OctoPulse podcast: Coach Lalonde era begins, Red Berenson interview

ON TODAY'S PODCAST: Episode 76

Ted Kulfan takes a look at the new-look Red Wings after two days of training camp in Traverse City, and former Michigan coach Red Berenson is the guest on the OctoPulse podcast.

"You definitely sense the enthusiasm, the energy," Kulfan said on the podcast. "People are trying to impress the new boss. You've got a new voice, a new coach in Derek Lalonde, a new staff and you have to reestablish yourself.

"We talked about it a lot the last year. A new voice was probably needed. Maybe the old voice just got tired and maybe the guys were beginning to tune it out. Now you have a new way of doing things, a new message and it's playing well so far."

Kulfan said don't read too much into Lalonde's line combinations on the weekend in Traverse City and next week when the Red Wings play the first of eight exhibition games in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. They'll return home on Wednesday and face Chicago at Little Caesars Arena.

"The big thing that we're going to see in these exhibition games, he's going to play everybody with different people, different line combinations," Kulfan said. "Eight games is a lot but I think he's going to relish it because he has a lot of ideas in his head an we wants to see what he has."

Here are other highlights from OctoPulse, Taking the Pulse of the Red Wings' rebuild now in Year 4 of Steve Yzerman's regime.

►2:00: Derek Lalonde on first practice as NHL coach

►5:30: Steve Yzerman on building chemistry

►9:00: Red Berenson interview

►27:10: Dylan Larkin on team identity

►30:00: David Perron on wearing the Winged Wheel