Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:
- DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji spoke with Tyler Bertuzzi during locker room clean-out day, discussing Bertuzzi’s need to focus on conditioning during this offseason:
“Two summers in a row have been short,” Bertuzzi said. “I’ve been kind of hurt to start the summer off and that kind of delayed training. Last year we made a long playoff run and I was hurt. I think this is a big opportunity for me to take full advantage of having a long summer in the gym.”
In 48 games with the Wings, Bertuzzi had seven goals, 17 assists and was minus-7. Five of those goals came in the final eight games.
When he was first called up, Bertuzzi played limited minutes. After the team traded Tomas Tatar to the Vegas Golden Knights, it opened up more ice time for the young winger, who earned a spot alongside captain Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist.
“Down the stretch, I had a lot of fun,” Bertuzzi said. “It was fun to play with Z and Gus. It makes it a lot easier. They’re fun to be around. We’ve got such a great group here. We worked hard every night, we battled every night. We’re only going to be better next year.”
Bertuzzi, 23, is 6-feet, 190 pounds, and will be looking to add muscle. After some time at home, Bertuzzi plans to return to metro Detroit to train at Barwis Methods with Dylan Larkin and Luke Glendening, among others.
2. In the prospect department, the Oakland Press’s Pat Caputo penned a list of “5 Factors to Consider” regarding the Red Wings’ off-season, mostly talking about the Wings’ prospect corps, and Caputo is quick to throw water on the progress made by the Wings’ young prospects:
Michael Rasmussen is dominating during the Memorial Cup playoffs – In the first two rounds, the Red Wings’ future 6-foot-6 power forward (his NHL projection is likely on the wing) has 24 points in eight games. It’s a really good sign, and this isn’t meant to rain on the Rasmussen parade, but it should be considered he has benefitted greatly from playing with two of the best defensemen in junior hockey, Jake Bean (13th overall pick ‘16 by Carolina), and Juuso Valimaki was (No.16 by Calgary in ’17). They are extraordinary players at the junior level, basically controlling the games they participate. They are largely responsible for Rasmussen’s recent surge for the Tri-City Americans.
Caputo continues, and Rasmussen is no slouch…
3. In the alumni department, the Free Press’s Helene St. James took note of Tomas Tatar’s struggles with the Vegas Golden Knights…
Tatar has joined the list of Wings players who have not performed as expected after leaving Detroit. The Vegas Golden Knights wrote another chapter in their delightful story on Wednesday when the expansion franchise advanced to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs after completing a four-game sweep of Los Angeles.
That feat, though, came without the services of Tatar, who was a healthy scratch after the first two games of the best-of-seven series. The Wings traded Tatar Feb. 26 in exchange for a first-round pick in 2018, a second-round pick in 2019, and a third-round pick in 2021. At the time of the trade, Tatar had 16 goals in 62 games with Detroit.
He only scored four more goals during the regular season, finishing with six points in 20 games with the Knights.
St. James continues, discussing the performances of Petr Mrazek, Riley Sheahan and Brendan Smith…
4. From The Athletic’s Craig Custance:
In November, Red Wings television analyst Ken Daniels opened up about the incredible and heartbreaking details surrounding his son Jamie’s death in a story published in The Athletic Detroit. Since then, ESPN has produced a documentary about the family and Daniels’ efforts have resulted in Washington D.C. listening and making changes. Daniels joins the podcast to share all those details along with a great story on what it’s like to be on Scotty Bowman’s bad side.
5. And in the theoretical draft pick department, The Sporting News’s Steve Kournianos conducted a mock draft which does not have the Wings winning the lottery:
5. Detroit Red Wings: Adam Boqvist, D, Brynas J20 (Superelit)
As much as the Red Wings would love to get their hands on Dahlin, this “other” Swedish rearguard is far from a consolation prize. Boqvist (5-11, 168 pounds) was too dominant for Sweden’s junior circuit but not physically ready for the rigors of an adult league. Still, his ridiculous shot and skating ability should make him a staple on the Red Wings’ power play for many years to come.
“They are largely responsible for Rasmussen’s recent surge for the Tri-City Americans.”
I am wondering where Caputo gets his info? He is typically on the radio in Detroit daily. There is no way he can know this first hand – unless something has changed, because I refuse to listen to him. 🙂
Also, looking back on Holland’s recent trades makes me -not- hate that he came back.
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want him back, but he is at least resigned to some type of rebuild – albeit not a BLOW IT UP type.
I noticed that Tatar was missing from VGK lineup for Game 3/4. He was replaced by Perron (LMAO) , I think. It all makes sense with VGK’s 200′ Pack mentality. Aside from a few up and coming stars, Tatar is in a group including J Neal that really are one dimensional, except Neal scores.
VGK will address Cap issues this off season, will Tatar , Neal, etc be moved? Hell of a price for Tatar, maybe Gallant can change his style/play?
Fun team to watch, 2nd in the NHL in takeaways (no surprise). Will see what they can do vs Sharks (Ducks done).
Another late night TV series, worth staying up for!!
Go VGK, Jets
Mattias Janmark had 19 goals this season and Calle Jarnkrok had 16 goals. Too bad Hell St. James didn’t mention those trades.
Well, most of the trades mentioned here have been completed since the previous year’s trade deadline. So we’re looking at recent history, with a different organizational mindset. She also didn;t mention good deals in shedding Ott & Vanek.
Yes, we’re all upset about losing Jarnkrok for David Legwand. But how long can we pound our fists about it?
As long as I want to.
Fair enough!
It says a lot about how good the wings actually are when one of our better players over the last couple of years is now a healthy scratch for Vegas
The Real Deal is a UFA this year. That’s one reason he was exposed to Vegas in the first place. It’s not a matter of him being moved, will he re-sign? I bet they pull for him. Tatar is not going anywhere.
#1 – on Bertuzzi adding muscle … he’s still young and his body will fill out naturally the next few years. I wouldn’t push for much more than 5lbs eah the next 3 years.
#2 – on Caputo and his prospect evaluation … yeah I listen to him on the radio. Is it me or does he sound like Sgt, Hatred in the Venture Bros. cartoon ? LOL !! Caputo thinks he knows how to evaluate prospects because he plays a little beer league hockey. His opinion is about as useful as my dead grandmothers opinion. His best sport might be baseball.
#3 – on HSJ’s article … yeah, I too was surprised to hear Tats was a healthy scratch. I guess they picked him up for his scoring potential even though there is so much more to his game. Truthfully, Kenny really cleaned up this past trade deadline. Can’t wait to see what happens in the lottery and who we end up getting at the draft. I’d also like to see them clean house on defence this fall keeping just Kronner, Daley and DeKeyser … but thats a rave for another post.