Month: July 2023

Kulfan: Yzerman on Fischer, Kostin, Holl, Gostisbehere, and…Edvinsson’s chances of making the 23-24 team

We’ll wrap up our Monday night survey of Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s press conference at the 2023 Summer Development Camp with this assessment of the Red Wings’ non-J.T. Compher free agent signings, via the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:

Signing [Christian] Fischer and acquiring forward Klim Kostin in a trade could potentially shore up the size and grit the Wings were looking for, while also help the team in other areas.

“They’re young guys and have upside,” Yzerman said. “They can still grow. Fischer, a right winger, a bigger guy and a good penalty killer. Klim is an evolving player, a highly touted junior who was an offensive guy, and he’s evolving into a big, strong guy who can shoot the puck into the net. His role is growing.

“They make us a bigger team and add a dimension of shooting the puck into the net. Each player has room to grow as hockey players and they make us a little bigger for sure.”

The arrival of [Justin] Holl and [Shayne] Gostisbehere, and re-signing restricted free agent Gustav Lindstrom, likely ensures prospect Simon Edvinsson begins next season in Grand Rapids.

“We have high hopes for Simon, but I’m not prepared to put him on the team in a top-six role,” Yzerman said. “Certainly I don’t think it’s beyond a possibility that Simon comes in and has an outstanding training camp, and outstanding pre-season and simply forces his way into the lineup, and if that happens, that’s great, we’ll figure it out.

“But at this stage, to say we’re going to put him in the top-six, I’m not prepared to say that and I don’t want to do that. It’s not fair to him and it’s not fair for any of our young players, or the team itself. He’s an excellent young prospect and we saw a lot of good things in the nine games he played at the end of last season (with the Wings). If he’s ready to play and he earns a spot on the team, we’ll figure it out.”

Continued

On Compher’s ‘comps’

97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield took note of the comments made by Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman today, and Burchfield took note of Yzerman’s belief that signing J.T. Compher to a 5-year contract was worth the price of admission:

As for the decisions the Wings have already made in free agency, Yzerman said that “on each player, very comfortable with the term of all the contracts we did.” Asked specifically about Compher, who hadn’t topped 33 points in six seasons with the Avalanche prior to last season and nevertheless reeled in a big-money deal from Detroit, Yzerman said the 28-year-old is a “very good athlete and a good skater” who can handle the NHL grind. He also brings flexibility up front, on top of his Stanley Cup-winning pedigree.

“Anything can happen injury wise, but at this stage, a five-year term is reasonable,” Yzerman said. “What I do like is his versatility as a hockey player. He’s a natural right-shot centermen, which we don’t have at this time, who has played all three forward positions, has played on the power play, does kill penalties. I think he’s a very versatile player for us. And again, that ability to move around, to me, makes him very valuable.”

Compher’s offensive breakthrough last season did come with a bigger role, and a similar one likely awaits him in Detroit. On an Avalanche team riddled by injuries, he finished third among forwards in ice time, behind only Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Compher’s 20:32 per night was more than three minutes higher than his previous career high. He put it to good use.

“Very familiar with his career,” said Yzerman. “I’ve watched him all along, and in particular last year where he’s in a free agent year and knowing (Colorado’s) cap situation, we kept a close eye on him. He played a bigger role there this year, we got to see some of his versatility, and he thrived in that role.”

Continued

Bultman on Yzerman’s presser remarks: Zadina’s no ‘write-off’

The Athletic’s Max Bultman filed a notebook from today’s press conference by Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, with Bultman focusing on the team’s decision to waive Filip Zadina at the player’s request:

“A couple weeks prior to the draft, through his agent, he had asked if he could potentially go somewhere else looking for more opportunity, a fresh start,” Yzerman said. “So, I’ve tried to do that. I’ve tried to find a place for him to play, somebody who’s interested in Filip, would maybe give him that opportunity. I haven’t been able to do that. So in putting him on waivers today, I’m trying to give him an opportunity to go somewhere to an organization if he wants to play more. We’ll see if that happens.”

