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!

Tweet of note: A sneak peek of Cam Talbot’s new mask

Per CBS Detroit’s Rachel Hopmayer on Twitter comes a sneak peek at Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot’s new mask, painted by David Gunnarsson:

Wings prospect G Rudy Guimond gears up for his second season in Cedar Rapids

Red Wings prospect goaltender Rudy Guimond tends to get lost in the goaltending shuffle. The Wings drafted the Cedar Rapids Roughriders’ goaltender 169th overall in 2023, and Guimond was a skinny kid whose rookie USHL season went…all right.

Guimond spoke with the Cedar Rapids Gazette’s Jeff Johnson about preparing for his sophomore year in Cedar Rapids, and it sounds like Guimond is determined to get onto the Red Wings’ prospect radar this upcoming season:

Guimond, 19, saw plenty of time between the pipes last season, playing in 33 games for the RoughRiders, who began their campaign Friday night with a preseason game at ImOn Ice Arena against Dubuque. The teams meet against Saturday night in Dubuque.

The Quebec resident basically broke even from a record standpoint, going 13-13-3-1. The peripherals were just OK: a 3.66 goals against average and .869 save percentage.

“I learned that this is a tough league. A lot tougher than I thought,” Guimond said. “It was funny, at the start of the season, I was super good and was blowing it out of the park with insane numbers and stuff. I was like ‘Oh, this might be easy.’ Then it was like nope. When teams started figuring it out and stuff, it gets much harder.

“I think mentally I got a lot better from last season. I mean, we talk about getting stronger in the weight room. This was stronger in the mind. There was a lot of stuff going on, with ups and downs, bad bounces, losses and that kind of thing. Just not let it play in my head.”

Guimond has good goalie size at 6-foot-2 1/2 and now has more weight to go with that height. He said he ended last season at 164 pounds and checked into fall camp a couple of weeks ago at 178.

He is headed to Yale for college hockey beginning next year. Guimond was a sixth-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2023 National Hockey League Draft and said the club checks in with him regularly, about once every two weeks.

“I want to win a Clark Cup this season,” he said. “That’s my expectation, and I’ll do everything to fulfill it. I’m sure all the guys will, too. Individually, I just want to get consistently better. Develop and make sure every week that I’m getting better at something, so that next year I’m ready for college hockey.”

Continued

Prospect round-up: Forslund scores penalty shot goal in J20 league; Brandsegg-Nygard robbed of assist, Sandin Pellikka injured in Champions Hockey League

It’s a good news/bad news kind of thing as the Red Wings prospects’ season continues to rumble to life.

In the Swedish J20 league, Charlie Forslund scored a penalty shot goal and finished at +1 with a shot and a penalty in Mora IK’s 6-5 shootout loss to MoDo Hockey.

Per Red Wings Prospects on Twitter:

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills wrote a profile of Forslund today;

And in the Champions Hockey League, it’s good news/bad news as Skelleftea AIK won 4-3 over Red Bull Salzburg:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Forslund scores penalty shot goal in J20 league; Brandsegg-Nygard robbed of assist, Sandin Pellikka injured in Champions Hockey League

Friedman talks Raymond and Seider in the latest ’32 Thoughts’ podcast

If you missed this in the Catch-Up Post of Doom, Sportsnet has reiterated Elliotte Friedman’s remarks regarding Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, per the latest episode of 32 Thoughts:

The Detroit Red Wings came as close to a playoff appearance as a team could get, falling just short of the final spot and failing to make the post-season for the eighth consecutive year.

Though that will undoubtedly fuel the hunger of the Red Wings to finally break their drought this year, the team still has to sign restricted free agents Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond to new contracts.

Despite the season fast approaching, little progress has been made between Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman and the two promising youngsters and, according to Friedman, the GM isn’t ready to budge just yet.

“They’re good players, they’re important players, they’re the cornerstone of the Red Wings, but because they’re RFAs, Yzerman doesn’t necessarily have to bend unless something forces him to do so,” Friedman said.

Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie in 2022, has been a consistent 40-plus point producer in his three years in the league. Raymond enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2023-24, scoring 31 goals and 72 points in 82 games, and is due a pay raise.

“It’s pretty clear that right now Raymond and Seider are higher than Yzerman wants to go, and if he’s dug into his position, you need something to get him to move,” Friedman said. “Either you bend, or you wait for him to bend. To be honest, right now, it’s not a pressure point.”

It’s not unheard of for RFAs to miss time while awaiting a new contract. In 2021-22, Canucks stars Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson missed training camp and parts of the pre-season before signing their contracts and in that same year, Brady Tkachuk missed training camp, the pre-season and the season-opener with the Ottawa Senators.

Though the Red Wings still have some time, the clock is ticking for their young guns to put pen to paper on a new deal.

Check out the 1 hour and 21 minute mark to hear it for yourself.

Meet Charlie Forslund

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills profiles big Charlie Forslund this morning. The 6’3,” 212-pound forward was drafted 176th overall by the Red Wings this past June.

Forslund will graduate from the Swedish 3rd division to the HockeyAllsvenskan with Mora IK’s J20 team this season, which everyone seems to agree will be good for the raw player’s development:

Forslund spent part of the 2023-24 season with Falu IF in Sweden’s third division, recording 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 19 games. He also had 16 points (13 goals, three assists) in seven games with Falu IF’s U-20 team.

Red Wings Assistant Manager and Director of Amateur Scouting Kris Draper said he believes the ceiling is high for Forslund.

“Playing against those men at a lower level, Charlie stood out,” Draper said. “He has good size, can skate and can really shoot the puck…We did a lot of background checking and you sit there, this could be somebody that could be really good for us down the road.”

At 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, and still growing, Forslund said he’s learning how to use his size to his advantage.

“I play every game with my big body,” Forslund said. “I try to get into situations where it’s a bit tough, like in front of the net. Last year, my game was very good on the power play.”

Continued; Falu IF could only provide so much in the way of resources for Forslund to train and improve his physical conditioning, so the Wings believe that moving to Mora IK might jump-start his development.

Two things: on lower-tier Wings and Ville Husso facing pressure

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

  1. The Score’s John Matisz ranks the Red Wings as a team that will not quite make the playoffs this upcoming season in his “Bottom 16” rankings:

Detroit Red Wings

A high-level recap of the Red Wings’ offseason: David Perron, Shayne Gostisbehere, Walman, Robby Fabbri, Daniel Sprong, and James Reimer are out. Vladimir Tarasenko, Erik Gustafsson, Tyler Motte, and Cam Talbot are in. Patrick Kane re-upped. Restricted free agents Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider remain unsigned but should be extended soon.

Despite all the action, Detroit still lacks a weapon or two up front; its goaltending is still nothing special, though slightly improved; and its blue line still has only three top-four defensemen. The Red Wings are decisively mid.

Florida, Toronto, Boston, and Tampa Bay will battle for the Atlantic Division’s three playoff spots, with the loser grabbing a wild card. That leaves Detroit to jostle with Buffalo, Ottawa, Montreal, and a couple of Metropolitan teams for the other wild card. It won’t be a massive surprise if the Red Wings take it, but several other teams have higher upside.

It will be a massive surprise if the Red Wings aren’t written off by everyone this September and October. They’ve got to earn their respect.

2. Daily Faceoff’s Shane Seney discusses Eastern Conference players “under pressure” this upcoming season, and he zeroes his sights in on Ville Husso:

Ville Husso, Detroit Red Wings
Age: 29
23-24 Stats: 19 GP, 9-5-2, 3.55 GAA, .892 Sv.%,
Contract: One year remaining, $4.75 million AAV

Husso battled a slew of lower-body injuries last season and couldn’t stay in the lineup. With just one season left on his deal and with expectations that haven’t been sniffed in Motown, the clock is ticking. It’s become quite obvious Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman wants his team to take the next step as he’s added a number of veterans this offseason. Yzerman also wasn’t happy with his goaltending depth and reshaped it, bringing in Cam Talbot and Jack Campbell. They’ll join Alex Lyon and Husso in the battle for minutes and if Husso doesn’t prove throughout the preseason he’s capable of consistent production, he could quickly become the third option and a complete afterthought in Detroit. Lyon is probably the favorite for the backup job right now.

