Dave Reginek’s voice broke as he spoke about a letter he had just found from his daughter. In it, she spoke of never wanting to hurt him. He saw that part when he tried to mop up a tear that had fallen on the paper.
It is a letter that is almost heartbreaking now, as the Reginek family copes with the loss of Danielle “Reggie” Reginek, who passed away Dec. 8 due to heart failure. She was 41.
Reginek and Reggie used to bond over photography. His interest in the field began when he was 11 years old and got a Yashica camera from his mom, who got it from a bar patron in lieu of paying his tab. Reginek turned an early hobby into the job of a lifetime when in 2002-03, he was hired as the team photographer by the Detroit Red Wings. It was a passion he cherished sharing with his daughter.
“She was a huge, huge sports fan,” Reginek said. “She could go toe to toe with just about anybody. And it was just something that her and I always had together. Sports and taking pictures. She was great at taking pictures.”
Reginek is part of the photo team that shoots the Detroit Lions’ annual Thanksgiving Day game, which means celebrating the holiday with family − his wife, Colleen, Reggie, son David and his wife and their children − means postponing it a day or two. This year, they celebrated on Nov. 29.
“We were playing cards with her aunt and my daughter-in-law, some other games, laughing and having fun and it was all good,” Colleen said. “She was here for a couple, three hours.
“It was nice that we did get that.”
The next day, they got a phone call, the start of a nightmare.
“Sunday morning, my son called me and said that her boyfriend had called, something was wrong,” Reginek said. “They’re giving her CPR and taking her to Trinity Health in Livonia. We got over there as quick as we could. They were working on her for almost two hours. They finally got a pulse, but after four minutes of no oxygen to your brain, your brain starts to die.”
Reginek describes that Sunday, Nov. 30, as the day “we lost her beautiful soul.”
Five days later, they took her off life support. They tried to honor Reggie’s generous spirit and wish to be an organ donor by working with the Gift of Life program. Having never gotten to walk Reggie down the aisle for a wedding, the Regineks instead walked her down two corridors at the hospital, to the operating room.
“He thought this was his last chance for him to walk with her,” Colleen said. “So as much as he doesn’t like wearing suits, he got all dressed up in a suit and I was in a dress and we were all dressed up to walk down that path. And he held her hand the whole way.”
Hundreds of people lined the hallways. The Regineks stopped to thank every one of them.
“That was very tough,” Reginek said. “They had two floors and we had to take an elevator down and both floors were lined up. It was very emotional. As I walked by every one of them, I looked at them and I said, thank you, and there had to be 150, 200 people. I told them, you are all living angels.“
There were complications with the internal organs, but her skin and her eyes were harvested.
Reginek describes Monday, Dec. 8, as the day “we lost her body.”
The Regineks are determined to go forward with a pre-planned holiday party. It’s what Reggie would have wanted.
“We have grandchildren and this is Christmas time,” Colleen said. “We have our Christmas party at my son’s house, and he’s like, do we cancel? Should we not have it?
“And it’s like, no. Reggie taught us more than anything that family is what is important and we have to move on for the kids. She would have wanted us to have it.”
As they try to figure out how to move forward, the Regineks are dealing with the other pain that can come with losing a loved one: Sorting out their affairs. Reggie did not have a will, and they don’t have her passwords to her phone, credit cards, and other accounts. On top of the grief, there is so much paperwork.
And there is going through her belongings, which can bring both overpowering sadness − and gratitude.
It was while sorting through her desk that the family found a letter Reggie had written two years ago, after a disagreement with her dad over something she did that he didn’t like.
“My son found it and brought it to us the other day,” Reginek said, emotion breaking his voice. “It’s so sweet. It’s so touching. She felt like she needed to write it down and she did. It was hard to read. It was so heartfelt. And while I was reading it, a tear fell from my face and it hit a part, the part where she said, I don’t ever want to hurt you and mom.
“That’s where that tear landed. I didn’t even read down that far. I couldn’t. But that’s how I saw it. My tear.”
Reginek is used to having great access to the team, but he usually only gets called into the locker room after a game if a player is celebrating a milestone.
