Month: February 2018

Red Wings-Lightning set-up: Wings are 0-and-10 vs. Bolts of late

The Detroit Red Wings open up a difficult two-game road trip against what is arguably the team’s arch-rival at present.

The Wings will play the Tampa Bay Lightning this evening (7:30 PM on FSD/FS Sun/97.1 FM) having lost 10 straight games against Tampa Bay, and they’re going to face an ornery opponent.

Our friends from Florida find themselves in a dogfight for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, thanks to surges by the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, and the 38-16-and-3- Bolts have hit a rough patch, losing 3 of their past 5 games, including 2 losses in 2 days to Toronto (on Monday) and Buffalo (on Tuesday).

Tampa Bay did not practice on Wednesday, so we must examine their 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday to provide context for tonight’s game–and the Bolts were mighty peeved after losing to Buffalo, as the Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith noted:

Continue reading Red Wings-Lightning set-up: Wings are 0-and-10 vs. Bolts of late

NHL.com’s Vollman examines Mike Green’s trade value

NHL.com’s Rob Vollman used advanced statistics to examine whether 32-year-old Mike Green’s trade value could be compared to last year’s belle of the deadline ball, now 28-year-old New York Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. Here’s Vollman’s conclusion:

Green was transitioned into the No. 1 role in Detroit as the roster started to change. During the past two seasons, he has averaged 20:01 per game at 5-on-5, which ranks sixth among NHL defensemen.

This tougher role has taken a toll on Green’s shot-based metrics. In 2015-16, Detroit outshot opponents 1,097-891 when he was on the ice at 5-on-5, for an SAT of plus-206 that ranked No. 13 among NHL defensemen. In percentage terms, Detroit’s share of shot attempts rose from 50.57 percent to 55.18 when he was on the ice, for a Relative SAT of plus-4.61 that ranked No. 17 among defensemen who played at least 20 games.

Since Green was moved into the No. 1 role, his SAT of minus-199 is tied for No. 239, and his Relative SAT of minus-1.02 is tied for No. 158 among defensemen who played at least 20 games.

These results suggest that Green can handle a No. 1 role when necessary but is most effective when assigned a scoring-focused role like Shattenkirk. In that capacity, he should match Shattenkirk in every regard, except power-play scoring.

Shattenkirk’s trade also provides a clue as to what Detroit may be expecting in return for Green. St. Louis received forward Zach Sanford, a first-round pick, plus two conditional picks for Shattenkirk.

That package isn’t without precedent; it’s almost exactly what the Toronto Maple Leafs obtained from the Boston Bruins for defenseman Tomas Kaberle at the 2011 NHL Trade Deadline.

Vollman continues…

ECHL hands out suspensions in Toledo Walleye-Kansas City Mavericks brawl

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe, the ECHL finally handed out supplemental discipline from Saturday night’s brawl with the Kansas City Mavericks:

Kansas City’s Klotz and Freschi fined, suspended

Kansas City’s Garrett Klotz has been suspended for eight games and Eric Freschi has been suspended for two games resulting from their actions ECHL Game #641, Kansas City at Toledo, on Feb. 10. Both players have also been fined an undisclosed amount.

Klotz was assessed a match penalty for cross checking under Rule #59.4 at 12:14 of the third period. He is fined and suspended under Rule #28 – Supplementary Discipline.

Klotz will miss Kansas City’s games vs. Indy (Feb. 16 and Feb. 17), vs. Florida (Feb. 18), vs. Allen (Feb. 23 and Feb. 24), vs. Rapid City (Feb. 27) and vs. Fort Wayne (March 2 and March 3).

Freshci was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for cross checking under Rule #59.5 at 19:30 of the third period. He is fined and suspended under Rule #28 – Supplementary Discipline.

Freschi will miss Kansas City’s games vs. Indy on Feb. 16 and Feb. 17.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association, player fines collected by the ECHL are given to the PHPA for its ECHL Player’s Hardship Fund.

Griffins stuff: Theme nights to come, ‘candids’ from practice and the weekly press release

Here’s a little free advertising (as it were) for the Grand Rapids Griffins, who are holding their “Take Your Dog to the Game” game on Sunday, February 25th…

The Griffins are also holding their “Purple Game” to benefit the Van Andel Institute on March 2nd…

During practice today…

And here is the Griffins’ weekly press release:

Continue reading Griffins stuff: Theme nights to come, ‘candids’ from practice and the weekly press release

Three Things: A Wings-Bolts game preview, Eliot’s Olympic journey and Wings reaching out to disabled athletes

Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. The Tampa Bay Lightning website’s Elisabeth Dichiara penned a Wings-Bolts game preview:

