Monday afternoon round-up: Sportsnet’s video mock draft, Craig Button’s ‘list,’ words from Bultman and Yzerman, a Torey Krug update and a Red Wings Tent Sale for charity

Of draft and free agency-related note on a Monday afternoon:

  1. Sportsnet posted its final mock draft with Sam Cosentino today, and, at the 4:15 mark of the video, Cosentino picks Cole Perfetti as the Red Wings’ 4th overall pick:

2. TSN’s Craig Button ranks Jamie Drysdale 4th overall in his last pre-draft “Craig’s List“;

3. The Athletic’s Max Bultman’s Q and A session with Athletic readers is available for your perusal here;

4. DetroitRedWings.com’s Josh Berenter goes back to Steve Yzerman’s pre-draft presser for a few quips and quotes on “draft eve”:

Red Wings executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman refuses to focus on the negative and the teams picking ahead of the Wings, and instead said he’s looking forward to welcoming an extremely talented player to Hockeytown.

“As far as the draft order, I have no idea what is going to happen before us,” said Yzerman, who was the last player the Red Wings selected at No. 4 overall, back in 1983. “At the 4th pick, we’re pretty excited, regardless how it plays out.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 NHL Draft will be 100-percent virtual instead of the originally scheduled location of the Bell Centre in Montreal.

But Yzerman isn’t fazed by the virtual format, and actually welcomes the less-hectic environment he’s anticipating, beginning Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.

“I kind of like this (virtual) format. I think it’s going to work really well,” the Red Wings GM said. “You do not have the ability to quickly catch the eye of a general manager, but we’ve got multiple phone lines. You can get a lot done quickly. We’re pretty well-organized and prepared and ready to go for Tuesday evening.”

5. On the free agent front, the Boston Globe’s Kevin Dupont reports that Torey Krug is going to market:

NHL free agency opens noon Friday, following a 100-day pandemic delay, and it appears right now that Torey Krug will be saying goodbye to the Bruins.

“We haven’t had any progress as far as Torey,” GM Don Sweeney reported Monday morning in a Zoom presser.

So with the clock ticking, and more than a calendar year into this financial taffy pull, the Bruins are on the verge of watching their power-play quarterback fade into the rich green fog of unrestricted free agency after seven full varsity seasons and two Cup runs.

That’s not good news for Black and Gold fans, who’ve watched Krug turn into the downsized offensive dynamo of the back end. Is the bigger, stouter Charlie McAvoy ready to assume that role? Ready or not, it appears we’re about to find that answer when/if the 2020-21 season gets the green light.

Speculation for well over a year has been that Krug will end up in Detroit, where the rebuilding Red Wings have the need and the cap space to hire on the plucky son of Livonia, Mich., in an attempt to halt their Dead Wings Deux death march.

Vancouver, where ex-Bruin assistant GM Jim Benning is now boss, would be another potential/viable bidder.

Dupont believes that the Bruins could get a 3rd round pick from the Red Wings in exchange for Krug’s rights.

6. And in the promotional department, the Red Wings are holding a “Tent Sale” to raise funds for the Detroit Red Wings Foundation between now and October 8th.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!