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!

Two things: Kane’s ‘place in history’ and points-plus-plus for the ‘leadership trio’

Of Red Wings-related note this evening:

  1. Sportsnet posted a Tweet of note regarding Patrick Kane’s status as the NHL’s all-time leader in shootout goals:

2. And Yardbarker’s Natalie Vaitas notes the point performances of three important Red Wings players over the course of Todd McLellan’s tenure as the Wings coach, all while discussing whether teams are “contenders or pretenders” for Wild Card spots:

Detroit Red Wings: Contenders

The Red Wings have been the best team in the league since Todd McLellan took over, going 15-4-1 with two separate seven game win streaks. They currently sit in the first wild-card spot and are just one point behind Ottawa for third place in the Atlantic. 

Detroit has also gotten some elite play from their stars during their recent run. Lucas Raymond (25 points in 20 games), Dylan Larkin (24 points in 20 games) and Moritz Seider (15 points in 20 games) have all been excellent. If they keep up their play, they should be in the postseason for the first time since 2016-17.

That’s a fantastic endorsement for the Red Wings’ leadership trio, and yes, that’s what they are now.

Accruing ‘games in hand’

The Eastern Conference standings look like this today…

But you should not be surprised if the Wings “fall out of the playoff picture” before the Four Nations break, mostly because most NHL teams have several games during the balance of this week.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, for example, have 3 games, playing on Thursday vs. Ottawa, Saturday in Detroit, and Sunday in Montreal.

With the Boston Bruins also on the Wings’ trail, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses where the Wings stand as they accrue “games in hand” on other teams between Wednesday night and Saturday:

The Red Wings went 7-2-1 in their past 10 games and lost ground to the New York Islanders (8-2) in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They only gained one point on the Ottawa Senators (7-3).

How tight is the race in East? Six teams are within five points of each other fighting for third place in the Atlantic Division and two wildcard spots.

None of those teams had fewer than 10 points over the past 10 games.

Tonight, the Boston Bruins can move into a playoff spot if they earn one point against the New York Rangers. The idle Red Wings cannot fall out of the playoffs tonight.

Continued; Detroit’s going into the break with 54 games played; by Sunday, Tampa will have played 55, and most of the Eastern Conference’s other teams have at least 2 games remaining on their schedule.

So don’t despair if the Islanders or Blue Jackets gain ground on Detroit–the Wings will make up their games after the break.

Tweet of note: Red Wings reassign Dominik Shine to Grand Rapids

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

Update: From the Red Wings:

Continue reading Tweet of note: Red Wings reassign Dominik Shine to Grand Rapids

Sportsnet’s Bukala details the Seider pick

The Detroit News posted its latest “Octopulse” podcast, and therein, Sportsnet’s prospect guru, Jason Bukala, discusses several Red Wings prospects who were drafted during Bukala’s time with the Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers:

Bukala was a scout with the Nashville Predators for five years, an assistant director of scouting for five years with the Florida Panthers and the director of scouting for the Panthers for four years. He’s now the founder of Pro Hockey Group, which focuses on player evaluations.

So:

Continue reading Sportsnet’s Bukala details the Seider pick

Making moves?

The Hockey News’s Adam Proteau suggests that the Red Wings and Maple Leafs should add assets through trade acquisitions:

The Red Wings have played well enough since changing coaches in late December to get back in the thick of the playoff race. They’re in the first wild-card spot, but one point separates four teams. They should add one or two assets to push them into the post-season.

The Red Wings could use help at both ends of the ice. They’re currently 19th overall in goals-for per game and goals-against per game. That’s a mediocrity that can’t continue if Detroit wants to tighten its grip on a playoff spot. 

Yzerman has about $4.9 million in cap space, and he’s also got all of his first-round draft picks in the next three seasons. It’s time for him to put aside part of the future and send a first-rounder and/or above-average prospect to acquire a needle-mover and a depth component to solidify the Wings’ playoff push.

A third-line center like the Flyers’ Scott Laughton – who would also be a good fit with Toronto – has the talent to step in and give a bump in depth to the Red Wings. His $3-million salary makes him affordable for Detroit and the Leafs, and he has one more year left on his contract.

Continued; I’m going to remain pretty stubborn here. I don’t believe that the Red Wings should move any assets, present or future, unless the team can acquire a player who will be part of the team’s long-term future.

I could see the Wings adding another center or defenseman of the right-shooting variety, but the rental market is just not useful for the Wings to be dabbling in. The Wings have too many good prospects to waste the replaceable ones or draft picks on somebody who’s going to help for a couple of weeks and then bolt for free agency.

