Month: June 2024

Talking ‘bold offseason moves’ and the late-night Kane tidbit

The Athletic’s Harman Dayal names the Red Wings among 7 teams which “need to make an offseason splash” in a pre-free agency article:

Steve Yzerman’s stunning trade to give up a second-round pick to offload Jake Walman’s contract ($3.4 million AAV for two seasons) must be a sign that he has something major up his sleeve. There aren’t many other reasonable justifications for being that desperate to clear cap space.

After the Walman trade, we estimated that the Red Wings could have just over $13 million to play with after you plug in Evolving-Hockey’s RFA estimates for Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno. They’ll need to add a few depth pieces to the lineup (most likely through calling up young players internally), but after that, they’ll still have the room to chase a couple of impact players.

Adding top-six help should be high on Yzerman’s wish list. Re-signing Patrick Kane or taking a run at Steven Stamkos given Yzerman’s ties are a couple of possibilities that immediately come to mind. On the back end, it’d be ideal to land a shutdown top-four righty. An upgrade in goal would provide a substantial boost too. Detroit may need to carve out even more room — perhaps through a Justin Holl buyout, as one example — to effectively address all three of those needs.

Continued (paywall); if you missed last night’s TSN video…

https://youtube.com/watch?v=a9I_VIhn3a8%3Fsi%3D29Y4EwSnFoio0gLh

Insider Chris Johnston said: “Patrick Kane is still in discussions with the Detroit Red Wings, where he spent last season, I think there’s at least a reasonable chance he ends up as a Red Wing. There’s been a lot of people connecting him to the Rangers, maybe to his hometown Buffalo Sabres, but it sounds like Detroit’s still in decent position, if they can get an agreement on term there…”

Just the Wings’ type

The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood did something interesting in a notebook article filed from the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas–he looked back at Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s early remarks regarding his hopes for the Wings’ 15th overall pick, which turned out to be Michael Brandsegg-Nygard:

Before the draft, Yzerman said, “That 15th pick, that’s still a pretty high pick. It’s important that we get a good player. It’s important that honestly we get a player that plays for us in the NHL [eventually]. We need that. It’s not as simple as we all think or as automatic as we all like to think it is. When you’re picking high, you wanna make sure that you get a good prospect, regardless of the position. I think over the course of each draft, you have to really start thinking about…how many prospects you have at each position, because ultimately, when they turn pro, you’ve got to find a spot for them to play.”

It’s an explanation that comports with the player he ultimately selected. Brandsegg-Nygård arguably jumps immediately to the top of Detroit’s prospect rankings along the wing (not necessarily in terms of his distance from NHL minutes right not but rather overall upside), and his game mirrors the exact style the Red Wings want to play.

With this selection, Yzerman is doubling down on the idea that the team he is building won’t try to boat race opponents 7-6 and 6-5. Instead, he wants a physical, aggressive, forechecking squad, not dissimilar to the Panthers outfit that just lifted the Cup. There are lots of ways to evaluate a draft pick, but in terms of fit, it could hardly get better for Detroit than Brandsegg-Nygård.

Continued; as I said last night, the Red Wings definitely have a “type” of player which they look to select in the first round of the NHL Draft, and while it’s not a sniper like Cole Eiserman or a power forward like Liam Greentree, Detroit’s amateur scouts have spent the past five drafts looking for a player with all-round skills who can play a two-way game, hold his own physically, and is a self-starter and self-improver.

Remembering Marty Pavelich

NHL.com’s Dave Stubbs posted an “obit” piece regarding Red Wings alumnus Marty Pavelich, who passed away recently at 96 years of age:

Pavelich won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955. He played 633 games, all with Detroit from 1947-57, and had 252 points (93 goals, 159 assists). He had 28 points (13 goals, 15 assists) in 91 Stanley Cup Playoff games, five of his goals game-winners.

“I may not have been the most talented member of those teams, but you were never going to outwork me,” he told the Free Press earlier this month. “Nor could you ever have more desire to win than I did. I would like to think my legacy and what I am most proud of was my leadership in the locker room. I hated to lose — still do — and that is what I have attempted to pass on to all of the young people in sports and business I have met through the years.”

