Author: George Malik

Sportsnet’s Emily Sadler asks a pertinent question of every Atlantic Division team today, and here’s what she feels the Red Wings need to answer–and it’s the obvious one:

Detroit Red Wings: Can Yzerman get his young core signed in time for camp?

The biggest topic at the beginning of Detroit’s off-season remains the most talked-about storyline as the Red Wings approach training camp. While the Red Wings’ RFAs aren’t the only high-profile skaters still unsigned as camps loom, it’s easy to understand why there’s some concern around the status of Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider.

The forward and defenceman are franchise cornerstones whose respective roles cannot be understated. Raymond was the team’s leader in assists (41) and points (72) last season while Seider’s offensive gifts were on full display on the blue line with 42 points. Forward Jonatan Berggren, too, has yet to sign a new pact. We’ve seen more and more RFA contract stalemates bleed through camp and come dangerously close to game time… will these be the same? As pricey as these contracts could be, can the Red Wings afford to keep waiting?

Continued; I’d prefer to see Raymond and Seider signed ASAP, but negotiations will take the time they take. “Prior to the regular season” is the goal for me.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff filed an article which discusses both the Red Wings’ competition for this weekend’s Prospect Games, the Dallas Stars, and offers a few cogent Wings prospect observations. Among them:

There’s been a buzz about [Michael] Brandsegg-Nygard because he was just drafted three months ago, and the Red Wings wanted him to come to training camp. More often than not, the Red Wings let European players stay in Europe because their leagues start earlier.

Axel Sandin Pellikka and Brandsegg-Nygard both play for Skelleftea in the Swedish Hockey League, and Sandin Pellikka is not coming for training camp. Of course, Sandin Pellikka is a smallish, dynamic puck-moving defenseman, and Brandsegg-Nygard is a strong winger.

My understanding is that Brandsegg-Nygard wants to play for Skelleftea AIK this upcoming season, with Sandin Pellikka, but I will admit that the Red Wings’ management have changed prospects’ minds before.

Rychlovsky is another intriguing player because he led the Czech league with 26 goals last season.

Danielson projects to play this season in Grand Rapids, but he is one of the prospects who could make the team with a memorable preseason. It seems likely coach Derek Lalonde will play Danielson and Marco Kasper often when the Red Wings start playing preseason game. Kasper will not be at the NHL prospect tournament.

The Red Wings’ rule for prospect participation usually works like this: if the player’s skated in a full season at the AHL level, they’re prohibited from participating in whatever tournament the Wings are holding. As such, Jakub Rychlovsky, who played pro hockey in the Czech Extraliga last season, is eligible, but Kasper isn’t.

Sebastian Cossa will not be at this tournament, but Carter Gylander will be. He’s probably third in line behind Cossa and Augustine among Detroit goalie prospects.

One goalie to watch: Gage Alexander. The Red Wings picked him up from the Anaheim Ducks in the Robby Fabbri trade. He’s 6-foot-6, and he’s only 22 years old. This will give the coaching staff to see what they have in this young prospect.

It is entirely possible that the Wings will go with a three-goalie system at the NHL level, a three-goalie system at the AHL level (with Jack Campbell, Sebastian Cossa and one of Gage Alexander or Carter Gylander), and a two-goalie system at the ECHL level, with one of Alexander or Gylander working with the Griffins-contracted Jan Bednar.

DetroitHockey.net’s Clark Rasmussen wrote a superb analysis of the Grand Rapids Griffins’ situation as it applies to the team’s roster turnover this past summer:

Top scorer Jonatan Berggren, seventh-leading scorer Simon Edvinsson, and fourteenth Albert Johansson are all expected to graduate to the Detroit Red Wings as they are no longer waiver exempt.  Hirose (third) is bound for Munich, Zach Aston-Reese (sixth) signed with the Vegas Golden Knights, Joel L’Esperance (tenth) remains unsigned, Austin Czarnik (eleventh) signed in Switzerland, Matt Luff (fifteenth, having played only 26 games due to injury) is in a PTO with the Florida Panthers, Radim Simek (seventeenth) signed back home in Czechia, and Tyler Spezia (nineteenth) is now on an ECHL-only deal with the Toledo Walleye.

The Griffins will, seemingly, be getting some help from some of Detroit’s summer free agent signings.  Joe Snively scored 59 for the Hershey Bears last season while Sheldon Dries put up 52 points for the Abbotsford Canucks.  That would have put them first and third in scoring for GR, on either side of Berggren.  Additionally, William Lagesson didn’t do much at the NHL level last year (and is on a one-way contract with Detroit, anyway) but he could end up with the Griffins and the 32 points he scored for AHL Chicago in 2023 would have made him the Griffins’ leading scorer on defense last year.