I’m loath to make predictions as to goaltending hierarchies when the Red Wings have an 8-games-in-12-nights exhibition schedule. Injuries and impact over the course of minimal playing time will help sort out the pecking order, and then the first 10-15 games will probably sort things out.

Make it “three things,” because Bleacher Report’s Adam Gretz offers a tired, old reason “why your team won’t win the Stanley Cup“:

Detroit Red Wings: Defense is not good enough

The Red Wings have not made the playoffs in eight years, but they finally showed some progress in 2023-24 by coming closer than they have since their last appearance in 2015-16.

They lost out on a tiebreaker for the second wild-card spot, wasting what was one of the best offensive performances in the league.

The reason they fell just short? They did not defend well enough, finishing 24th in the league in goals against.

They did not do much to address those defensive shortcomings this offseason, and they may have actually made their blue line worse by trading Jake Walman to San Jose in a salary-dump trade.

Top prospect Simon Edvinsson should be ready to make an impact and Moritz Seider is a tremendous young player, but those two guys alone are not going to be enough to make up for the shortcomings elsewhere defensively.

Fundraising on the ropes

I happened to suffer from a late summertime cold on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I still don’t feel well today, but I’m up to sitting behind the computer, and that means that I should be working.

I’ve posted every pertinent Red Wings story in the “Catch-Up Post of Doom,” I’ve caught up on my Google email alerts (all 400 of them), I’m working on preparing for therapy later today and now…

This is gonna be tough.

We are at the lowest point in terms of fundraising ever in terms of the Traverse City trip. The $520 in the GoFundMe is about where we’re at, and I really don’t know how we’re going to be able to raise the rest of the $4,500 necessary to 1) rent a car next Wednesday and 2) pay for half the hotel bill next Thursday as Aunt Annie and I hope to head up to Traverse City for the Red Wings’ Prospect Showcase and training camp.

We’re scared. We don’t know how the hell we’re going to be able to raise enough funds to have cash on hand to pay the necessary bills to get the 82-year-old, double hip replacement patient that is my caregiving responsibility and me up to Traverse City in a week.

We’re kind of lost here, and I’m feeling depressed and down about the high probability of missing TC for the first time since the lockout already.

I don’t know what to do other than ask for your support. I know that the Mysterious Benefactor’s $2,000 donation was a one-time thing. I know that I’ve had two $1,200 donators who may or may not be able to help this year (money is tight for everyone). I know that Kukla is understandably raising funds just to get by, and that’s worth your time, too.

But I’m asking as humbly as possible for your help to make an increasingly unlikely dream to happen.

I don’t know how the hell we’re going to make it happen, but we’ve got to try, so if you’re able to help, please do.

If you’re willing to lend a hand, have an official GoFundMe fundraiser page at https://gofund.me/c08de120; 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. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums.”

As always, thank you for your readership and your time.

Red Wings/Griffins/Walleye catch-up post of doom

Of Red Wings, Griffins and Walleye-related note over the past couple of days:

DetroitRedWings.com: The Red Wings released their Prospect Games roster and schedule on Tuesday;

Jonathan Mills wrote a profile of Ondrej Becher;

Detroit Hockey Now: In a subscriber-only article, Kevin Allen discussed the Wings’ salary cap situation for the summer of 2025;

Allen briefly discussed Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s situation heading into the Prospect Games and training camp, while Bob Duff discussed the online buzz about Brandsegg-Nygard’s game;

As Duff notes, former Wing Marc Staal has retired…

And Dmitri Buchelnikov scored a goal and had an assist in HC Vityaz Moscow Region’s 3-2 loss to Admiral Vladivostok, playing 17:09 and finishing at +2:

Duff also peeked behind the paywall as Expressen’s Gunnar Nordstrom discussed the Raymond situation:

Continue reading Red Wings/Griffins/Walleye catch-up post of doom

Pagnotta reports progress in Raymond, Seider talks

On Thursday night, the Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta offered good news regarding Lucas Raymond’s contract extension…

TFP’s David Pagnotta reported on Thursday that Detroit and Raymond’s camp at CAA are concentrating on a long-term contract as opposed to a short-term bridge deal, but the two sides remain in discussions as of Thursday morning.

