Author: George Malik

The Free Press’s Helene St. James takes note of more of Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde’s remarks during the team’s “Summer Hockey in the D” event several days ago, with St. James discussing the Red Wings’ three-headed goalie monster of Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon and Ville Husso this morning:

“That’s going to be a healthy competition,” coach Derek Lalonde said this week. “I’ve been speaking with all three goalies. I think Steve did a a pretty good job of explaining to them the situation, that it’s going to be a competition. All three goalies over the last couple years have proven to play at a very high level.”

Husso, 29, is entering the last year of a deal carrying a $4.75 million salary cap hit. He was, for the most part, very dependable in his first year in 2022-23, until he appeared to get worn down towards the end, when the Wings kept relying him on because neither Alex Nedeljkovic nor Magnus Hellberg rose to the role of backup. Last year, Husso again was the starter, outplaying Reimer while Lyon sat on the sidelines as the No. 3 guy, until leaving a game Dec. 18 with what turned out to be a season-long ailment. (He supposedly was ready to play Feb. 13, but left the game after less than 10 minutes in net.)

Lyon, 31 and going into the last year of a deal with a $900,000 cap hit, emerged as the starter. He was a huge reason why the Wings banked 34 of 44 possible points in January and February, posting a .912 save percentage in 19 of those 22 games.

Talbot, 37, is starting a two-year deal with a $2.5 million annual cap hit.  He appeared in 54 games and posted a 27–20–6 record with a .913 save percentage with the Los Angeles Kings last season, and was named an All-Star for the second time in three years.

That’s three pretty good resumes, and gives the Wings confidence they’ll be fine in net. With eight exhibition games, all three goalies should get at least one full game and one half game, and from there, barring injury, they will be competing for the starter’s net. It can be tricky to get enough reps for three goaltenders in practices, but the Wings, after all, figured out how to do so when last year began.

“I think we did a pretty good job by our group last year in having three goalies,” Lalonde said. “It was very unique. It worked for us last year and I think we’ll go into the season with that mentality and let it play out.”

Continued; the Red Wings will also want to see how Sebastian Cossa has progressed during their usual 8-games-in-12-nights exhibition season slate of games, and AHL-bound Jack Campbell and ECHL-bound Gage Alexander will vie for time as well.

The truth of the matter is that the Red Wings have six goaltenders signed going into the upcoming season, so the team will probably need not only the exhibition season but also the first 10-25 games of the regular season to sort out its goaltending.

Injuries will of course play a huge role in the sorting thereof, but the sense here is that Talbot and Lyon will be the duo that come out of the competition as goaltenders #1 and #2, barring a resurrection of Husso’s game.

If Husso can regain his form, the Wings may feel compelled to move a goaltender given that Campbell and Cossa will remain “in the wings,” ready and waiting in Grand Rapids.

As previously noted, Red Wings alumnus Jimmy Howard appeared on the “Cam & Strick” podcast on Tuesday morning, and he told some stories about coach Mike Babcock being his arrogant self during Babcock’s tenure with the Red Wings.

At the same time, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff reports that Howard was somewhat insulated from Babcock’s antics thanks to the fact that Babcock rarely interacted with the team’s goaltenders…

Howard sheepishly admitted that some of those stories were news to him.

“All the stuff that came out publicly, I was kind of like, ‘Whoa. Was I that naive? Was I living in my own little world that much that I didn’t notice what was going on?’” Howard said. “But then, a lot the stuff that went on was during the game, and I was 90 feet from the bench, standing in the crease. So I had no idea any of that was going on.”

Thought Howard also noted that some of Babcock’s coaching decisions raised eyebrows throughout the team:

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a list of his top 15 Red Wings prospects this morning, and it should be noted that NHL graduates Jonatan Berggren, Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson are not included given their status as no longer waiver-exempt for the upcoming season.

In any case, Kulfan’s top four are pretty much locks at this point, though their respective offensive “upsides” are yet to be determined:

▶  1. Marco Kasper, center, 20 years old, 2022 first round (No. 8 overall): After a slow start in Grand Rapids, Kasper got acclimated to the North American pro game and had a fine season, particularly in the playoffs. Kasper may not be an offensive wizard in the NHL, but he does many things right and plays with an edge. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Kasper in the NHL this season.

▶  2. Axel Sandin-Pellikka, defenseman, 19, 2023 first round (No. 17): Sandin-Pellikka is the type of offensive defenseman so many teams want, a guy who can drive the play and create offense out of nowhere. He’ll play this season in Sweden, then likely come to North America. There are questions about Sandin-Pellikka’s defense, and he isn’t big (5-foot-11, 176 pounds), but Sandin-Pellikka’s offense can compensate.

