team in goals and points and was leading the NHL in preseason and everything like that. plays a kind of game where we have said when this guy makes it, he plays a modern NHL kind of game where he will be a differencemaker and we’re already going to see him in NHL games. For now, it looks like a third line start could potentially be a firstline option down the road. One of the best shots on the team already. What do you see from Michael Brangard this season? And what are expectations for you in terms of a successful season? Well, expectations, I’m just going to kind of lump him in the same category as Finny. I don’t think anybody gave him much of a shot being on the opening night roster. At least not like any legitimate shot. You know, everybody we talked about everybody had a puncher chance. So everything he does is found money. To me, he’s probably got the widest range of outcomes of any forward on this team right now. If at game 82 he’s playing on the first line and has 45 points, I wouldn’t be shocked. If in seven games he’s back in Grand Rapids, I’m not shocked. You know what I mean? just the way he plays. He He can do anything in this lineup. He can be on the third line, play on a checking line, chip in a bit of offense, but be an effective 200t player. If he needs to go up to the first line and be the trigger man, play that to brinket role. I could also see that for him. And you know, when he was drafted, that’s what we said we loved about him is he can do anything. And his playmaking and his ability to play that. When I was talking about with Raymond, that modern style surprised me how good he was at that. I didn’t think that was going to be his calling card. And not that he’s elite or above average at it, but he could do it. And you couple that with his shot and his tenacity and his physical play. Like I said, five games to Grand Rapids or a Calder finalist. I I could see all of that for him this year. But again, the expectation is he’s probably playing a handful of games and going to Grand Rapids. And anything beyond that means it’s going very very well for him. Yeah. Success for him is measured in games played this year. Plain and simple for me. Yeah. Mine’s not quite the same. And I’m not sure if I Yeah. I’m not even sure if I truly believe what I’m going to say, but I I think you know the different I don’t want to say him and EMTT Finny have the same expectations, right? One’s a seventh round pick who’s just burst onto the scene. Other guy’s a first round pick, top 15 pick in the NHL draft. There should be some expectations on him. You know, is that unfair? Yeah, maybe it is. But, you know, the Red Wings picking you there means there’s something that you have to bring to the NHL lineup. Is now the time? Maybe, maybe not. But, you know, everything we’ve seen in preseason leads me to believe like there should be some expectations on this kid. And whether that’s, you know, 40 to 50 points, I’m not sure, but I I I think there’s should be higher expectations on him than EMTT Finny. I think that’s fair enough. And you know what? Like, if the games played do stack up, then you’re like, “Yeah, he’s he’s contributing with his goals.” And I mean, your take is very it’s real, right? like this is a team who’s missed the playoffs so many years and you’re seeing this wave of rookies make the team, but you want to see it translate. And I I don’t think that’s I think you can you can say like you have to understand that this kid’s most likely season is going to involve some time in the AHL. And if that’s not the case, then that’s a huge success. And not calling either direction impossible, but just, you know, to put percentages on it, but also that this team needs scoring and this team needs more snarl and this team needs better depth. And if he’s going to make the team, then that’s what he has to provide. MBN is going to be I think honest like I truly do believe in the way his game can fit into this team. And I I go back to what I said about Casper like he has a model to learn from there. And again, what do you think of him and Finny has a higher chance of playing more games for the Red Wings this year. Okay. Yeah. I think he solves he answers a bigger like Finny forced his way on this team. Yes. And not to say MBN did not. He also did, but MBN also has the tools that the Red Wings like this I there’s hard it’s hard to articulate this without sounding like I’m selling Finny short, but it just feels like MBN at a base level can solve more questions up and down the lineup. Finny can too, but I also think Finny can also really benefit from from time down in in Grand Rapids. Like you look at the kind of playing time MBN has in his career. Like he has played pro hockey in the SHL and I think that counts for something too. I think you could also make the argument the reason MBN’s on the third line and Finn’s on the first line is because there might be something to Mlen thinking I need to balance the scoring in this lineup and throwing Cop and MBN on that third line. that line can score and you know if Larkin and Raymond can do their thing and Finny can just keep up that line will score because it even shows Finn’s on the first line. Yes, MBN’s on the power play. Finny is not. So even the organization recognizes, okay, who’s the natural score here? It’s MBN cuz he’s got the shot. Finny doesn’t. if they both shot left. Stupid hypothetical, I know, but does MBN get the first line? Potentially in theory. I mean, we didn’t really see it, so it’s hard to, you know, once again, impossible hypothetical, but you know what I’m trying to I see what you’re saying. I don’t think it matters cuz I think MBN can play as off-wing. I think MBN on the left side as a one-time option with Raymond and Larkin is appealing. I genuinely think there’s a bit of yeah, it would make more sense to have MBN here, but we need some scoring down the lineup and with the the way he plays, the snarl, the tenacity, the physical play, the 200 foot game, he can play on that third line and still produce where I’d be skeptical that Finny would be able to produce offense without the help of a Larkin and a Raymond at this level at this point. True. It’s it’s all very in my mind marginal. Let’s see how they equip themselves over the first call it 10 games, call it 12 or however much it ends up being. But yeah, if you had to call it right now, I guess that would be the baseline for both those guys. But still, I I think with Brans Niggard, use that shot, use that snarl. Hell, I mean, if the Red Wings power play is going to stay good, a great way to do that is to add more tools to the second unit as well, right? So, okay, to move along the fords a bit more quickly, we’re going to start to batch guys here. And and I’m going to look at this group of Cop and Confer and and Rasmusen. Yeah, let’s say Cop, Confer, Rasmusen, Appleton, Soderblum, JVR, Baragrin, like just the rest of that depth. Overall, the the lack of scoring and support from the Red Wings depth was the storyline last season. Brad, you talked at length about it for leading up to the season, during the season, and afterwards for good reason. And MBN is hopefully part of that solution. Andrew Cop really found form after Tom Mlen came in last year. So hopefully continuing that adds to the the scoring depth of this team. And JT Conffer is a guy who they are hoping surrounding him with Cop and MBN, they can instill a little bit of a resurgence in him. So, what are you looking for from this depth and any kind of individual story lines that you’re focusing in on? Two generic statements that I’ll make first before I get to some of the bigger things I’m focusing on. One, they need to frigin score. I don’t care how good defensively. I’m sick of hearing about the 200T game. There’s a million players that can do that for $2 million a year. This group has multiple players making over $3 million. With that comes at least some reasonable expectation of offense and it can’t just be MBN. And two, a majority of these bottom sixers are going to be playing on the penalty kill. If you’re not going to score, you damn well better solve a problem on this team, right? That’s why a guy like Appleton was brought in. Cop Com are going to get run there. Rasmmanson’s probably going to get run there. Some of those guys we know can score. Some of those guys we know won’t. So the ones that are not, you better be a solution for something. And I look at the penalty kill there. I think, you know, outside of MBN, the biggest story for me in the bottom six that I’m looking at this year, and absolutely, no pun intended there, is Soderblum because he’s the wild card. His underlying numbers are very good, at least relative to the rest of this group. We’ve talked about what a unicorn he is with his size and skill. I don’t really need him to be nasty as long as he’s using his size and frame effectively, which with him it really does come and go. I think if you know, I don’t care which line you call the third line, call the fourth line, they’re still going to probably get 8 to 12 even strength minutes each. If you can get 15 to 20 goals from Sodblum on either of those lines, which he is more than capable of, it really does change the dynamic of that group because if you have Soda Blum on the fourth line, call it, and MBN and Cop on the third line putting up genuine offense, it almost doesn’t matter what the other three guys are doing because that’s half your bottom six being legit offensive threats and it will take the pressure off the the other guys. It will take the pressure off the top six. It will take the pressure off the power play to have to carry the offense of this team. And again, I’m not saying Soda Blom needs to put up 25, MBN needs to put up 30, Cop needs to put up 20. You get 45 from those guys cumulatively. That’s a big frigin deal and that’s an attainable target. And then we can sit here and talk about okay well whatever JVR Rasmmanson Conffer Barrim produce is bonus. We don’t need them to be world beaters. We just need them to be capable. And again is that unfair to put on MBN Soda Blum and Cop. Absolutely. Well maybe not for Cop with his contract. That should be expected. But I think that is the path, the most likely path I’ll call it, to this bottom six being truly successful. Yeah, I think it’s as simple as that, right? Like you look at the guys who can have any offensive output between whichever one of Sodor Blom or Baragrren are are playing in the roster, JVR when he slots back in MBN and then at least somewhat from from Cop and Confer. You just want it’s not going to be everyone clicking at all times, firing on all cylinders. You’re not going to get 15 to 20 from each of them. Absolutely no way. