It's hard to believe the preseason is already here.
Tonight, the Detroit Red Wings face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first preseason game of the 2026-27 season. The shortened training camp and truncated preseason gives head coaches and general managers little time to experiment with lineups. Thus, we're instead left with preseason projections and early speculation.
Still, that doesn't mean the Red Wings aren't leaving a few hints along the way.
Ansar Khan of MLive shared a practice line on Saturday that looks about as close to the opening line as we could get:
Lines for #RedWings first practice group:
DeBrincat-Copp-Raymond
Finnie-Kasper-Arvidsson
Rasmussen-Compher-Kolesar/Appleton
Mazur-Danielson-MBN
Edvinsson-Seider
Chiarot-ASP
Johansson-Faulk
Bryson-JBD
Wallinder
Gibson and Tarasov pic.twitter.com/oRZtEchQgq
Barring Dylan Larkin's return from injury, this is about as close to an opening night lineup as it gets.
Why this could be the opening night lineup
First and foremost, it's important to note that this is not the official opening night lineup. A lot can happen between now and October 2. There's a chance Dylan Larkin returns from injury. There's also a chance - albeit an unlikely one - that he's traded before opening night. Injuries, inconsistencies and trades can shake up a lineup at a moment's notice, which is why it's important to take this projection wth a grain of salt.
But let's be honest here: this is about as close to puck drop as it may get.
Sure, you may see a dark horse candidate or two break out. You might even get an Emmitt Finnie situation, where a relatively unknown commodity makes himself indespensible. But, until that happens, this is a great educated guess on how the roster will turn out.
The biggest takeaways here are the injection of prospects and the concerning lack of center depth. On one hand, seeing Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Nate Danielson penciled into the lineup is an exciting influx of young talent. On the other hand, their placements in the lineup - and the fact that Andrew Copp is the team's top line center - leave too many questions and not enough answers.
Perhaps it's just preseason shuffling, but it's certainly worth monitoring.
New CBA rules provide great opportunity for prospects.
The NHL's new CBA comes with a handful of new stipulations, but the one that stands out the most comes from its shortened preseason. Under the new CBA, players with over 100 games of NHL experience can only play two preseason games.
This, in turn, creates a golden opportunity for young prospects to show their stuff.
In the past, players like Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond made themselves indespensible at training camp. They showed enough talent and strength to earn every minute they played in their respective rookie seasons. This time around, there will be opportunity aplenty -- especially considering the lack of depth across the board.
This is a lineup starved for talent. It needs strong scoring as much as it needs physicality and identity. Last season, the lack of depth in the roster sunk the team's playoff hopes. This time around, the team can turn its greatest weakness into a strength.
This is the ideal environment to bring about a youth movement.
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