Month: February 2018

Updated 3x at 11:37 AM: The Detroit Red Wings host the Buffalo Sabres this evening (7:30 PM EST on FSD/MSG B/97.1 FM) in a battle of “selling” teams.

The Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena just after 10:30 AM for their morning skate, per MLive’s Ansar Khan:

Jimmy Howard in starter’s net at #RedWings morning skate. Face @BuffaloSabres tonight at @LCArena_Detroit

Mike Green (upper body injury) not skating today. Has missed three games. Likely to be traded by Monday’s deadline, so at this point might be best to just keep him out of lineup. #RedWings

#RedWings lines at skate: Nyquist-Zetterberg-Mantha Tatar-Larkin-Athanasiou Abdelkader-Nielsen-Helm Booth-Glendening-Frk (Bertuzzi working in)

#RedWings defense pairs: DeKeyser-Jensen Ericsson-Daley Kronwall-Ouellet Witkowski appears to a scratch tonight.

Bertuzzi working on second power play unit, so it looks like he’s in tonight and Frk out, replaced by Booth. #RedWings

DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji delivered bad news regarding Mike Green…

Continue reading Red Wings-Sabres morning skate Tweets and articles: Howard starts, Green out, and a Sabres game preview

The Athletic’s Prasanth Iyer examined the Red Wings’ goaltending situation this morning. Iyer, like most fans, doesn’t have much faith in Jared Coreau as the Wings’ back-up, and he notes that the Wings’ six goaltending prospects aren’t going to be ready right away (see: Keith Petruzzelli, Filip Larsson, Kaden Fulcher, Joren van Pottelberghe, Matej Machovsky and Chase Perry)…

And after analyzing the free agent crop, Iyer comes to a smart conclusion as to the duration Jimmy Howard era: it will probably yield more Jimmy Howard and the best cheap back-up the Wings can get their hands on:

The most likely scenario is Detroit re-signing Howard, perhaps for $3 million a year for two years, as a bridge to the 2021 offseason. At that point, the Red Wings will know better what they have in van Pottelberghe, Larsson and Petruzzelli and can make a more informed decision about their long-term goaltending plans.

Unless a team has one of the truly elite goaltenders in the league, it’s unwise to commit a significant chunk of money to the position. The Red Wings have been handicapped by this over the past two years, with nearly $10 million committed to non-elite goaltenders. The Mrazek trade allows them to reset both their short- and long-term plans. As they enter the full-on rebuild, it’s important for them to learn from that past mistake as they identify goaltenders who can provide them serviceable numbers at a reasonable value.

Based on availability, the answer to “who’s the future goaltender of the Red Wings?” seems to be Jimmy Howard for now.

Iyer continues (paywall)…

From the Detroit Free Press’s Inney Prakash:

Tickets for the world premiere of “The Russian Five” will go on sale 10 a.m. Friday.

The April 11 screening at the Fillmore Detroit will officially kick off the 2018 Freep Film Festival following a launch party featuring Kevin Smith the night before.

“The Russian Five,” directed by Port Huron native Joshua Riehl, uses new interviews and archival footage to recount the dramatic story of the five Russian hockey stars who helped propel the Detroit Red Wings to two Stanley Cup championships.

Tickets are $20 for general admission, which includes pop and popcorn, or $50 for VIP, which includes admission to a pre-film party with drinks and food (including Mexican, soul, Greek and coney stations). Doors open at 7 p.m., with the film starting at 8 p.m. The VIP party will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets can be bought at this link at the livenation website. They also can be purchased at the Fillmore Detroit box office (noon-5 p.m. Monday & Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Fridays).

Continued

In the AHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins’ post-Jared Coreau era got off to a bumpy start. Tom McCollum stopped 16 of 19 shots and was replaced by Matej Machovsky with the Chicago Wolves leading 3-0.

The Griffins tried to rally twice, on goals from Eric Tangradi (3-1) and Ben Street (4-2), but the Griffins gave up an empty-netter and ultimately lost 5-2.

The loss snapped an 11-game point streak for Grand Rapids, as noted by the Griffins website’s recap:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Machovsky makes Griffins debut in loss to Chicago; Rasmussen 1+1, Cholowski 1A

The Detroit News’s Bob Wojnowski attended Tuesday night’s Red Wings game, and he asked the players and coach some hard questions as to whether the team or coach might “fold the tent” once they knew that their team would be “sellers”–with stern, “No” answers in the offing.

