Author: George Malik

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses the biggest question regarding one Ville Husso going into the 2024-2025 season–the netminder’s health.

Husso suffered two separate “lower-body injuries” (read: groin injuries) last season, and the Red Wings are evidently concerned enough about Husso’s durability that the team re-signed Alex Lyon and inked free agent Cam Talbot to a two-year contract (and the Wings also brought in Jack Campbell to push Sebastian Cossa in Grand Rapids).

As Duff notes, Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman was blunt about the team’s concerns for Husso’s health:

The reason for acquiring such goaltending depth, quite frankly, is because they simply don’t know whether they can count on Husso. Yzerman frankly admits this to be a legitimate concern.

“Yeah, significantly, honestly,” Yzerman said. “You go into a season with your two goaltenders, and a guy you’re projecting to play a lot is unhealthy. It’s a huge hole to fill at the start of the season.

“So we decided we’re gonna go get another goaltender. And we’ll let training camp go through we’ll see how Ville’s health is and and then make a decision at some point.”

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde insists that the team believes in Husso, caveats about his health included:

“It’s too bad last year on the injuries because he had a really good offseason,” Lalonde recalled of the team’s 2023 training camp. “He came in leaner, probably had his best summer he’s had off the ice. So I think it’s something he can build on.

“The good thing about Ville is he’s also excited about the competition. Credit to our management group. With three goalies last year it’s very unique to the league. It’s certainly not ideal in some situations, when you talk about practice time, obviously game time. But it literally saved our season last year. I think we’re going to start with that same mentality this year.”

Having a “three-headed goalie monster” is definitely “not ideal” in terms of practicing and keeping three goaltenders game-ready, but it definitely appears that the Wings would rather hedge their bets about their goaltenders, and let the regular season’s grind determine their net-minding hierarchy.

To be honest, the Red Wings’ exhibition schedule is such a beast of 8 games over the course of 12 nights that I’ll be surprised if the Wings don’t suffer some sort of injury in goal, even if/when the coaches spread out the starts between Husso, Lyon, Talbot, Campbell and Cossa (with Jan Bednar and Gage Alexander possibly getting half-a-game as well).

Somebody will get bumped or fallen onto “accidentally on purpose,” and while I’m not certain whether the Wings will carry three goaltenders all season long, the exhibition game is all about survival, and redundancy in goal is part of that equation.

Of Red Wings-related note from the slightly inelegantly named “Pro Hockey Rumors”:

1. Gabriel Foley posted a “summer synopsis” which summarizes the Red Wings’ summertime moves, from the draft to free agency entrances and exits, and Foley suggests that the following questions are most important going into training camp and the exhibition season:

Is Cam Talbot The Starter? Cam Talbot has taken on the role of traveling nurse in his later career, bouncing around goalie-needy teams and always finding strong results. He’s posted a .911 save percentage in 198 games over the last five seasons, as part of four different clubs. It’s not much of a secret that the tandem of Ville Husso and Alex Lyon wasn’t going to get Detroit to the playoffs, but to see them bid for Talbot’s traveling support is a certain surprise. That’s emphasized by the red-hot emergence of Sebastian Cossa in the minor-leagues. One of the two star goalie prospects in Detroit’s system, Cossa managed a .913 save percentage in 40 AHL games last year – and could challenge the NHL roster sooner rather than later. That’s a lot of competition for one spot, and all four options carry their own right to ice time. Who wins out the Red Wings’ crease – and the extent of role give to Ville Husso and his $4.75MM cap hit – could go a long way towards determining whether this season will be the year that Detroit breaks their playoff drought.
 
Which Prospects Will Emerge? The Red Wings are entering September down a winger and a defender, and aren’t in much of a position to buy any more free agents. That should spell a great opportunity for top prospects like Nate Danielson, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Simon Edvinsson, and Shai Buium. All four are expected to attend Detroit’s training camp and each boast the talent to warrant NHL games, though there’s no guessing how comfortable they look once they’re in the lineup. If not with one of their prospects, Detroit will need to fill their fringe with the lackluster-but-consistent impacts of vets like Tyler Motte and Erik Gustafsson. The quartet of top prospects would be much, much more exciting options – but they’ll first need to win a spot out of camp.

