Month: September 2024

The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood discusses the legacy of Ted Lindsay, who essentially sacrificed his NHL career’s fortunes in order to establish what would become the NHL Players’ Association:

Through a network of captains, Lindsay and [Montreal’s Doug] Harvey enrolled every player in the league save for Toronto’s Ted Kennedy to their union. In February of the 1956-57 season, they announced the formation of a player’s union. The NHL’s front offices had no idea the movement had taken place until the announcement. Their workers had collectively organized themselves.

“I was doing it because I believed in it,” Lindsay said. “I was doing it not to irritate owners, I was doing it to help out (other players). All of us needed help, we needed a voice as a group, not as an individual.”

For this movement, managers took exception. Detroit’s own general manager Jack Adams stripped Lindsay of his captaincy in 1957, and he slandered his character with fake contract figures and ad hominem attacks through the press. Then, Adams shipped Lindsay off to the much worse Chicago Black Hawks organization in what amounted to exile. On the heels of an 85-point season where he and Gordie Howe led the league in scoring, Lindsay’s career was all but derailed as punishment. In today’s NHL, this move would be like Edmonton trading off Leon Draisaitl, or Boston trading Brad Marchand.

Continued; “Terrible Ted” was a legend on the ice, he was a legendary figure for the NHL’s player labor movement, and his foundation continues to support autism research and treatment.

He left a hell of a legacy.

Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Kuehl posted a fantasy hockey-friendly Red Wings season preview today, estimating the Red Wings’ lineup, summarizing the team’s offseason moves, breaking down the Wings’ offense, defense, goaltending and coaching situations, and asking three “burning questions”:

1. Will Simon Edvinsson be on the top pair? At first? Probably not. As important as he was down the stretch last season, he probably starts on the second or third pair. Edvinsson certainly has the tools to be a No. 1 defenseman, but with he and Seider both having the offensive vision, the two probably wouldn’t work well together on the same line.

2. What needs to happen to reinvigorate Alex DeBrincat? The former Windsor Spitfire scored 27 goals for the second consecutive season, far from the 40-goal guy that Debrincat became while as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. They tried pairing him with his old linemate, Kane, but only with limited success. It might sound like a lame answer, but DeBrincat just needs to get off to a good start like he did last year, and keep on the grind to show that he is still an elite scorer.

3. Is it Jonatan Berggren’s time to make an impact? One of the quiet storylines is what the Red Wings are trying to do with Berggren. The former second-round pick was one of the best players in the AHL last season but saw limited time in Detroit compared to the 2022-23 campaign. Even when he was called up, Berggren hardly saw the ice, which left the Swedish forward feeling disgruntled near the end of the regular season. He has shown he can be an everyday NHLer, but he needs to demonstrate that he can buy into the Red Wings’ system.

Continued;

1. Probably not is right, though Seider wants to play alongside Edvinsson thanks to his tremendous skating speed;
2. The renaissance of DeBrincat, a former Erie Otter, is definitely an important story line heading into the upcoming season. Whether he can score 35-40 goals is uncertain at this point;
3. Berggren’s offensive abilities are well-known; coach Lalonde wants to see whether Berggren can play a two-way game this upcoming season.

Former Red Wings forward Filip Zadina has chosen to sign a two-year contract with HC Davos of the Swiss league:

Let's go @zadina_filip!https://t.co/PHmFvlGmc4 pic.twitter.com/p2DTYJwxxh

— Hockey Club Davos (@HCD_offiziell) September 2, 2024

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses the signing…

Zadina, 24, signed a two-year deal with Davos. No financial details have been released, but the average salary in the Swiss League is in the range of $250,000-$330,000. He earned $1.1 million last season with the San Jose Sharks, and earned as much as $1.8 million per season when he was with the Red Wings.

The signing came a few days after hockey insider Kevin Weekes reported Zadina’s representatives were talking to three teams, although he didn’t specify whether the teams were in the NHL or abroad.

Zadina’s housing and vehicle needs will be taken care of by HC Davos, which the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton notes are a powerhouse team:

Now, it’s on to a fresh start in Switzerland. The Davos club he joins is the National League’s historic titan, setting the standard with 31 titles. However, they finished sixth last year in the regular season then lost to Lausanne in the first round of the postseason. The Zurich Lions (with whom Auston Matthews notably spent his draft year in 2015-16) won the regular season and postseason titles. In the coming season, Zadina will look to help Davos back to the top of the table.

