The Malik Report

Red Wings prospects Max and Victor Plante are set to play together at the University of Minnesota-Duluth this season, perhaps even skating on a line with their older brother, Zam. Fox 21’s Neil Vierzba reports that the boys’ father, former NHL’er Derek Plante, discussed his sons’ collective decision to skate for the same college team:

Bulldog fans are anxiously waiting to see Max, Zam, and Victor Plante take to the ice this season as teammates. But they aren’t the only ones having a hard time containing their excitement.

The trio’s dad, Derek is a former Bulldog player and assistant coach. He was one of 100 alums that were in attendance this past weekend at the 26th annual UMD men’s hockey alumni golf tournament.

Plante shared with our own Isaiah Wiita what it will feel like once the three compete together.

“It’s been a blessing for them to have the opportunity to come play at Duluth. It gave me goosebumps when they first put on the jerseys, so I’m assuming that when this year when Victor gets a chance to go out there and play too it will be pretty touching. It’s pretty cool that those guys grew up Bulldogs and they absolutely always dreamed of playing for the Bulldogs. And now they’ll maybe get their chance to all play together, which they’ve never played together before so that in itself will be pretty fun,” said Plante.

A short video accompanies the story, but I can’t embed it.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff provides a timely profile of Len Perna, the CEO of the company in charge of Detroit’s general manager/president of hockey operations search. As it turns out, the TurnkeyZRG boss has significant ties to the Ilitch sports and business empire:

From 1988-94, Perna worked as an executive vice president/executive director for the Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, and Olympia Entertainment. Among his roles were leading all marketing partnerships, licensing, media, and new business development for the Tigers, Red Wings, Fox Theater, MeadowBrook Music Theater, and 10 other sports and entertainment properties.

He also served as an executive with the Dallas Stars, and it was during this time that he created Turnkey. Perna was asked by Stars owner Tom Hicks to help with a major project involving the University of Texas.

Hicks was informed by the Stars that one of their employees couldn’t be involved in such a project. Hicks’ suggestion to Perna was that he form his own company and then the university could hire him as a consultant.

Continue reading Meet the CEO of ‘TurnkeyZRG,’ who used to work for the Ilitch sports and entertainment empire

The term “make-or-break” is a little overused at times, but the Hockey News’s Jake Tye uses it correctly in suggesting that this season will be a pivotal one for Red Wings center Michael Rasmussen.

The big man is 27 now, but he’s coming off a difficult, injury-marred campaign, and while the Wings’ current lack of depth at center effectively earns Rasmussen a spot on the team, he’s got to rebound from last year, big time:

If Rasmussen is given one last runway at third- or fourth-line center this season, he may finally get the chance to show his upside. The problem is that Detroit’s bottom six is far from open. Marco Kasper has yet to take the leap many expected, and J.T. Compher has been a disappointment relative to his contract, yet both remain fixtures in the middle of the lineup, leaving little clarity on where, or whether, Rasmussen fits.

That logjam means Rasmussen’s leash may be shorter than he’d like. If he struggles again, his roster spot could be in real jeopardy, particularly with several prospects knocking on the door for NHL opportunities. A step backward this season could mean Rasmussen is dealt out of Detroit in a trade similar to the one that sent Elmer Söderblom out of Hockeytown last season.

Tye also suggests that Rasmussen could still develop into a useful contributor:

Continue reading It’s a pivotal year for Michael Rasmussen

RG.org’s Marco D’Amico profiles Red Wings prospect and incoming University of Michigan freshman JP Hurlbert today, noting that the Allen, Texas native grew up as a big Red Wings fan. This fall, he’ll be playing in Detroit’s backyard:

There is still a considerable gap between being a Red Wings draft pick and becoming a Red Wing, and what Hurlbert does at Michigan will help determine how quickly he can close it.

For now, the setup is hard to miss.

His first hockey jersey was a Red Wings jersey. His dad raised him watching Detroit in Texas. One of the players he looked up to in the greater Dallas region was drafted by the same organization. Now Hurlbert’s own name is hanging on the wall back home, and he is about to play at the school represented by another jersey his family already had in the house.

Detroit will be just down the road.

“I realize that it’s not very common to go to school 30 minutes from your NHL team,” Hurlbert said. “For it to be both teams that I absolutely love and would do anything for to help win, you just want to give it everything you have. At the same time, you almost feel like a fan, but you’re on the ice playing.”

That last part might explain Hurlbert’s summer better than anything else.

Now he heads to Michigan with a chance to chase one championship while developing toward another, all within a short drive of the NHL team he once watched from Texas.

Continued; this is a very good read.

“Pro Hockey Rumors'” Ben Keith compiled a list of prospects deemed “underrated” from the Atlantic Division, and Keith wrote a very complimentary profile of Red Wings prospect Max Plante as part of his article:

Max Plante – Forward – Detroit Red Wings

It hasn’t been the best summer in Hockeytown, but former general manager Steve Yzerman looks to have a hit for the next regime. Drafted 47th overall in 2024, far from a late round gem, still, Minnesota-Duluth winger Max Plante had quite the sophomore year for someone not thought to be among their very most hyped prospects. Winning the Hobey Baker award for the nation’s top NCAA men’s ice hockey player, the 20-year-old had 52 points in 40 games, a major breakout which had him tied for third in the nation, coming out even with Michael Hage and just ahead of blue chippers Gavin McKenna and Porter Martone.

Continue reading Praise for Max Plante

Friday morning, Swedish super-Red Wings fan and “The Swedish Winger” podcaster Lars Thorsell Tweeted the following…

How cool is it that @DetroitRedWings legendary scorer Johan "The Mule" Franzén's son Eddie is moving to Detroit to play for @HockeyCaesars ?

The 15yo will be living with the Osgood family.

All luck to him!#LGRWhttps://t.co/cal2eIHNhk

— Lars Thorsell (@LarsThorsell) August 14, 2026

This evening, Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith confirmed the news:

While he may not actually share a nickname with his father, Eddie-Bo Franzen, son of Johan ‘the Mule’ Franzen looks to be making a name for himself with an American audience a little faster than the former Red Wings power forward.

The younger Franzen is joining Detroit’s Little Caesar’s 15U AAA team for the upcoming season, making the jump across the pond much sooner in his career than Johan, and breaking ground as the team’s first Swedish player.

Eddie-Bo Franzen comes to America after a strong season with Linkoping HC’s U16 team in their top junior division. In 15 games, the 15 year old, 6-foot and 180lb Franzen had 14 goals and 5 assists. While the games aren’t easy to watch (or find) in America, it’s pretty easy to see that Eddie-Bo has more than a little of Johan’s strong net front presence and physicality even at his young age.

Continued; the Osgoods have become a billet family over the last couple of seasons, so it’s not that surprising to hear that the goalie-turned-broadcaster is lending a hand to an old friend.

The Little Caesars program plays out of the BELFOR Training Center underneath Little Caesars Arena.

Since Aunt Annie came home from her second hospitalization, she’s been bed-bound, and thusly, I’ve been taking care of all of her needs for the past week.

Some days have been better than others; today started at 5 AM, and while I was able to sneak away to Walgreens for 45 minutes, I’ve otherwise been engaged in taking care of AA, who had her first physical therapy appointment today.

She’s still on heavy antibiotics for a UTI every 6 hours, so we get up at 6 AM to make sure that she’s taking her medication on time; thus far, she’s responded well to the antibiotics, and her “mental fog” has been more and more intermittent.

But things are difficult here, and we’ve got some financial issues as well.

Continue reading Hard times

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan addresses the rumors that Detroit Tigers GM Jeff Greenberg may be in the running for a similar position with the Detroit Red Wings, as suggested by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on his NHL Tonight appearance one week ago:

Greenberg, 40, a graduate of Columbia Law School, isn’t your typical “hockey man” — and, interestingly, that might just be exactly what Christopher Ilitch is looking for with this particular hire.

Tigers president Scott Harris hired Greenberg in September 2023, after the two worked together with the Chicago Cubs from 2012-19. Greenberg interned with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks and MLB’s executive office during his undergraduate studies and during law school. Greenberg joined the Cubs in 2012 as an intern in baseball operations and climbed his way to becoming assistant GM in 2020.

Greenberg then joined the NHL Chicago Blackhawks in 2022, becoming an associate general manager and being credited for building one of the strongest analytic departments in the league.

Continue reading Kulfan profiles Tigers GM and Wings GM candidate Jeff Greenberg

MLive’s Ansar Khan suggests that the Detroit Red Wings need to import some offensive talent to their roster regardless of whether Dylan Larkin’s situation is resolved with a reunion and/or the Red Wings recoup player(s) of value in a Larkin trade:

Lack of scoring cost the Red Wings a playoff spot after they were tied for the Eastern Conference lead on Jan. 24 with 69 points. They finished 22^nd in the league in goals (239) and 30^th in five-on-five goals (142).

They lost Patrick Kane (16 goals), who signed with Chicago, and didn’t re-sign James van Riemsdyk (15 goals), who remains a free agent.

Viktor Arvidsson (25 goals last season with Boston) will compensate for some of that offense.

They also need growth from within. Marco Kasper must be closer to the player who scored 19 goals as a rookie and not the one who struggled last season with nine goals. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard could be ready to contribute after being elevated before he was ready a year ago (one assist in 14 games).

Here are the players Khan believes can fill a goal-scoring hole for the Red Wings:

Continue reading Injecting offense

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen continues DHN’s survey of the Red Wings’ top 10 prospects this morning, discussing big Swedish defenseman Anton Johansson:

Three Reasons Why Johansson Will Play in the NHL

1. Competitive player who likes the physical side of the game. Delivers memorable hits.
2. He’s driven. Want to get better and shows improvement every month. He carries himself like an NHL player.
3. Has a sneaky-good offensive game, moves the puck effectively and can unload a blistering shot. He’s really starting to see plays developing as he moves up the ice.

What May Hold Him Back

He probably would be farther ahead if he had played in North America last season. He still only has 30 games of AHL experience. The AHL mentality is much closer to the NHL mentality.

As a physical player, Johansson needs a more advanced understanding of how to best use his physical play as a competitive edge. The Red Wings would also like to see him add a few more pounds of muscle.

Continued; I’m a big believer in Johansson’s potential, but Allen is right that Anton’s going to need to learn when and how to check players more effectively on North American ice (85 foot-wide rinks instead of 100-foot-wide rinks). I’d still project Johansson to become a Brad Stuart-like Swiss Army Knife defenseman, if all goes well.