Each year, when the dust starts to settle on the offseason and the summer months begin to drag, we take a look into the future and project what the Detroit Red Wings lineup will look like in three years.
The goal of the projections is not to be 100 percent correct three years out, but rather to highlight how the Red Wings’ ongoing rebuild is trending — and what it still lacks. In recent years, we’ve begun leaving blank spots in the lineup to highlight positions at which Detroit has no obvious long-term answer and will need to address.
With all that said, let’s dive into it.
Forward Line 1: Remaining Need – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
By this point, Raymond will be 25, squarely in his prime. He should be Detroit’s top-scoring forward and the centerpiece of the power play — the latter of which he has not yet been with the Red Wings, even while scoring 31 goals and 72 points last season. Assuming he continues to develop, that growth, along with that potential increased role, could very well make him a star up front.
And really, Detroit will need him to be. Because while the Red Wings have stocked their pipeline with potentially impactful forwards over the past three drafts, there is still a real question about the group’s potential star power. That’s highlighted by the remaining need at top-line left wing, and really, to address that need in time for the 2027-28 season examined here, Detroit would likely need either to find a fast-moving star in the 2025 draft or acquire a more experienced difference-maker via free agency or trade.
Larkin, meanwhile, will be entering his age-31 season. He should still be a highly effective center by then, and part of his growth in the past two years has been his relying a bit less on his pure speed to create offense. He’s a hard-driving competitor and his scoring touch has improved substantially, which should allow him to more easily weather whatever the aging curve may have in store for him. Still, though, 31 is beyond most players’ prime, and it’s reasonable to expect Larkin to feel the effects of aging as he hits his 30s. He should still be a first-line-caliber player — perhaps the New York Rangers’ Mika Zibanejad could be a relevant comparison — but his age enhances the need to find another impact forward up front in the coming years.
Forward line 2 : Alex DeBrincat (UFA 2027) – Nate Danielson – Michael Brandsegg-Nygård
DeBrincat’s current contract expires the summer before this projection would take effect, so it’s worth noting he may not actually be in the picture come October 2027. If he were to depart, it would create another hole at left wing in the top six. I included DeBrincat here because he does seem like at least a plausible extension candidate after his current deal expires, as he will still be 29 in the summer of 2027, but his contract status is certainly something to keep in mind.
The rest of the line is made up of Detroit’s two most recent first-round picks. That entails some uncertainty and projection, as these are players we have not yet seen at the NHL level. Danielson looks the part of a second-line center with his excellent skating and two-way awareness and the offense he has flashed, both in NHL preseason action and during the second half of his WHL season in Portland. He probably needs to be a 55-to-65-point center with strong two-way impacts to be a comfortable 2C, and right now that seems well within his range of potential outcomes. As with Raymond’s continued development, Detroit has a lot riding on it actually working out this way.
Brandsegg-Nygård, meanwhile, has even less certainty as a player who was drafted less than two months ago, but his profile gives him a strong chance of being a second-line winger. He has a big-time shot and plays a responsible, competitive game with more size and heaviness than the other top-six wingers discussed here. The big question might be how quickly it’s reasonable to expect him to attain this type of spot in the lineup, as he will turn 22 right around the start of the 2027-28 season.
The range of outcomes for this theoretical line is big because of all that uncertainty — and having three right-hand shots, two of whom are shoot-first players, all on a line together probably isn’t ideal. But if Danielson and Brandsegg-Nygård hit their potential, and DeBrincat (or a replacement) remains a 30-goal, 70-point threat, this can be an effective, well-rounded second line.
Forward line 3: J.T. Compher – Marco Kasper – Carter Mazur
The 2027-28 season is the last one on Compher’s current contract, and in this projection, he would wrap up that deal as the veteran on a potentially exciting third line. Kasper projects comfortably as a strong third-line center for a playoff team (with the potential for a bit more), and Mazur looks like Detroit’s biggest draft win outside of the first round under Steve Yzerman. The two were among Grand Rapids’ most impactful playoff performers at the end of last season, and both could threaten for NHL time as soon as this fall.
By 2027, then, it’s fair to expect Kasper and Mazur to be entrenched as key pieces of an identity line that can play fast and physical and generate offense while making life hard on opponents. That’s a style well suited to Compher, though he will be 32 at the start of the 2027-28 season.
Looking a bit further into the future, Detroit would ideally be able to find a set-up man who is similarly smart and hard to play against to take over the third spot on this line whenever Compher departs — and it’s certainly possible he could extend with Detroit after his current deal ends. But while Kasper and Mazur come with the requisite caveats about projection for players yet to be NHL regulars, this looks like a potentially strong NHL third line.
Forward line 4: Max Plante – Joe Veleno (RFA 2026) – Michael Rasmussen
Like Compher, Rasmussen will be entering the final year of his current contract in 2027, and honestly, projecting him onto the fourth line feels a bit unfair to his ability. Perhaps he’s the third piece on the line above, as he certainly is a hard-to-play-against forward and could conceivably be wearing a letter by this point in time. But Compher’s playmaking chops gave him the edge there, which relegated Rasmussen to a role for which he’s overqualified.
