Of Red Wings-related note this morning:
- The Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses Red Wings free agent signing Vladimir Tarasenko’s fit with his new team as she recaps the Red vs. White Game:
Vladimir Tarasenko set up a power play goal by rookie defenseman Simon Edvinsson in Sunday’s Red-White scrimmage, won 6-1 by the White squad. The event ended a four-day camp that was especially helpful for someone such as Tarasenko, who signed a two-year, $9.5 million deal in free agency in July.
“It was nice for me to spend a lot of time with the guys, get to know guys better,” Tarasenko said. “We have a few pretty hard days. It’s nice to get back to work again and most important for me, get to know my teammates more and I feel way more comfortable around them.”
Alex DeBrincat scored the first goal, for the Red team, against Ville Husso 24 seconds into the event. Amadeus Lombardi evened things up in the first period, and then Team White took over in the second, highlighted by Edvinsson’s power play goal off Tarasenko’s setup. Tyler Motte scored shorthanded, and Sheldon Dries had two power play markers.
The format featured a little bit of everything. The first period was 25 minutes. The second period was all special teams, alternating power play and penalty kill every minute for 16 total minutes. The third period featured five minutes apiece of four-on-four and three-on-three and a 10-man shootout.
“We had a feel of some lines together, but I wasn’t really overly concerned about any line combinations or defense pairings,” Lalonde said. “It was more about getting some 5-on-5 structure on some things to teach off now, some video to work off. Same thing with our special teams — very valuable reps. And four-on-four and three-on-three is valuable — we’re always looking to get that introduced into camp.”
Continued (paywall); St. James reports that the Red Wings will not be practicing today as the team regroups after training camp and relocates its operations back to Little Caesars Arena after spending the last four days in Traverse City;
2. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a short article which points out that, should Tyler Motte play at the center position this season, the Red Wings would have four “Michigan Men” skating up the middle (alongside Dylan Larkin, Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher):
“Yeah, it’s interesting,” admitted Tyler Motte, the newest addition to this quartet of ex-Wolverines. “I mean, I’m sure it’s an option for the staff. I think we’ll let them sort that out. It does show what Michigan hockey’s produced over the last few years and even, I guess, decades now, but it’s a pretty unique situation.”
…
Earlier this summer, Yzerman made it abundantly clear that he hasn’t suddenly become a Michigan man. He’s not bringing these guys to Detroit for sentimental reasons.
“We don’t care where the players are from,” Yzerman said. “That they’re from the area is nice, but most importantly, we’re trying to build a good team on the ice.”
Even since arriving in Detroit three years ago, Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde was making it equally clear that Motte was a player he covets.
“I watched a lot of him in the league,” Lalonde said. “It’s someone we’ve talked about the last few years around that free agency time. I like the player.”
3. Finally, The Athletic’s Max Bultman projects the Red Wings’ opening-night roster as it appears to be shaking out (including the team’s power play units) after training camp. Here’s what he has to say about the Wings’ goaltending situation:
Cam Talbot up top is a gut-feel call. He’s the oldest of the bunch at 37, but he also started 52 games last season, an indication he still has plenty in the tank. And while it is fair to question how Talbot might look behind a group that hasn’t defended as well as the team he’s leaving in Los Angeles — he let in a few goals Sunday in the Red and White scrimmage — he’s been a model of consistency through his career in many different circumstances.
In his 11-year career, spanning seven different teams, Talbot has just two seasons below a .908 save percentage. And among teams for which he played at least five games, he has a save percentage above .911 for all but one: Ottawa in 2022-23.
That doesn’t mean things are guaranteed to go well in Detroit, of course. The Red Wings are in a tough division, will have at least one first-year NHL defenseman in the lineup each night and don’t have the most defensive DNA in their forward corps, either.
But Talbot’s history suggests he usually finds a way to adapt to his surroundings, and he just carries fewer questions than Ville Husso, who battled injuries all of last season, or Alex Lyon, who was excellent at times last year but battled fatigue toward the end and still has just 74 career starts to his name.
From there, the order for Husso and Lyon wasn’t especially scientific. I listed Lyon higher because he carries a little more certainty. Husso said this week he feels “110 percent” healthy, which is certainly good to hear. Realistically, though, he’s going to need to show that health across a few preseason games before I feel comfortable writing his name higher on the depth chart.
Continued (again, paywalled); I’m not going to panic about performances in the Red vs. White Game. I’ve seen some truly awful performances from players who end up having spectacular seasons for the team, and dominant efforts from players who burn brightly during the preseason and then seem to burn out during the regular season.
It’s a scrimmage in September, and while I’m not going to expect Talbot to do anything less than have a bumpy ride adjusting to the Red Wings’ defense (or the lack thereof), I think he’s going to be the #1 goaltender when all is said and done, and that his overall performance will be strong.
