Month: January 2021

The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted an article which ponders whether Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin can become a Selke Trophy-level center at some point in the future:

As the Red Wings look to turn the corner in their rebuild over the coming years, the No. 1 thing they may need from their No. 1 center is to begin trending toward the league’s two-way elite.

Last season, the Islanders’ J-G Pageau (a well-regarded defensive center himself) said of Larkin, “It’s hard to play against him. He’s always on the good side of the puck, he doesn’t (make) a lot of mistakes, and I think that’s what makes him such a good player, both sides of the puck.”

In March, Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour, who won multiple Selkes as a player, added: “(We) wanted to draft him back in the day — it just didn’t work out. Everyone did. Why wouldn’t you? Because he’s competitive. To me, the talent is pretty easy to see. … But then when you add that competitive edge, that’s what separates guys from being OK players to great players, and that’s what he (has).”

That competitive edge has become Larkin’s calling card, as [Bobby] Ryan alluded to. And as he continues to grow in the NHL, it’s also the quality that can drive him to the two-way excellence the Red Wings will ultimately need from him.

“In the big picture, when you buy into the team game and when you become a complete player, it helps your team win,” Larkin said. “And that’s what we’re all here to do. That’s what I want at the end of my career, is to be known for team success. And, yeah, I’m still working on it, I still have a long way to go, but it is something that I want to take pride in and continue to work to be a 200-foot player.”

Continued (paywall)

ESPN posted 31 NHL team previews this morning as a set of ESPN+ Insider articles, and Emily Kaplan was tasked with discussing the Red Wings’ 2020-2021 season expectations. Here’s a fair amount of what she has to say:

Big question: Is this the last season of misery? Yzerman took control of the Red Wings in April 2019. The GM refuses to put a timetable on his rebuilding plan, and for the past 20 months it has felt like Detroit has just been biding its time until bloated contracts expire and enough prospects develop. The Red Wings were tough to watch in 2019-20, finishing with a league-low 39 points — 23 fewer than the Ottawa Senators — with an absurd minus-122 goal differential.

Yzerman made several depth signings to make the Red Wings more competitive. The question is: Just how competitive (and watchable) are they now?

Did realignment hurt or help? Let’s be honest: Wherever the Red Wings played this season, they would be projected at or near the bottom. Realignment doesn’t change much for Detroit’s prognosis.

Offseason comings and goings, plus the cap situation The Red Wings have $9,538,611 in projected cap space, according to Cap Friendly.

Lots of movement in Detroit this offseason. Joining the team: goaltender Thomas Greiss, defensemen Marc Staal, Jon Merrill and Troy Stecher, forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Bobby Ryan. Gone: goaltender Jimmy Howard, forward Justin Abdelkader, defensemen Madison Bowey, Trevor Daley, and Jonathan Ericsson.

Bold prediction

The defense will significantly improve. The Red Wings finished last in the NHL last season in goals allowed per game (3.73) but should see that number drop. Greiss is an upgrade over Jimmy Howard to platoon with Jonathan Bernier, and the additions of Staal, Stecher and Merrill — who have all been on winning teams — make the defense much sturdier.

Continued (paywall)

According to Aftonbladet and Expressen, the Malmo Redhawks, Joe Veleno’s team, are pausing operations for the week due to positive coronavirus tests on the team. Three players total have tested positive for the coronavirus.

As a result, the SHL’s website reports that neither of Malmo’s games this week will be played until a later date. The Redhawks’ website also reports that the team will not practice this week, with all players “going into lockdown” for the week to isolate themselves from each other.

One never quite knows what to make of a rumor-in-retrospect, but The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta is as plugged-in to the marketplace as anyone, and if I may be blunt, I’m glad that the Wings didn’t succeed here:

The Detroit Red Wings had expressed serious interest in goaltender Jacob Markstrom at the start of free agency. I’ve been told the Wings offered a higher AAV than the $6 million he’s now making in Calgary on his six-year, $36 million contract, but on a shorter term, possibly five years.

There’s just no need for this kind of investment at this particular point in the rebuild.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan added this as a note at the bottom of his Red vs. White Game #3 scrimmage recap, but it’s worth noting: the Red Wings and the NHL’s other 30 teams have to submit their final 23-man rosters and “taxi squad” rosters to the NHL’s front office by 5 PM on Tuesday, January 12th. That likely means that the Wings will place several players on waivers tomorrow:

The Wings, and the rest of the 30 NHL teams, need to finalize rosters by Tuesday at 5 p.m. (EST).

I’m expecting the Wings to keep Mathias Brome on their NHL roster for now, and, for the moment, anyway, Dennis Cholowski, Gustav Lindstrom, Michael Rasmussen, Givani Smith and Taro Hirose to head to the “taxi squad” for a month before heading to Grand Rapids when their season begins on February 5th.

