Month: July 2022

Per Grand Rapids Business Magazine’s Abby Poirier, former Red Wings defenseman and current Chicago Blackhawks ambassador/El Bandito Yankee Tequila creator Chris Chelios will be making something of a tour of West Michigan this week:

Chris Chelios will be signing autographs at LMCU Ballpark as part of the West Michigan Whitecaps’ Made in Michigan Wednesdays series.

Chelios, a member of the NHL Hall of Fame, will meet fans and sign autographs from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, at LMCU Ballpark, 4500 W. River Drive NE in Comstock Park. 

Chelios played 26 seasons in the NHL, including 10 with the Detroit Red Wings. He also played with the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks and Atlanta Thrashers. Chelios played 1,651 NHL games before retiring, the most for any NHL defenseman, and was a three-time Norris Trophy winner for best defenseman. He also is a three-time Stanley Cup winner, including two wins with the Red Wings in 2002 and 2008. 

He played in the Olympics in 2002 and led the U.S. to a silver medal that year. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013. 

Chelios is coming to the ballpark courtesy of his personal tequila brand, El Bandido Yankee, part of the Made in Michigan Wednesdays series, which brings Michigan players or Michigan-born athletes to LMCU Ballpark to meet West Michigan fans.  

The first 500 fans (21 and older) at the event will receive a mini-hockey stick courtesy of Sip Shine and El Bandido Yankee Tequila. 

The next night, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported earlier this month that Chelios will make an appearance and sign autographs at the Traverse City Pit Spitters’ game (per one Brendan Quealy):

The Traverse City Pit Spitters announced Thursday that NHL Hall of Famer Chris Chelios will appear at the Pit Spitters Hockey Night on Thursday, July 28.

Chelios played 26 seasons in the NHL, including 10 with the Detroit Red Wings. He also played with the Montreal Canadians, Chicago Blackhawks and Atlanta Thrashers in his storied career.

Chelios played in 1,651 NHL games, which is the fifth on that all-time list and the most for any NHL defenseman. During that time, he was a three-time Norris Trophy winner for best defenseman and an 11-time all-star and three-time Stanley Cup winner, including two with the Red Wings (2002, 2008). In the 2002 season, Chelios played in the Olympics and led the United States to a silver medal.

His amazing career culminated at his Hall of Fame induction in 2013.

On July 28, Chelios will be throwing a ceremonial first pitch and signing autographs for fans from 6-8 p.m.

The game starts at 7:05 p.m. and the gates will open at 6 p.m. The first 1,000 fans in the gate will receive a Pit Spitters hockey puck courtesy of Sip Shine.

This comes to us via a Tweet from radio host extraordinaire Sean Baligian, and the Hockey News’s Mike Stephens, who suggests that the Red Wings remain a “dark horse” candidate to land none other than unrestricted free agent winger Nazem Kadri (and ignore the part where Ville Husso is listed as a free agent signing instead of a traded player):

Detroit Red Wings
Cap Space: $10,296,111

Detroit’s rebuild is over. You don’t sign Ville Husso, Andrew Copp, David Perron, Ben Chiarot, Olli Maata, and Mark Pysyk all in the same offseason if you’re looking to lose. 

These Red Wings mean business once again, boasting a decent young core that is now supported by useful veterans while currently sitting with over $10 million in cap space even after their summer signing spree. 

A top-nine headlined down the middle by Kadri, Larkin, and Copp looks pretty good to me. All that’s left is to reel their big fish in. 

Detroit seems to offer everything Kadri could be looking for in a landing spot with whom he’d be spending the remaining years of his prime. 

With Steve Yzerman leading the way up top, the Red Wings have solid and entrenched leadership in the front office, a robust player development department on the ice, and the financial resources to remain a serious player in free agency for years to come. 

Sure, the icy chill of Michigan winters might scare off other prospective free agents. But Kadri has spent his entire career to date in Toronto and Denver; the two locales aren’t exactly known for their balmy temperatures. 

Has the Red Wings’ offseason been perfect? Heck, no. Handing Chiarot nearly $5 million over four years is the type of deal I thought Yzerman was smart enough to avoid. But when it comes to organizational prestige, odds of contention, and financial flexibility, no other logical destination seems to come close. 

