Updated at 7:43 AM: Of Red Wings-related note this morning:
- MLive’s Ansar Khan kicks off our survey of morning news by discussing the heightened expectations for the Red Wings as they begin training camp with the goal of making the playoffs:
The Red Wings were in the postseason chase, leading by eight points on Feb. 27, due largely to their offense and their power play (both ranked ninth in the league). They didn’t get there because they weren’t good enough defensively (ranked 24th).
“Appreciated the goals last year. We’ll need those goals again this year,” Lalonde said. “But … finishing in the bottom half of the league with goals against (isn’t a) recipe for success. It’s certainly a point of emphasis from (Wednesday), our meetings into (Thursday).”
The Red Wings have increased their point total in each of the past four years, a trend Lalonde knows must continue.
“We keep going like this (upward) with our points. We keep going like this in the standings,” he said. “An 11-point improvement last year. You’re literally in a virtual tie for the last playoff spot. Of course, the expectations are going to keep moving this forward, but it is a little bit different. I think it was pretty clear that we were not expected to be a playoff team going into (last) season. And when you get to that point, when you start flirting with that type of season, you start getting those points … of course everyone wants a natural progression and that’s the way we see it and that’s what we want.
“We expect some internal growth and some guys that experienced that run last year and some help from some free agents and some help from our young guys. So, expectations have changed, and it’s going to be a reality, and I think our group will handle it well.”
2. The Free Press’s Helene St. James offers two columns this morning, with the first one discussing Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider’s re-signings as restricted free agents:
This has been an expensive week for the Detroit Red Wings, but one that ultimately projects to be worth it.
Thursday’s opening day of training camp was highlighted by the early afternoon announcement that the last stalemate had been breached and a settlement reached in negotiations with Moritz Seider. That came in at seven years, $59.85 million, just three days after Lucas Raymond signed for eight years and $64.6 million.
No wonder Patrick Kane, who re-signed in June because of the potential he sees in the club, was smiling.
“Some great news the past few days with Ray signing and then Mo signing,” Kane said. “I think everyone is relieved that’s done and over with. Both those guys are tremendous players, some of the best players on our team. Huge to have them on our side. Both of them are so deserving as well of their new contracts. Both of them work so hard. They want to be Red Wings, they want to do well for the city and the organization, so happy for both of those guys and the team as well.”
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“Mo is such a good defender, a great defenseman,” Kane said. “He’s so important, playing against top lines every night. He’s got a lot of offensive weapons as well – he can be dynamic on the power play, he can produce offensively from the back end, which is huge.
“Then Razer, we all saw what he was able to do last year, especially at the end the season, how good he was. He carried us into a spot where we could potentially make the playoffs, especially when Larks was out. His production was through the roof at the end of the year. They’re huge pieces for our team.”
3. And St. James’ second missive discusses the Red Wings’ current second line, which consists of Vladimir Tarasenko, J.T. Compher and Patrick Kane:
The Wings signed Tarasenko, who turns 33 in December, to a two-year deal worth $9.5 million total in July, after plans to pursue Steven Stamkos didn’t pan out. Tarasenko is a six-time 30-goal scorer (and one-time 40-goal scorer) who could potentially ignite the second line.
“I watched a lot of the Finals and I watched Florida play and Vladdie stuck out to me, just his commitment, how hard he played,” Dylan Larkin said. “He was playing, I believe, on their third line and he’s finishing his checks. You could just see his will to win.
“Talking to Kaner this summer, he mentioned that to me about him. I’ve known him just through different NHL events. He’s a really great guy, he’s a very talented player. Two-time Stanley Cup champion for a reason. I think him and Kaner can really click with Kaner’s playmaking ability and Vladdie’s finishing, and also Vladdie’s forecheck — he can get on pucks and be very hard to play against. I’m very excited to watch that line. Even the chance of playing with him at some point, you never know — just a great addition to our forward group.”
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“[Tarasenko’s] a great shooter,” Kane said. “He’s similar to DeBrincat in the way where he’s able to find open areas and get his shot off quickly. So hopefully if I’m controlling the puck I can find him in certain areas where he can have a good chance to score that can be beneficial to the team.
“We know each other from our time in New York as well, so, I’m pretty familiar with his personality and the way he wants to play. We’re both right wingers so it’ll be a little bit different to see who is going to move over to the left. But playing with J.T. and Vladdie, there’s a lot of potential there, and we could really be a good second scoring line for the team.”
Update: Make it four things as the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood also discusses the heightened expectations for the Red Wings:
Even if the Red Wings did add some personnel to push for a playoff spot, they also didn’t go for broke this offseason by chasing big-time free agents and major roster upgrades. Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman has remained patient — hesitant, some might say — to go all-in on playoffs. Even if the players and coaches want to make the playoffs, he isn’t hitching himself to the playoffs-or-bust wagon just yet.
“I want to see progress,” Yzerman said Tuesday. “I want to see progress in our team as a whole, progress in all the areas we’ve always talked about, and progress individually from our younger players. As long as we’re moving in the right direction, I think it’s positive. Obviously making the playoffs would be another positive step, so I’ll worry about that as the season goes along. We’ll see how much progress we make.”
Herein lies the difficulty of repeating a playoff push amid an offseason of change: the Red Wings have raised the expectations, but actually making good on them is dependent on many factors throughout the entire season. They’re preparing for both a marathon and a sprint. So how can they accomplish this? Get running right away.
“We play in a really tough division, we have a tough schedule to start the season, some of the teams we play,” Kane explained. “So I think the focus should be more on the start, getting off to a good start, putting ourselves in a position where if there’s some lulls or dips throughout the season, we have that little bit of a cushion from our start.”