“They aren’t there yet, but they are talking a lot and trying to hammer away and get this done,” Pagnotta said. “The focus is still on long-term, and talks have gained traction, but they’re still grinding away at it.”

Contract talks have picked up over the last 10 days or so and with 13 days until training camps open across the NHL, there is still time to get a new contract ironed out before players report to their clubs.

Negotiations are also ongoing between the Red Wings and their two other restricted free agents, Moritz Seider and Jonatan Berggren.

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman currently has just over $17.648 million in salary cap space to play with this season, as per PuckPedia.

Berggren, who returned to Detroit this week, is expected to have his next contract worked out by the start of camp, though deals for both Raymond and Seider and their salary cap implications will factor into Berggren’s next contract.

And Pagnotta Tweeted this:

I’m never quite certain what to make of Pagnotta’s takes–there are times that he’s spot-on with behind-the-scenes news, and sometimes, they feel like shots in the dark–but he is very much so connected to player agents and GM’s.

We all know that the Red Wings’ operate like a nuclear submarine–silently–but it is entirely possible that J.P. Barry of CAA sports or Claude Lemieux may be letting it be known that contract agreements are being worked out.

I’ve had a feeling for a while now that things will get done before the start of the regular season, and I’m gonna stick by that gut feeling.

Belated press release: Red Wings post roster for ‘Prospect Games’ vs. Dallas

It’s a couple of days late, but here’s the Red Wings’ “Prospect Games'” roster:

RED WINGS RELEASE 2024 NHL PROSPECT GAMES ROSTER AND SCHEDULE

First-Round Pair of Danielson and Brandsegg-Nygård Headline 24-Man Roster

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today released their 2024 NHL Prospect Games roster and a complete schedule for the two-day event, held on Saturday, Sept. 14 and Sunday, Sept. 15 at Centre ICE Arena in Traverse City, Mich. The team consists of 24 recent draft picks, free agent signees and tryouts who will battle against prospects from the Dallas Stars.

The Red Wings roster is highlighted by first-round picks from each of the last two NHL Entry Drafts: center Nate Danielson (9th overall, 2023) and right wing Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (15th overall, 2024). Danielson split the 2023-24 season between the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings and Portland Winterhawks, logging 67 points (24-43-67), a plus-26 rating and 42 penalty minutes in 54 regular-season games. The 6-foot-2, 188-pound forward also tallied 24 points (7-17-24) and 16 penalty minutes in 18 postseason matchups, helping the Winterhawks reach the WHL Championship Series. Danielson went on to make his professional debut with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, skating in two Calder Cup Playoff games. Brandsegg-Nygård spent the majority of the 2023-24 campaign with Mora IK in Sweden’s second-highest professional league, recording 18 points (8-10-18), a plus-three rating and 19 penalty minutes in 41 regular-season games. The 6-foot-1, 207-pound forward also collected 10 points (4-6-10) and eight penalty minutes in 12 postseason contests, helping Mora IK reach the Semifinals for the second consecutive season. Additionally, Brandsegg-Nygård logged 12 points (5-7-12), a plus-nine rating and 10 penalty minutes in seven games with Mora IK’s under-20 team in Sweden’s top junior league. A native of Oslo, Norway, Brandsegg-Nygård became the first Norwegian-born player to be selected in the first round of an NHL Entry Draft.

Continue reading Belated press release: Red Wings post roster for ‘Prospect Games’ vs. Dallas