After those three, though, the scoring kind of dries up.  Tory Dello scored only 13 points for AHL Laval.  Chaz Reddekopp has mostly played at the ECHL level.  Carson Bantle and Gabriel Seger will be making their pro debuts.  The wild card is Jakub Rychlovsky, who will be making his North American debut after putting up 46 points in 51 games in Czechia last season.

Continued

I posted my scouting report on the Red Wings’ prospects taking part in this weekend’s Prospect Games earlier this week, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted his summary of the free agent players taking part in the pair of games vs. the Dallas Stars this weekend as well.

Today, the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood offers a list of six players to watch in this weekend’s games, including Red Wings draft pick Ondrej Becher:

Ondrej Becher

The Red Wings picked up double-reentry winger Becher in the third round of the NHL Draft back in June. He’s a particularly interesting prospect within their entire system, let alone this prospect tournament. 

Becher still hasn’t signed with a team for this season, the follow-up to a 96-point campaign with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL. His lack of formal affiliation is surprising given his remaining year as an overage player in Canadian Major Junior, as well as how his overall scoring output should have made him a top candidate to sign with a pro club somewhere else. At risk of speculating, it’s worth wondering whether Becher might wind up with Grand Rapids or Toledo next season, if he doesn’t have something else arranged.

Regardless of whose sweater he’s wearing, Becher is a playmaker with decent size at 6-foot-1. He’s a late-bloomer, which limits how long he has to continue developing his game. This season is an important one to show just how much he can grow, which makes his next team all the more important.

Continued; good scouting reports from Eargood.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a profile of Red Wings 2024 draft pick and goaltender Landon Miller:

When Landon Miller met with the media after being selected No. 126 overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the goalie prospect confirmed it wasn’t the first time he’s donned the Winged Wheel.

A native of Barrie, Ontario, Miller played for the Detroit Jr. Red Wings at the 2016 Brick Invitational Hockey Tournament as a 10-year-old.

“I was lucky enough to wear the Red Wings jersey there, so I have one of those in my closet as well,” Miller said. “I guess we’ll add another one to it.”

Miller spent the 2023-24 season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, posting a 17-6-2 record with a 2.79 goals-against average, .889 save percentage and two shutouts in 30 regular-season games. The 6-foot-5, 193-pound netminder also recorded a victory in one relief appearance during the 2024 OHL Playoffs, stopping all eight shots he faced in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Guelph Storm.

“It was exciting to be part of a good team and have a good run,” Miller said. “It was exciting to learn from some of the older guys and get my feet wet in the (OHL) to really see what I can do.”

Continued

The latest “32 Thoughts” podcast is out, and Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas address the Jonatan Berggren, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider contract situations, per the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton:

Friedman began his update with Berggren, about whom he spoke with the most certainity.  “I think Berggren gets done.  I think the player and everybody involved there recognizes that Berggren has to be in camp.  I don’t see a situation where he sits out,” Friedman explained. “I think they have an idea of what Seider and Raymond could look like, and, if they’re not done, they’ll just slide Berggren in there at a number where they think it can all work.  I would be shocked if that one isn’t sorted out well in advance of the season.  It’s too important for the player.”

Friedman went on to explain he sees competing comparables that Raymond and his camp might be considering: “Raymond, I had mentioned the [Seth] Jarvis contract [eight years, $63.2 million] as a comparable.  Jarvis is 7.9 [million] in actual cash, 7.4 [million] with the deferred money and the AAV.  Because they both have one 30-goal season, Jarvis and Raymond, I thought it was perfect, and I had an agent tell me, I guarantee you that you are wrong in terms of what Raymond’s people—his agent is JP Berry—are looking for.  I said, ‘Oh yeah, why do you think I’m wrong?’  And they said, ‘There’s other players like [Tim] Stutzle, who’s at a higher number [eight years, $66.8 million] than Seth Jarvis is.  If you’re an agent, you’re going to pick the highest possible comparable, and, in this case, I think it’s Stutzle.”

Friedman added that the same agent advised him that “there are some teams out there that really try to remove the Ottawa contracts, like Stutzle’s, as a comparable.  They kind of talk about that as ‘that’s a contract that Ottawa needed to do because of where they were at the time and the message they were trying to send their market at the time,’ but the teams think it’s too high.”  Friedman suggested that Steve Yzerman is likely among those who would dismiss that Stutzle deal as an Ottawa issue.

Friedman had the least to add about Seider, instead sticking by his previous report that Seider will wind up with the biggest deal of the bunch, saying, “Seider, all I think about there is I think his number is above Raymond.  I just don’t know where this is gonna go here.”

Continued; thanks to Sam for doing the transcription.

From the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS 2024-25 SINGLE-GAME TICKETS ON SALE NOW

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Single-game tickets for each of the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 36 regular-season home games at Van Andel Arena are on sale now to the general public at griffinshockey.com/tickets.

Under second-year head coach Dan Watson, the Griffins will begin the home portion of their 72-game slate on Friday, Oct. 11 against the Milwaukee Admirals with Opening Night presented by Huntington Bank.

