Month: September 2023

Here’s WXYZ’s Brad Galli speaking with Henrik Zetterberg at the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony for 1:51:

WATCH: Red Wings legend Henrik Zetterberg walked the red carpet at his Michigan Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

"This is a really cool sports city and state," he said. "My family and I love coming back." @MSHOF pic.twitter.com/eDY5qx8tp2

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 15, 2023

Henrik Zetterberg told a funny story at the @MSHOF about being drafted in 1999.

He was on vacation with friends when the Detroit picked him. That shocked him — and made the vacation ”very fun.” 😂 So fun, Zetterberg recalled he turned down the trip to Red Wings development camp. pic.twitter.com/WRJjG5ejgU

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 15, 2023

The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman discusses potential summer-of-2024 restricted free agents who could re-sign with their teams “early” this season, and she includes Moritz Seider (who is coming off his “entry-level” deal at the end of this season):

Cap space isn’t a big issue for the Red Wings. But will management want to go as big as possible this soon? Will Seider?

Looking back at [GM Steve] Yzerman’s track record sparks that question from Detroit’s side. He hasn’t consistently gone for the big contracts post-ELC to his stars. Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos each signed five-year deals, before going for the maximum. Nikita Kucherov was signed to a bridge deal first, too. So if that is Yzerman’s pattern, maybe mid-term is the move.

Then there’s the player perspective: Would Seider be selling himself short, especially after he had a very slow start to 2022-23?

A shorter-term deal could be a two- or three-year contract worth a cap hit of around $5 million. Evolving-Hockey has a five-year deal at $6.5 million, on average. But how much would that raise the price of his next deal? That’s what could motivate Yzerman to push for more with a core piece. Then, a cap hit percentage of 10 and 11 could make sense, similar to other young No. 1s like Makar, Fox, Quinn Hughes, Miro Heiskanen and Charlie McAvoy. That would equate to a $9 million cap hit, which would line up with his market value.

Detroit may push it a little lower based on his last season, but the recent Jake Sanderson contract may have set the bar for a No. 1 upward of that $8 million benchmark. As long as Seider rebounds — which the Red Wings have to bet on — that market value should start climbing, raising the chance of him delivering positive value throughout the deal. 

Continued (paywall); I can’t see Seider earning less than $8 million given that the Sanderson deal came along as a “comparable.”

The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun spoke with NHL players during the NHL Media Tour regarding a certain hot locker room topic–fantasy football–and Dylan Larkin discussed the Red Wings’ fantasy football pool:

“It really gets going in the locker room,” captain Dylan Larkin said.

Especially over trades.

“Every year, around the (fantasy) trade deadline, there’s always a controversial trade,” Larkin laughed.

“(Commissioner Robby) Fabbri is always in talks with guys looking for something. Our emergency backup goalie (Josh Block) was in our league for a long time and he always had controversial trades.”

Defending champ?

“Olli Maatta won last year,” Larkin said. “Auto-draft, too.”

Continued (paywall); this blogger is not a fan of fantasy sports. I’m too loyal to my players, so I can’t get into the ever-changing lineups.

NHL.com had a panel of writers discuss their “top rookie tournament players,” and Marco Kasper earned a mention from NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti:

Marco Kasper, Detroit Red Wings

The center became the first 18-year-old to play for the Red Wings since Martin Lapointe in 1991 when he made his NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 2, but fractured his kneecap in that game and was out the rest of the season. Now healthy, Kasper will be looking to earn a roster spot with Detroit to begin the season and the NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City will be the first step. The No. 8 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, has offensive potential, as evidenced by his 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 52 games with Rogle BK of the Swedish Hockey League last season, and is responsible defensively, but needs repetition to adjust to the North American game. It will be interesting to see what he can do playing against other top prospects in Traverse City. – Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Continued; Kasper displayed pace and snarl on Thursday night.

Toledo Walleye coach Pat Mikesch is in Traverse City this weekend to take in the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament, but the Walleye’s new bench boss spoke with the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe regarding his team’s signings, and its emphasis on creating offense this upcoming season:

“We’re happy with our forward group,” Mikesch said. “I think we’re going to be able to play a fun brand of hockey. What our fans are accustomed to is a great transition team. I think we’re going to be a very deep group up front.”

The Walleye have signed 13 players this offseason, including 2022-23 leading scorer Brandon Hawkins. Forward Kirill Tyutyayev, who ranked third on the team in scoring, also returns along with Conlan Keenan (seventh on the team in scoring) and Sam Craggs.

“I’m really excited,” said Hawkins, who set a franchise record for goals scored in a season with 39. “We’ve got some really talented players coming in that can play at an extremely high level.”

Mikesch said that group will get a big boost with the additions of high-scoring forwards Orrin Centazzo and Bowling Green State University product Brandon Kruse along with Carson Denomie and Mitchell Lewandowski.

“We like these pieces,” Mikesch said. “We’re getting the right players around Hawk.”

