Month: August 2023

A bit of WJSS praise for Trey Augustine

FloHockey’s Chris Peters attended the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Michigan last week, and he posted a set of evaluations of each and every one of Team USA’s defensemen and goaltenders who participated in the week-long event, including Red Wings prospect Trey Augustine:

Trey Augustine, Michigan State (DET): The presumptive starter for Team USA at the tournament after getting starts at last year’s WJC, Augustine did little to dissuade anyone from that status. He’s a contained, smart goaltender who doesn’t waste a lot of movement in the net and reads plays exceptionally well. None of the goalies in camp had spectacular numbers and Augustine never played a full 60-minute game as USA’s brass wanted more looks at other goalies. In three appearances, Augustine gave up five goals while making 34 saves in about 90 minutes of ice time.

Continued

Tweet of note: Mickey Redmond appears on Bally Sports Detroit’s Tigers broadcast

Red Wings color commentator Mickey Redmond spoke with Bally Sports Detroit’s Johnny Kane during today’s Detroit Tigers broadcast, discussing the Red Wings’ offseason moves:

DHN’s Allen ranks Larkin as the 6th-best Atlantic Division center

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen ranks Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin as the 6th-best center in the Atlantic Division:

6. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings

Now 27, Larkin is coming off his best NHL production of 79 points. He netted his third season of scoring 30 or more goals. He isn’t the premium scorer that some fans want him to be, but he can be a difference maker with his skating and skill. He’s a leader and he cares deeply about trying to get this team into the playoffs.

At this point of the Red Wings’ rebuild, Larkin plays a major role in whether they succeed or fail on a nightly basis.

Continued

Coach Lalonde discusses the Wings’ offseason moves with DetroitRedWings.com’s Mills

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde helped kids in Detroit learn how to play street hockey on Tuesday as part of the Red Wings’ “Street Hockey in the D: Summer Series.”

Coach Lalonde spoke with DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills regarding both the importance of grassroots programs like the Wings’ “Learn, Play Score” program, as well as the state of the franchise as it appears after Steve Yzerman’s summertime moves:

“I love the offseason,” Lalonde said. “I just wanna be relevant as a team and there’s no doubt in my mind that we are. Where we take that is gonna be on us.”

One of the biggest signings Detroit made in free agency was a five-year deal for forward J.T. Compher on July 1.

“He’s diverse and can play on the wing,” Lalonde said about Compher. “I know in the free-agent process, that’s what we were sold on him. We’re just excited that he wanted to be here.”

Lalonde also said defenseman Justin Holl, who inked a three-year deal with Detroit on July 1, will help bolster the team’s back-end depth.

“I like Justin a lot,” Lalonde said. “We land these kids in free agency and then as coach, you go watch them. I really like, with Justin, he defends and is a first-pass guy.”

Then on July 9, Detroit made a splash for more offense by acquiring forward Alex DeBrincat via trade with the Ottawa Senators. Almost immediately after the trade, the Farmington Hills, Mich., native signed a four-year contract extension with the Red Wings.

“I felt there were a lot of hockey games we had a really good team game, the guys did exactly what we asked and we played really well, but we just couldn’t finish,” Lalonde said. “Some of those games in which we had a good team game we ended up not getting points. We need goals, and that’s something obviously (DeBrincat) can do.”

Continued; WDIV posted a video from the event as well:

Video: WHL.ca speaks with Red Wings 1st round pick Nate Danielson

Red Wings 2023 first round draft pick Nate Danielson spoke with the WHL’s website as part of a post-draft interview to discuss his experiences being drafted by the Red Wings 9th overall this past June, and well as his expectations for the upcoming season with his Brandon Wheat Kings:

‘Taking stock’ of the Red Wings’ offseason machinations

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski posted an article which discusses the respective “stocks” of each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams this morning. Here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings:

Detroit Red Wings: Stock up

Detroit needed more scoring, having finished 24th in goals per game last season. Well, it found it: The Red Wings acquired Ottawa star winger Alex DeBrincat without surrendering any blue-chip prospects, signing the goal-scoring 25-year-old to a four-year contract extension.

They also acquired Klim Kostin, a young forward with some upside, from the Oilers. (And it’s only appropriate that “Klim Shady” now plays in Detroit.) GM Steve Yzerman also added versatile forward J.T. Compher, veteran scoring defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and goaltender James Reimer.

It’s the second straight offseason in which Yzerman has aggressively sought to augment his roster with veteran players. DeBrincat is the biggest difference-maker Detroit has acquired on Yzerman’s watch — theoretically.

Continued;; the Wings turned over somewhere between a quarter and a third of their roster during the offseason. We’ll find out soon whether that gambit pays off.