By 2027, Veleno may be overqualified for it, too — and depending on his next contract in 2026, maybe he’ll even be priced out of it. As things stand, though, having both first-rounders together here looks like a potential luxury in the bottom six, as both can play responsible north-south games with heaviness down low and chip in some offense.
Plante is the interesting one. I’m calling my shot a bit by including him here just over a month after he was drafted in the second round. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him, though, both in terms of his high-level hockey sense and playmaking and in terms of his defensive stick and competitiveness. That makes me think he can turn into a supplemental piece and possibly a longer-term candidate on the third line. It’s not unlike the gut feeling I had after watching Mazur shortly following his draft, but fair warning that gut feelings are certainly not always accurate: I once felt similarly about former Detroit prospect Robert Mastrosimone, too.
We’ll see what Plante ultimately becomes, but I think there’s enough in his profile to include him in the long-term outlook for now.
Nate Danielson looks like a key piece of Detroit’s future. (Dan Hamilton / USA Today)
Defense pair 1: Simon Edvinsson – Moritz Seider
By 2027, this should be a rather fearsome top pair — if, that is, the Red Wings choose to play their two No. 6 picks together. It’s possible Detroit will opt to split up Seider and Edvinsson long-term, ensuring one is on the ice at all times. But I put them together here, and if that’s how it plays out, the mobility, length and physicality both players provide would be tough to contend with.
Defense pair 2: Remaining Need – Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Sandin-Pellikka’s path to the NHL will take some time, and it wouldn’t shock me if he doesn’t debut until the 2026-27 season. But it should nonetheless be safe to expect him in the NHL four full years after he was drafted (2023), at which point the big question is what kind of role he plays at even strength. Sandin-Pellikka’s specialty is the power play, using impressive hockey sense and a big shot to run the man advantage from up top.
But while he is a competitor, he’s also a sub-6-foot defenseman who isn’t as dynamic as Quinn Hughes or Cale Makar, and that at least poses some challenge in projecting whether he’s more suited for a big-minute role in the top four or whether he’ll need to be a bit more sheltered (especially early). I gave him the benefit of the doubt here, projecting him onto the second pair, but I think he’ll need a stalwart defensive partner to really succeed in that type of deployment.
While Detroit has drafted a significant number of left-shot ‘D’ in recent years, I don’t think I see a true top-four projection on the left side beyond Edvinsson right now. Given how long it takes defensemen to develop, this answer would probably need to come via free agency in the next few years — though if the right fit comes along in the draft, certainly Detroit should look to draft one, too.
Defense pair 3: Shai Buium – Albert Johansson
The third pair is where Detroit’s current prospect depth on the blue line more comfortably projects, and both Buium and Johansson (playing his off hand here) should be in good position to be effective NHLers at this stage.
Johansson is expected to be a full-time NHLer starting in 2024, and by 2027 he could have an Olli Määttä-like impact as a smart, steady defender. He’ll help himself further if he can carve out an obvious special teams role, most likely on the penalty kill. Meanwhile, Buium has the length to be a defensive stopper, and while offense may be a more secondary part of his game at the NHL level, I’ve liked his creativity in moments in the past and will be curious to see if that translates to the pro level.
If one of these two doesn’t pan out, there are other candidates in the system, including William Wallinder (who has the size and skating you’d want in this role, but could stand to get more physical and solidify his defending), Antti Tuomisto (a big body on the right side who had a resurgent season in Grand Rapids in 2023-24) and a slightly longer shot in big-bodied Swede Anton Johansson. Right now, though, Buium and Johansson would be the best bets.
Simon Edvinsson gives Detroit a blue-line pillar alongside Moritz Seider. (Julian Avram / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Goalies: Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine
Cossa and Augustine both had strong 2023-24 seasons and are tracking toward becoming NHL goaltenders. The question is whether, by 2027, either will look like a true NHL No. 1.
Cossa is the older goaltender and is coming off a good first season in Grand Rapids where he put up a .913 save percentage. He’s the lengthier of the two and a more impressive natural athlete but can also give up the occasional head-scratcher and will need to continue to work on his consistency. Meanwhile, Augustine can be a machine at times with crisp actions and a lot of poise but doesn’t have Cossa’s size or flare for the dramatic save.
If neither becomes a 55-game workhorse, they could still potentially create a strong tandem with two complementary styles — but naturally, Detroit will be hoping at least one of the two can become a top-half-of-the-league type of starter.
Overall assessment: This projection is starting to feel less uncertain than past editions because of the caliber of prospects now being projected into the lineup spots. If those prospects can reach their potential, and Detroit can suitably fill the needs that remain, it’s not hard to envision this group becoming a hard-to-play-against playoff team.
There are still plenty of questions to answer as to whether they will develop as hoped, though, and more broadly, whether Detroit will have enough top-of-the-lineup stars to be a true Stanley Cup contender — not just a playoff team. Right now, it looks more like the latter than the former, although finding another true star up front would help that significantly.
You’d also probably hope for a more concrete blue-line projection considering the assets Detroit has allocated to the defense position. But similarly, one big shutdown piece on the left side would help to allay those concerns.
There’s clear potential with this group, and the bones of a potentially abrasive identity, too. That said, fans who have waited through some tough rebuilding years may see this projection and wonder if there will be enough star power to achieve the ultimate payoff.
(Top photo of Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond: Melissa Tamez / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
