Month: July 2019

This is really awful news, per the Detroit News’s Tony Paul:

Former Red Wing Greg Johnson died of an apparent suicide, according to a Rochester Police report obtained by The Detroit News.

Johnson was found by his wife, Kristin, shortly before 10 a.m. on July 7 in a storage room in the couple’s basement. A gun and a single bullet were found near Johnson, according to police.

An autopsy has been completed by the Oakland County Medical Examiner, which declined Wednesday to discuss its findings.

Johnson, who played for the Red Wings from 1993-97, was 48.

“We couldn’t believe it,” said Tom Laidlaw, Johnson’s longtime agent, who declined to discuss the specifics surrounding Johnson’s death.

Continued, and if you’re having a hard time, 1-800-273-TALK is always there for those struggling with suicidal thoughts. You only get one ride on this roller coaster called life, so keep it going for as long as you can.

From the Detroit Red Wings:

Red Wings re-sign Hicketts for two years

Blueliner has skated in 16 NHL games with Red Wings since 2017-18

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today re-signed defenseman Joe Hicketts to a two-year contract.

Hicketts, 23, skated in 11 games with the Red Wings during the 2018-19 campaign and has totaled 16 NHL appearances over the last two seasons, compiling three assists, two penalty minutes, 18 shots on goal, 26 hits and 39 blocked shots in 18:12 average time on ice. Hicketts also appeared in 64 games with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins in 2018-19 and more-than-doubled his point total from the previous season, leading the team’s defensemen with 27 points (3-24-27) in 64 games. Entering his fourth professional season, Hicketts has played 204 AHL games with the Griffins since 2016-17, posting 73 points (13-60-73), a plus-seven rating and 139 penalty minutes. He captured a 2017 Calder Cup championship as a rookie and has recorded 11 points (1-10-11), a plus-seven rating and 18 penalty minutes in 29 career AHL postseason games.

A native of Kamloops, British Columbia, Hicketts was originally signed by the Red Wings as an undrafted free agent prior to the 2014-15 season. Before turning pro, the 5-foot-8, 180-pound defenseman spent four seasons with the Victoria Royals in the Western Hockey League, notching 173 points (32-141-173), a plus-69 rating and 149 penalty minutes in 224 regular-season contests and 15 points (1-14-15) and 29 penalty minutes in 31 WHL playoff games. He served as Victoria’s captain from 2014-16 and posted consecutive 60-point seasons for the team, earning him a spot on the WHL West Second All-Star Team in 2015 and the First All-Star Team in 2016. Additionally, Hicketts has represented Canada in international play on multiple occasions, including the 2015 and 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships. Hicketts won gold in 2015 and served as an alternate captain in 2016, registering six points (1-5-6) in 12 games over the two tournaments. He also earned medals at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament (gold), 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge (silver) and 2014 World Under-18 Championship (bronze).

Joe Hicketts, Defense

Born May 4 1996 — Kamloops, BC

Height 5.08 — Weight 180 — Shoots L

Update: PuckPedia estimates Hicketts’ salary to be as follows:

The #RedWings signed 23 y/o LD Joe Hicketts to 2 yr $700K Cap Hit Deal

Yr 1: $700K Salary, 90K Minors, 110K Guaranteed
Yr 2: $700K Salary, 115K Minors, 137.5K Guaranteed

-11 NHL GP
-27P in 64 AHL GP

Rep’d by Allain Roy @RSGHockey https://t.co/V8n6YMUm8a— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 17, 2019

I’m kind of late to the party on this one, but the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples penned a rather harsh look at Tyler Wright’s drafting while working for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings, and while making some cogent points, Staples concludes something that Red Wings fans are already aware of:

Overall, I can’t see how any kind of strong argument can be made that Wright did better with his picks than [Oilers chief scout] Bob Green and Keith Gretzky did in Edmonton in the last five drafts.

Of course, while Wright is taking over, Gretzky is staying on and will do some amateur scouting, while Green may also stay on. So perhaps the combined efforts of this group will get it right.

Of course, Wright will have seven or eight scouts working under him. The Oilers scouting staff has had a lot of turnover in recent years, but that trend needs to continue. Wright should bring in one or two new scouts per year in each of the next few seasons, then continue with that kind of churn. A handful of Oilers amateur scouts have been around too long already with decidedly mixed or poor results.

It’s evident that there’s no harm in constant turnover in scouting ranks, and that some of the best scouting teams fell off, both in Edmonton in the 1980s and Detroit in the early 2000s, when formerly successful scouts were kept on well past their “best before” dates. Holland’s biggest mistake in Detroit may well have been not turning over his scouting department quickly enough after 2004.

In the end, I can’t say I’m thrilled with Wright coming in. He’s not obviously excelled as a scout in Columbus or Detroit. He’s got plenty to prove. Of course, I wish him well, as will all Oilers fans.

Staples continues, and all I can politely say is, “He’s your problem now. Good luck!”

