Dylan Larkin, JT Compher, Todd McLellan Post Game Comments vs. TBL | Nov. 28, 2025

just having another disappointing performance specifically defensively. What have been some of the challenges out there for you guys? Well, I mean, Todd talked a lot about net play in the last last few days and um you know, they get uh couple there in front of our net and and most of their goals were chaos around the crease and late plays and and whacking and winning battles in our in our net front and and uh you know, it’s frustrating when we when we uh talk about it a lot and it just keeps happening. Seems like you guys are just chasing the game and trying to outscore your mistakes. We’re not trying to. I can tell you that. Um, you know, it’s it’s like the old feeling is, you know, you you focus so hard not turning the puck over. Uh, don’t turn it over. Don’t turn it over. Guess what happens? You’re going to you’re going to turn the puck over. And um, right now we’re we’re just so so we want it so bad. And I can tell you that we we’re we’re we’re listening to what we’re being told to do and and we’re and we’re trying to do it. We’re trying to do it and and it’s just um we’re almost trying too hard and and we’re not playing the game. We have we have uh when when things aren’t going well, we we just kind of sag and um and and it seems like the the things that we talk about just keep happening. and um you know for for I I don’t I don’t have a a reason but I know we’re trying to to clean up those mistakes. You guys have had some blueprints this season on how to be successful. Why do you think they’ve been so hard to replicate? Well, I think right now we’re just we’re finding ourselves in holes whether and I think even when we were winning games. Uh we were we were going down one down two early and um right now we’re just uh a little fragile and um and mistakes seem to be compounding and and uh so I think uh we’re just we’re just finding ourselves down early in games and and uh and that’s the way it’s going right now. And and I think that like you said, there is a blueprint out there for how we play well. And and uh you saw it for parts tonight and and and uh in this league, you have to against a team like that, you got to be be ready all 60. You got to show u what you’re made of all 60 minutes. We’re a team that that creates so much uh chaos around the net. How do you counter that? What’s the best way to just neutralize the game? Well, you got to box out early and you got to win netfront battles. And I don’t think we did it. and it showed up because it was in our net. And um I thought we had looks. We countered it by blocking shots and going the other way and uh not letting letting them uh establish nef run and make it easy for our goalies to see the puck and get a whistle and and and start over from the face off and and we did it at times. Um especially first first period we we generated enough chances to win that hockey game and and uh you know we scored we scored enough to win that hockey game. There have been a few different points in the last few games where they’ll score. The opponents have scored two within a minute or so be able to start the second. Anything you can point to with that as to why second? No, I can’t. I mean, it just you like the puck’s on our stick and and it’s in a back of our net and just why, you know, like it it’s it’s just the way it’s going and and uh and you know, you got to have a next shift mentality. I think, you know, guys like James and Reamedeck have been been good about about uh um you know, next play, just keep playing, keep playing. And uh you know we got to we have to we have to have the next shift mentality to go out there and just play and and and play hard, do the right things. So JT was just kind of saying that it feels like the group is maybe trying too hard in some situations. Do you feel that as well? Yeah, I mean it’s uh there’s definitely some frustration um throughout the room. you know, it’s not a lot. Guys are are working hard, but it’s uh right now doesn’t feel like enough. And um we need to do a better job cleaning up uh a lot of different areas of our game. And we need to keep the puck out of our net. That’s plain and simple the the problem. And uh it’s every guy, goalies, deep, forwards, every situation. Uh just a mindset and a commitment. GT, when you guys aren’t getting the results you’re looking for, how do you avoid falling into the mental trap of of things and just come and work the next day? We have another opportunity tomorrow. Um, and you know, we do a lot of work and practice when we have time and video and um coaches are going to show us what we did wrong. We need to um do a better job cleaning it up of what we’re seeing. You guys have got some blueprints of how to play like the Rangers game. Why do you think it’s been so