By The Hockey Writers,Tony Wolak

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Fortunately, Danielson was back on the ice on Tuesday, which led some to speculate that the injury could be of the upper-body variety. He came down awkwardly on his shoulder during the Sabres contest and got up slowly.

McLellan also noted on Monday that Danielson had a good chance of making the Red Wings prior to the injury – high praise for the 2023 first-round pick.

In three preseason games, Danielson has a goal and two assists, skating mostly with the likes of Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Elmer Soderblom, and Carter Mazur. Detroit has not allowed a five-on-five goal with Danielson on the ice and he has shined as a puck distributor.

Upon return, it would not be surprising to see Danielson spend some time in the AHL in order to ramp his game back up. After that, Detroit could be next. Danielson centering Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat on the second line would allow Marco Kasper to bump up to the first line, where he found chemistry with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond last year. With this lineup, Detroit would feature two balanced scoring lines in the top six.

Luke Hughes Contract & Impact on Simon Edvinsson

On Wednesday, the New Jersey Devils announced that they re-signed defenseman Luke Hughes to a seven-year, $9 million AAV contract extension. The 2021 first-round pick was selected two picks before the Red Wings drafted Simon Edvinsson, who will be a restricted free agent at season’s end.

Earlier this summer, I projected an eight-year, $8.125 million AAV contract extension for the up-and-coming blueliner. Edvinsson has “future top pair” defenseman written all over him, and the Hughes contract extension could serve as an anchor point in upcoming negotiations. Upcoming deals for 2026 RFAs Lane Hutson and Thomas Harley will likely impact discussions as well.

As for my projection, Hughes’ new contract doesn’t change anything. Running the model again produced the same deal for Edvinsson. But, as I said before, an impressive 2025-26 season—both offensively and defensively—could change things.

On another note, Hughes’ extension highlights the value Detroit has in Moritz Seider’s seven-year, $8.55 million AAV. By signing Seider to a long-term contract before the salary cap jumped up, the Red Wings avoided the inflationary impact that we’ve seen in recent deals, which will make Seider’s AAV look better and better moving into the future.

Red Wings’ Franchise Value

Sports business publication Sportico announced their 2025 NHL franchise valuations Wednesday, and the Red Wings were ranked the 10th-most valuable team at $2.11 billion. Detroit’s value increased 14 percent from the prior year and their ranking did not change.

Of note, Detroit’s 14 percent year-over-year valuation increase was tied for the ninth-least among all NHL clubs. The San Jose Sharks ranked last in that regard after only increasing five percent. Meanwhile, the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers saw a 51 percent surge in their value.

More Red Wings News & Rumors

Edvinsson will play Detroit’s final two preseason games – Thursday in Toronto and Saturday at home in a rematch with the Maple Leafs.

Devin Little called for one of Detroit’s goalie prospects to take charge in 2025-26.

Logan Horn previewed the Red Wings’ forward depth heading into the new season.

Jordan Orth selected the top Red Wing to wear each jersey number in the franchise’s illustrious history.

Data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and Puck Pedia.