Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill addressed the team’s decision to waive Evgeny Svechnikov today, and the Free Press’s Helene St. James took note of Blashill’s remarks (which pretty much explain why he won’t be picked up on waivers):
The Detroit Red Wings sound like they hope Evgeny Svechnikov will remain with the organization, but they left themselves vulnerable to losing a former first-round pick for nothing when they placed him on waivers Monday.
How general manager Steve Yzerman explained the decision to Svechnikov is not known, but if another team puts in a claim before noon Tuesday, it’s sayonara Svechnikov.
“Unfortunately, Evgeny has had a number of injuries so he hasn’t been able to show a full kind of season of where he is at,” coach Jeff Blashill said Monday. “But we also have to make roster decisions and you’re restricted to your roster. Nothing is permanent. You have that risk, potentially, of losing guys, but let’s see where we’re at here at noon tomorrow.”
…
“Waivers just simply means that if they’re not claimed, you have flexibility to send people to Grand Rapids, to send people to the taxi squad,” Blashill said. “With the whole group of guys, it gives you flexibility to do that.
“This is kind of decision day, but it’s totally flexible. Guys that are on your roster opening day, it doesn’t mean they’re going to stay. And guys that aren’t certainly have the opportunity to be called up at some point.”
MLive’s Ansar Khan also took note of Blashill’s remarks regarding both Svechnikov…
“Unfortunately, Evgeny has had a number of injuries so he hasn’t been able to show a full season of where he’s at,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “But we also have to make roster decisions and you’re restricted to your roster. Nothing is permanent. You have that risk of losing guys, but let’s see where we’re at here at noon tomorrow.”
And free agent signing Mathias Brome, who appears to have made the team:
Brome began camp practicing with players projected to start with the Griffins but quickly moved his way up the lineup. He skated Monday on the third line, with Valtteri Filppula and Sam Gagner.
“I didn’t totally know what to expect because without seeing him even in the American League it’s hard to get a comparable,” Blashill said. “It’s really hard to get a read on which guys (who played in Europe) are transferrable in their skill-set and which guys aren’t.
“He’s been stronger on his skates and more tenacious than I realized when I watched him on tape. That’s helped him be real effective. When coaches have walked off the bench or walked off the ice they’ve generally said, ‘Brome played pretty well.’ The other part is he has shown to be trustworthy. He’s not a young kid. He understands hockey, understands when to take his opportunities and not to force it and he knows how to play good, defensive hockey.”
