Month: June 2018

Impressions from the scrimmage at the Red Wings’ summer development camp ’18

The Red Wings’ summer development camp concluded with a spirited scrimmage between Teams Howe and Lindsay, and Team Howe rallied from a 5-1 deficit to win 7-6 in overtime, on a Filip Zadina goal.

After four days’ worth of skill and team drill work, it was exciting to see the Wings’ prospects unleashed in a competitive hockey environment. The only difficult part of the scrimmage involved checking one’s expectations after massive performances from the usual suspects (and a few surprises, like Malte Setkov).

While I don’t disagree with Wings director of player development Shawn Horcoff, who suggested that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with getting excited about the Wings’ future (assuming that the players are afforded opportunities to actually play–which is a topic for another day), I also understand that the Wings’ prospects played a fast and furious game on June 30th, and it’s at the prospect tournament in the fall that jobs are won and lost.

Credit is still due where credit is due, so, in terms of player impressions, on a team-by-team and player-by-player basis:

Continue reading Impressions from the scrimmage at the Red Wings’ summer development camp ’18

Evening news: Development camp highlights, multimedia and scrimmage recaps, plus a Pope profile and free agent talk

Updated 2x at 6:23 PM: Of prospect-related note this evening:

1. At the Red Wings’ development camp scrimmage, Team Howe defeated Team Lindsay 6-5 in overtime, and the Red Wings posted highlights of both the game and the ensuing shootout:

 


2. WXYZ’s Brad Galli took note of Filip Zadina’s overtime goal…

3. And while we’re in the multimedia department, MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a clip of Filip Zadina’s post-game remarks…
Continue reading Evening news: Development camp highlights, multimedia and scrimmage recaps, plus a Pope profile and free agent talk

Audio from the scrimmage at the Red Wings’ summer development camp ’18: Horcoff, Cholowski, Berggren, Rasmussen, Zadina and Smith

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects held the final event of their summer development camp on Saturday, with Teams Howe and Lindsay playing to a 7-6 OT Howe win in a scrimmage at the BELFOR Training Center.

After the game, Wings director of player development Shawn Horcoff addressed the scrimmage’s more impressive performers, the messages the Red Wings sent the players home with, the state of the prospect pool going forward and more:

Continue reading Audio from the scrimmage at the Red Wings’ summer development camp ’18: Horcoff, Cholowski, Berggren, Rasmussen, Zadina and Smith

Let’s just call the Green signing official

The AP reports that Green’s signing includes the following parameters:

Mike Green is staying with the Detroit Red Wings on a US$10.75-million, two-year contract.

A person with direct knowledge of the move told The Associated Press that the Red Wings agreed to terms with the 32-year-old defenceman on the new deal that counts $5.375 million against the salary cap each of the next two seasons. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Saturday because the deal had not been announced.

Even more Green and Bernier signing talk

MLive’s Ansar Khan penned an article confirming that the Wings will sign Jonathan Bernier to a 3-year, $9-ish million deal on Sunday, and now the AP’s Stephen Whyno penned the following:

A person with direct knowledge of the move says the Detroit Red Wings have agreed to terms with defenseman Mike Green on a $10.75 million, two-year contract.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because the deal had not been announced. The 32-year-old will count $5.375 million against the salary cap over the next two seasons.

Kulfan and Khan’s free agency update: Green to re-sign, Bernier to sign, and Wings have interest in a ‘veteran forward’

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan provides a Red Wings free agency update, starting with confirmation that Mike Green will re-sign:

The veteran defensemen is expected to forego unrestricted free agency and remain with the Wings on a 2-year contract worth $10.75 million (a $5.375 salary cap hit per year).

Green, 33, had 33 points (8 goals, 25 assists) in 66 games last season. He is proficient on the power play, and were Green to leave, the Wings don’t have anyone readily available to replace him.

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With the start of unrestricted free agency Sunday, the Wings are also on the verge of adding goaltender Jonathan Bernier. In Colorado last season, Bernier, 29, was 19-13-3 with a 2.85 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.

Bernier is expected to sign with the Wings for 3 years, at $3 million per season ($9 million total).

The Wings would also like to add a veteran forward Sunday.  Thomas Vanek and Valtteri Filppula, both of whom have played in the organization, have been linked to the Wings.