I am curious as to see whether Talbot pans out. He’s going to be dealing with a defense that isn’t as suffocating as the Los Angeles Kings’ anti-hockey machine, but he’s looking to settle down a bit with a team that does have a lot of wiggle room in the crease;

And I’m not expecting Brandsegg-Nygard to “make the jump” to North America this season, but Edvinsson is definitely going to earn a chance to play regularly, as might Albert Johansson;

2. I’m going to continue to raise my eyebrow at this report from Brian La Rose until proved otherwise:

The Red Wings still have three restricted free agents to re-sign, defenseman Moritz Seider along with wingers Lucas Raymond and Jonatan Berggren.  In a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link), David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period relayed that while there’s no concern on either side yet, talks don’t appear to be progressing between Detroit and Raymond’s camp.  The 22-year-old is coming off his entry-level deal and had a breakout showing last season, recording 31 points and 41 assists in 82 games, leading some to suggest that a long-term agreement between the two sides is likely to push past the $7MM mark per season.

Berggren, meanwhile, was largely a regular for the Red Wings in 2022-23 but spent most of last season with AHL Grand Rapids, tallying 24 goals and 32 assists in 53 games.  The 24-year-old also collected six points in 13 games with Detroit.  Pagnotta reports that a deal between the two sides is expected before training camp and it’s likely to be a short-term agreement.  With a little over $17MM in cap space per PuckPedia, it’s possible that the eventual contracts with Seider and Raymond could dictate how short of a deal Berggren ultimately receives.

I think that Raymond’s likely looking at over $7.5 million now, as is Seider, but whether the team has traction with the two players is pretty close to pure speculation unless J.P. Barry can be attributed directly from Pagnotta.

The Fourth Period’s chief scribe is usually particularly plugged-in when it comes to free agency and contractual rumors, but I just defer to the airtight nature of the Red Wings’ organizational submarine when it comes to rumors leaking out.

As far as Berggren is concerned, I’m expecting him to earn a one-year contract of the “show-me” variety, like Joe Veleno did a season ago;

3. And this rumor, per La Rose, snuck under my radar:

Earlier this week, it was reported that Toronto was one of the teams showing interest in unrestricted free agent winger Max Pacioretty.  Evidently, they’re not the only Atlantic Division squad that has some interest in the veteran as Arthur Staple of The Athletic adds (subscription link) that the Red Wings are believed to be interested in adding the veteran as well.

The 35-year-old spent last season with Washington after inking a one-year, $2MM contract which also carried another $2MM in performance bonuses which were reached once he played in 20 games.  While Pacioretty was able to play in that many games, last season was still an injury-riddled campaign as he worked his way back from his second torn Achilles tendon sustained in the 2022-23 season while playing for Carolina.

As a result, Pacioretty was limited to just 47 games last season.  A six-time 30-goal scorer, he struggled considerably in that department, scoring just four times although he was able to add 19 assists to stay near the half-point-per-game rate.  Nevertheless, that wasn’t the type of performance that gave him some bargaining power heading into free agency.

If we milk the “Michigan connection” spiel a bit, we could point out that Pacioretty played for U of M for one season, and yes, he’d be a no-frills option to fill out the “bottom six” with some scoring prowess, even at 35 years of age, but I’d have to think that, given the Wings’ cap situation and given Pacioretty’s injury history, he’d be playing for a job somewhere as much as he’d be playing for a job with the Red Wings if they were to sign him to a PTO (given his injury history).

It’s all very iffy at this point, but stranger things have happened.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen makes a bold assertion in discussing the Red Wings’ goaltending prospects, and Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine in particular, suggesting that they may be the best tandem the Wings have had in the goaltending prospect pipeline since the 50’s:

The Red Wings don’t have an estimated time of NHL arrival for Augustine and Cossa. The best case scenario would be both players in Detroit in two to three seasons. The projection on Cossa is that he will be the No. 1 goalie this season in Grand Rapids and then the Red Wings will go from there.

If Augustine plays well again this season for MSU, signing with Detroit after his season would be the logical next step. Based on Yzerman’s history, Augustine is presumably looking a minimum of two years of minor-league hockey. That would put him competing for a Detroit job in 2027-28.

But nothing is etched in stone. If Cossa is a dominant in the AHL, and the Red Wings suffered multiple goalie injuries, he could be the team’s best option. Likewise, Augustine continues to be ahead of where he should be in his development. Could he skip a step?

Continued (paywall); I’m not certain whether Cossa and Augustine are the Wings’ best tandem since the days of Sawchuk, Lumley and Hall, but they appear to be a very realistic future tandem.

Goaltenders are notoriously difficult to develop, however, and it’s just a bit of a “crapshoot” to determine goaltenders’ successes down the line.

I think, I hope, and I believe that Cossa and Augustine have as good a chance as anybody to become a real tandem, but we’ll have to see how things shake out in IRL, as they say.

I spotted this via my Google Email alerts just now:

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A post shared by Dylan Larkin (@dylanlarkin71)

Update: Per the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood:

In the wake of a tragic loss, some Red Wings players have also taken the time to support the family Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau leave behind. A GoFundMe was created to support the Gaudreau family, particularly Matthew Gaudreau’s wife Madeline, who is pregnant with their first child. Detroit forward Andrew Copp and former Red Wing Zach Aston-Reese were among the 4,649 donors to the fund. Those were just the players to make their names public; a number of donations to the fund were anonymously made.

