Red Wings News: Todd McLellan unleashes the brutal truth, prospect scores hat trick

On Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve, the Detroit Red Wings thought they would go into their one-day break with momentum. Instead, they were wrong, getting embarrassed by a Nashville Predators team that put up six goals on them.

Want more fun? The Preds came into this game 32nd in goals scored with just 51, or 2.31 per contest. They also skated into Hockeytown with the best odds to land the number-one overall pick in 2026.

But wait, it gets "better." The Wings were facing goaltender Justus Annunen, not star goaltender Juuse Saros. Annunen had 28 saves in 31 shots in this one, and he came into the game sporting a 4.07 GAA and a 0.826 save percentage. He also picked up his first win of the season.

This was a home game for the Wings, a team that usually looks good in front of its own crowd. So, it was almost like the Preds were begging the Wings to beat them. They couldn't have made it any easier on the Wings, yet the final score was still 6-3. Embarassing, to say the least.

Todd McLellan said the quiet part out loud and fans need to accept it

In his post-game presser, head coach Todd McLellan's body language alone told us his thoughts, but he shared them anyway. And he refused to hold back, saying, "Where do we as a staff take this? It's all over the map. Leaving New Jersey, we were concerned about net play, the deflections, the tips, those types of things.

"We saw one of those tonight, but there's other areas we have to take care of, so we can't get everything done in one day. Every time we get something, and we grab onto it, we give something else back. It's not a sign of a good team. Good teams hold their lessons and build off of them."

The truth is, the Red Wings aren't a good team. They're a very average group that has had a knack for sneaking away with overtime and shootout wins most of the time when the game isn't decided in three periods. They will pull off the occasional four or five-game points streak before they turn around and play like a completely different hockey team. 

Until the Wings start learning from their mistakes and committing teaching moments to memory, the playoffs aren't happening. That's the brutal reality check facing them right now.

One Detroit Red Wings prospect is crushing it

If there's any solace out there, it's that the Red Wings' prospect pool is still making waves. Max Plante has been one of the NCAA's best players to date, but Carter Bear, the 13th-overall pick in the 2025 Draft, just pulled off a hat trick on Wednesday night in an 8-3 win.

Bear, expected to compete for a spot on the big club either in 2026 or 2027, now has 10 goals and 21 points in the Everett Silvertips' first 18 games of the year. He hasn't been as hot as he was in 2024-25, but with a game like this, he could be getting it together at the right time.

Keep tabs on prospects like Bear, because he's proof that the Wings still have a lot of good players waiting for their chance in Hockeytown. Bear, like Max Plante, is a future core piece. So, even if the Wings aren't that good right now, prospects like Bear and Plante will transform them into a deeper team.