from Ansar Khan of Mlive on Zadina and Suter,

Lalonde said. Zadina lost his spot to rookie Elmer Soderblom who will make his NHL debut. Suter lost his spot to young Joe Veleno.

Lalonde stressed that lineups could change on a daily basis, however.

Tough decision, went back and forth, Lalonde said. Expect both those guys to see some time sooner than later. Kind of keep that competition going.

Lalonde said Zadina needs to manage his game better.

Hes an offensive guy that judges himself on offense, Lalonde said. Obviously, wed love him producing offense but just managing his game. Theres some risk, theres some turnovers in his game. All great players, skilled guys are going to have those natural turnovers, but just limiting them.

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via Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

Of course, the decision to scratch Zadina and Suter means that rookie winger Elmer Soderblom is going to be making his NHL debut in Fridays game.

Its a long journey, said Soderblom. He was selected 159th overall in the 2019 NHL entry draft. Last season, he led Frolunda of the SHL with 21 goals.

Ive been improving my game for the last three years. I feel ready and its going to be fun. Of course, NHL has always been a dream. Ever since I got drafted I wanted to come here.

Now that Im finally here, Im really honored and excited to be in the lineup.

To me benching Suter and Zadina for Soderblom and Veleno is a stunning development and a sign new era really began. The coach is going to play the guys he thinks gives him the best chance to win not paying attention that Zadina just got a 3 year contract. Now, I personally liked the way Zadina played in preseason and I think Perron was our worst forward, but this turn of events (Soderblom and Veleno getting rewarded for good preseason) is exciting.

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Zadina had 10 goals and 14 assists last season, gradually dropping down the lineup as the season progressed.

It was hoped around the Wings that a coaching change from former coach Jeff Blashill to Lalonde and his new staff would spark Zadina. A restricted free agent last summer, the Wings showed a semblance of faith in Zadina's future by signing him to a three-year contract worth $5.475 million ($1.85 million per year cap hit).

But, thus far, the Wings have only seen flashes of what they've been looking for....Lalonde has been pleased with the effort and response from Zadina this week, after being told of the lineup decision.

"He was good; he basically repeated the three or four things I had asked of him," Lalonde said. "Hes handled it well, been a good teammate. I know its a little thing, but on Monday, he wasn't in our top 12 and he ate some pucks in practice (blocked several shots). That's him telling the coaching staff, telling his teammates that I'll be a good teammate and I'll watch Game 1, but I'm not going to accept it.

"That's what you want from competitive players."Lalonde hasn't revealed whether Alex Nedeljkovic or Ville Husso will start in net against the Canadiens.

Soderblom's parents are in town and will attend Friday's game, his NHL first game. Soderblom is hopeful his family and friends back in Sweden will be watching. It'll be roughly 1 a.m. in Swedish time when the Wings' game starts.

"Hopefully, a lot of them will watch. It's maybe a little late, but hopefully, they can watch it. It's Friday," said Soderblom, adding they could sleep the next morning.

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One superficial and tentative conclusion to these two lineup decisions is that Lalonde prefers a little bit bigger, heavier lineup. Soderbloms size is pretty unique of course. But Veleno probably has a good twenty pounds on Suter and is a somewhat more physical player. 

Its good in a way that either Soderblom will be so good hell make it too hard to take him out of the lineup (I had really expected based on his career trajectory that hed need a year in NA to adjust) or hell be sent down and play a ton in GR, and Zadina will be able to earn back that third line role. 

Its nice Veleno is seen as a reliable option at 3C. That does seem to make Suter an obvious choice, barring serious injuries, to be moved or packaged at some point. When I remember that he was the 2C last season (and an upgrade there if not a huge one) his status as an extra for now says a lot about how different the depth has become. 

But Im still bummed for Zadina.

Is the risk in his game really more significant than that of other candidates for the top-nine? Sure players have to earn roles and cant be mentally fragile but this does really seem make or break for Zadina re: this organization. If pressure and confidence have been two issues for him its hard to see how this decision helps with either. Im also not entirely sure if Rasmussen and Sundqvist would be ideal linemates for Zadina, other than creating some room for him. Maybe Lalonde also saw Soderbloms game as a better offensive fit with those guys. On the other hand, I could see Zadina more effectively playing a more defensive role on that line than Soderblom, by forechecking and hounding the puck. But maybe they see the goal as that line holding onto the puck as much as possible in the offensive zone and see Soderblom as clearly better at that than Zadina. 

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Partially shocked and not shocked at the same time. I like Joe V and The ENT but was unsure whom would be stepping out. I did figure it would probably be wont be filling the nets with pucks Zadina, which is unfortunate. I do like the kid. But as has been stated, Coach L probably prefers a heavy lineup that's harder to be pushed around. As for someone that needs to take on a Smith role to keep the flies off, I think the Wings will be okay to begin with. We shall see whom the tough cookies will be.

There's just a BIT of message sending here, too. Nobody gets a freebie, and earn your ice time. He put his stamp on the team already, and we haven't played a game yet.

Time to get this party started. A new coach and a lot of new pieces. Interesting to see the opening night roster decisions but trying to not read too much into them, expect plenty of tinkering these first couple of weeks. Love that there was legit competition for the last spots on the roster, love that there seems to be more talent and higher expectations than we've seen in years. Never know who's going to come out hot, who's not, and how injuries will play in. Tonight the puck hits the ice and we get a taste of the fruits of months of planning and preparation.