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!

Tweets from Friday’s practice: Wings on the ice for a late-afternoon skate; Bolts skips practice after shootout win

According to FanDuel Sports Network Sun’s Gabby Shirley, we won’t find out very much about the 24-16-and-3 Tampa Bay Lightning’s lineup today as the team is not practicing.

Tampa is 2-1-and-1 in their last 4 games and 4-1-and-2 in their last 6, so the Red Wings do not head into Amalie Arena at an opportune time. The Bolts won a 4-3 shootout decision over the plucky Anaheim Ducks last night, with captain Victor Hedman hitting the 600-assist milestone.

Tampa Bay’s playing 16 games this month, so there’s a bit of mental fatigue going on within the team, but a full day’s worth of rest should help the Bolts recharge their batteries.

The Red Wings hit the ice at Amalie Arena just short of 4 PM EST, as the Detroit Red Wings noted on Twitter…

McLellan wants the Wings to avoid ‘standings-watching’

MLive’s Ansar Khan filed an off-day notebook article which discusses Red Wings coach Todd McLellan’s hopes that his players don’t get caught up in observing their place in the jumbled Eastern Conference standings:

“It’s our livelihoods, but we got to win hockey games, and when you lace up the skates, Todd talks about that a lot, take care of what you have to do and that’s what we’ve been focusing on,” [Dylan] Larkin told media following Thursday’s 5-2 victory at Florida.

The Red Wings are 8-1-0 in their past nine. They’re suddenly being shown on TV graphics for the wild card chase, no longer on the graphic for best draft lottery odds.

But as hot as the Red Wings have been, Columbus has won six in a row and is 9-2-0 in its past 11. Montreal is 11-2-1 in its past 14.

Those are two of the teams the Red Wings (21-19-4, 46 points) are chasing for a playoff spot. Detroit is three points behind Boston for the final wild card spot (with Ottawa and Montreal in between). But they have 38 games remaining, so there’s no point in dwelling on that, as McLellan noted.

“Right now, what I don’t want them to do is get caught up in a seven-game win streak or a four-game losing streak,” McLellan said earlier in the week .”I want them to live in the moment and just worry about that. It can be hard if you get caught up in all of that stuff. It can take you down or it can put you too far up. Put the equipment on and let’s deal with things between Minute 1 and Minute 60 and we’re fine.”

Said Andrew Copp: “You kind of know some things, but not staring at it every day. The moment you start standings-watching, you can kind of get caught up in it.”

Continued

Some Friday Red Wings trade talk

Sportsnet’s Justin Arenburg suggests that the Red Wings are one of seven teams to watch as the NHL trade deadline approaches on March 7th:

Detroit Red Wings

2025 draft picks: DET 1, DET 2, DET 3, NYR 3, DET 5, DET 6, DET 7, STL, 7

Is it time for the next step in the Yzerplan?

Since firing Derek Lalonde on Dec 26 and replacing him with Todd McLellan, the Red ‘hot’ Wings are 8-2 and have ascended into the playoff race.

With the recent streak and the pressure on Detroit to show progression, are they targeting Cozens out of Buffalo? Friedman reported on last Friday’s episode of 32 Thoughts that he believes the team could be sniffing around on the forward.

Centre talent is something the Red Wings don’t have outside of Dylan Larkin, and with $9 million in projected deadline cap space they have the opportunity and motive to make a big move.

Continued; I just don’t see a Cozens trade happening, $7.1 million salary cap hit included, happening unless the Wings are willing to give up a couple of prospect jewels in the crown. As the Buffalo News’s Mike Harrington suggested last weekend, the Sabres may not think such a trade’s even worth it unless they can get Raymond or Seider, which isn’t going to transpire.

My gut feeling is that the Wings will either address their need for a 2nd line center internally, or they’ll go the free agency route in terms of importing some talent into Detroit.

