Month: September 2024

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:

It’s September 1st, and I’m not certain how exactly Aunt Annie and I are going to make it up to Traverse City to attend the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and main training camp, so that I may provide you with in-person coverage while making sure that my 82-year-old aunt is taken care of.

We’ve raised enough money to pay for all the various web-hosting fees that ensure TMR remains operational, with about $200 left over. That’s where we are now. In theory, we’re supposed to raise $4,500 to $5,000 to pay for the hotel and rental car, and I really don’t know if that’s possible.

I just know that our departure date is Thursday, September 12th, and I know that we’ve done this before.

So I’m hoping that, despite the long odds, you’ll donate, or at least share the fundraiser with those who might be interested in lending a hand.

Every dollar helps pave the road up to Traverse City, and all I can do is ask for your help and cross my fingers. The server was paid for, and I didn’t think that would happen. Let’s try to make the impossible happen again.

If you’re willing to lend a hand, have an official GoFundMe fundraiser page at https://gofund.me/c08de120; we have a PayPal option at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport; there’s Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2; if you’re into the, “I don’t want to use any of those pages” option, here’s always the Giftly option by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com…

And in the banking options, you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check, or “Zelle” me via my email, rtxg@yahoo.com. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums.”

As always, thank you for your readership and your time.

The Olympic Qualification tournament concludes today in Bratislava, Slovakia and Aaborg, Denmark.

Marco Kasper’s Austrian team has already lost two games, so they’re going to be playing for pride against Hungary at 8 AM EDT (and the YouTube link below will stream the game, but not archive it)…

But there’s some drama in Aaborg at 10:30 AM EDT as Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s Norwegians will battle Denmark, with the winner of today’s game earning Olympic qualification for the 2026 games in Milan (and again, the YouTube embed/link will stream the game, but not archive it):

For the Red Wings, which will have both Kasper and Brandsegg-Nygard in training camp, the most important thing for both players is that this tournament gives them some playing time with which to earn a bit of momentum heading into training camp and the exhibition season.

Playing two games over the course of three nights does that, and as MBN is scheduled to play two Champions Hockey League games on September 6th and 8th, respectively, before heading overseas, so he’s going to be raring to go come September 19th.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses the biggest question regarding one Ville Husso going into the 2024-2025 season–the netminder’s health.

Husso suffered two separate “lower-body injuries” (read: groin injuries) last season, and the Red Wings are evidently concerned enough about Husso’s durability that the team re-signed Alex Lyon and inked free agent Cam Talbot to a two-year contract (and the Wings also brought in Jack Campbell to push Sebastian Cossa in Grand Rapids).

As Duff notes, Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman was blunt about the team’s concerns for Husso’s health:

The reason for acquiring such goaltending depth, quite frankly, is because they simply don’t know whether they can count on Husso. Yzerman frankly admits this to be a legitimate concern.

“Yeah, significantly, honestly,” Yzerman said. “You go into a season with your two goaltenders, and a guy you’re projecting to play a lot is unhealthy. It’s a huge hole to fill at the start of the season.

“So we decided we’re gonna go get another goaltender. And we’ll let training camp go through we’ll see how Ville’s health is and and then make a decision at some point.”

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde insists that the team believes in Husso, caveats about his health included:

“It’s too bad last year on the injuries because he had a really good offseason,” Lalonde recalled of the team’s 2023 training camp. “He came in leaner, probably had his best summer he’s had off the ice. So I think it’s something he can build on.

“The good thing about Ville is he’s also excited about the competition. Credit to our management group. With three goalies last year it’s very unique to the league. It’s certainly not ideal in some situations, when you talk about practice time, obviously game time. But it literally saved our season last year. I think we’re going to start with that same mentality this year.”

Having a “three-headed goalie monster” is definitely “not ideal” in terms of practicing and keeping three goaltenders game-ready, but it definitely appears that the Wings would rather hedge their bets about their goaltenders, and let the regular season’s grind determine their net-minding hierarchy.

To be honest, the Red Wings’ exhibition schedule is such a beast of 8 games over the course of 12 nights that I’ll be surprised if the Wings don’t suffer some sort of injury in goal, even if/when the coaches spread out the starts between Husso, Lyon, Talbot, Campbell and Cossa (with Jan Bednar and Gage Alexander possibly getting half-a-game as well).

Somebody will get bumped or fallen onto “accidentally on purpose,” and while I’m not certain whether the Wings will carry three goaltenders all season long, the exhibition game is all about survival, and redundancy in goal is part of that equation.

Of Red Wings-related note from the slightly inelegantly named “Pro Hockey Rumors”:

1. 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.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen makes a bold assertion in discussing the Red Wings’ goaltending prospects, and Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine in particular, suggesting that they may be the best tandem the Wings have had in the goaltending prospect pipeline since the 50’s:

The Red Wings don’t have an estimated time of NHL arrival for Augustine and Cossa. The best case scenario would be both players in Detroit in two to three seasons. The projection on Cossa is that he will be the No. 1 goalie this season in Grand Rapids and then the Red Wings will go from there.

If Augustine plays well again this season for MSU, signing with Detroit after his season would be the logical next step. Based on Yzerman’s history, Augustine is presumably looking a minimum of two years of minor-league hockey. That would put him competing for a Detroit job in 2027-28.

But nothing is etched in stone. If Cossa is a dominant in the AHL, and the Red Wings suffered multiple goalie injuries, he could be the team’s best option. Likewise, Augustine continues to be ahead of where he should be in his development. Could he skip a step?

Continued (paywall); I’m not certain whether Cossa and Augustine are the Wings’ best tandem since the days of Sawchuk, Lumley and Hall, but they appear to be a very realistic future tandem.

Goaltenders are notoriously difficult to develop, however, and it’s just a bit of a “crapshoot” to determine goaltenders’ successes down the line.

I think, I hope, and I believe that Cossa and Augustine have as good a chance as anybody to become a real tandem, but we’ll have to see how things shake out in IRL, as they say.