Red Wings 2025-26 Season Preview: Forwards

When they are both of their games, there aren’t many duos in the NHL better than Larkin and Raymond. It will be interesting to see if they stay together the whole season as head coach Todd McLellan inevitably experiments with the lineup, but all signs point to them beginning the year in their usual spots: next to each other.

The Red Wings Have a Second Line?!

It is no secret that the Red Wings have struggled to fill the hole below Larkin on the second line. Vladislav Namestnikov, Pius Suter, Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher all had turns holding down the second line center position, but none of them looked as promising in that role as Marco Kasper did last season.

Kasper, the Red Wings’ top pick in the 2022 draft, worked his way into that role over the course of his rookie season. After spending time centering the third and fourth lines, he was placed on the top line as the left wing flanking Larkin and Raymond. He was so comfortable and capable in that role that it wouldn’t be surprising if he ends up back there at points this season, but he will almost certainly begin the season on the second line between DeBrincat and Kane.

Going back to their time with the Chicago Blackhawks, the 2025-26 season will be Kane and DeBrincat’s third season in Detroit and their eighth season together overall. There aren’t any other players in the Red Wings’ locker room that have the kind of familiarity with each other that they do, and they almost exclusively play with each other because of it.

Together, the line of DeBrincat, Kasper and Kane outscored their opponents 8-4 through almost 200 even strength minutes last season. They also outshot their opponents 125-90, which speaks to them controlling play and then creating chances that lead to goals. Their effectiveness was a product of their process, and process is something that can be repreated year in and year out.

While Kasper isn’t a large player, he plays a heavy game, and that creates space for smaller finesse players like Kane and DeBrincat to do their thing when they have the puck. When the Red Wings’ top line wasn’t going, the second line usually was, and vise versa. It’s been a long time since Detroit can count on that heading into a season, but that sure seems to be the case this season.

No Offseason “Splash” Leaves Questions About Red Wings’ Depth

The chatter around Detroit is mostly positive when it comes to those five players: Larkin, Raymond, Kasper, DeBrincat and Kane. After those players is a hodgepodge of returning veterans, young players looking to prove something to themselves and the organization, and newly-signed additions.

Most lineup projections that have Kasper centering the second line have Jonatan Berggren or Elmer Söderblom filling the left wing spot on the top line. Both Swedish wingers spent time in that role last season, with Berggren looking particularly effective there down the stretch. Berggren re-signed with the Red Wings on a one-year deal hoping to prove he can be more than a depth forward this season. Söderblom, with his rare mix of size and skill, will probably move up and down the lineup a lot this season.

Lineup projections that have Kasper on the top line with Larkin and Raymond often have Copp centering the second line. When they played together last season, the trio of Copp, Kane and DeBrincat weren’t as dominant as when Kasper centered the line, but they still managed to outshoot their opponents 85-77 while tying up the goal total at 10-10. Essentially, they were a break-even line with some nights being better than others.

The Red Wings’ two big additions up front were James van Riemsdyk and Mason Appleton. The former is a 36-year-old veteran of over 1,000 NHL games (and was also the first player taken in the 2007 draft after the Blackhawks took Kane first overall) while the latter is a 29-year-old utility forward who spent the majority of his seven-year career with the Winnipeg Jets.

Neither Appleton or van Riemsdyk will move the needle a ton for the Red Wings, but they should both be able to help throughout the lineup and in different situations. If nothing else, they both bring valuable experience to the locker room.

Compher and Michael Rasmussen will also factor in for the Red Wings up front, but overall this isn’t a forward group that stands out among the league’s best. Compher and Copp have both struggled at times during their tenure with the Red Wings, and they are expected to complete Detroit’s center group. Berggren and Söderblom are far from proven in the NHL. Nobody else in this group of forwards looks poised to produce above what they have in the past.

If the forwards are going to take a step forward, it likely has to come from within.

Danielson & Mazur Headline Future Call-Ups

Like last season, the Red Wings should expect to see some youthful reinforcements throughout the season. To start, Detroit should expect to see winger Carter Mazur early on this season after he made a brief appearance last season.

On March 6, Mazur made his NHL debut against the (then) Utah Hockey Team, but it was cut short in anticlimactic fashion as he left the game with a season-ending injury after just 1:10 of ice-time. The scrappy winger was a third round pick in the 2021 draft and has 58 points in 86 regular season games in the American Hockey League (AHL). He has been a high impact player at every level he’s played at – including during a championship run with the University of Denver – and the Red Wings hope he can have a similar impact in the NHL this season.

Elsewhere in the system, there are a couple forwards that should be in line for NHL minutes at some point this season. Amadeus Lombardi, a fourth round pick in the 2022 draft, was a near-point-per-game player with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins last season. His speed and offensive abilities could be a boost to the Red Wings’ middle six. Nate Danielson, the organization’s top pick in the 2023 draft, could also push for NHL minutes immediately, especially if he establishes himself as an NHL centerman in training camp.

Some potential late-season additions include collegiate winger Dylan James from the University of North Dakota as well as Russian winger Dmitry Buchelnikov. While James is a bit of a longshot to be a factor for the Red Wings this season, Buchelnikov’s play over in the Kontinental Hockey League has created legitimate anticipation for his arrival across the organization and the fanbase.

Red Wings 2025-26 Forwards: Much to Prove

Make no mistake: the Red Wings’ outlook up front has improved a ton over the last couple of seasons. The organization has some truly exciting prospects that should help the lead the team towards a reputation of being hard to play against in the not-so-distant future. Combine them with the talent already established in Detroit, and the organization’s future clearly comes into view.

However, that promise far from guarantees anything this season. The Red Wings are still relying on young players like Kasper to propel the team forward and, while he isn’t a player you should bet against, the nature of young players and their development is seeing their growth slow down and even plateau at times. Combine that with the effect Father Time will have on players like Kane and van Riemsdyk and it is far from guaranteed that this season’s forward group is good enough to get the job done.

While there are a ton of variables that could go against the Red Wings this season, those same variables could go their way too. Their forward group, as currently assembled, is good enough for them to compete on any given night. They’ll have nights where the defense and goaltending will have to bail them out, but they should be capable of bailing their defensive teammates out from time to time as well.

In other words, if you’ve been paying attention to the Red Wings over the last couple of seasons, you know what to expect from the offense this season. They’ll be in more games than they’re not, but they will need some things to go their way if they are finally going to break through in their centennial season.