Month: November 2021

The Grand Rapids Griffins posted a video preview of tonight’s free-on-AHL.tv game vs. the Iowa Wild (8 PM EDT start):

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of the Red Wings’ unwillingness to clarify Dylan Larkin’s status today…

Larkin has been out of the lineup for “personal reasons” since Monday. Coach Jeff Blashill said after Friday’s practice there was “no further update as of right now,” and wouldn’t speculate as to when Larkin would return.

The Wings haven’t disclosed anything other than “personal reasons” for Larkin’s absence. Blashill said Friday the Wings support Larkin.

“He’s somebody we all care tons about and we’ll continue to care tons about him,” Blashill said. “Certainly I don’t want to get into it too deep, because that’s not fair. So our guys care a ton about him and certainly that continues.”

Now I’m not going to deny for a second that this approach isn’t working for most Wings fans, who would desperately want to know something, anything, about Dylan Larkin, whether he’s dealing with a personal issue, an illness, the illness of a family member, if his dog, Ellie is ill, if he has a hangnail, you name it…

But a lot of the same people who said that Tyler Bertuzzi is “brave” for declining a vaccination for COVID at the expense of his teammates are the people who are bitching about Larkin’s absence, suggesting that Larkin is being selfish by putting himself ahead of the team, and that’s just silly.

The truth of the matter is that we just…don’t…know…And absent information, we can’t really pass judgment on the Wings’ captain. I hope that whatever’s taken him away from the team for almost a week will end soon, and that he’s okay. That’s about all I can do.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted a column noting that the Red Wings are receiving more “bang for their buck” from Steve Yzerman’s draft picks over those made by Ken Holland thus far in the young 2021-2022 season:

There are only four Holland first-round picks in the Detroit lineup. One of them, Joe Veleno, just arrived on the scene. The others, for a variety of reasons, aren’t making significant contributions.

Captain Dylan Larkin can’t be criticzed for his absence. He’s been away from the team for a week dealing with an undisclosed personal matter. That it’s keeping a staunch competitor such as Larkin off the ice tells you the issue must be dramatic in its seriousness.

Winger Filip Zadina continues to be more hype than reality. Every so often – usually on the power play – he’ll flash an indication of his ability to finish. Then he goes back into hibernation.

That brings us to Michael Rasmussen. The 6-foot-6 center is looming large as an enigma. On Tuesday, he was skating in the middle of the team’s top line. Saturday against the Sabres, he’ll start the day as the fourth-line center.

When Blashil spoke of missed assignments on the penalty kill during Thursday’s 5-1 loss at Boston, Rasmussen was the unnamed guilty party. He was caught in no man’s land on the game’s first two goals as his man, Patrice Bergeron, was netting two of his four goals.

“When he’s on his game I think he does a pretty good job of defending, being long, making it hard on other people, being physical, being hard at the net,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said of Rasmussen. “When he gets off his game a little bit he probably thinks too much and it slows you down a little bit and you start to second-guess yourself. That’s the reality of a young guy being in a prominent role.”

Continued; I’m a little more forgiving of the Wings’ “Holland picks,” but it’s early yet.

The Red Wings shook up their lines on Friday, with Pius Suter centering the top line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Lucas Raymond. After practice, coach Jeff Blashill explained his rationale for doing so to MLive’s Ansar Khan…

“He’s our most experienced center right now,” Blashill said. “He did a good job last year playing with Patrick Kane and good players (in Chicago), so we just thought potentially the make-up of that line gives him some beef a little bit with the strength of Bertuzzi, and potentially it gives the other line a little bit of beef as well.”

Joe Veleno centered the second line in practice with Fabbri and Filip Zadina. The Red Wings have scored only one goal the past two games and have registered only 26 shots on goal in their past five periods.

“One by one, each guy has to find a way to bring it to another level,” Blashill said. “If it takes a little bit of line juggling, then it takes a little bit of line juggling. We don’t want to do that too much, but it gives opportunities for new looks and maybe it’ll spark somebody. I hope it sparks the whole lineup.”

With Raymond (five goals, 10 points) and Bertuzzi (six goals, nine points) driving the offense, this is a good opportunity for Suter, who played on the same junior team as Bertuzzi (OHL Guelph) for two seasons.

“You got to be close, because he’s going to win those battles and those pucks back to you,” Suter said. “If you are in position once he gets it, you can make a play. Get open so you can create some offense right away or get to the net.”

To Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen…

Continue reading Practice notebooks: Pius Suter gets his chance on the top line

As MLive’s Ansar Khan and the Free Press’s Helene St. James note, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill provided a general update on Jakub Vrana’s status today, and it was on the same day that Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha underwent a shoulder surgery of his own.

Per Khan:

Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha is out indefinitely after undergoing shoulder surgery Friday. He will miss Thursday’s game in Detroit and possibly his team’s other appearance at Little Caesars Arena on New Year’s Eve.

Mantha has two goals and four assists in 10 games this season.

Meanwhile, the Red Wings’ Jakub Vrana is going through rehab after having shoulder surgery earlier this season.