New Red Wings forward Vladimir Tarasenko celebrated his day with the Stanley Cup last week, and Cup-keeper Phil Pritchard Tweeted this on Sunday morning:

The smile says all! Vladimir Tarasenko hoists it high. 2 time #stanleycup champion. @nhl@FlaPanthers @HockeyHallFame pic.twitter.com/U4HDxNHGcn

— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) September 2, 2024

As such, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff put a bow on Tarasenko’s time with the Panthers, noting that the Red Wings’ new #11 is coming to Detroit with every intent of making a Cup-sized dent in the playoffs:

“I feel like last year was very close,” Tarasenko assessed of the Red Wings 2023-24 season. “I’m not a person who just comes and hangs out, enjoy my time. I try to win. I really like winning, and we just won the second Cup.

“But I will do everything I can to help the organization to take the next step, help the guys, share my experience, just do my best to be able to make a playoffs. And once you make a playoffs, you never know what’s gonna happen.

“So that’s the reason I come, because, like I said, I like the way the team played, and I believe this team can make a playoffs and do some special things.”

I know that Tarasenko isn’t exactly the world’s best two-way player, and at 32, he’s not as fast as he once was, but he’s still a proven sniper, and he’s a stocky fellow at 6′ and 220 pounds. If he sustains the “chip on his shoulder,” and he plays in the Red Wings’ top 6, he’s going to be an asset for the Red Wings.

DobberHockey’s Brennan Des discusses “internal battles for power play opportunities” this morning, and Des suggests that the Red Wings might struggle to determine whether Erik Gustafsson runs the power play, or Moritz Seider does:

Detroit Red Wings – Gustafsson vs. Seider vs. Edvinsson

Given their similar offensively focused skillsets, it’s hard to see Erik Gustafsson as anything other than a Shayne Gostisbehere replacement. Considering Gostisbehere’s main role with Detroit last year was quarterbacking the top power play, it’s only logical that Gustafsson fills that role this year. Some will rightfully question Gus’ competence in such a role considering he’s only really had one standout season and that was roughly five years ago. However, I’m encouraged by the fact that two players who were part of that 60-point campaign in Chicago – Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat – are now with Gustafsson in Detroit. Moritz Seider is certainly capable of stepping up to the top unit if Gustafsson falters, but given Seider’s all-round excellence, it would be nice if someone else could manage power-play minutes so he’s fresh for other situations. It’s worth noting that when comparing career numbers, despite having 300 more power-play minutes under his belt, Gustafsson only has 11 more PPPs than Seider. Simon Edvinsson has offensive upside and could see top unit power-play time at some point in his career, but he’s only 25 games into his NHL career and has just four points to his name. He’ll need some more time to settle in before taking on such a high-profile role.

I don’t see Edvinsson getting a whole lot of power play time unless someone suffers an injury; Seider usually works the 2nd power play unit, so there’s that, but the theory is that it’s going to be Gustafsson’s blueline on the man advantage.

NHL.com has shared another hour-long, condensed video of the fan-voted 5th favorite NHL game of the 2023-2024 season.

This game happens to be the Detroit Red Wings’ 82nd game of 23-24, a shootout win against Montreal which was another multi-goal comeback spoiled by the Washington Capitals’ tiebreaker-winning playoff-earning victory over Philadelphia.

This was also the day that my Aunt Annie had her double hip replacement surgery, so I remember the day very, very well:

If you missed it, the Red Wings had three games picked by the NHL as the “Best Games of the 2023-2024 Season” last Sunday night, and one of them is game 81.

Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. Pro Hockey Rumors has posted three articles about the Red Wings in the past 24 hours, and PHR’s Brennan McClain offers a fourth article which discusses “training camp battles” that may take place later this month:

The Red Wings are headed into year six of the ’Yzerplan’ and have yet to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs. The organization came close last year as they tied with the Washington Capitals in points for the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference only to miss out due to the first tiebreaker. Poised to make headlines this summer in the hopes of icing a playoff-caliber roster in a tough Atlantic Division — the Red Wings fell flat. Their biggest moves of the summer were retaining forward Patrick Kane on a one-year deal, signing Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year pact, and signing goaltender Cam Talbot to complete their goaltending trio.

