The Detroit Red Wings are looking like one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, even if sometimes they’ve struggled to consistently show it on ice. However, one the things that has been consistent this season, are the solid contributions from most of the players the Red Wings signed or traded for this offseason.
James van Riemsdyk is fourth on the team in goals with 11 on the season and 15 points total in just 35 games with the team. The former second-overall pick has been moved all around the Red Wings' lineup but has been a real disruptor as a net-front presence, even earning him some time on the first power play unit. All that while he’s playing on a one-year, $1 million dollar contract.
Meanwhile, Mason Appleton has been a solid fourth line contributor, though he did miss some time with an injury in December. Since returning to the lineup however, he’s had two goals in the last eight games. The Red Wings signed him for two years and $5.8 million, with an AAV coming in at just under $3 million.
Detroit’s big trade acquisition in the offseason was John Gibson, and after a shaky start to his career in red and white, Gibson’s been one of the best netminder’s in recent Red Wings memory since the start of Dec. 2025. Gibson started in almost every game in net for Detroit last month, and currently has a 14-9-1 record in his 25 starts.
Detroit Red Wings' 2025 acquisitions have outshone past additions
It wasn’t too long ago that Red Wings fans were bemoaning Steve Yzerman and Detroit’s front office for their poor pro talent acquisition skills. J.T. Compher, and some of Detroit’s other forwards from recent memory have found it hard to find their footing in the winged wheel, though Andrew Copp has seemed to manage to find his form this year.
And that’s before mentioning the lackluster results the Red Wings got from Vladimir Tarasenko last year. The team ended up trading Tarasenko in a salary dump to Minnesota in the offseason after he put up 33 points in 80 games last season. Erik Gustafsson and Justin Holl come to mind as contracts that had to be buried in the AHL, and right now, it’s Detroit’s homegrown talent on the back end that is carrying the vast majority of the load.
Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic have been Detroit’s worst defenseman, and both were signed this offseason. Albert Johansson hasn’t looked comfortable with either on the third pair (sometimes second), and is quietly having something of a sophomore slump.
The Red Wings defense needs to be improved if they want to be contenders in the playoffs and not just get swept out in the first round. Right now it’s hard to say if there’s someone within the organization, in Detroit or Grand Rapids, who could solve the problem. The question then of course becomes; Do we trust them to acquire another defenseman?
This year has seen some obvious improvements on the free agency front from the forwards, but the pro-scouting department on the blue line still seems to be lagging behind.