Latest / Jablam Sports Hockey / Detroit Red Wings 2026-2027 Season Preview: Can the Wings finally make the playoffs?

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Detroit Red Wings 2026-2027 Season Preview: Can the Wings finally make the playoffs? · Jablam Sports Hockey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Jablem Sports Hockey, your home for everything happening around the NHL.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Peter Bochernoff, and every episode we break down the biggest topics every hockey fan is talking about, with writers, TV, and radio experts from all 32 teams.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Today we're going to continue our 32 episode season previews with the Detroit Red Wings.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Today on the show, we have George Malik from the Malik Report.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back, George.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: And Clark Rasmussen from DetroitHockey.net.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back, Clark.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, in Trending Now, we're going to talk about Z Buings.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: BAMMAG Big Contra and more.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: First, again, let's get into the Red Wings.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Detroit let the playoffs slip away again from them in the last month of the year last season.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: What needs to finally happen for it to flip the script this coming season, George?
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: There.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_02: That's a big sigh.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: Listen to the goddamn coach.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: Pardon my language, but uh yes, they need to listen to Todd McClellan and they need to um incorporate his game plan into actual action.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: I I happen to think that the team, while it certainly is lacking some depth uh in scoring after losing Patrick Kane and James Van Reemstijk uh in free agency, uh to me it's about tightening things up defensively.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's about getting to a getting a better penalty kill, getting better goaltending, uh those as much as it is scoring, outscoring the opposition, because you can't outscore your mistakes as much as the Red Wings have been making defensive mistakes over the last couple of seasons.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: Following up to this, you said listening to the coach, but who are they gonna listen to above the coach with the tumultuous summer that they've had?
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, the captain requesting a trade out of town, and then their GM Steve Iserman stepping down.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Where's the process in searching for his replacement, Clark?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's been uh really quiet on the Red Wings front.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: We've uh heard a little bit more in the last uh week or so where uh we've started to hear names uh or not necessarily names, um, but that people are being told that they're out of the running.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um still don't have a whole lot of insight as to okay, who does that leave left, who's exactly out.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there's there's still a lot to uh discover there.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: And it kind of feels like one of those things that, like, we're not gonna have a good idea who the next GM is or who the next GM and president of hockey operations or however they break that down uh is gonna be until like all of a sudden there's an announcement, and now we know.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh not a whole lot of rumors.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um and uh that's been uh under Steve Eiserman, that's kind of been the MO of the uh uh Red Wings organization, and it seems like it might be one of those things that carries forward under whatever the new regime ends up looking like.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: George, have you heard anything?
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: I did hear a rumor that the assistant uh GM in Florida was talked to.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_02: All I have heard is uh a rumor that uh Horkoff and Draper will not be considered.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I want to emphasize that was a hot rumor.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but you know, right now it it's it's the Illich organization runs like a submarine, a nuclear submarine.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: It's run silent, run deep, no air bubbles, nothing, no leaks.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: So uh that there's very little out there that's credible.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: And is there bec with all that, there's no leaks, is there's is there any leaks on Larkin?
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, sorry, go ahead, George.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: Sorry, Clark.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: No, please go ahead.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I mean I wouldn't say any leaks, but given that it's gone this long that it went uh as long as it did before Iserman uh was let go, moved up, however you want to put it, uh the given how long that it went, uh it's a solid sign that there's not a whole lot that anybody's willing to act on.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's it it's just one of those things that's gonna take a lot of time that's like and that throws in the like that's or that's without even considering what if Larkin wants to stick around with the new leadership.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you can't rule that out.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um so there's a lot of stuff that's is kind of up in the air, uh, which is really the theme for the Red Wings organization right now.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: Camp is starting next week.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: Do you see Larkin George not being in camp at all?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: I think it would be better for the team uh if he didn't show up, but uh at the same time, given his A sense of duty, uh B, the situation being so uh complicated, and C, given the fact that he wouldn't be paid if he didn't show up, I I think that he's going to appear at Little Caesars Arena.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: I and I to me the big question right now isn't necessarily whether he shows up, it's whether the fans get to show up.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: Because right now there's absolutely no information as to whether the training camp is going to be public or private.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm very curious to see when and if he shows up, probably when, whether uh the fans get to have their say, so to speak.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, this team uh there's it's tough to pinpoint where they're going, what direction they're going, with so many question marks.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: Do you see anything other than a disaster to start the season so far, Clark?
