SUMMER COOLERS – THE DETROIT RED WINGS
The Detroit Red Wings, another team that is going to be beating at the door as they have been for the past couple of seasons. It’s the players for nine consecutive years. Their last series win was the opening round in 2013 against Anaheim. That’s how far back we go. offense 22nd overall penalty killing 32nd last 70.1% and they only had two short-handed goals for which was second fewest in the league. On the positive side, power play ranked fourth at 27%. big move that they make during the course of the off seasonason acquiring goender John Gibson in a trade with Anaheim in exchange for goender Peter Morazzic and draft picks in 2026 and 2027. They also signed James Van Remsteike as a UFA from Columbus. Mason Appleton good bottom six forward center signed two years 2.9 million AV from Winnipeg and Travis Hamick signs on one year $1 million from the Ottawa Senators. So when we look at those players and you couple that with some of the signings that they have made, the resignings of Albert Johansson a defenseman, Jonathan Bergrren rightwing, Elmer Soder Bloom as a leftwing, and William Laguson a defenseman who resigned the UFA with the team. Does this drought end this year? It’s not my Mtown question for you necessarily, but when you look at this movement, it’s very marginal by general manager Steve Aishman, it is marginal. There isn’t a lot of big names. But if John Gibson can get to the form that he had with the Anaheim Ducks, where he was their franchise goalender there for quite a long time, if he can bring that to Detroit, you might see a whole different Detroit Red Wings team. Now, the penalty killing is a real problem. Obviously, they’re going to have to fix that, but I would say that this season and how they do is going to revolve around their goalending and John Gibson. If you look at their ads and drops, I know we haven’t gone through them all, but there’s an upgrade from Gibson from Morazzic. Terasenko gets replaced by James Vanimsteike if you want to think about it on the power play and Alex Lion signed in Buffalo. Jeff Petri leaves. That’s a loss I think for Detroit. Albeit not in the top three defenseman, but still a loss for them. But does Habic cover that though? Yeah, perhaps he does. You’re right. H Heck does come in and cover for the loss of Petri. So you’ve got that covered. So, I don’t see them being a lot better. But if Steve Eisermanman and his group think that the reason that they didn’t make it was ultimately goalending, you might have found the right piece you need. Remember one thing, everybody that’s listening, Pat Forbique and Steve Eisermanman are best of friends. They worked together for a long time. If I don’t think either one would hose the other guy. So I think that probably Pat Verbique thought it was time for Gibson to get a change of atmosphere and he called Stevie and said I can I’ll trade you Gibson because I would think that they they’re in different conferences. They’re not it’s not going to hurt them. So we’ll take a look and see when we get to the Pacific Division what Anaheim’s got. The club is listed as number five in terms of top prospect pools in the NHL. Players to look at that may crack the lineup this year. Carter Maser, bottom six forward, Nate Danielson, possible second line center, and Sebastian Kosa, who was a goalender who played one game last season. But let’s now look at their offense. Lucas Raymond, 80 points last year, terrific season. Alex Debrink 39 goals. Dylan Larkin 30 goals, 40 assists, 70 points. And God, I think so many people are wanting to pull for him to get in the playoffs finally. And Patrick Kane had 21 goals. But as we’ve seen, the movements have been marginal, and it doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of room for error with the offense that if one of their key guys goes down, it could be 10 years since making the playoffs list. Absolutely. They’re on the bubble. There’s no doubt about it. And as we just finished saying with Montreal and Ottawa, it’s not it’s it doesn’t get any easier when you’ve got some teams, and we’re going to get to Boston in a minute, but when you’ve got some teams Buffalo’s going to be fighting again to get in there after their 14-year drought, it’s not going to get any easier. And the biggest thing is you’ve got a team like the Rangers and the Bruins who in those big cities, original six markets, that’s a disaster when you miss the playoffs. So, it’s going to be hard. And Detroit didn’t make a lot of big moves, but they made a really important move by getting Gibson. The Buffalo Sabres 14 consecutive seasons missing the playoffs. Last time they were in was in 2011. They did have the 10th ranked offense last year at 3.23 goals per game, but that defense goals against per game 350 tied for 29th. And during the course of the off season, they had to send away a real promising forward in JJ Purka. He is traded to Utah in exchange for right-wing Josh Don and defenseman Michael Kessle ring. The club also added Connor Timonss a defenseman along with prospect defenseman Isaac Bellivo in exchange for Connor Clifton. Alex Lion she just mentioned comes on as a free agent from Detroit. Justin Danforth rightwing comes in from Columbus and Zack Jones signed as a UFA from the Rangers after not receiving a qualifying offer. So we look at their ads and also the RFAS that they were able to resign. Jack Quinn, Ryan Johnson, Tyson Kak, Ryan Mloud, four years at 5 million AV. Bo and Byron 2 years 6.25 voids arbitration that was a team initiated call for arbitration but they got that deal done before the hearing took place and they also resigned goalender Devin Levi. So, Neil, when