Red Wings showing different vibe, excitement after offseason optimism

The Detroit Red Wings' offseason optimism has carried into a promising start to their season.

They're 2-0-2 and not satisfied heading into their home date with the Anaheim Ducks at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN NOW).
"Obviously it's good to get through the results," Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said before a 4-3 overtime loss at the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. "... But it's more about playing the right way and we've done that so far."
The expectations were raised in Detroit following a busy offseason when it added forwards David Perron, Andrew Copp and Dominik Kubalik, defensemen Ben Chiarot and Olli Maatta and goalie Ville Husso, and hired Lalonde to replace Jeff Blashill. Although the Red Wings missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past six seasons, they complemented their growing, young core with experienced players including Cup winners like Perron (St. Louis Blues in 2019), Maatta (Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017) and Lalonde (an assistant with Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021, and the end of their rebuild doesn't feel that far away.
"Absolutely, it feels different," forward Dylan Larkin said. "There's a lot of new faces and a new coach. I think there's a ton of excitement. ... In my opinion, we have to continue to take a step. Does that mean playoffs? Who knows? There's a lot of things that can happen, but we've got to give ourselves a chance."

General manager Steve Yzerman wasn't ready to say qualifying for the playoffs was achievable before the season, but made it clear he anticipated the Red Wings taking a significant step toward contention. Detroit took some baby steps last season, going 23-22-6 in its first 51 games before fading in its final 31 and finishing 32-40-10, 26 points behind the Washington Capitals for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
But the Red Wings saw the potential of their future with breakout seasons from 21-year-old defenseman Moritz Seider, the Calder Trophy winner voted as the NHL rookie of the year with 50 points (seven goals, 43 assists) in 82 games, and 21-year-old forward Lucas Raymond, who was third among NHL rookies with 57 points (23 goals, 34 assists). More young talent is on the way, such as 21-year-old forward Elmer Soderblom, who scored a goal in his NHL debut in the Red Wings opener against the Montreal Canadiens, and 19-year-old defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who began this season with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League but is likely to make his NHL debut this season.
"We're hopeful that all our young players continue to take a step forward and, again, with all the hope of becoming a better hockey team," Yzerman said. "I believe we'll be a better hockey team this year. I expect us to be. Having said that, with a lot of changes, it can take some time for things to settle in, including a new coaching staff. It can take some time for everybody to get familiar with one another, the coaches to really understand and know the players and how to best utilize them, get the most out of them.
"So I'm cautiously optimistic. I expect us to be a better hockey team and I hope that translates to more wins."
Four games are a small sample size, but the early returns are good.
Detroit is tied for ninth in the NHL in goals per game (3.75) and tied for 10th in goals-against (2.75).
Larkin (two goals, three assists), Kubalik (two goals, three assists) and Maatta (one goal, four assists) share the team lead with five points each followed by Perron (three goals, one assist) and forward Oskar Sundqvist (one goal, three assists) with four points apiece.

Though the Red Wings are missing forwards Tyler Bertuzzi (out 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury), Robby Fabbri (out until January following surgery to repair torn ACL in his right knee) and Jakub Vrana (unavailable indefinitely after entering the NHL and NHL Players' Association player assistance program), they are better equipped to handle their absences because of the improved depth.
"I feel like we have a group with a lot of different players that bring different elements to our team, and I think we've connected really good as a group so far, for a short amount of time," Raymond said "It's felt really good so far. Everyone's adapted to the new things and a lot of guys are developing into them as well."
That the Red Wings have room for improvement was evident Friday. One of Detroit's objectives this season is to play better on the road after it was 14-24-3 away from Little Caesars Arena last season and it let a 3-1 third period lead slip away at Chicago.
"We told the guys after, 'The will is there. The want is there. It's just executing and managing the game,'" said Lalonde, the first Red Wings coach to earn a point in each of his first four games. "Obviously, we didn't do that in the third period."
Mostly, the Red Wings want to be more consistent. They were six points out of a playoff spot following a 3-2 shootout win against the New York Rangers on Feb. 17 but went 3-12-3 their next 18 games to fall out of contention. That led to them being sellers before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline, when they moved forward Vladislav Namestnikov (Dallas Stars) and defensemen Nick Leddy (Blues) and Troy Stecher (Los Angeles Kings).
"I think we had a really big low last year after the all-star break," Seider said. "That was really hard for us losing some players, so if we can continue to build from that moment on, I think we'll be in a good spot."
Whether that's a playoff spot is to be determined. The experience of being in the hunt for the full regular season would be beneficial to the Red Wings young players. They are shooting higher than that, though Yzerman hasn't said making the playoffs is the objective.
"In the locker room, it's definitely something we want to focus on, trying to aim for a playoff spot, because I think it's doable and should be possible for our team," Seider said. "But you've just got to see how it goes during the season."
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report