With the ghosts of Halloween behind us, we are firmly in the part of the calendar where we give thanks far and wide for the blessings of another year. The Detroit Red Wings have much to be thankful for in the calendar year 2025, a year in which they kicked off their centennial season.
While it is hard to pinpoint every single thing the Red Wings organization and its fans have to be thankful for, there are a few things that stand out above the rest. As the turkey is carved and the bowl of mashed potatoes gets passed around the table, it’s time to give thanks across the motor city.
Todd McLellan
Just 22 games into his first full season as head coach of the Red Wings, Todd McLellan has added a sense of legitimacy behind Detroit’s bench. The veteran of nearly 1,300 NHL games, regular season and playoff, has consistently produced winning hockey teams wherever he has gone. While the early returns this season have been frustrating at times, the Red Wings continue to trend in the right direction, much as they did when he took over head coaching duties in late December.
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Under McLellan, several players have taken a step forward. Much has been made of rookies Emmitt Finnie and Axel Sandin Pellikka this season after they impressed in preseason and forced their way onto the roster. McLellan and his staff have challenged both players at times this season, and both have had to respond to different scenarios throughout the season. When they earn criticism, they hear it, but they hear praise when they’ve earned that too.
McLellan’s candidness extends beyond the rookies, as he hasn’t been shy about demoting, benching, and even healthy scratching players that isn’t living up to expectations. After the team’s opening night blunder, he asked his team if they were “tired of this yet”, indicating that it’s time for the them to put their years of inconsistency behind them.
With a locker room filled with players hungry to bring playoff hockey to Little Caesars Arena for the first time, McLellan is setting a standard to elevate them to that goal. While it remains to be seen if this is going to be the season that ends the Red Wings’ near-decade long playoff drought, there is confidence within the organization and across the fanbase that coaching is not holding this team back.
Dylan Larkin
Like that first bite of Thanksgiving turkey, Dylan Larkin is the gift that keeps giving for the Red Wings. Named the team’s captain almost five years ago, he remains the Red Wings’ top center and is one of three or four players you can argue is the team’s best. None of this is new, but in a season that has already been characterized by Detroit’s inconsistency, his personal consistency sets him apart from many of his teammates.
Larkin began the season with points in 11 of the first 13 games of the season. In total, he has failed to register a point in just six of the Red Wings’ 22 games, setting the standard for Detroit’s offense along the way. On Nov. 18 against the Seattle Kraken, he recorded his 600th career point. By the end of the this season, he should jump ahead of Brendan Shanahan and into the top 10 on the leaderboard for most points in franchise history.
Like gravy on top of the mashed potatoes, the things Larkin does off the ice makes him that much more important to the Red Wings’ locker room. Finnie has mentioned in interviews how Larkin has helped him get acclimated to life in Detroit and in the NHL. This echoes seasons past when Larkin and his wife opened up their home to Moritz Seider when he was a rookie, and how he has been something of a mentor for Lucas Raymond since he joined Larkin on Detroit’s top line.
No matter what issues the Red Wings are dealing with, Larkin is seldom part of the problem. He may not be the type to scream at his teammates when things aren’t going well, but he continues to set an example for his teammates and help the coaching staff set the bar where it needs to be. Longtime Red Wings fans already know what their captain is all about, but a season like this shows the value of having a player like him wear the ‘C’.
The Best Centennial Jersey
The 2025-26 season is the Red Wings’ centennial season, along with the New York Rangers and the Chicago Blackhawks. Like their fellow Original Six teams, the Red Wings released a special jersey/uniform to commemorate their 100th season. While the Rangers’ uniform received praise for its classic, bright blue look, the Red Wings’ sweater has drawn near-universal praise as the best of the bunch.
The Red Wings are one of the most storied franchises the NHL has to offer, and their logo is one of the most iconic in all of sports. Their 11 Stanley Cup championships ranks first among all U.S-based teams, and some of the best players to ever play the game will forever be remembered wearing the winged wheel.
The Red Wings and their fans have a lot to be proud of and much to be thankful for, and this year’s centennial uniform feels like a love letter to every era of Detroit hockey. If you’re going to celebrate, you might as well look doing it.
If nothing else, the Red Wings and Rangers gave us one of the best hockey images of the 21st century thanks to their centennial uniforms. As we round the corner into the holiday season, it should be no surprise if social media users from across the state of Michigan begin posting pictures of their new Red Wings centennial jerseys.
What are you thankful for this season? Let us know in the comments section down below!
