From The Silky Mitten State: To maximize their chances at the 2025 postseason, how should the Red Wings bolster their top six this summer?

"We should've won more games," said Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman of Detroit's record without captain Dylan Larkin. "Teams lose their top player all the time, and they find a way to win games."

"Collectively, you gotta find a way to win games," Yzerman continued. "If you're not gonna score four and five a game, you better tighten up defensively. I think, whether it's within, continued maturation of some of our young guys...we need to generate the offense...We missed the offensive production when he was out of the lineup that we need, whether it's another centerman or another impact forward at a different position to offset the loss of the offensive production."

Yzerman did point out that the Red Wings do have some internal options in the pipeline, but it's not yet clear just how ready those pieces are for NHL hockey: "Nate Danielson drafted a year ago, Marco Kasper the year previous to that. We think they're good young prospects. We're really happy with how they're coming. They're not ready to play yet. I'm not ruling anything out for next year. I think in time, we're gonna be real solid down the middle." 

On the most recent episode of The Silky Mitten State, my co-host Connor Earegood and I discussed the type of "impact forward" who might help bolster Detroit's top six in the event Patrick Kane walks as a free agent and neither Kasper nor Danielson is ready for NHL action next fall.  For a sample of that conversation, check out the video above.  For the full episode, check out Apple Podcasts or Spotify:

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