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Red Wings player poll: Who would make the best NHL coach and GM? Worst card player?

Updated Feb. 18, 2025, 11 a.m. 1 min read

An NHL locker room is made up of all kinds of characters.

But most of the time, that range stays out of the public eye with only fleeting little glimpses into the personalities behind the players.

This is one of those glimpses: The Athletic s annual team poll, in which players were granted anonymity to give their candid thoughts and roasts of their teammates on 10 different questions, ranging from the best and worst dressed to who is (and isnt) fit for a front office career someday.

Advertisement The answers are best taken in the light-hearted spirit they were asked, and hopefully, they give just a little bit more insight into the teams behind-the-scenes dynamics.

Lets get to it.

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Seider was the winner of last year's poll , just edging out Larkin.

So we'll call this a partial repeat for him.

I hate to say it, but I give it to Mo, one voter said.

(He) gets some good suits from Germany over here," another added.

"Hes got some good suits.

But there was a surge from first-year Red Wing Cam Talbot, who certainly makes sense as a contender given how long he's been in the league and how long he's had to fill out his closet.

Ive just built up a repertoire of suits and stuff like that over the years," Talbot said, "and sometimes you can mix and match, sometimes you just go with the matching set.

But yeah, I try to be presentable every time I walk in.

And when you think about it, that might only make it more impressive for Seider to be in the mix especially when you see how some of the team's other young players fared.

I dont think weve got many, one player said.

So Ive gotta throw someone under the bus? another wondered.

Mostly, that led to picking on the rookies here most of the top vote-getters are Detroit's youngest players.

And maybe that's just simple logic since they haven't had as long in the league.

An Edvinsson voter, for example, said: He has good (clothes) because he always buys exactly the same suit as I am.

Theres no new suits.

So Ill take him.

There was one exception to the young-player trend, and that's Chiarot but his inclusion was a little dubious.

Chiarot had two votes for best dressed, and there was another player ready to vote him for "best dressed," too, until he heard there was a "worst dressed" category and flipped Chiarot into that one.

It was a little shady, but we allowed it.

Thats gotta be unanimous, one voter said and he was right.

Out of 18 players polled, every single one said Christian Fischer.

Fischer talks a lot, another added, seemingly an understatement in a vote this lopsided.

While we don't see much that goes on in the locker room, this one always felt inevitable.

Especially since this is a fairly quiet Red Wings team outside of Fischer.

Advertisement Even Fischer himself didn't dispute it.

"Accurate," he said.

"I have ADHD, ADD, a lot of problems going on in my brain, and I just like to say whatever Im thinking.

Responsible, one Talbot voter said.

Reliable, a Petry voter explained.

No surprises on any of that.

But some of the more fun answers were about the players who didn't end up winning.

The player who responded with Raymond rationalized his pick with big new contract" a sentiment that another player echoed when he said, "Probably someone who has money.

One of the players who picked Copp, meanwhile, was speaking from a place of experience although not relating to any actual crimes.

Because hes very knowledgeable," the player said.

"I had a (kangaroo) court case last year on the team, and he won me that court case.

One Petry voter said the longtime defenseman would make a good coach because hes intellectual, and another made the point that "I think he coaches some of his sons." That's a good baseline.

But Copp ended up the winner, which is unsurprising if you've heard the way Detroit's veteran center talks about the game.

I feel like hes got the coaching skills," one said.

"He just has that aura, you know? "I think hes just kind of dialed in with whats going on around the league, pays attention, another said.

One voter, however, cast his vote for Copp with a caveat: "e ven though he would not want to coach.

Still, this one feels like something to monitor whenever Copp's playing days conclude.

His whole persona points to Michigan hockey assistant coach in the future, another teammate said.

Copp got a couple of votes here, too, likely for the same reasons as the coaching answer, but Kane is the player most Red Wings players feel could have a future in a front office.

Hes been around the league for long enough to know good players and bad players, Id say, one teammate said.

Advertisement Hes probably one of the smartest players of all time, at least like offensively, IQ wise," another added.

"Hard to argue.

I feel like he loves the game and is always watching, paying attention.

One teammate said something similar about Kane in explaining his vote for "Showtime" as the best coach but since he also picked him for best GM, we'll use the answer here: Just his hockey knowledge.

Hes been around, hes seen every aspect of the game.

He thinks the game on a different level.

All those reasons.

Knows how to win.

Another added a perhaps underrated component beyond Kane's knowledge of the game: I feel like he has a lot of connections.

But one voter wanted to take the question in a different direction: Not Benny Chiarot," they said, "Ill tell you that.

He might have been the biggest target of anyone across these poll questions.

One Gustafsson voter explained his vote by saying the defenseman Cant handle the money.

But ultimately, this came down to a race between Jonatan Berggren and Joe Veleno.

One Berggren voter explained his vote rather harshly: He cant speak English.

Another softened the blow a bit: Not because hes not intelligent, but just because its just not who he is.

After one voter submitted a four-way tie with his answer, though, it was that extra quarter of a vote pushing Veleno over the edge.

Space cadet," one teammate said.

Im not sure what goes on in that head, to be honest," another added.

When asked for comment on the vote, Veleno said: I knew the boys would say my name for something.

I didnt know it was going to be for that.

He may be on to something.

One Veleno voter admitted: No reason in particular.

Just picking on him.

They both give thoughtful analysis.

And Fischer did get three votes, finishing in second though o ne teammate said of Fischer, hed be the best at it, but least likely.

Instead, the leading vote-getter was Chiarot, for varying reasons.

Advertisement Likes the camera, one teammate said.

He likes to look good and talk," another added.

There were some interesting other votes, too.

The Jeff Petry voter noted that Jeff's dad, Dan, is already a broadcaster for the Tigers and concluded, Like father, like son.

The Kasper voter picked him because he likes to ask questions all the time.

And the sneaky answer that I didn't see coming but can completely see in hindsight was Berggren: I could see Berggy have a YouTube channel or something," one teammate said.

Let's hope that one comes to fruition.

But it was Berggren who ran away with it.

And maybe that shouldn't come as a total surprise .

Theres a lot of guys, but I would say Berggy," one teammate said, "because he has no idea (how) to even hang a TV on the wall, or a picture on the wall.

He needs someone to take care of him," another added.

"For sure Jonatan Berggren.

Just seems like he cant take care of himself, a third said.

One player explained that like this: Theres four different tables, so I feel like its whoevers at their table (on the team plane)," he said.

"At the table that Im at, probably Benny.

Kasper did get his share of votes He gets so mad if he loses, one teammate said but in the end, he avoided losing out in this category.

"I heard Mo was really bad," one teammate said, before asking the player next to him, "is Mo worse than Benny, you think?" After consulting, he concluded: "Benny's not good," before realizing what the rest of the survey results make clear: "I'm chirping Benny a lot." (Photo: Derek Cain / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.