The Malik Report

Tonight, the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan discusses the Red Wings’ depth chart on defense, following up on his examination of the Wings’ goaltending situation.

The normal accolades follow the Wings’ top pairing…

▶ [Moritz] Seider: With Dylan Larkin’s request of a trade, and his status for training camp cloudy, there’s a possibility the Wings could strip him of the captaincy and give it to Seider. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Seider become a finalist for the Norris Trophy this season if he’s healthy.

▶ [Simon] Edvinsson: The Wings don’t have a GM currently, so it’s understandable there hasn’t been a contract reached with Edvinsson, who is likely to earn himself a significant raise given the salary jump around the league. The 23-year-old set career highs for goals (nine), plus-minus rating (plus-12), ice time (22:21) and shots (88), among others. With Edvinsson and Seider, the Wings have an imposing pairing for the next decade, at least.

But things get a little more intriguing when Kulfan assesses the Wings’ 3rd-pair stalwart, Albert Johansson…

Continue reading Examining the Red Wings’ depth on ‘D’

Expert scout Will Scouch discusses the Red Wings’ top prospects today, in “pyramid” form:

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff appeared on the NHL Network today to discuss the Dylan Larkin situation and Detroit’s front office machinations:

Sports Illustrated’s Nathan Smith offers a list of 5 priorities for the Red Wings’ next GM or president of hockey operations, and I’m raising an eyebrow regarding topic #5:

5. Trade Dylan Larkin

This may be controversial to some Red Wings fans, as many have accepted that Larkin is likely coming back ahead of the 2026/27 season despite his insistence on a trade, but it’s because he’s been so demanding of a trade that bringing him back just doesn’t make sense.

Unfortunately for Detroit, to get a deal done, they would likely need to lower their asking price to get it done, as some reports have revealed they are seeking a genuine 1C as a return piece for Larkin.

Simply put, none of the teams he wants to be dealt to are going to give up their best center to land a player that has been openly disgruntled with his current team, but the new GM will now just have to bite the bullet and move Larkin to avoid all of the speculation and potential locker room frustration.

This process would be made much, much easier if Larkin expanded his trade list, but as of right now, that doesn’t appear likely, so if the team needs to take a futures-based package from Minnesota to get it done, that’s the way it should be.

The team in the short and long term is better without a disgruntled captain leading the way when he clearly doesn’t want to be there.

Continued; I’d be fine with the Red Wings flipping some “futures” to a third team for a player or players that can help the team address its center depth, but simply giving up and going for Danila Yurov, Charlie Stramel and a 1st round pick, the Wild’s rumored return…

I dunno about that.

Yesterday, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman ranked the Red Wings’ prospect pipeline as the 15th-best in the NHL, and this morning, his mentions of Red Wings prospects on his list of the NHL’s best under-23 “skater” prospects reflects Pronman’s argument that there aren’t any star players on Detroit’s depth chart:

#65 Nate Danielson

Danielson was good in the AHL last season but struggled in the NHL. He’s a talented center who checks a lot of boxes. He has very good hands, he skates well and his ability to create chances in transition will make him dangerous. He competes well and contributes at both ends of the ice. He has skill, but he’s not a natural scorer and struggles to finish. He projects as a third-line center.

#79 J.P. Hurlbert

Hurlbert is a very skilled scoring winger. He’s very creative and dynamic as a puck handler and passer while also having a good shot. With the puck, he looks like an NHL player, but his effort level and speed are average, and he can be pushed to the outside too easily. If you see his best games, he looks like a clear middle-six winger who will produce points and help a power play, but the holes in his game are a concern and could frustrate coaches.

Continue reading Pronman ranks the Red Wings’ under-23 skater prospects as a middling group

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.