Last chance to make a good impression.
Jonatan Berggren enters the 2025–26 season facing what may be the most pivotal juncture of his professional career.
After a promising 2022–23 campaign in which he tallied 15 goals over 67 games, the Swedish winger experienced a modest regression last season, posting 12 goals and 24 assists despite appearing in more contests.
With organizational patience thinning and roster competition intensifying, Berggren is acutely aware that this season could serve as a referendum on his long-term viability in the NHL. The margin for error is narrowing—and how he responds may well define his trajectory within the league.
While Berggren readily acknowledges that the 2025–26 season represents a make-or-break moment in his NHL career, he also maintains that his overall game has evolved—thanks in part to the leadership of head coach Todd McLellan, who assumed control of the Red Wings bench following the midseason departure of Derek Lalonde last December.
“Last year was a good year for me,” Berggren told NHL.com “I feel like I got more opportunity after Todd [McLellan] became head coach, and I think I played better. This one-year deal is a prove-it-deal for me. I want to show what I can do.”
Berggren’s initial foray into the NHL during the 2022–23 campaign was encouraging, yet ultimately insufficient to secure a long-term roster spot. The following season saw him reassigned to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, where he scored 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points in just 53 games. His NHL appearances were limited to 12 contests, during which he recorded six points.
Nonetheless, Berggren expressed measured optimism entering the new season—noting that his recently signed one-year contract provides a sense of clarity and motivation as he seeks to reassert his value within the organization.
“It felt like I was part of the team,” Berggren continued. “It’s hard when you’re going up and down between the AHL and NHL, so I got that confidence being there for a full year and I’m going to build off that.”
Perhaps most encouraging for the Red Wings is that “Jonny Burgers” enters the upcoming season not only with renewed self-assurance, but also with the conviction that he has reached a new level of physical conditioning—surpassing the benchmarks he set in each of the past two seasons.
“Especially last summer, I feel like that was really good and then at Training Camp, everything felt good,” Berggren said. “I took another step last year, but I feel like I’m starting at a higher level this year maybe than where I was two years ago. I want to do the same thing this summer because I feel like that’s going to give me a good result this year.”
Now, having briefly skated on the top line alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond late last season, Berggren is poised to hit the ice at full throttle as the new campaign begins.
“I feel like we played really good hockey when Todd came in,” Berggren said. “Now that we’re going to start with him, it’s going to be good to have a full camp with the new systems rather than how we had to learn during the middle of the season. That’s going to be huge.”
The countdown is now just over six weeks until Berggren and his Red Wings teammates convene in Traverse City for Training Camp, which will culminate in their first exhibition game against the Chicago Blackhawks on September 23.
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