Month: June 2024

The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood posted a superb article which summarizes the Red Wings free agency outlook, and he dug into the bottom of the depth chart to discuss the borderline Red Wings/Grand Rapids Griffins’ players.

He also discusses the 1i-goal-scoring elephant in the room in Daniel Sprong, who probably won’t be back due to his status as an even-strength defensive liability:

Daniel Sprong, RW/LW
Last contract: $2 million AAV for one year
Season stats: 76 games played, 18 goals, 25 assists, 55.8% on-ice expected goals, 19.8% share of possible ice time

If you take him for what he is — a bottom six sniper who struggles to defend — Sprong is a valuable role player. He was a great source of offensive depth for the Red Wings, especially on the power play where he scored 12 of his points. But with Sprong, there’s always the big what-if of the player he could be if he rounded out his game. At 27 years old, Sprong has the odds of doing that stacked against him.

That’s probably why Sprong is most likely to be a free agent. His scoring gives him bargaining power for a pay raise, but his prioritization of scoring is antithetical to the defensive responsibility that Detroit wants to emphasize in the future. And this future seemed all but decided when Lalonde scratched Sprong late in the season with playoff hopes on the line. If trust in Sprong is lacking, it’s safe to say he’ll be moving on to another team.

Continued (at length); I just don’t think that the Red Wings can pay Sprong what his goal-scoring total merits on the open market.

That’s okay. It’s going to stink to lose his production, but Sprong was an utterly terrifying player to deal with in terms of his defensive lapses and role on the team as a 3rd/4th line player. Maybe another team gives “Sprong Song” a real chance to be in their top six, and he shines. We can hope that it happens, and that it isn’t within the Red Wings’ division

Per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli:

#LGRW are among teams grinding with their UFAs today – and belief is they've made progress with Patrick Kane. But the next 24 hours are going to be wild.

If Kane makes it to market, sources say #GoHabsGo are preparing a pitch for him.

Top 75 UFAs: https://t.co/sW39lCnFPs pic.twitter.com/r7rAfPCct3

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 30, 2024

From Seravalli’s article:

Continue reading Tweet of note: Daily Faceoff’s Seravalli says Wings have ‘made progress’ with Kane

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted an article regarding the Red Wings’ free agency options this afternoon, and as Kulfan notes, it’s the Red Wings’ middle-of-the-lineup guys who are getting squeezed out by Detroit’s cap crunch:

The focus is re-signing forwards Patrick Kane and David Perron, along with defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, all while keeping salary cap space available for restricted free-agent defenseman Moritz Seider and forward Lucas Raymond, who are getting significant salary increases coming out of their entry-level contracts.

Forwards Christian Fischer and Daniel Sprong, and goaltender James Reimer, are also potential unrestricted free agents, but the Wings have varying levels of interest on retaining them.

General manager Steve Yzerman said Saturday at the NHL Entry Draft it’s unlikely everyone will return.

“We’d love to bring everybody back, (but) that’s going to be really difficult to do,” Yzerman said. “We’re just not going to have enough money to bring everybody back. That’s just not the way it’s going to work.”

The Wings have about $32 million to work with under the salary cap — but approximately half of that is likely targeted to sign Seider and Raymond at some point this summer.

Continued; it’s guys like Fischer and Sprong who really can’t be re-signed, and I don’t know how I feel about that, honestly. To some extent, I want to see the Red Wings get as young and fast as possible, but Yzerman said yesterday that he’s not going to open up a top-nine spot for any prospect–that they would have to “take a job” from a veteran instead–and if that’s the case, I don’t know whether there are better grinders to fill out the Wings’ four lines than the affable Fischer and scoring Sprong.

This one is self-evident:

Kane continuing to weigh options.

— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) June 30, 2024

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

RED WINGS TO HOLD 2024 DEVELOPMENT CAMP AT LITTLE CAESARS ARENA JULY 1-5

  … Five-Day Camp Featuring Red Wings Prospects Returns to BELFOR Training Center …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today announced the schedule for their 2024 Development Camp, which returns to the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena from July 1-5. The camp begins on Monday, July 1 and features on-ice skill development and off-ice workouts each day, ending with a three-on-three tournament on Friday, July 5.

