Month: August 2023

Yesterday afternoon, the Detroit News’s Ted Kulffan filed an article which discusses the Red Wings’ revamped roster as it applies to the Wings’ hopes of improving on their power play:

Last season, the Wings ranked 17th (of 32 teams), with a 21.1% success rate. It was actually their best season since 2014-15 (23.8%). As the Wings gradually rose in the standings, a better power play helped.

With the opening of training camp in three weeks, the Wings have the potential for a much more dangerous power-play unit. Which in turn, possibly, could help a push toward the playoffs.

General manager Steve Yzerman’s off-season acquisitions have provided the coaching staff with much more depth, different options to look at, and the potential for two equally effective units.

“Potential being the key word,” Yzerman said after he completed his summer acquisitions. “We have more options. We have more left and right shots, a bit better balance. I would hope that both units are a little deeper and we can put both units out there and be a little more effective, and in turn, bump that power-play percentage up a little bit.”

Continued; the Red Wings will theoretically have two capable power play units this upcoming season, and Kulfan spotlights the Wings’ power play point men in Shayne Gostisbehere and Jeff Petry as important parts of a power play which includes defensemen firing bombs at the net from the point.

Kulfan’s right, and I’m a big believer in the concept that pushing the puck back to the point to generate shots and rebound opportunities. The Wings haven’t had many shots on the point other than Moritz Seider, and that’s changing this upcoming season.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a morning profile of Red Wings free agent signing Christian Fischer, a middle-six, penalty-killing forward who hopes to bring physicality to his new team:

Christian Fischer is 6 feet 2, 212 pounds and shoots right; he adds size to the lineup, but he’s not the type whose physicality leads to penalties that hurt his own team.

“His role as a right winger was something of need, a little bit bigger guy,” Yzerman said after signing Fischer for one year, $1.25 million in July. “I won’t speak for Derek (Lalonde), but at times he likes a big matchup line, a defensive line, and Christian helps on the right side. Christian is a real good checker, straight up and down right winger.”

Yzerman signed Fischer, 26, on the second day of free agency. Fischer is coming off a solid season with the Arizona Coyotes, posting 13 goals and 14 assists in 80 games. He’s a veteran of 398 career NHL games, all with the Coyotes, who drafted him in the second round, No. 32 overall, in 2015. He has 56 goals, 55 assists and 99 penalty minutes in six-plus seasons, along with a minus-60 rating that’s more reflective of how much the franchise has struggled than Fischer’s commitment to a two-way game.

“It’s very cliché to say, but I value playing the D side of the puck,” Fischer said. “Over my years in Arizona, I’ve really solidified a role of playing a lot, and for the last three to four years, I was taking every D-zone draw with our team’s top line. I was PK-ing as one of the first guys out the front door. I’d like to say I do a lot of those dirty things. They’re not goals and assists, but everyone knows that’s how you win hockey games.”

Continued; if Fischer is on the third line with J.T. Compher, one wonders who earns that coveted third spot on that particular line…Presuming that everyone is healthy coming out of training camp.

Former Red Wings prospect goaltender Filip Larsson will play for Lesksands IF of the SHL this upcoming season, and he spoke with SHL.se recently. Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff translated pertinent portions of the article:

Filip Larsson is still harboring disappointment over the way his time in the Detroit Red Wings organization wound down. At the same time, he is utilizing the life lesson he was learning from the failed experience to bolster him as he seeks to further his hockey career in Europe.

“The first two years were very good,” Larsson told SHL.se of his time playing in North America. The 167th overall selection by Detroit in the 2016 NHL entry draft, the decision was made to bring Larsson across the Atlantic Ocean to play junior hockey in 2017.

Playing for the Tri-City Storm in 2017-18, Larsson would earn the honor as USHL Goaltender of the Year. He was also named to the USHL 1st All-Star Team. Moving to NCAA hockey with the Denver Pioneers, Larsson was an NCHC All-Rookie Team choice in 2018-19. That summer, he would be making the decision to turn pro with the Red Wings.

Duff continues; Larsson is going to be a back-up in Leksand with Mantas Armalis, and he is of course backstopping Wings prospect Anton Johansson, whose father is Leksands’ GM.

NHLPA.com’s Chris Lomon filed a feature article regarding new Red Wings defenseman Jeff Petry yesterday:

Two weeks after receiving the news of being traded to his hometown team from the Montreal Canadiens, the 35-year-old defenceman was reached in Michigan, just minutes removed from an on-ice session as he prepares for his 14th NHL season.

“It’s a special moment for sure,” said the native of Farmington Hills, a 30-minute drive northwest of Detroit. “Not only to play closer to home, but to play for the team that I watched growing up.”

The Red Wings acquired Petry, a veteran of 864 regular-season NHL games and 48 playoff contests, on August 15.

As the son of 13-year MLB veteran and current TV analyst, Dan Petry, Jeff grew up surrounded by the Detroit professional sports scene. Dan, who was an MLB pitcher for the Detroit Tigers from 1979 to 1987 and 1990-91, helped the Tigers to a World Series title in 1984. Despite his dad’s chosen sport, Jeff was always drawn to the hometown Red Wings.

“We went to a handful of [Red Wings] games,” said the blueliner, who will wear No. 46 with the Red Wings, the same number his father sported with the Tigers. “My room in my house was painted red with the big Red Wings logo on it, along with the old-school plaques and pictures, along with lots of other memorabilia that we collected over the years. My brother and I would play mini sticks in the basement, and we would always fight over who was going to be the Red Wings.”

Continued

The Free Press’s Kirkland Crawford discusses the Red Wings’ appearances on ESPN and TNT during the upcoming 2023-2024 season:

The 2023-24 NHL season is closer than you may think. Soon enough, the best hockey players in the world will grace your television screens.