Thursday’s Matchup
The Lightning are playing their last of four meetings this season against Detroit. Tampa Bay earned a 5-2 win in its matchup earlier this season on Jan. 7, Louis Domingue made 34 saves in his debut for the Lightning…He had not played in the NHL since Oct. 28 for the Arizona Coyotes…Defenseman Dan Girardi had a goal and an assist, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov scored, and Ondrej Palat and Vladislav Namestnikov each had two assists for Tampa Bay…Tyler Johnson has points in eight of his last nine regular season games vs. DET…The Lightning have won 10 in a row in the regular season overall against the Red Wings, their longest active win streak versus any team and fourth-longest win streak versus any opponent all-time…Andrei Vasilevskiy has never lost in his career vs. DET, going 5-0-0 with a 1.86 GAA and .940 save percentage…Cedric Paquette has more goals (4) and points (5) vs. DET than any other NHL team and recorded his only career hat trick Jan. 29, 2015 vs. DET…Nikita Kucherov has more regular season goals (11) against the Red Wings than any other NHL team and has recorded points (7-3–10) in five-straight games vs. DET.

Continue reading Three Things: A Wings-Bolts game preview, Eliot’s Olympic journey and Wings reaching out to disabled athletes

Articles from practice: Athanasiou discusses his ‘benching’; on the Bolts, the Fathers’ Trip and Tatar’s Olympic excitement

The Red Wings practiced at Little Caesars Arena ahead of a road trip to Tampa Bay and Nashville on Wednesday, and several topics emerged from the team’s pre-flight media availability.

First, Andreas Athanasiou addressed the fact that he was “benched” during the third period of the Wings’ win over Anaheim, as noted by the Free Press’s Helene St. James…

Athanasiou played just one shift in the third period of Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Anaheim, the result of the Ducks opting to play just three lines and Athanasiou not generating enough offensively through 40 minutes. Blashill made sure Wednesday that Athanasiou knew it was a short benching.

“I talked to him real quick, just said I didn’t think he was going last night, and he’s going to get a chance to go in Tampa,” Blashills said. “I told him get right back on the horse against Tampa. We need him to be a real good player so hopefully he comes out and he’s flying against Tampa.

 “There’s other guys, some nights their minutes are diminished about it and we don’t talk tons about it. But because of the profile of AA, we talk lots about it. My job is to make sure they know where they stand, so I made sure and told him that.”

Continue reading Articles from practice: Athanasiou discusses his ‘benching’; on the Bolts, the Fathers’ Trip and Tatar’s Olympic excitement

HSJ: Ken Holland’s ‘working the phones’

The Free Press’s Helene St. James spoke with Red Wings GM Ken Holland regarding his trade deadline outlook:

While players and coaches concern themselves with making a playoff push, general manager Ken Holland is among 10 Wings personnel scouting the Five Nations tournament in Plymouth. The tourney features top players under the age of 18 from the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States, and the majority of them are eligible for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

Holland also is juggling phone calls as the Feb. 26 trade deadline inches closer.

“I’m working the phones, I’m trying to see what the other teams in the league are thinking,” Holland said. “We are obviously not a buyer, we are not spending future assets to try to get in. We’ll see here over the next week what direction we are going, but I am aware we are eight points out and games are running out.”

The next four games — Tampa Bay, Nashville (Saturday on the road and next week at home) and Toronto — come against three of the best teams in the NHL. Even if the Wings build on their 2-0-1 streak, it is unlikely to sway Holland to not be a seller. There’s interest in defenseman Mike Green — including from the Lightning — and in forward Gustav Nyquist; both would have to approve a trade. There also has been interest in goaltender Jimmy Howard, but backup Petr Mrazek has not sparked much interest.

“I’ve talked to lots of teams over the last week and 10 days, and I’m doubling back with a number of them,” Holland said. “We’d like to get assets, open up spots for a kid or two for next season.”

LeBrun’s Eastern Conference trade deadline primer includes Wings talk

Updated 3x at 12:44 PM: The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun shared a trade deadline primer for the Eastern Conference, and I’m going to share the main points of his take on the Red Wings’ situation:

Detroit Red Wings: Sellers

Pending UFA Mike Green is the big fish on the market for the Wings. He’s got a full no-trade but is willing to waive it for the right contender. At least a two-asset haul including a first-round pick seems part of the ask. Does GM Ken Holland and his former Hall of Fame superstar Steve Yzerman get together on a deal? Or can Holland entice the Caps into taking Green back?