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be the depth players that they are, but just enough where enough guys show up. That’s the offensive side of things. And then, yeah, you get to the PK and you know, jumping ahead to special teams here. The PK legitimately could not be worse. You’re hoping that a different set of players or a different system and more time to practice and whatever it may be. Appleton coming in and depending on how they use him there, you just need to be better than sucking horrendously. There’s not a ton of expectations. There’s obviously going to be focus on guys like Comfort. Are you going to be able to turn it around this year the way Cop did last year? You look at Appleton, you like what you see from any kind of checking line that he’s on. Soderblum, can you take a step or is it going to kind of sit around the periphery for him? Bearrren, are you going to earn a spot on this team or are you gonna get bounced when Danielson comes back or Maser makes a team or whatever it is because you’re running out of space? Like these guys, they have a fire under their ass because there’s Danielson coming back. There’s Maser who wants to make the team. There’s young guys who are going to be here soon enough. Bellnikov, Keithkin, if everything goes well, Carter Bay, like there’s no shortage of continued stories like MBN and Finny on offense to to come in. They’re gonna have to earn their spots. It’s It’s about winning this year, but they’re also auditioning for their futures with this team. That was the point I was gonna make and that was the biggest thing I need to see out of the bottom, we’ll say six, seven guys this year is if they’re not motivated to get up for games this year, that they’re they’re a lost cause and I I’m I’m fine moving on with them because like you said, they just watched three rookies make the team. There are more coming and those types of guys will get pushed out very easily. So if Confer is doing his cardio games per 60 again this year, if Michael Rasmusen continues to do cardio games per 60, like Barren, this is another like I think we say this every year, but this is the year. So there’s a lot of guys playing for their, you know, the longevity of their careers. I I need to see some some signs of life out of them. And it doesn’t mean they have to go out and put up, you know, 40 points. I need to see them contribute in some meaningful way. Whether that’s the PK or you’re difficult to play against and you neutralize the other team’s best players or you just go out there and blow some guys up from time to time or you stand up for your teammates even though if you’re not a fighter, you’re going to go out there and and try and beat somebody up because they took a run at MBN or Marco Casper. I just need to see something. The bar is so low with almost all of these guys. It should be impossible for them to not just wiggle over top of it. Couldn’t have put it better. So, with that, let’s jump over to defense. We’ll start with the the headliner, Moider. Coming in has been the guy since he’s come into the league. Has played 82 games every single one of the four seasons he’s been in the league. It’s year five. What do you see from Moder this season? 82 games with per year with the role he’s been playing. He has seen some [ __ ] This is the closest anybody’s ever going to get to Glenn Hall’s type of record, at least in vibes. Just impossible. I can’t believe the amount of pucks to his insanely long shins he’s taken. And he has not missed a single game. Thank God for Simon Edmonson. Otherwise, I think Moider might actually perish this year. He lived a full life just in a very condensed amount of time. Yeah, Cider just he is what he is and that is a number one defenseman in the NHL who can provide you some offense, run a power play and be elite defensively. Again, he’s he’s a year older than Raymond, so you can maybe expect some progression to his game still at this point, but I think at this point we’re dealing in the margins. Maybe an extra five points, maybe a touch 5 10% better defensively. I don’t think he’s going to dramatically change or improve from what he is, but what he is right now is probably a top 15 defenseman in the NHL. And that’s and that’s okay. if he repeats what he did last year, massive success. If any weight is taken off of his shoulders, which has been a little bit in terms of deployment, he had historically hard NHL deployment and then he went from being like the absolute worst the league has ever seen since they started tracking it to like just like top five hardest minutes or whatever it was. If that goes any further, then I could see him creep up his point totals again. Like I know he hit that that 50 point mark in the first year and people have been looking for that again. But 50 42 42 46 that’s remarkably consistent considering he’s been playing with Ben Sherro. Again, no disrespect meant to Ben Sherro. He just shouldn’t have to be playing firstline minutes. That’s a slotting. That’s a a personnel issue, not Ben Sherat’s fault. But if Slider wasn’t playing with Ben Sherro and let’s say he could play with Edmonson full-time, which hey, you never know this season. They were too good. They had to spread them out. Yes. There’s more to him. I don’t think he’s like a a 80 point defenseman. That’s not what I’m saying. I agree with Brad. Overall, you love what you see from most Cider. If you want to make any kind of request, it’s that he continues what he did last year, which is just lean into the nasty part of his game. You’re huge and you can obliterate people. I don’t even care if he puts himself out of position from time to time. You just kind of love to see it and it gives a spark to the team and it means he’s a force out there. I know it’s not always his MMO, so I’m not saying he’s he’s wrong for not doing it always, but it is it’s good when he can have that physical imposing presence. I think it just builds out his his impact on the ice a bit more. But all in all, Mo Cider is just that guy where you look at him, you go, “Thank God we’ve had him.” Cuz it could have been so much worse. Yeah, it absolutely could have been. And I will be very, this is another guy I’m very curious to watch this year because now he’s I’ll say unshackled from the Derek Loned regime and Todd Mlullen likes his defenseman to be a part of the play. So if we’ve got all these other defenseman coming in and taking steps, will this, you know, allow more exciter to take more chances? Will it allow him to bring that sort of edgy in-your-face heavy style game that he has in him? Cuz mostider took penalties before like there was nobody there was nobody on the defensive end backing him up. So with with the you know rising of the floor with everybody else in the decor now I I want to see more cider assert himself and you know he asserted himself in the red and white game against JT comfort so we know it’s there. I I hope that this is the year he he gets back to sort of being that that a tough German the smooth face babyface killer, you know? Oh, yeah. You just look at him, you’re like, there’s no way this guy is tough. And then he just puts you into the 16th row. That’s so funny when that happens, too. It’s like he’ll hit someone like that and then someone will inevitably post a gift of him turning and swirling his hair around. Yes. It’s very confusing, but I would love to see him get back to that a little bit this year. Simon Edmonson on the left side. next guy we’ll talk about had a great, you know, effective rookie season for the Red Wings. I know it wasn’t technically, but by all rights it was. And I think you saw him progress with this game. And it wasn’t a perfect ascension every single game, one after the other, but by the end of it, you could see that he is the next most important defenseman on the Red Wings team. And not a completely identical game to Mo Cider, but brings a lot of the same elements. you know, rangy, uses his stick to save himself when he gets beat, but can move really well. Has has a lot of skill that he likes to demonstrate with the puck as well. You’re you’re seeing him start to make decisions a little bit quicker than when they brought him in and drafted him. So, you’re seeing his offensive game progress. What do you see from Simon Edmonson as a next step this year? Could be the biggest development in the Wings Cup window. What happens with Edmonson this year? cuz I think Edmonson’s ceiling is pretty damn close to Mo Cider. I don’t think he’s got the quite the same nasty streak Cider does, but he put up over 30 even strength points last year as a rookie defenseman. They’ve both had like unlikely fights. We remember Edmonson with with Crook Shank and then Hey, Moider beat the hell out of who was it? Phil. The handsomest fight in NHL history. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don’t pretty nasty in their own ways. Well, that fight was great because hair was everywhere. Ciders and Forsber’s mustache and just a sight to behold, but Edmonson uses his body well. He defends extremely well. Again, I think his offense is underrated. I agree. He put up over 30 points. Did he get any power play time last year? Like Moder put up over almost 50 points, which is great, but he was power play one QB. I don’t think Evson even got much run on power play two and still put up those numbers. He’s an excellent transporter of the puck. So like Casper, if he can just avoid the sophomore slump and anchor that number two pairing and again put up that 35ish points. Like that is a hell of a one two to have for the next near decade plus. It’s like again, I think Simon Edmonson’s development is going to go a very, very long way to determine how good the Red Wings actually are going to be over the next decade. If they can move him up to that first pair, I think it’s more than just spoiler right now. They can’t. No. Well, I mean, let’s see how things go with ASP. And not this year. But if he ever gets that first pair, it’s more than just, oh, more ice time for Simon Edmonson and a better partner for most. It’s like you’re unlocking one and a half players. Yeah, we saw for a brief window last year that that could be one of the best pairings in the NHL. I another guy I’m super curious to see how did his off season go. We know he was hurt coming into training camp a year under Todd McClullen. I I think we’re going to see more offense from him. I He is very much a key component to the Red Wings contention window. So, if he can take another step forward and assert himself as one of the best players on this team, I think the Red Wings will be in extremely good shape. Now, let’s get to the story of the blue line this year, who is Axel Sandine Pelica, who it looks like is starting on the second pair. We always said Axel Sandine Pelica is the, you know, the second pair right shot defenseman of the future, and we just didn’t think it happened this year. We weren’t expecting it. And from the start of training camp to now, it looks like he’s had half a season’s worth of progression and development where you’ve really seen him, you know, shine and use his game and get better with every single shift. And he’s starting with Simon Edmonson, it looks like. What do you expect from Axel Sandine Pelica in terms of what’s successful for him and what where he could impact the Red Wings blue line? Stop me if you’ve heard this phrase this episode before. found money for this season cuz again we know his pedigree. He’s a first round pick. We know his ceiling but most people thought okay he’ll need at least a year in Grand Rapids and that might end up being the ultimate destination for him and that’s fine. But he’s starting as as it looks right now on the second pair with Simon Edmonson. He had a great preseason. It looks like they’ve got him running power play two. They’re putting him right into the fire. He is not getting eased into this and I am super curious to see how this goes. I loved what I’ve seen from him in his development going into his draft, post-draft, preseason. He has not given us any red flags to think that he is not capable of being the long-term second pair. Possibly QB1 because I would think with his skill set in two to three years him and Moider are flipping power plays is probably the more likely scenario here. But man, it even though expectations are very tempered, I I got to say my hopes are high, very high for him just because I think he has the highest ceiling of the three rookies that made this team. But he’s also given his dimensions, role, and position, the most likely to struggle. The way you said dimensions there, you knew that statement was coming from a fellow short king. Yes. It’s not like he’s tiny either. Yeah, but Evson’s massive, so if you average out that pairing, they’re still probably above league average. It’s like 6’3. Like he’s a quasi 63 is what Evans saying. The I fully agree on on Sandy and Pelico like in terms of the mountain he has to overcome to really stick there. The shocking part of it is that he has already overcome so much of it. And I maintain what I said last episode, which is that you can make mistakes at the NHL level and it can really hamper your progress and really hurt your long-term development, which is why Grand Rapids is such a good option, especially for players like Sandine Pela and especially at a position like defense where you do need kind of more time to learn how to play it at the NHL level. But special players can learn at the NHL level and I don’t think everyone can. But what we’ve seen from Sandy and Pelica so far in terms of talent, his hockey IQ and his ability to improve rapidly, I think he’s earned the opportunity to continue to prove everyone wrong and learn on the job. And a little bit like EMTT Finny, that’s a product of circumstance as well. There is no other option that’s good on that second pair on the right side. It’s been a problem for a long long long time on this team and so he can only play the the cards he’s dealt and that was an opportunity he had and he seized it. So good on him and yeah, if he sticks all 82 then that is a great thing for the Red Wings cuz that means he is doing better than the other random veteran they would have been slapping there for the last however many years. And that’s that’s points in the standings for me. I believe they call that Justin Hall. Jeff Petri to the point where we were defending Jeff Petri because there it could have been worse. How sad of a statement is it? Jeff Petri was playing on the second pair and it could have been worse. We’ve we’ve come a long way and we he hasn’t even played a game yet and we’ve come a long way. That’s how certain we are that it can’t be worse. Listen, we are one fivegame tough stretch away from a 1920-year-old defenseman, however old he is, from getting a second pair Travis Hamick. Okay? Don’t count your eggs before they hatch. And like to steal from you earlier this episode, statistically speaking, we are going to see second pair Travis Hamnick or JBD or something this season as as people feel their way out through the roster and develop and things. But yeah, the fact that we have Sand Pela here at all is is huge. It’s been no short of remarkable watching ASP learn the pro-N North American game. Like we you always talk about guys who come over it’s like oh it’s going to take them time you know it’s smaller ice you know things happen a lot quicker in a smaller dimension and just the skill is just at a different level. Well, he figured that out in the preseason, which mind you was 60 plus games, so it’s not that amazing. But the fact that he made this team out of camp when I think almost everybody would have said, “Yeah, he’ll just probably spend the year in Grand Rapids, be PP1 down there, and put up an ungodly number of points.” But he is on the opening night roster of the Detroit Red Wings because he’s good enough to do it already. Yeah, I in terms of expectations, I I truly don’t have anything. I’m just super excited to watch him play because he is better when he plays with better players. And I’m just excited to see how this all plays out. And, you know, he’s got Sidman Edmonson on his other side, a fellow countryman. Like, I’m sure that will help ease him into make him feel more comfortable. I’m super super excited. All right, another quick break here. When we’re back, we’re going to continue the defense with Albert Johansson. Another word from our sponsors back after this. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Albert Johansson last year, Tom Mlo came in, gave him that opportunity on the second pair with Simon Edmonson, and it was tough. like he he had to play some hard minutes and you could tell that he really was grinding through it at points, but also was, you know, crazy successful relative to what the start of his season was and what expectations were and was one of those stories much like Marco Casper where he blew everyone away. We said, what do you need to see from Albert Johansson this off seasonason? It’s go get stronger. Get stronger on your feet, stronger on the puck. show that you can hang with those those top four minutes or at least play a a role where you’re anchoring your line and you can you can bring that kind of stability to your pairing. And I think that’s what we saw this preseason. As of right now, it looks like he’s going to be that left side anchor. So, switching back over rather than the right side that they had him playing before. And it’s either going to be Travis Hamick or Bernard Docker. I I think right now it’s looking like Hamick, but we’ll see. But does Albert Johansson take another step this year? And I know Brad, you’re very fond of him, you know, really seizing that role in the third pair. What do you expect from him in terms of a successful year? Again, avoid the sophomore slump is the obvious part of this. Yeah, I’d like to see him emerge as more of the guy on that pair versus the accessory to Simon Edmonson. And that’s selling what he did short last year. Obviously, he played big minutes and depending how it goes with ASP or JBD, he might have to go back to that second pair because they don’t have any other options, which isn’t the end of the world. But I think the Red Wings are better served if Albert Johansson can anchor a third pair, stabilize what has been a dumpster fire for once again the entirety of this podcast and just give the Red Wings confidence that every time they’re throwing a deep hair over the boards, there’s at least someone going that they have full confidence in. You know, you’re getting it with Cider. You know you’re getting it with Edmonson. So if Johansson can be that guy, whether that’s with Hamik, ASP, or JBD, or whoever, you’re not panicking. Might not be great, but you’re not panicking like we have for so long. So really, that’s what I want to see from him cuz we know what he can do with his skating. We know what he can do with the puck. We know what he can do with the first pass. And I don’t think any of that’s ever going to go away for him. It’s just now, can he do it where he doesn’t have the fail safe of Simon Edmonson right next to him? Do you think he’ll be like a 30 goal guy or more of a 60 assist guy? Honestly, I don’t think he’s going to break Bobby or scoring records, but like there will be a conversation. Yeah, he’ll he’ll flirt with some of those comparisons like Nikar Carlson. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I like I know it’s probably going to be like six goals or something like that, but you know, they’re going to be six five of them are going to be on the top 15 goals of the year highlight reels. Was he did it end up that he was the only Redwing that got on that top 50 goal list? It might have been fact check us on that with with Johansson. Yeah, that stability just further cementing yourself and then honestly what that unlocks is everything Brad said, but also a guy where oh, you need a little stint of someone to just slot up with cider for a little bit. Is it ideal? No. But you’re you’re way more confident that he can go in there and hold his own for at least a bit and then move things around. Oh, ASP needs time in in Grand Rapids. Great. You’re going to put Albert Johansson back on that that second pair on the right side. Like just become the modern Red Wings, whatever. Pick your stability defenseman of this era. Maybe it’s Ole Ma previous era. There’s probably a sexier example, but just be that guy. And it’s just because it’s third pair doesn’t mean bad defenseman. Good teams have good defenseman on the third pair. Yeah. He just he’s kind of that utility guy on the back end, right? like he takes a step forward, you know, there and Ben Shrot’s having a a bad year or gets hurt, you know, maybe we if we have the confidence, you put Albert Johansson up there, it’s like, yeah, that bottom pair is now very questionable and terrifying, but you have the confidence that Albert Johansson can play in that position. Yeah, the expectations aren’t super high. It’s like you said, just continue to cement the foundation of what he’s already been building upon and just continue to to progress. Like I I don’t think there’s a lot to there’s not a ton being asked of him that’s outside of what he can’t accomplish. All right. To batch the rest of the defenseman, we have we know the story on on Ben Sherro, Travis Hamick, Eric Gustoson, Bernard Docker is is a little bit more of an interesting one. And then if you want to count Justin Hall down in Grand Rapids who if he’s coming up in due injury, but what do you all in all expect or want to see from the rest of the group? Stability, competence. Is that want or expect? Want. Yeah. It’s one of those things where you you’re you know what you’re getting out of Ben Sherro. you know what you’re getting out of Travis Hamnick, which is hopefully a bit better than what you got from Justin Hall. You hope that if for whatever reason Eric Gustoson is backing this lineup, he can give you more than he gave you last year. Bernard Docker, I I think is an interesting one cuz if you can get any version of Bernard Docker that is cementing his role in the lineup, then that’s a huge success, too. That that’s the kind of guy who can fill in a depth role reliably. So the the defense is still the biggest question mark I have about this team, but I do see the makings of a version of this defense that is actually far from the abominations it’s been in the past. It’s just far also from a guarantee of that. The bar is mostly super low again for the remainder of this decor. Ben Sherro just has to be his usual self. We know what that is. That’s fine. If you need to beat somebody up, please go do it. Maybe Bernard Docker’s the phrase of the episode found money. That’s that’s about it. Jumping over to goalenders, John Gibson, the acquisition of the summer, the guy who they’re hoping can help fill in the gaps that’s been there for goalending. Not the best preseason, but I I mean, with as much as goalending is Voodoo, you don’t put a lot of stock into preseason hockey. We’ve seen what John Gibson can do behind a bad team in Anaheim. What do you want to see from Gibson this year? And do you think he’s going to be the differencemaker the Reds have been looking for in net? Consistency. That’s going to be my word for goalending this year. They’ve had great stretches of goalending. They’ve had awful stretches of goalending. If we can just get like a 905 every game. Doesn’t need to be world beating. Just good. I don’t expect John Gibson to repeat the 9112 or whatever it was he had last season. But if he can play 50 games at a 9006, the Red Wings are going to be better off than they were the last few years in net because then that takes the load off Talbot and we know Talbot what he is at this point can’t play those long stretches because he has too many inconsistent stretches at this age. But if he’s only playing 30 to 35 games, I trust him to put out 25 to 30 good games. If that’s all that is being asked of him, that might require some, you know, a 5 10 game look from a Sebastian Kosa to give those guys a rest cuz I don’t know if those two guys can add up to 82 games at this point in their careers. But no, I you need John Gibson to be a number one. You need him to be healthy and you need him to be consistent. If I I like what you said about the 905. If the two goalies average out to league average goalending, I am happy. I think both of them have more in the tank. Cam Talbot especially, we’ll mix them in this conversation. Cam Talbot especially first half of the season. I think as the season wears on, it’s asking a little bit much of him even though he is in insane shape. If you ever need motivation to go to the gym, look up how good a shape Cam Talbot’s in. But the first half of the year is when you’re probably going to get the best goalending from him. John Gibson. I’ll give him some time to acclimate. It’s a new system, new team. It’s a new way of seeing the defenseman in front of you, where the puck’s going to be coming from, where you’re going to be handling the puck, all those things. But I eventually do expect both in terms of like, hey, this is what you’re brought in for, but also this is the talent I know you have him to be that difference maker. No disrespect to Alex Lion or anyone else who has been here, but Gibson has the pedigree and you know he has that talent in him. This is a genuine top goalie in the NHL who when he’s on people are talking about him as in the upper echelon of the goalies in the league. So if him and Talbot can average out to league average goalending, you can say whatever you want about the Red Wings or say, “Oh, I don’t see them making it this year. They’re too young or they’re too bad or the defense is awful.” If Cam Talbot and and John Gibson put up league average goalending in any of the previous three years, I think a couple of them those are playoff teams for the Red Wings. They were that close. That’s the expectation right there. And I think if there’s ever going to be a silver bullet on this team, it’s John Gibson. Yeah, John Gibson needs to be available. He needs to be healthy. If he’s not, then we’re going to continue to have the Red Wings goending question marks. If he’s out for stretches of the season and relies on Cam Talbot, that is going to be an issue for this team. That will not equate to more wins. Is this an improvement? Yes, this is a massive improvement from where the Red Wings goending was last year, but you’re still asking a lot from a 32year-old goalie and in John Gibson. And I know Cam Talbot is in incredible shape, but he’s on the back half of 30s. And as someone who’s in the middle of it, my knees hurt, so his knees have to hurt more. It’s It’s They’re asking a lot. What do you mean a 32-year-old goalie? John Gibson is like a few months older than me. Are you Are you meant to say I’m on the decline, Evan? Yes. Okay. I I was almost going to make another joke complaining about that, but then I realized you could have been way more harsh than me there and said, “Well, judging by your hairline.” Why would you do that to yourself? Yeah, I I like to get ahead of these things. pun intended. Yeah, I was gonna say it never is with me. You know that. That’s true. Between taking notes for the show and doing the show, I don’t also have room. That’s what you two are for. I’ve never believed in like the one fell swoop. This is going to be the difference maker, but it’s this is one of those rare occasions. This was the position of need the Red Wings had to fill. You looked at the goalie market. John Gibson was the best one available and somehow the Red Wings got him. So, yes, mission accomplished there. But, you know, when you back up a little bit, like you’re still relying on older goalending. You know, you don’t get more healthy as your career progressed, especially as these guys have seen a lot of pucks throughout their career. I’m not saying this is a ticking time bomb or anything, but I’m, you know, being a little bit more cautious than I think you guys might be. Well, that’s because you’re rational and a loser, but probably pragmatic there. Okay. Very quickly before we get into special teams, one more thing I want to talk about is coaching. Todd Mlullen obviously came in had the electric start to his tenure and then another sevengame win streak right after that and you know got this team pretty close to competing if not for the the injuries to the two key fours after four nations and goalending fell apart and everything else. But now a full off season there’s been a lot made I think fairly about a full training camp and preseason of his systems. Trent Yanni and what he’s been able to do on defense. You can’t discount that as well. How much of an impact do you expect from that? We we talked about it a little bit with Patrick Kane. You mentioned Evan. If if he had Mlullen all last year, he would have been a 60 plus point player. What do you expect the Mlullen effect to be this year? Do it again. They were on a 90 something point pace from the point he got there. I don’t expect the to be a 100 point team. I probably don’t even expect him to be a 95 point team, but if he can get them in that 90 to 95 range, if he can just make the penalty kill passable, yeah, I don’t you don’t need him to do a lot else. You know, he let loose the young guys in Johansson, Edmonson, and Casper last year, and it worked. He seems to be trying the same thing again this year with Finny, ASP, and MBN. And that’s exactly what this organization needs. If he can develop them well, if he can get the special teams again, just better overall net positive. Keep the power play where it is. Get the penalty kill a little better. That that’s good enough. That’s all he needs. He doesn’t need to be prime Scotty Bowman to have a very successful year with the Red Wings here. Everything that’s come out of Mlullen has been positive to me for two reasons. and genuinely positive, not just because he’s the Red Wings coach. One, the immediate effects you saw from him opening up this team in terms of their offensive ability. I really like what he said about, you know, the he seems to get the the issues and where you’re supposed to go in terms of culture in the room, how the team is supposed to show up. Like, I know it doesn’t mean anything, but making more at Cider and Lucas Raymond the permanent non. He’s cutting the [ __ ] Like the the the A’s for Cider and Raymond. This might just be like old school. We grew up in the the era of like Don Cher’s Rockham Sockum Hockey, the Red Wings Dynasty, the your best players had the A’s and the C. Like, but having Siren and Raymond as the permanent non-rotating A’s, and there’s a set leadership group on this team. It’s just like this team is coming into a new era. There’s there’s a voice. There’s a consistent message. He has them opened up offensively. He has the young guys clicking and taking on big roles. And not just from Casper and Johansson last season. He has three young guys, rookies making the team this season. And the flip side of that is some of those things were criticisms from his time in LA. There’s Kings fans who are saying, “Oh, well, wait till you see how he handles your your rookies and then tell me if you like him.” It’s been phenomenal. I’ve never seen an experienced coach not just embrace the youth movement, but make the most of it like him so far. So, I I actually think it’s going to be a big impact. Yeah. Like you look at what he’s done. It’s it’s you know he’s simplified everything around the team. It’s like we’re going to give the A’s to our young guys who are the core of this team going forward. No more of this rotating A’s because you’re a vet and you’re getting a participation ribbon. Like it’s very much now these are our best players. They’re going to be on this team long after I’m on this team and long after these vets are on this team. They’re the leaders. don’t care. You think you’re special because you’ve played in the league for 15 years. I don’t care. These are the best players. There are there are leadership group. You can chip in elsewhere. You know, he’s just kind of removed the the musk of Derrick Lone and forcing this defensive systems that these players clearly aren’t going to be able to do and just sort of said, you know what, go do your thing. We’re going to figure out how to make this team successful based on the types of players we have. Rumor has it you could see him after hours putting red slip covers over the black seats in the LCA and installing the LED roof that we were promised as well. Finishing the district Detroit himself. You want to get a statue? That’s a quick way to do it. Lastly, before we get into predictions and stuff, I think we talked about it very simply put. Special teams power play. If it stays anywhere close to as good as it was last season, that’s a huge success. And then the penalty kill, you can regress on the power play. a good amount. If you play anywhere close to average on the penalty kill, you are a net positive on goal still because that penalty kill was almost historically bad. And that’s what the Red Wings have to change this year. Have to I a massive improvement in the penalty kill can move them all the way up to like 25th in the league. God, that’s depressing. Even if they averaged the penalty kill out with the power play, like I still think that’s a massive improvement because if you would have told me the Red Wings had one of the best power plays in the league, I would have felt a little concerned about, you know, this season. It’s like h are they going to be able to replicate that again? You know, that’s a tough thing to bet on. But if they can just improve the PK and power play be be whatever it wants to. If it’s still league average, I think that’s fine. But if they can improve the penalty kill to be not a complete nut or dumpster fire, like even if it’s like 21st in the league, like that’s a huge point gain for the Red Wings. All right, we’re going to do two sets of predictions. First one player predictions and then the second one is the team standings predictions in terms of points in playoffs or not. So for player predictions I want you to give me three things points leader team MVP and most improved. I’ll start because I just threw this at you guys now. I’m going to go with a hot take here. Points leader will be Lucas Raymond. I’m going to go super optimistic here. I’m going to go so optimistic it’s going to make you sick. Team MVP John Gibson. That is okay. Okay. And most improved. I’m going to I’m going to stick with my right shot defenseman. My my brethren. I’m going to stick with Axel Sandine Pelica. I I most improved based on what? Well, I mean coming from nothing. Wasn’t even an HL last year. Auto auto pick. That’s an auto win. If well you can do the same with Fineer MBN but that those are going to be my three. I’m gonna go first two. I’m gonna go way out on a limb here. Points leader Lucas Raymond MVP Mosider. I know bold takes. Uh MVP Mosider is actually a little bold considering what would need to go into that in terms of like the No. Yeah. Carry on. I think that is good. Okay. Yeah. So those are my two most improved. I was tempted to go with MBN but I’m with Evan. Picking a rookie feels like cheating. Oh, well that’s me. Yeah. So, I’m I’m no cheater. I’m going to go He’s got a high bar to clear, but my prediction is Marco Casper. Okay. I I’ve I just got this feeling that a full season with Mlen and playing with the Brinket and Kane. I I think we might look at some numbers with him that are pretty damn impressive. All right. Points leader. No surprise because I think I mentioned this an hour and a half ago. Lucas Raymond, I think he is poised to just go supernova this year. Team MVP is a little bit more difficult, but I’m going to go with Lucas Raymond for that as well. I really think he is the straw that stirs the drink this year. Like if if they want to make the playoffs, he’s got to go and, you know, take it to another level. Most improved, I’m going to go with Simon Edmonson. I not that I think he had a bad year last year at all. I think now that Derrick Lolon is gone Todd Mlullen lines up nicely with how Simon Edmonson likes to play the game, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him lead our the the Red Wings defense and points this year. All right. Now, your your final kind of summary overview of the team, where the strengths are, where the weaknesses are. Can we do one hot take? Yeah, one hot take. Hell yeah. Let’s go. And it can’t be like, “Oh, Simon Evansson scores 15 goals.” Like, it has to be something crazy. I want to hear something good. Something that you put your tinfoil hat on and you’re like, I probably shouldn’t say this on the record, but you know what it Let’s have some fun. Okay. I don’t have one. I was going to say at least you have one. So, I But you guys have to go first cuz I have to think of one. He is he is going to throw make us look like absolute idiots and then he’s going to say I think Elmer Sermon is going to score 15 goals. That’s what he’s that’s what he’s setting up for in 15 games. I’m going to say like there’s easy ones like you could do de Brinket, you know, 45 goals. You can say Lucas Raymond 90 points. I think if you want to get spicy, you can go Lucas Raymond 100 points. I was going to say that’s the only way you get a hot take with Lucas Raymond is you it has to start with a one in either direction. I’m going to I’m going to at least tie this into my very hot take in terms of team MVP. I say John Gibson finishes with over a 920. 