The camp will be split into two teams – Team Howe and Team Lindsay – and will feature daily on-ice instruction and skill development from a team of coaches, led by the Red Wings player development staff. Attendees will also take part in NHL-level off-ice workouts and attend presentations designed to help players transition to professional hockey, while experiencing the state-of-the-art player amenities offered at Little Caesars Arena and receiving feedback from Red Wings coaches and management.

The Red Wings roster will be comprised primarily of players selected by Detroit over the last several NHL Drafts, as well as signed free agent prospects and undrafted free agent invitees from collegiate, junior or European leagues. The full roster for the 2024 Development Camp will be announced at a later date.

3-ON-3 TOURNAMENT TO BE STREAMED AT DETROITREDWINGS.COM

The three-on-three tournament will be streamed live on DetroitRedWings.com and on the Red Wings social media platforms (Facebook, YouTube) on Friday, July 5 starting at 8:30 a.m. The streams will feature exclusive interviews with Red Wings prospects and select members of the Red Wings front office staff – hosted by Red Wings radio voice Ken Kal and Red Wings TV’s Daniella Bruce. For in-depth coverage of Development Camp, visit www.DetroitRedWings.com/Prospects.

Good afternoon. I’m wanted to let you all know that we’re still at the $500 mark in terms of fundraising for me to rent a working vehicle (out of about $900-1,000 needed to actually rent a vehicle and pay the security deposit) for the purposes of attending the Red Wings’ summer development camp…

Which most likely starts tomorrow or Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena.

Long story short, we’re facing a tremendous time crunch, so if you are able and/or willing to lend a hand, now’s the time to do it.

I haven’t missed a summer development camp since 2006, and I’d hate to miss this one, but it’s a very real possibility right now.

If you’re willing to help, here are the details: you can use 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 readership and your time.

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted his list of potential unrestricted free agents for the Red Wings to target starting at 12 PM EDT tomorrow, and he includes one player that would be a dark-horse candidate, presuming that he would be willing to come to a rebuilding team:

Jonathan Marchessault, Vegas, RW/LW, 33 ($5 million): He’s an original Golden Knight, the franchise’s all-time leader in goals and points and the 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy winner. He’s coming off his most productive season (42 goals, 69 points in 82 games). Vegas has virtually no cap space, however. Yzerman, as Tampa Bay’s GM, traded for him in 2014 before he left as a free agent in 2016.

Continued; Again, I don’t know whether Marchessault would be willing to “step down” from a contender like the Golden Knights to a team in the middle of a rebuild, but he’s fast, he scores goals, and I’m sure that there will be 31 teams hot on his tail if he has to leave Las Vegas.

Update: The Athletic’s Max Bultman suggests that the Red Wings need a top-six winger as well:

Detroit hasn’t given up on trying to keep Patrick Kane, but whether it’s him or someone else, the Red Wings have a hole for a scoring forward high in the lineup. Kane was a big source of offense last season, so there is real incentive for Detroit to figure something out with the future Hall of Famer. If not him, perhaps Jonathan Marchessault or Steven Stamkos (if either make it to market) would be fits for a team that came close last season to snapping an eight-year playoff drought.  — Max Bultman

The Hockey News’s Jacob Stoller posted an article which discusses three possible destinations for Steven Stamkos, who’s going to test the free agent marketplace on Monday, and he includes the Red Wings in his list, alongside the Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators.

I don’t really see Stamkos-to-Detroit happening, but stranger things have happened…

Coming off a collapse that saw Detroit lose its playoff spot and miss the post-season for an eighth straight year, GM Steve Yzerman ought to be feeling the pressure.

While the Red Wings have a decent core in Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, they still look like a mushy-middle team, even with a few tweaks here or there.

