The Malik Report

The Hockey News’s Michael Whitaker adds a few new quips from Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat, as delivered during the NHL’s Player Media Tour in Las Vegas this week:

“I think we have a majority of our team coming back,” DeBrincat said at the NHL/NHLPA North American Player Media Tour. “Obviously Kaner is gone, but we got a couple of additions that will really help us out. Going into the year, we’re looking essentially the same as last year.”

The Red Wings signed Viktor Arvidsson, who scored 25 goals with the Boston Bruins last season, on the opening day of free agency. They also acquired hard-nosed forward Keegan Kolesar and signed backup goaltender Daniil Tarasov. 

Last season, Detroit lost what was a comfortable points cushion entering the month of March for the third consecutive year; they’re now mired in the NHL’s longest active postseason drought.

For DeBrincat, the new campaign represents a chance to correct the mistakes that have plagued them during critical times in previous seasons. 

“I think it’s a fresh start, we can get our mindset and get confident again and learn from our mistakes last year, I think that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “We made too many mistakes late in the season, and it ended up costing us. But the first 60-75 percent of the season was really good; we were right at the top, but we just fell off a cliff. Try and get back that confident side of the game and hopefully not go through that same lull.”

Continued with a bit of Patrick Kane talk…

And it’s hard to deny from an outside perspective that the Wings aren’t quite the same team without #88.

I am more optimistic than most about Detroit’s ability to get its shit together and battle for a Wild Card spot, but I’m not so blind a partisan as to suggest that it’s going to be easy for the team to rise above “mediocre” and in to playoff-worthy form.

The Detroit Red Wings’ 2026 prospect tournament takes place at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center starting on Saturday, with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins and Dallas Stars battling the Red Wings as the teams play 3 games over the course of Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday…

And the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan focuses on a trio of Wings prospects as he previews the round robin tournament:

Each of the teams will play three games. The Wings will face Dallas Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m.; Pittsburgh Sunday at 7 p.m., and Columbus to end the tournament Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Thirteen of the 24 players on the Wings’ roster are former Wings’ draft picks, including two first-round picks (Nate Danielson, Carter Bear), and second-round picks (Trey Augustine, Dylan James).

Danielson, Bear and Augustine are intriguing storylines as the Wings’ training camp Thursday.

Continue reading Spotlighting Nate Danielson, Carter Bear and Trey Augustine ahead of the Red Wings’ prospect tournament

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses Red Wings prospect and Windsor Spitfires forward Michal Svrcek today, noting that the 19-year-old winger from Slovakia has made the jump from Europe to the OHL to play for Windsor (after struggling to earn playing time with Brynas IF of the SHL).

Svrcek’s earning hype from the Spitfires, who selected him a year ago in the CHL Import Draft, but the 19-year-old stands at stocky 5’11” and 190 pounds (per EliteProspects), and there are some concerns that his size may be an issue:

Three Reasons Why Svrcek Will Play in the NHL

1. High hockey IQ, understands how the game should be played. Strong on the forecheck.
2. Windsor coach Greg Walters says Svrcek boasts “a huge engine.” He can skate, owns breakaway speed
3. Comes with a strong work ethic and possesses a strong desire to improve his game.

What May Hold Him Back

He isn’t the biggest player on Detroit’s prospect list. Can he play his aggressive style against much bigger opponents? And will his offensive prowess translate to pro hockey? Those are questions that have not been answered yet.

Continued

MLive’s Ansar Khan makes a contribution to the complicated news stories surrounding the Red Wings’ managerial search process one week out from the start of training camp:

Now, NHL insiders are questioning the process. Frank Seravalli, on the Fan Morning Show in Toronto, said:

“Are they going to get a GM? Yes. I don’t have the slightest clue who this person’s going to be based on the calls that I’ve made. The names that have been reported and connected to this search, some of them haven’t even gotten interviewed. I really don’t know what’s happening there.”

He added: “I’m not saying they’re bumbling it, I’m just saying we’re none the wiser here. They had a goal of getting a general manager in place by Labor Day. Steve Yzerman, I was told, was informed he was relieved of his duties on July 2. It’s Sept. 9. I’ve never seen anything like this in terms of how long this has gone on.”

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.ca said something similar Thursday on his 32 thoughts podcast: “One of the things out there is that Detroit has asked for permission from some people and hasn’t interviewed them,” Friedman said.

Some inside the organization also describe this entire process as bizarre and said they have no idea what is happening.

Continued (paywall)

The Hockey News’s Adam Proteau weighs in regarding the Red Wings’ managerial search this morning, noting Tigers GM Jeff Greenberg’s withdrawing of his name from the search, and offering some pointed criticism of the Wings as a franchise:

For starters, there are internal candidates — Detroit’s assistant GMs and former NHLers Kris Draper (director of amateur scouting) and Shawn Horcoff (GM of the AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins). Both Draper and Horcoff know the ins and outs of the organization, and the Red Wings need their next GM to be heavily involved with identifying young talent as the franchise moves into a new era. 

But according to [Sportsnet’s Elliotte] Friedman, a prominent external candidate is Andrew Thomas, an assistant GM with the Tigers.

“I don’t know that Andrew Thomas is going to be ready for this now, but I’ve heard that they think very highly of him,” Friedman said in an episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast in August. “That’s a name to remember, although I’m not convinced the opportunity is going to be his now.”

