As the 2026-27 NHL season approaches, the Detroit Red Wings are looking to turn the page after a very dramatic summer. It will be interesting to see how Detroit bounces back after missing the playoffs for the 10th straight season, the longest drought in franchise history. Is this finally the year the Red Wings get back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or will the drought continue?
Will Dylan Larkin suit up for the Red Wings at all this season? He is currently dealing with an upper-body injury he suffered in an off-ice workout, and he sat out the first day of training camp. Larkin also requested a trade in the offseason, has yet to be dealt, and is no longer the captain after six seasons with the letter. What are some bold predictions for this hockey team as the 2026-27 NHL season approaches?
Moritz Seider Will Record 70 Assists for the Red Wings
The first bold prediction for the Red Wings is defenseman Moritz Seider recording 70 assists this season. Seider is ready to take his game to another level, and with Larkin sidelined and stripped of the captaincy, he is going to have to be the leader for this Detroit hockey team now.
During the 2025-26 NHL season, he appeared in 82 games and scored 10 goals and recorded 50 assists, along with a plus-15 rating. Both the assist total and the plus/minus were career bests. The league also expanded the schedule to 84 games for 2026-27, so Seider gets two extra nights to pile up assists.
Seider is only 25 years old. He is ready to become one of the elite defensemen in the entire NHL. Seider is going to make the players around him better and set up his teammates.
Marco Kasper Will Score 25 Goals and Record 25 Assists
This is a critical season for Marco Kasper. He could very well earn a top-six role with Detroit this season because of Larkinβs injury. Kasper was picked eighth overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, and he is in the last year of the three-year entry-level deal he signed that July, which makes him a restricted free agent the moment the 2026-27 season ends.
The 22-year-old will need to prove that he was worth a first-round selection. Last season, Kasper scored nine goals and recorded 10 assists, along with a plus/minus rating of minus-20. With him potentially getting an expanded role this season, he will have to prove himself. DSN laid out what is riding on his contract year last week.
Another bold prediction for the Red Wings is that Kasper will score 25 goals and record 25 assists this season. He is going to have to show much more in the stat sheet and prove that he is heading in the right direction. Things could get bad for Detroit if Kasper does not show tremendous growth this season.
Red Wings Trade Alex DeBrincat at the Trade Deadline
Alex DeBrincat has said his intention is βobviously to stay in Detroitβ long-term, and he has not signed an extension yet. Well, if Detroit is not in playoff contention by the trade deadline, which could very well happen, other NHL teams could potentially ask about his availability.
DeBrincat is 28 years old and is in the prime of his career. He is also in the final season of a four-year contract that carries a $7.875 million cap hit and sends him to unrestricted free agency next summer, so a trade deadline with Detroit out of the race is the last chance to get anything back for him. In 82 games last season with the Red Wings, he scored 41 goals and recorded 44 assists, along with a plus-8 rating. His 85 points were a career high.
One complication: the same contract carries a modified no-trade clause that lets DeBrincat submit a 16-team no-trade list, so he would have a say in where he goes.
It would be upsetting for Detroit to potentially make a move like this, but they could potentially get a lot in return. If Detroit is in the playoff chase, they wonβt trade him. If the Red Wings are not close, it would be organizational malpractice to not consider taking trade calls for him.
