Of evening Red Wings-related note from the Free Press’s Helene St. James’ Friday training camp notebook:
- Red Wings coach Todd McLellan had this to say about Simon Edvinsson’s presence at training camp despite #77’s status as a restricted free agent:
“I give that young man a lot of credit,” coach Todd McLellan said. “He could be at home in Sweden, waiting and biding his time. He came over and he wanted to be with his teammates. He’s not signed right now. That’s not his fault. We haven’t had a lot of ability in the organization to get all that stuff done. So give him credit. He’s come over. And now it’s time for our organization to work fast with him, and fair.”
…
“We see the size of his skating ability,” McLellan said. “He’s got a real good shot. He jumps in at the right time. His hockey IQ has improved a lot. He reads plays better. He kills plays faster. He’s a little quicker in and around the net. And I would say if he had those, the disaster moments that we all have, whether it’s coaches or players, they’re fewer and far between. So he’s come a long way, really, when you think about it.”
Edvinsson, listed at 225 pounds on the camp roster, described himself as being, “probably in the best shape I’ve been in my life. I’m a little bit heavier and I feel like I got more control now over the movements and I feel like that can make me a better threat on the offensive blue line and I feel like that can make me a better threat to come out of the home zone as well so it’s just small things but I think in general it feels pretty good.”
2. Moritz Seider also spoke with St. James regarding the explosion in terms of salaries being paid to young players in the NHL:
“I think it’s great,” Seider said. “I think everybody should get paid to their best abilities, and it just shows that we’re hopefully getting a little bit closer to the other sports. I mean, still there’s some crazy change when you compare us to basketball or football, but I think we’re just taking it day by day. We have unbelievable talent in our league, and I think they get paid rightfully so.”
Seider almost certainly would have reached an annual average of at least $10 million had he signed a shorter term deal in 2024 rather than the seven-year deal he agreed to, but Seider downplayed any regret.
“Not at all,” he said. “I think I’m in a position where I don’t have to worry about anything. I just can play hockey, do what I love most, and still be secured probably for a lifetime if you don’t do anything stupid. So I think I’m in a great spot.”
3. St. James also spoke with Marco Kasper, who’s playing on a de-facto second line, centering Emmitt Finnie and Red Wings free agent signing Viktor Arvidsson:
“He’s great, just a great guy,” Kasper said of the 33-year-old Arvidsson. “You can see he’s been around for a long time. He knows what he’s talking about. Me and Emmitt are just trying to listen to him and try to do the things we do well. A lot of speed, winning pucks and stuff like that. Just try to find some chemistry, I think.”
