The Detroit Red Wings will kick off their 2026-27 season on Friday night. And with it, comes a renewed sense of expectation, except that the current situation within the organization has kept plenty of folks bearish on the team.
That situation has led to warning lights flashing across the board for most pundits.
In a recent interview on Daily Faceoff, insider David Pagnotta issued a dire warning regarding a slow start for the Red Wings. If the club were to struggle out of the gate, the outcome might not be what fans want to see.
“If they’re 1-5 in their first six, and uh-oh. It’s not going to be good. But, at the same time, what the hell is the direction of this team now?”
And that’s precisely the point in question.
The Red Wings are akin to a ship adrift at sea, with no one really at the helm steering things. Yes, there is an “interim” GM running the show at the moment. But that’s not really what fans and the club want to see.
“You’ve got an interim GM… Shawn Horcoff is going to be given the opportunity to do whatever he needs to do, and prove that he’s capable of holding the fort as full-time GM, it’s almost a directionless team.”
Pagnotta is right about everything except the “almost” part. The Red Wings ARE a directionless team. That’s why Pagnotta highlighted that the Red Wings want to push for the playoffs, but they have Larkin on their hands. Moreover, they won’t take futures for him, they also have their best young defenseman in Simon Edvinsson, sitting in limbo, with multiple other veterans who will be looking for new contracts as well.
If things go south for the Red Wings early on, Pagnotta believes the organization will have no choice but to rebuild the rebuild.
“What is the direction of this team? Do we have to bite the bullet and go through this little rebuild process again?”
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That’s the last thing Red Wings fans want to hear.
Red Wings Would Have Already Traded Larkin If They Had Wanted To
One of the key points that Pagnotta made regarding Dylan Larkin was that, if the Red Wings were willing to take futures, they would have traded him a long time ago.
However, the directionless approach coupled with the obstinacy in wanting NHL-ready players in return has made the situation unsustainable.
That’s why, if the Red Wings had softened their position, this situation would have been over a while ago.
However, Detroit hasn’t, and the Larkin situation remains in limbo.
Detroit Has to Get Off to a Strong Start
The bottom line is that the Red Wings have to get off to a strong start. That’s not the usual cliché phrase about every club at the start of each season.
It’s vital to the organization’s survival.
A dismal start would likely bury the Wings in the Atlantic Division. And that situation would likely force a bigger conversation about the team’s direction for the remainder of this season and beyond.
That’s why Pagnotta’s point about a major selloff makes sense. The Wings will have to cut bait with some veteran pieces, bring in more futures, and hope that additional trade capital can lead to a quick turnaround moving forward.
It’s a very fine needle to thread, but that’s the situation the Red Wings put themselves in.
Red Wings Get Dire Warning from Insider Ahead of Season Opener