Red Wings Building Momentum Toward a Promising 2025-26

Fueling this resurgence has been the impressive play of Detroit’s young core—the cornerstone pieces of Steve Yzerman’s rebuild. Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, and Simon Edvinsson have all continued their ascent, while Marco Kasper—who should get some Calder Trophy love—has made a strong impression. Elmer Söderblom and Albert Johansson have also turned in solid campaigns, further rounding out a promising crop of homegrown talent.

And by the way, these players are just scratching the surface of their potential.

McLellan and his staff, having joined midseason, will also benefit from a full offseason to develop a cohesive strategic vision. With a complete training camp, preseason, and more practice time, they’ll have every opportunity to fine-tune their systems and enter the 2025-26 season with full team buy-in.

Quick aside: it’ll be interesting to see if McLellan reunites with Jay Woodcroft in some capacity. The former Edmonton Oilers head coach—and longtime assistant under McLellan—previously served as the Red Wings’ video coach from 2005 to 2008, before following McLellan to San Jose and later Edmonton. A reunion wouldn’t be surprising, and could add further depth to Detroit’s coaching brain trust.

The 2025-26 season also marks the 100-year anniversary for the Red Wings – an extraordinary milestone for the franchise. Beyond its symbolic significance, this centennial carries substantial business implications. The organization will undoubtedly seek to maximize the celebration, both in terms of fan engagement and revenue, and this landmark moment provides a compelling business case for an aggressive offseason.

And finally, from everything I’ve heard, the organization is ready to get over the hump. The “we’ll be ready when we’re ready” philosophy of years past is no more. In its place is a strong desire to break through and contend now. 

Put together, all of these factors point to an upward trajectory entering the 2025-26 season. Not Stanley Cup contenders, but a team that will have its sights set on the postseason and be qualified to achieve that goal.

Final Word

The sense I’m getting from some is that, if the Red Wings fail to make the 2025 postseason, then they believe the team is stuck in neutral. Similar results the last three years – they can’t get over the hump.

That’s a natural response. I can certainly understand the frustration.

But in my opinion, this viewpoint captures a moment in time, not the grand scheme of things. It takes time for draft picks to turn into prospects, then into NHL players, and then, finally, into leaders. We’re on the cusp, and there’s momentum behind this team that will help them climb even higher next year and beyond.

Plus, the story isn’t over yet. The 2024-25 Red Wings have six games left to show us what they’re made of.