Month: August 2023

Khan on the importance of being Reimer

Earlier this afternoon, MLive’s Ansar Khan discussed the plain old fact that the Red Wings need better back-up goaltending to succeed this upcoming season. That means that the Wings will expect James Reimer to step into Alex Nedeljkovic/Magnus Hellberg’s spot and stand out behind Ville Husso:

He is coming off his worst season statistically (12-21-8, 3.48 GAA, .890 save percentage) on the fourth-worst team in the league.

“I think the mindset is every single year you should come in with something to prove, whether you’ve had a good year or a bad year,” Reimer, who signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal on July 1, said. “There’s always that drive to be the best, that drive to be perfect. Is there more when the season didn’t go the way you liked it as opposed to having a career year? Probably. But that drive should be there no matter what.

“The stats didn’t reflect well. But it’s also one of those things where I played some really good hockey. I felt like I was a better goalie at the end of the year than the start of the year. When things don’t go your way it’s hard, but I felt like I learned a lot and grew a lot and improved my game a lot. So, I’m excited to continue to work on it, to have that drive to get after it this year and make it a great year.”

Husso arguably was the Red Wings’ most valuable player for much of the season before faltering in the final month (1-6-1, 4.32 GAA, .832 save percentage final eight starts). A nagging injury and overuse due to ineffectiveness from his backups, Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg, contributed.

Continued

A bit of (rare) praise for the Red Wings’ offseason moves

EP Rinkside’s “JFresh” analyzed NHL teams’ offseason moves from an analytical perspective, ranking the 5 most improved and 5 least improved teams. According to JFresh, the Red Wings may or may not have improved their playoff position, but they definitely improved their stead:

#1 – Detroit Red Wings

Net Gain: 8.2 wins above replacement

Last summer general manager Steve Yzerman treated free agency like a kid in a candy shop, taking advantage of a clear cap payroll to essentially buy a bunch of wins, fill in gaps in the lineup, and build a bridge to contention. The results were mixed, with some players simply not fitting in and the team finishing 12 points out of a playoff spot, behind competitors like the Senators and Sabres. 

He followed a similar playbook this summer, but the names are a bit more appealing. The headliner, Alex DeBrincat, has a star-level track record and will easily replace a winger in Kubalik who was far more limited. J.T. Compher does seem a little redunant after the investment the team made in Andrew Copp last summer, but did break out as an excellent shut-down pivot in big minutes for the Avalanche in 2022-23. Shayne Gostisbehere and Justin Holl are essentially a new second pairing, each of them underrated and capable of making a strong breakout pass; Daniel Sprong and Klim Kostin add much-needed scoring touch. 

Can this team properly compete? Are they setting themselves up for frustration down the road? This all remains to be seen. But this is a major infusion of NHL talent.

Continued (paywall); take the praise where you can get it…

Via A2Y: Kris Draper joins ‘PBX Paintball,’ a pickleball league pitting professional MLB, NHL alumni against amateurs

Via Paul Kukla of Abel to Yzerman, it appears that Red Wings assistant GM/director of amateur scouting Kris Draper has invested in a professional pickleball league, per The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline:

PBX Paintball promises to give amateur pickleball players “experiences” in which they play pickleball against former Major League Baseball players and NHL Alumni Association members.

Here’s the company’s press release:

Continue reading Via A2Y: Kris Draper joins ‘PBX Paintball,’ a pickleball league pitting professional MLB, NHL alumni against amateurs

Khan discusses the Wings’ 2023 ‘Big Four’ draft picks

MLive’s Ansar Khan examines the Red Wings’ 2023 NHL Draft haul as it applies to the team’s drafting of defensemen Brady Cleveland, Andrew Gibson, Larry Keenan and Jack Phelan:

After addressing their needs for a two-way center (Nate Danielson) and skilled right-shooting defenseman (Axel Sandin Pellikka) in the first round this year, the Detroit Red Wings used much of their draft capital on big, shutdown-type defensemen.

They selected Andrew Gibson (6-3, 202) and Brady Cleveland (6-5, 210) in the second round, Larry Keenan (6-3, 186) in the fourth and Jack Phelan (6-2, 171) in the fifth.

“It wasn’t necessarily the plan that we need big defensemen, we just happened to like these guys,” general manager Steve Yzerman said. “We like them as prospects. It’s nice that they’re big and if they can play that’ll be ever better.”

That won’t be determined for several years. All of them aren’t likely to reach the NHL. If only one ends up having a productive career in Detroit, the Red Wings will be happy.

Continued

Press release: Toledo Walleye sign F Carson Denomie

The Toledo Walleye have signed forward Carson Denomie:

Here’s the press release:

Forward Carson Denomie has agreed to terms with the Toledo Walleye for the 2023-2024 season.

Denomie, the native of Regina, Saskatchewan, spent the majority of last season with the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL, appearing in 52 games with 20 points (5G, 15A) and 23 penalty minutes. He also spent ten games in Orlando and another six with Jacksonville with a pair assists in total. He spent the entire 2021-2022 campaign in Tulsa, scoring 13 goals with 24 assists in 63 games for the Oilers.

The 23-year-old had four years in the WHL prior to making his pro debut with Tulsa in October of 2021, totaling 222 contests with 109 points (49G, 60A). His best year came in 2019-2020 when he posted career-bests in goals (21), assists (29), and points (50) between Moose Jaw and Regina.

Video: Konstantinov, 18,000 Michigan car crash victims receive good news from the Michigan Supreme Court

This is a difficult and politically-charged story, but it brings good news for Vladimir Konstantinov and everyone in Michigan who’s suffered a catastrophic injury in car crashes prior to June 1st, 2019 (to the tune of about 18,000 people, per the Associated Press):

Michigan Radio and Bridge Michigan provide good reports regarding this development from the Michigan Supreme Court.

Tweet of note: Western Michigan University makes Ethan Phillips transfer official

Red Wings prospect Ethan Phillips has officially transferred from Boston University to Western Michigan University for his senior season:

Phillips, 22, is 5’9″ and 154 pounds per EliteProspects, and he’s played parts of four seasons for the Boston University Terriers, posting 28 points in 89 games played.

Tweet of note: THN’s Stockton reports roster re-shuffling at the WJSS

Per the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton, Team USA coach David Carle is shaking up the rosters of Team USA Blue and Team USA White ahead of Wednesday’s match-up between the two teams at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Michigan:

Team USA Blue will take on Augustine and Team USA White at 4 PM on Wednesday; Sweden will battle Finland at 1 PM.