I’m not feeling particularly well today, so I’m going with a news round-up post as opposed to a bunch of entries. My apologies if this is inconvenient:
- Earlier this morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff took note of five impressive statistical performances by the Red Wings team and their players, and, in this case, five statistical performances that fans may not know of:
Bob Probert’s Red Wings PIM Mark:
Bob Probert’s legacy in Hockeytown is timeless. His fights are the stuff of legend. As his 1987-88 Red Wings season also should be. During the 1987-88 season, Probert wound up one goal shy of 30 and two PIM shy of 400. He would serve the equivalent of 6.63 games in penalty minutes and still find enough ice to to score 29 goals.
It was good enough to earn Probert a place in the NHL All-Star Game that season. And, a look of puzzlement from Joe Kocur, his Bruise Brothers teammate.
Kocur would never let Probert forget that all he had to do was hack some opponent in the last game of the season to get to the 400-minute plateau.
2. Shifting focus toward the Red Wings’ future, DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted an article about Red Wings prospect Max Plante, who was raised by former NHL’er Derek Plante in a “hockey family”:
“[He’s a] little sponge,” [Red Wings assistant director of player development Dan] Cleary said about the 18-year-old forward on July 5. “Competitive. Very young-looking, isn’t he? I like Max. Great personality, fun guy and obviously loves hockey.”
Plante is coming off a strong 2023-24 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program’s (NTDP) U-18 club, where he tallied 61 points (15 goals, 46 assists) in 51 games. Plante said he’s added strength and speed to his game over the past two seasons with NTDP.
“Coming into the program, I was a short, skinny guy and I went to work the last two years,” Plante said. “I still have a lot of room to grow in my game by scoring more goals and getting stronger…Going into tryout camp for the development program, I was 5-6, 127. Now I’m 5-11, 177, so 50 pounds and five inches. I guess that’s a lot.”
Plante showcased his skills at the 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase, which was held July 26 – Aug. 3 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich., as he finished with four points (two goals, two assists) in three games with Team USA.
Plante said the confidence he gained from the World Junior Summer Showcase will help him when he begins his freshman season at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) this fall.
“The best players in America, I got to play and skate with those guys,” Plante said. “The confidence piece — just going in, learning from the other guys and bringing that to UMD.”
3. This morning, the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton took in a charitable hockey event held by the Red Wings, coach Derek Lalonde, and hockey ambassador Jason McCrimmon:
Wednesday morning, head coach Derek Lalonde helped the Red Wings host their annual “Street Hockey in the D” event at the Adams Butzel Complex on Detroit’s west side. Lalonde and the Red Wings joined forces with Jason McCrimmon—the NHL’s 2023 Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award winner for his non-profit work with the Detroit Ice Dreams to bring hockey to the children of Detroit—to put on the event.
Lalonde, McCrimmon, and a team of volunteers ran a group of kids ranging from age six to 14 through a series of passing, shooting, and stick-handling drills, acquainting the group with the basics of the game. But Lalonde wasn’t the only one doing the educating. After Kendrick Lamar’s Drake-aimed diss track turned song of the summer “Not Like Us” came across the speakers to the delight of the assembled children, Lalonde revealed with a smile that he had learned of the feud between Lamar and Drake that very morning, thanks to his pupils.
More earnestly, Lalonde expressed his excitement at the chance to engage in this sort of community outreach program. “[I] did this event last year,” explained the soon-to-be third-year head coach. “I’ve gotten to know Jason extremely well. [He’s] so genuine. Love doing this. I brought my younger son last time, brought my older son this time, and we had a blast. This was awesome.”
4. Bleacher Report’s Joe Yerdon revisits the Jacob Trouba trade in “6 trades that should have happened during the 2024 offseason” article…
Jacob Trouba to the Detroit Red Wings: The New York Rangers and Jacob Trouba sure did have a dramatic offseason.
The 30-year-old struggled during the playoffs, and the Blueshirts fell short of the Stanley Cup Final after losing to the eventual champion Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final.
Rumors kicked up immediately about Trouba after the Rangers exited the postseason. Some kicked around the idea that the team would buy out the final two years of his contract to move on from him, but ultimately the speculation centered around a trade.
Trouba, a Michigan native and former star at the University of Michigan, was believed to be headed to the Detroit Red Wings. It was reported that he was asked by the Rangers for the 15 teams on his no-trade list, but in the end, the Rangers captain wasn’t dealt.
It’s been a little awkward for those on the outside since it all went down, but Trouba said all of that is behind him and they’re ready to get going for the upcoming season.
Having a no-trade clause is important for players because it allows them to control their destinies to an extent. But given how rough the playoffs were for Trouba, it seemed the kind of situation where a change of scenery would’ve helped everyone out.
The Red Wings would have been able to add a hometown guy and a nasty, physical presence on their blue line, while the Rangers could have gotten some help to get further under the salary-cap ceiling.
5. And Heavy.com’s Cole Shelton is digging through the PuckPedia “PuckGM” tool’s logs to stir up some trade talk in early August:
Red Wings get:
Panthers get:
- Ben Chiarot
- 2026 second-round pick
At first glance, the return for Ekblad may seem light, but Chiarot has two years left on his deal and makes $2.7 million less than Ekblad. With the extra cap space, Florida can add another player to make their team deeper while also getting a second-round pick which they can use in a trade or keep.
Chiarot would help replace the hole Ekblad would leave and would keep the Panthers’ defense solid. Last season with the Red Wings, Chiarot recorded 5 goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 77 games.
The Red Wings, meanwhile, would bolster their defense by bringing in Ekblad who is one of the top defensemen in the NHL. Ekblad recorded 1 goal and 14 assists for 18 points in 51 games. The former first-overall pick could be on the second-pairing on the right side behind Moritz Seider as having those two down the right side would make Detroit’s D-core one of the best in the NHL.
As Shelton notes, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta has suggested that Ekblad might be on the trading block as the Panthers look to retool this summer, but the Red Wings would have to make the salary cap math work here, and on top of that, I’m not certain that the Panthers would trade their second-pair stalwart for Chairot and a 2nd round pick.
It’s trade talk for August, but nothing more.
