General Wings Comments 2025-26

[buddha]

21 minutes ago, Jason_R said:

They have to bring Kane back. It would be an offensive disaster if they lost him, and they have to do everything they can to keep DeBrincat happy as he goes into the final year of his contract. 

Even if they do bring back Kane, and leave Mazur and MBN on the roster, they still have to fill spots for Perron, JVR, and Shine. Danielson better be ready, Lombardi too? Then who else? That would be roles for five kids, without even talking about CCR. Copp is serviceable, though he finished the year snakebit to say the least. Offload Compher or Rasmussen if you can, but now you’re talking about a sixth kid to bring up, unless somehow you can sign another short term free agent. 

They are treading water for two more years unless Stevie can pull a rabbit out of his hat this offseason. What could he get for Edvinsson and/or one of the goalies?

EIGHT years in and youre still treading water?  come on now.  

"they have to bring back kane" is a sad indictment on the state of the wings' bottom six forwards.  

at this point in his career kane should be a sheltered bottom six forward and a power play merchant.  that's it.  not the focal point of your second line offense.

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, Jason_R said:

They have to bring Kane back. It would be an offensive disaster if they lost him, and they have to do everything they can to keep DeBrincat happy as he goes into the final year of his contract. 

Even if they do bring back Kane, and leave Mazur and MBN on the roster, they still have to fill spots for Perron, JVR, and Shine. Danielson better be ready, Lombardi too? Then who else? That would be roles for five kids, without even talking about CCR. Copp is serviceable, though he finished the year snakebit to say the least. Offload Compher or Rasmussen if you can, but now you’re talking about a sixth kid to bring up, unless somehow you can sign another short term free agent. 

They are treading water for two more years unless Stevie can pull a rabbit out of his hat this offseason. What could he get for Edvinsson and/or one of the goalies?

Kane is toast. This rebuild has already failed, they have to get worse to get better again.

[Hongbit]

Now that Buffalo is good it seems pre-ordained that Kane will finish his career with his hometown team. 

As much as I am disappointed in Copp, he does have value in the faceoff circle and on PK.   He should  center a 3rd line.  
 

 

[Jason_R]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

Kane is toast. This rebuild has already failed, they have to get worse to get better again.

Kane is not toast. He is still a highly skilled and creative offensive player. 

The rebuild has not failed. When Stevie got here, the team was dead last in goals scored and last in goals allowed. Now the team is average in both categories. The team also has arguably the best defenseman in the NHL, one of the best young defensive pairings in the NHL, a top-ten goal scorer, and two promising goaltender prospects.

They do not have to get worse to get better again. They might get worse but one could foresee a season where Edvinsson becomes more polished offensively and cuts out some of his defensive lapses; where a full season of Faulk allows ASP to play sheltered third line minutes and develop physically; where Kasper has a bounce back from his sophomore slump; where some of the slow, old, and uninspired bottom six forwards are replaced by young and hungry prospects; and where Cossa gives them a more reliable option at #2 than Talbot was. It is not out of the question that some, if not all, of these improvements occur, and the team improves marginally enough to make the playoffs. 

I would still like to see Stevie find this team’s Shanahan, and I’d like to see him make some changes in the front office (and no, I don’t want him to find this team’s Shanahan by hiring Shanahan to the front office). But I don’t think it is a terrible strategy to hold on until the CCR contracts are off the books and then plan to bring in one or two high end UFAs. 

[Cruzer1]

7 hours ago, lordstanley said:

If I had more confidence in the Wings' drafting and development, I'd urge them to insert as many prospects into the big club next season and then ask for a bit more patience. But unfortunately, I'm not. Therefore, since I don't have much confidence in their drafting and development, if I had more confidence in their pro scouting I'd urge the Wings to trade as many prospects as possible while they still have perceived value, in exchange for some contributing NHLers. Unfortunately, I don't have confidence in their pro scouting. 

Their system is rated #4 right now by The Athletic.

[Cruzer1]

2 hours ago, buddha said:

EIGHT years in and youre still treading water?  come on now.  

"they have to bring back kane" is a sad indictment on the state of the wings' bottom six forwards.  

at this point in his career kane should be a sheltered bottom six forward and a power play merchant.  that's it.  not the focal point of your second line offense.

92 points isn't a bad year. They had more bad luck than most.

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, Jason_R said:

Kane is not toast. He is still a highly skilled and creative offensive player. 

The rebuild has not failed. When Stevie got here, the team was dead last in goals scored and last in goals allowed. Now the team is average in both categories. The team also has arguably the best defenseman in the NHL, one of the best young defensive pairings in the NHL, a top-ten goal scorer, and two promising goaltender prospects.

They do not have to get worse to get better again. They might get worse but one could foresee a season where Edvinsson becomes more polished offensively and cuts out some of his defensive lapses; where a full season of Faulk allows ASP to play sheltered third line minutes and develop physically; where Kasper has a bounce back from his sophomore slump; where some of the slow, old, and uninspired bottom six forwards are replaced by young and hungry prospects; and where Cossa gives them a more reliable option at #2 than Talbot was. It is not out of the question that some, if not all, of these improvements occur, and the team improves marginally enough to make the playoffs. 

I would still like to see Stevie find this team’s Shanahan, and I’d like to see him make some changes in the front office (and no, I don’t want him to find this team’s Shanahan by hiring Shanahan to the front office). But I don’t think it is a terrible strategy to hold on until the CCR contracts are off the books and then plan to bring in one or two high end UFAs. 

I see little route for them to improve much. None of the players likely to come up from GR have shown much indication any of them are going to be more than younger versions of the same kind of middling players they are going to replace. They might have a goalie in either Augustine or Cossa, but it still looks like a mediocre team with little chance to do any more than get washed out of an early cup round. The D is good, yes, but they need more help on the lines than I see any way for them to generate.

Edited 19 hours ago by gehringer_2

[lordstanley]

3 hours ago, Cruzer1 said:

Their system is rated #4 right now by The Athletic.

Wings' system was rated #5 by the Atlantic in 2025, #2 in 2024, #4 in 2023, #7 in 2022, #4 in 2021, #9 in 2020. Well past time for these rankings to finally convert into on-ice results.

How did the Wings get The Athletic's #4 in 2021 and how has it turned out? In this order: Raymond, Seider, Berggren, Veleno, Wallinder, Rasmussen, Tuomisto, Albert Johansson, Niederbach, McIsaac. Nothing to get excited about beyond two top-6 overall picks.

How did the Wings get The Athletic's #4 in 2021 and how is that shaping up 3 years later? In this order: Edvinsson, Kasper, Cossa, Berggren, Mazur, Wallinder, Soderblom, Buchelnikov, Albert Johansson, Buium. Again, nothing to get excited about beyond the one top-6 overall pick. Underwhelming!

Well past time for these rankings to finally convert into on-ice results. I'm skeptical!

Who was #4 the other years? NYR in 2020. NJ Devils in 2022. San Jose in 2024. Chicago in 2025. A mixed bag.

 

[lordstanley]

3 hours ago, Cruzer1 said:

92 points isn't a bad year. They had more bad luck than most.

Did they? Few teams were impacted less by injury than were the Wings. A few games for Edvinsson in late January, 3 games for Copp in early March, 7 games for Larkin in March. In an 82 game season that's about as uneventful as you can expect. 

[lordstanley]

7 hours ago, 1984Echoes said:

First off... I was being facetious.

Why is everybody getting so serious about a frickin' JOKE?

 

You're reading too much into one 20-word or so question that took me 20 seconds to think about and write. All's fine.

[buddha]

4 hours ago, lordstanley said:

Wings' system was rated #5 by the Atlantic in 2025, #2 in 2024, #4 in 2023, #7 in 2022, #4 in 2021, #9 in 2020. Well past time for these rankings to finally convert into on-ice results.