That Zadina might want a fresh start is not, in itself, surprising. The idea of trading him elsewhere has been bandied about for a couple of seasons now, always with the logic that a change of scenery might help him capture his potential.

But Monday’s move should not be read as the Red Wings simply giving up on the chance it might happen in Detroit. In fact, Yzerman is still hopeful it will happen in Detroit — and said he saw progress in that direction at times last season, even in an injury-plagued campaign.

“I don’t write his career off by any means,” Yzerman said. “I thought he made significant steps. It’s been a challenge for him, he’s had some injuries playing in Detroit, I think he’s got upside. I think he still can become a valuable player in the NHL. Last year was cut short, or held back, due to injury. There’s nothing he or I or anybody can do about it. It happens. Generally guys persevere, I look at Eeli Tolvanen last year … (the) guy was having a tough time in Nashville for whatever reason and gets claimed by Seattle and really took off. Does that happen for Filip if he goes somewhere? Maybe. It could happen here. I would like it to happen here. I still think there’s something there as a player.”

Continued (paywall)

Khan on Yzerman’s presser, and the Wings’ scoring needs

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman discussed the team’s underwhelming free agency performance and much more over the course of a 33-minute press conference today, and MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of Yzerman’s remarks regarding the Wings’ attempts to score more goals this upcoming season:

He didn’t add a big-time goal-scorer to a roster that finished 24th in the league in scoring. That continues to be the team’s most pressing need, one that was going to be difficult to fill in a thin free-agent market.

He hopes that collectively there is enough offense in several of those acquisitions to boost his team’s production.

“We’d like to score more,” Yzerman said. “I think that’s the general consensus — the Red Wings need to score more. We need to keep the puck out of our net. We need to be better defensively. I’d like our special teams to be better.”

…

Unless Yzerman swings a trade for a significant goal-scorer, these newcomers must join with the existing crew to improve the offense.

“I’m counting on the collective group, the roster we have now, everybody to chip in a little bit on the offense, which will help us score more,” Yzerman said. “Getting Robby Fabbri back healthy, Lucas Raymond a year older, J.T. Compher coming into the mix, scoring some goals. Collectively, I expect us to improve a little bit, probably still not where we’d all like it to be. We’ll continue in the offseason to see what if anything, some more free agents still out there or even look at potential trades. Generally, after July 1-2, things start to settle down and teams re-evaluate where they are, what they need to do, and for various reasons might have to make a move.”

Continued

Meeting Red Wings 2023 draft pick Andrew Gibson

Red Wings 2023 draft pick Andrew Gibson was selected with the 42nd overall pick in this past week’s draft in Nashville, and as a LaSalle, Ontario native, he’s a “local boy” from the southern side of the Detroit River.

He played this past season for the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds, and the Sault Star’s Gordon Anderson spoke with Gibson about his draft experience:

“I don’t know what happened, but I kind of had a feeling they would draft me,” Gibson told the Sault Star. ”I didn’t talk to Detroit a lot during the season but I had a gut feeling.”

Gibson was a projected second-round pick and ranked 31 among North American skaters. He was a 42nd overall selection by the Motor City club.

“I was shaking and I barely remember the feeling,” Gibson said. “I was looking at my parents and how much they have helped me to get me here.” Hugs and handshakes soon followed, Gibson acknowledging he hugged his mother first.

Gibson and his family were sitting in the stands for the draft, the clan deciding to make a vacation out of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

…

Gibson would have gone just about anywhere to follow his dream but he found it exciting that the hometown Red Wings went all in on the lengthy lad from LaSalle.

“Getting drafted has been a dream of mine and to see it unfold is surreal and I can’t help but thank those who helped me along the way,” Gibson said. “It’s a great feeling (to be drafted by) Detroit being so closed to home. It’s such a great organization.”

Continued

The Hockey News’s Stockton discusses Derek Lalonde’s contributions to ‘The Coaches’ Site’s’ conference in Ann Arbor

The Hockey News’s Red Wings correspondent, Sam Stockton, took part in The Coaches’ Site’s TCS Live conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan in June, and he took note of Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde’s presentation at said conference:

At The Coaches’ Site’s annual TCS Live conference in Ann Arbor late last month, Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde delivered a talk entitled “The Simple Habits of an Effective Power Play.” 

