The Malik Report

Times are tough around the Malik household here in South Lyon. Aunt Annie is pretty much bed-bound because she hasn’t walked in four weeks thanks to two week-long hospital stays for UTI’s that she’s been battling, on and off, for the last six months.

We have some PT lined up this week to begin to help AA regain her mobility, but her lack thereof means that when she needs something, I’m on call for anything and everything, including bodily functions.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s 4 in the morning or there’s a big blog story breaking, if I need to get upstairs, I go upstairs, and I try to stay with her and provide for her needs.

That’s led to some very long days (like today), and very long nights. I’m doing everything from dispensing antibiotics every 6 hours (the stuff she’s on is hard-core heavy, to finally kill off recurrent UTI’s) to cooking, cleaning up after her and simply providing comfort via companionship. It’s intense, and it’s being in close quarters for long periods of time, and sometimes it’s messy, but that’s what the caregiving job entails.

As such, we’ve had to purchase a fair amount of medical supplies, and that’s eaten into what I’ve already described as a tenuous financial situation.

Continue reading Working in a coal mine, going down, down, down

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan begins a series of articles examining the Red Wings’ depth chart with an examination of the team’s goaltenders. Kulfan argues that Detroit might very well trade John Gibson to a more playoff-ready team at the trade deadline because the team has significant depth at the position:

▶ [John] Gibson: If the Wings surprise this season and contend for a playoff spot, and Gibson duplicates his play of last season, there’s definitely a scenario the Wings would attempt to extend Gibson’s contract. Gibson largely showed he’s still an elite goaltender and was durable (57 games), after several seasons cut short by injuries. But if the Wings struggle, you have to believe Gibson becomes a valuable trade chip.

▶ [Daniil] Tarasov: Signed to a one-year deal worth $2 million, Tarasov replaces Talbot. Tarasov, 27, was 13-15-3, 3.05 GAA, .895 SVS in Florida last season. Tarasov has been a backup in Columbus and Florida with a sub .500 career record (32-49-9) and below-.900 save percentage (.897). The Wings are banking this fresh start will prove successful for Tarasov.

▶ [Michal] Postava: With only four preseason games now, is there enough time for Postava, 24, to push Tarasov for the backup job? Postava’s standing in the organization grew dramatically as last season unfolded. He was 17-6-1 in Grand Rapids with four shutouts and a 1.71 GAA and .937 SVS. Postava’s competitiveness in net brought back memories of fellow Czech goaltender Dominik Hasek.

▶ [Trey] Augustine: There really wasn’t much left to prove at MSU, so the decision to turn pro was an easy one for Augustine, 21, who instantly became one of the NHL’s best goaltending prospects. The South Lyon native has excelled in world tournaments for Team USA and plays his best in pressure situations. Augustine will push Postava for playing time.

There’s more, including a profile of Carter Gylander (paywall)…

Sportsnet’s Emily Sadler offers an outside perspective on the Red Wings’ impasse with Dylan Larkin, suggesting that the Wings’ current trading partner, the Minnesota Wild, have some unfinished business of their own:

Where do things stand in Detroit?

Earlier this summer, when Dylan Larkin added his name to the list of Team USA stars looking to (forcibly) take their talents elsewhere, it felt like the Red Wings would be in for a big off-season of change.

And it has been — Steve Yzerman is no longer at the helm as general manager, and the franchise has been conducting a search for his successor since. And yet, the club’s captain remains with the Red Wings. It seems unlikely he’ll be dealt before a new GM is in place, so the waiting game continues.

Larkin’s reported interest in Minnesota makes a lot of sense, but there’s a waiting game happening there, too, as star defenceman Quinn Hughes remains without an extension as he nears his all-important contract year. Surely, the Wild would be thrilled to land Larkin as their long-coveted centre with a desirable AAV and five more years of team control, but all things hinge on Hughes first. 

Continued; the Red Wings still aren’t thrilled with the Wild’s trade offer, which supposedly consists of center Danila Yurov, prospect Charlie Stramel and draft pick(s).

As such, there’s still a possibility, if not a probability, that the teams would have to utilize a 3rd trading partner to get a deal done.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen profiles Red Wings prospect Max Plante today, reporting that the Wings had hoped to sign Plante to an entry-level contract last spring. Plante wanted to play at least one season with his brothers, Victor and Zam, at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, so he declined the offer:

Three Reasons Why Max Plante Will Play in the NHL

1. Slick passer, especially in traffic. Can thread a needle in a congested offensive zone. He’s not timid about going to the net.
2. His shot is underrated. Can pick the corner. Consistently finds the net with his shots. Highly competitive
3. High hockey IQ, smart player who understands his responsibilities whenever he’s on the ice.

What May Hold Him Back

If you watched Plante play for USA against NHL talent at the World Championships, it seemed like he will need adjustment time dealing with the size, strength and pace of the pro game.

Like his dad Derek Plante who played 450 NHL games, Max is below average size for NHL players. But Derek figured out how to cope, scoring 20 or more goals in three of his first four seasons for the Buffalo Sabres. Max will adapt as well.

Continued

DobberHockey’s Khurram Sher is the second person over the course of the past 24 hours to suggest that Red Wings center Marco Kasper should rebound from a difficult sophomore NHL season. EliteProspects’ Kareem Elshafey suggested that Kasper will take the same redemptive path on Monday:

In Detroit, Dylan Larkin has declared that he wants out. The center depth behind him is quite weak with Andrew Copp and JT Compher. Michael Rasmussen also split time between center and wing. That leaves the door open for 8^th overall pick in 2022: Marco Kasper. Some of you might be thinking ‘I remember that guy, I was open to him being a good player after his rookie season, but he crashed so hard that I have written him off’. Do not be so quick to underestimate him, because the underlying numbers say otherwise. 