Continue reading Thoughts about the Red Wings’ managerial search from THN’s Proteau

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas discuss many topics as “32 Thoughts” returns from its summer break today, and at the 33:22 mark, Friedman discusses the Detroit Red Wings’ GM search.

According to Friedman…

• The Simon Edvinsson contract situation in Detroit, earlier in the summer, could have been a short-term contract, but the Zeev Buium contract changed the calculus (Edvinsson’s agents are J.P. Barry in the U.S. and Peter Werner in Sweden);
• In terms of finding a GM, Friedman says that Detroit has asked for permission from other NHL teams to interview “some people” around the NHL, but hasn’t actually interviewed them as of yet, and Friedman will work on getting a better handle as to whether the Wings have interviewed said candidates.

In other words, the Zeev Buium contract means that Simon Edvinsson’s contract price has gone up, and the Wings’ GM search certainly sounds to be stuck in neutral.

Update: Here’s the podcast in YouTube form:

Continue reading Audio: two quick Red Wings tidbits from the ’32 Thoughts’ podcast

The Anaheim Ducks are going to terminate the contract of 35-year-old power forward Chris Kreider today, and you’d think that the 6’3,” 231-pound might fit the Red Wings’ needs in terms of adding both secondary scoring and physicality.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff is here to suggest otherwise:

According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, Kreider wants to return to the East. While the Red Wings play in the Eastern Conference, Detroit really isn’t in the East geographically. And the Wings haven’t made the playoffs in a decade. For a 35-year-old player who’s never won the Stanley Cup, that could be a deal-breaker.

The Red Wings do project to have $20 million in available salary cap space. They need to save a chunk of that cash to get RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson locked into a new pact. Even so, there should be more than enough left over to sign Kreider. He made $6.5 million with the Ducks last season.

Then again, is there anyone available to offer Kreider a contract? According to Edvinsson, no one from the club has talked to him about his contract situation since Yzerman’s removal.

If you’re Kreider, do you want to come to a team that, from the outside, appears to be in disarray?

Continued; I just don’t see the Wings signing Kreider. He wants to win right now, and the Red Wings are not a team that is perceived to be making a long playoff run at this moment.

ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton discuss “burning questions” for all 32 NHL teams this morning, and their take on the Red Wings’ most pressing issue is no surprise:

Detroit Red Wings
How will the new GM right the ship?

This a two-parter for the Red Wings. It starts with who is going to replace Steve Yzerman as the team’s general manager? Yzerman stepped down in July, and the search for a replacement has been mostly quiet since then (other than Detroit Tigers assistant GM Jeff Greenberg pointedly removing himself from the candidate conversation).

What hasn’t been so silent is the reverberations around captain Dylan Larkin‘s ongoing standoff with the team following his June trade request. The club is under no obligation to let Larkin go to one of his few desired landing spots — the 30-year-old is under contract through 2030-31 with an $8.7 million AAV — and even if the Red Wings wanted to play ball, any return has to reflect Larkin’s status as one of Detroit’s top skaters (with 67 points in 74 games last season).

It’s a lot of drama for the incoming GM to tackle right away. If Larkin stays, how does that affect team chemistry? Does he retain the captaincy? The still-unnamed GM should have an easier time with another internal issue though — getting RFA Simon Edvinsson‘s next deal done so he’s ready to be in the lineup. Whomever fills Yzerman’s shoes will just have to show their mettle in a hurry.

Continued; yep, the Red Wings need a new GM, and that GM has to address the Larkin and Edvinsson issues, for starters.

“The Sheet’s” Jeff Marek and the Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta discuss the Red Wings’ GM search, Simon Edvinsson’s re-signing, Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin’s respective situations and more over the course of a 13:37 clip from Daily Faceoff:

EliteProspects’ Kareem Elshafey was tasked with compiling a list of 10 NHL prospects who Elshafey believes will make an impact with their respective NHL teams this upcoming season, and the final prospect on his list will likely play for the Red Wings this fall:

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, RW/LW, Detroit Red Wings

Of all the non-blue chip affiliated prospects, there aren’t many who seem as projectable as Michael Brandsegg-Nygård is. Ever since he transitioned to North American pro hockey, he hasn’t had many issues adapting. 

The common theme throughout all his AHL games is his physicality and his work rate; those two traits will be the foundational pieces to his effectiveness as an NHL player.

Brandsegg-Nygård is the ultimate disruptor as a forechecker and a puck-battler. On the forecheck, he constantly pressures opponents and looks to land the big hit, and if he’s able to turn it into a 50/50 battle, he mixes in more subtle physical skills with his positioning, stick work, and puck protection to come away with possession. He’s perfectly suited to play the puck-retriever role on a forward line but still has scoring skill, specifically his shot, to contribute offensively.

With Brandsegg-Nygård, there’s no need for the Red Wings to start him in a scoring role like other prospects would require. He can contribute in a checking role right off the bat, which makes it easier to find him an opportunity. Detroit’s forward depth is also average, meaning an impressive camp from him could see him beat out competition for a roster spot. 

The long term question is not if he can handle the NHL game, but how diverse his offensive game is and what that means for his ceiling. Still, that’s a question to be answered down the road, and the Red Wings can afford to be patient, which should allow Brandsegg-Nygård to do what he does best without other major responsibility or pressure.

Continued (paywall); Brandsegg-Nygard may have a higher or lower offensive ceiling than some anticipate, depending on his developmental curve, but there’s no doubt that the 6’1,” 207-pound forward is, at the very least, a power forward in the making.