The 5-foot-11, 168-pound native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario arrived full-time with the Red Wings having played four seasons, from 1944-47, for their junior team in Galt, Ontario, splitting his 1947-48 rookie season with the NHL team’s minor-league affiliate in Indianapolis.

Pavelich went to the playoffs in all 10 of his NHL seasons, his left-wing assignment on the powerful Red Wings of the 1950s usually to shadow the opposition’s top offensive threats.

“I was playing on a regular line and (coach) Tommy Ivan came to me one day and said, ‘We want to make a checking line,’” Pavelich told reporter Ansar Khan of mlive.com in 2022. “I played with Glen Skov and Tony Leswick. I had to check (Montreal Canadiens superstar) Rocket Richard 14 times a year. That was not easy. To me, he was the greatest goal-scorer of all-time.”

Continued; Mr. Pavelich retired to the town of Big Sky, Montana, and he helped build its first rink. Here’s what legendary Red Wings scribe Keith Gave had to say about Pavelich:

Continue reading Remembering Marty Pavelich

Morning tidbit: it’s a classic ‘hockey family’ story

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted an article which discusses the Red Wings’ drafting of Michael Brandsegg-Nygard earlier this morning. Mills gleaned most of his quotes Steve Yzerman and Kris Draper’s post-first-round press conferences. I thought that this part of the article was most interesting:

As the first Norwegian-born player selected in the first round of an NHL Entry Draft, Brandsegg-Nygard said he’s honored to represent his country and thankful to join the Red Wings organization.

“It has been a dream for so long,” said Brandsegg-Nygard, who was born in Olso. “Now I am living the dream, so I’m just going to work hard, do what I always do and hopefully I’m going to be an NHL player someday.”

Family has played an influential role in Brandsegg-Nygard’s success on and off the ice.

“My family has been so supportive to me, especially my mom and dad,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “They’ve sacrificed so much. My mom drove me to almost every practice and supported me. My dad was my coach back home.”

Continued; it’s my understanding that Brandsegg-Nygard’s father was a professional hockey player as well.

The ‘Y’s’ behind the Walman move

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman addressed the team’s decision to essentially give away Jake Walman and a second-round pick in a trade with the San Jose Sharks to simply shed salary (in order to keep and/or bid for unrestricted free agents) and open up a spot on the blueline, presumably for Simon Edvinsson…

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6RCA8qUJ9Ag%3Fsi%3DlbPMbS6hMjMkAWIf

And Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff took note of Yzerman’s remarks:

Continue reading The ‘Y’s’ behind the Walman move

Morning Michael Brandsegg-Nygard mash-up

A trio of columnists discuss the Red Wings’ drafting of Michael Brandsegg-Nygard with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 draft yesterday night in Las Vegas.

We’ll start with the Free Press’s Jeff Seidel, who reports that there was a palpable “buzz” at Little Caesars Arena’s draft party when MBN was drafted…

Back in Little Caesars Arena, as the selection was made, everybody screamed, and the goal horn went off. Spotlights danced around the crowd and the Wings logo swirled. T-shirts were thrown into the crowd, and everybody was up, screaming and waving, as Journey blared over the loudspeakers:

“Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit!”

It felt like the Wings had won a game. The vibe was electric.

But there really is only one huge question: Will he make it? Will he become a player? A star?

Who knows.

It’s an absolute crapshoot when you are drafting teenagers.

But that hardly mattered on this night. Because as everybody walked out of the arena, it sounded — and felt — like a Wings win.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James got the scoop on MBN from Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman and assistant GM/director of amateur scouting Kris Draper…

Continue reading Morning Michael Brandsegg-Nygard mash-up

NY Post’s Brooks says Wings considering trade for Jacob Trouba; Wings, Rangers may duke it out for Kane, Stamkos

The New York Post’s Larry Brooks reports that New York Rangers GM Chris Drury and Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman are discussing a possible trade in which Rangers captain Jacob Trouba would become a Red Wing:

until Jacob Trouba’s no-move transforms to a 15-team no-trade clause, also on Monday, as momentum continues to build for the defenseman’s exit from New York after five seasons.

Indeed, a well-placed source has told The Post that GM Chris Drury is working on a deal to send the captain to the Red Wings, a trade that the Michigan native would presumably accept after having played as a freshman for the Wolverines in 2012-13.

We are told the Rangers may retain $2.5 million per year on the two remaining seasons of Trouba’s $8M annual cap charge. That represents 31.25 percent retention that would also be applied to the $12M in salary Trouba has coming over the next two seasons.

If that does become the amount of retention if this deal goes through, that would clear an additional $5.5M in space … but the Blueshirts would have to then find a reasonable replacement for the most physical and menacing player on the team who held down a spot on their first penalty-kill unit.

Brooks also states that the Rangers and Red Wings might battle it out for Patrick Kane–and possibly Steven Stamkos:

The Rangers and Red Wings appear to be vying for the services of Patrick Kane, who will become available as a free agent on Monday if he does not sign an extension with Detroit. The Post has reported that Drury and the hierarchy are targeting Kane for a Broadway reprise.

But Drury and Detroit GM Steve Yzerman might also be vying to sign Steven Stamkos, who will the free agent market after the 34-year-old rejected Tampa Bay’s final offer that was believed $24M over eight seasons.

Continued; Brooks says that Kane wants a 2-to-3 year contract this time around…

Late-night Norwegian draft pick talk

Serving up some late-breaking stories from Las Vegas for Red Wings fans:

NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale took note of the fact that Red Wings draft pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (picked 15th overall by Detroit in last night’s first round of the 2024 NHL Draft) and Stian Solberg (picked 23rd overall by Anaheim) made history for Norwegian hockey on Friday night…

“It means a lot,” Brandsegg-Nygard, a forward, said. “When I heard my name, I got an energy boost in my whole body so it was pretty cool experience. This has been a dream for me for so long and now I reached my dream and I’m just going to keep going and hopefully be an NHL player soon.”

If that wasn’t a big enough story, countryman Stian Solberg went eight picks later to the Anaheim Ducks to cap an unforgettable opening night for Norwegian hockey fans across the globe.

“It was a big moment for me and my family and all Norwegian hockey fans,” Solberg said. “Just a really special moment for me and I’m never going to forget it.”

The Ducks moved up eight spots in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs to select the defenseman.

Brandsegg-Nygard and Solberg each were born in Oslo and played together for seven seasons at various age levels with Valerenga. They also happen to be best friends.

“Stian came to me when I was going up to the stage, so it was pretty cool to hug him,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “We are each other’s biggest supporters, and we push each other a lot in school and practices.”

EP Rinkside’s J.D. Burke offered this take on the Norwegians’ “day in the sun” in his subscriber-only wrap-up of the first round (before deeming the Red Wings first-round “losers”)…

When the Detroit Red Wings selected Michael Brandsegg-Nygård with the 15th overall pick, he became the first Norwegian-born player to hear their name called in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft and only the 24th player in the modestly-populated Scandinavian country’s history. 

He wasn’t the only Norwegian first-round pick in the country’s history for long, though. Because only eight picks later, the Ducks traded up to select Solberg with the 23rd overall selection.

I’m not going to linger on this point for long. My colleague Sean Shapiro already wrote an excellent article on this very subject, one that I would suggest you read once you’re through with this. It bears mentioning in this space, though.

You’ll have to read the rest of the tale to hear about Detroit’s repetitious first-round picks (Burke laments the Wings’ inability or unwillingness to draft a game-breaker like Cole Eiserman or power forward like Liam Greentree), so here’s a bit of Sean Shapiro’s subscriber-only story…

Red Wings assistant general manager Kris Draper has had his eye on Brandsegg-Nygård for most of the season. They had coffee together early in the season, and Draper said the forward was always one of Detroit’s top targets throughout the season and really solidified that status in the postseason. 

“When the games get tighter and the games get more important, you want to see, what’s he going to do?” Draper said. “And Michael responded by putting up some good numbers and scoring some big goals (in the playoffs).”

For Draper, despite Detroit’s recent history of picking players who played in Sweden, it’s never been about nationality. But the Red Wings assistant GM admitted it’s an added bonus when a team gets to help a prospect make history. 

“Obviously a huge, huge honour for him and something that you know is well deserved,” Draper said. “He put himself in that opportunity, and now that’s a credit to him.”

