Month: December 2020

The Free Press’s Helene St. James engaged in a Q and A with Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill on Wednesday afternoon, and Blashill addressed an “elephant in the room”:

Dylan Larkin was earmarked to be named captain before the start of the 2019-20 season, but that was when Ken Holland was the general manager. When Steve Yzerman took the job, he decided he wanted to get to know his players before making the decision. In May, Yzerman said he anticipated naming a captain before the 2020-21 season, but that was before it became clear the season would have to start without fans at games. Will that affect the decision?

“Steve and I talked about it at that time,” Blashill said. “We haven’t had that conversation in a little bit, so I would just leave that statement sit as it was.”

The team held news conferences when Yzerman was named captain in 1986, and again when Henrik Zetterberg was named captain in 2013. For Nicklas Lidstrom, he was announced as the new captain on opening night in 2006, drawing a standing ovation.

Continued

Of prospect-related note from Wednesday, December 9th:

In the ICE Hockey League, Michael Rasmussen finished at -1 with 3 shots and a penalty taken in the Graz99ers’ 5-2 loss to Red Bulls Salzburg. Jesper Eliasson served as the back-up for RBS;

And in the Swedish Allsvenskan, Gustav Lindstrom finished even with 3 shots and a penalty taken in 24:44 played during Almtuna IS’s 3-2 overtime loss to Vasterviks IK. Filip Larsson stopped 21 of 24 shots for Almtuna.

FYI for AHL fans, per Inside AHL Hockey’s Tony Androckitis:

Not that @frank_seravalli needs my confirmation, but I heard from a source back in mid-November (Nov 14?) that said a probable realignment would have #LVPhantoms in the same division as Utica for 2020-21 season.— Tony Androckitis (@TonyAndrock) December 9, 2020

Here are the proposed AHL divisions (not finalized), per @frank_seravalli:

AHL Eastern Conference

North: Binghamton, Cleveland, Hershey, Lehigh Valley, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica & #WBSPens.

Atlantic: Bridgeport, Charlotte, Hartford, Providence, Springfield.— Tony Androckitis (@TonyAndrock) December 9, 2020

AHL Western Conference

Central: Chicago, Grand Rapids, Iowa, Milwaukee, Rockford, Texas.

Pacific: Bakersfield, Colorado, Henderson, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose, Stockton, Tucson.— Tony Androckitis (@TonyAndrock) December 9, 2020

The NHL Network posted a Tweet today in which Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill engages in a 2-minute interview…

“We’re a hungry group to play, I can tell you that.” – @DetroitRedWings Head Coach Jeff Blashill. #NHLTonight | https://t.co/zg1faBBunz pic.twitter.com/gmmfsfknh2— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) December 9, 2020

And the interview clip is actually part of an 8-minute clip posted on NHL.com:

I suppose we’ll call this an FYI: the annual Forbes report regarding NHL team valuations came out today, and Mike Ozanian and Kurt Badenhausen’s report states that the Red Wings and most other teams actually lost equitable value and/or operating income due to the pandemic.

8. Detroit Red Wings

• Value: $775 million

• 1-Year Change: –3%

• Owner: Marian Ilitch

• Operating Income: $31.2 million

The NHL’s salary cap all but ensures that teams can make “bank value” every year because their costs are theoretically capped, but this year, that’s not the case.

From the Grand Rapids Griffins comes this charitable note:

Griffins to Hold Drive-Thru “Teddy Bear Toss & Holiday Drive”

Stuffed Animals, Canned Goods and Cash Donations to be Collected at Griff’s IceHouse on Dec. 15

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Although the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 2020-21 season is delayed, the season of giving will be in full force on Tuesday, Dec. 15 when they team up with J&H Family Stores and three local charities to host a drive-thru Teddy Bear Toss & Holiday Drive from 5-7 p.m. at Griff’s IceHouse at Belknap Park (30 Coldbrook St. NE).

Fans are invited to show their support and generous spirit by donating any of the following:

Continue reading Grand Rapids Griffins to hold virtual teddy bear toss on December 15th

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan appeared on today’s episode of The Word on Woodward, and The Athletic’s Max Bultman appeared on The Red & White Authority podcast recently:

Of prospect-related note:

In the Czech Extraliga, Filip Zadina scored a goal on 4 shots, finishing even in 14:35 of ice time as Ocelari Trinec won 4-3 over HC Dynamo Pardubice:

Here’s Zadina’s goal with audio & additional angles. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/GBReMEODIR— Jay (@hwcJay) December 8, 2020

Jan Bednar didn’t dress in HC Energie Karlovy Vary’s 2-1 overtime win over PSG Berani Zlin. Karlovy Vary’s website is reporting that Bednar has departed for the QMJHL;

Filip Hronek scored the final goal of a 6-1 win for HK Mountfield over Ceske Budejovice. Hronek played 23:17, finishing at +3 with 2 shots;

In the SHL, Moritz Seider had an assist, finishing at +1 in 19:32 played as Rogle BK won 5-0 over Lulea Hockey:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Zadina, Hronek score in Czech; Seider adds a helper in Sweden

From the Red Wings comes a short video of Kirk Maltby and Luke Glendening, who discuss the differences between “NHL 21” and “NHL 94”:

Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin appeared on a new podcast with Fox Sports Carolinas’ Tripp Tracy, discussing lessons learned from Henrik Zetterberg and more over the course of several YouTube videos:

… @DetroitRedWings forward @Dylanlarkin39 joins @CanesOnFSCR hockey analyst @TrippTracy on a new podcast, Digging in with Tripp. https://t.co/XbedUkmHIX pic.twitter.com/fwiRoB3KoY— FOX Sports Detroit (@FOXSportsDet) December 8, 2020

Continue reading FSD: Dylan Larkin ‘Digs in’ with Tripp Tracy