Update: MLive’s Ansar Khan confirms:

The club is expected to sign Jonathan Bernier to a three-year contract worth approximately $3 million per season.

Bernier, who turns 30 on Aug. 7, went 19-13-3 last season with Colorado, posting a 2.85 goals-against average and .913 save percentage while earning $2.75 million on a one-year deal. He previously played for Anaheim, Toronto and Los Angeles and has a career record of 128-108-30, with a 2.68 GAA and .914 save percentage.

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Detroit also will be looking to sign a forward, with a couple of former Red Wings at the top of their list — right wing Thomas Vanek and center/wing Valtteri Filppula.

The club is concerned that Henrik Zetterberg’s troublesome back might prevent him from playing this season and force him to go on long-term injured reserve. Zetterberg has appeared in all 82 games in each of the past three seasons. He turns 38 on Oct. 9.

Derek Ryan? Really?

This one is an odd bit of news from TSN:

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames are among the teams interested in pending free agent Derek Ryan.

TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli reported the Leafs haven’t made a firm offer to Ryan yet as they wait to see where John Tavares ends up, while the Flames have a multi-year offer on the table for him.

Seravalli added a team in the Central Division has also offered Ryan a multi-year deal while the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets are also believed to be interested in his services.

Ryan, 31, registered15 goals and 38 points over 80 games with the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2017-2018 season.

Red Wings will live stream development camp scrimmage, with Kaser and Eliot on the call

Grand Rapids Griffins announcer Bob Kaser and Fox Sports Detroit analyst Darren Eliot are getting ready to call the Red Wings’ development camp scrimmage, which begins at 12 PM EDT:

Mike Green will sign for 2 years @ $5.37 million (per McKenzie); Bernier soon to join Wings

Of Mike Green-related note from MLive’s Ansar Khan…

The Detroit Red Wings are close to signing defenseman Mike Green to a two-year deal before the start of free agency Sunday at noon.

The contract is expected to carry a salary cap hit of slightly more than $5 million. Green, who turns 33 on Oct. 12, earned $6 million last season.

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The Red Wings are expected to sign goaltender Jonathan Bernier to a three-year contract, likely for around $3 million per season, on Sunday. They also had been talking with free-agent forwards Thomas Vanek and Valtteri Filppula.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie…

And The Athletic’s Craig Custance:

The​ Red Wings, if​ they were​ going to get​ in​ on​ unrestricted free​ agents, had very specific​​ needs and targets. First, they needed a backup goalie and aggressively pursued Carter Hutton and Jonathan Bernier. Robin Lehner visited Detroit.

NHL free agency officially begins at noon ET on Sunday, so deals for Red Wings free agents, aside from their own players, can’t be done until then. Any framework for a new contract is just that, technically.

But when the opening bell rings, expect the Red Wings to check some boxes right away. According to multiple sources, Detroit is expected to sign Bernier to a three-year contract worth around $3 million per season. Their other target, Hutton, is expected to sign with the Buffalo Sabres, in part because he’ll have more of an opportunity to start and be the No. 1 guy.

Custance continues, confirming the Green deal and the Wings’ interest in Vanek, but he doesn’t state that the Wings are interested in Filppula.

The Athletic profiles Jared McIsaac

The Athletic’s Jordin Horrobin offers a profile of Red Wings draft pick Jared McIsaac this morning, speaking with both McIsaac and the young man’s father regarding the defenseman’s roots in refereeing:

What separates McIsaac, though, is that his hockey bloodline comes from what his father, Jamie, calls the “third team” on the ice — the referees. Both Jamie, a longtime ref in the Maritimes, and Jared’s uncle John, a full-time NHL ref since 2016, gave McIsaac opportunities from infancy to watch the game up close.

“He would just sit there, and he would just follow the play,” Jamie said in a phone interview, as he recalled a 9-month-old McIsaac watching the 2001 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. “He never squabbled. He never cried. He just took it all in.”

McIsaac, a defenseman selected in the second round by the Red Wings at last weekend’s draft, grew up in Truro, Nova Scotia, where he idolized fellow Nova Scotians Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon.

“Hopefully, one day (I’ll be) able to play against them,” McIsaac told The Athletic on Wednesday between sessions at Detroit’s development camp. “That’s a dream as much as it is to play in the NHL.”

Continued (paywall)…