How did the Wings get The Athletic's #4 in 2021 and how has it turned out? In this order: Raymond, Seider, Berggren, Veleno, Wallinder, Rasmussen, Tuomisto, Albert Johansson, Niederbach, McIsaac. Nothing to get excited about beyond two top-6 overall picks.

How did the Wings get The Athletic's #4 in 2021 and how is that shaping up 3 years later? In this order: Edvinsson, Kasper, Cossa, Berggren, Mazur, Wallinder, Soderblom, Buchelnikov, Albert Johansson, Buium. Again, nothing to get excited about beyond the one top-6 overall pick. Underwhelming!

Well past time for these rankings to finally convert into on-ice results. I'm skeptical!

Who was #4 the other years? NYR in 2020. NJ Devils in 2022. San Jose in 2024. Chicago in 2025. A mixed bag.

 

Once again with feeling: prospect ratings have very little correlation with results on the ice.  wheeler and pronman are great, but their ratings have much more to do with draft position than anything else.

and if you are to take them seriously, all they show about the wings is that they have a lot of players projected to be 3rd liners and second pair defensemen, and no stars.

nate danielson and marco kasper were both top ten picks.  both dropped like a stone in those rankings once they got on the ice against men.  asp now too.

most of us really overrate red wings prospects.  me included.

[lordstanley]

1 hour ago, buddha said:

Once again with feeling: prospect ratings have very little correlation with results on the ice.  wheeler and pronman are great, but their ratings have much more to do with draft position than anything else.

 

That was the point of my post. "Well past time for these rankings to finally convert into on-ice results."

[gehringer_2]

6 hours ago, lordstanley said:

Did they? Few teams were impacted less by injury than were the Wings. A few games for Edvinsson in late January, 3 games for Copp in early March, 7 games for Larkin in March. In an 82 game season that's about as uneventful as you can expect. 

looking at where they were in the standings a month ago vs their goal differential you could argue they actually had to be a very lucky team.

[gehringer_2]

16 minutes ago, lordstanley said:

That was the point of my post. "Well past time for these rankings to finally convert into on-ice results."

Development system rankings get elevated by depth, but pro results depend the smaller number of exceptional players.

Edited 10 hours ago by gehringer_2

[buddha]

1 hour ago, lordstanley said:

That was the point of my post. "Well past time for these rankings to finally convert into on-ice results."

i was agreeing with you.  🙂

[buddha]

52 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

looking at where they were in the standings a month ago vs their goal differential you could argue they actually had to be a very lucky team.

i thinm the wings collapsed.  they were never as good as their early season results, as evidenced by their goal differential.

if there is any bad luck involved, its that they play in the toughest division in the sport.  those things are cyclical and the wings are in a bad place for their own cycle.

the real question were all asking is why is it taking so long to get better?  their peers are doing better than they are.

i just dont see the positives in the farm system.  they have no star players it seems.  that's what they really need.

I would not be surprised if they get desperate and shell out the farm for EP40.

[Cruzer1]

I don't think they're far from being a top team in the conference. They really have two of the best young goalies, and a pretty complete defense. And I think they are well coached.

[Jason_R]

It will be at least three years and several strokes of good luck with respect to the development of their prospects before they might be a top team in the conference. Until then they will scratch and claw to be in playoff contention. 

[Jason_R]

All hail Noritz Seider. 

[buddha]

1 hour ago, Jason_R said:

All hail Noritz Seider. 

i think it will be quinn hughes this year.

[buddha]

3 hours ago, Cruzer1 said:

I don't think they're far from being a top team in the conference. They really have two of the best young goalies, and a pretty complete defense. And I think they are well coached.

i dont see how you can watch this team and think that.  they got caved in by the best teams quite regularly when those teams turned up the intensity.

[Jason_R]

1 hour ago, buddha said:

i think it will be quinn hughes this year.

Oh I know Seider won’t win it but he deserves a lot more consideration than he is getting.