All posts by George Malik

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. Thank you for reading!

Two things: Khan on the Wings moving up in the draft; Ouellet’s future likely lies elsewhere

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Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. MLive’s Ansar Khan answered reader questions in a mailbag article, and Khan answered a couple of draft-related questions:

Q: Do the Wings plan to look for a lot of trade-up opportunities at the draft and use extra picks to move up? – Tom

A: They will try. They would like to move up to No. 3 for a shot at right wing Filip Zadina or No. 4 or 5 to get defenseman Evan Bouchard. If they do trade up or down it would happen during the draft on June 21 and of course depend on what transpires ahead of them.

What would it take to move up? At minimum, in addition to swapping the No. 6 pick, the Red Wings surely would need to relinquish their other first-round selection (30 or 31, depending on whether Vegas wins the Stanley Cup) or one of their second-round picks (No. 33 or 36).

Khan continues, and this is a situation where Ken Holland will have to do his due diligence to determine whether the teams ahead of the #6 pick will go for Bouchard. I hope that the Wings stand pat and draft whoever’s available at #6, but I could easily see the team moving up to 4th or 5th.

2. DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner penned a “By the Numbers” examination of Xavier Ouellet’s 2017-18 season, and Regner was particularly candid regarding Ouellet’s future:

Once the year concluded, he requested a trade and Detroit is seeking to accommodate his request. It has long been speculated the Red Wings have been trying to move Ouellet since the middle of last season but received lukewarm interest.

Whether the Wings can deal Ouellet is iffy. He is in the second year of a two-year, $2.5 million contract and most teams may feel a cap hit of $1.25 million is too high for a player who has been relegated to spot duty.

A likely scenario could be Ouellet getting optioned to Grand Rapids. He will go through waivers and if he isn’t claimed, he will begin next season as a Griffin.

If Ouellet is in Grand Rapids, only $225,000 will count against the Wings salary cap.

Regner continues, and Ouellet’s always been a good soldier, so I hope that the Wings can find him another home.

The Fourth Period reiterates Wings trade talk

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You may take the following rumors from The Fourth Period for what you will:

The Detroit Red Wings could have an active month as the club is expected to be active in the trade market and may be willing to trade the sixth-overall selection in the NHL Draft.

With seven draft picks in the first-three rounds of the draft, the Wings could utilize some of those picks in trades for immediate help on the roster.

Red Wings GM Ken Holland entertained trade calls for forwards Gustav Nyquist and Luke Glendening during the season and could revisit those discussions later this month. But the possibility of trading the No.6 pick in the draft could change things for the franchise.

“I’m open to possibly move,” Holland told Craig Custance of The Athletic, as quoted by Sportsnet. “I’ve started to talk to some teams about a lot. As you work your way toward Dallas at the draft, draft movement possibilities, I think at this stage in the game, everybody is kicking tires as to what might be out there.”

The Wings have roughly $17.5 million in available salary cap space, to date, but with the cap increasing, they’ll have more room to play with. A number of pending restricted free agents are due to major deals, including Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou, but the team will have plenty of room to tinker with the rest of its roster.

Detroit needs a backup goalie, a stronger defensive corps – re-signing pending unrestricted free agent Mike Green may be a possibility – and adding extra fire power up front is a priority.

I honestly don’t expect the Red Wings to move up or down in the draft as they’ve got a good choice of defensemen to pick in Bouchard, Hughes, Dobson or Boqvist.

I wouldn’t be totally surprised if Nyquist is dealt, but the problem with these draft-related trade rumors is that they start at the combine, foment and ferment on their own, and reach a fever pitch by the draft, and so few of them reach fruition…

As for the possibility of adding up front, or on defense, I’d be quite happy if the Wings trod lightly regarding Mike Green and just let re-signing Athanasiou, Bertuzzi, Frk, Larkin and Mantha remain the team’s priorities up front.

All of that being said, TFP is pretty well-connected…so we shall see what transpires later this month.

Afternoon news: Hits, goals and Hughes

Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. AWood40 posted a clip of the Red Wings’ best “hits and fights” of the 2017-18 season:


2. The Free Press’s Helene St. James spoke with top draft prospect Quinn Hughes regarding his experiences with Wings personnel at the World Championship:

Hughes, 18, is a dynamic skater and puck transporter, assets he showed off at the World Championship under Wings coach Jeff Blashill and alongside Wings players Larkin and Nick Jensen. Hughes held his own among men, and played in every game through a final victory over Canada. From the start, Blashill was clear about what was expected.

“There was an open line of communication, for sure,” Hughes said. “He stressed what he wanted from me and everything like that, so it was good for me to listen to him and learn and try to get better and try to improve my game and try to apply that. I think I did a good job with that. From game one, I thought I was pretty good, to game 10, I thought I was twice the player. From Game 10 to 82 or something like that, when you’re under a coach like him, I think my game can get even better.

“The players were unbelievable and the coaching staff was unbelievable. I can’t say enough about the whole experience, just the way they brought me under their wing. I just tried to soak up everything I could.”

