Month: December 2021

Not good news from the QMJHL: Red Wings prospect Oscar Plandowski was suspended for 4 games by the QMJHL for a check from behind on the Gatineau Olympiques’ Nicholas Kingsbury-Fournier.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan’s Friday notebook focuses on Joe Veleno’s promotion to the Wings’ second line, but Kulfan also discusses Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill’s first-quarter impressions of Nick Leddy’s on and off-ice performances:

Defenseman Nick Leddy played the last seven seasons with the Islanders, helping New York to consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances the last two seasons.

Acquired by the Wings in July for forward Richard Panik and a 2021 second-round pick, Leddy has seven points (all assists) in 24 games, with a minus-8 rating.

Blashill likes what Leddy has brought to the locker room.

“He’s got a really good veteran presence to him,” Blashill said. “He’s really good with our younger players, or even our middle-aged players, so to speak. He has a good way about him, calm, he helps talk through situations with his partner, whoever he’s playing with. He’s a dynamic skater.”

Blashill feels there’s another level with Leddy.

“We’re in a spot where we need him to be on top of his game every single night and he’s getting there,” Blashill said. “That consistency is critical. In our defense corps, you’re not going to hide necessarily if you’re not having a good night. You got to make sure you’re on top of your game every night. That’s an area he can continue to improve, but he’s done a good job for us.”

Continued

Of prospect-related note in Europe today:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki finished even with 2 shots in 16:01 played as the Lahti Pelicans lost 2-1 in a shootout to KooKoo;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Filip Larsson stopped 16 of 19 shots in mop-up duty, replacing starter Jonas Gunnarsson in HV71 Jonkoping’s 7-2 loss to Vasteras IK;

Albin Grewe didn’t play in Mora IK’s 3-1 win over Troja-Ljungby as Grewe is nursing a concussion;

And in the Swedish J20 league, Liam Dower Nilsson didn’t play in Frolunda HC’s 7-5 loss to Orebro.

Red Wings forward Joe Veleno practiced with Pius Suter and Filip Zadina this morning, and, after practice, he spoke with MLive’s Ansar Khan regarding his promotion:

“This is a big opportunity,” Veleno said. “I’ve had some chances in the past and this year to kind of showcase what I can do.I think I’ve built that confidence in some of the games. I’ve shown myself that I’m able to play at this level. I think it’s just bringing it every day and every single game, not taking any days off. I just got to prove it every single night.”

Veleno, the 30th pick in 2018, skated at wing on the second line, with Pius Suter and Zadina in practice.

Veleno has had three stints in Detroit but hasn’t played more than five consecutive games before being sent back to Grand Rapids or, in the latest case, getting injured. Now, with center Mitchell Stephens (lower-body injury) out until at least February, Veleno can gain traction.

“He’s got better hockey in him than what he’s played so far,” Blashill said. “He had the really good period against Toronto (Oct. 30) where he controlled the puck. I think he’s done a good job at times. When he has the puck on his stick, he can transport from one end to the other and control it. But I think there’s more there and I’m hoping we see that tomorrow night.”

Continued

The Free Press’s Helene St. James suggests that the Red Wings could earn “double value” for Nick Leddy by utilizing his veteran presence to stabilize the Wings’ blueline…before trading him for a draft pick or two at the trade deadline:

Leddy joined the Wings in July after seven seasons with the Islanders. New York faced a roster dilemma because of the Seattle expansion drafted, and Wings general manager Steve Yzerman took advantage. Getting Leddy cost only a second-round pick in the 2021 draft, and veteran forward Richard Pánik, the throw-in from the Anthony Mantha trade, and the draft pick originally was Edmonton’s, acquired as part of the 2020 Andreas Athanasiou trade.

In return, the Wings bolstered their defense, adding a veteran who, along with Danny DeKeyser and Marc Staal, is helping develop Seider, Hronek and Gustav Lindstrom.

“It’s hard to be a young defenseman in this league,” Blashill said. “The league has gotten younger, certainly, over the last number of years, but the guys who have really been able to make an impact early and helped teams win are forwards. You have some guys like Seider who can help you, but it’s hard to be a young defenseman. There’s a ton of learning that goes along with it.