hard to play? Um yeah, just the consistency is not there and um the good teams do it every single night. Um even if you don’t get the result, it’s the same effort and the same um commitment to defend and we need to um we need more than that. Does it start in the offensive zone just establishing one consistent back four check and spending less time in your own zone? It’s everywhere and um yeah, that would help. Um, but we need to defend our net better. We need to defend rushes better. PK, we got to keep out of our net. Um, it’s all situations um that are leading to, you know, six goals that were letting up on uh way too often. Your line had a good good night tonight. What was the key to your guys’ success tonight? Um, thought we created opportunities by for checking and um dummy the puck in. And I mean those two guys are great four checkers and um like Mike Mike played or Mike made an unbelievable play on uh on my go but it’s just uh simple you know we talked about for checking tonight and um I thought when we our line did that tonight we were we had some success some of the younger players is it maybe getting caught up of trying too hard to not make a mistake that maybe leads to mistakes uh it can be I mean it’s uh you have the you’re going to learn um in this league a bunch of different ways and even guys that aren’t in their first year could be third, fourth year, sixth, seventh year. It’s uh it’s a battle to be consistent in this league and um the good players do it, the good teams do it. Todd Dylan was just saying that he feels that they’re taking the coaching but maybe trying too hard in a sense. Do you do you see that that way? Um, they care. Okay, let let make that real clear. They care and their practice yesterday. We had a really good practice. Um, they do care, but that only gets you so far. And and and I think Dylan’s right. We’re we’re trying to give them some guidance. Um, but when it doesn’t go well, we got to stay with it. And and the unfortunate thing tonight is that we could have walked over and pulled Coupe out of the locker room, maybe a couple other players, and said, “Here’s two. You take those two and now we’ll start playing.” Because you look at the game, in my opinion, we could have been 3-3. Maybe they would have scored on some of their other chances, but we had good ones, too. But we gifted them the second one and the four on four one. That’s just the way it is. And we’re not good enough to be giving stuff away for free. But I know you’ve all heard that story before. So until we fix it, um, you know, and take care of it, then we’ll keep having these issues. Said the same thing what two days ago. You guys have some blueprints for how to be successful, but it seems like you fall back to what you said early in the season. Are we tired of this yet? Um, why is that? I can’t tell you that. I can’t answer that question. I can’t get in the in the heads like you you have to ask. First of all, you got to look and say, “Okay, are we good enough? Do we do we have enough talent? Yeah, we do. We’ve we don’t get 13 wins, you know, 25 games in without having a team that can play well enough. So, are we playing well enough? No, we’re not. Why aren’t we? Well, there’s a little bit of disconnect between forwards and D right now, I think. Um, and we’ve got to fix that. And then in a in a team game, you sometimes get punished as a team uh score-wise, momentum-wise, win losswise for individual mistakes. And that happens. That’s why we play a team game. Um you know, team breakdowns are are much more repable than just an individual, you know, faux paw, whatever you want to call it. Take Albert for example. like there there’s no system, there is no structure, there’s no um the other 20 guys on the ice had zero to do with the play or drast pardon me uh had zero to do with the play. So that that tends to bring frustration into it. Uh the team part of it can certainly be fixed and I think the last goal was um you know the fifth one I don’t even know if that was a team one that’s probably a pair D that are just fumbling around in their end and that leads to frustration. So now everybody else is frustrated. Some of their entry goals five on five they made a nice play back and they scored uh uh off the rush. That’s a team play. We can work on that and we can fix it. So, let’s take care of what we can take care of. If you’re an individual and you’re playing, clean it up. And if you can’t, then we got to start asking ourselves, do you belong? And this isn’t about Albert. Please don’t. This isn’t about Albert. This is about all of us. If you can’t clean it up, we got to figure things out. Is there something you can put your finger on as far as it’s like the third time now in two games that team scored like quickly right away after I mean are you seeing any anything after the