Make New York Post a Preferred Source Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings. Getty Images via NHLI There has been plenty of funkiness to go around to start the new NHL season, but no team has had a more bizarre first month than the Red Wings.
HockeyTown was shocked in the summer when its captain, and Michigan lifer, Dylan Larkin, requested a trade midway through an eight-year, $69.6 million contract that carried a full no-movement clause.
Larkin initially gave the Wings three teams he’d accept a trade to and, unsurprisingly, no deal was consummated.
Larkin eventually expanded his list to 10 teams, reported to training camp injured, got booed during his introduction at the home opener and then joined the team only to desert them again after playing 10 games. He’ll sit out until the Wings trade him.
Oh, and he’s not the only Red Wing holding out.
Simon Edvinsson, a terrific 23-year-old defenseman, is also not with the team because he could never agree to terms on a new contract.
As a restricted free agent, Edvinsson has until Dec. 1 to sign a deal, or he will need to sit out the entire 2026-27 campaign.
The team spent a lot of this franchise-altering summer without a general manager. Steve Yzerman was stood down from the post, in part for his handling of the Larkin situation, and Detroit never announced a replacement.
It was not until Sept. 15 that Shawn Horcoff was named interim GM, left to clean up a right mess.
As you’d expect, the Red Wings have not been a picture of consistency on the ice. Detroit is 7-8-3, mired in a three-game losing streak and boasts a minus-7 goal difference.
The Wings are just three points out of a playoff spot, but they’re also three points from last place in the Eastern Conference.
Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan yells from the bench. AP Photo/Jason Behnken In a vacuum, that seems like a pretty underwhelming start to the campaign, but when you bake in the context of the Wings’ circumstances, it’s pretty darn impressive that Detroit isn’t where Vancouver, Chicago and Philadelphia are sitting as we head into the second quarter of the campaign. The Wings are in the mix.
And there are signs that things could get better as the season goes on. Despite missing Edvinsson, a top-pair minute-muncher who rode shotgun alongside Moritz Seider last season, the Red Wings boast one of the best defensive profiles in the NHL through the first quarter.
Detroit is 11th in goals-against average (3.00), but it ranks second in high-danger scoring chances allowed and sixth in expected goals against, per Natural Stat Trick.
The Red Wings are struggling to score, but Todd McLellan has this team playing with the type of structure that will make them hard to beat all season, especially with Seider, one of the best defensemen in the NHL, playing over 25 minutes a night.
The Red Wings will need to find a way to jolt their offense if they’re going to hang in the Atlantic Division, but that is a fixable problem. They’ve got two premium assets to trade (Larkin and Edvinsson) to address that issue if they want to go that route.
If the Wings play those cards right, they could start to ascend.
There is a lot of hard work ahead of the Red Wings just to hang around, but I disagree with how the betting market views them. Detroit is the biggest price (11/1) in the Eastern Conference to make the playoffs, just behind the Flyers, and well adrift of the Maple Leafs, Penguins, Blue Jackets and Islanders, all of whom have bigger problems than the Wings.
Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin handles the puck against the San Jose Sharks in Detroit on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect That is already a pretty generous price, but if you’re feeling especially froggy, you should also consider the 150/1 on McLellan to win the Jack Adams. No coach this side of Winnipeg’s Scott Arniel has had more adversity to deal with than McLellan this season, and if he’s able to guide this team to the playoffs, he will receive plenty of votes.
And believe it or not, the path is there for him to do just that.
The Plays: Detroit Red Wings to make playoffs (11/1, DraftKings) | Todd McLellan to win Jack Adams (150/1, bet365)
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