Khan on the Red Wings new coaches’ ‘first 20 games’

MLive’s Ansar Khan compares Red Wings coach Todd McLellan’s tenure to the first 20 games that other “new coaches” have coached for the team:

Todd McLellan (2024-25): 15-4-1, 31 points

He took over a team that was 13-17-4 and has since strung together two seven-game winning streaks and capped its first 4-0 road trip since 1996.

Derek Lalonde (2022-23): 11-5-4, 26 points

The team was tied for a playoff spot in late February before three consecutive losses, including a pair of decisive defeats in Ottawa, prompted general manager Steve Yzerman to sell at the trade deadline.

Jeff Blashill (2015-16): 10-8-2, 22 points

The Red Wings qualified for the playoffs on the final day of the season when Ottawa defeated Boston. They were eliminated by Tampa Bay in the first round and haven’t been back to the postseason since.

Mike Babcock (2005-06): 15-4-1, 31 points

A 12-1-0 start included a franchise record-tying nine-game winning streak for a team that won the Presidents’ Trophy with 124 points (58-16-8) only to lose to Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs.

The list continues…

Tweet of note: Weekes reports Wings still interested in Dylan Cozens

FYI:

That’s a solid B+?

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article which discusses the Red Wings’ 4-for-4 road trip and 7-game winning streak. Coach Todd McLellan was marginally satisfied with the Wings’ efforts, as he told FanDuel Sports Network Detroit last night:

“Above average,” said [Red Wings coach Todd] McLellan with a chuckle after the game on FSN Detroit. “To go home with eight points in the bank, I’m not sure we thought we would get that when we left, but we chipped away and chipped away. The spirit and the belief system have gone up. They’re playing to the structure that we put in. It’s easy when you’re winning, you can get people to believe in things a lot simpler than if you’re losing.”

Tuesday’s victory marked the second seven-game win streak the Wings have had under McLellan, who took over as the Wings’ coach on Dec. 26. They are 15-4-1 under McLellan, enabling the Wings to charge upward in the standings to the point the Wings now hold a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The difference before and after McLellan is startling. The penalty kill, which was porous before, has been better. The team defense is improved. But another realization in the resurgence is McLellan’s willingness to play the Wings’ young players, giving them larger roles, and watching them thrive.

Players such forwards Marco Kasper, Jonatan Berggren and Elmer Soderblom, and defensemen Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson are all playing regularly, in larger roles, and all are contributing. All made key contributions in Tuesday’s victory.

“It speaks to the organizational depth right now to have those kids come up and find a way to contribute,” McLellan told reporters afterward. “Everything is brand new for us (McLellan and assistant coach Trent Yawney). We just play them and see what we get out of them, and they’ve responded.”

Continued (paywall)

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It starts with practice

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton reports that the Red Wings’ “blueprint” under coach Todd McLellan builds upon a foundation established at the team’s practices:

Since McLellan’s takeover, the Red Wings’ practices provide a clearer distinction between coaching eras than the underlying numbers. Sessions at the BELFOR Training Center in Little Caesars Arena offer an obvious manifestation of McLellan’s other mantra: “harder, faster, smarter.” McLellan has lengthened practices while also raising the tempo to each skate and all the while introducing new drills to provide a combination of competition and levity.

“I think there’s just a really good purpose to every practice,” defenseman Moritz Seider told The Hockey News before the Red Wings set out for their road trip. “We just either try to emphasize a new system or we’re really focusing on the next game that’s upcoming. I think today you could really see from the outside that we’re a skating team, we try to go with pace and speed out there, and that’s exactly what he told us we’re gonna need.”

Of course, all that skating in practice wouldn’t count for much if it hadn’t correlated to results. McLellan’s “road map” has proved so effective, because he demonstrated from the moment of his arrival that the changes he chose to implement would bear fruit in a hurry. As Andrew Copp put it before the trip, “He’s got a clear, concise message. He’s in command. Everything on video makes total sense. He’s the one doing the video every time, so he’s got the presence.”

“It can start with practice,” Copp added. “It can start with the effort, the pace and intensity that we have, but ultimately, the results are gonna dictate whether you have momentum or not. You can play good and not win and still feel good about yourselves, but that can only last for so long really. And if you are playing the right way, you’re going to get wins. I would say it probably started in practice and bled over to the games, but the games are the ultimate confidence builder.”

…

“You can practice as hard as you want, but if you can’t translate it onto the ice, I think it’s very stressful and painful situation for all of us,” Seider said. “Obviously, getting the results gives us a little more confidence, a little more happiness in practice. Even if it might be a little longer…we still have a smile on our face and work through it—put our work boots on and grind. And then obviously if it translates on the ice, it’s all worth it.”

Continued