first goal that that No, we um you know we we weren’t good in the circle tonight. Um, I’m not sure what we were in the third, but after two periods, we were on the wrong end of a lot of faceoffs and they’re a 30 30th place faceoff team. So, we don’t start with the puck. And after you give up a goal, the first thing you want to do is have possession. Um, and if you don’t, they got a little momentum. They’re coming after you. They’re reestablished. So, we’ll have to look at that. But, there’s not a pattern. There’s nothing that’s showing up. It’s always this line or it’s this type of goal against. It’s just um it’s happening and we’ve got to find a way to solve it. Dylan talked about the net front. I know you talked about that last game as well. What aren’t you seeing there that you need to offensively or defensively? Defensively. Well, we, you know, we’re in position sometimes and we don’t um move people or we don’t control sticks. And then when we’re out of position, we we’re not having a lot of success. And I call it sweeping the crease. Anything that’s laying around in there. Um 65 75% of the time that if and we use this. If the puck gets to the goalender’s pads, I’m pretty confident that we’re going to get it back. You just expand out quicker. So, um if you don’t sweep creases, you don’t get good body position, you don’t control sticks, it makes it hard on on our goalenders. We’ve seen a number of tipins over the last little bit. So, spent a lot of time in practice yesterday on it. You put the lines into the blender again to start the game. How did you feel that Patrick Kane performed on the third line today and is is there any lingering effects that he’s continuing to suffer from when he was out of the lineup earlier this season? Um, he had an upper body injury. Um, you know, he’s had some real good looks, uh, one-timer looks, some, you know, tough empty nets, not easy empty netters, but competition around him where, and normally he’s, uh, that’s money for him. Um, that that goes in and he’s he’s missing. So, are there lingering effects? There could be. Um, he’s pretty noble, uh, man, and, uh, you know, he’s not bitching or complaining about anything. So, um, you know, but he also missed three and a half weeks. So, I don’t know if there there is lingering effects or not, but usually those are in, especially those one-times on the power play and and, uh, some of the empty neters. The margin of error is so thin in games, I guess, when players are trying to mentally work through that. Is there an easy way to navigate that in terms of not worrying about the mistakes and playing through things? Well, the the mistakes magnify things. Um it it you know you feel tension. You don’t want to let your teammates down. Um you know everybody picked Albert up after that goal. Hey, let’s go. Come on. You’re good player. That type of stuff. But there’s not much you can do. He he made the error and made the mistake. He feels not quite as big as he he went from 61 to 510 there and then it takes a little while to grow. Again, I’m just using obviously an analogy, but um that’s how it happens between the years. And there’s no doubt that we can get stronger in that area, all of us. You know, teams talk about culture a lot. I mean, obviously, they’re a team that’s got a a wealth of reservoir to draw upon of ways to win and your team doesn’t have that reservoir. Does that impact things when they go south for you guys, do you think, because you don’t kind of have built up that reservoir of success? Um, well, I I probably answer the question going back to from 05 to08. We had that wealth of res that that reservoir that you’re and it felt like when things went sideways and they did. I think the year we won the cup, we were winless in eight games or something like that at one point or one win in eight games. When it went sideways, it was a little calmer. There was more confidence. Um, you know what I noticed from their team tonight that once they got the lead, um, Celli and and Hegel could come out and they were just just happy to check. They they were okay with, you know, there’s Raymond and and Lark and we’re going to shut these two down and we’ll let the rest of the guys go and try and score goal five, goal six. Um, that’s part of learning how to win and how to do it. Uh, I think that they have won enough that they can plug and play. they’ve been together long enough so they can bring uh young defenseman up and plug them in and they can play because they they all understand how they’re going to play certain situations. Um we don’t quite have that yet. So if I’m comparing the two teams, that would be it. But the best comparison I’d have is going backwards to my experience here when we did have good teams. Um you overcome mistakes quicker. You you live with them. You make fewer of them, too. So

