The Red Wings slice their roster down to the Opening Night 23 with Justin Holl heading back to Grand Rapids, sharpening the focus as they gear up for the Centennial kickoff against Montreal. Steve Yzerman's crew has been stacking the deck all offseason with vets like James van Riemsdyk and Petr Mrázek jumping aboard, but now the real test begins with a blue line blending Moritz Seider's grit and young guns like Axel Sandin-Pellikka.

Detroit's Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond wrap Olympic duties and rejoin the Red Wings next week, injecting star power into a lineup clawing for the wildcard. Raymond's Milan heartbreak fuels his fire, while Seider's physicality bolsters the backend just when Yzerman needs it most. The Wings' surge hinges on these two slotting back in seamlessly amid a brutal schedule stretch.

The Detroit Red Wings dive headfirst into a mini-training camp at Little Caesars Arena, ramping up the physicality and heart rates under Todd McLellan's watchful eye as they shake off Olympic rust. With only three Olympians like Larkin, Raymond, and Seider still away, the core group grinds through strenuous drills that blend team-building wrestling with real game-edge sharpness, knowing the final 24 games demand peak ferocity.

Eduards Tralmaks turns heads in Milan with three goals against NHL stars, outpacing every Red Wing at the Olympics including Larkin, Raymond and Seider. The burly Griffins forward, who's lit up Grand Rapids with 18 goals this season, just showed he belongs in Detroit's lineup amid trade deadline whispers. Steve Yzerman now faces a real dilemma on whether to call up this Latvian wild card or chase a deal before the break ends.

Moritz Seider, Detroit's cornerstone defenseman, reflects on Germany's Olympic flameout with the sting of a squandered golden ticket, the kind that doesn't come around often for a franchise guy chasing hardware. The Red Wings blueliner logged heavy minutes and chipped in an assist during the run, but now he's back to Little Caesars Arena with lessons from a tournament that exposed some international cracks.

The Detroit Red Wings sit atop the Atlantic with $13 million in cap space, forcing Steve Yzerman to finally play buyer after years of patient rebuilding. Everyone buzzes about potential targets, but the real intrigue lies in who stays off the block - Larkin, Seider, and Raymond anchor the core, while prospects like Edvinsson and Bear test Yzerman's conviction to preserve the future.