Lalonde noted that the principles he discussed in the presentation were the same ones he advocates with the Red Wings and that the clips he used to illustrate them were the exact ones he showed to Team USA at Men’s Worlds in May, for whom he ran the power play.

Before diving into the heart of his subject matter, Lalonde offered a challenge disguised as a word of warning. “First and foremost, the power play can be very complex and can be a little bit scary,” he said. “And sometimes people run from it. I can say that confidently because at times throughout my career, I did that. [I was the] PK guy in Tampa, [I’m] the head coach now, it’s easy just to pass it off and go from there.”

Lalonde credited assistants Alex Tanguay and Jay Varady for the work they did to help the Detroit power play jump from 26th to 17th in the NHL a year ago. Though he opened with that nicety, he would go on to point out with a sheepish grin that, even if Team Canada took gold at Worlds, the Canadian unit Tanguay oversaw converted far less often than Lalonde’s American power play (21.74% to 29.17%).

However, despite the challenge of running a power play unit, Lalonde pointed out to the coaches assembled before him that embracing that challenge can equip a young coach with a “tool” to “climb the ladder.” He cited Jeff Halpern and Brett McLean, two former colleagues, as examples. 

Continued

A bit about Larry Keenan’s Red Wings ties

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff noted that Red Wings 2023 draft pick Larry Keenan has some ties to the organization:

Detroit Red Wings prospect Larry Keenan is carrying a well-known name in hockey circles. His also hoping to carry on the legacy of that name.

His grandfather Larry Keenan would play 234 NHL games for the Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers between 1961-72. The elder Keenan, 82, skated in three Stanley Cup finals with the Blues and for the Sabres during their inaugural NHL campaign in 1970-71.

“I know he was a pretty good player,” said grandson Larry Keenan, at 18 too young to have been around to witness his granddad’s NHL career. “He got some injuries but he scored the first goal for St. Louis. He prides himself quite a bit over that. He was also on the ice for Bobby Orr’s famous (Stanley Cup-winning) goal in 1970. He enjoyed playing.”

The Keenan name also carries some significant weight with Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris Draper.

“His grandfather played at St. Mike’s with my dad (Bruce) back in the day,” Draper said. “He came into the interview room and said, ‘My grandfather played with your dad.’ I don’t know if he was trying to make me feel old saying his grandfather and my dad, but pretty cool story.”

Continued

More about Filip Zadina being waived, as explained by Steve Yzerman

The Red Wings waived Filip Zadina today, and Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman informed the media that the team did so at the request of the player.

After attempting to trade Zadina, who has 2 years left on a 3-year contract, Yzerman and the Wings were unable to reach an agreement, so they acquiesced to Zadina’s desire to get a “fresh start” and a more meaningful role on another team by waiving him.

97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield took note of Yzerman’s remarks regarding Zadina…

“Am I thrilled? Am I happy to put him on waivers? No. I signed him to a three-year contract a year ago because I believed he was going to grow,” Yzerman said. “And when he signed that contract, my expectation was that he wanted to grow with us.”

Instead, Zadina came out of last season, his fifth with the Red Wings, seeking an opportunity to grow elsewhere. He requested a trade ahead of last week’s NHL Draft. And when Yzerman couldn’t find any takers, waiving Zadina was the only way to accommodate the 23-year-old’s wish.

“A couple weeks prior to the draft, through his agent, he had asked if he could potentially go somewhere else, looking for more opportunity, a fresh start,” Yzerman said. “So I’ve tried to find a place for him to play, somebody who was interested in Filip would maybe give him that opportunity. I haven’t been able to do that. So I put him on waivers today, trying to give him an opportunity to go to an organization if he wants to play more. We’ll see if that happens.”

As did the Free Press’s Helene St. James…

Continue reading More about Filip Zadina being waived, as explained by Steve Yzerman