It may be the dog days of summer, but as training camps draw closer — now just a month away — hockey is starting to work its way back into the public consciousness. And with it, some burning questions are coming back to the surface after letting the offseason moves settle.

Today, we’ll take a look at five such questions for the Red Wings: some of which may start to be answered as soon as next month, and others that could take the whole season.

1. Who’s the top-line left wing?

It’s technically still possible this one could be answered with a late-summer trade, but by this point in the offseason, it’s a lot more likely the answer is going to be someone already in the organization.

Or perhaps more accurately, multiple someones. This looks like an area where the Red Wings will have an opportunity (and frankly, a need) to experiment with different options, searching for what works best.

The first domino will really be how Detroit wants to use Marco Kasper, who finished last season as the team’s second-line center — likely his long-term position for the Red Wings — but looked just as good at first-line left wing before Andrew Copp went down with an injury.

My gut feeling at this point in the offseason is that the Red Wings look to keep Kasper down the middle, bringing pace and jam between Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. If that’s the case, does Copp, who can make plays and operate in the hard areas of the ice, get the bump up to play with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond? He’d bring some of the same heaviness and defensive elements Kasper did to that line, and could certainly be worth trying.

But if it’s not him, the next two candidates might be players who could otherwise be on Detroit’s fourth line, in big-bodied wingers James van Riemsdyk and Elmer Söderblom. The 36-year-old van Riemsdyk can certainly do damage around the net and put up 16 goals a year ago. Söderblom has less of a track record, but there’s plenty of skill in that 6-foot-8 frame and he showed improved willingness to finish checks when he was called up in the second half last season.

There are outside contenders, such as J.T. Compher and Jonatan Berggren, and the Red Wings will no doubt give multiple different players a look throughout the season. The key, though, will be if any can really round out a line that needs to be a five-on-five threat in 2025-26.

2. Can Gibson raise the floor?

John Gibson was the biggest acquisition in Detroit this offseason, and his talent (and history) suggest he should raise the ceiling of the Red Wings’ goaltending this season.

The more pressing question, though, might be whether he can raise the floor. Because while Gibson’s .911 save percentage in 29 games last season would have led all Detroit netminders, it’s not as though the Red Wings haven’t gotten good stretches of goaltending over the last few years. Those positive stretches have just generally been outweighed by deep lulls as the year went on and workloads piled up.

Gibson’s numbers dipped playing behind a rebuilding Ducks team over the few seasons before 2024 in Anaheim, but his earlier-career track record was that of a legit No. 1 — the kind of goalie who could give Detroit 50 good starts this season without those same lulls. If he can do that, it’ll make everyone’s job easier.

And perhaps most crucially, it would give some confidence to the group that every mistake won’t end up in the back of the net. For a team that’s really struggled with long slumps in March the last few seasons, that kind of mental boost could make a world of difference.

Some of that falls to the players themselves to fix, of course. But never underestimate how energizing good goaltending can be for a team.

John Gibson’s play could have a knock-on effect for the rest of the Red Wings. (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)3. What does a full season with McLellan mean?

This one will be the hardest to quantify, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real. The Red Wings looked markedly better after hiring Todd McLellan at Christmas, reviving their season in the second half. One of those aforementioned March slumps ultimately derailed any playoff hopes, but even with that lumped in, Detroit played to a 95-point pace under McLellan. That would have been enough to make the playoffs over a full season.

Of course, there won’t be any new coach bump this time around. But in its place will be other advantages, like a full training camp to install McLellan’s preferred systems and structures. And after how the second half went, the buy-in from players should remain strong.

Ultimately, the players’ effort and engagement level is probably more important than the particulars of which schematic McLellan and his staff decide on. And McLellan certainly got that out of the roster in his 48 games last season. Now the key will be to maintain the same blend of energy and instinct that fueled last season while also mixing in any new structures. That’s easier said than done, but it could go a long way toward determining the season’s trajectory.