This morning, Wojo suggests that the Red Wings’ GM, Ken Holland, “needs to be daring in his dealings” to accelerate the Wings’ rebuild-on-the-fly:

Between now and Monday’s trade deadline, there will be a lot more rumors than actual movement. Petr Mrazek is gone and defenseman Mike Green almost assuredly will be gone, and beyond that, it’ll be difficult finding trade partners for decent Wings players with indecent contracts.

Now is the time for Holland to be bolder, with less to lose as the Wings slide toward a second straight playoff-less finish. Now would be the time for a risky leap, such as seeing what you can get for a tantalizing young player like Andreas Athanasiou, who has speed and skill, and also vexing defensive and effort lapses.

Now is when you shop other semi-affordable players having solid seasons, such as two of your leading scorers, Tomas Tatar, 27, and Gustav Nyquist, 28, (16 goals each), and perhaps Luke Glendening. Nashville reportedly is interested in Tatar, and although he’s owed $5.3 million per season through 2021, that might be palatable to a contender. Nyquist is more affordable, a free-agent after next season. Either might draw more than a pick, perhaps even a prime prospect.

Holland almost never makes value-for-value, equal-for-equal player trades, and for years, it wasn’t necessary. At the height of their success, the Wings simply dumped draft picks and prospects for better talent.

Now, instead of playing for Cups, they’re holding out a cup, asking for picks. The only certainty before Monday is that Green, 32, a pending unrestricted free-agent, will be dealt. Most rumors are gasps in the wind, but Holland must pursue every avenue.

The Detroit Red Wings host the Buffalo Sabres this evening (7:30 PM EST on FSD/MSG B/97.1 FM) with the Wings hosting one of the few teams they don’t look up toward in the standings…but the bottom isn’t that far away.

The 17-32-and-11 Sabres sit only 12 points behind the Wings at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and just as a “good run” can propel the Wings toward playoff position, a bad stretch would send the Wings careening down the standings.

Our friends from Buffalo have lost 3 straight games and are 1-2-and-1 over their past 4 games, with their most recent loss coming in the form of a 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday.

With the notable exceptions of Jake McCabe (shoulder surgery) and Jack Eichel (ankle sprain), the Sabres are relatively healthy now that Robin Lehner has returned from a hip injury, as WGR 550’s Paul Hamilton reported:

Continue reading Red Wings-Sabres set-up: battle of the sellers

Red Wings TV posted a 3:52 video chronicling the team’s recent “Fathers and Mentors’ Trip.” It’s good stuff:

<center

AHL graduates say it on a regular basis: as it turns out, it’s a little easier to play in the NHL, as both a skater and a goaltender, because the NHL’s players are more talented, thus reducing the level of chaos in the game.

Anthony Mantha and Martin Frk both told CBS Detroit’s Will Burtchfield that they’re finding the NHL to be simpler, more straightforward, and yes, “easier” than the AHL:

“I’ll be honest, I think it’s easier up here than in the American League,” said Anthony Mantha, who reached the 20-goal plateau last weekend in his first full NHL season.

It was a response that raised eyebrows, from a 23-year-old who typically draws attention for his play. Don’t mistake it for flippant — Mantha can appreciate the challenge of gaining a foothold in the NHL as well as anyone on the Red Wings’ roster. And certainly don’t mistake it for a player who thinks he’s already arrived.

Take it, rather, for a glimpse into Mantha’s perspective. He’s played over 100 games in both the AHL and the NHL. He was stuck between the two leagues for the better part of two years. Some felt the Wings weren’t giving him a fair shake; the Wings felt he needed to earn it.

His performance last year — 17 goals in 60 games — was the statement the team was looking for. Jeff Blashill rewarded him with a bigger role this season and Mantha has once again answered the bell.

“As soon as you come up here and get your chance and get some confidence going, it makes everything way easier,” Mantha said.

Mantha continued…

“As you mature and you gain experience, obviously you can slow the game down a little bit, compared to the American League (where) everyone’s just going 110 miles per hour and sometimes you have two or three guys on you. The structure’s not always on point,” Mantha said. “It’s just a different mindset, if I could say.”

