Month: January 2021

Brooks: AHL’ers are getting screwed by the ‘return to play’

This is not good news from the New York Post’s Larry Brooks:

If you’re on a two-way contract, were cut by an NHL team and assigned to an NHL taxi squad, you hit the jackpot. Or at least you’re going to be paid 100 percent of your minor league salary. But if you’re on a two-way contract and were assigned to the AHL, well, you’re plumb out of luck.

Because not only won’t you receive so much as a penny leading up to the start of a severely truncated season set to begin on Feb. 5, once the AHL does get underway there is no telling what you will be paid on a prorated contract. There is no current agreement in force between the PHPA (Professional Hockey Players’ Association) and the league’s governing bodies.

Three teams have opted out of 2020-21, leaving 28 clubs to play the season. The schedule will differ by division. Some teams will play as few as 24 games. Others may play as many as 42. Most two-way contracts mandate salaries in the range of $70,000.

You do the math. If players’ pay is strictly prorated, a player on a 24-game team making $70,000 would earn the grand total of $20,487 — before taxes. Players on teams on 42-game schedules would then earn a pre-tax $35,853 that they’d shouldn’t spend in one place.

Come on, man.

And in addition, these players have not been paid since receiving their final 2019-20 paychecks in the middle of April. That’s nine months. It may be nobody’s fault, but there is a crisis consuming the bedrock of the NHL’s development and it is crushing a wave of prospects.

Continued

Prospect Round-up, European version: Seider posts 2 assists, Raymond posts 1 helper

Of prospect-related note today:

In Belarus, Kirill Tyutyayev finished even with 1 shot in Yunost Minsk’s 2-0 loss to Shakhtar-Soligorsk 2;

In the SHL, Albin Grewe finished even with 1 shot in 12:54 played as Djurgardens IF won 6-4 over Orebro Hockey;

Jonatan Berggren finished at +1 with 4 shots in 11:28 played as Skelleftea AIK won 5-4 over Brynas;

Moritz Seider had 2 assists, finishing at +3 with 4 shots in 19:19 played as Rogle BK won 5-1 over HV71:

Lucas Raymond had an assist, finishing at +2 in 11:59 played, and Elmer Soderblom finished even in 5:02 played as the 13th forward in the Frolunda Indians’ 3-1 win over Farjestads BK. Albert Johansson finished even with 5 shots in 19:56 played for Farjestad:

Red Wings-Hurricanes pre-Game 2 afternoon round-up

Of Red Wings and Hurricanes-related note this afternoon/evening:

  1. The Wings posted the team’s probable lines for tonight’s game on Twitter:

2. The Free Press’s Helene St. James took note of Wings coach Jeff Blashil and defenseman Marc Staal’s comments regarding the employment of the “taxi squad”:

Continue reading Red Wings-Hurricanes pre-Game 2 afternoon round-up

Khan: Helm has a ways to go before he returns to the lineup

MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill’s comments regarding Darren Helm, who recently completed participation in the NHL’s COVID protocol:

Helm has been unavailable to play or practice since Jan. 2 due to the NHL’s COVID protocols.

“You miss that much time, 14 days of not exercising basically, it’s going to take a little bit,” coach Jeff Blashill said after the morning skate, prior to tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit). “I can’t put an exact timeline on it, but certainly need a number of great skates and practices.

“Tomorrow will be his first chance to really practice with us and it won’t be a long practice, so that gets hard. We’re going to have to maximize the skates he has and get him back going at full speed. We won’t put him in until … depending on a number of factors, most importantly his readiness to be an impact player and how the rest of the players are doing.”

Dave Coulier, Darren McCarty to hold ‘virtual comedy show’ for Hotel-Dieu Grace in Windsor

Here’s an FYI for Monday evening if you don’t have other plans, per CTV Windsor’s Lindsay Charlton:

Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and Beyond Disability Rehabilitation Network have partnered to bring some laughs to the community with a virtual comedy show.

The show will raise funds to support patient care and programs at both organizations. Special appearances include comedian and actor Dave Coulier and former Detroit Red Wing Darren McCarty.

“With eight comedians in one action packed virtual show, we can offer an escape from reality that is sure to lift your spirits and tickle your soul. Tickets are selling fast for this year’s event, offering our community a quality comedy show. We are always grateful for the support of everyone who comes together to support our only fundraiser of the year,” Melanie Gardin, board director, Beyond Disabilities Rehabilitation Network, said in a news release “This is the 6th year for this event. We are forced to do it differently but we are excited about how much fun this unique way to put on our show will ultimately be”

Tickets for the event are $25 and can be purchased online. For more information about the show, Linda D’Aloisio can be reached at 519-257-5111 Ext 76922 or email at linda.daloisio@hdgh.org.