4. Will young players level up?

Outside of Gibson, Detroit’s big additions this offseason were more of the role-player variety. van Riemsdyk could see time high in the lineup for stretches, but Mason Appleton looks like a classic third-line matchup player and Jacob Bernard-Docker will compete for time on the third defense pair.

That means for the Red Wings to take a step forward, they’ll need some of their returning players to find another level. And the most natural place to look is the youth.

Certainly, the Red Wings would love to see one more step from Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, who both already qualify as NHL stars but do probably have another jump in them. But realistically, the most likely players to make a leap would be Kasper and Simon Edvinsson — both already impact players with just one full season under their belts — as well as Söderblom and Albert Johansson.

Kasper’s “leap” could be as simple as proving he can keep up his second-half production, which had him scoring at a 30-goal (and near 60-point) pace. If he does that while maintaining his strong defensive impacts, it immediately makes the Red Wings much harder to match up against. And frankly, even scoring in the 50-point range probably accomplishes that.

Edvinsson, meanwhile, has also had many stretches of excellent play in huge minutes, and part of a potential jump could come from getting more opportunity on the power play. His skating and stickhandling ability can make him a one-man breakout at times, and allow him to join the rush up ice as well. But for a player Detroit will lean on in important defensive situations, there’s always a give and take to doing so, and that will be the other part of his next stage: continuing to calibrate the right moments to activate. Edvinsson has the potential to be a true all-situations defenseman who takes on huge minutes against top players and produces real offense. Getting to that point takes time, reps and some room to make mistakes, but any step he can take towards that this year would certainly help.

Söderblom and Johansson were both positive stories from last year, including Johansson spending some time on the second defense pairing. It looks possible he could be back in that role again with Detroit unable to find a proven top-four RHD in the offseason, and if that’s the case, they’ll certainly need the 24-year-old to take a step. He held his own in those minutes last year with some highlight moments, but if it’s going to be a season-long deployment, Detroit will want him to help tilt the ice a bit more in their favor.

As for Söderblom, it all comes down to two things: offense and physicality. In a small sample, the offense has been there at a respectable bottom-six level. But sustaining that over a full season is key, and he certainly has the tools to do it with slick hands and a shot that can be a true weapon. The physicality portion is probably the bigger key, though, because if Söderblom can consistently make his presence felt at his size, he’ll add a sorely-needed element to Detroit’s bottom six.

5. Which rookies can make an impact?

This goes hand in hand with the last question, but just as Kasper, Söderblom and Johansson (and Edvinsson, though he wasn’t technically a rookie by the NHL’s definition) carved out roles last season, there will be some new rookies looking to earn spots in 2025-26.

One, Carter Mazur, already made his debut, although he was injured early into it. Mazur brings the kind of hard-nosed play style that could help Detroit find a few more greasy goals around the net, and has the shot to score from farther out as well. He feels like a natural fit to see time in the bottom six at some point this season.

Nate Danielson, the team’s 2023 first-rounder, is another candidate for playing time as a two-way center who’s a little different from Kasper, but who could similarly become a staple in the top nine by season’s end with real playmaking ability.

Sebastian Cossa is probably going to spend much of the year in AHL Grand Rapids again, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get some action in Detroit if either Gibson or Cam Talbot miss time. He’ll be looking to prove he’s ready for the NHL after spending each of the last two years with the Griffins, and getting 8-10 games could be good for both him and the Red Wings heading into next year.

And don’t sleep on a couple more candidates for playing time in Amadeus Lombardi and William Wallinder. Both have logged plenty of reps in Grand Rapids, but Lombardi’s up-tempo, creative scoring ability and Wallinder’s excellent skating as a 6-foot-4 defenseman give both players paths to NHL games this season if the need arises.

Defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka or winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygård — two first-round picks who played in Sweden last season — might also impress and earn a surprise debut.

None of these potential rookies are currently slated to play major roles early in the season, but if even one develops into an impactful player by midseason, it could really change the team’s outlook as the season goes on.

(Top photo of Marco Kasper and Thomas Chabot: Marc DesRosiers / Imagn Images)