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 Monday’s practice: Welcome to regular season preparation

The Detroit Red Wings took to the ice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center ahead of Thursday’s season-opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins:

Another prediction that coach Lalonde is on borrowed time

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli makes “32 bold predictions” this morning, and this is getting to be a theme:

7. Detroit’s Derek Lalonde will be the first coach fired. Feels like there are already signs of friction between Lalonde and Red Wings management. And the temperature is rising in Detroit to make the playoffs.

Continued; if he’s not coaching for his present contract, he’s coaching for his next one for sure.

Tweet of note: Happy Captain’s Day

He’s not the most popular man in Detroit right now, but it’s a momentous anniversary for Steve Yzerman:

Wings’ ‘Take the Day Off’ campaign continues

The Red Wings continue their Ferris Bueller-themed “Take the Day Off” theme for opening night on Thursday, October 11th vs. Pittsburgh:

More than a pair of fists

The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood notes that Red Wings forward Austin Watson, who signed a 1-year, 2-way contract today, has a multi-faceted game which intrigues the Red Wings:

Watson also made life easier on himself by proving that he isn’t a one-dimensional enforcer. He fights, sure, but he also brings other skills to the table. And when liking Watson’s fight and signing him to a contract are two different things, it takes more than hard fists to get an NHL contract in today’s NHL. Throughout his PTO, Watson proved his ability to impact games in different ways.

If Detroit wanted to see skill, Watson showed it when he made a beautiful backdoor pass to linemate Tyler Motte in the Red Wings’ first preseason game. If Detroit wanted Watson’s physicality to transcend dropped gloves, he finished 12 hits in his preseason game in Pittsburgh, more than double the next nearest teammate. And if Detroit wanted to see that Watson could hold his own in games that didn’t get testy, Saturday’s final preseason tilt in Toronto saw Watson block a couple of shots and kill penalties against an NHL-heavy Toronto lineup. 

Watson showed everything he can do for Detroit in all facets of the game, earning him his big contract. This was the plan all along for Watson, and he used his niche role to turn a low-percentage tryout into an NHL roster spot.

It’s a role Watson carved out just to play in the NHL. He jokes that he got tired of riding in buses, that he likes playing in the NHL, so he figured out a way to stick around. As a former first round pick, Watson came into the league with plenty of skill, but that can only go so far.

“Can you can you get good at the intangible things?” Watson explained of his career decisions. “Can you get good at forechecking? Can you get good at playing in your own end? Can you get good at penalty killing? A lot of things like that. And sometimes guys don’t want to do that.”

Continued; Watson is going to fit in well as a 12th/13th forward.

Allen: Thursday’s home opener will conflict with a Tigers playoff game

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes that Red Wings fans should be planning ahead if they’re heading downtown for Thursday’s home opener:

The Red Wings open the 2024-25 season Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m.). Fans attending the game might want to arrive early if the MLB playoff series between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians is still ongoing. Game 4 is scheduled to be played that night at Comerica Park.

Same old stuff

I’m going to roll my eyes at Daily Faceoff’s Scott Maxwell and Hunter Crowther’s assessment of the Red Wings as a “fringe playoff team” in a set of power rankings which are tiered instead of numbered. He’s not wrong that the Red Wings got lucky last season in some instances, but I believe that you earn your luck:

Detroit Red Wings

Scott: Were the Red Wings playoff chances decided on the final day? Yes. But at the same time, they relied a lot on luck to make that happen, and they did not make any drastic changes to the roster this year outside of swapping David Perron for Vladimir Tarasenko. They might see some improvement if they don’t give Moritz Seider the worst usage in the league, but they currently have him paired with Ben Chiarot again, so my confidence isn’t all that high.

Hunter: I’m just going to come out and say it — the league is better when the Red Wings are better. So watching Steve Yzerman be satisfied with mediocre veterans on the blue ine (e.g. Erik Gustafsson) and a lack of bottom-six depth up front is frustrating. Is 37-year-old Cam Talbot taking you to the promised land? Or soon-to-be 36-year-old Patrick Kane? 

Continued; Yeah, there are some “old Wings” for sure, but the youth movement is imminent.

Tarasenko’s got more to give

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton notes that Red Wings forward Vladimir Tarasenko still looks like he’s adjusting to the Red Wings’ systems, at least as evidenced by his up-and-down preseason play, per coach Derek Lalonde:

“I certainly hope so,” Derek Lalonde replied, when asked Saturday by The Hockey News whether the physical side of Tarasenko’s game is under-appreciated, before suggesting he was something less than entirely satisfied. “Vlad has two goals for us. I think last night he did his job in that he finished [to put the Red Wings] up 3-1. I would like to think a little more detailed, motivated group would’ve finished that off when it matters, but obviously that wasn’t the case last night, which is frustrating.”  In the last sentence, he was describing the Red Wings’ collective effort against Ottawa Thursday, but his subsequent remarks made clear the same applied to Tarasenko.

“You can see how we’re built,” continued Lalonde. “We’re very light with some of our skill throughout the lineup, and it shows up in puck battles, retrievals. There’s nights it can be not good enough. I think he’s just a little bit bigger, and we would like him to help out a little more. I’m glad he’s started to maybe try to get his game in order.”

In that sentiment, Lalonde suggests that the promise of Tarasenko lies in his ability to add both grit and skill at the same time to Detroit’s top six. In this regard, Tarasenko serves as a direct replacement to David Perron, albeit with perhaps slightly different toggling on the skill and grit sliders, whose spot in the top six Tarasenko fills after Perron signed in Ottawa. However, Lalonde’s comments also suggest that he hasn’t quite lived up to that billing to date.  

Continued; Tarasenko was more than a little stiff over the course of his preseason games, but I think that after 10-15 games of adjustment, he should fit right into the Wings’ systems of play.