Author: 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!

Press release: NHL, NHLPA announce ‘Team Payroll Ranges’ for next 3 seasons

I’m a little late with this announcement, but it’s a consequential one, per the NHL and NHLPA:

NHLPA, NHL Announce Team Payroll Ranges for Next Three Seasons

NEW YORK/TORONTO (Jan. 31, 2025) – The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association announced today an agreement that will provide increased predictability on core Salary Cap economics for a minimum of the next three years (through 2027-28).

The agreement sets the following annual increases to the Upper Limit, subject to the Collective Bargaining Agreement being in effect beyond the 2025-26 season:

2025-26: $7.5 million

2026-27: $8.5 million

2027-28: $9.5 million

Those increases would set Team Payroll Ranges for the next three seasons to:

2025-26

Upper Limit: $95.5 Million

Lower Limit: $70.6 Million

2026-27

Upper Limit: $104 Million

Lower Limit: $76.9 Million

2027-28

Upper Limit: $113.5 Million

Lower Limit: $83.9 Million

The projected Team Payroll Ranges for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons will be subject to potential minor adjustments (up or down).

The parties still intend to meet to discuss other elements of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that might need modification and/or improvement beyond the 2025-26 season.

Tweet of note: Saginaw Spirit to host Shocks & Saves game on Saturday

From the Saginaw Spirit:

Tweet of note: At the Four Nations Face-Off, Raymond will wear #23, Larkin #21

Per Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston:

The numbers were released as part of a promotion for the Four Nations Face-Off jerseys:

A bit of praise for Dominik Shine

Sportsnet’s Mike Amato spotlights 4 NHL players in his “Friday Four,” and here’s his pick from the Red Wings:

Dominik Shine, Detroit Red Wings: What a journey for Dominik Shine.

The 31-year-old played his first NHL game for the Red Wings this week after grinding away in the AHL for nine seasons. Shine joined the Grand Rapids Griffins after spending four years at Northern Michigan University and has posted at least 10 goals in each of the past four seasons. He becomes the oldest player to make his NHL debut since 2015.

If you’re scoring at home, Shine played 462 AHL games before finally getting the call from the Wings, but it was worth the wait. What makes this moment even more special for Shine is that he’s a Detroit native. He got to make his NHL debut for his hometown team and the organization he grew up watching.

This is the second feel-good debut we’ve seen in January. Ethen Frank played his first NHL game for the Washington Capitals earlier this month at the age of 26, where he also plied his craft in the AHL for several years. Frank actually picked up a point in each of his first three games, including tallying a pair of goals.

Shine’s debut wasn’t as memorable as Frank’s when it came to the scoresheet. He managed only two hits and a block in 9:50 of action and didn’t record a shot on goal. Still, Shine proved persistence pays off and no matter what happens in the future, he can say he was an NHL player. No one can take that away from him.

Continued

An early Red Wings-Flames preview

The Red Wings defeated the Edmonton Oilers via a 3-2 shootout decision on Thursday night, and Detroit will head to Calgary after today’s practice to play the Calgary Flames. Here’s an early AP preview of Saturday night’s game:

BOTTOM LINE: The Calgary Flames host the Detroit Red Wings after the Red Wings took down the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 in a shootout.

Calgary is 25-18-7 overall and 16-7-3 in home games. The Flames are 7-12-2 when they commit more penalties than their opponent.

Detroit has a 25-21-5 record overall and a 10-10-3 record in road games. The Red Wings have a 4-6-3 record in games they have more penalties than their opponent.

The matchup Saturday is the second time these teams meet this season. The Red Wings won 2-1 in overtime in the last matchup.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jonathan Huberdeau has 19 goals and 17 assists for the Flames. Matthew Coronato has four goals and three assists over the last 10 games.

Alex DeBrincat has 21 goals and 18 assists for the Red Wings. Marco Kasper has six goals and four assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Flames: 6-4-0, averaging 2.9 goals, 4.4 assists, 4.8 penalties and 13.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.

Red Wings: 6-3-1, averaging three goals, 5.3 assists, 2.6 penalties and 5.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.

Two things: praise for Larkin’s January and a late-breaking Wings-Oilers recap

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

  1. The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman named Dylan Larkin her “second star” of the month of January thanks to a set of dominant performances from the Diesel:

Speaking of team MVPs, there is Dylan Larkin. His impact is felt all over the ice. The Red Wings count on him to retrieve pucks and transition the puck up the ice. In the offensive zone, he is a skilled playmaker and a clutch goal-scorer. That scoring has helped the Red Wings earn pivotal points in a tight playoff race. Just take his performance against Montreal, when he scored two points and outright dominated his five-on-five minutes to earn a season-high 4.15 Game Score against a team competing for the same playoff seed. He capped off January with a strong game against Edmonton, where he scored the tying goal and the game-winner in the shootout. 