And though the Detroit Red Wings haven’t made the playoffs in seven seasons, they still possess some national appeal. And the two national broadcasters aren’t hesitating to take advantage of it.

Both TNT and ESPN released their schedules for the season on Wednesday. In total, some 13 Red Wings games will be on center stage, starting with the season opener in New Jersey against the Devils, exclusively on ESPN+/Hulu. That game time has been moved from 7 p.m. to 7:30.

The following week, when the Wings are in Pittsburgh, that game will be on TNT at 7:30. The Wings will be a part of a TNT doubleheader on as they host the Rangers on Nov. 7. The same two teams will be back at Little Caesars Arena on Nov. 29 at 7:30, also on TNT.

Continued; the Wings rescheduled 5 games yesterday:

More schedule updates! ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/WWTacgBTxT

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 30, 2023

I’m already incredibly humbled to say that a couple of you donated enough that TMR is sound and bound for another year of ups and downs, ins and outs, and battling along as I navigate the dual jobs of trying to be a semi-professional blogger and trying to be a semi-professional caregiver for an 81-year-old aunt.

We made it, a day early. It’s a huge relief. I can pay my internet bill, too.

And while I was still gloomily bumming myself out about Traverse City, an incredibly kind, anonymous donor decided to give me a chance to make the TC prospect tournament/training camp GoFundMe a realistic proposition, donating a remarkable $2,000 to the cause of a $2,925 hotel bill and a good $500+ in expenses.

That’s…I’d gone through all the symptoms of grief, coming to accept that I just wasn’t going to be able to make it up this season, and someone decided to take a chance on me and take a chance in a gigantic way.

So this middle-aged blogger and his elderly aunt aren’t quite done trying to get their tails up to the Cherry Capital just yet.

It’s…It’s been an emotional day, and it’s apparently not quite over just yet. Instead, the blog continues, as does the goal of giving you coverage on-site this September.

I’ve gone from the depths of gloom to disbelief and joy, to realizing that I’ve been given a generous gift on top of generous gifts today that I really need to make sure are followed through with good coverage in mid-September.

So that’s where we are. In the middle of the scrap again.

Let’s go.

If you can lend a hand with the hotel expenses, we have an old-fashioned GoFundMe here https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-george-annie-attend-prospect-tournament, you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums.”

As always, thank you for your time and your readership.

Gang,

I’m sorry that I haven’t been consistent in posting content over the past two days.

I’ve hit a really hard place because I’ve realized that my hopes of attending the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and main training camp with Aunt Annie are remote at best.

We’ve been struggling mightily to raise the $550 for the server, Bluehost, the web program, Jetpack, and a bit to plain old pay our internet bill this month.

I know that my illness has not helped because I’m not posting consistent content right now, but aside from some seriously dedicated, die-hard fans, it appears that most of you are GoFundMe’d out and tired of helping out a blog that’s had to make several significant pauses due to my mother’s death and my aunt’s infirmities.

With that in mind, I take great pride in going to Traverse City because it’s the one place that I’m accredited like a beat writer and not a blogger (the Wings still have a strict “no bloggers, period” policy at Little Caesars Arena, some 17 years after I got into the blogging business), and I work Gord-damned hard to give you a good product.

Continue reading I’m struggling with depression and anxiety right now

Per the Jamie Daniels Foundation:

On 8/26, 485 guests attended our Roast & Toast of Tomas Holmström & Nicklas Lidström, raising more than $400,000 for youth substance use disorder interventions. Thanks to our sponsors, roasters, and all who supported this night full of laughs – you're helping to save kids’ lives! pic.twitter.com/UsGZB63eEL

— Jamie Daniels Foundation (@JDanielsFund) August 29, 2023

USA Today’s Mike Brehm issued offseason grades for the NHL’s 32 teams, and he gives the Red Wings high marks for their significant amount of roster turnover:

Detroit Red Wings: A

They were the most active in free agency, adding Shayne Gostisbehere, Justin Holl, Compher, Daniel Sprong and a couple of goalies on the opening day. That group didn’t include a pure goal scorer, but they acquired one with the Alex DeBrincat trade and signed him to a four-year extension. The Michigan native is a two-time 40-goal scorer who dropped to 27 last season after a trade to Ottawa. The Red Wings then added Petry, a two-way veteran right-shot defenseman who’s the son of former Tigers pitcher Dan Petry. This is the second consecutive year that GM Steve Yzerman was aggressive in the offseason. It didn’t work last season and Detroit was a seller at the trade deadline. This year, the Red Wings seem like they might have a better chance.

Continued

Hi, everybody.

It’s Tuesday, August 29th, and I have two fundraising requests:

1. We’re still about $200 short in terms of fundraising for the Malik Report’s server fees, which are $269.00 for Bluehost, taxes included. I need to raise that $200 by Friday to keep TMR going.
2. I’ve posted a GoFundMe for the Traverse City trip, and its cost is a staggering $2,900, but that’s the reality in terms of our fundraising goal for the next three weeks, because taking up my 81-year-old Aunt Annie will cost an extra $900 due to her need for a first-floor, handicapped-accessible room.

It’s a bit fanciful to hope that we can raise that kind of money in three weeks, but we are hopeful that your desire to continue TMR’s coverage at the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and main training camp is still strong.

I never do more than “break even” on the trip, so the goal here is to simply cover expenses for the two weeks that I hope to be in Traverse City.

As always, here are the usual usual fundraising means:

If you’re are willing or able to lend a fundraising assist, you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums” (an old nickname).

If you can’t help raise funds, it would be great if we can spread the word regarding the fundraisers, because we’re in tough straits.