Hello, friends! It is certainly a Monday. The Edmonton Oilers are up against a wall in the Stanley Cup Final, Florida leading 3-2 with game six in Sunrise tomorrow night. I sure hope the Oilers can find something in themselves to take this series to seven games, but I’ll admit I am not as invested in the SCF this year.
In Red Wings world, some of the team’s top players are getting the call from their Olympic teams. Moritz Seider will head to the Olympics for Team Germany, while Lucas Raymond will be suiting up for Team Sweden. There are 12 countries competing in hockey at the 2026 Olympics, all of which should be announcing their first six players today. Here are the teams:
Group A
Canada
Czechia
Switzerland
France
Group B
Finland
Italy
Sweden
Slovakia
Group C
Denmark
Germany
Latvia
USA
Expect Dylan Larkin to make Team USA. Other names, we’ll just have to wait and see.. But I’m sure there won’t be a ton of Red Wings headed to Italy next year. Three players is good enough if that’s what it ends up being.
Missed this last week, but Marco Kasper and Albert Johansson both received votes for the 2024-25 NHL All-Rookie Team. Kasper’s received seven votes while AlJo picked up 10. We’ve talked a lot about how great of a season Kasper had, but I think what Albert Johansson managed to do gets lost in the noise that surrounded the Red Wings regular season. Johansson is shaping up to be another gem for Steve Yzerman, with lots of room left to grow.
In other news, the Buffalo Sabres are reportedly listening to offers on forward JJ Peterka. This is an interesting possibility that Detroit should definitely inquire on. Peterka is 23 years old and coming off of a career-best year with 68 points (27-41–68) in 77 appearances. What’s the cost, though? Not sure, but I think now is a good time for Steve Yzerman to leverage his draft capital to make a splash. I wouldn’t hate the idea of packaging up a couple of first round picks with a lower-end NHL roster player that has some upside (Berggren, Rasmussen, etc). What say you?
Finally, a little NHL news housekeeping regarding trades.. The Anaheim Ducks have acquired Chris Kreider and a 4th round pick from the New York Rangers in exchange for Carey Terrance and a 3rd round pick. Feels like an easily digestible deal for Anaheim — would you have considered something like this for Detroit?
