Author: George Malik

Updated at 1:45 PM: Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton discusses the declining revenues which appear to be dooming Diamond Sports, which is Bally Sports’ parent company, and Diamond also happens to be going through bankruptcy despite having reached a carriage agreement with XFinity/Comcast recently.

There’s been a long-term discussion as to what’s going to come next for the Red Wings, Tigers and Pistons’ broadcasts, especially as Diamond pays tens of millions of dollars for the privilege of broadcasting the three sports, at the cost of a big carriage fee for every customer of the cable or satellite system that carries Bally (regardless of whether the individual subscriber watches Bally networks or not)…

And I really wonder whether it’s possible that the long-time rumors that the Ilitches might start their own sports network to carry their teams on cable TV and/or online might come to fruition. That buzz has quietly served as an undercurrent to the various guises of PASS/Bally over the past 25 years, and the emphasis was always that, should the Ilitches be able to absorb the start-up costs of establishing a broadcast network, they’d reap the profits thereof.

Nowadays, the profits are smaller due to legions of “cord-cutters,” but if the Ilitches could start up a streaming service for the Wings, Tigers and Pistons, they’d still turn a profit broadcasting their own teams. With more and more teams inking streaming deals or broadcast TV deals that don’t emphasize turning a profit for the respective teams, I wonder whether we’ll see some sort of “Ilitch Sports + Entertainment Network” down the line.

2. Paul Kukla of Abel to Yzerman/Kukla’s Korner posted this trade scenario from Heavy.com’s Cole Shelton, and I’m sorry to admit as much, but I didn’t post it because I couldn’t possibly believe that it would happen:

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins, if you’re looking to send your little one to a hockey camp in Holland, MI next week…

If your hockey-loving kids need something to do next week, spots are available for our Griffins Youth Hockey Camp at Griff's IceHouse West in Holland! ⬇️ 🏒

SIGN UP & MORE INFO >> https://t.co/nALCbTa4X6 pic.twitter.com/hX6tumndf3

— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) August 6, 2024

After the Red Wings drafted Austin Baker 203rd overall, Detroit made its final selection of the 2024 NHL Draft in 19-year-old defenseman Fisher Scott 208th overall.

Scott, who’s a defenseman, is headed to Colorado College this upcoming season, and as a native of Carbondale, Colorado, Scott told Detroit Hockey Now’s Tim Robinson that there’s a natural fit with the CC Tigers:

“It’s pretty nice being so close,” Scott said of Colorado Springs, which is about four hours from Carbondale. “Their facilities are great,” he said. “Being a Colorado kid, it was pretty cool to be able to do this. It’s been a lot of fun.”

After a cup of coffee with the [USHL’s Dubuque] Fighting Saints in 2021-22, Scott became a regular the last two seasons and was an assistant captain last year. 

“He grew into a leadership role,” coach Evan Dixon said. ‘“He leads by doing things the right way and setting a good example.”

Scott improved his offensive game last year, with 33 points in 61 games after just 13 points in 59 games the year before. 

“He became more aware of opportunities on offense,” Dixon said. “He had a better understanding of when to push the puck up the ice.”

But Scott still sees himself primarily as a defensive defenseman. 

“I’m a guy you can trust in every situation,” Scott said. 

Continued; Scott will be playing on the same team as Red Wings prospect Brady Cleveland, who transferred to CC from the University of Wisconsin.

The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn states that a survey by The Athletic reveals that fans are getting impatient with the Red Wings’ rebuilding process, with Detroit dropping to 21st out of 32 teams in terms of fan confidence in the Red Wings’ front office, per The Athletic’s reader survey:

21. Detroit Red Wings

Last year: 12th

“Still think that there is a vision as to what Yzerman and Co. are trying to do and build but there definitely has been some questionable signings and trades that leave you scratching your head.”

“Yzerman’s admittedly been handcuffed by absolutely nothing falling their way in terms of lottery luck despite over a half dozen kicks at the can, but his free agency track record has completely hindered the current version of this team. However, he has left a lot of flexibility in the future which is what truly matters so overall he’s been a net positive.”

It seems as if some of the shine from the Yzerplan has started to wear off within the fan base, with a 45 percentage point drop in confidence since last year. The fans still score the front office above average at a 3.7 rating, but that’s a step back from last year (4.2, seventh) and still well off from public perception.

Yzerman and company are doing the best they can with a bad hand: a rough starting point and a lot of poor lottery luck. But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been self-inflicted wounds along the way. Detroit’s track record in free agency has been abysmal with a lot of money spent at the wrong time on ineffective players that move the needle enough to get the Red Wings away from a higher pick, but not so much that they become a playoff team. Even if the players are stopgaps to let the prospects develop, it comes at a long-term cost.