As is the theme for this article, Kasper’s 5v5 on ice shooting percentage was only 5.9%. His shooting percentage was also on the low end (6.9%). The year before for example he was shooting at 13.1%. Only two of his 10 assists were secondary, meaning he will pick up more secondary assists. Kasper played in 81 games but only averaged 13:48 of time on ice. The year before he received 15:27. With Larkin likely on the move, Kasper’s ice time could shoot up to at least the 17:00 minute mark. Therefore, we could be looking at an increase (a) in ice time (b) in the secondary assist rate (c) in 5v5 shooting percentage (d) in personal shooting percentage and (e) in power play time. Midway through the season, he should be hitting the 200 games played mark as well. In other categories, Kasper also provided a solid 2.30 hits/game.

Continued; Kasper still has high-end potential in my opinion, perhaps becoming the Wings’ second-line center down the line. I believe that he possesses the skills, professionalism and discipline necessary to play a mature NHL game.

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman has taken on the gargantuan task of rating each and every NHL team’s prospect pools, and this season, the Red Wings have fallen a bit, dropping from having the 11th-best prospect pool to the 15th-best in Pronman’s rankings.

That’s in no small part because some of the Wings’ brightest prospects have “aged out” by reaching 23 or older, which is Pronman’s cutoff for being considered a prospect.

Pronman ranks the Wings’ 15 best prospects as well, and his rankings are a bit surprising, deeming Trey Augustine to be a back-up goaltender, and players like Marco Kasper and Axel Sandin Pellikka to be middle-of-the-lineup skaters:

Continue reading Pronman ranks the Red Wings’ prospect pool 15th-best in the NHL

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff wonders aloud whether the members of Detroit’s front office are, in his terms, “Dead men walking” as the Red Wings’ next GM or President of Hockey Operations may wish to “clean house” and install their own staff:

What we do know is that, for the time being, assistant GM Shawn Horcoff appears to be the man calling the shots in the hockey operations department. What also seems apparent is that owner Chris Ilitch is looking for systemic change within the club’s front office.

So where does that leave people like Lidstrom, director of amateur scouting Kris Draper, and player development director Dan Cleary?

Who knows? Are they dead men walking? Probably.

Even Horcoff’s sudden status as the interim man in charge offers him little in the way of job security. Whoever is ultimately hired as GM of the Red Wings will want to bring in his own management team.

That means even Detroit coach Todd McLellan and his staff are certainly wondering what the future holds for them.

Continued; my gut feeling remains that the next GM/President of Hockey Operations won’t be dumb enough to fire a franchise legend like Lidstrom, and I do believe that McLellan will be the Red Wings’ coach for at least one more season.

As far as Draper and Horcoff are concerned, their tenures with Detroit may be more tenuous as the new GM may want to revamp the amateur scouts and remainder of the front office.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses the Red Wings’ salary cap situation heading into the 2026-2027 season, as well as the team’s cap outlook for the 2027 free agent period:

Even if they have to pay restricted free agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson an average annual salary of more than $9 million, the Red Wings could carry cap space of more than $10 million into the season. That figure could be as high as $18.7 million, depending on what they take back in salary in a Dylan Larkin trade.

This could help set up the team’s new director of hockey operations to have a bundle of cap space next summer.

As it stands now, the 2027 unrestricted free agent class could include Cale Makar, Nikita Kucherov and Quinn Hughes, plus Mark Stone, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, Drake Batherson and Vince Dunn.

Obviously, Hughes could re-sign with Minnesota this week, and no one expects Cale Makar or Crosby to leave their current teams. Others will re-sign as well. But Detroit’s new management will be in a position to compete for whoever is left.

The Red Wings also have Alex DeBrincat ($7.75 million), Justin Faulk ($6.5 million), John Gibson ($6.4 million) Andrew Copp ($5.625 million), Mason Appleton ($2.9 million), Daniil Tarasov ($2 million) and Jacob Bryson ($850,000) coming off the books next summer. DeBrincat will be a highly sought after UFA if he doesn’t re-sign

That’s an additional $34 million Steve Yzerman’s replacement can use to shake up the roster.

Continued; this complements SI’s Laura Lambert’s discussion of the 9 restricted and unrestricted free agents on the Wings going into next summer, with Lambert weighing in on the RFAs:

Continue reading On the Red Wings’ cap space, and *next* summer’s restricted and unrestricted free agents

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a profile of Red Wings prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka today, discussing last March’s demotion to the AHL as a learning experience for the promising defenseman:

At 21 years old, it has to remembered Sandin-Pellikka is far from a finished product. There’s plenty to learn, especially being a young defenseman. He’s still learning the fact that good defense can lead to more offensive time.

“Very good defense builds good offense,” Sandin-Pellikka said. “If we’re good at defending, we’re going to have (offensive) zone time. There’s an old coach I had in Skelleftea (Sweden) who said offense wins games, but defense wins championships. That’s a good way to say it.”

Being a smaller defenseman (6-foot, 186 pounds) also can make things difficult, particularly around the net on the defensive end. But during last season, Wings coach Todd McLellan occasionally would single out former defenseman Dan Boyle, a longtime star who McLellan coached in San Jose.

Continue reading Kulfan discusses Axel Sandin Pellikka’s defensive maturation

The Red Wings posted a 12-minute video which follows JP Hurlbert, Victor Plante and Carter Bear from draft day (for Hurlbert and Plante) through Detroit’s 2026 Summer Development Camp: