This is the actual core of the Red Wings and people need to come to acceptance with that fact. Raymond, Kasper, Danielson, Plante, Finnie, MBN, Lombardi, Bear, Genborg. Seider, Edvinsson, ASP, Johansson, Johansson, Keenan. Cossa, Augustine, Postava Larkin, Cat, and Copp will act as our veterans. Yzerman had said over and over again that he's going to build through the draft. They are putting nearly all of their chips into these prospects. Many of you don't think that these prospects can fill the spots in the top 6. And that's ok. But they think they can.

Possible trade packages from best to worst. Wild (Extremely Unlikely) - Boldy Yurov - Larkin prospect Utah (Extremely Unlikely) - Desnoyers Beaudoin Hayton 26 1st - Larkin Cossa Lombardi Florida (Unlikely) - Lundell 9th OA Samoskevich - Larkin Cossa Vegas (Unlikely) - Dorofeyev Connelly Cap relief - Larkin Cossa Utah (Likely) - Iginla Beaudoin 27 2nd - Larkin Cossa Lombardi Utah (Unlikely) - Beaudoin Hayton 26 1st 27 1st - Larkin Florida (Unlikely) - 9th OA Samoskevich - Larkin Minnesota (Unlikely) - Yurov Stramal 27 1st 28 1st - Larkin Vegas (Extremely Unlikely) - Connelly 28 1st for - Larkin

Did Yzerman threaten to trade Larkin in 2023? March 1st 2023: Larkin signs an 8 year deal where Yzerman fought tooth and nail not to give him a NTC. March 1st 2023: 2 hours after Larkin signs, Hronek was traded to Vancouver. March 2nd 2023: 18 hours after Larkin signs, Bertuzzi was traded to Boston. March 3rd 2023: The NHL trade deadline passes. At the time we all thought it was a normal part of the rebuild. But was there more happening behind the scenes that we didn't know about.

Am I crazy? I just don't see the value in trading Cossa for a 2nd round pick. Why wouldn't you just let him play 20 to 35 games next year and see if it raises his stock. Especially with next season meaning less and less as we go. What is a 2nd round pick going to do for us?

Which of these great returns would you want for Larkin?

Which of the poor returns would you rather have for Larkin if you had to take it?

I'd like to stay as neutral as possible. But it's hard not to think back to everyone saying Detroit had a culture problem in the locker room in March and April. This is the exact behavior I'd expect from the players that are the cultural problem, no?

Larkin's 5v5 production last season. The dip happened long before his injury. Oct - 1.0 ppg Nov - .79 ppg Dec - .33 ppg Jan - .33 ppg Feb - 1.0 ppg (4 games) Mar - .00 ppg (7 games) Apr - .86 ppg (7 games)

The article gives great insight into what many of us already know. Raymond needs to grow into a franchise forward. Kasper needs to rebound and become our shutdown forward. One of Finnie, MBN, Bear, or Plante needs to take that top line role and another needs to eventually replace Kane. ASP needs to grow into our scoring defenseman. And these things happen slowly. But they can't happen too slowly. A tall task for both management and the players.

As a Wings fan, I like nothing more than seeing Ottawa and Montreal get humbled. I also love advanced analytics and the insight they give us into the game. But we need to collectively ignore or work to get rid of this garbage. Advanced stats should be used to gain insight. But several analytics accounts on X constantly use it simply to confirm their own biases. Everyone and their grandmother knew that Carolina was this much better than everyone else. And they all knew that they would hold teams to record low xGoals. Anyone who thought Carolina would lose thought so because of previous playoff results.

What this should say, "I am using data to say what I want and ignoring data that says anything differently."

This might be a hot take but I actually think the Leafs winning the lottery was not ideal for them. Receiving the 1st overall pick and most likely a player who will be over a point per game during their prime is obviously phenomenal. But they haven't built any assets. I don't think one 1st overall pick will be enough to fix their issues. Even if McKenna is able to replace Marner (which is a huge ask), how will they replace Tavares? And their defense, OEL, Rielly, McCabe, Stetcher, and Tanev are all 32 years old or older. They won't have a 1st round pick for the next two years. It's a very difficult situation to build around.

I don't get it. Maybe I'm the one that doesn't understand. Yzerman has stated his plan clearly over and over again. At every pre season presser. At every trade deadline. Every year. So why are people surprised that he's holding on to prospects? Why are people surprised that he's not trading for players who are over 25 years old? I feel like I'm living in some twilight zone where Yzerman says one thing and then all the analytics accounts and all the podcasts think he said the opposite.

Lucky number seven!! Max Plante is your 2025-26 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner!!

Congratulations to Max Plante, the 2026 Hobey Baker Memorial Award Recipient. #hobeybaker @drinkbodyarmor @mdplanet10 @umdmenshockey @thenchc @teamech @nhl