Dylan Larkin, JT Compher, and Todd McLellan speak with the media following Detroit’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday November 28, 2025 at Little Caesars Arena.

29 comments

  1. Probably the worst pro scouting in the league. That’s why this team is so bad. Until that dead weight is replaced correctly this team ain’t going far.

  2. It’s always been the players. Different sports but the pistons have virtually the same core when they were the worst team in the league and now they’re one of the best. No coach or GM can save this team, it’s the PLAYERS. Until we’re getting the absolute most out of our core guys this will continue to happen, they need to be better and set the tone for the rest of the group, the floor is just way too low right now.

  3. It’s starting to look pretty bad. If the handful of talented players don’t put up points they will lose because half the team is terrible. But even guys like Seider & Edvinnson make many mistakes. Not sure where they go from here but keeping the status quo will lead to the basement soon

  6. Those of us in our 40's or older remember the early and mid 90s teams that were mean and nasty to play against. If you came to the Joe you were going to pay a price against Konstantinov, Shanahan, Draper, McCarty, Maltby, Kocer. They forechecked aggressively, they finished checks, we had defenseman who knocked guys on their ass and they had the skill. This team no one fears this team. They rely too much on skill. There is no Holmstrom on this team. It's not McLellan's fault its roster construction. This is on Yzerman. He's my favorite player of all time, i idolized him growing up but as the Red Wings GM he's failing.

  12. Team is fucking hopeless…. They literally suck at near everything. NO OTHER blows situations like this…. “We have to fix it, we have to find a way” … if they ain’t figured it out by now they won’t. They need a culture change – move out the guys that don’t want to be assholes on the ice. God this sooooo frustrating listen too. Team is ALL TALk.

  13. I love ASP, long term. But he’s not ready for prime time. Danielson, not ready for prime time. Edvinson has regressed, Johansson has regressed. Compher, Rasmussen, Kasper all regressed. Coop and Berggren are mia and should be traded immediately. All these prospects and we are the softest team in the league. We fold if the other team is bigger and crashes the net.

  14. Idiots crying about the defense and bringing up cossa. Cossa doesn't fix the defensive mistakes. The defense also has 5 guys aged 25 or younger. We have 4 guys on it with 2 or fewer years of experience in the league. What do you freaking want? You complain about not bringing up the youth. You complain when we add veterans. You guys will just never be happy.

  15. Todd McLellan caused Kane's injury by playing him w Compher in OT. Then played him w Compher 7 of his first 9 games back (and Compher/Finnie 5 games), helping cause the loss of confidence and opportunity that turned it into a monster career worst finishing slump.

    What he's done to this player this year is unforgivable and he's lucky Kane is "a noble man" or he'd be getting knocked out by him in the locker room by this point. Trade him to Edmonton and move on.

  16. Also watching the highlights now I am even more disgusted about this game.

    Danielson shoots the puck backhand at his own goalie on the 3rd goal, rebound gets put in for the score. This after he was late and behind his man on the rush. People got on Kane for this the last game, well Kane is a 37yo one way winger on a fake hip. Danielson is a 2 way kid center.

    Chiarot or whoever (editor's note: it was Copp) makes a nice play to help Kane on the 4th goal, knocking the puck off the opponent's stick. But then Chiarot kicks it out to the opponent for a perfect one timer into a wide open net on what I think was meant to be a clear. This while Danielson is screening a guy basically INTO his goaltender, creating a wide open net for the goal.

    Johansson gets butt blasted on the 2nd goal.

    Seider hands the puck to the opponent on a horrific turnover leading to the 5th goal.

    What even is this?

  17. also lol at Todd randomly apropos of nothing bringing up "when we won the Cup" and out of nowhere bringing up 05-08. trying to pretend he's THAT team's coach and not THIS team's coach. no, Todd, that was Mike Babcock's team. you were AROUND. that wasn't your team. THIS is your team.

  20. Sorry Todd there is a PATTERN!!!!
    I've been saying it since GM8 Buffalo Loss.

    1. Emmitt Finnie is Darren Helm 2.0.
    Playing him Top6 especially 1st line is affecting the whole team.

    2. Play ALJO w/ Seider. He's Good enough and compliments Seider.
    However he's not good enough to play w/ JBD or Hamonic.
    Put JBD w/ Simon. They play well together.