Continued…

3. The Grand Rapids Griffins posted video clips of Eric Tangradi and Joe Hicketts’ 2017-18 goals:

 

Via KK: A Seattle-related rumor regarding a front office friend for KH

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Via Kukla’s Korner, the Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons makes quite the assertion tonight:

Mark Hunter will have at least two options available when mid-July hits and he’s available to join another NHL team. Lamoriello has interest in him with the Islanders. But word around now is that Detroit GM Ken Holland would be able to offer Hunter the same job he had in Toronto with a promise of being the next GM of the Red Wings. Holland, apparently, has serious interest in being involved with the Seattle expansion team, which would open the door for Hunter.

Simmons’ hockey notes continue, and I really don’t know what to make of the assertion. Holland is the company man in an organization of company men, but he’s over 60 and we know he’s “looking for a friend” in the front office.

I’m not sure he’d jump to the Seattle team simply because it’s close to home (Vernon, BC) because he wants to see out the Wings’ rebuild, but one never knows for certain what lurks in the hearts of GM’s.

All of that being said, the Red Wings’ organization has seen talented and intelligent front-office personnel leave the braintrust for years, and it would be lovely if the Wings were able to lure a bright person into the fold.

Duff and Martin discuss the importance of the scouting combine

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Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff a prolific author, and this evening, he penned an article for Featurd.io in which Wings assistant GM Ryan Martin discusses the NHL’s scouting combine.

As far as I can tell, Featurd.io is a website that won’t let you read its content if you have an ad-blocker and won’t let you copy its contents, so I’m not surprised that it’s shiny and new(s):

Duff continues…

Draft combine articles and videos from HSJ and THN + Holland on moving up-or-down

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Of draft combine-related note this evening, and in companion with the Free Press’s Helene St. James’ three combine videos:

1. The Free Press’s St. James posted an article in which she discussed the Red Wings’ activities at the combine, which included interviewing 80 players and taking 20 to steak dinners in Buffalo:

This is an important draft for the Wings, who are trying to speed up the rebuilding process. They interviewed 80 players during the combine, and the 20 who received dinner invitations are the ones the Wings expect to be available over the four selections they have between sixth and 36th (Detroit’s first-round pick, Vegas’ first-round pick, Ottawa’s second-round pick and Detroit’s second-round pick).

“We’re going to draft a really good player for the Detroit Red Wings and then let’s be patient, let’s have a plan,” general manager Ken Holland said. “Great if they can play next year, but if they don’t, I don’t know if it really matters. We’re trying to build something.”

St. James continues…

Continue reading Draft combine articles and videos from HSJ and THN + Holland on moving up-or-down →

Wings, St. James post videos from the NHL’s Scouting Combine

The Red Wings are posting Twitter videos from the NHL’s Scouting Combine in Buffalo, where fitness testing is underway today…

Continue reading Wings, St. James post videos from the NHL’s Scouting Combine →

Khan on the Wings moving up, RFA talk and Green

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According to MLive’s Ansar Khan:

  1. The Red Wings have indeed considered moving up in the draft…

The Detroit Red Wings have the sixth pick in the June 22 draft, their highest selection since 1990.

But it might not be high enough to suit them. A couple of the players they covet, right wing Filip Zadina and defenseman Evan Bouchard, might be off the board.

That’s why the Red Wings are trying to move up the draft, to as high as No. 3, a league source said.

2. The Wings have begun to speak with their restricted free agents’ representatives (see: Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi, Martin Frk, Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha)..

Darren Ferris, the agent for Andreas Athanasiou, said he and Red Wings general manager Ken Holland had preliminary discussions during this week’s NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo. Athanasiou is arbitration-eligible this year, unlike last season, when he didn’t sign until October. If either side files for arbitration, it will assure him of having a contract no later than early August.

3. And Khan reports that the Wings are trying to re-sign Mike Green:

The Red Wings remain interested in re-signing defenseman Mike Green, if he’ll accept a two-year deal, and had talks with his representative in Buffalo. Green is an unrestricted free agent whose season ended in late March due to neck surgery.

A bit about Kaden Fulcher

The Sarnia Journal’s Jake Romphf penned a profile of Red Wings prospect Kaden Fulcher, discussing Fulcher’s background and Sarnia-area ties:

“Not getting drafted was tough, but getting the call from Detroit saying they wanted me to come to some camps with them was pretty unbelievable,” he said.

Last fall, after attending the Red Wings’ training camp, Fulcher signed a three-year entry-level deal.

“When you’re a kid you really want to make it to the NHL, but you never really expect it,” he said. “It’s been really special.”

Continued

Garrioch: Wings may attempt to move into draft’s top three

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This is an intriguing rumor from the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch:

There’s plenty of talk about the teams trying to move up in the draft and one of those could be the Detroit Red Wings. There’s speculation here that the Wings would like to move into the top three from the No. 6 position and may be dangling the first-round selection the club obtained from the Vegas Golden Knights at the deadline. Should be interesting to watch because the Carolina Hurricanes have already declared they’re willing to listen.

Continued…