Jeremy Laura: Red Wings avoid series sweep with win over Carolina 5-3

I watched the Caps last night. Admittedly, I was never an Ovi fan, then I read something you posted Jeremy, talking about how special the guy truly is, etc... Listen, this guy is something else....and he's 40!! Just amazing to watch. And, more importantly, a great representative of the game.

Anyway, saw some back n forth yesterday about Elmer and his deployment, etc... as well as an overall thread on this Wings team.

There are holes in the roster, there are tons of areas that need improvement, there are some very bad vet contracts....but for 2 years, despite all of the issues, we seem to be knocking on the SCPO door. Yes, we need some help, and some focused player movement, but y'all....there exists a strong group of players in Hockeytown. It sucks to see the losses and to miss the SCPO, but there's light at the end of the tunnel, I just want to get there and stop dorking around. It is SO frustrating being a Wings fan.

But I do love this team.....

I watched the Caps last night. Admittedly, I was never an Ovi fan, then I read something you posted Jeremy, talking about how special the guy truly is, etc... Listen, this guy is something else....and he's 40!! Just amazing to watch. And, more importantly, a great representative of the game.

Anyway, saw some back n forth yesterday about Elmer and his deployment, etc... as well as an overall thread on this Wings team.

There are holes in the roster, there are tons of areas that need improvement, there are some very bad vet contracts....but for 2 years, despite all of the issues, we seem to be knocking on the SCPO door. Yes, we need some help, and some focused player movement, but y'all....there exists a strong group of players in Hockeytown. It sucks to see the losses and to miss the SCPO, but there's light at the end of the tunnel, I just want to get there and stop dorking around. It is SO frustrating being a Wings fan.

But I do love this team.....
- mcmastermike1968

I kept my eyes on the Washington box score. Tying Gretzky in front of Gretzky has to be a top 10 career moment. For the team, I agree there are good things on the way. Very anxious to see Sandin-Pellikka on the ice and that transition. The kid can skate. Soderblom’s assist last nice was almost a goal that I’d be watching on loop. Backhand pass from Raymond that Soderblom redirected between his feet with his stick (facing away from the net) and it went just wide for Kasper to grab it and backhand it in. It was a creative moving on ice redirect that showed some impressive creativity.

I kept my eyes on the Washington box score. Tying Gretzky in front of Gretzky has to be a top 10 career moment. For the team, I agree there are good things on the way. Very anxious to see Sandin-Pellikka on the ice and that transition. The kid can skate. Soderblom’s assist last nice was almost a goal that I’d be watching on loop. Backhand pass from Raymond that Soderblom redirected between his feet with his stick (facing away from the net) and it went just wide for Kasper to grab it and backhand it in. It was a creative moving on ice redirect that showed some impressive creativity.
- Jeremy Laura

I know there's been some folks who want to tear the whole thing down and start over....again. I'm not convinced that's needed. The trajectory is pretty solid. Yes, there are issues, we do have some serious gaps. The way these kids play, and the infusion of guys like Kane (need another year of him PLEASE!), there's a bright future. Start getting some of the kids up and get them into the NHL style and flow (Mazur, et. al.). We've got to re-look how we over-ripen amd what we spend of veterans.

I don't buy the whole thing about Detroit being toxic as the reason we've not landed big names. Now, do I think The Captain runs a very tight ship? YES. He's old-ish school and doesn't bow to some of the kids' arrogance. But every blog, every pod, everything points to this team being solid enough. Have we missed out on some bigger names? Yeah. But it feels like there's a chance this year for a bigger name to come over. Marner? I'd be ok with that. Ekblad? Ok. Boeser? Sure. Might even consider Provorov. Regardless, there needs to be more of a push this summer, either via UFA or draft-day trade.

Petry's gone (+$6m), Smith is gone (+$1m), I think Lyon's gone (+$900k), so that's an additional $8m to play with. I'm sure I'm missing some....Motte at $800k. But, looking at a Marner for example; makes about $11m....kid's gonna want bank, and coming to DRW at $11m ain't gonna do it. But we need someone like him. Another major concern is what's going to happen with Augy. That one makes me really nervous. I REALLY don't want to lose him - he & Cossa will be insanely awesome for us as a split-1 G tandem. We also have to consider The Cat is UFA next year, he's not gonna take $7.8m next year, and we need him. Thankfully Copp comes off the books in '26 (+$5.6m). Oh, I was just looking at UFA on Sportrac, fyi....

Interesting 2yrs ahead. I'd THINK ASP will be in Detroit in '26, no doubt a few others making a heavy push as well. Good time to be a Wing!!!

Head over to the Griffins site. Danielson had 2 goals last night, Tuomisto made a nice play in the D zone that ended up as an assist. Lombardi (with a bucket on) had a nice goal and has 31 points (16g,15a) in something like 37 games played. Buium moving the puck nicely. They won 8-3 over Rockford and it’s a quick highlight reel. Good stuff definitely coming.

Head over to the Griffins site. Danielson had 2 goals last night, Tuomisto made a nice play in the D zone that ended up as an assist. Lombardi (with a bucket on) had a nice goal and has 31 points (16g,15a) in something like 37 games played. Buium moving the puck nicely. They won 8-3 over Rockford and it’s a quick highlight reel. Good stuff definitely coming.
- Jeremy Laura

GRG is going to keep a steady flow of players coming over time. I'd still like to see a genuine stud come to us. I mean, Larkin's aging, so looking in the out-tears shows we're going to need someone his calibre or better - someone to take more of the load from him if that makes sense. Rayzor's going to be an awesome player for a while. Kasper's going to be a good one. But we're going to need a real stud. Mo, Eddy, and AlJo are going to form a solid 1/2 of the back end...Everything I've seen/read about Tooey indicates he's got a legit shot at being sneaky-good, Buium's another one. But, again, who do we take the next step until some of these guys hit (or miss, let's be honest - gotta look at it from both angles...), then develop?

And who do we bring in as The Guy? We're going to have a very stable roster, with steady call-ups, but there's got to be The Guy, whether it's a F, D, or G someone's needed.

I'm gonna enjoy watching this all play out.....

It was a nice win against a Carolina team missing a few key players. As other posters have mentioned there will be some more deadwood coming off the books after this season, and more after the 2025-26 season. What happens depends on Yzerman when it comes to future UFA signings.