Griffins tickets can be purchased through the following methods (all purchases subject to a convenience charge):

• Online through griffinshockey.com/buytickets;
• On the Griffins app, available for iPhone and Android;
• In person at The Zone at Van Andel Arena, beginning Oct. 1 (open 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday);
• By phone at (616) 774-4585 or (800) 2-HOCKEY.

Advance ticket prices start at $19 for Upper Level Crease, $21 for Upper Level Faceoff, $24 for Upper Level Center Ice, $25 for Upper Level Preferred, $26 for Upper Level Prime and $29 for Upper Level Edge; and $27 for Lower Level Faceoff, $31 for Lower Level Center Ice, $37 for Lower Level Preferred and $54 for Lower Level Glass. (Additional $3 per ticket on game day.)

On game night, tickets may be purchased without a convenience charge at the Van Andel Arena box office, beginning 90 minutes before puck drop. Fans who attend multiple games can avoid charges and receive a discount from the single-game price by purchasing a 10- or 20-game select season package. These plans, along with full-season, FLEX ticket vouchers and group ticket packages, may be ordered by calling the Griffins’ office at (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visiting griffinshockey.com.

According to Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen, long-time Grand Rapids Griffins forward Taro Hirose has signed with EHC Red Bull Munchen of the DEL:

Left wing Taro Hirose, a member of the Detroit Red Wings organization for five years, has signed a deal to play for the Red Bulls in the German League.

The Red Wings signed Hirose as a college free agent out of Michigan State after the 2018-19 season. He played 60 games for Detroit over four different seasons. Hirose, 28, didn’t spend any time last season with the Red Wings, but played 54 games (nine goals, 36 points) for the their Grand Rapids Griffins farm team.

The Red Bulls signed Hirose as a replacement for the injured Trevor Parkes who is also a former Griffins player. Smallish forward Hirose is a play-making winger with quality power play instincts.

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a list of five prospects to watch at this weekend’s Prospect Games between the Red Wings and Dallas Stars (on Saturday at 6 PM EDT and Sunday at 2 PM EDT):

Emmitt Finnie, C: You don’t hear much about seventh-round picks after they’re drafted but Finnie is an exception. The Red Wings signed him to a three-year entry level contract only nine months after selecting him 210th overall in 2023. A playmaker with good hockey sense, he led Kamloops (WHL) with 40 assists in 62 games and appeared in three games for the Griffins near the end of the season (no points).

Jakub Rychlovsky, LW: At 23, he’s older than a typical prospect. The Red Wings haven’t had much success with undrafted European free agents, but Rychlovsky is coming off a breakout year during which he led the Czech League with 26 goals in 51 games. He had scored only 13 goals in 138 games during his first four years in the league.

Continued; there are a fair amount of prospects who will be in the spotlight this weekend;

2. And meanwhile in Europe, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff reports that Axel Sandin Pellikka will most likely return for today’s Champions Hockey League game in which ASP’s Skelleftea AIK and the Lahti Pelicans will face off:

The Swedish club is facing a crisis due to injuries along the blueline. Facing Finland’s Lahti Pelicans on Friday in Champions Hockey League play, Skelleftea is showing three defensemen on the shelf. Rearguards Arvid Lundberg, Mans Forsfjall and Frans Haara are out.

Sandin Pellikka was also on the injury list. He’d been hurt in the club’s opening CHL game. He was missing for the second game, a loss to German’s Straubing Tigers, after aggravating an old injury.

Skelleftea has been using four defensemen from its junior club. Also recruited on loan was defender Fredrik Granberg. He plays for Pitea in HockeyEttan, Sweden’s third division.

However, there appears to be good news. At Thursday’s practice, Sandin Pellikka was no longer wearing the red no-contact jersey.

“Axel Sandin-Pellikka has taken off the red shirt,” Robin Lindgren reported on Swedish website Norran.se. “Looks to be ready again.”

Continued; you never know for sure until Sandin Pellikka takes to the ice, but this is encouraging news.

ESPN’s Sean Allen discusses potential breakout defensemen for the 2024-2025 season from a fantasy hockey perspective, and Simon Edvinsson kind-of-sort-of makes the list, though he’s not experienced enough to meet Allen’s criteria for a true breakout candidate:

Simon Edvinsson, D, Detroit Red Wings (1.21 FPPG, 21.6 years old, 25 games played): With minimal ice time and minimal role, Edvinsson dished out 26 hits and blocked 25 shots in 16 games last season. He is the real deal when it comes to physical defenders. He should open on the second pairing and get plenty of ice time to pile up fantasy points.

Continued; we forget sometimes that when Edvinsson does focus on defense, he’s 6’6″ and has a bit of a nasty streak. If he can summon those characteristics more regularly, he’s going to develop into a hell of a defenseman.