I’ve always assumed that the Wings would get 2 2nd-round picks for Green, not a 1st-rounder. We shall see…

Goalie Petr Mrazek is an RFA July 1 but it’s doubtful the Wings qualify him at $4 million so he’s really a rental in many ways, as colleague Craig Custance argued earlier this week. If I’m Holland, I’m all over the Flyers and Islanders with Mrazek. Otherwise, Holland will obviously listen on hockey deals for several of his players, but keep in mind as he continues to transition the Red Wings, he also wants a competitive team next fall, so this isn’t about giving away players for draft picks for the sake of it. If there’s a hockey deal that makes sense, he’ll listen to it.

LeBrun continues (paywall)…

Update: Via KK, NHL.com’s Rob Vollman discussed Green’s probable trade value:

Shattenkirk’s trade also provides a clue as to what Detroit may be expecting in return for Green. St. Louis received Zach Sanford, a first-round pick, plus two conditional picks for Shattenkirk.

That package isn’t without precedent; it’s almost exactly what the Toronto Maple Leafs obtained from the Boston Bruins for Tomas Kaberle at the 2011 NHL Trade Deadline.

The Red Wings may not be expecting much less to part with Green, who can be an unrestricted free agent July 1.

Update #2: Here’s ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski on the Wings’ status as sellers:

Detroit Red Wings

Deadline cap space: $233,525

Likely available: D Mike Green (32, UFA, $6M); G Petr Mrazek (26, RFA, $4M); Xavier Ouellet (24, 2019 UFA, $1.25M); LW/RW Tomas Tatar (27, 2021 UFA, $5.3M); LW/RW Gustav Nyquist (28, 2019 UFA, $4.75M, no-trade clause).

Would they actually deal… Andreas Athanasiou (23, RFA, $1,387,500)? The speedy winger is putting up the best per-game numbers in his career, and is coming off a bitter contract impasse with GM Ken Holland.

Deadline game plan: Trading Green. There’s going to be a robust market for the veteran, puck-moving defenseman, with the Lightning and the Maple Leafs among the suitors — two teams that could end up facing each other in Round 1 of the playoffs. If the Wings can’t pull at least what the Blues got for Kevin Shattenkirk last season, it’ll be a whiff.

Keep in mind that wherever Mrazek ends up for the rest of the season, that team can walk away from him in the summer during arbitration.

Tatar is, for my money, a better player than Nyquist, and has no trade protection. But he also has the higher average annual value on his contract and the longer commitment. Not for nothing, but Dallas GM Jim Nill and Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman were with Detroit when these two were drafted.

Best-case scenario: The Wings find there’s a bidding war for Green, and get above-market value for him.

The Athletic on Trevor Daley, mucking through a non-playoff season

The Athletic’s Max Bultman spoke with Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley regarding his attempts to remain professional on a team that probably won’t make the playoffs:

He had been asked about this grueling February schedule, and the difference between going through it in past seasons — as part of a Stanley Cup contender in Pittsburgh — compared to his current situation: playing for a team that may need a minor miracle to compete beyond the regular season.

“When you’re fighting through it, you know that you need wins. You’ve gotta bring your game every night,” the 34-year-old Daley told The Athletic. “When you have a lot of points and you’re just trying to get through (to) the playoffs, your mindset’s still you need points, you want to increase. (But) you’re playing a little bit more relaxed. That helps your game out, too, when you know you’re winning every night.

“This way’s a little bit more of a grind — just ‘cause it’s the grind of the season, and every night you’re scratching and clawing for two points.”

Daley offered this take on his outlook as he signed with the Red Wings last July:

“I never thought that we’d be in this situation,” Daley said. “I couldn’t think that far. But I knew it was going to be a battle.”

Bultman continues (paywall)…

Krupa: Former Wings prospect Mursak powers Slovenia to upset win over Team USA

Kudos to Jan Mursak. The former Griffins forward and Red Wings prospect scored 2 goals against Team USA on Wednesday morning, propelling Slovenia to a 3-2 OT win over the Americans. The Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa took note of Mursak’s accomplishment:

“I’m happy I was able to score today and help the team,” Mursak said after the game, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation. “But I think the whole team showed a really good performance today.”

He played 232 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins from 2008-13, and 46 with the Wings from 2010-13, before beginning to play in Russia for Moscow of the KHL

For the United States, the loss represented a huge stumble out of the gate in the first quadrennial Olympic tournament played without NHL players since 1994.

Tony Granato, a former assistant coach of the Red Wings, who is how head coach at Wisconsin, and Chris Chelios, who is currently an assistant coach in Detroit, are two of the United States coaches.

“I thought we played two great periods,” Granato said, according to USA Hockey. “We were on our heels in the third at times and they took advantage. Give them credit. All-in-all, I liked the way we played. We’ve got a terrific group and we’ll be ready to play Slovakia.”

Krupa continues, and Mursak isn’t tearing up the KHL, so he’s not exactly NHL-ready…