920. Yeah, that is hot because that would make him team MVP. That is scorching hot. I can’t sit here and say John Gibson team MVP and then Lucas Raymond 100 points and they’re they’re winning the division if that’s the case, right? Yeah, I’m I’m just going to get hyper specific here and just be really obnoxiously stupid about it. 15 goals, 27 assists. Third place called finalist Axel Sandine Pelica. How many goals did you say? 15. 15 27. Yeah. Why’d you come up with 27? I’m picking number 26. You wanted hot takes, man. I’m getting as I I’ve been higher on ASP than most for a long time. So, if I’m going to go hot, I got to put my money where my mouth is. And I’ve always been a big ASP believer after seeing the love Lane Hudson got for what he did last year. I don’t think ASP is going to have that kind of year. But I think there’s a market that if there’s a rookie defenseman who puts up over 40 points, which he’s going to have the opportunity to do on the power play. Maybe he gets the same kind of love Lane Hudson did. Oh, my take was hot. Of the goalies who have played 15 games or more, how many do you think finished with over a 920 last year? Like three. Four. Yeah. Yeah. So, well, I got to lay in my bed. Go ahead, Evan. trying to pick one that doesn’t involve the best players on this team. Immediately I jumped to James Van Remdsteikeke. He hasn’t done this in like four years, but he scores 20 goals. Okay. Even with a a cold start to the season, there is the opportunity for him to play firstline left wing. And I think if he does that, you know, he’s a veteran guy. He knows how to put the puck in the net. I think, you know, that can almost be expected of him. Will that happen? I have very low expectations. Other than that, you know, there’s a couple guys like, you know, Casper pop off for 25. You know, he’s on a line where, you know, we got De Brinkat with great playmaking. We’ve got Patrick Kane who can just, you know, auto feed you goals. Maybe Marco Casper pops up for 25 30 goals. I don’t think I don’t think 25 for Casper is all that hot a take. I think 30 is where you start to get hot, but Well, there’s only so many goals that can be scored on that line. Like Alex the Brinket is the auto trigger man for them. I’ll take more. I don’t mind more. That more is always good. But no, I like that one. Okay, your overall summary of the team, how you think they’re going to do this year, their strengths or weaknesses, ending with their point totals, and yes or no to playoffs. Whatever we say now overrides any previous, you know, division rankings or anything. So, I’ll start. Overall, this team I think has a huge opportunity to one surprise people because they are adding different elements to the mix when the elements that were added to the mix last year are still going to benefit them in bigger and better ways or they should at least. You’ve seen what we said about Casper and Johansson. Even if they take a step back, it’s more time with them fitting in this team. The three rookies in this lineup add volatility but necessary volatility because the only other option was a flat return to last year’s woes. And so is this team guaranteed to take a massive step forward? No. I think far from it. I think there’s you can’t deny that there’s a huge risk to adding this many rookies all at once and then expecting immediate success. I think they’re certainly cementing long-term success by doing this now and this is an exciting thing for future seasons, but for this year, the volatility is huge. I can see this as a low80s point team and I could also see this as a mid90s point team. Absolutely no problem. John Gibson is the single biggest needle mover. My biggest question mark on this team isn’t actually the depth scoring because I have more faith in it based on what was added and the different mix of guys and the fact that it can only I hope it can only get better from where it was. But my biggest question is still the defense. At the end of the day, you’re still touting out Ben Sherro in your first pair. At the end of the day, you’re still pinning your hopes on on a rookie and Axel Sand Pelica who has a physical task ahead of him that’s not easy to overcome. Now, I can see a solution where this works with Albert Johansson cementing that third pair and between Bernard Docker and Hamik, something sticks there. But that’s, as Evan likes to say, it’s a lot of ifs. So, I I think the defense for me is that kind of question mark of are they going to be able to just stay solid and steady. The goalending I I think they have all the personnel they need to be at least league average. Anything else is great. And and you know what this team’s best forwards can do. Who’s going to make the biggest impact is John Gibson. What do I think they need to improve more than anything else is the defense. I think if Steve Eisman at some point in this season can go out and make a move for a premier left shot defenseman, just a top four left shot defenseman of any kind, that would absolutely be a huge mixup in the best way. But as it is right now, that’s still my weak spot. I’m I’m genuinely optimistic. I’m not really kind of scratching to find optimism as I as I was in previous years. I’m genuinely optimistic that this can go really well with that kind of volatility baked in that I just mentioned. I’m going to stick with my I think this is the same as I’ve given in previous years. 91 92 points. I’ll call it 92 points and screw it. I’ll say second wild card seed. Well, yeah, I think Montreal what 91 last year as wild card too. So, yeah, that makes sense. And I think Gibson would be the difference maker there. And I’ll tell you, it’s it’s tenuous. I’m not the most confident in that prediction because of the like you’re you’re banking a lot on ifs which are rookies. Yeah, your point on the volatility is good and that’s a really good word to use to describe it. I think the big difference for me this year why I’m cautiously optimistic over previous years is there’s still way too many ifs for me to be comfortable with this team or have any confidence in them making the playoffs. But I think versus previous years, most of those ifs are more likely to hit than not. But the way it works is they’re not all going to hit, right? But in previous years, we’ve been on a way out on a limb with some of those. Okay. Well, if this happens or if that happens and and we’re reaching, I feel like on all the ifs this year, they’re reasonable. Again, statistically, it’s hockey. They are not all going to hit. You know, you look at all the guys who we hope avoid the sophomore slump, Casper, Edmonson, Johansson. It’s not likely all of them avoid it. One of them is probably not going to reach up expectations and they’re all playing important roles and that’s probably going to hurt the team. Again, we have optimism for Finny, MBN, ASP. Realistically, one or two of them is going to go back and spend a majority of the year in Grand Rapids, which means, not to be insulting, another veteran slappy goes back into the lineup, and that’s a downgrade from what we’re expecting right now. But it’s not unreasonable to think there’s a chance all of them hit. I just don’t have confidence that all these ifs are going to hit the number. So again, I’ve got them fifth in the division. The number I had in mind for my points prediction was 89, but I’m going to change it on one thing and one thing alone because the math is just mathing in my head right now. Normally I would always predict the Detroit Red Wings to lose to the Carolina Hurricanes. But I think there’s one night this year where they play Carolina. They are going to steal two points. So that bumps them from 89. Why’d you look at me? To 91 because of the bump they’ll get on Sergey Federov’s jersey. This guy hasn’t taken his tinfoil hat off. 91 points is my prediction this year. But I think they ultimately finish ninth in the East and just missed the playoffs. I think you’re I think you’re a sicko for putting that together and I fully buy it. All right. Well, how do you follow that up? My god. Hey, you’re the stats minor here, buddy. Find something. Evan’s like 83 points. Goalending falls apart. Kids all go down. Listen, I will start by saying this. I am excited for the start of Red Wings hockey this year. This is something that we have been waiting for. Not just us, but fans in general have been waiting to see what happens when rookies make the opening night lineup. And we’re ready to see if the youth movement is in full effect. I am extremely excited this year because if none of them made a team and we’re rolling back with the odds and ends of the NHL, this would not be a great way to to go into the hundth season of the Detroit Red Wings. But I am excited to see how this all plays out. With that being said, I still don’t think the Red Wings have done enough to address the needs to become a playoff team. I I John Gibson is an excellent ad, direct position in need. Cam Talbot just needs to be Cam Talbot, but you’re asking a lot of two aging goalenders. I I’m honestly a little bit more optimistic on the defensive aspect of this team. Like I I you know, if if ASP sticks, then that means you’ve got Cider, Edmonson, ASB, and Johansson. That is an very solid defensive