Duff discusses the Walman-Seider pairing

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff offers a mid-August article in which Moritz Seider and Jake Walman offer takes as to why their defensive pairing worked so very well during the 2022-2023 season:

From the moment that Jake Walman and Moritz Seider were paired on the Detroit Red Wings defense last season, it was like peanut butter and jam, fish and chips, or Abbott and Costello. They clicked instantly. Today, it’s difficult to imagine one being without the other.

“I think we just vibed really good,” Seider explained, seeking to assess why he and Walman work so well as a tandem. “I like him as a person a lot. Then it’s really easy to make plays out there. I just really like coming to work with him. Hopefully we’ll be even better next year.”

Echoing those sentiments, Walman notes that he not only meshes with Seider as a player, but they’ve also developed a tight bond as people.

“I think we have pretty good chemistry off the ice, too,” Walman said. “We enjoy each other’s company. We hang out, we joke around. It’s fun playing with him. I love him off the ice, too. Maybe it transitions to on the ice but I think we read off each other really well.”

Playing 63 games as a tandem, Seider and Walman would post a Corsi for of 50.00. They were on the ice together for just 26 even-strength goals against.

Continued; just no more Seider-Chiarot, please.

Evening news: Quips from coach Lalonde, a trick shot from Brandon Hawkins, and a bit about Robert Mastrosimone

Of brief Red Wings-related note this evening:

  1. WXYZ posted a non-embeddable YouTube video of Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde taking part in the Red Wings’ “Street Hockey in the D” summer showcase in Detroit today, and The Athletic’s Max Bultman was in attendance as well:

2. Elsewhere, the Toledo Walleye posted this clip of Walleye forward Brandon Hawkins scoring a trick-shot goal in the Columbus “Cap City Summer Elite League“:

3. Finally, you probably know by now that Red Wings 2019 draft pick Robert Mastrosimone chose not to sign with Detroit while the team held his NCAA rights, and he will be a free agent on August 15th.

According to Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen, there may be some NHL interest in the 5’10,” 170-pound Arizona State University forward, but he probably wasn’t going to be signed by the Red Wings anyway:

Continue reading Evening news: Quips from coach Lalonde, a trick shot from Brandon Hawkins, and a bit about Robert Mastrosimone

Summertime speculation: Noah Hanifin could ‘fit’ as a Detroit trade target, if circumstances are right

The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie speculates as to the future of Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin, who is (probably) on the trading block. The 26-year-old defenseman posted a career-high 48 points in 2021-2022.

This season marks the last year of his 6-year, $4.95 million cap-hit contract, which includes a modified no-trade clause…

But his future in Calgary is far less than certain, yielding a significant amount of speculation as to potential trade partners for the 6’3,” 216-pound defenseman:

As the Flames continue to stand pat with their pending unrestricted free agents with around a month to go before training camp, the team is inching closer and closer to a reality it wanted to avoid: A roster with a handful of players who may still be feeling unsettled as they enter the season, the possibility of the team overachieving and being forced to be stuck with players as it makes a run to the postseason, apotential asset is injured and missing out on any chance of getting any significant return.

The Flames don’t want to put themselves in a position where they get hamstrung with a bad offer. It explains why Conroy has remained as patient as he has and why he will remain so as long as he needs to. But the longer he stands pat, the longer the team dances with those risky scenarios. But the summer, where things remain quiet, is where the Flames can make a move or two to get themselves out of it.

While the team may be willing to wait on players like Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund, there might not be a better time than now to re-engage teams on a Hanifin trade.

On the surface, Hanifin is an enticing player. No, he is not Karlsson or on his level. But he’s a 26-year-old, puck-moving defenceman entering the final year of a contract with a cap hit of $4.95 million. He’s an affordable, top-four defenceman whose best years are ahead and could still be had at a reasonable rate (compared to Karlsson) with a new extension.

As such, McKenzie believes that Nashville and Buffalo might be the ideal landing spots for Hanifin given their salary cap situations, but he also believes that the Red Wings are a solid fit from a salary cap standpoint:

What about teams that we didn’t think of? The Detroit Red Wings come to mind. They have over $7 million in cap space even after acquiring and signing DeBrincat to a new contract this offseason. Detroit has a handful of defencemen including newest signing Shayne Gostisbehere, but landing Hanifin would be a definitive upgrade for them at the position. Also, similarly to Buffalo and Nashville, Detroit is also a playoff aspirant.

McKenzie continues (paywall) and discusses potential returns for Hanifin. He’d cost a top-six forward, a top-four defenseman and/or a 1st round pick and prospect.

That’s a stiff price to pay for a left-shot defenseman, but I could see the Red Wings taking a shot on the left-shot defender, presuming that the team were able to hammer out a deal that would be beneficial to both the Wings and Flames.