Red Wings stress 'early urgency' ahead of season opener

DETROIT -- "Early urgency."

That was the theme when the Detroit Red Wings opened training camp Sept. 17, and that's the theme entering their season opener against the New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena on Friday (6:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN1).

"You don't have time to mess around," defenseman Moritz Seider said.

Nope. Not this season.

Especially in Detroit.

The NHL shortened training camp and the preseason with the regular-season schedule growing from 82 games to 84. 

"There has to be some early urgency from everybody," coach Todd McLellan said on the first day of camp. "You don't have time to wade into it."

That was an issue for every NHL team. But the Red Wings have been out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for 10 seasons -- the longest drought in their history and the longest active drought in the League -- and, well, they have had a lot going on.

Shawn Horcoff was named interim general manager the day before camp opened, with Steve Yzerman becoming senior adviser to owner Chris Ilitch and the search for a new leader of hockey operations continuing.

Dylan Larkin, Detroit's No. 1 center, asked for a trade after last season and lost the captaincy entering camp. He couldn't participate at first due to an upper-body injury sustained in offseason training. Eventually, he returned to practice, but he didn't play in any preseason games.

Simon Edvinsson, one of Detroit's top defensemen, reported to camp despite being unsigned as a restricted free agent. He practiced with his teammates, but didn't scrimmage or play in any preseason games, either.

Seider said camp was "really intense."

"There was more intensity compared to other camps," he said. "Even some of our new guys mentioned that, that it was something they haven't seen before, and I feel that's a good sign."

Asked what made it intense, Seider said: "I think it starts with mental toughness. It's something we emphasize. We want to be sharp whenever we go out there. We don't want to waste any time.

"I feel like you can see it even in between drills. Like, (McLellan) explains the drills. Two seconds later, everyone is in the spot. It'd kind of robotic, almost, but everyone is, like, dialed in."

They need to be.

The Red Wings still have a lot going on. They are still searching for a new leader of hockey operations. Larkin is still injured and will miss the first two games of the season. Edvinsson is still unsigned and has returned home to Sweden.

And so, the players who are available had better be at their best.

"Everyone is just excited, I think," Seider said. "Everyone is really focused. Yes, we will make mistakes, but it's just about how we can correct them, don't make them again, and just hopefully soak in the atmosphere. I hope that will give us a little bit of a kick too."

It didn't last season.

The Red Wings lost their opener to the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 at Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 9, 2025. Afterward, McLellan asked three or four veterans, "Are we tired of this yet?" and "When is enough enough?"

They responded with five straight wins. It should be noted that they were led by Larkin, who had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in those games.

McLellan pointed out that openers can be unpredictable, but teams tend to settle into the season afterward.

"Last year we didn't perform very well on opening night," McLellan said. "It gave us a chance to bark a little bit, and we put it back together, and we were better after that. We went on a little run right away.

"So, as far as this year goes, it's a brand-new season, unpredictable to start with. We'll play the game. The games (around the NHL so far) have been sloppy, in my opinion, watching again last night, so if we can eliminate that, we'll give ourselves a better chance of winning, and come Saturday morning, we'll have a blueprint more to work off of."

The Red Wings play seven of their first eight games at home. They must take advantage of it and bank as many points as possible.

"Early early urgency," McLellan said, repeating the word "early." "Another reason why we adopted that moniker, if you will. It's a chance to put our game together here at home.

"I don't think fatigue should be a factor in these first (seven or eight) games. We're not traveling all over the place (and have only) one back-to-back, so we should have good practice time.

"But we should feel good about being in our building and playing in front of our fans, and we're going to get (seven out of eight) cracks at it right off the bat, so I'd like to see us have some real good positive results."