Getty Nick Leddy and the Detroit Red Wings seek a more competitive showing this season.
This year’s Detroit Red Wings team won’t look like the ones of the 1990s and 2000s, but the team features young talent for the future.
In 2021-22, most Red Wings games will be televised in local markets on Bally Sports Detroit, while some games will be nationally televised on NHL Network (usually out of market only, but those will also be on Bally Sports Detroit), TNT or ESPN.
Additionally, every out-of-market game (and some nationally broadcast games) will also stream on ESPN+, which replaces NHL.tv this season.
Whether you live in the Red Wings market or somewhere else in the United States, here’s a full rundown of the different ways you can watch every Red Wings game live online without cable in 2021-22:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
If You’re in the Red Wings Market
Note: A couple Red Wings games this season will stream exclusively on ESPN+ nationally with no blackout for in-market viewers. The following option is for how to watch all other in-market games:
DirecTV Stream
This is the only streaming service that has Bally Sports Detroit
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN and TNT are included in all of them, Bally Sports Detroit (local markets) is in “Choice” and up, and NHL Network is in “Ultimate” and up.
You can sign up right here:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Red Wings games live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours).
If You’re out of the Red Wings Market
ESPN+
You can watch every out-of-market, non-nationally televised NHL game (over 1,000 games total) on ESPN+, which replaces NHL.tv this season and is a must-have for any NHL fan in the United States:
ESPN+, which also includes about 75 exclusive national NHL games, plus dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary in existence and additional original content (both video and written), costs $6.99 for a month or $69.99 for a year (or about seven cents per NHL game if you want to look at it that way).
If you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $13.99 per month. Separately, the three streaming services would cost a total $20.97 per month, so you’re saving about 33 percent:
Get the ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu Bundle
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch every out-of-market Red Wings game live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Red Wings Season Preview 2021-22
Detroit continues on the rebuilding path amid a five-year absence from the Stanley Cup playoffs. The storied franchise won four of its 11 Stanley Cup titles during the 1990s and 2000s, which general manager Steve Yzerman hopes to restore.
This year’s Red Wings could get a big boost in goaltending. Detroit acquired Alex Nedeljkovic in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Nedeljkovic had an impressive final season with the Hurricanes — posting a .932 save percentage, 1.90 goals allowed per game, and a 15-5-3 record. His play put him in Calder Trophy contention, but the Hurricanes “traded his restricted free agent rights to the Red Wings, who promptly re-signed him to a two-year, $6 million contract” according to Pro Hockey Talk’s Adam Getz.
The Red Wings also acquired defenseman Nick Leddy, 30, from the New York Islanders in a trade. Leddy tallied 31 points and had a -3 plus-minus score in 56 games last season. He also helped the Islanders reach the Stanley Cup semifinals. Leddy will bring leadership to a largely young Red Wings team.
Younger players emerging could include defenseman Moritz Seider, 20, who went No. 6 in the 2019 NHL Draft. He played in the American Hockey League and Swedish Hockey League during the past two seasons. Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill liked what he saw in the preseason.
“He’s got a confidence and moxie to him, he’s got a competitiveness to him,” Blashill told the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. “Those are all really good qualities. He’s got to learn as he goes. Learn how to use his assets to the best of his ability, when to move a puck, when to jump in the play, when to use his poise, when to take a chance, when not to. That’s the thing about young defensemen — no matter how talented you are, you have to learn. The good thing for him is, he’s talented enough that he can make a number of good plays while he’s learning and making some mistakes.”
Center Pius Suter, 25, could also make an impact for a while coming over from Chicago to the Red Wings. He had 27 points and a -5 plus-minus score in 55 games last season.
“I think he’s a really smart player,” Red Wings center Sam Gagner said of Suter according St. James. “Just one of those guys that’s in the right position at all times, offensively, defensively. Makes a lot of good plays out there, good reads. He’s going to be an important part of things for us.”
Detroit will need all the help on offense possible as the team couldn’t score consistently in 2020-2021, finishing second-to-last, ahead of the Anaheim Ducks. The Red Wings mustered 2.23 goals per game and couldn’t get things going on the power play at 11.4%, which was also second-to-last.