My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner.
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One added highlight this year is the Celebrity Shootout, a nine-hole team exhibition match that will benefit charity and take place following the last tournament pairing of the second round of competition on Saturday.
The event features the legendary Jack Nicklaus along with Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, Kid Rock and Dierks Bentley. The teams – Nicklaus/Rock vs. Zetterberg/Bentley – will compete for a $25,000 purse to benefit the tournament’s primary charitable partners, Genesee County Habitat for Humanity and United Way of Genesee County.
Ben Hutton Position: LD Age: 26 Last Year: 69 GP, 5 goals, 15 assists, 20 points, 22:21 TOI Last Year’s Cap Hit: $2.8 million
Scoop: Hutton was ranked No. 13 on TSN’s Top 50 in July, so it’s a bit of a surprise he’s lingered this long, particularly after the Canucks declined to extend him a qualifying offer for $2.8 million. Hutton has received multiple offers and he’s currently weighing all of his options, which reportedly include the Kings, Rangers, Red Wings and Wild.
Rebel Nell, a Detroit-based jeweler who creates jewelry using pieces of graffiti and other broken concrete in the city has partnered with the Red Wings to create a line of products that will feature the signature red paint from the outside of Joe Louis Arena as the design of jewelry.
“By collecting pieces of the signature red paint from the exterior of the building, we were able to honor a place that holds a spot in the hearts of Detroiters,” reads a portion of Rebel Nell’s website regarding the collection.
Photos accompanying the announcement show earrings, cuff links, dog tags and a tie bar as some of the items being made using the paint. The signature paint color was seen on the iconic steps leading up the front entrance and along the trim of the exterior of the building. Rebel Nell scrapped the paint from areas around the arena in order to create the pieces.
The jewelry collection is scheduled to go on sale on Friday Sept. 27 online and in the Detroit Red Wings team store at Little Caesar’s Arena. Rebel Nell said 25% of the proceeds from the collection will be donated to the Detroit Red Wings Foundation. Pricing information on the pieces was not listed on the Rebel Nell website.
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill and forward Frans Nielsen spoke with the media prior to the Red Wings’ charity golf outing in Traverse City this morning…
From Monday, September 16 through Friday, September 20 at 11:59 p.m., Ticketmaster fees will be WAIVED for the purchase of ANY single-game Red Wings ticket.
DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner, Wings play-by-play announcer Ken Kal, Carley Johnston and Daniela Bruce reviewed the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and set up training camp in a YouTube broadcast…
And Regner spoke with Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon for the latest “Red and White Authority” podcast:
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill told the media today that the team will not name a captain this season, going with four alternate captains instead. MLive’s Ansar Khan reports on the story…
The Detroit Red Wings are not prepared to name Dylan Larkin their next captain, not yet, at least.
Coach Jeff Blashill said Thursday the team will start the season with four alternates – Larkin, Justin Abdelkader, Frans Nielsen and Luke Glendening.
“I talked extensively with (new general manager) Steve Yzerman during the course of the summer and with respect to the fact Steve is just getting to know our players, it made sense to go with four alternates,” Blashill said. “We reserve the right to change our mind.”
Larkin was named an alternate captain last season after Henrik Zetterberg announced his retirement, as the team opted not to have a captain. Larkin and Nielsen rotated wearing the ‘A’ – Larkin at home and Nielsen on the road, when Abdelkader and Niklas Kronwall were in the lineup (only three players are permitted to wear a letter in a game).
“Steve and I discussed through it through the course of the summer and with Steve being new to the organization regarding the current players, it gives him a chance to get to know everybody involved,” Wings coach Jeff Blashill told the Free Press. “We feel with adding Luke it gives us four really strong voices and a good group of leaders.”
Under previous GM Ken Holland, it was expected that Larkin would be crowned captain after a season as an alternate. Larkin and Nielsen rotated wearing an ‘A,’ when Kronwall and Abdelkader both were in the lineup, as only three players are permitted to wear a letter per game.
Larkin, 23, is the face of the rebuild, and likely to follow previous captains Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom and Yzerman as a career-long Wing. Yzerman was 21 when he was named captain, but that was back in 1986, before social media added to the scrutiny players undergo.
Blashill said the team “we reserve the right to change our mind” and might name Larkin captain at some point this season, but “right now, that’s not our focus. Our focus is on how we’re going to attack the year.”
Q. What’s it going to take to get the Red Wings back to the playoffs?
LARKIN: “Our young core taking the next step and taking over the team, I guess. We have the guys to do it, we all believe in each other, and as we all want to produce and build our careers, it’s going to help our team. There’s four guys: myself, Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi, Andreas Athanasiou, if we can take that next step, become dominant players every night, it’s going to really help our team. I think it’s going to fast-track us to where we want to be.”
Q. How excited are you to be working with Steve Yzerman now that he’s general manager?
LARKIN: “The fan base is excited, the people in Detroit are excited to have him back. To look at what he did in Tampa Bay with the team they had, obviously there’s no guarantees, but he’s been through it, he’s had success at the position he’s at. We all have trust and faith in him. We understand that we have to produce on the ice right now and maybe there’s a little more pressure with having him back. I think it’s good for our team to push guys. For myself, I hope that we build a relationship where we can have conversations and relate to what’s going on in my life and he can help guide me through some things that occur to a young guy playing in the NHL.”
Q. Are you ready to assume a bigger leadership role on the team if Jeff [Blashill] and Steve come to you?
LARKIN: “Yes, but ultimately it’s their decision. Wearing a letter, mentally, I’ve already taken on a bigger role as a leader on the team [as an alternate captain]. I think guys look up to me and I look up to other guys in the locker room, so we have a great core of guys that are leaders and we all rely on each other. It makes it easy for myself when everyone’s doing the right thing and everyone’s leading by example.”