core. I think there’s a lot of teams who would kill to have that kind of youth and potential of a DOR, but you know, they’re still young. There’s still a lot of growing. They’re asking an absolute mountain of morids cider every single season. But can Simon Evansson take a step again? Can Albert Johansson take a step? What is ASP going to bring? I think there’s a lot of good things coming there, but it’s just it’s still in its infancy for me. Then we look at the forward group, and that’s where I still think there needs to be the most attention paid by Steve Eiserman. You do not have an elite firstline winger left side left side winger. You have Lucas Raymond. You have Dylan Larkin. I think it’s time that we start addressing and making that one of the best lines in the league. Well, they could do that by signing Connor. Maybe McDavid. Yeah. Yeah, they could. The You know what? Everyone keeps telling me the 2026 free agency crop is going to be out outrageous. So, why don’t we just wait to see what happens with those guys? Oh, by the way, Brad, you left your phone here at my house for the last 3 days. There’s nobody left. You didn’t miss You didn’t miss much. There’s nobody left. So, you know, you’re asking a lot of whoever jumps into that spot to to try and be a firstline left winger. I I think that that’s very TBD for me. Second line, amazing. Don’t have to worry about that. You know, I’m still not convinced anything’s going to happen in the bottom six of the forward group. There’s not enough turnover there for me to really feel confident that they’re going to roll out some guys who can actually chip in on offense and not be a a real anchor to this team. You know, you’re going to try MBN there. I think that’s excellent. Let’s see what he can do. But he still has to play with the JT Confers. And no offense, Mason Appleton is not a world beater in terms of offensive production. So, I like the direction the Red Wings are going. It It finally feels like we’re embracing the youth movement and admitting to ourselves that the rookies are better than the veterans that they’ve been bringing in over the past decade. But I just don’t think it’s their time yet to make the playoffs. I just based on what we’re seeing in the Atlantic, I just don’t think they’ve improved enough to make the playoffs. Give a number, you coward. I’ll say 88 points. Okay. All right. We still have NHL news to get to, but that is our Detroit Red Wings season preview. Another quick break before jumping into what’s happened across the league and then overtime. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Welcome back. These are going to be like we have to talk about these contracts because they happened. We’re going to go more in depth on the ramifications in future episodes, but obviously this is a mega episode. So, we’ll start with Conor McDavid signs the most team friendly, but I like the way you put it, Brad. Team threatening deal I’ve ever seen from a superstar in NHL history. the 12 a.5 million that he signed for. I honestly think he left 6 million plus on the table each year, let alone the that’s just from Edmonton. Yeah, if he went a free agency, that was more than that. It’s it’s max max. He could have max dollars every year. He could have 20% of the cap every year. But the two-year term that is him saying to the Edmonton Oilers, I could have left now. I believe that we can win with this team, but it’s you need to prove it to me. I’m not committing here forever because I don’t think our window is forever and I don’t see the makings of a forever window. You have two years to win with me or I am gone. Right. No, it’s literally a threat. That’s what it was now. Three years cuz you still got one year left on the existing deal. There’s one part of this I can’t get out of my head. Like, good on Conor McDavid. Like, you know, a lot of guys talk about wanting to win. He quite literally is putting his money where his mouth is, saying, “No, I want to win. Here’s the money. Go use it on good players.” And you’ve seen that immediately. Walman is extended. Ekolome’s extended. They’re they’re locking in. They’re legitimately good players to build. Ecoms extended at a silly low price, too. Yeah, it’s great. $4 million range. That is ridiculous. Again, putting his money where his mouth is. And this is what good teams need to do to some degree to be competitive. Every team has to have great contracts. And you know who better to put your faith in than Stan Bowman, a team notorious for good acquisitions and cap management. I’ll say I like Jake Wman. I’m happy he landed somewhere. The first contract that came in afterwards was Wman’s was it 7 by7. I was like, okay, that’s certainly that’s a perfectly reasonable AAV for Jake Wman. and the way it’s structured right now, they do not give a crap about the back half of that contract. Yeah, it just felt it felt like a bit high on the AAV. I felt like if you said to Jake Wman, hey, I know he’s older, but Matias Ekhol signing for $4 million regardless. They need to figure it out on that team. They need to figure out goalending. Let’s see if Conor Ingram can bring them what they need. But that’s a threat for sure because there’s no reason why Conor McDavid couldn’t have gone out and made $19 million a year. He dictates his he’s one of the maybe two players in the league where he hands in his contract to the team and says sign it. If you’re an Edmonton Oilers fan, you’re more nervous now than you were before he signed that contract. Yeah. If you are Edmonton Oilers brass, you are more nervous now than you were before he signed that contract because this is a definitive deadline. Oh yeah. And you know what? I’m would be super nervous as a fan because I haven’t seen evidence that they know what they’re doing to support Conor McDavid. And you know, they are two-time Stanley Cup finalists. And I don’t think it’s because they made smart moves. They’ve just had two of the best players, one of the best players to ever play hockey. So, this is great for them. They’re literally putting their money where their mouth is. But this is the pressure is now never higher than it’s ever been in Edmonton. And it it’s not on the players anymore. I hope Edmonton fans have faith in Stan Bowman. All right. The knock-on effects of that, it seemed like teams were were initially rattled by Capri off 17 million and then McDavid probably pissing off a lot of the NHLPA and players in his 12 and a half million. there there was a big flood of teams saying all right let’s just get this in because obviously the rising cap is like these salaries are getting far too high far too fast and the hype is going to basically be a runaway train there’s already talks of the the 104 million of the the future cap being 107 million like these revenues are going way way way up Jack Eel signs for $13.5 million eight years no one expected him to leave that’s a big number Jack Eel could have got more than that but absolutely worth it zero no income tax, state, etc., etc. The one that hurts is Kyle Connor, who Winnipeg gets him done. 8 years, 12 million per year. That’s a pretty chunk of change for Kyle Connor. Probably left a little bit on the table in terms of like where things were going, but at the same time, that’s within his range. Most importantly, Red Wings fans were hoping that he would come home to to Michigan. You know, we joked and we me’d and we laughed and we were like, “Yeah, we’re the Red Wings will trade for him or he’ll sign a free agency.” Kyle Connor wanted to stay and what what other evidence do you need? Well, he couldn’t leave. Like, there’s no airport for him to get out. That’s a long road trip, right? And he’s just like, “Well, I’m already here. You might as well pay me.” The words of Greg Washinsky, all my stuff’s here. You know what on to give Winnipeg some credit like everyone always dumps on them for like it’s Winnipeg it snows there from Jan 1 to December 31st like it’s pretty much and then when it’s not the mosquitoes take over like it’s just it it can be a tough place to live but hey Winnipeg locked up one of the cornerstone pieces of their franchise like this is a tidy tidy piece of business. Okay let’s jump into the final segment here on the Winged Wheel podcast. [Music] We’re going to overtime. Overtime is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. patreon.com/wingedwheelodcast. If you want to support the show, you get access to benefits like our bonus overtime episodes and any other bonus content that we’ve created. You’re automatically entered into all of our giveaways. We give away two tickets to every Detroit Red Wings home game directly to our Patreon supporters. The sign up link for entries for this season tickets is now live on Patreon, so go check that out if you’re a Patreon supporter. You’re also given access to our Patreon exclusive Discord and so so so much more. I tell you more about it, but I mean it’s a long episode. Oh, also I’m wearing the 10th anniversary shirt here. And I’m doing a bad job. But on the back you see a sweet design as well. And we’ll give more details on this in a future episode, but these are live on the Wind podcast store. I recognize two of the people on that shirt. Yeah, the the hair was was pulled from a previous episode. All right, it’s going to be a quick overtime segment here. Let’s take some questions from our patrons. The Angry Ginger says, “It appeared in one of the preseason games that they had Cider as QB and ASP on the flank on the power play. Do you see that being a solution longterm once Kane retires? Allows for Ed to run PB2. Also, I