▶  3. Nate Danielson, center, 19, 2023 first round (No. 9): Danielson was so impressive in training camp last year, he stuck around until the final cuts of the final weekend. He’ll begin this season in Grand Rapids, but it’ll be interesting to watch Danielson’s development and see how long it’ll take before he gets an NHL promotion. Danielson is effective at both ends of the rink, which is important to the Wings’ organization.

▶  4. Carter Mazur, left wing, 22, 2021 third round (No. 70):  The Jackson native has progressed and developed steadily since being drafted, and is likely to some day wear the Wings jersey. An injury in training camp last year deprived Mazur an outside chance of making the roster. An agitator with a good offensive game, Mazur was impressive for Grand Rapids in the playoffs (eight points in nine games).

Continued (paywall); what does your list of the top Red Wings prospects look like?

Pretty good call here, even though I like actual cats in general (dogs are nice, too!):

Nothing says International Cat Day like a Cat-trick! pic.twitter.com/4qhhcr4oPP

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 8, 2024

The articles regarding Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde’s media availability yesterday continue today. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discussed the depth provided by Jonatan Berggren, Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson this upcoming season…

Berggren is still an unsigned restricted free agent, but the Red Wings do seem to need him to replace some of goals lost through forwards David Perron, Robby Fabbri and Daniel Sprong leaving through free agency and trade. Berggren has 17 goals in 79 NHL games, and last season he tallied 24 goals and 56 points in 52 regular-season games for the Griffins. He managed five goals in nine AHL playoffs.

“He’s shown the ability to create offense,” Lalonde said. “When he’s been with us, he’s created offense. But again, we have a lot of guys with a similar DNA. We need him to be responsible.”

The reason why Berggren didn’t stick in Detroit is that coaches didn’t trust his play without the puck. Reducing goals against will be an emphasis in 2024-25.

“We’re gonna ask the whole team to be conscious of a two-way game, without taking away from some of his offense,” Lalonde said. “It’s a credit to him. He did a really good job in a really tough situation last year. I’ll never say anyone’s played themselves out of the American Hockey League. It’s just too good of a league. But he’s proven, or maybe more it’s he’s earned this opportunity… He’ll have to do it in camp but I believe in my conversations with him this summer.”

Edvinsson should play regularly this season. The Red Wings have nine defensemen, counting Johansson and Edvinsson. Presumably, William Lagesson goes to Grand Rapids if Johansson makes the roster.

“I like the depth. I think we got really fortunate last year in staying healthy on the back end,” Lalonde said. “But we’ll need that depth. I think all eight are very capable. I’m very excited about Simon. I think his play towards the end of last year was exciting. But I’m very excited about Albert, too. I was able to see him towards the end of the year and into the playoffs. I think he’s ready for the National Hockey League. He’ll have to show us that in camp. ”

As did the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton:

The Athletic’s Max Bultman attempts to discern the Red Wings’ 2027-2028 season lineup this morning, and here’s the introduction to his article:

Each year, when the dust starts to settle on the offseason and the summer months begin to drag, we take a look into the future and project what the Detroit Red Wings lineup will look like in three years.

The goal of the projections is not to be 100 percent correct three years out, but rather to highlight how the Red Wings’ ongoing rebuild is trending — and what it still lacks. In recent years, we’ve begun leaving blank spots in the lineup to highlight positions at which Detroit has no obvious long-term answer and will need to address.

With all that said, let’s dive into it.

Just a brief note here: Red Wings prospect and Innsbruck, Austria native Marco Kasper is training with the KAC Rotjacken of the Austrian league as the team hit the ice for the first time yesterday. There are a couple of interviews with Kasper in the local papers, but they’re paywalled.

Picture courtesy of EC KAC.

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde addressed a slate of topics while speaking to the media at the Wings’ “Summer Hockey in the D” event yesterday, and MLive’s Ansar Khan offers a few more quips from coach Lalonde this morning.

First, coach Lalonde addressed the fact that Nate Danielson, Marco Kasper and Carter Mazur will be pushing for spots on the Wings’ roster this fall…

“Very excited about some of our young guys in Grand Rapids that will be pushing,” Lalonde said. “You need that push from the bottom. I was able to see Grand Rapids a couple of times late in the year. [Jonatan] Berggren, Mazur, (Nate) Danielson, watching his playoff in junior, Marco was awesome in the playoffs. I think you need some of that competition and push from the young guys.”

They also need proven, experienced scorers like [Patrick] Kane and [Vladimir] Tarasenko.