Within the fan base, there’s also some concern that the team is playing safe at the draft table rather than shooting for upside. For a team that isn’t ready yet and lacks franchise-caliber talent, that feels like another red flag.

Continued (paywall); I’d still like to see a rebuilding team that’s landed all its free agent signings. Expecting free agency to be a solve-all salve just doesn’t work, and as we’ve discussed repeatedly here at TMR, the Red Wings’ player development team definitely has a “draft type,” and that’s not a boom-or-bust player.

I’m not defending a front office that’s clearly made some missteps in terms of free agency signings and “too safe” draft picks, but I do understand why the team’s made the decisions it has made thus far in the rebuilding process.

MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles Red Wings prospect Austin Baker, who was drafted 203rd overall by Detroit this past June. Baker’s from White Lake Township, MI, and Khan reports that the Michigan-born left wing’s delighted to be drafted by his local NHL team:

“My family went crazy,” Baker said. “It’s really a dream come true. I couldn’t even have imagined being picked by the Wings. Hearing my name called by them was like the best feeling ever.”

The 6-0, 190-pound left wing, a White Lake native who played for the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, was surprised because he hadn’t had many pre-draft conversations with Red Wings front-office personnel.

“I think it took a couple of hours to settle in and realize I just got drafted to the Red Wings,” Baker said. “I was just super excited.”

The seventh-round pick has a long way to go to fully realize his dream and knows he must buck the odds. Only 32 players selected 200th or later in the past 15 entry drafts have appeared in an NHL game.

For now, he’s enjoying his status as a Red Wings prospect and the perks that come with it. That included an opportunity at development camp to be on the ice with Pavel Datsyuk, the 171st selection in the 1998 draft who went on to fashion a Hall of Fame career.

“I got the chance to skate with him when I was younger at one of his camps,” Baker said during camp last month at Little Caesars Arena. “Seeing him out there now, trying to teach me something, that was pretty cool.”

Continued (paywall)

Quoting the introduction:

On this episode the boys are joined by long time Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard. With 500+ games and nearly 250 wins behind one of the most historic franchises in sports history, you know he has some incredible stories. He talks about legends like Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay being in the locker room, backing up Hasek, a hilarious Mike Babcock story and much more. Before the interview the boys get into who will score more, Stamkos or Guentzel, some Draisaitl rumors, Olympic talk and much more.

Interview Starts ▶️ 1:40:-00

I’m hesitant to do these fundraising posts, but…

We’re approximately $640 into a $5,500 fundraising effort, and we haven’t even covered the amount that the Bluehost and Jetpack server fees are going to cost later this month, never mind the $4,500 or so that it’s going to take to actually get up to Traverse City.

As such, it’s time to get down to business. I know that TMR restarted at a time of year that was not ideal for reader responses, but we’re trying very hard to fundraise for the purposes of both ensuring TMR’s future (via paying for the server fees) and then (hopefully) send me and my 82-year-old Aunt Annie up to Traverse City to cover the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and main training camp.

That doesn’t happen without you. And now I need your help, because we’re just over a calendar month away from training camp, and things are very, very quiet.

The “Cam & Strick” podcast will have an interesting guest tomorrow:

Jimmy Howard is unanimous with Wings hockey, and he’s got the stories to back it up 🐙🧱 pic.twitter.com/0GG7volft0

— The Cam & Strick Podcast (@CamandStrick) August 5, 2024

Former Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser had to retire due to back issues, and today, the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan reports that DeKeyser has been forced to sue the insurance company that’s handling disability payments regarding his career-ending injury:

Former Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser is suing HCC Life Insurance Company for $680,000 over disability payments.

The 15-page lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, accuses “a breach of the terms of a professional hockey player’s occupation-specific and sport disability insurance contract.”

“The purpose of this case is to compel Defendant HCC Life Insurance Company to provide certain long-term disability benefits in the amounts and at the coverage levels promised, as well as for an accounting, and an award of attorney fees and costs incurred as a consequence of Defendant’s failure to do so,” the lawsuit said.

DeKeyser, 34, from Macomb Township, joined the Wings in 2013 and played through the 2021-22 season.

Continued

Per an email from the Detroit Red Wings:

The biggest drop of the summer is about to happen and you know what that means… single-game tickets are about to go on sale!

Break out the calendars and get ready to score the best seats against your favorite opponents starting on Monday, August 12 at 10 a.m. EST!

A communication will be sent out with a ticket link prior to the start of the sale. Thank you as always and LET’S GO RED WINGS!