Of Red Wings-related note over the past 48 hours:
A. Detroit Free Press:
1. Helene St. James’ mailbag includes a question about Jimmy Howard’s future:
HSJ: Howard, 34, is entering the last year of a five-year contract with a $5.3 million salary cap hit. If he has a good season, he’s likely to get an extension in the two-year range, for less money. The Wings committed three years at $3 million annual cap hit to Bernier, 30, but they don’t have anybody in the system on the near horizon to step into a role as his backup.
If a decent offer materializes for Howard near the deadline, the Wings could move him and then look at bringing him back. The Wings know what they have in Howard, they like him, and he’s played well for them the past two years.
B. MLive:
- MLive’s Ansar Khan examined Gustav Nyquist’s outlook for the 2018-19 season…
2018-19 outlook: Perhaps no other Red Wing has suffered as much from the team’s poor power play the past three seasons. Nyquist tallied 14 power-play goals and 24 power-play points in 2014-15, when Detroit’s man-advantage ranked second in the NHL. In three seasons since, he has collected just 12 power-play goals and 29 power-play points.
He hasn’t become the 30-goal scorer many projected after he tallied 28 and 27 goals, respectively, in his first two seasons.
Nyquist has spent a lot of time on Henrik Zetterberg’s line. Whether or not Zetterberg returns, coach Jeff Blashill might opt to reunite Nyquist with Thomas Vanek and Darren Helm to start the season, a combination that clicked at the beginning of 2016-17.
The Red Wings are expected to use the first half of the season to determine Nyquist’s future with the organization. With several skilled forwards in the pipeline and the high cost of signing Nyquist, they might opt to move him before the trade deadline. He has a no-trade clause, but he would probably agree to waive it to join a playoff-contending team.
2. And Khan wrote a profile of Wings prospect Malte Setkov:
Malte Setkov’s size could be an asset as he tries to set himself apart from many other Detroit Red Wings defense prospects. He’s 6-foot-6, and while lanky at 192 pounds, he’s still growing into his body.
After playing for Malmo’s various junior teams the past four seasons, Setkov is ready for what he hopes is a full season with the Swedish Elite League club’s top squad.
“It’s a very good league, so if I get a spot on the team the chances are very good of me getting a lot better,” Setkov, 19, said earlier this summer at Red Wings development camp.
The Danish-born Setkov was Detroit’s seventh pick, 100th overall in the fourth round, in 2017.
His mobility and puck-moving ability will go a long way toward determining if he ever plays in North America, let alone the NHL.
“You can see for such a big guy his movement has improved,” Red Wings director of player development Shawn Horcoff said. “He skates well. He’s starting to use his reach more and he’s learned the game. He’s got some upside.”
C. Detroit Red Wings:
1. Also in the prospect vein, DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji interviewed forward Lane Zablocki during the Red Wings’ youth hockey camp…
You couldn’t really blame Lane Zablocki if he had a hard time remembering where he was by the time the 2017-18 season ended.
After starting the year with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League, Zablocki was traded twice, first to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Dec. 8 and then to the Victoria Royals on Jan. 10.
“It was an interesting season,” Zablocki said at Red Wings youth camp at the BELFOR Training Center at Little Caesars Arena on Aug. 3. “Bounced around a little bit, but I feel like at the end I kind of got back to myself and more the way I could play. Throughout the year it wasn’t the best year I’ve had. Obviously you could see that. But I’m having a good summer right now and I’m looking forward to going to camp pretty quickly here.”
The year before, Zablocki, Detroit’s third-round pick, 79th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, was traded from the Regina Pats to the Rebels.
“You’ve just got to take it in,” Zablocki said. “Every time it’s a new place, new rink, new coaches. You’ve got to take it in as much as you can. Each team, each coach has a lot that you can learn from. I think maybe that’s a good thing about it. Maybe the only good thing, but it was good. I learned a lot from all the different coaches I had.”
2. The Red Wings also posted a video highlighting their youth hockey camp and its instructors:
D. DetroitHockey.net:
1. Clark Rasmussen examined the jersey numbers assigned to the Red Wings’ prospect tournament players:
The Red Wings released their roster for the 2018 Prospects Tournament in Traverse City today, which means we have new jersey numbers to over-analyze.
As always, the Red Wings’ official stance is that camp numbers are meaningless, so this all needs to be taken with a grain of salt. But – as I always say – there are a lot of times that we can read something that hasn’t officially been announced from these choices.
There are only six players who appeared at the Red Wings’ development camp in June who will return with different numbers.
E. ESPN:
1. In the fantasy hockey department, Anthony Mantha (106), Dylan Larkin (115), Henrik Zetterberg (149), Thomas Vanek (214), Gustav Nyquist (230), Jimmy Howard (240), Tyler Bertuzzi (255), Mike Green (260), Michael Rasmussen (266) and Justin Abdelkader (289) earned spots on ESPN’s Top 300 Fantasy Hockey Players list;
2. And ESPN’s Victoria Matiash offered a couple of observations regarding the list:
266. Michael Rasmussen, C, Detroit Red Wings
He has to make the NHL club first, but this towering WHL star sports formidable offensive potential as a future front-of-net presence for the Red Wings. Monitor the 19-year-old’s progress in training camp, although managers in dynasty leagues should be all over the 2017 ninth-overall draft pick regardless.
…
Thomas Vanek, LW/RW, Detroit Red Wings
Vanek’s return to Detroit is made all the more intriguing by the No. 6 overall draft selection of forward Filip Zadina. If Zadina earns an NHL job out of camp, as anticipated by many, a spot on a line with Vanek and Henrik Zetterberg could be in order. That combination of spirited young talent and experienced skill sports much upside. At worst, we can count on Vanek’s recent output of 55-ish points in a full-ish season, which still has value in deeper fantasy leagues.
F. In foreign-language news:
- Per Hokej.cz’s Martin Voltr, Martin Frk is participating in practices with HC Karlovy Vary of the Czech Extraliga;
- According to Novy Cas, Patrik Rybar revealed his injury during the Wings’ summer development camp–an ankle issue that’s healed–and Rybar says that he understands the Wings have presented him with an uphill climb as Jimmy Howard, Jonathan Bernier and Harri Sateri are all part of the team’s goaltending picture.