should say Axel Sandine Pelica has officially switched the hyphenation in his last name.” He had done it in his his jersey, so you you’ve noticed before, but I was like, is he going to flip-flop or is this just like a name bar thing? But he has switched to being hyphenated. But the power play question. Thank god that was keeping me up at night. That makes two of us. Yeah, there’s like the only problem is the handedness because where Sand Dean Pelica would go if he were to play the flank on the power play right now is where you’re penciling into Brinket in an NBN. So there’s probably a way to make that work, but it’s not immediately obvious if that makes sense. Yep. Yeah, definitely. All right, moving on here. Jack’s dad says, “How much influence did Todd have on keeping all three kids on the roster given how he’s dealt with young talent in the past? Do you think Eisman had reservations with any of them, or did he just throw his hands up and say, “Screw it, let him play?” He had a big influence. It’s at the end of the day, the coach is going to decide who he thinks the best players are. Most GMs in this league are not going to arbitrarily make decisions or or, you know, say these have to be the decisions in very rare scenarios. when it gets marginal, you might see more of a conversation, but I think this is Todd saying like, “Yeah, these guys are among the the best players.” And he’ll tell you like he hadn’t watched a lot or known a lot about them coming into camp because how how would he have, right? Yeah. It’s not his job to be watching what Grand Rapids or, you know, other teams are doing like he’s he’s focused on the Red Wings. So yeah, it’s the conversations are and and final decisions are made as a group, but you know, ultimately I you you can’t convince me that these guys aren’t the some of the best players that the Red Wings could put out. Ben N Cider. Had to read that one slowly to make sure I wasn’t being duped. So when Danielson is ready to get called up and all the rookies are playing well, which vet do you think is most likely to get the axe? Also, do you see any chance others get called up this season? I.e. Maser, Lombardi, Winderer. It’s not just them. Like William, I think had moments where he looked pretty good, too. Like I think Danielson, if it’s like a a wrist break or sprain or something that that keeps him out longer, he’ll need time to shake off the rust. Whichever of the bottom six is underperforming when he’s ready. I’d say if Finny or MBN are struggling, there’s your obvious swap. the role he’s most likely to play on this team are being occupied by either Comfort or Rasmusen right now, but that would have to probably go really off the rails for that to happen. So, you’re probably looking at one of the lower end wingers, a soda blend, JVR, whichever one of them’s struggling. Gretzky had it, lost it, says Logan Culie may be cool to an extension in Utah. Given that the Kyle Connor dream is over, could the Red Wings offer anything palatable? I’m fine with including Danos and Augustine in any number of picks to get that done. Since signing UFAS is a thing of a pass, we’ll need to target RFAS to get our superstar. Utah’s in the same position as Detroit, probably even a little ahead of them. And Coolie’s got a lot of team control years left. So, I do not see a reality of that happening anytime soon. Unless he forces his way out, you know, then you kind of have to take a top price. And again, not to poop on the party, but when players force their way out in situations like that, Detroit usually ain’t at the top of their list of where they’re forcing their way to. Alex Brinket. I know. I know. Java says, “Besides the three rookies already discussed, what other young players impressed in camp and which ones concerned you?” I mean, we mentioned Johansson. If you want to qualify him in that group, I think he impressed. I think in moments you also saw flashes from you know Buam and Winda where you’re like you can see these guys as the as being NHL roster defenseman of the future. So you continue to see that fire being lit. I know the Mer camp wasn’t inspiring but coming back from injury I think you like to see at least the strength that he put on and and the the size he put on his frame. So, I liked his. I think Danielson’s camp Lombardi I thought had a pretty solid camp overall. Kind of fizzled out by the end, but saw a lot of high-end ability out of him for for spurts. Yeah, I I don’t make too much of of Maser not making it, you know, like there’s too much injury context there. I do want to see him find a way this year, though. That’s a focus of mine. Okay, folks. This has been a long one. We’re going to wrap up this episode of the Wing Wheel podcast. Thank you so very much for tuning in to our very long but very exciting Detroit Red Wings season preview. If you’re a new listener, not all of our episodes are this long. They this is just, you know, one of those pillar episodes and there’s lots to talk about. To all of our sponsors of the Wing Wheel podcast, thank you so very much for supporting the show. And to our Patreon supporters, we could not do this without you. patreon.com/wingedwheelodcast if you want to support the show. 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IT’S HERE: the official Winged Wheel Podcast Detroit Red Wings Season Preview episode – strap in.
We start with the news that Steve Yzerman & Todd McLellan have selected all 3 Red Wings rookies to make the opening night Hockeytown roster in Emmitt Finnie, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, and Axel Sandin-Pellikka, before starting our analysis, predictions, & outlook with the forwards: Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Emmitt Finnie, Marco Kasper, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, and the rest of Detroit’s forward group (including Andrew Copp, J.T. Compher, Mason Appleton, Elmer Soderblom, Michael Rasmussen, Jonatan Berggren, & James van Riemsdyk).
After that, the defense: Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Albert Johansson, & the rest of Todd McLellan & Trent Yawney’s blue line in Ben Chiarot, Travis Hamonic, Jacob Bernard-Docker, & Erik Gustafsson.
Next, the goalies in John Gibson & Cam Talbot (with a potential appearance from Sebastian Cossa) before jumping into the “Todd McLellan Effect”, power play & penalty kill, & more from Steve Yzerman’s personnel. Finally, our predictions on team MVP, points leaders, most improved players, Detroit Red Wings point totals, and whether or not they’ll make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
We also cover the crazy contract news that has rolled through the NHL, including Connor McDavid, Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman, Kyle Connor, Jack Eichel, & more before we take your questions and comments in our Overtime segment – enjoy!
Intro: 00:00
MBN, ASP, Finnie Make It: 4:30
Larkin: 6:45
Raymond: 12:05
Finnie: 19:10
Kasper: 27:20
DeBrincat: 31:00
Kane: 36:15
Brandsegg-Nygard: 43:20
Depth Forwards: 50:20
Seider: 57:40
Edvinsson: 1:02:10
Sandin-Pellikka: 1:05:40
Johansson: 1:11:50
Depth Defensemen: 1:16:25
Gibson & Talbot: 1:18:05
McLellan & Special Teams: 1:23:20
Predictions: 1:29:05
McDavid, Connor, Eichel Contracts: 1:45:35
Overtime: 1:51:30
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16 comments
First
Haven't been this excited for the start of the season like this in a decade
I'm looking forward to the Chiclets boys being forced to talk about the Red Wings, none of this existed the last time we were a dominant team.
The best chirp I ever heard was Shane Doan roasting Abdelkader at the end of the 2013 season. He said "you are on a line with Datsyuk and Zetterberg and you only have 13 points? You should be ashamed of yourself."
Crazy this podcast said none of the draft picks were nhl ready 3 weeks ago. Thats the point untik they are given a shot you cant ever say they arent ready or ready. Finally we cut some bad veterans ans put 3 top.prospexts in lineup . This city has ruined young guys by playing bad veterans. There is no way copp compher qnd rasmusen should all 3 still have a job. Their stats blow all 3 years. They cant fight , they aint tough, they dont produce. 2 of them are grossly overpaid.
I thjnk pelikka and edvinson is gona be better then seider ans chariot. Chariot sucks
I want nygard with larkin and raymond
Jvr copp compher rassmusse. One or 2 of those 4 guys should be replaced by danielson and 2.of them should be traded for water bottles and a 4th round pick.
32:28 that was me! El Gato is gonna pot 45
" All right time to go to bed "
Notification: WWP season preview just dropped
… Goddamnit
2 hour mid week episode? Y'all just made my commute
After not promoting a single rookie in 2023-24, we start this season with:
Two players in their 3rd season
Three players in their 2nd season
and three rookies. This is the most excitement I have felt since April 19, 2019.
Lets go boys! Its exciting times! I fuckin love my hockey team . Lets goooo!! 🐙🐙🐙
The culmination of the Yzerplan is upon us. LFG.
Gonna see more Mo fights this this year with a better 2nd D line. Can't wait to see Mo lay a few more Kronwalled hits like his rookie year
Finnie is gonna play tambourine for Larkin and Ray Ray
MBN will be the lead singer of the 3rd line.
I love it. Its the only way it makes sense, MBN gets muted on the top line and as a Swiss army knife of hockey, he can play up to his ceiling more being able to drive the 3rd line.
Finnie is equally as important, but he's up to be smart, fast, and support.
hot take cat for the rocket richard