Red Wings aim to make the most of extra practice time ahead of 2026-27 Opening Night on Friday

DETROIT – Following Monday afternoon's practice at BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena, Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan discussed the NHL's 5 p.m. ET deadline for clubs to submit 2026-27 Opening-Night rosters and covered some of the variables that go into that decision-making process.

“First of all, the number of players you have in Camp," McLellan said. "Then you have to look at who is injured and who starts on potential injury list. You look at waivers sometimes. You look at players that can be reassigned and then recalled quickly, so there are a lot of variables that not just the Red Wings are dealing with – 31 other teams are. You often see a roster submitted and it’s made public and then all of a sudden things change two or three days down the road. We’re also one of the late-starting teams this year.”

While regular-season action begins Tuesday around the NHL, the Red Wings don't play until Friday, when they host the New York Rangers for Opening Night. That leaves a few more practice days to fill, and according to McLellan, the plan for them is already mapped out.

“It’s continuing to build and polish,” McLellan said. “I’ll take you back to the game we played (on Saturday night) against Columbus. We did like a lot of the things we did, but I thought our passing and receiving – quarterback, receiver, whatever you want to call it – was very erratic. A lot of pucks thrown in skates, pucks thrown two or three feet behind, the passing and the rhythm was off. We’ve got to get that quickly. We took today, and it was a workday for us. Wake the system up again after a long Camp and a day off. A lot of skating.”

Those who didn’t skate on Monday were Jacob Bernard-Docker (upper body), John Gibson (illness) and Simon Edvinsson, who is still a restricted free agent. Also notable, Dylan Larkin (upper body) skated but again was not on a regular line, while Andreas Englund participated in his first practice with Detroit since being claimed off waivers from the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Last season, Englund, 30, appeared in three games with the Nashville Predators and spent most of the campaign with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, logging 13 points (three goals and 10 assists) in 52 games.

“Everybody was great taking care of me coming into the room, making sure I’m getting in here and can help out,” Englund said. “I thought it was a good first practice, kind of good skate up and down.”

Moritz Seider was among those glad to welcome Englund, noting the 6-foot-4, 200-pound blueliner adds valuable depth to the position.

“You have eight D out there, and everyone can play on both sides in all situations,” Seider said. “Great (penalty) killers on there. Overall, I just feel it’s a very, very solid D-core. You don’t have to be afraid of putting anyone out there against the top line.”

With Detroit’s Training Camp and four-game preseason slate now complete, Seider said the energy and excitement within the group will keep building as Friday night approaches.

“Obviously, it’s great to have the locker room for yourself finally, and don’t have guys in and out all the time,” Seider said. “As much as you like seeing them, it’s nice to have a full team and kind of get down to the daily work. I thought today was a really good day. Lot of skating, a lot of good work out there. I think a step closer to Opening Night is a good day.”