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think there's certainly ways that it's not a disaster.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: There are definitely ways it could be a disaster.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think if let's say Larkin's still there and the team starts slow, it could get ugly real fast.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: But the exact opposite could happen too.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: If this is uh like if this team somehow comes out strong uh like right out of the gate and Larkin is still there, and Wings fans are willing to forgive a whole lot.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like Patrick King became kind of beloved in Detroit for a little while.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to go back even further, you can go like Chris Chelios was beloved in Detroit.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like Wings fans are willing to forgive, and so like winning would go a long way towards that.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get into trending now, change it up here.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: Trying to change out the topic here.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh for trending now, Z Boein signs with the Canucks 9.38 per year for eight years.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: They lock up the main piece from the Quinn huge trade.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: He hasn't even played a full season in his career.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think he can live up to the contract or even remotely have a chance to play above it?
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_02: George?
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_02: This reminds me of the picture that Mitchell Callahan posted when he got his uh teeth knocked out.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_02: And I thought for the rest of his career, Mitch is going to have to either live up to or exceed the expectations uh displayed in that lovely picture of Mitch without his front teeth.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: I think that Ziv Booyam is going to spend his career trying to live up to those expectations.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: Do I think he can do it?
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: Uh given his skill set, uh, given his groundedness, given that we all uh and Red Wings fans know Shy Boyam is is Zeev's older brother.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um and given that I've met the kid, uh yeah, I I think it's possible, but I mean it's such a gamble.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: Holy moly.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I I was just shocked when that when that came through.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_02: I it was I understand that the salary cap has risen by a significant amount, and that these are the numbers that we're going to see going forward, even for for younger, unproven players, but but in this case, so young, so unproven.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh wow.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you jumped the shark on me here.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: My setup question, of course, was gonna talk about his brother.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: Clark, where do you see his older brother at right now in his progression?
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, could he jump on into the Red Wings lineup this coming season?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh he's running out of time, is where it seems like he's at.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there seem to be any number of people in front of him.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, the wings have a whole lot of blue liners uh who like I I'll I'll say uh Wellinder right now, you like he no longer he's no longer waiver exempt.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: What uh do you keep him up and uh do you keep him up?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what are you doing there?
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh where do you have uh ASP?
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh is he in Grand Rapids or is he up like he started the season last year?
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there he's kind of been passed by.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and I mean he's still got a little bit of time, and the wings have been patient, and they've had I don't want to say the ability to be patient because they need all the help they can get, but uh they've been able to be patient with him.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: But uh it is he he's uh he he's running out of time there.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: Speaking about being patient or maybe oven ripen ripening some players, is it time to bring up a goaltender?
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: Is it time to bring up Sebastian Cosa, George?
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh if you mean Trey Augustine, uh slip there.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_02: I like it.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_02: I've done it.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_02: I do it all the time, so it's no big deal.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_02: Uh with the Trey Augustine or Michael Michael Postava, um it's gonna happen if if one of Gibson or Tarasov gets injured.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I I would imagine that it's gonna be Postava that comes up because he had just such an incredible uh season, and especially second half of the season's worth of work as Costa faltered in Grand Rapids, and his his playoff run was pretty decent as well.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: But it's going to be very interesting to see what the new general manager andor president of hockey operations believes in terms of prospects, because Iserman very much so was in the Ken Holland mode of uh letting them marinate until they were over ready.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_02: And I I hope that the new general manager is more progressive.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I would like to see Postava come up.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: I'd like to see Augustine get a cup of coffee, even if it's just as a practice goalie.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_02: Uh if somebody's uh strained strained a groin or something.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, Grand Rapids is only two hours away from Detroit.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: So uh, you know, I there there's there's more movement possible there in a short amount of time than than one might think.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: If I can build off that a little bit, and like we saw with COSA, he got a grand total of one game in Detroit before he uh uh before he was out of waiver options and ended up being dealt with way.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that that's asset management that just kind of can't happen when the wings are in this this position.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: You've gotta see what you've got from the young guys.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and that also kind of comes back to uh what we're saying earlier uh with uh Melinder and like all the uh all the blue liners.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: You're like you've gotta see uh see what these guys have.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: You can't get to this point where you're stuck uh without having given them a look.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now you've gotta throw them in or lose them for nothing.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: And it looks like everything's at a halt, and it'll be tough to grow if they don't figure out what's going on upstairs.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's it for this episode.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks to Clark and George.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you guys for joining me.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: If you have any questions for my guest or for the show, message me on X at PBojiranov and remember to subscribe to the show in your listening app and articles on Substack.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: Bye.