Continued

Former Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday night, and he made the trip from southern Sweden to take part in the event. MLive’s Ansar Khan caught up with Zetterberg, who deferred credit for his accomplishments to those around him:

“My age group there were more players better than me,” Zetterberg said. “But then to get drafted by a team like the Red Wings was kind of in my favor. The Wings had such a good team. I had three years in Sweden to play men’s hockey. I played in two World Championships, one Olympics before I played over here. I think that really helped me develop because my draft year I was not a big kid. I wasn’t a big kid when I came over here either, but I actually got some muscle and prepared myself for playing over here. So, in a way being a late bloomer kind of helped me.”

Zetterberg made an immediate impact as a rookie in 2002-03 on a team loaded with future Hall-of-Famers that had won the Stanley Cup the previous year. He finished second in Calder Trophy balloting to Blues defenseman Barret Jackman.

“Didn’t really expect to stay up on the main team my first year but I had a good camp and a coach that believed in me in Dave Lewis,” Zetterberg said. “Kenny (former general manager Holland) believed in me. Jim Nill (former assistant GM) was a big part, too. I wouldn’t have had that career if I would have been with another team, I think. I got surrounded right away by Hall of Famers. That really helped me. Basically, my whole career I played with great players. When you surround yourself with good players, everything goes easier for yourself.”

Continued, and, in case you’re wondering:

“Right now, I don’t think [the Red Wings] have room for me,” Zetterberg said. “The good thing is I’m still involved. I know what’s going on. We have a lot of Detroit prospects in Sweden where I live now in Angelholm. Every time Nik (Kronwall) comes into town, I have a chance to be involved. I’m not quite sure if I’m ready right now, but I could see myself in the future getting (more) involved.”

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde was in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Thursday to speak at the “Drive For Life” Foundation’s fundraising event, and WXMI Fox 17 took note of Lalonde’s remarks:

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects lost a 4-2 decision to the Dallas Stars’ prospects at the Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament on Thursday night.

Elmer Soderblom opened the scoring on a goal from Cross Hanas and Nate Danielson at 7:56 of the 1st, but the Stars responded with 2 goals in the 1st period and one more just over halfway through the 2nd period;

Detroit lost Carter Mazur to a lower-body injury in the 1st as well, and Soderblom took a high stick to the face that drew blood, so Detroit was down to 10 forwards for a fair amount of the 2nd;

Antti Tuomisto made it 4-2 on a power play goal assisted by Danielson and Riley Sawchuk late in the 2nd, but Detroit could come no closer to Dallas, which scored an empty-net goal with 1:11 remaining in the game.

Sebastian Cossa stopped 14 of 16 shots in 30:08 of ice time, and Jan Bednar played the second half of the game, stopping 10 of 11 shots.

Detroit won’t play again until Saturday vs. Columbus (at 3:30 PM EDT), and then Sunday the tournament wraps up with a 2 PM game vs. Toronto…So the Red Wings will be able to practice on Friday to address some of the shortcomings that yielded their loss to the Stars.

You can watch full highlights from the game here via the Red Wings’ YouTube channel:

From NHL.com:

Henrik Zetterberg, Ryan Miller, Mike “Doc” Emrick and Colleen Howe were part of the Class of 2023 inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday.

Zetterberg, a forward, played his entire 15-season NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings and won the Stanley Cup with them in 2008. He had 960 points (337 goals, 623 assists) in 1,082 regular-season games and 120 points (57 goals, 63 assists) in 137 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

A seventh-round pick (No. 210) by the Red Wings in the 1999 NHL Draft, Zetterberg was their captain from 2012 until retiring in 2018.

…

Emrick, a longtime resident of St. Clair, Michigan, was involved with hockey broadcasts for 47 years and called the Stanley Cup Final 15 times before retiring in 2020. He received the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in 2004 and the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to hockey broadcasting in 2008. In 2011, he became the first broadcaster to be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

Colleen Howe, the wife of Red Wings legend Gordie Howe, was a sports agent and represented her husband as well as son Mark Howe, a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman. She was one of the founders of the Detroit Junior Red Wings, the first Junior A team in the United States. Colleen Howe died in 2009.

Continued, with a picture of the induction…

Yahoo Sports’ Nate Groot Nibbelnik, a fantasy sports expert, believes that the Red Wings’ top defenseman won’t “reach fantasy hockey projections” this upcoming season:

4. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings: Seider is a guy the fantasy community would love to be a star, especially after his massive rookie season breakout in 2021-22 that saw him post 50 points. The Red Wings, however, have brought in a lot of competent defensemen this offseason — including Shayne Gostisbehere, who profiles as a power play specialist.

Detroit’s power play is nothing to write home about at the best of times, and if Seider is going to be blocked from top special teams minutes by Gostisbehere (not to mention late acquisition Jeff Petry), his offensive ceiling will be heavily handicapped.

I have Seider projected for just five goals and 35 points compared to his Yahoo projection at seven goals and 52 points. Seider just may not be deployed heavily optimally enough to be a valuable piece for fantasy this season.

Continued; okay…