According to The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn, the Detroit Red Wings are the proud owners of the NHL’s worst contracts on a team-wide basis, and they captured the title by a country mile’s worth of Ken Holland’s bad contracts:

Last, and certainly least, it’s Detroit. How could it be any other team? With four contracts in the D-range on the books, the Red Wings are in a four-way tie for the most bad deals in the league. Where Detroit differs is that the other teams have a few more above average deals to offset the pain. Not Detroit who have as many toxic deals as above-average ones. Those belong to Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi and Andreas Athanasiou – four forwards that provide the bulk of the team’s on-ice value. Without them, this team would be cooked.

The biggest issue for Detroit is how much the team is spending for a marginal win over the remainder of their contracts. It’s not just the alarming number of poor deals, or the certainty in how bad those deals are, but the fact that those deals are mostly for players that bring huge negative value. The team is spending $14.5 million per win, the league’s second-highest mark. That contributes to the team’s 35 percent average for positive value probability which is the league’s lowest mark, stemming from seven deals sitting at an under 20 percent success rate.

The team signed a replacement level forward to a two-year deal worth $3 million per, and it’s somehow not even close to being the worst deal on the books. That honour could go to Trevor Daley or Danny DeKeyser or Jonathan Ericsson or Darren Helm or Frans Nielsen or Justin Abdelkader and the fact the team has this many options is why they’re ranked so low.

Continued (paywall), and, as Luszczyszyn concludes, Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman has his work cut out for him…

From the Toledo Walleye:

Toledo, OH – Defenseman Mike Moffat has agreed to terms with the Toledo Walleye for the 2019-20 season.

Moffat, a native of Waterloo, Ontario, joined Toledo on March 1 for his pro debut playing in 10 games while collecting four assists. Since 2014, the 26-year-old defenseman has appeared in a total of 128 games with the University of Waterloo accruing 25 goals, 63 assists and 89 penalty minutes. Moffat posted a college best 10 goals in the 2015-16 season when he also set a high in assists with 17 and points (27).

“We really liked Mike’s game from what we saw late in the year,” said Head Coach Dan Watson. “He fits right in with the style we want to play.”

Prior to his colligate days, the 6’1”, 220 pound defenseman spent four years in the OHL between London and Kingston. Moffat posted 120 points (17G, 103A) with 225 penalty minutes in 238 career games.

Steve Dangle’s “Dang-It’s” series of videos pays a visit to the Detroit Red Wings today, spotlighting the worst plays made by the Wings during the 2018-2019 season:

DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner examines prospect netminder Kaden Fulcher’s 2018-2019 campaign “By the Numbers” this morning. Regner examines Fulcher’s stats from his rookie season, which was spent with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, and Wings goaltending coach Brian Mahoney-Wilson weighs in on Fulcher as well:

“In his 28 starts in Toledo, it was a step forward in his development. Maybe he didn’t want to finish the year the way he had with numbers per se, but he had a good record. He came up a couple practices in Grand Rapids, I worked with him closely there, worked with him probably 30 times in Toledo heading down there throughout the year. I expect more from him in the summer, make sure I give him the right drills and tools with his goalie coach so that he comes and gives Filip Larsson a push come camp time. Definitely saw improvement with Kaden’s game. He’s ready to make that next push so that he can try to earn a spot in Grand Rapids.”

Continued

Sad news from the Wings:

We are saddened to hear about the passing of our buddy, Noah, who served as the Honorary Puck Drop Captain for #HockeyFightsCancer Night in 2017.

Our thoughts go out the Gochanour family.

Noah will always be an honorary Red Wing. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/OtGpregTAZ

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 16, 2019

Red Wings prospect Givani Smith tells the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan that his first professional season was something of a crash course in adjusting and adapting from playing major junior hockey to learning how to play the professional game. As a result, Smith believes that he’s better-equipped to push for a spot on the Wings’ roster this season:

Smith made his professional debut last October with the Griffins, the Red Wings’ minor-league affiliate, and the season turned out to be one long class on pro hockey.

Smith, 21, had plenty to learn. More than he expected.

And though Smith didn’t pass with flying colors, he certainly didn’t fail. It was a passing grade, so to speak, with the expectation Smith will keep adjusting and thriving to the professional game.

“Just learning many small things,” Smith said, of what he learned in particular in the American League.

“Like sleeping habits, and small techniques you have to learn. Practice. You have to focus on many things that translate into the pro game.

“Coming from junior, it’s different playing against men, guys who’ve been there 10-plus, or 5-plus years. It’s a transition — and that’s what I did (transition).”

Kulfan continues

FYI:

The tickets are waiting in the “wings” to be sold TODAY starting at 10 am for @DetroitRedWings Training Camp and NHL Prospect Tournament! Online only – https://t.co/7JN54k0LQO @RedWingsCamps @CentreICEArena pic.twitter.com/cOw8ngPQbQ— Centre Ice Arena (@CentreICEArena) July 16, 2019