we look at the collection of the parts here, and this is a club that I believe we’ve seen a lot of expectations over the last few seasons, couple of years, they’ve gotten off well and they’ve petered out. In other seasons, they’ve just starting off poorly and have gotten so far behind the eightball that they’ve had no shot to make the playoffs. Lindy Ruff in his second season in his second stint with Buffalo. Where does this get turned around here? Because like we mentioned before, Montreal Ottawa managed to crack the playoffs last year. You got Detroit sitting there. Of course, you got the Rangers. You got the Islanders. You’ve got the Blue Jackets. You got the Bruins. And here are the Sabres that are literally starting in the same spot. Where do they make the difference that they’re the one this time? I don’t think they’re going to be. I think what they by the looks of it in getting Don and Kessle ring from Utah for a gifted offensive player like Purka, they trying to be harder to play against than they were last year. Maybe that is what’s in the coach and the manager’s minds is they want to be harder to play against. But I don’t see that they’ve improved over the off season. I just don’t I think I don’t understand the Purka deal. I don’t understand why you’d trade them. I think it’s a great deal for Utah, but again, I just I don’t see them having improved enough to displace all the other teams that we’ve just mentioned. a couple of prospects to look for with the Sabres this year, Anton Wahlberg and Costa Helenius. But now I want to switch over to their defense for a second because there’s captain Rasmus Dalene Bowen Byron Owen Power first overall pick Kessler joins Jones joins Timmons joins and Bello as a prospect and when you’ve got the likes of Ukah Pekalucan in goal this is a team that is not built badly run goal out. No, they’re not. Certainly their defense with the two first overalls back there in Power and Dalene. Dalene, a tremendously gifted offensive defenseman as we know, but they’re going to have to get their goalending to stand up really well and we’ll see. They have revamped their defense as you just said. They’ve added some pieces there. They look like it’s on paper it should be pretty good, but again I just don’t see the improvement that would be enough to push this team into the playoffs. If we’re here saying that it’s going to be 15 years when we do the summer coolers next year. Okay.
SUMMER COOLERS – THE DETROIT RED WINGS | Marginal Moves, Gibson in Goal, and the Fight to End a Decade of Drought
In this Summer Coolers edition of NHL Wraparound, hosts Neil Smith and Vic Morren break down the outlook for the Detroit Red Wings, a team still searching for its first playoff appearance since 2016 and its first playoff series win since 2013.
After another near-miss last season, Detroit finished with 89 points but fell just short. Now entering Year 9 of the rebuild, the Red Wings made a few moves—but none that drastically change their ceiling.
The biggest offseason headline was acquiring goaltender John Gibson from Anaheim, signaling a commitment to stability between the pipes. With the worst penalty kill in the NHL (70.1%) and just two shorthanded goals, this is a team that must improve structurally, not just emotionally.
IN THIS EPISODE:
[00:00] Detroit’s drought: 9 straight years without playoffs
[00:38] 2024–25 recap: Close, but not enough
[01:00] John Gibson acquisition: A gamble that could pay off
[01:45] Additional signings: JVR, Appleton, Hamonic
[02:15] Re-signings: Johansson, Berggren, Soderblom, Lindstrom
[03:00] Offensive core: Raymond, Larkin, DeBrincat, Kane
[04:00] Can the top six stay healthy and produce?
[04:30] Penalty kill needs a total overhaul
[05:00] Prospect watch: Danielson, Mazur, Cossa
[05:45] Is this enough to break the streak?
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
John Gibson gives Detroit its best goaltending outlook in years—if he returns to form.
While the offense has a strong top line—Larkin, DeBrincat, Raymond—scoring depth remains fragile, especially if any top-six forward goes down.
The team didn’t add elite talent but did retain important contributors like Johansson and Berggren, and added veteran leadership with JVR and Hamonic.
Detroit’s league-worst penalty kill and poor special teams must improve to support any playoff aspirations.
In a crowded Eastern Conference, the margin for error is razor thin. Unless everything clicks, Detroit could extend their playoff drought to 10 years.
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The NHL Wraparound podcast features Neil Smith, President-General Manager of the 1994 Stanley Cup Champion New York Rangers and longtime ESPN/NHL veteran Vic Morren sharing no-nonsense opinions on news and issues around the National Hockey League.
Bringing decades of experience from their respective fields, Smith and Morren create a unique partnership that examines the NHL from multiple perspectives. Additionally, as hockey historians, the pair can delve into any topic in today’s game and enlighten the audience with connections to events from previous years. To truly appreciate where hockey stands today, one needs to understand its past.
With 2024 marking the 30th anniversary of the Rangers last championship season, a special five-part series is planned to commemorate that magical run. Expect fascinating behind-the-scenes stories and special guests with particular focus on the GM who pushed all of his chips into the middle of the table amidst the most pressurized environments – and came out on top.
Whether you’re new to the game or a seasoned fan, each episode of NHL Wraparound will leave you entertained and informed.