Last season was a worst case scenario for many Detroit Red Wings players.
Several promising players failed to take a major step. Only a select few rookies made a major impact. Worse still, every veteran seemed to regress to unprecedented levels of mediocrity. There's little more to be said about the 2025-26 season that hasn't been already said, but that doesn't mean there aren't players due to return to form.
It's hard to imagine these four Red Wings will play at the level they did last season. If things go according to plan, a bounce back season seems inevitable.
1. Marco Kasper
Kasper had one of the most disappointing seasons for the Red Wings, managing just 19 points in 81 games on the season. His sophomore slump was disheartening, to be sure, but his underlying numbers suggest an improvement is bound to occur.
No need to hit the panic button on Kasper. A bad shooting season and crummy on-ice shooting as well sunk his point totals, but under the hood he looks fine. I expect him to be back on track next season. https://t.co/dPWRTi26Zg pic.twitter.com/oCN2ggRBva
May 15, 2026If the advanced analytics paint part of the picture, the counting stats add the extra details. Kasper's sophomore season is eerily similar to players like Sam Bennett and Sean Couturier. Should he take a major step next season, the Red Wings may have a gem on their hands.
2. Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Perhaps "bounce back" isn't the proper term to use here, as Sandin-Pellikka did perfectly fine in his rookie campaign. While it was clear he had some development to work on, an offseason of strength training and conditioning will do wonders for the young defenseman. Now that he's familiar with North American ice, Sandin-Pellikka can play to his strengths and show he has legitimate star potential.
Next season, he'll need to round out his defensive game and smooth out some of the rougher edges of his style of play. Should he succeed on that front, he'll be back and better than ever next season.
3. Michael Rasmussen
This one might be a bit of a shock given how frustrating it's been to watch Rasmussen. The center had one of the worst seasons of his career, scoring just 14 points in 64 games. It's clear that his confidence took a hit just as much as his play time, as Rasmussen went from 15:11 a night in ice time in 2023-24 to just 12:39 in 2025-26.
At 27 years of age, Rasmussen's topped out as a bottom-six forward. Even so, it's unlikely he plays the rest of his career at a 14-point pace. Barring something extreme, a regression to the mean seems likely for the former first round pick.
4. J.T. Compher
Similar to Rasmussen, there's just no way this is the kind of player Compher will remain in the future. The bottom-six center had flashes of brilliance on the top line following Dylan Larkin and Andrew Copp's injury. Perhaps, with a little extra ice time, he can regain some of that confidence that earned him his head-scratching five-year deal.
There's no guarantee that Compher gets back to his career high of 52 points in 82 games, but it's entirely possible he comes back to a 35 - if not 40 - point pace.
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