Tuesday was different. Early in the day, he received a phone call from a staff member asking him to come to the locker room after the game, regardless of outcome. The Wings were blasting music to celebrate their 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders, but as soon as Reginek entered, the music was turned off, and captain Dylan Larkin stood up.
“He made a comment about my daughter passing while they were on the road trip,” Reginek said. “He says, ‘you’re always taking our pictures. We want to do a team picture with you.’ So he gave me the game puck and I did the best I could, kind of thanked him and told him how grateful I was.
“The win was the biggest win of my life with the team. They dedicated it to her. That was overwhelming.”
Afterward, one by one, players hugged Reginek. Todd McLellan, the coach, offered his condolences. “He said if we need anything, to please reach out,” Reginek said. “They were all very sincere about it.”
In the hallway outside the locker room, general manager Steve Yzerman was waiting.
“I seen Stevie making a beeline towards me,” Reginek said. “We talked for like 10 minutes. He’s got three daughters and I know he felt my pain or could see it. I think he understands the devastation that we’re going through. Not that he could truly understand the pain, you can only imagine it, you can’t put it into words.”
As news spread of their loss, the Regineks were overwhelmed with messages of love and condolences. They knew Reggie was special, that her energy and smilie and infectious joy had touched so many. Now they saw it.
“My wife kind of made a list of things, bullet points of things, that people kept saying over and over again,” Reginek said.
There were so many.
“It was ‘her big, welcoming heart, her bright light, her big, beautiful smile,’” Colleen said. “‘A truly amazing person, loyal friend. What a kindhearted, beautiful person she was. How you could pick her laugh out of a hundred people in a room. A friend who would always be there for you. How genuine she was.’”
Now that joyful and loving person is gone from Reginek’s life, but never from their hearts. Never from their souls.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her books: “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of Hockeytown,” and “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
Detroit’s dining scene just got even more flavorful with the opening of Sunda New Asian, bringing modern Southeast Asian cuisine to the city.
Restaurant owner Billy Dec joins the show to share what guests can expect from the new hotspot, from bold dishes and incredible cocktails to an energetic atmosphere.
Watch the video above to see what’s cooking up at Sunda New Asian.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
Detroit Lions podcast includes Purple Insider Matthew Coller to talk about NFC North offseason moves.
Nolan and Richard are joined by Purple Insider Matthew Coller to talk about NFC North offseason moves.
By this point in the offseason, it’s well documented who the Detroit Lions have added, as well as who they’ve lost.
Former Carolina Panthers center Cade Mays was the prize of free agency. He’ll replace Graham Glasgow in the middle of Detroit’s offensive line. Clemson’s Blake Miller, selected 17th overall in April’s draft, is poised to quickly take over at the tackle spot opposite Penei Sewell, stepping in for Taylor Decker. The pass rush was overhauled across from Aidan Hutchinson, with Ahmed Hassanein and Tyler Lacy being the only other edge defenders still on the roster from last season.
Today, we’ll try to take our analysis a step further, identifying a few patterns within Detroit’s offseason approach and exploring what those acquisitions, retentions and departures mean for a Lions team looking to bounce back and reemerge as a title contender in 2026.
Detroit’s offense had its own share of issues throughout 2025. But what the defense produced down the stretch with the season on the line failed to meet reasonable expectations. Opponents averaged 28.1 points and 382.1 yards per game from Weeks 12-18, a stretch that resulted in four losses. Pinning all of Detroit’s defensive woes on one factor would be foolish (and you can’t ignore the role injuries played), but an inconsistent, at best, pass rush certainly didn’t help. The Lions owned the third-slowest time to pressure (2.86 seconds) in the NFL last season, according to Next Gen Stats.
Aside from the retooling opposite Hutchinson, the Lions also seemingly put an emphasis on acquiring interior defensive linemen who can get after the passer. Levi Onwuzurike is back after his contract tolled last season — Josh Paschal, a run-defending lineman who also had his contract tolled but was released in March, wasn’t afforded the same opportunity — and the Lions spent a couple of late-round draft picks on Texas Tech’s Skyler Gill-Howard and Tennessee’s Tyre West. Both players were drafted because of the flashes they’ve shown as pass rushers, particularly Gill-Howard, whose win rate in 2025 (14.4%) ranked 10th out of the 512 FBS interior defenders who rushed the passer on at least 100 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Copying the Super Bowl champions isn’t always wise — every team’s personnel has its own set of skills — but it’s striking how much Detroit’s defense differed from that of the Seattle Seahawks, who rode their defense on the way to winning the franchise’s second title. The Lions led the league in use of base defense (three linebackers) last season, deploying those packages for 657 plays, according to Next Gen Stats. The Seahawks were last, with 66 plays. It was the opposite for use of nickel defense (five defensive backs), with the Seahawks leading the league (815) and the Lions at 32nd (355). Of course, Seattle is unique, given head coach Mike Macdonald’s defensive system and nickelback Nick Emmanwori’s immediate impact as a rookie.
The Lions won’t overhaul their entire scheme in one offseason, but it’s difficult to see their moves in totality and not come away thinking they could lean more on nickel packages in 2026. Alex Anzalone, one of the league’s better linebackers against the pass, allowed the Lions to play base defense as much as they did, as he was comfortable in coverage. He’s now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Lions added a number of viable options to play nickelback next season, including veterans Christian Izien Jr. and Roger McCreary, as well as fifth-round rookie Keith Abney II (Arizona State).
Assuming the starting five, from left to right, winds up being Sewell, Christian Mahogany, Mays, Tate Ratledge and Miller, Detroit’s offensive line will have an average age of 25.2 next season. That’s down from 2025 (27.8) and 2024 (29.8). In no way does the influx of youth indicate surefire success, but the Lions would certainly be set up for sustained success if each of the five projected starters reach their ceilings. The offensive line could be even younger if 2025 fifth-rounder Miles Frazier, who is 11 months younger than Mahogany, wins the starting job at left guard. Juice Scruggs, another contender at left guard, is nine months older than Mahogany. Ben Bartch, 27, is the veteran option.
Whether Mays continues ascending at center will be key to Detroit’s success in 2026. He’s only started 20 games at the position over his four seasons in the NFL, and all of those starts have come within the last two years. He showed week-to-week growth in his 12 starts in 2025, enough for the Lions to commit $25 million ($14 million guaranteed) to him over the next three years. Mays surrendered 13 pressures last season and didn’t allow sack, according to PFF.
rsilva@detroitnews.com
@rich_silva18
How the PWHL unveiled Detroit’s team amid much fanfare
Chris Ilitch, Mary Sheffield, Jayna Hefford and Amy Scheer talk about the PWHL Detroit team on May 6, 2026.
Josh Sciba comes to the Detroit Professional Women’s Hockey League team with a tremendous recent accolade.
Named to coach the ninth franchise in the PWHL’s history on Thursday, May 28, Sciba joins the team fresh off having served as an assistant coach with the women’s team that won the gold medal at the 2026 Milano Olympics.
“I’m incredibly honored and excited for the opportunity to become the coach of PWHL Detroit and beyond grateful for the trust placed in me to help lead the organization from the beginning,” Sciba said in a statement. “This is home and especially meaningful for me and my entire family, knowing Detroit’s rich hockey history and identity firsthand and how much the women’s hockey community has been yearning for this moment.”
The Detroit PWHL team has taken shape over the past month: From being introduced on May 6 in a gala event at Little Caesars Arena (where the team will play starting late November/early December 2026) to naming Manon Rheaume general manager on May 15.
“Josh is a highly respected coach with a knowledge of the game and experience at all levels of women’s hockey that set him apart, and his passion for teaching and individual character are qualities I value in a leader,” Rhéaume said in a release “Hockeytown is in his blood, and this is an opportunity I know he is eager to embrace with an understanding of what it means to represent this city and be part of its legacy.”
Next on the agenda is shaping the roster itself, which will happen at the June 17 expansion draft at Detroit’s Fox Theatre.
Sciba, 41 and a native of Westland, has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the PWHL’s New York Sirens and brings more than 15 years of coaching experience to the role.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
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