Month: August 2026

Press release: Grand Rapids Griffins sign goaltender Jonathan Lemieux to a 1-year contract

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS INK JONATHAN LEMIEUX TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins signed goaltender Jonathan Lemieux to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season.

Lemieux competed in 26 games last season with the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings, totaling an 11-9-4 record with a 2.95 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. In addition, the 25-year-old made his AHL debut with the Abbotsford Canucks in 2025-26 and logged a 0-0-1 ledger with a 2.82 GAA and a .902 save percentage in two outings. The fourth-year pro has appeared in 105 ECHL outings with Kalamazoo since 2023-24 and has produced a 42-44-11 record with four shutouts, a 2.96 GAA and a .907 save percentage.

Prior to turning pro, Lemieux was named the 2022-23 USports OUA East Goaltender and Rookie of the Year when he notched a 16-4-0 record, three shutouts, a 1.98 GAA and a .933 save percentage in 21 games with Concordia University. The 6-foot-1 netminder also competed in six seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Val-d’Or Foreurs (2017-21), Saint John Sea Dogs (2021-22) and Moncton Wildcats (2021-22). Throughout 184-career QMJHL games, Lemieux possessed a 78-75-18 mark with three shutouts, a 3.69 GAA and an. 895 save percentage. He had his best QMJHL season in 2020-21 when he was named to the Second All-Star Team with a 20-2-2 record to go along with a 1.96 GAA and a .920 save percentage in 24 games with Val-d’Or. Also in 2020-21, Lemieux led Val-d’Or to the QMJHL Finals with an 11-4 postseason record, a 1.95 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 15 games.

Duff: Detroit’s logo and jersey are the ‘most distinctive’ in the NHL

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff reports that a sports branding company called “Distinctive Bat” conducted a survey which concluded that the Detroit Red Wings’ logo and jersey are the most recognizable logo and jersey in the NHL:

The Red Wings come out top in both the logo and jersey distinctiveness stakes. Among other NHL teams, the Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers also consistently featured in the top five.

“Across both logos and jerseys, a clear pattern emerges – some NHL brands are almost instantly retrieved in memory,” Freddie Bell, Research Director at Distinctive BAT, said in a statement. “Others require greater mental processing before they can be correctly attributed.”

That isn’t necessary when the Red Wings are the subject.

“Detroit’s iconic red winged-wheel logo is a near-literal visual expression of the team name,” Bell said. “The asset and the brand name occupy much the same mental territory. Fans don’t need to perform any interpretation to connect one with another.”

Similarly, the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs all benefit from the synergy between what the team is called and what consumers see.

“Taken together, these results point to a broader principle,” Bell said. “Brands become easier to identify when their visual and verbal assets reinforce the same memory structure, rather than requiring people to create new ones.”

Continued; a Red Wing is a Red Wing is a Red Wing. James Norris, Detroit’s first owner, imported the logo if his Montreal “Winged Wheelers” hockey club, flipping it from a vertical logo to a horizontal wing, and the rest is history.

Should the Red Wings utilize their ‘centennial jersey’ as their 3rd/alternate jersey?

The Athletic asked its NHL beat writers to revive retired jerseys from every NHL team, and Max Bultman believes that the Red Wings’ 100th anniversary jersey should remain in rotation:

Detroit Red Wings

2025-26 centennial jersey

Realistically, the centennial jersey had a purpose, and that purpose has already been served. But would it make any sense for Detroit to keep it as an alternate? It was gorgeous and adds some sizzle while remaining faithful to the iconic winged wheel design and paying homage to the franchise’s history. That would make it a worthy candidate to stay in the rotation, even if it’s unlikely. — Max Bultman

Continued (paywall)