Red Wings Are Controlling Play Without Larkin or Edvinsson

The Detroit Red Wings currently sit last in the Atlantic Division at 7-5-3, yet their 17 points leave them one point out of a wild card spot. That puts into perspective just how good the Atlantic Division is and how difficult it is to make the playoffs. Last in this division is still not great but, I expected worse honestly after this last offseason. Yet the Detroit Red Wings are playing good hockey with a thinned out roster, the Red Wings 5v5 numbers back it up, and we are still losing too many games. Let’s talk about it.Oct 31, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; St. Louis Blues left wing Pavel Buchnevich (89) is defended by Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (53) in the third period at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)What the Red Wings 5v5 Numbers SayThe Detroit Red Wings are a good hockey team; I know that is a wild thing to say given our situation but it’s true. At 5-on-5, Edgehalla has Detroit 7th in the league in CF% (Corsi For Percentage), 5th in xGF% (Expected Goals For Percentage) and 4th in HDCF% (High Danger Chance For Percentage). Mind you this same team no longer has Dylan Larkin, who the Red Wings suspended without pay on Oct. 29 after he informed them he no longer wanted to play in Detroit. He had put up 6 points in 10 games before that, 3 of them on the power play. We also haven’t had Simon Edvinsson at all this season because he is an unsigned restricted free agent who still doesn’t have a contract. We lost both Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton to injury early in the season, both are on injured reserve and both are depth drivers for the team.Why Aren’t We Winning More?Those top 10 stats for 5-on-5 play are great but another stat we can look at that may explain why we aren’t winning more games is 5-on-5 GF/60 (Goals For per 60 minutes). In that regard we sit at 19th in the NHL for 5-on-5, even worse we sit at 22nd for all situations. To translate these stats into English, we are controlling the ice and generating high-quality chances, but we can’t get the puck into the net as much as we should be.Oct 9, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; The Detroit Red Wings score a goal in the third period against the Seattle Kraken at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Paul Barnick-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)What This Means for the Larkin and Edvinsson DecisionsIt is a problem that a committed Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson could help solve but those ships have all but sailed away. Once Kasper and Appleton come back into the line-up our GF/60 stat may improve but those two are currently just solid depth players, Kasper in a couple years, I think, will be a major factor in Detroit but not this season. I could also be wrong about that opinion, and he could come back and just dominate, he does have the engine and work ethic to do that, and this is hockey, anything can happen. But what we need is a difference maker acquired in a trade for Dylan Larkin, personally I’m not giving up on Edvinsson but those two in a deal for Nikita Kucherov would be a dream trade for us. Unlikely, and the front office is not making it easier. Larkin holds a full no-trade clause and gave Detroit a short list of teams he would waive it for, and interim general manager Shawn Horcoff has said flatly, “I have zero interest in trading Simon Edvinsson.” But could you imagine? Steve Yzerman was Tampa Bay’s general manager when the Lightning drafted Kucherov 58th overall in 2011. He is a senior adviser in Detroit now, not the man making the call.Defense and GoaltendingIf we can’t find a way to bury more of our chances to outscore our problems, then we need to get better defensively. Edvinsson would bolster our blueline and give our defensive pairings more depth. Management really needs to find a way to get him signed or get a good D-man in a trade for him, even if Horcoff says that second door is closed. Goaltending has also been a slight annoyance. John Gibson has a .860 SV% and a GAA of 3.37, that is not good enough to be competitive in the Atlantic Division, we need solid goaltending. I don’t like to be one of those guys who blames it on the goalie but some of the blame here is on the goalie. That being said John Gibson, once rolling, can be a top tier goalie in this league, he ended last season with a .901 SV% and a GAA of 2.72. Daniil Tarasov on the other hand is currently at a .927 SV% and a GAA of 1.75. Take that with a grain of salt because that is from a small sample size being that he has only played 5 games. There is an argument that we could trade Gibson and have Daniil Tarasov and Michal Postava as our tandem, but I think we need more games before we get into that.