    3. You need to play Berggren.. He's one of your best players.

    4. Your 4th line tonight was good. Don't mess w/ that.

    5. JVR, Soderblom and Finnie should be your healthy scratch rotation.

    6. If serious about winning a playoff round you should trade for Elias Pettersson.
    He solves all the teams problems for the same reason Finnie on top line is your biggest problem.
     
    I guarantee you make playoffs w/ these adjustments.

  24. I dont want to hear anymore excuses. Play like you want to win. These defensive miscues are getting really frustrating to watch because they are literally game winners for the opposing team.

  25. Get rid of Mo Seider. He is a waste of money. Need to find a defenseman who can handle the puck like Lidstrom and check opponents like Kronwall. Mo Seider does neither. Get rid of him, he was a big mistake as a 1st round draft pick. He is no way a franchise player for the Wings as he would have exuded any above average offensive skills since his entry into the NHL, but hasn't. The Wings can build on offense, especially with their Swedish defensemen as their blueliners, and they SHOULD trade Seider for a defenseman who is an enforcer, as Seider will not be that type of player. Watch and see. The longer Wings keep Seider in a key role playing nearly half a game day in and day out, the Wings will continue to either lose or be a mediocre team, and will likely never make the playoffs. Seider plays ice hockey like a soccer player, concentrating almost always on defense, and almost NEVER on offense. He's very timid with the puck. Just watch how he handles the puck during a power play. He doesn't want it, unlike Swedish defenseman, Sandin-Pelikka, who constantly asks for the puck when he's on the ice. You can tell that although Sandin-Pelikka doesn't have the size or is as defensively aggressive as Seider, Sandin-Pelikka KNOWS how to handle the puck and can run the offense on a power play. Seider needs to be given an ultimatum as he is not performing as an offensive defenseman franchise player fans were hoping for. The Wings need to move on from Seider. He is full of excuses and improvements in his play on the ice are miniscule or insignificant, to say the least. The Wings need defenders who can score, and Seider IS NOT the answer to that. The Swedes on the Wings are much better to puck handlers but are not as defensive oriented as Seider. But let's remember that you can't score goals if you defend your net but don't contribute to scoring goals against the opponent. Wings need to move on from Mo Seider or give him an ultimatum to get with the program in being more and more offensive minded.

  26. Excuses, excuses, excuses….. You can't be a winning team if you continue to give excuses and not change the results. I don't think Wings fans should waste their money showing up watching some of these guys on the ice. You have to have the winning edge and a winning sense to doing what it takes. The Wings have not played well because they're doing only what is needed to impress for the time being. Then, malaise will set in and they will play like they wouldn't even make it in the minors. Mo Seider needs to go. Productive offensive minded defensemen will likely improve the scoring morale on the ice, but they'll NEVER get that from Seider. I never hear anybody critique Mo Seider. Mo Seider is making nearly $9 mil a year and does not rise to the occasion as an offensive minded defenseman. And he may NEVER do so either. Enough is enough. Wings Swedish defensemen seem to handle the puck much better than Seider. I'm telling this platform what the Wings management should do with Mo Seider. He doesn't necessarily need to play half the game day in and day out, but he needs to be more offensive minded and be involved in the scoring. Although playing defense is very important, defending when you're behind in the score will not make you win. You've got to score goals as well. And this is what Mo Seider does not contribute well enough in, or he just doesn't have the offensive minded skills of Wings' great, Nick Lidstrom, or Montreal's great, Larry Robinson, or even the Avalanche's Cal Makar. Seider needs to get with the program to be well rounded and be more offensive minded, or the Wings should move on from him and quit making excuses that the other players on the roster are at fault for the team's woes.

  28. Get rid of yzerman and you’ll see a different team. If he’s a jack wagon during the pressers he’s a jack wagon with the players. There is a reason we can’t get decent players. It’s not Todd or Larkin’s fault. Him and drapes may have been good players but they are a sure miss with building a team. Give me some proof otherwise.

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