“Pat had a lot of options; he had different options as far as term also,” Lalonde said. “In my conversations with him, his heart was here. It speaks volumes about Patrick and it also speaks about what we’re doing here the last couple of years. I think (Tarasenko) is a similar situation. … I think it’s exciting that they want to be part of it.”

The Atlantic Division remains the toughest in the NHL, featuring Stanley Cup champion Florida, playoff mainstays Boston, Toronto and Tampa Bay and clubs with a lot of young talent in Buffalo and Ottawa.

“These are different expectations, that’s a different challenge in itself,” Lalonde said. “I think there’s a lot of excitement for good reason going into this year, but it’s going to be on us and the group to narrow our focus on doing the right things, especially early, and we’d love to put ourselves in the same situation next year.”

Continued (paywall); the Red Wings definitely need to evolve into a team which can focus its attention upon winning a 60-minute game this upcoming season.

The Red Wings’ media corps attended a “Street Hockey in the D” event held by the team in order to speak with coach Derek Lalonde, who addressed a number of topics, including Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider’s contract negotiations, the roles which #23 and #53 will play this upcoming season, the team’s goals-against average and the goaltending situation.

This morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses coach Lalonde’s remarks on the Red Wings’ revised lineup, as well as his take on the Wings’ probability of starting the 2024-2025 season with a three-headed goalie monster:

“Of course I like it,” Lalonde said Wednesday. “We did a good job addressing some holes. It feels like guys may be slotted going into the year a little bit. I think we did a good job addressing some lost offense, which is very important.”

Signing forward Vladimir Tarasenko, a former 40-goal scorer, is expected to ameliorate the departures of David Perron (17 goals) and Daniel Sprong (18 goals). Signing defenseman Erik Gustafsson should lessen the blow of losing Shayne Gostisbehere (team-leading 29 power play points).

Tarasenko joins a forward corps that also features Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, Patrick Kane, Andrew Copp, Michael Rasmussen, Joe Veleno and Christian Fischer, another newcomer in Tyler Motte and, once they’re signed, Lucas Raymond and Jonatan Berggren, making for an even dozen. Prospects Carter Mazur, Marco Kasper and Nate Danielson could all push for a role, too.

On the back end, besides Gustafsson there’s Ben Chiarot, Olli Määttä, Jeff Petry, Justin Holl, and Simon Edvinsson; Seider (who also needs a new contract) and Albert Johansson, who has yet to play in the NHL but is out of waiver exemptions.

Lalonde described his possible line combinations as “fluid, especially early in camp. But it just feels like guys are slotted a bit more proper, and it will make more of an ideal top-six, bottom-six situation. But that will be fluid as the season starts.”

Coach Lalonde told St. James that the Red Wings simply need to advance this upcoming season:

“It’s just exciting,” Lalonde said. “All I’ve known here since I’ve come here is some progression. We’ve moved in the right direction from Year 1 to Year 2. And now we need to keep building. Expectations will change, which is all good. This is all part of the process. We just want a little bit more [from] everybody.”

Continued (paywall); the Red Wings did lose a ton of offense in Perron, Sprong and Gostisbehere, but Tarasenko and Gustafsson should at least dig into that lost offense, and yes, coach Lalonde is correct–the team’s got more of a real “top six” and “bottom six” up front, as well as a little more balance to its three defensive pairs.

It would be nice if the team could acquire a second-pair, shut-down defenseman by the time the season starts, but that’s more likely to happen toward the trade deadline…

And the goaltending situation isn’t going to sort itself out until it sorts itself out, whether that’s over the course of training camp and the exhibition season, or whether it takes until sometime during the regular season.

Yesterday, Hockeysverige.se reported that Red Wings prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard still expects to end up playing for Skelleftea AIK of the SHL after participating in the Red Wings’ training camp this fall.

Today, Brandsegg-Nygard speaks with Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin regarding a prank committed by his World Championship teammates on Team Norway this past spring (what follows is roughly translated from Swedish):

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard about Zuccarello and Thoresen’s practical joke

Don’t leave your hotel room unattended if you’re at the World Championship with Mats Zuccarello and Patrick Thoresen. That lesson was learned by new SHL duo Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Stian Solberg during the World Championship in the Czech Republic last spring.

“They didn’t say anything until we were at the airport on the way home,” says Brandsegg-Nygard about the practical joke he was subjected to by the two veterans.

During the hockey World Championship in the Czech Republic last spring, junior players Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Stian Solberg earned the opportunity to debut next to seasoned veterans like Mats Zuccarello and Patrick Thoresen. It was a big moment for the two 18-year-olds who grew up with the Norwegian stars as role models.

What did they learn about the two pros?

A lot. But, perhaps above all, despite their age, they still have the minds of children.