What’s perhaps most alarming about the 7-9-2 start to the season for the Detroit Red Wings is that unlike the teams beating them of late, they aren’t a rebuilding club opting to let a group of kids learn the hard way on the fly.

At a time when Marco Kasper is on the Detroit Red Wings’ second line and Jonatan Berggren is one of the team’s hot scorers, it seems fair to wonder how long it will take Nate Danielson to join the younger forward group.

The affable Austrian plucked at No. 8 in the 2022 draft is, as coach Derek Lalonde put it Wednesday, "starting to cement himself in his role." That's been evident in that during the time the Wings have had 13 healthy forwards, meaning one has to sit, Kasper's name has not come up.

PITTSBURGH -- Marco Kasper has played in every game with the Detroit Red Wings since he was recalled from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins under emergency conditions on Oct. 18, and the 20-year-old forward wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

The road trip didn't go well, but now the Red Wings have a chance to erase all that with an important homestand that could define their season.

Dreger referenced that the start the Red Wings are having is playing a big role in the added speculation in Detroit. They’re 7-9-2 and in a three-way tie at the bottom of the Ea