Your friend the anxious blogger

All my life–since I was a very little kid–I can remember living with chronic anxiety and depression.

From answering the door to talk to the Jehovah’s Witnesses that had a Kingdom Hall two blocks away to ordering at McDonald’s to starting my homework to facing a test in school to doing laundry, I’ve always had a heightened level of anticipatory anxiety, toward everything I do in my life, and there are times that the anxiety I feel is disabling.

I take medication to combat my anxiety, under a psychiatrist’s care, and I see a therapist. I have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and major depression–they walk hand in hand in my case–and I’ve made a lot of progress in my life as far as dealing with anxiety and depression goes…

But my brain chemistry is messed up, my perceptions don’t necessarily match reality when it comes to anticipating anxiety-causing actions, and no amount of the little blue pill I take called Klonopin can knock my anxiety below what is probably a 9 on a normal person’s scale of 1 to 10.

Long story long, despite a lot of support from my family and friends (and readers!), psychiatric medication and significant progress made in terms of coping skills, I deal with anticipatory anxiety on a daily basis, on a task-by-task basis, and even though I’ve been blogging since 2006 and talking about hockey online since 1999, this whole blogging business causes me anxiety.

Most of the time, I’m able to battle through it, but there are times that I have episodes where the anxiety spirals out of control, and it can literally knock me off my feet.

I live with psychiatric disabilities. I try my best to be productive and useful to others.

I care for my aunt, I care for myself as best I can, and I try to keep this blogging business going on a semi-professional level. But there are days that I can’t make it through it all–or any of it.

I don’t expect you to understand it, to relate, or to even have sympathy for people with mental illness, but I do think that you should know why there are times that I miss games or “miss time,” and I do still believe that, at least most of the time, I can work through my illnesses to provide you with a solid product.

I’m trying my best every day, but some days are better than others, still, and that’s frustrating as hell for me, but I’m going to keep trying.

I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Red Wings-Hurricanes Game 2 morning skate Tweets and updates: Bernier likely starter, Helm skating with team

The Detroit Red Wings face off against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at 7 PM EST (on FSD+ and 97.1 the Ticket), hoping to avenge Thursday’s 3-0 loss.

The Wings plugged their “Morning Skate” webcast with their first Tweet of the morning…

We’re live at Morning Skate presented by: @littlecaesars. #CARvsDET #LGRW

Tune in » https://t.co/FpcREWdS2q pic.twitter.com/u3vFBa8WPt— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 16, 2021

For what it’s worth, Thomas Greiss was the goaltender who stayed on the ice the longest, and Darren Helm was allowed to skate with the team this morning…

The Athletic’s Max Bultman confirmed…

Jonathan Bernier is the first goalie off the ice this morning for the Red Wings— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) January 16, 2021

Darren Helm is out there skating, too— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) January 16, 2021

FYI:

Continue reading Red Wings-Hurricanes Game 2 morning skate Tweets and updates: Bernier likely starter, Helm skating with team

Falkner: Brendan Shanahan discusses Wings’ Cup wins on ‘The Ray and Dregs Podcast’

Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan appeared on the “Ray and Dregs Podcast” with Ray Ferraro and Darren Dreger a couple of days ago…

And the Detroit News’s Mark Falkner took note of Shanahan’s remarks:

“When a sentence starts off with no one has ever won like this, I remember when people would say no one has won with Russians, no one has ever won with a European captain, no one has even won when they’ve been in last place in January … and then someone does,” Shanahan said on this week’s edition of The Ray & Dregs Hockey Podcast, featuring TSN insider Darren Dreger and analyst Ray Ferraro, whose son Landon was drafted by Detroit in 2009.

“Every time a Stanley Cup is given out, we sort of look at that team and how they’ve been assembled. Are they a puck-moving speed team? Ok, well let’s copy that. The next year, a big physical team wins and we say, let’s copy that. I think what’s important to learn is there’s a lot of different ways that you can win this thing.”

The Red Wings were the first team to win the Cup with a Russian-dominated lineup in 1997 and with Nicklas Lidstrom as the first European captain in 2002. The St. Louis Blues were in last place on Jan. 2 in 2019 but won the title for the first time in 52 years.

Shanahan, the only player in NHL history with 600 career goals and 2,000 penalty minutes, said the Leafs have tried to find “the balance between analytics and old-school thinking” to build a winner.

Continued