Of Red Wings-related note from the slightly inelegantly named “Pro Hockey Rumors”:
- Gabriel Foley posted a “summer synopsis” which summarizes the Red Wings’ summertime moves, from the draft to free agency entrances and exits, and Foley suggests that the following questions are most important going into training camp and the exhibition season:
Is Cam Talbot The Starter? Cam Talbot has taken on the role of traveling nurse in his later career, bouncing around goalie-needy teams and always finding strong results. He’s posted a .911 save percentage in 198 games over the last five seasons, as part of four different clubs. It’s not much of a secret that the tandem of Ville Husso and Alex Lyon wasn’t going to get Detroit to the playoffs, but to see them bid for Talbot’s traveling support is a certain surprise. That’s emphasized by the red-hot emergence of Sebastian Cossa in the minor-leagues. One of the two star goalie prospects in Detroit’s system, Cossa managed a .913 save percentage in 40 AHL games last year – and could challenge the NHL roster sooner rather than later. That’s a lot of competition for one spot, and all four options carry their own right to ice time. Who wins out the Red Wings’ crease – and the extent of role give to Ville Husso and his $4.75MM cap hit – could go a long way towards determining whether this season will be the year that Detroit breaks their playoff drought.
Which Prospects Will Emerge? The Red Wings are entering September down a winger and a defender, and aren’t in much of a position to buy any more free agents. That should spell a great opportunity for top prospects like Nate Danielson, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Simon Edvinsson, and Shai Buium. All four are expected to attend Detroit’s training camp and each boast the talent to warrant NHL games, though there’s no guessing how comfortable they look once they’re in the lineup. If not with one of their prospects, Detroit will need to fill their fringe with the lackluster-but-consistent impacts of vets like Tyler Motte and Erik Gustafsson. The quartet of top prospects would be much, much more exciting options – but they’ll first need to win a spot out of camp.
I am curious as to see whether Talbot pans out. He’s going to be dealing with a defense that isn’t as suffocating as the Los Angeles Kings’ anti-hockey machine, but he’s looking to settle down a bit with a team that does have a lot of wiggle room in the crease;
And I’m not expecting Brandsegg-Nygard to “make the jump” to North America this season, but Edvinsson is definitely going to earn a chance to play regularly, as might Albert Johansson;
2. I’m going to continue to raise my eyebrow at this report from Brian La Rose until proved otherwise:
The Red Wings still have three restricted free agents to re-sign, defenseman Moritz Seider along with wingers Lucas Raymond and Jonatan Berggren. In a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link), David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period relayed that while there’s no concern on either side yet, talks don’t appear to be progressing between Detroit and Raymond’s camp. The 22-year-old is coming off his entry-level deal and had a breakout showing last season, recording 31 points and 41 assists in 82 games, leading some to suggest that a long-term agreement between the two sides is likely to push past the $7MM mark per season.
Berggren, meanwhile, was largely a regular for the Red Wings in 2022-23 but spent most of last season with AHL Grand Rapids, tallying 24 goals and 32 assists in 53 games. The 24-year-old also collected six points in 13 games with Detroit. Pagnotta reports that a deal between the two sides is expected before training camp and it’s likely to be a short-term agreement. With a little over $17MM in cap space per PuckPedia, it’s possible that the eventual contracts with Seider and Raymond could dictate how short of a deal Berggren ultimately receives.
I think that Raymond’s likely looking at over $7.5 million now, as is Seider, but whether the team has traction with the two players is pretty close to pure speculation unless J.P. Barry can be attributed directly from Pagnotta.
The Fourth Period’s chief scribe is usually particularly plugged-in when it comes to free agency and contractual rumors, but I just defer to the airtight nature of the Red Wings’ organizational submarine when it comes to rumors leaking out.
As far as Berggren is concerned, I’m expecting him to earn a one-year contract of the “show-me” variety, like Joe Veleno did a season ago;
3. And this rumor, per La Rose, snuck under my radar:
Earlier this week, it was reported that Toronto was one of the teams showing interest in unrestricted free agent winger Max Pacioretty. Evidently, they’re not the only Atlantic Division squad that has some interest in the veteran as Arthur Staple of The Athletic adds (subscription link) that the Red Wings are believed to be interested in adding the veteran as well.
The 35-year-old spent last season with Washington after inking a one-year, $2MM contract which also carried another $2MM in performance bonuses which were reached once he played in 20 games. While Pacioretty was able to play in that many games, last season was still an injury-riddled campaign as he worked his way back from his second torn Achilles tendon sustained in the 2022-23 season while playing for Carolina.
As a result, Pacioretty was limited to just 47 games last season. A six-time 30-goal scorer, he struggled considerably in that department, scoring just four times although he was able to add 19 assists to stay near the half-point-per-game rate. Nevertheless, that wasn’t the type of performance that gave him some bargaining power heading into free agency.
If we milk the “Michigan connection” spiel a bit, we could point out that Pacioretty played for U of M for one season, and yes, he’d be a no-frills option to fill out the “bottom six” with some scoring prowess, even at 35 years of age, but I’d have to think that, given the Wings’ cap situation and given Pacioretty’s injury history, he’d be playing for a job somewhere as much as he’d be playing for a job with the Red Wings if they were to sign him to a PTO (given his injury history).
It’s all very iffy at this point, but stranger things have happened.
