The Detroit Red Wings enter their Centennial season hoping to snap their playoff drought. The 2025-26 season will start in 34 days when some teams kick off their season on Tuesday, October 7th, while the Red Wings don’t start their season until Thursday at home against the Montreal Canadiens.

They will face all but two teams in their division four times, and the two teams they will face three times are the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres. They will face all the Metropolitan Division teams three times and each Western Conference team twice, once at home and once on the road. The Red Wings finished last season five points out of the final wild-card spot with 86 points on a 39-35-8 record. They finished five points worse than they had in the previous season. The Red Wings finished 11-13-2 with 24 points against the Atlantic Division in 2024-25. The Red Wings this offseason went out and looked to add pieces that can get them back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Offseason Moves

Additions:

G – John Gibson – Trade/Anaheim Ducks
D – Ian Mitchell – Free Agency/1-year
D – Jacob Bernard-Docker – Free Agency/1-year
F – James van Riemsdyk – Free Agency/1-year
F – Mason Appleton – Free Agency/2-years

Re-Signings:

F – Patrick Kane – Free Agency/1-year
D – Antti Tuomisto – Free Agency/1-year
D – William Lagesson – Free Agency/2-years
D – Albert Johansson – Free Agency/2-years
F – Jonatan Berggren – Free Agency/1-year
F – Elmer Soderblom – Free Agency/2-years

Subtractions:

F – Vladimir Tarasenko – Trade to Minnesota Wild
D – Jeff Petry – Free Agency/Florida Panthers
G – Alex Lyon – Free Agency/Buffalo Sabres

2025-26 Detroit Red Wings Roster

Forwards

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

The Red Wings looked to replace the offense by upgrading their lines. They will look to have a full season of Marco Kasper. They also went out and added James van Riemsdyk and Mason Appleton, who combined to bring in 58 points. The Red Wings will also look to have Lucas Raymond take another step forward after finishing last season with 80 points. The goal this season is 85+, assuming he’s healthy all season.

Defense

Ben Chiarot – Moritz Seider
Simon Edvinsson – Albert Johansson
Erik Gustafsson – Jacob Bernard-Docker

The Red Wings have added Albert Johansson back on their blue line after playing in 61 games last season in his rookie season. He finished with nine points and was a -11. They also added Jacob Bernard-Docker, who brought in eight points last season and was a plus-five in 40 games. The Red Wings also have Justin Holl and Travis Hamonic as extra defenseman who can slide into the lineup throughout the season.

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Power Play

Lucas Raymond – Dylan Larkin – Patrick Kane – Alex DeBrincat – Moritz Seider
James Van Riemsdyk – J.T. Compher – Marco Kasper – Jonatan Berggren – Erik Gustafsson

The power play last season for the Red Wings finished fourth with a 27.0%. They finished ninth the season prior, so a step forward in the man-advantage. The top unit combined for 50 goals last season. The second unit adds van Riemsdyk and Kasper.

Goalie

John Gibson – Cam Talbot 

The Red Wings addressed the goalie situation this offseason. After multiple rumors of the Red Wings being linked to John Gibson from Anaheim, they went out and got him. The season will likely start as a 1A/1B situation, but Gibson will likely take the reins as the season progresses. Gibson lost his starting job in Anaheim after missing the start of last season, and the success Lukas Dostal had. Gibson played in 29 games last season, going 11-11-2 with a 2.77 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. Talbot, in the first season of his two-year deal, played in 47 games, going 21-19-5 with a 2.93 goals-against average, a .900 save percentage, and two shutouts.

Wrap Up:

The Detroit Red Wings will look to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2015-16. They enter this season with their over/under for points set at 84.5, with a -130 for over and a +100 for under according to DraftKings. The Red Wings are also +260 to make the playoffs and -350 to miss the playoffs. They are expected to take a step back this season, especially with an Atlantic Division that seems to be more competitive. The Red Wings should still contest for a Wild Card spot this season, especially with the goaltending appearing much improved from the last two seasons.

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