Inside look at Detroit Red Wings

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Detroit Red Wings.

The Detroit Red Wings are at a crossroads.

They have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for 10 straight seasons, the longest drought in their 100-year history and the longest active drought in the NHL. General manager Steve Yzerman is leaving his role. Captain and No. 1 center Dylan Larkin has requested a trade.

Until Yzerman’s successor is named and Larkin’s situation is resolved, the direction will be unclear.

But the Red Wings addressed a couple of their most pressing needs this offseason by adding forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Keegan Kolesar, and the next GM will inherit an organization with building blocks.

“I think they’re going in a great direction,” Kolesar said. “They have a lot of young studs who I have felt that have been good for a number of years and are tough to play against. I just want to bring whatever I can to (build) more of an identity for the team.”

Detroit missed the playoffs for seven straight seasons after Yzerman took over as GM on April 19, 2019. But the Red Wings were in decline after a run of 25 straight playoff appearances from 1991-2016 that included Stanley Cup championships in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008.

After bottoming out in Yzerman’s first season with a .275 points percentage, Detroit progressed each of the next four seasons -- .429, .451, .488, .555. The Red Wings stepped back to .524 in 2024-25. They posted a .561 points percentage last season, their best under Yzerman, but collapsed down the stretch for the third straight season.

Yzerman said April 23 that he intended to “see this through” but that “everything has to be assessed.” He confirmed June 27 that Larkin had requested a trade shortly after the season and declined to guarantee the center would be traded. The Red Wings announced July 15 that Yzerman would transition to senior adviser to owner Chris Ilitch and that they would search for their “next leader of hockey operations.”

“Clearly, we are not where we and our fans expect to be as an organization,” Ilitch said then. “I’m looking forward to bringing in new leadership to build the championship-level organization Hockeytown deserves.”

Two of Detroit’s main issues entering the offseason were 5-on-5 scoring and grit. The Red Wings finished 30th in 5-on-5 goals with 142 and 29th in hits with 1,480 last season.

Forward Patrick Kane, whom Yzerman had said Detroit wanted to re-sign, signed a two-year, $16 million contract ($8 million average annual value) with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 23. But the Red Wings signed Arvidsson to a two-year, $10 million contract ($5 million AAV) on July 1. 

Kane, 37, had 57 points (16 goals, 41 assists) in 67 games last season, including 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) at even strength. Arvidsson, 33, had 54 points (25 goals, 29 assists) in 69 games for the Boston Bruins last season, including 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists) at even strength.

Arvidsson played for coach Todd McLellan with the Los Angeles Kings from 2021-24.

“He’s really structured and always has a plan, I think,” Arvidsson said. “It’s defense first, and then if you play really good defense, you’re going to have success offensively. I think that’s a big part that I like about him.”

The Red Wings acquired Kolesar in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on July 1. Kolesar had spent his entire seven-year NHL career with Vegas, helping the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2023 and return to the Stanley Cup Final last season.

Kolesar had 270 hits last season, seventh in the NHL, and has 1,416 hits since the start of 2020-21, fourth in the League in that span. The 29-year-old can drag teammates into the fight and help establish the forecheck.

“Maybe that’s an element that I can bring that keeps people on their toes, keeps (defensemen) backing up more,” Kolesar said. 

The Red Wings have young pieces like defenseman Albert Johansson, 25; defenseman Moritz Seider, 25; forward Lucas Raymond, 24; defenseman Simon Edvinsson, 23; center Marco Kasper, 22; forward Emmitt Finnie, 21; and defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka, 21. They have prospects in the pipeline.

“Great ‘D’ corps, first of all, and a lot of speed and skill up front,” Arvidsson said. “I think you need to mesh that together and maybe be more consistent and stuff like that, because that’s what this League is about. It’s about consistency and that you can do it night out, night in, and don’t drop too much.”