Martin Frk agreed…

“If you get a lot of ice time, you play with the good players, so it gives you a better chance to put more points up and feel more comfortable on the ice,” said Martin Frk, who spent most of his career in the AHL prior to this season. “It’s definitely still a tough league, playing in the NHL, but it can be way easier if you have good players around you and you play a lot.”

And Mantha spoke with Burtchfield about his personal goals for the season as well…

I’m not going to follow Petr Mrazek or any of the Wings’ other trade deadline subtractions with a lot of, “Hey, how is player X doing in new location Y?” stuff, but I do want to offer a little follow-up stuff regarding Mrazek, who’s going to start for the Flyers on Thursday against Columbus.

Mrazek spoke with PhiladelphiaFlyers.com’s Bill Meltzer…

Newcomer Petr Mrazek arrived in Philadelphia on Tuesday morning with just enough time to get to the Wells Fargo Center, change into his gear and participate in the morning skate. He backed up rookie Alex Lyon in the game against Montreal. Lyon earned the win with 25 saves on 27 shots.

On Wednesday, Mrazek put in his first practice with his new team.

“It’s been a busy two days but it’s very exciting to get going. I felt good out there today, for sure,” Mrazek said.

With only one full practice opportunity before Thursday, Mrazek will focus on keeping communications with his defensemen as simple and unambiguous as possible. There will be adjustments to make. For example, Mrazek is known as a rather aggressive puckhandling goalie who also likes to keep play moving when possible. In his early games with the Flyers, he may initially be a little more inclined to freeze the puck in front and venture less behind the net.

Mrazek’s teammates suggested to the Courier-Post’s Dave Isaac that Mrazek may be better off just getting into action and keeping things simple on Thursday…

“Sometimes it’s easier for him to just get thrown in there kinda,” defenseman Andrew MacDonald said, “but I think the one thing might be some communication with puck moving and him understanding our system and how we play it, the communication we have the code words, if you will. We’ll be working on that in the next few days I’m sure and going over it with the goalie coach (Kim Dillabaugh) I’m sure. It’s not a huge adjustment, but we gotta play well in front of him and we know he’ll be back there to stop it for us.

Mrazek, 26, can certainly communicate in his native Czech with fellow countryman Radko Gudas and his English is strong enough that he should have no problem with the rest of the defense corps.

He had a meeting with Dillabaugh to go over some of the defensemen’s tendencies and how to play the puck to them behind the net.

“I’m really confident in playing the puck, helping the D,” Mrazek said. “I like to be involved behind the net and try to put the puck on the D’s sticks and get the puck out of the zone. Especially on the road that’s important when those teams chip the puck behind the net and try to make chaos there. If I can help the D to get it out, that’s awesome.”

Because of the nature of his position, there isn’t much else for the Flyers to worry about. It’s not like he’s a new center that has to worry about defensive zone coverage and where to be on the ice. He stays between the pipes and uses the tools he’s built over the course of his career.

“Simple is better,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “He’s just gotta go in and play his game. All the basics are in place. He’s had a good opportunity here over a couple of days to get a clear understandings of the basic systems. We don’t want to go any further than that. We don’t want to complicate things with too much detail. Petr’s just got to go in and play and he’ll be ready to do that.”

And Mrazek spoke with NBCSN Philly’s John Boruk regarding his first impressions of his teammates:

“Everyone was really fast in transition yesterday. We were trying to get the puck out of the zone as quick as we can,” Mrazek said.

Mrazek believes he can help facilitate quick breakouts with the way he plays the puck and working the puck to his defensemen.

“I’m really confident in playing the puck and helping the defense,” Mrazek said. “I like to be involved behind the net and put the puck on their sticks and get the puck out of the zone. Especially on the road, it’s very important when teams chip the puck behind the net and try to make play out there.”

Playing the puck efficiently will certainly help Mrazek rest easier, as was his first night in Philadelphia. Staying at a nearby hotel, Mrazek was able to get a good night’s rest after barely getting any sleep the night he was traded to Philadelphia.

“I was fine today,” he said, “but yesterday when I woke up at four in the morning I asked myself, ‘Is this really happening?'”

The Grand Rapids Griffins open a 3-game home stand tonight against the Chicago Wolves in about 20 minutes, so here’s the Griffins’ Game Day Preview video a little late…