“That learning is facilitated by veterans like Staal, DeKeyser and Leddy. Those guys are critical extensions of a coaching staff and have way more impact than any coach would have when they’re kind of talking through situations and reinforcing some of the thoughts and beliefs that we have as a coaching staff. I think their presence has been huge in the development of our younger defensemen down that right side.”

Leddy may not finish the season in Wings uniform. He’s an attractive age (31 in March), and in the last year of his contract. He regularly surpassed 30 assists from 2015-2018, and had 29 as recently as last season. That’s a combination that’s bound to appeal to Stanley Cup contenders at the trade deadline. The Islanders came into the season as such, but they were on the road for the first 13 games while their new arena was being finished, and after that 5-6-2 start their lineup was decimated by the coronavirus.

Getting back a guy who was a key part of consecutive third-round playoff appearances could appeal to the Islanders as they try to right themselves. If the Wings keep winning enough to be in the playoff picture on March 21, things will be different, of course, but there’s certainly potential for Yzerman to get even more in return for Leddy than what he paid for him.

Continued

Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic spoke with NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley about the relatively high save percentage numbers being posted by NHL goalies this season:

The 2021-22 NHL season reached its quarter mark Sunday and total save percentage was .913, a five-point jump from the .908 save percentage posted last season. It’s the first time since 2015-16 that save percentage has increased from the previous season, and if sustainable would be the biggest single-season jump since save percentage rose from .903 in 2000-01 to .908 in 2001-02.

The question for the current increase is why? 

“Mostly, goalies rule is the reason,” Detroit Red Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic wrote in a text message, adding a crying-with-laughter emoji. “Honestly, I don’t know.” 

Though there doesn’t appear to be one definitive answer, Nedeljkovic did have some ideas as to why, using his game from Tuesday as an example. He made 41 saves in a 2-1 win against the Boston Bruins, improving his save percentage to .923 in 15 games.

“I think save percentage is one of those stats that can be a little skewed sometimes because you can have a game like I did tonight with 40-plus shots, but they really didn’t have that many quality shots,” Nedeljkovic said Tuesday. “We did a good job shutting them down in the middle. You can definitely say it’s because goalies are getting better, just like players are at scoring goals. We’re doing everything we can to stop the puck, but it helps the stats too when teams just throw pucks at the net, especially with limited traffic.”

Continued

The Red Wings gave Sam Gagner a microphone to wear during the Red Wings’ win over St. Louis on November 24th:

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan makes quite the set of statements in his latest “Octopulse” podcast…

Per the Detroit News:

Ted Kulfan takes a look at the improving Red Wings (12-9-4), who have won four games in a row heading into Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders at Little Caesars Arena and ex-Red Wing Nick Libett is the interview guest on this week’s podcast.

In episode 63 of OctoPulse, Kulfan says Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill is “one of the leading contenders” for the Jack Adams Trophy as NHL coach of the year.

“He’s done a wonderful job,” Kulfan said on the podcast. “He’s guided the team perfectly. He’s been through the bad times just like some of the nucleus on the team.

“They’ve gained a lot of experience the last couple of years. You can tell they’re a much more mature team and he has a really good pulse on this team.”

…

Kulfan said Blashill’s odds of winning the award may be clearer after a difficult schedule in December, which includes road games against the St. Louis Blues (12-8-3), Colorado Avalanche (12-7-1), Carolina Hurricanes (15-6-1), Minnesota Wild (16-6-1) and New York Rangers (14-4-3) and home games against the Nashville Predators (12-10-1), Avalanche and the Washington Capitals (14-4-6) on New Year’s Eve.

“There are not many if any cupcakes at all on the schedule,” Kulfan said. “There’s a lot of tough teams, one after another. We’re going to know more about this team after they play Washington on New Year’s Eve. By that time, they’ll have gone through the gauntlet of a lot of playoff-tested teams here this month. If they’re still sitting where they are now more or less, I’ll take my cap off to them. That will be more of a surprise than even where they are now in the standings.”

Continued; I’m not willing to hand Blashill the Adams Trophy yet…

I love seeing the guys goof around in practice today, per the Red Wings. This kind of joyful play-fighting hasn’t happened in a Wings practice that we’ve seen in a long time.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/Z1dB22Bfip— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 3, 2021

Red Wings forward Joe Veleno and coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the media after Friday’s practice, in which Veleno and Danny DeKeyser telegraphed likely returns to the lineup tomorrow vs. the New York Islanders.