Those wishing to donate to the GoFundMe can find it here.

Red Wings defenseman Justin Holl’s team won “Da Beauty League’s” title recently, earning a banged-up keg for their summertime hockey troubles. This morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses Holl’s status as something of a survivor among the Red Wings’ frequent scratches:

Holl is often a magnet for criticism. The much-maligned defender was a healthy scratch for all but three of Detroit’s final 32 games during the 2024-25 NHL campaign.

There were calls from parts of the fanbase for Holl’s contract to be bought out during the summer. He’s entering the second year of a three-year deal with an AAV of $3.4 million.

By contrast, Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman has been suggesting over the summer that Holl, a right-hand shot, may be filling a role of more prominence during his second season in Detroit. The Red Wings are bereft of right shot defensemen beyond Moritz Seider.

“He’s an NHL defenseman,” Yzerman said of Holl. “Justin was a good player in the NHL and will be.”

Continued with an assortment of stories; if the Wings want to move Holl, they’ll probably have to wait until later this season to do so thanks to the term on his contract.

He can do the job of playing as a no-frills, shut-down defender, but he can also play inconsistently. At 6’4″ and 194 pounds, he can leave you wanting more in terms of physicality…

But it could be argued that Holl’s inconsistent play was in part due to his incredibly inconsistent ice time. He’s not a bad defenseman, just not somebody who kept up the level of play that he displayed early on in the 2023-2024 season. At 32 years of age, with those two years remaining on his contract, he appears to be the Red Wings’ reclamation project, for better or worse.

I have Google email alerts set up to help find obscure interviews and other Red Wings content, and this evening, my email alerts let me know of an interview which Red Wings 2024 draft pick Ondrej Becher gave Polar.cz’s Yvona Fajt.

The Wings drafted the 20-year-old from Ostrava with the 80th overall pick in this past June’s NHL Draft, and the Prince George Cougars forward was training with his childhood team, HC RT Torax Poruba, until today, when he left Ostrava to head to Detroit.

Czech is always a little tricky, but here’s a rough translation of Faijt’s interview, which is accompanied by a video that you’re not going to get much out of unless you speak Czech yourself.

In any case, the interview and the video seem to sync up well, and I believe that Becher will be taking part in the prospect tournament and training camp this September:

Hockey player Ondrej Becher is heading to the Detroit Red Wings. His dream is to play in the NHL.

Ondrej Becher, a native of Poruba and a promising hockey player, will soon be heading to Detroit. The Detroit Red Wings bet on him during this year’s NHL Draft.

Hockey player Ondrej Becher, a bronze medalist at the World Junior Championship this past year, is spending his time preparing with great intensity to play in the NHL. He will be heading to the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow.

Ondrej Becher, hockey player: “I’m preparing here with the Poruba A team on the ice, every day we have practice on the ice, plus I go to the gym. I have my own skills coach, my personal trainer and I go to the gym with him every day. I will fly to Detroit at the beginning of September, and my greatest achievement, I would probably say, is the World Championship, definitely the championship.”

Ondrej spent a week in Detroit [earlier this summer], right after the draft. It was a great experience for him.

Ondrej Becher: “It was great there. I met the management, coaches, a few players, and Pavel Datsyuk was there, the Detroit legend, right, so that week it was great, definitely great. I was there for a week, I had about 3 practices on the ice and the camp was pretty familiar. I think I need to work on everything, how to skate and shoot, I need to work on everything. I need to work on all my shooting, and on my shot.”

The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood ranked his top 5 Red Wings goaltenders today, and I stand by the assertion that #2 should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame, even if that means making it the “Hall of Very Good”:

2. Chris Osgood: If he played for any other team, maybe Osgood would be a Hall of Famer. He ranks 13th all time with 401 wins, 317 of which came with Detroit ranking second in franchise history. His three Stanley Cup rings also tie for 13th most among goaltenders. But to most people looking back, the perception is that Osgood was carried by those ‘90s and ‘00s Red Wings teams, chock full of inductees themselves.

Even if Osgood had support from his teammates, he still delivered. He was one of the most consistent, winning goaltenders Detroit has ever had.

Don’t take it from me. From a 2009 ESPN article by Pierre LeBrun, take it from former GM Ken Holland. “First of all, there’s a perception that we can put anybody in our net,” Holland told LeBrun. “We’ve always had high-profile talent. And through the years, we’ve always outshot the other team, so our goalie is in a position to only be responsible for the loss; he’s not responsible for the win. I think Dominik Hasek had a hard time when he first got here, I think Curtis Joseph had a hard time with it, because we win because of our skaters and we lose because of our goalie. It’s the perception.”

