Month: July 2024

Take with salt on July 5th, 2024: NHL standings predictions, and power rankings, too

Take with some good, old-fashioned Detroit rock salt from the Morton mine near Zug Island:

  1. “JFresh” from EP Rinkside posted his first estimate of the 2024-2025 NHL standings, and the Red Wings lose out to the Ottawa Senators for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, should JFresh’s projection hold up:

I’m sorry, I really like JFresh, but I laughed out loud when I saw this one. I know they’ve got Perron and Ullmark, but…I just don’t see it.

2. Also in the “Way Too Early” department, Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon posted a more charitable outlook for the Red Wings while issuing a list of after-free-agency power rankings:

18. Detroit Red Wings: Patrick Kane returning on a one-year deal is a good arrangement and Vladimir Tarasenko can still help on any one of the top three lines. The Wings came painfully close to making the playoffs last season and figure to be right down to the wire in the wild-card race again.

Continued; I’m assuming that the Red Wings will make an addition on defense somehow, though it might take until next year’s trade deadline to make that happen…But if it does, I could see the Wings making the playoffs. It’s gonna be hard in the “Purgatory Division,” as Dylan Larkin calls it, but I think it’s entirely possible.

Tweet of note: Dan Watson speaks with Daniella Bruce

The Red Wings’ broadcast of their Summer Development Camp’s 3 on 3 tournament was excellent in no small part due to its special guests, and they included Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson, who spoke with DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce after the tournament ended with a win for his team:

Tweet of note: Kris Draper speaks with Daniella Bruce during the Red Wings’ 3 on 3 tournament

Red Wings assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper spoke with Daniella Bruce today at the Red Wings Summer Development Camp’s 3-on-3 tournament, and Daniella posted the entire 5:22 interview on Twitter/X:

Former Wing David Perron wants to ‘bring an edge’ to the Senators

Ottawa Senators forward and former Red Wing David Perron gave an interview to TSN 1200 in Ottawa this morning, and the Ottawa Sun’s Tim Baines took note of Perron’s remarks:

“I know there are some really good pieces (in Ottawa), but sometimes it just needs the right type of guys together,” Perron said while being interviewed on TSN 1200 Friday morning. “Through my experiences, in Vegas and St. Louis, both of the years we went to the Stanley Cup final, you learn a lot. I’ll be vocal, I’m a guy who’ll keep pushing the group. Sometimes it needs to get a bit uncomfortable. I’m really looking forward to joining this group. We’re going to try and build the right attitude, the right culture.”

Senators fans may remember Perron for an incident in a game between the Detroit Red Wings and Senators in December. After Senators winger Mathieu Joseph hit Dylan Larkin in the back of the head, knocking the Wings captain out, Senators defenceman Artem Zub came onto the scene. Thinking Zub was the culprit, Perron viciously cross-checked him to the face. He got a match penalty, then later was handed a six-game suspension by the NHL.

“I may have to buy a couple of dinners for Zub and get him on my good side,” Perron said with a laugh during the TSN 1200 interview. “It’s not the most comfortable situation. I don’t see (myself as dirty). I don’t know if anyone believes me, but I was not trying to get that high (with the cross check), I was trying to go around the waist and elbow area. Zub’s arm came up and it rides up and goes into his head. You’re trying to create an identity, a culture where everyone sticks up for each other. In that situation, I saw my captain laying down. I’ve missed a lot of games with concussions. I’m not trying to get guys injured. I try to play the game on the edge. There needs to be bit of a fear factor. (Senators captain) Brady (Tkachuk) does that every shift.”

Continued; Perron brought vocal leadership and an “edge” to the Red Wings, and now he’s going to make the Senators that much harder to play against.

Video: Dan Cleary sums up the Red Wings’ 2024 Summer Development Camp

Red Wings assistant director of player development Dan Cleary spent over 13 minutes discussing the Red Wings’ 2024 Summer Development Camp:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SsT9JO9jR4Q%3Fsi%3De12x4pDUPXVy8DOP

Video + Tweets: Anton Johansson, Charlie Forslund and Ondrej Becher address the media at the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp

The Red Wings posted a clip of media availability comments made by Anton Johansson, Charlie Forslund and Ondrej Becher:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=XoYmw4WWq7I%3Fsi%3DmKFJyZ69xkrRvBJD


And DetroitRedWings.com’s Carley Johnston posted quips from the Red Wings’ post-3-vs-3 tournament media availabilities as well:

Continue reading Video + Tweets: Anton Johansson, Charlie Forslund and Ondrej Becher address the media at the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp

Allen: Waiting on the NHLPA’s ‘arb’ cases

As Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes, today at 5 PM marks the deadline for NHLPA members filing to take their teams to salary arbitration, and two Red Wings players have arbitration rights:

Detroit Red Wings restricted free agents Joe Veleno and Jonatan Berggren have until today at 5 p.m. to decide whether to opt for arbitration to determine their next contract.

Often, opting for free agency brings the two sides together on a new contract. Only occasionally do players actually go through the arbitration process.

A source knowledgable about comparables and the arbitration process projected that Veleno (12 goals in 2023-24) would be in the $2 million range. AFP Analytics projects Veleno with a two-year deal at $1.98 million per season. AFP forecasts Berggren on a one-year deal worth $874,000. Young defenseman Albert Johansson, likely to make the Red Wings roster this season, recently signed for $775,000, but does not have the NHL experience that Berggren has.

Every dollar for these two contracts matters for the Red Wings who want to lock No. 1 defenseman Moritz Seider and 30-year Lucas Raymond into longer-term deals. Those two deals could cost $17 million or more, leaving Detroit with just over $3 million for Veleno and Berggren.

Arbitration decisions are based heavily on statistics and comparables. Berggren has 17 goals and 34 points in 76 career games. If a team “walks away” — in other words they reject it — the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.

The NHLPA will issue a press release later today about everyone who has filled for arbitration. Once an arbitration date is set for each case, the two sides usually start becoming serious about negotiating a new deal. Once an arbitration is finished, the arbitration will render a decision in 48 hours.

Quick link: A short picture story about Brandsegg-Nygard

Of very brief prospect-related note this morning: TV2 in Norway posted a story about Red Wings prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Anaheim Ducks prospect Stian Stolberg being drafted at this past weekend’s NHL Draft in Las Vegas. All of the story is about Stolberg’s development, but the pictures are of Brandsegg-Nygard’s draft experiences: