Red Wings News & Rumors: Buchelnikov, Woodcroft, Team Challenge & More

Prior to his time as McLellan’s assistant, Woodcroft served as Detroit’s video coach under Mike Babcock from 2005-2008. Clearly, there’s trust and familiarity between the two. They even hosted a coaching clinic together at the 2024 NHL Global Series in Czechia.

The Red Wings desperately need to score more. This, in part, will be addressed via signings and trades during the offseason. But perhaps a new voice in the room will be just as effective. 

Woodcroft could be that voice. He’s overseen strong offenses in the past – with and without superstars. And Woodcroft was jettisoned from the Oilers for defensive shortcomings and goaltending issues, not offense. He could be a nice value-add for the organization.

Buchelnikov the Demidov/Nikishin of 2025-26?

The Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes bolstered their rosters this past week, with Ivan Demidov (Canadiens) and Alexander Nikishin (Hurricanes) joining their NHL clubs for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.

Both players are highly touted prospects who dominated the KHL this season. And now they’ll finish up the 2024-25 campaign as members of playoff-bound NHL teams.

Fast-forward a year – could this be the path for Dmitri Buchelnikov to join the Red Wings? The 2022 second-round pick has one more year left on his KHL contract. After that deal concludes, he’s free to sign an entry-level contract with the Red Wings. 

Buchelnikov has risen from a potential hidden gem to a prospect with serious upside – he ranked fourth among all Red Wings prospects in our midseason evaluation.

For context, here’s how Buchelnikov compared to Minnesota Wild all-star Kirill Kaprizov in their respective age-21 KHL seasons:

All prospects are different and each have unique development paths, and Buchelnikov should not be viewed as the next Kaprizov. But, you can’t ignore how similar their numbers look at the same stage of their careers, especially when you consider Buchelnikov was the leading scorer for a team that missed the playoffs and Kaprizov’s loaded CSKA Moscow club won the Gagarin Cup.

Suffice to say, Buchelnikov’s 2025-26 season will be one to watch.

McLellan Pushes Red Wings to Finish 2024-25 Strong

After Thursday night’s loss to the Florida Panthers, coach Todd McLellan made it clear what he expects from the team in the final few games.

“Individual reputations are on the line in my opinion,” McLellan told reporters. (from ‘Todd McLellan challenges Detroit Red Wings: “Individual reputations are on the line”’ – Detroit Free Press – 4/11/25) “Coaches. Players. We talk about playing for the crest on the front, but our actions or inactions now are directly reflective of individuals.”

He later added, “You want to play a type of game that’s reflective of your individual character, then that’s great. Because you’ve got family, you’ve got fans, you’ve got teammates watching you. When you’re out, you have a tendency to say ‘OK, we’re done,’ and you mail it in. That’s not acceptable in my opinion. You put your own personal name on the line now.”

This level of accountability is refreshing to see/hear. Playoffs or not, McLellan has high expectations for his players.

That’s only Part 1, though. Part 2 is the players following through and finishing strong. And Part 3 is McLellan and the front office making decisions based on how players wrap up the season. You need the second and third components to make a difference. Still, something to monitor as the season concludes and we move into year-end conversations.

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Data courtesy of NHL.com and HockeyDB.