Osgood delivered, logging 10 seasons with 20 wins or more, tied only with Terry Sawchuk in franchise history. He also owns the record for consecutive games without a loss, refusing to lose in 21 straight contests in early 1996.

Throughout the course of his career, Osgood’s highs weren’t quite as high as many contemporaries — Osgood won no Vezinas, topping out at second place in his elite ‘95-’96 season. He got waived to bring in Hasek. He struggled in his only two seasons away from Detroit. Playing with so many Red Wing legends made his life incredibly easier. But, Osgood always delivered.

Continued; Osgood may never get the call from the Hockey Hall of Fame, but that’s okay. He has three Stanley Cup rings to drown his sorrows with.

I’ve waffled in terms of making any sort of blog-public statement regarding the untimely passings of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.

I can at least tell you that I lost both my parents suddenly and unexpectedly, which is painful enough…And I have a cousin who was killed by a drunk driver as well…

It’s just tough. The Gaudreau brothers were beloved throughout our little hockey world, and it takes all of one person making a horrible decision to end the lives of two very special people.

I can at least relate to what so many people must be feeling today–that the world has stopped, and that it’s unfair to see that the earth continues to turn on its axis, and people continue to act as if the world has not stopped for them. That’s a really rough part of losing a loved one, because your world really does stop when you find out they’re gone.

Everybody’s saying it, so I will as well: this fatal accident doesn’t happen if the perpetrator doesn’t choose to drive drunk. It’s easy to think you’re “okay to drive” after a beer or three, but it’s just…Dumb. There are so many ways to get a ride home from wherever you are drinking these days that there’s no excuse for not finding a designated driver, friend, Uber, Lyft, cab, etc.

Two brothers are gone the day before their sister’s wedding was scheduled to happen. It’s a senseless tragedy, and I hope that the Gaudreau family knows that they are surrounded by love and support, as alone as I’m certain they feel right now.

Take care of yourselves and each other. Be safe out there, especially as people celebrate this Labor Day weekend. Not everyone is going to be smart about their decision-making, so you be safe instead.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills offers a profile of Axel Sandin Pellikka this afternoon:

Axel Sandin-Pellikka will continue his development by returning to play for Skellefteå AIK in the Swedish Hockey League for the 2024-25 season, giving the Detroit Red Wings defenseman prospect another year of valuable experience and time honing his craft.

“It’s nice to be home another year,” Sandin-Pellikka said during the Red Wings’ 2024 Development Camp last month. “I know my coaches and teammates well. We have a good team, so we’re going to go for the gold next year too.”

Sandin-Pellikka helped Skellefteå AIK win the SHL Championship last season, recording 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in 39 regular-season games and seven points (two goals, five assists) in 14 postseason contests.

“(Skellefteå AIK) had a really good run,” Sandin-Pellikka said. “Obviously winning the Swedish championship is one of my lifelong dreams.”

Continued; it’s better that Sandin Pellikka plays another season in Sweden rather than battling for ice time on a crowded Grand Rapids Griffins’ blueline.

In this case, another year of home cooking makes sense.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard didn’t score in Norway’s 6-2 win over Great Britain, but the Norwegians earned their second win in two games at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and a win against Denmark on Monday would sew up their status as having qualified for the 2026 Olympics in Milan.

Ny seier i OL-kvalifiseringen! 🎉#Hockeygutta vinner 6-2 over Storbritannia og står nå med 6 poeng og full pott etter de to første kampene i Ålborg.

🚨 Norges målscorere: #41 Patrick Thoresen (3), #4 Johannes Johannesen, #20 Emilio Pettersen og #40 Ken André Olimb. pic.twitter.com/xlsWnGqRHq

— Norges Ishockeyforbund (@norskishockey) August 30, 2024

While it looks like Marco Kasper’s Austrians are going to be playing for pride after dropping a 2-1 decision to Kazakhstan, the Norwegians definitely have momentum, and they talk a lot on the ice. I was very impressed by the levels of communication (mostly in English) by both Norway and Great Britain…

And MBN looked good playing on the right wing again. He’s not huge at 6’1,” but Brandsegg-Nygard plays like a very big man, he skates well, shoots superbly and grinds out pucks along the boards and behind the net. There’s a lot of raw potential there, and in that sense, I can see why MBN wants to play for Skelleftea AIK of the SHL before making the jump to North American hockey.

There are still some rough edges to his play after skating in the HockeyAllsvenskan for Mora IK during his draft year, and it might be best for him to remain in Europe to round out his game.