Continued, with the Avs, Islanders and Kraken as the favorites to sign Kadri…

Via Abel to Yzerman at Kukla’s Korner comes this clip of Darren McCarty discussing the Red Wings’ summer of free agent signings as it applies to the team’s rebuild:

Did the recent free agent signings prove to you the Detroit Red Wings are done losing? #LGRW@DarrenMcCarty4 explains pic.twitter.com/9qrZviM62W

— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) July 25, 2022

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen got a bit of a scouting report on one Robert Hagg, a 27-year-old defenseman signed by the Red Wings today to assuage for the loss of Mark Pysyk to an Achilles tendon injury:

Over the past couple of weeks media speculation and social media chatter had the Detroit Red Wings being interested in free agent defenseman John Klingberg.

It turned out the Red Wings were interested in a Swedish free agent D man. But it was 6-foot-2, 210-pound Robert Haag, not puck mover Klingberg. Hagg played last season for the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers and is known as a heavy hitter.

“(He’s a) solid defender that should factor in a 3rd pairing for Detroit,” NHL Network analyst Stu Grimson told Detroit Hockey Now. “He’s not shy to get up into the attack; a strong skater with size who “gets” the north American brand of hockey. He will play the body and stick up for a teammate where needed.”

The signing was announced in conjunction with the Red Wings revealing recently-signed defenseman Mark Pysyk will be out four to six months with a torn Achilles tendon.

Continued

Not good news for Mark Pysyk, but this explains why Robert Hagg was signed for depth:

pic.twitter.com/gpxOY4Zam7

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 25, 2022

This is particularly interesting: IceHockeyGifs on YouTube posted a massive 57-minute-long video discussing the moves made by Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman in order to improve the team:

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

UPDATE: The #RedWings today signed defenseman Robert Hagg to a one-year contract with an average annual value of $800,000.

📰 » https://t.co/c70lnkfJmt pic.twitter.com/65zwmV2rAX— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 25, 2022

DETROIT SIGNS ROBERT HAGG TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT

  … Defenseman Split 2021-22 Season Between Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today signed defenseman Robert Hagg to a one-year contract with an average annual value of $800,000.

Hagg, 27, split the 2021-22 season between the Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres, recording nine points (1-8-9) and 35 penalty minutes in 64 games. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound blueliner has skated in 300 career NHL games with the Panthers (2021-22), Sabres (2021-22) and Philadelphia Flyers (2016-21), notching 56 points (14-42-56), a plus-four rating and 178 penalty minutes. He also registered three assists in 14 postseason appearances with the Flyers, helping the team reach the second round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Additionally, Hagg has compiled 50 points (16-34-50) and 142 penalty minutes in 202 games with the American Hockey League’s Adirondack/Lehigh Valley Phantoms from 2013-17.

Originally selected by the Flyers in the second round (41st overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, the Uppsala, Sweden, native logged a plus-two rating and four penalty minutes in eight appearances for his country at the 2019 IIHF World Championship. Hagg also competed in three-straight IIHF World Junior Championships from 2013-15, winning back-to-back silver medals in 2013 and 2014. He previously served as an alternate captain for Sweden at the 2013 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, tallying four points (1-3-4), a plus-one rating and 12 penalty minutes in five contests. Hagg represented Sweden at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, logging five points (3-2-5) in four games. He led all defensemen in scoring at the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with six points (2-4-6) while adding 16 penalty minutes in six contests, and also skated in four games at the 2011 World Junior A Challenge. Prior to arriving in North America, Hagg played two seasons with MODO Hockey in Sweden’s top professional league, picking up seven points (1-6-7) and 49 penalty minutes in 77 games from 2012-14. 

Hagg, 27, is 6’2″ and 205 pounds.

The Red Wings posted a video of Alex Nedeljkovic flying with the Blue Angels last week…

And this morning, Bally Sports Detroit posted a report regarding Nedeljkovic’s status as a guest of the aerobatic team. BSD’s Natalie Kerwin reports from Willow Run Airport:

Great news for both parties:

UPDATE: The #RedWings and AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins today announced a five-year extension of their affiliation agreement.

More » https://t.co/bJwCY6r8fS pic.twitter.com/IhSH9taUHg— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 25, 2022

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins and the Detroit Red Wings on Monday announced a five-year extension of their affiliation agreement, ensuring that one of the most fruitful and passion-inducing partnerships in hockey will continue through at least the 2026-27 season.