Likely waiver candidates are forwards Riley Barber, Kyle Criscuolo, Dominic Turgeon and Turner Elson (I believe that Chase Pearson is still waiver-exempt) [edit: though I expect Evgeny Svechnikov to be waived once he gets healthy], defensemen Dylan McIlrath, Brian Lashoff and Joe Hicketts, and goaltenders Kevin Boyle and Pat Nagle (again, I believe that Kaden Fulcher is waiver-exempt).

Update: Speaking of which, per DetroitRedWings.com’s Brett McWethy:

Continue reading Kulfan: Tuesday is roster decision day, for the Wings and the rest of the NHL

The Free Press’s Helene St. James weighs in on the Red Wings’ final scrimmage of training camp this evening, duly noting that, despite the dominance of the Bertuzzi-Larkin-Mantha line, the most positive development over the course of the last seven-to-ten days has been the emergence of a real, honest-to-goodness second scoring line:

Robby Fabbri, Filip Zadina and Vladislav Namestnikov starred, for what it is worth, in Sunday’s scrimmage, showing chemistry and scoring prowess. Namestnikov scored the first goal and Zadina the last goal as Team White topped Team Red, 6-2.

“I think the fact they were dangerous in the scrimmage is important,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “We need more lines. So the fact they could be impactful in a scrimmage is good. Come Thursday, it will be a different animal a bit, but all they can control is the setting and then play great within the setting, and they did a great job of that.”

It was the third and final scrimmage before the Wings open the 2021 season Thursday at Little Caesars Arena against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“I thought both teams were competing,” Blashill said. “It wasn’t like it was a summer hockey game. It looked like a real enough game.”

Continued

Update: MLive’s Ansar Khan also weighed in on the scrimmage, discussing Filip Zadina’s play on the second line:

Continue reading HSJ, Khan on scrimmage #3: The Red Wings’ second line stands front and center

Red Wings defenseman Troy Stecher spoke with Fox Sports Detroit’s Brooke Fletcher during this week’s episode of “The Third Half”:

The Red Wings held their final Red vs. White scrimmage of training camp on Sunday night, with Team White defeating Team Red 5-2. After the game, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the media…

And I’ll post the remaining videos as they become available.

We’ll wrap up #DRWTC tomorrow!

? (R): Mantha, Rasmussen
? (W): Namestnikov, Filppula (2), Smith, Glendening, Zadina pic.twitter.com/yad5mHi9CV— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 11, 2021

End your night with some highlights. ?#DRWTC x @Huntington_Bank pic.twitter.com/maoCPSYhyE— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 11, 2021

Of prospect-related note:

In Europe’s ICE Hockey League, Jesper Eliasson served as the back-up in the Red Bulls Salzburg’s 3-2 win over HCB Foxes;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Gustav Berglund finished at -1 with 1 shot in 8:42 of ice time as Vasteras IK won 3-2 in overtime over Tingsryds AIF;

In North America, in the USHL, Chase Bradley scored a goal, finishing at +1 with 2 shots in the Sioux City Musketeers’ 6-2 win over Fargo;

In NCAA Hockey, Ryan O’Reilly had 3 assists, finishing at +2 with 4 shots in the Arizona State University Sun Devils’ 5-3 win over Notre Dame;

Patrick Holway finished at +1 with 1 shot, 1 penalty taken and 1 blocked shot in the Merrimack College Warriors’ 3-2 loss to Northeastern;

Keith Petruzzelli pitched a 28-save shutout as the Quinnipiac Bobcats won 1-0 over Clarkson;

Sam Stange scored a goal, finishing at +1 with 3 shots in the University of Wisconsin Badgers’ 5-3 loss to Minnesota:

That’s number 5⃣ for Sam Stange this season!

?: Roman Ahcan, Jesper Peltonen pic.twitter.com/QCBqcxu5Yw

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) January 10, 2021

And later tonight, Cooper Moore and the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks will battle Colorado College (9 PM EST).

Update: Cooper Moore finished even with 1 shot in the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks’ 3-0 win over Colorado College.

Red Wings alumnus Chris Chelios spoke with the NHL Alumni’s website’s Riley Horan regarding a multitude of topics regarding his long NHL career, and here’s a glimpse of the interview:

RH: YOU WON THE Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2002 and 2008, serVED as an assistant coach AND an ambassador for the CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS. what does it mean for you to go back to THESE CITIES?

CC: It’s amazing. I went to Montreal last year when they honoured the living captains. I think there’s about 12 or 13 of us. Gainey, Lafleur, Damphousse and Carbonneau were there. It was a really nice thing. I hadn’t been to Montreal for a while so the way the fans accepted me was very special. They were always good to me after being traded. A little tougher in Detroit with a rivalry that I had with Chicago. Now the response I get from fans is amazing. And like you mentioned, being an ambassador, and having the ability to walk around the rink and greet people is great. I also go back to Detroit every once in a while. I am really fortunate to be treated so well by the three different teams that I got the chance to play for throughout my career. I am very lucky in that sense.

Continued