They need someone like Stamkos. And for a player who might be signing his last contract, depending on the term, the fit outside of hockey may be one of the most important things as well. Detroit is just four hours away from Stamkos’ off-season home in Toronto.

Detroit recently cleared up cap space when they traded Jake Walman to San Jose, leaving them with roughly $31.87 million in salary cap space — though the impending extensions to Raymond and Seider will shrink that figure. 

Continued; I would imagine that Steve Yzerman is always feeling pressure to some extent, but we’re working on his timeline to slowly build a playoff contender, not the other way around…

And if the Wings attempt to re-sign Patrick Kane, Shayne Gostisbehere and/or David Perron, I’m not certain that there would be salary cap room left to snag Stamkos on a cap-friendly deal. He’s also 34 as of July 1st, so there aren’t any 35-plus contract bonuses that could be squeezed in to reduce his cap hit.

From what the “insiders” are saying, I think that Carolina, Nashville or other places are much more likely landing spots for Stamkos, but again, one never knows, regardless of his relationship with Yzerman.

The Hockey Writers’ Tony Wolak posted a very comprehensive article setting out free agency targets for the Red Wings starting tomorrow at 12 PM EDT, and I honestly think that this part of his article is the most intriguing:

The Red Wings plan to deploy a checking line once again in 2024-25. Before doing so, they’ll need to sign a forward to skate alongside Andrew Copp and Michael Rasmussen. Their best options are:

William Carrier

Christian Fischer

Jack Roslovic

Yakov Trenin

Tyler Johnson

Carrier fits this role perfectly. He plays a chippy style and has a non-stop motor. He also won a Stanley Cup playing a shutdown role for the Vegas Golden Knights. 

In addition, Carrier can produce offensively as well. He ranked eighth among forwards with at least 200 minutes played in both HDCF/60 and iHDCF/60 at five on five. His 64.94% high-danger chance share at five on five ranked third in the league, too. Clearly, Carrier is not a one-trick pony.

Carrier will have lots of suitors, though. If he prices himself out of Detroit’s range, then the Red Wings should re-sign Christian Fischer to fill this role. He’s an outstanding organizational fit and had great chemistry with Copp and Rasmussen last year.

Jack Roslovic and Tyler Johnson are versatile options, having the ability to play both center and wing, plus contribute to the penalty kill. Roslovic’s speed would add an intriguing element to the checking line as well.

And finally, there’s Yakov Trenin, who would add some jam to the shutdown line. Think Klim Kostin, but more offense to his game. He hits everything that moves and is a relentless forechecker.

Wolak continues (really good stuff here); we forget that the Red Wings need to fill out their roster “down the lineup,” and Steve Yzerman said yesterday that he’s not willing to open up a top-9 spot for a prospect just to make room for the kids.

In my opinion, the Wings need as much speed and snarl as possible, and those “down the lineup” signings are always important in that regard.

The NHL’s 32 teams must submit contractual qualifying offers to their restricted free agents by 5 PM today in order to retain those players’ rights.

The players have every right to reject those QO’s and negotiate a higher salary, but no QO equals unrestricted free agency looming tomorrow at 12 PM EDT.

According to PuckPedia, which is going to be there for us after CapFriendly shuts down (and we should all thank the late Matthew Wuest for giving up CapFriendly), Detroit has 13 roster players signed, and approximately $31.87 million in salary cap space as of today.

The Wings’ restricted free agents include Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, Joe Veleno and Jonatan Berggren…

And if I were to play devil’s advocate, I’d suggest that the Wings may very well let Veleno and/or Berggren walk. Veleno’s $825,000 salary is far from a millstone, and the same is true for Berggren’s $925,000, two-way deal…

But Veleno’s 24, and Berggren 23, and we heard rumblings that Berggren would be traded this past season.

At this point, with Marco Kasper, Nate Danielson, Carter Mazur and Elmer Soderblom knocking on the door, would you try to re-sign and/or trade Veleno and “Jonny Burgers,” or would you let them walk?