And we conclude with a bit from The Athletic’s Max Bultman, who discussed the Red Wings’ selection of Brandsegg-Nygard a little more charitably than Burke, per the recommendations of Steve Yzerman and Kris Draper:

“He plays a pretty responsible game for a young guy,” Yzerman said. “Like we all played junior, we worried about scoring. We didn’t check. And he’s just got a really well-rounded game to him. … I think he’s got a ‘B’ game, I guess you would say. When he’s not scoring, he’ll still be an effective player. But I just think he’s a guy that can play in all situations. Probably play either wing. A lot of different spots on the power play as well.”

And as for the team’s emphasis on competitiveness and two-way play, Draper weighed in on that too.

“I think hockey sense is something that you throw in the mix as well, but I just watched an incredible playoff run for two months, and you see how hard these games get and how little room there is,” he said. “So you need those players that are smart, competitive, that can skate and play in the hard areas, and that’s what we want to target.

“I mean, we don’t have the luxury of picking first overall and getting that superstar that everyone wants to add. That’s not what we have. So we have a Red Wing DNA and a type of prospect that we watch, and that’s what we want to continue to bring into the organization.”

Late-night Wings/draft Tweets of note: on the Jake Walman trade, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Patrick Kane

From Twitter/X:

In video form:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=a9I_VIhn3a8%3Fsi%3DgHiVuVuGULE2X4w7

Quoting Chris Johnston, at the 4:02 mark:

“Patrick Kane is still in discussions with the Detroit Red Wings, where he spent last season, I think there’s at least a reasonable chance he ends up as a Red Wing. There’s been a lot of people connecting him to the Rangers, maybe to his hometown Buffalo Sabres, but it sounds like Detroit’s still in decent position, if they can get an agreement on term there…”

Wheeler and Pronman talk MBN

Of late-night Red Wings draft-related note:

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman weighed in on each and every first-round selection at the 2024 NHL Draft, and Wheeler has this to say about the Wings’ selection of Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, issuing an “overtime winner” status to his new team:

Detroit Red Wings 

Pick No. 15: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard
My ranking: No. 14

Red Wings fans kept telling us how tired they were of us mocking Brandsegg-Nygard to Detroit, but here we are. They have among the most predictable amateur scouting departments in the league, despite being relatively closed-off as a staff. Brandsegg-Nygard, with his work rate, size and complete game, is exactly the type of player they like. He’s also got a legitimate NHL shot and some real offense off the wing, though, and he was my second-ranked prospect there (they were never going to take Eiserman). They’re going to need to find a game-breaker if they want to elevate their ceiling as a team, but Brandsegg-Nygard, Nate Danielson, Marco Kasper, Carter Mazur and others are all going to be good players who pull on the same rope. He’s a good pick from where they picked.

And here’s what Pronman had to say:

15. Detroit Red Wings: Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, F, Mora IK (HockeyAllsvenskan)

October 5, 2005 | 6′ 1″ | 207 pounds

Tier: Bubble top and middle of the lineup player

Player comparable: Tyler Bertuzzi

Analysis: Brandsegg-Nygard was very good at the Swedish junior level. He started off slow versus men, but was very good in the Allsvenskan playoffs and made Norway’s senior team. He is a well-rounded forward. He’s a good skater. He has strong puck skills. He has a great shot and is often a threat to score from mid-distance. His frame is average-sized, but he plays hard and has physicality in his game. He thinks the game well and sees plays develop, but I don’t think his playmaking is his main asset. Even if he’s not very dynamic, Brandsegg-Nygard has a game that should lend itself to success versus men, eventually as a good NHL forward and potentially in a top six.

Pick grade: B

Thoughts on the pick: In what may be the most predictable pick in this draft, Detroit picks the player that we gave them in nearly every mock draft. He’s a hard-working two-way winger who can score and has some bite, and projects as a top-six wing.

I had a feeling that the Wings would pick Brandsegg-Nygard, too–to the point that I expected nothing less, myself–but that’s okay. Their scouting department is somewhat predictable, and they have a first-round “type” in a forward who possesses good all-round skills, “hockey sense,” character, no glaring flaws, and a desire to self-improve.

Maybe it would have been more fun to hear Steve Yzerman call Cole Eiserman’s name, or to see Shai Buium’s younger brother Zeev fall to the Wings, but neither of those outcomes took place.