Red Wings 2025-26 Roster Projection 1.0 – The Hockey Writers –

Surely, Detroit Red Wings fans expected more fireworks the week leading up to Fourth of July. That was not the case, though.

Detroit took a conservative approach with this year’s free agent class – one that was thin to begin with and lost several marquee names before the July 1 kickoff.

In all, the Red Wings made 11 transactions over the last few days, including:

Acquired G John Gibson from Anaheim for G Petr Mrazek, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick.

Traded RW Vladimir Tarasenko to Minnesota for future considerations.

Re-signed LD Albert Johansson to a two-year, $1.125 million AAV contract.

Re-signed LW Jonatan Berggren to a one-year, $1.825 million contract.

Re-signed RW Patrick Kane to a one-year, $3 million contract (with up to $4 million in additional performance bonuses).

Signed RD Ian Mitchell to a one-year, $775,000 contract.

Signed RD Jacob Bernard-Docker to a one-year, $875,000 contract.

Signed LW James van Riemsdyk to a one-year, $1 million contract.

Signed LW John Leonard to a one-year, $775,000 contract.

Re-signed LW Elmer Soderblom to a two-year, $1.125 million AAV contract.

Signed RW Mason Appleton to a two-year, $2.9 million AAV contract.

Now, with things winding down, we’ve reached a point where we can project an initial roster for the 2025-26 season. There may be some tweaks here and there before training camp, but that’s a topic for another day.

So, without further ado, here’s a first look at the 2025-26 Red Wings.

Red Wings Projected Roster for 2025-26

With Appleton, van Riemsdyk, and Bernard-Docker now aboard, here’s how Detroit’s lines and pairs could look.

LW
C
RW
Elmer Soderblom
Dylan Larkin
Lucas Raymond
Patrick Kane
Marco Kasper
Alex DeBrincat
James van Riemsdyk
Andrew Copp
Mason Appleton
Michael Rasmussen
J.T. Compher
Jonatan Berggren
 
 
Austin Watson

LD
RD
G
Ben Chiarot
Moritz Seider
John Gibson
Simon Edvinsson
Albert Johansson
Cam Talbot
Erik Gustafsson
Jacob Bernard-Docker
 
 
Justin Holl
 

First and foremost, the lineup will fluctuate throughout the year. Lines and pairings are not set in stone. This is simply how I see Detroit lining up for Game 1. 

As it currently stands, the Red Wings have five top-six forwards: Larkin, Raymond, DeBrincat, Kane, and Kasper. 

For everyone else on the roster, a top-six role would be an overslot. Someone needs to be penciled into that sixth spot, though. For now, I have Soderblom there. If the Red Wings are unable to add another bonafide top-six forward, we could see a rotating cast in that final spot throughout the year, including cameos from Copp, van Riemsdyk, Compher, and others.

The bottom six is pretty interchangeable. Here, I have van Riemsdyk, Copp, and Appleton as a heavy identity line. You could also swap Rasmussen with Appleton and give Compher’s line a little more skill.

Detroit needs more out of J.T. Compher in 2025-26. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

The Red Wings have also mentioned the possibility of putting Copp and Compher together on the same line, perhaps with van Riemsdyk. That leaves Rasmussen with Berggren and Appleton. Plus, as I mentioned before, some of these players will be getting an opportunity to play in the top six.

Suffice to say, Todd McLellan and Alex Tanguay will have plenty of combinations to rotate through.

On defense, it’s more of the same. Bernard-Docker essentially replaces Jeff Petry in a bottom-pairing role. 

This is fine. Detroit’s 2024-25 defense wasn’t as bad as some think. They allowed 2.37 goals against per 60 at five on five, which ranked 15th in the NHL. And that was with Ville Husso, Alex Lyon, and Cam Talbot in net. Talbot is back this year, but will be joined by John Gibson, who looks to be the best goalie rostered by the Red Wings since Chris Osgood. Surely, they can improve upon their defensive numbers in 2025-26 with more stability in net.

Position
PP1
PP2
Quarterback
Moritz Seider
Erik Gustafsson
Left Flank
Lucas Raymond
Jonatan Berggren
Right Flank
Patrick Kane
Marco Kasper
Bumper
Dylan Larkin
J.T. Compher
Net Front/Side of Net
Alex DeBrincat
James van Riemsdyk

Position
PK1
PK2PK3
Forward 1
Dylan Larkin
Andrew Copp
Marco Kasper
Forward 2
Mason Appleton
J.T. Compher
Lucas Raymond
Defense 1
Ben Chiarot
Simon Edvinsson
 
Defense 2
Moritz Seider
Albert Johansson
 

Final Word

In all, Detroit added a starting goalie (Gibson), a second-line scorer (Kane), bottom-six scoring/role players (van Riemsdyk and Appleton), plus defensive depth in Bernard-Docker. That said, they have been unable to land a top-line forward or top-four defenseman thus far.

With the roster above, the Red Wings have $12,992,461 in leftover cap space should they want to add more this offseason. Addressing at least one of the remaining needs will go a long way in achieving their goal to reach the playoffs in 2026.

Data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and PuckPedia.