This 20-year-old affiliation has seen the Griffins win the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup on two occasions (2013 and 2017), making Grand Rapids one of three active AHL franchises to ever claim two cups within a span of five seasons. Coupled with the Red Wings’ Stanley Cup in 2008, the Detroit organization’s three combined AHL and NHL championships over the last two decades tie for third behind Tampa Bay (3 NHL, 1 AHL) and Washington (1 NHL, 3 AHL), and only one other current AHL-NHL pairing (Hershey-Washington) has produced a championship for both teams over that timeframe.

The Griffins-Red Wings partnership comprises one of the longest affiliations between current AHL and NHL franchises, ranking as the sixth-longest tenure. The Providence Bruins and Boston Bruins have the longest active, uninterrupted affiliation at 30 years.

“We are excited that the 20-year relationship between the Griffins and the Red Wings, one of the premier NHL/AHL partnerships, is continuing,” said Scott Gorsline, executive vice president of DP Fox and COO/alternate governor for the Griffins. “Steve Yzerman, Shawn Horcoff and the entire Red Wings organization are great partners, and we look forward to exciting and competitive hockey in Detroit and Grand Rapids over the next five years.”

The Griffins have sent 112 players to Hockeytown since the affiliation’s inception in 2002. The names of nine former Griffins were engraved on the Stanley Cup following Detroit’s 2008 title, and 76 Grand Rapids alumni played for the Red Wings over the final 13 seasons of their remarkable 25-year playoff streak that ended in 2016.

Most recently, 19 of the 38 players who appeared in at least one game for Detroit in 2021-22 also spent time with the Griffins during their careers. Ten of them were recalled from Grand Rapids last season, including Chase Pearson, who made his NHL debut on March 24. Last month, Moritz Seider became the first Grand Rapids alum to win the NHL’s Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition.

“Grand Rapids continues to be a model franchise both on and off the ice and we’re excited to continue our partnership,” said Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman. “The winning culture established by the Griffins is extremely beneficial for the development of our young players and the fans in Grand Rapids do a tremendous job creating an exciting atmosphere to support the growth of our players.”

The Griffins (Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy) and Red Wings (Presidents’ Trophy) won their respective regular-season titles in 2005-06, becoming the first of only two sets of affiliates (Hershey-Washington in 2009-10) in at least the last 37 years to claim their leagues’ best records in the same season.

In all, the 20-year relationship between Michigan’s premier hockey teams has brought two cups, one regular-season championship, five conference finals appearances, 11 playoff berths (in 18 postseasons, including a franchise-record seven straight from 2013 through 2019), and four division titles to Grand Rapids, along with one cup, another trip to the final, three regular-season championships, three conference final appearances, 13 playoff berths, and seven division crowns to Detroit.

The Athletic’s Max Bultman spoke with former Arizona Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet and former Arizona Coyotes forward Conor Garland (now a 52-point-scorer with the Vancouver Canucks) regarding the work of former Arizona Coyotes assistant/Tuscon Roadrunners coach Jay Varady.

The Red Wings hired Varady to be one of Derek Lalonde’s assistants behind the Red Wings’ bench this upcoming season, and Bultman discusses Varady’s hands-on approach this morning:

Detroit had only carried two on-bench assistant coaches since 2020, when Adam Nightingale left the Red Wings for the U.S. NTDP and was not replaced, but now is going back to a deeper bench under first-year coach Derek Lalonde. After hiring associate coach Bob Boughner and goaltending coach Alex Westlund during the NHL Draft, Varady is the latest piece of a staff that Lalonde envisions as a collaborative unit, sharing special teams assignments between them to get more eyes and minds on each task.

And certainly, one of the biggest areas of emphasis for Detroit will be improving a penalty kill that last season ranked as the worst in the league.

Tocchet’s staff was similarly collaboratively-driven, but Varady was relied upon there to helm a unit that had been a top-five PK in the NHL under Tocchet — but had also just lost their three most-trusted forwards (based on time-on-ice) from that unit: Derek Stepan, Brad Richardson and Michael Grabner. And as Tocchet recalls, replacing them got off to a rocky start.

But Varady and fellow assistant coach Cory Stillman helped the Coyotes right the ship, and by year’s end, buoyed the PK back to being a fringe-top-10 unit again.

“Jay did a hell of a job,” Tocchet said last week. “He didn’t waver. Sometimes, when things don’t go your way, you panic a little bit. He didn’t panic.”

Continued (paywall)