Grand Rapids Griffins to host their annual Great Skate this weekend

The Grand Rapids Griffins are holding their annual Great Skate to benefit the Griffins’ Youth Foundation after Saturday night’s game against Cleveland, and Griffins play-by-play announcer Bob Kaser appeared on Fox 17 this morning to discuss the event:

Quoting Fox 17’s Michelle Dunaway:

The Great Skate Winterfest is celebrating 20 years of helping support young hockey players. The Grand Rapids Griffins and the Griffins Youth Foundations host the event at Rosa Parks Circle. It starts at 10:00 pm on Saturday and lasts 24 hours, through Sunday January 19. Fans can take the ice with their favorite players, coaches and local celebrities. The event supports the Griffins Youth Foundations, a non-profit that allows underprivileged, under-served or those with special needs to play hockey free of cost. The Winterfest will have complimentary hot beverages and snacks as well as a heated tent for guests to warm up. There are plenty of ways to get involved and support the cause. You can come out and skate or donate to a specific player at griffinshockey.com/greatskate. There is also an online auction with tickets to concerts or sporting events, restaurant certificates, sports memorabilia, and much more.

Friday fundraising

I’ve had a really rough month-and-change health-wise, but I’m back working on the blog on a consistent basis, and I am doing so in part because I utilize your readership to pay the bills.

I’ve tried to keep fundraising “off the table” while I’ve dealt with my mental and physical health issues, but it’s time to push the “fundraise!” button again as I’m giving you solid content consistently again.

If you can donate, I would be incredibly grateful for your assistance; if you can’t or won’t, just scroll on.

The Malik Report needs your support to function. You receive quite a bit of information “for free,” but providing that information is not done for free. As such, we would like to ask that you kindly contribute to our monthly expenses.

If you’re willing to lend a hand, we have a PayPal option at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport; there’s Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2; if you’re into the, “I don’t want to use any of those pages” option, here’s always the Giftly option by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com…

And in the banking options, you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check, or “Zelle” me via my email, rtxg@yahoo.com.

It’s my pleasure to provide you with as much information as I can give, but this is also a job, and it requires money, time, energy and effort (a.k.a. work). If you are willing or able to support this endeavor, it is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

Big Elmer’s warming up

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted an update on the Grand Rapids Griffins’ most prominent Red Wings prospects:

Left Wing Elmer Soderblom (159th, 2019)

Soderblom is 23 and in the last season of his NHL entry level contract. He will be a restricted free agent this summer and the team will have a decision to make.  He still only has four goals and 15 points. But the fact  that he was recently playing with first rounder Nate Danielson would suggest they haven’t given up on him.

He still leads the team in shots on goal (84) and his 6-foot-8, 250-plus frame makes him intriguing. He’s never going to be the physical force the Red Wings would like him be, but size is always important no matter how physical the player he is. It wears down opponents to deal with bigger players.

On the positive side: three of his goals have come in the last eight games. He shows 10 points over the past 15 games. That’s close to a 50-point pace.

Continued

Tweet of note: A little more Swedish about Axel Sandin Pellikka

From Red Wings Prospects on Twitter:

Wise by Lidstrom to suggest that the Wings will take things slowly and play it “by ear” with Sandin Pellikka’s North American future.

Video: Lucas Raymond appears on Hockeynews.se’s ‘Shoot the Puck’ podcast…in Swedish

Hockeynews.se’s podcast, “Shoot the Puck,” interviews “Detroit’s new superstar,” one Lucas Raymond, today, and the interview they posted on YouTube is about 37 minutes long…and it’s in Swedish.

The description says:

Hockeynews editor-in-chief Henrik Sjoberg is back in North America again, and this time, Shoot the Puck is hosted by Detroit star Lucas Raymond–who’s in his fourth season on a prestigious NHL team. In a short period of time, the Gothenburg native has become a brilliant star in the NHL.

Soon he will also have a key role in Sam Hallam’s Tre Kronor when the Four Nations Faceoff is to be decided in Montreal and Boston.