After a tough finish to the regular season, in which the Detroit Red Wings went 9-15-5 over their final 29 games and posted the third-worst offense in the league during that stretch, the team is looking to make major changes heading into season 101 for the franchise.
With certain pieces failing to generate offense and injuries slowing momentum down the stretch, the Red Wings are returning with a distinctly different look, and it’ll be a very different-looking offense on opening night.
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For starters, contract years are expected to play a major role for a pair of key veterans. Defenceman Justin Faulk and centre Andrew Copp will both be looking to bring their best as they play for new deals.
Faulk enters the season with a full off-season under his belt to get accustomed to life in Detroit after arriving via trade at last season’s deadline, while Copp, who battled injuries a year ago that derailed what was shaping up to be a career campaign, will look to have his best season yet in the Winged Wheel and potentially reach new heights, including a possible first 50-point season.
The newcomers are also expected to bring a very different look to Detroit’s attack. Viktor Arvidsson signed a two-year contract with the Red Wings on July 1 after posting 54 points on 25 goals and 29 assists in 69 games with the Boston Bruins last season, a bounce-back effort after being limited to 27 points in 67 games with the Edmonton Oilers the year before.
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Arvidsson is projected to step into Detroit’s second line alongside Alex DeBrincat and Andrew Copp, effectively taking over the spot vacated by Patrick Kane, who returned to the Chicago Blackhawks this past month.
For added grit and impact in the bottom six, Detroit also acquired Keegan Kolesar in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on July 1. The 29-year-old provides stability in the bottom six and has shown some scoring touch, having recorded 12 goals for Vegas in 2024-25.
Kolesar spent his entire seven-season NHL career in Vegas, helping the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2023 and reach the Stanley Cup Final again last season. He racked up 270 hits last season, seventh-most in the NHL, and has piled up 1,416 hits since the start of 2020-21, fourth-most in the league over that span.
He may not offer the same offensive punch as some of Detroit’s other additions, but his physical, hard-forechecking edge gives the Red Wings exactly the kind of bottom-six impact they were missing.
Rounding out the offensive makeover, Detroit is also banking on continued development from its young forwards, with Nate Danielson and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard expected to push for full-time roles on the roster.
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Danielson, the former ninth overall pick back in the 2023 NHL Draft, posted seven points in 28 games as a rookie before a season-ending lower-body injury in February, and will look for a steadier role in his second full crack at the NHL. Brandsegg-Nygard, the 15th overall pick in 2024, made his NHL debut last season with one assist in 14 games and will look to build on that this year.
Taken together, it amounts to a substantially retooled offense for a team desperate to snap the longest active playoff drought in the NHL. Detroit’s offense averaged just 2.91 goals per game last season, 22nd in the league, and with all the changes, the Red Wings are hoping this new-look attack can be the difference-maker in finally getting Hockeytown back into the postseason.
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