“I think generally those surgeries are anywhere between four-to-six months,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said of Vrana’s status. “It depends on how the rehab goes and where we’re at and obviously if we’re late into January you’re starting to get into that Olympic break. I would be more apt to give you a closer timeline once we get past the New Year.”

And St. James:

“I would not even put a timeline on it right now,” Blashill said Friday. “It will be significant time.”

The timeline provided in September was four months, which would have meant around the end of January. The NHL is shutting down in February for the Olympics. 

“I think generally those surgeries are anywhere between four-to-six months,” Blashill said. “It just depends on how the rehab goes. And obviously, if we’re late into January, you’re starting to get into that Olympic break. I would be more apt to give you a closer timeline once we’re past New Year.”

The Wings acquired Vrana, 25, as part of last year’s trade-deadline deal that sent Mantha to the Capitals. Vrana looked like an immediate fit, contributing 11 points in 11 games. General manager Steve Yzerman signed Vrana to a three-year deal with a $5.25 million annual average value in August. 

Vrana’s absence did open an opportunity for Lucas Raymond to play in Vrana’s spot on a line with Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi. Raymond, a first-round pick from 2020, aced the audition. He scored his fifth goal of the season in Thursday’s 5-1 loss at Boston, giving him a team-leading 10 points in 11 games. 

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in Europe today:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki finished at -1 with 1 shot in 18:04 played as the Lahti Pelicans lost 5-1 to Tappara.

The Red Wings changed their lines during Friday’s practice, and afterward, coach Jeff Blashill updated the status of Marc Staal (maintenance day), but did not update the status of Dylan Larkin (on personal leave).

Blashill spoke with the media as his team is on an 0-3-and-1 streak heading into tomorrow night’s game vs. the Buffalo Sabres (7 PM EDT start on Bally Sports Detroit/MSG-B/97.1 FM), and the Red Wings posted Blashill’s 9-minute availability:

Update: Here’s Pius Suter, too:

The Red Wings shuffled their lines ahead of tomorrow night’s game vs. Buffalo (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/MSG-B/97.1 FM) during Friday’s practice, with the Wings looking to snap an 0-3-and-1 winless streak which was punctuated by last night’s 5-1 loss to Boston…

Red Wings lines/pairs for practice in Buffalo today

Bertuzzi-Suter-Raymond
Zadina-Veleno-Fabbri
Namestnikov-Stephens-Gagner
Smith-Rasmussen-Erne
Rowney extra

Leddy-Hronek
DeKeyser/Lindstrom/Seider rotation
Oesterle-Stecher— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) November 5, 2021

After practice (in addition to finding out that former Wing Anthony Mantha will miss Thursday’s reunion game with the Wings as he, like Jakub Vrana before him, has had shoulder surgery), we received good news regarding Marc Staal…

Jeff Blashill said today was a maintenance day for Marc Staal and he is expected to be in the lineup tomorrow. @DetroitRedWings #LGRW— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 5, 2021

And, well, no news regarding Dylan Larkin is no news regarding Dylan Larkin, as distressing to the fan base as it might be:

Continue reading Post-practice Tweets: Staal ‘takes a maintenance day’; no update on Larkin

The Detroit Red Wings skated in Buffalo the afternoon after dropping a 5-1 decision to the Boston Bruins, and The Athletic’s Max Bultman reported that there were a couple of changes in the Wings’ lineup, with Pius Suter being promoted to the first line, and the second defensive pair absent one Marc Staal:

Red Wings lines/pairs for practice in Buffalo today

Bertuzzi-Suter-Raymond
Zadina-Veleno-Fabbri
Namestnikov-Stephens-Gagner
Smith-Rasmussen-Erne
Rowney extra

Leddy-Hronek
DeKeyser/Lindstrom/Seider rotation
Oesterle-Stecher— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) November 5, 2021

I’m still baffled that the Red Wings haven’t prioritized the adding to center position over the last couple of seasons, but that’s just me…Here’s hoping that Suter gets his shit together on the top line.

A brief note here: this article slipped under the radar, but on Wednesday, Hockeysverige.se’s Leo Buttafoco Ohlsson reports that Mora IK coach Johan Hedberg explained why Red Wings prospect Albin Grewe hasn’t played of late–he’s being held out of Allsvenskan action with a suspected concussion:

“It’s probably a small concussion he’s been battling, that’s what we think. He has a bit of a history with it, so if you get a hit, it’s best to be careful. He’s felt hung over,” says coach Johan Hedberg to DT.se, and he continues:

“It’s not a game. I have lots of friends who’ve had head injuries. You have to follow the rules and recommendations that exist, with brain injuries and so on.”

Grewe left the ice when Mora played BIK Karlskoga at home last Friday, and was not on the team when they played against Almtuna on Sunday. However, it won’t be too long before Grewe is expected to return immediately after the [Karjala Cup] break.

“He felt a little better today, according to the reports I’ve received. Hopefully he’s ready for next week, when we start again.”