At their end-of-year press conference, Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman and coach Todd McLellan outlined what they want to see from the team heading into next season:
- Score more at five on five
- More offense from the center position
- Greater contribution from the bottom six
- Be harder to play against
Given this, I’ve put together a list of priorities that, in my opinion, can accomplish these four objectives from a roster management standpoint. They’re ranked below by their overall importance to the organization and include both trade and free agent targets. Let’s dive in.
More Red Wings Offseason Analysis:
- Red Wings Team Evaluation: Year-Over-Year Analysis
- Red Wings 2025-26 Player Grades
- 360-Degree Audit of the Red Wings Franchise
- Analyzing the Red Wings’ Organizational Depth
- Red Wings Contract Projections for 2026 RFAs
Red Wings’ No. 1 Priority: Top-Six Forward
Objective: Score more at five on five.
Rationale: 2.13 five-on-five goals-for per 60 ranked 30th in the NHL.
Analysis: Offensive production was Detroit’s Achilles heel in 2025-26. The reality, though, was that the Red Wings only had three bonafide top-six forwards. You can get by with versatile contributors plugging a hole or two in the top six; three miscasts watered down the lines too much and produced subpar results as expected. Given this, it’s paramount that the Red Wings bring in a top-tier talent to give the top two lines more firepower.
Impact: Consistent linemate for Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond; more appropriate slotting for Emmitt Finnie and Marco Kasper further down in the lineup.
Potential Targets: LW Jordan Kyrou, LW Jared McCann, C Elias Pettersson, C Robert Thomas, RW Alex Tuch, C Tyler Seguin, LW/RW Bobby McMann, LW Mavrik Bourque, LW Jason Robertson, LW Pavel Dorofeyev.
Red Wings’ No. 2 Priority: Second-Line Center
Objective: Score more at five on five; more offense from the center position.
Rationale: Andrew Copp, J.T. Compher, Marco Kasper, and Michael Rasmussen combined to score 25 goals at five on five in 2025-26.
Analysis: Essentially the same as above. Steve Yzerman specifically called out the center position as a key focus area. And while it’s likely that Kasper improves year-over-year, the same can’t be said for Detroit’s other non-Dylan Larkin centers. Outside reinforcements are needed.
Impact: More appropriate slotting for Copp in the bottom six; stronger bottom six.
Potential Targets: Pettersson, Seguin, C Mason McTavish, C Vincent Trocheck, C Ryan O’Reilly, C Tomas Hertl.
Red Wings’ No. 3 Priority: Patrick Kane
Objective: Score more at five on five
Rationale: Impressive chemistry with Alex DeBrincat and elite offensive hockey IQ, especially on the power play.
Analysis: Kane still has plenty left in the tank and it sounds like there’s mutual interest in bringing him back. He was a point-per-game player post-Olympics and stepped up in a major way when Larkin went down with a knee injury.
Impact: Continuity in the top six.
Potential Targets: RW Patrick Kane.
Red Wings’ No. 4 Priority: Bottom-Six Value
Objective: Score more at five on five; greater contribution from the bottom six; be harder to play against.
Rationale: Non-bottom-six forwards only scored 46 goals at five on five last season.
Analysis: Detroit’s bottom six didn’t have much of an identity in 2025-26. Michael Rasmussen, James van Riemsdyk, and Elmer Soderblom had some success as a heavy, grinding line, but that was only temporary. No shutdown line. No energy line. Just lines that didn’t do much in either zone. This needs to change – less “jerseys” and more intentionality in generating value in all situations.
Impact: Less reliance on the top six and the power play to do the heavy lifting.
Potential Targets: McMann, RW Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (internal), LW Patrik Laine, LW Jaden Schwartz, LW/RW Mason Marchment, LW Michael Bunting, C Scott Laughton, LW Michael Eyssimont, RW Viktor Arvidsson, RW Pavol Regenda, LW/C Jack Roslovic, LW Boone Jenner, RW A.J. Greer, LW Oliver Bjorkstrand, C Michael McCarron, C/LW Kevin Stenlund, C Jason Dickinson.
Red Wings’ No. 5 Priority: AHL Depth
Objective: N/A
Rationale: Amadeus Lombardi, Carter Mazur, and William Wallinder are set to graduate to the NHL; Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Nate Danielson could, too. The Griffins also have several pending UFAs.
Analysis: Grand Rapids needs to reload after an impressive 2025-26 season that ended a little earlier than expected. There’s a solid core in place – they just need to add a few contributors to replace outgoing players.
Impact: Insulation for Detroit’s top prospects.
Potential Targets: LW Eduards Tralmaks, RW Austin Watson, RD Antti Tuomisto, LD Jacob Moverare, RW Alex Boulet-Barre, LW Mitchell Chaffee, LD Declan Carlile, LW Max Jones, C Wyatt Bongiovanni, RD Ronnie Attard, C Patrick Brown.
Final Word
Detroit should have about $19.9 million available to spend this offseason after factoring in likely contracts for the organization’s RFAs. That should be enough to accomplish the objectives at hand – or at least three of four.
In addition to bringing in players from the four categories above, the Red Wings should look to clear out roster spots previously occupied by ineffective players. That will open up more cap space and, after bringing in some of the targets mentioned above, improve the team enough to finally break through and reach the postseason in 2027.
Data courtesy of All Three Zones, HockeyStatCards, MoneyPuck, NHL.com, Natural Stat Trick, PuckIQ, and PuckPedia.
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