Raw Charge
Summary
Vibes. They aren’t great in Detroit right now. A rough off-season is over. Will the regular season be even rougher, or will some of the youngsters shine bright in the Motor City? 2025-26 Record 41-31-10 (6th in Atlantic) 2025-26 Record Against Lightning 1-2-1 2025-26 Goals For 239 (22nd) 2025-26 Goals Against 254 (19th) 2025-26 Power Play 22/6% (12th) 2025-26 Penalty Kill 77.1% (23rd) 2026-27 Division Odds +3000 2026-27 Stanley Cup Odds +10000 Stats via NHL, odds via Hard Rock Bet as of 9/30/26 Off-season Additions Viktor Arvidsson, Keegan Kolesar, Daniil Tarasov, Wilmer Skoog, Jacob Bryson Off-season Departures Patrick Kane, Cam Talbot, Sebastian Cossa, James van Riemsdyk, David Perron, Travis Hamonic, Erik Gustafsson Rookie to Watch There are plenty of young players rolling through the Detroit roster as it seems they are embracing the youth movement. While Trey Augustine might be the key to their return to relevance, the young netminder is probably going to spend most of the season in Grand Rapids. The Red Wings chose him over Sebastian Cossa, who they dealt to Utah in the offseason, to be their goaltender of the future. If that works out, then expect them to get better in a hurry. For now, they’re looking for offense, so we’re going with Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, the Norwegian forward they selected in the first round of the 2024 draft. The soon-to-be 21-year-old had a cup of coffee last year, appearing in 14 games with the Red Wings and registering one assist. In 60 games with Grand Rapids, he put up 20 goals and 24 assists, which came as a bit of a surprise considering his lack of scoring in the European leagues he played in before he came over to the States. He should get a pretty long runway in the NHL this season and seems projected for a spot on the third line. He’s a responsible enough defensive forward that has the skills to chip in some goals. He is a strong skater that plays the 200-foot game and is relentless on the puck. In watching his highlights and reading the scouting reports, he is the exact type of prospect that Lightning fans should be familiar with, just with a little more skill. Preview We’re not sure if there is another team in the league where the vibes are as off as they are in Detroit. The Yzerman Era is over as the local legend relinquished his general manager duties over the summer. A prolonged search for a replacement ended with a lackluster appointment of assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff as “interim” GM. So we can assume the search continues for a permanent replacement. With a lack of direction among the leadership core, team captain and number one center Dylan Larkin requested a trade. He has since been stripped of the captaincy and has yet to take to the ice with the team as recovers from an upper-body injury. Oh yeah, and one of their top defensemen in Simon Edvinsson is holding out until he gets a new deal. They also have to compete in the toughest division in the NHL. So, yeah, things are going great in Motor City. Is there any good news in Detroit? Maybe, just not for this season. After years of seemingly trying to stockpile young players and draft picks while also staying competitive by signing or trading for veterans like David Perron and Ben Chiarot, the Red Wings are embracing a youth movement. Their opening night roster features ten players 25 or younger, and they should all see plenty of playing time this season. Even without Larkin playing they still have some talent up front in Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond. Adding 25-goal scorer Viktor Arvidsson on a two-year deal was a good bit of free agent work as well. In net, they have veteran John Gibson to take up the bulk of the starts. His first season in Detroit could be considered a success as he posted a 2.72 GAA and .901 SV% in 57 games. They added Daniil Tarasov as the back-up, so it’s not the worst goaltending duo in the league. Will they finish the season with that duo? How they start the season will likely determine if Gibson, who is in the final year of this deal, goes on the trade block. The 33-year-old goalie has a cap hit of $6.4 million and a 10-team no-trade list. Should a contender come calling and the Red Wings are out of the hunt, the Trey Augustine Era in Detroit could start a little sooner than expected. Outside of Seider, the bulk of the defensive minutes will likely be occupied by Chiarot, Justin Faulk, and Jacob Bernard-Docker. The okiest set of okay defensemen in the league. They do have some intriguing players primed to start picking up minutes in Axel Sandin Pellikka and William Wallinder. If they can work out a deal with Edvinsson soon, he would help out as well. Up front Raymond and Debrincat will be asked to do a lot of the heavy lifting with complimentary pieces such as JT Compher, Andrew Copp, and Keegan Kolesar getting plenty of ice time. Youngsters Marco Kasper and Emmitt Finnie have showed well early in their careers and are looking for bigger roles this year. In another division things might be a little brighter for the Red Wings, but in the Atlantic, it’s just going to be tough for them to pull off many upsets on a nightly basis. They’ve always played the Lightning well, and there is no reason to expect things to be different this year, but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see their roster in April look a lot different than it does right now.