Detroit seemingly already has a full roster heading into training camp in a few weeks. Simon Edvinsson, Albert Johansson, Carter Mazur, and Nate Danielson are poised to challenge for a full-time spot in the lineup which could lead the Red Wings to some difficult choices in October. The team will eventually have to begin graduating their glut of prospects to the NHL level but most of them are blocked by the numerous acquisitions general manager Steve Yzerman has made over the last few years. Don’t be surprised if Detroit becomes an active trade candidate before the season opens to make room for some of their prospects.

Yzerman himself has stated that the Red Wings’ younger players are not going to be handed spots on the roster, so McClain is partially correct in suggesting that the Red Wings may trade veterans if their young players step up and take veterans’ jobs.

That being said, the Red Wings, as they are presently constructed, tend not to “make room” for prospects–they want prospects to take that room and force management’s hand instead. It works the other way around, and for now, at least, that’s okay.

2. And Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses a specific prospect who the Red Wings would definitely make room for in Grand Rapids, should he wish to exit the KHL for North America:

Will this be a breakout campaign for Detroit Red Wings prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov? The start of the KHL season is nearing and in team previews on the league’s official website, there was high praise being afforded to the young Russian forward.

Buchelnikov will be suiting up for Vityaz following an offseason trade from SKA St. Petersburg. His opportunity to gain a regular place for an entire KHL season is available to him for the first time.

“The transfer of one of the most promising players in the League is an excellent job by the management of Vityaz, who managed to agree with SKA on the exchange of Buchelnikov,” writes Alexey Anisimov. “Dmitri spent last season on loan at Admiral and really sparkled: 29 (13+16) points in 55 games and a nomination for the award for the best rookie of the season.

“It is likely that Buchelnikov will have good playing time at Vityaz, which can help him take on key roles.”

The Red Wings made Buchelnikov, 20, the 52nd overall selection of the 2022 NHL entry draft. He was in Detroit briefly this summer, working out with other Red Wings prospects. However, Buchelnikov didn’t attend the club’s July development camp.

I’ve been scratching my head a bit as to why Buchelnikov wasn’t released to take part in the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp, but I can tell you that KHL teams essentially train year-round, so it may have been due to obligations to Vityaz in early July.

As for Buchelnikov’s status as a key player on his new team, Buchelnikov, who turns 21 on September 6th, seems to have received a fair chunk of time and a prominent role on Vityaz during the KHL’s month-long preseason, so there is at least hope that he’ll be a top-six player when Vityaz begins its regular season on Wednesday.

In a winner-earns-the-Olympic-spot game in Aaborg, Denmark: team Norway took a 1-0 lead over the home Danes on a Mats Zuccarello goal, but the Danes stormed back with consecutive 2nd period goals by the Danish Nick Jensen, Fredrik Andersen was superb in the Danes’ crease, and Norway just never seemed to overcome home-ice advantage, despite out-shooting and out-skating Denmark at times.

The Norwegians were jittery and tried to force plays far too often en route to a 4-1 loss to the 2026 Olympic-bound Denmark.

While Norway opened things up in the third period, that resulted in Patrick Russell’s salt-it-away goal with 4:29 left in the 3rd, Russell got an empty-netter with 1:27 left, and that was that.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard looked very much so like and 18-year-old with little experience in these kinds of winner-take-all games. He took two dumb penalties for interfering with Danish players unnecessarily (in a game where the refereeing was fast and loose), though the Danes couldn’t score on said penalties…

The Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Aaborg, Denmark is wrapping up with a final day’s worth of games, and Norway and Denmark are battling it out in a winner-take-all 3rd game today.

The game started at 10:30 AM EDT, but it’s worth watching now, because the atmosphere is electric in a full rink for an intense game on September 1st:

Team Austria looked as gloomy as the Red Wings after they found out that the Washington Capitals had won the playoff tiebreaker in Montreal–because Austria’s 0-and-2 record at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Bratislava ensured that their team would not earn a spot in the 2026 Olympic games in Milan.

That being said, the Austrians rallied from a 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 shootout win against a surprisingly good Hungary team, and Marco Kasper had an assist on the Austrians’ 3-3 goal. Kasper was also on the ice for the Austrians’ 3-2 marker, finishing at +2.

You notice Kasper because he’s got a unique combination of being a speedy, defensively responsible center who also has a knack for offense. He’s stocky, he’s got great bursts of speed over short distances, and his shooting and passing are strong, but that low center of gravity and his tenacious nature mean that he’s going to be a great match-up center no matter where he fits in the lineup. The fact that he likes to go to the net, and has a plucky mean streak, are just bonuses.

Per Red Wings Prospects on Twitter/X: