Early line projections come out for Detroit Red Wings 2025-26 Blueline.
As the Detroit Red Wings prepare for the next NHL season, the buzz around their projected lineup has started to commence with fans wondering what they can expect to see from the 2025-26 team.
It's very early to say what the coaching staff will decide to roll out with but the Daily Faceoff has started their early predictions for Detroit's lineup and it appears to have some accurate aspects to it.
We look to break down the projected top six defencemen and how likely it is for the pairings to come into fruition on opening night. With the help of MoneyPuck, we'll be looking at some numbers available for the lines past performance and how successful they were.
With a team-best +8 net rating, the young pairing of Edvinsson and Seider quietly emerged as one of the league’s most exciting duos in the making. The 22-year-old Edvinsson complemented Seider’s All-Star caliber play with poise beyond his years, and together they logged nearly 500 minutes across 64 games.
As their chemistry continues to grow, fans can dream of them one day rivaling legendary tandems like Nicklas Lidström and Chris Chelios or Florida’s Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad as one of the NHL’s elite blue line pairings. This will be the pairing to watch this season as they continue to grow into a dominant force on the blueline.
The former first round pick in Bernard-Docker has barely gotten a chance to showcase his true talents with one healthy season under his belt back in the 2023-24 season. Chiarot had his bright spots last year when playing alongside Seider but with the emergence of a new top pair, he will need to find chemistry with a young 25-year-old that once showed lots of promise.
Bernard-Docker through his only full season recorded 14 points and this is the neighborhood where Chiarot normally finds himself as well. This line may not offer the same offensive spark, but it shows promise defensively.
Chiarot brings plenty of experience at 34 years old and is coming off a season where he averaged the second-most minutes among Detroit defensemen. He also ranked third on the team with 142 blocked shots and fourth with 127 hits. He can share his wisdom with Bernard-Docker, who has yet to solidify his role on an NHL team.
Through 28 games last season, the duo played 160 minutes together and recorded a -2 net rating. Holl more often played with Erik Gustafsson last season while Johansson played with several different partners as a bottom pairing player but did see his most minutes with Holl.
Both players don't offer much besides decent shot blocking numbers with Johansson playing with more of a physical edge that makes him one of the biggest hitters on the team.
Holl on the other hand, works as a regular penalty killer on the second unit and could work as a shutdown defender to compliment Johansson's physicality. Holl is entering the final year of a highly-scrutinized deal with an annual cap hit at $3.4 million per season and will likely play with an edge as he's looking for an extension.