2. And DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills’ recap of last night’s 3-2 shootout victory over the Edmonton Oilers posted pretty late:

Continue reading Two things: praise for Larkin’s January and a late-breaking Wings-Oilers recap

Red Wings-Oilers wrap-up: Lyon, Larkin star in Wings’ shootout win over Oilers

The Detroit Red Wings captured a 3-2 shootout victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night, earning their 4th straight victory as they began a stretch of 4 games to be played over the course of 6 nights in Alberta and the Pacific Northwest.

In doing so, the Red Wings rebounded from a 2-0 1st-period deficit to the Oilers, thanks to 2 goals in 1:48 of 2nd period play, from Michael Rasmussen and Dylan Larkin…

And Detroit really went from being dominated by the Oilers in the 1st period and for stretches in the 2nd to going toe-to-toe with Edmonton in the 3rd and OT…

So it came as no surprise that overtime solved nothing. The shootout did, and it did in the form of 2 more stops from Alex Lyon–who saved 45 of 47 in regulation–and shootout goals from Lucas Raymond and Larkin:

The Red Wings’ captain deserves a shout-out for his performance in this game. While it was Moritz Seider who hit 30:44 for the first time, and Seider who made a stick save to keep the Red Wings tied at 2 when Alex Lyon fumbled a glove save, Larkin played 25:03, with 10 shots, 14 shot attempts, 3 giveaways, 3 takeaways, a blocked shot and a 24-and-15 faceoff record (62%).

Larkin took the team on his back as much as anyone, and that showed in the game’s result.

The Oilers know Todd McLellan pretty well, so they were complimentary toward his and his team’s machinations, as the Edmonton Sun’s Robert Tychkowski noted:

Continue reading Red Wings-Oilers wrap-up: Lyon, Larkin star in Wings’ shootout win over Oilers

Red Wings-Oilers quick take: Lyon tames the Oilers

The Detroit Red Wings kicked off their 4-games-in-6-nights West Coast Swing with a game against the 32-15-and-3 Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

On Thursday night, and into Friday morning, the Red Wings won a strange one. Detroit surrendered 2 goals to the Oilers in the 1st period, markers from Leon Drasiaitl and Jeff Skinner one a legit shot on the PP, and one a rebound bounce…

And while Edmonton continued to out-shot the Red Wings, Alex Lyon put up a wall, topping 45 of the 47 shots he faced, and Detroit slowly but surely clawed back, scoring goals from Michael Rasmussen at 9:59 and Dylan Larkin at 11:47 of the 2nd period–that’s 2 goals in 1:48–and after overtime and an overtime power play solved nothing…

And in the shootout, Lyon stopped McDavid, Raymond scored on Skinner, and Nugent-Hopkins fumbled, so Larkin stuffed home the 2-0 winner.

Continue reading Red Wings-Oilers quick take: Lyon tames the Oilers

On the Wings’ ‘off-day,’ facing the Kings, and Talbot on the Wings’ win

Among the Free Press’s Helene St. James’ “off-day” notes:

The Wings (23-21-5) had a scheduled day off Sunday, and next play Monday at home against the Los Angeles Kings. Tyler Motte, out since Jan. 7 with an upper-body injury, has practiced three straight days, so he may be nearing a return.

I’m not certain what the Wings are going to do when Motte and Petry return, honestly. Elmer Soderblom’s probably headed back to Grand Rapids, but he looks nearly ready to play in the NHL; Albert Johansson has swiped Petry’s spot on the second defensive pairing, so Petry will have to battle Justin Holl for a spot on the 3rd D pair alongside the surprisingly solid Erik Gustafsson.

As for Monday’s game, the Kings are a bit of a powerhouse at 26-14-and-6, though they’re 2-4-and-1 over the course of their last 7 games, a 3-2 overtime loss to Columbus last night included. I posted an early Wings-Kings preview this morning, noting that defenseman Drew Doughty’s return from a broken leg is imminent…

St. James also posted something of a “morning line” given the Red Wings’ 2-0 victory over the Lightning last night, noting that goaltender Cam Talbot, who pitched a 28-save shutout, gave praise to his defense–and lucky bounces, which were what the Bolts blamed for their loss:

“That’s a team that has a winning pedigree,” Cam Talbot said after snapping the Lightning’s streak of 113 games without a shutout. “They know how to pull out these tight games. Kucherov is sitting there with the puck and he’s got options. You know he’s going to find somebody eventually. So give the guys in front of me a ton of credit, we blocked a lot of shots from the top, did a great job boxing out, let me see most of the pucks. Sometimes you just have to weather the storm and get a lucky bounce and we did a little bit of all that.”