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!

Shapiro notes that the Augustine’s gloves match his pads…for now…

Red Wings goaltender Trey Augustine is a bit of a hybrid goalie in that he’s worn different pads and gloves for the majority of his career…But EP Rinkside’s Sean Shapiro reports in his “Shap Shots” blog that the Vaughn glove and blocker that Augustine prefers may have to go to the way of the dodo for his sponsorship deal with True by Lefevre:

I spoke with Augustine about his equipment during the season, particular the Vaughn glove. He really liked the break of the Vaughn glove, and at the time hadn’t found a similar fit or comfort from True, which I know has pushed to sponsor the goalie.

And while it’s common to see mismatched equipment in a local beer league game, mismatched gear in the NHL simply doesn’t happen. To my knowledge, Jake Allen was the last NHL goalie to use a mixed up set, using a Brian’s glove and True pads before switching completely to Brian’s last season.

For Augustine, to get the full financial benefit of a gear sponsorship, he’ll have to match his pads and gloves before reaching the NHL. He was smart when I asked him about it on Wednesday, saying he didn’t want to comment on whether the Vaughn glove was still his go-to choice.

Continued (paywall)

Tweets of note: Dan Cleary speaks with the media at the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp

Red Wings director of player development Daniel Cleary is speaking with the media at the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp:

Tweets from Day 3 of the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp

The Detroit Red Wings are engaged in the third day of skill development, power skating coaching and off-ice learning at the team’s annual Summer Development Camp. I’ll post a repository of the Tweets regarding Day 3 here:

Again, Datsyuk works back home in a developmental role with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, so he’s looking to learn some stuff from the Red Wings’ other development camp coaches, too.

The BELFOR Training Center is much, much more like a superhero’s secret underground lair than it is a basement.

Continue reading Tweets from Day 3 of the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp

Tweet of note: ‘Where were you when Steve Yzerman retired?’

I was in Chicago with my cousin Dan, listening to Steve Yzerman’s retirement press conference online while trying to transcribe it for my MLive blog. It was a sad day:

Regarding the best of the ‘leftovers’

The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood posted an article which discusses 3 still-unrestricted-free-agent forwards which could help the Red Wings address their scoring issues, including Vladimir Tarasenko, Jack Roslovic and Tyler Johnson. Here’s what Eargood has to say about the #1 choice, Tarasenko:

Fresh off a Stanley Cup win with the Florida Panthers, Vladimir Tarasenko is still on the market as a free agent. Even at 32, he could bring scoring punch with his big shot and nifty stickhandling.

At his age, there’s no telling if Tarasenko can match his totals season to season, but last year, he put up 55 points in 76 regular season games with Ottawa and Florida. In the postseason, he scored nine points in the Panthers’ playoff run. He isn’t the same 35 to 40 goal scorer he was at his prime, but Tarasenko still shoots well, and this Detroit could use another capable shooter in the middle six to diversify its options.

Tarasenko could play on the second line, but his best usage would be as a shooter on the third line alongside a potential rerun of the Andrew Copp and Michael Rasmussen duo. Whereas Christian Fischer made that third line a hard, checking unit, Tarasenko could give it some well-rounded offense through his shot. And he wouldn’t be a complete aberration to that line’s heavy play, as his game has picked up more physicality as he has aged. That was part of why he could be so effective down the lineup with the Panthers, where he became less of an offensive focal point and more so offensive depth. The Red Wings don’t have Florida-level talent around him, but a similar third line role could net a similar source of scoring.

Right now, AFP Analytics projects Tarasenko to make $4,171,200 for two seasons on his next contract. Detroit probably can’t afford anything close to that while still signing its RFAs, though a trade — particularly of a goalie — might free up enough cap space.

Continued; I’d love to see the Wings add Tarsenko, but the rumor mill suggests that he’s interested in a reunion with the Panthers. The most intriguing candidate might be Tyler Johnson, who could fill the skates of David Perron.

Datsyuk’s in Detroit to learn, too

Updated at 10:57 AM: Pavel Datsyuk isn’t joining the Red Wings’ organization despite skating with the Red Wings’ prospects during Detroit’s development camp.

Datsyuk happened to be in town for an in-person autograph signing at Detroit City Sports, and it coincided with Detroit’s Summer Development Camp cycle, so Datsyuk’s in town to both impart wisdom and learn about skill development as he continues to work with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg to develop hockey talent in his hometown.

This morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses Datsyuk’s cameo appearance:

“I miss Detroit, and I have hockey player development job back home,” Datsyuk said. “I wanted to see how this goes. I wanted more experience and more study from one of the best teams.”

…

“If I can give them any advice — it’s your favorite job, you choose this job,  you need to fall in love with the job,” Datsyuk said. “(That’s) how you can make it farther. And then come every day and enjoy.”

The 45-year-old doesn’t miss playing — “I have no fire in my heart” for that, he said — and coaching isn’t for him, either. But he’s enjoying taking on a role back home in developing young players.

Continued; the Red Wings posted Datsyuk’s press conference on YouTube:

Continue reading Datsyuk’s in Detroit to learn, too

Duff discusses the Red Wings’ 2024-2025 schedule

The Detroit Red Wings released their 2024-2025 season schedule yesterday, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses some of the significant dates on the sked:

The Detroit Red Wings will be counting on some home cooking to get the 2024-25 NHL regular season off to a tasty start. The Red Wings open the season with back-to-back home games – Pittsburgh (Oct. 10) and Nashville (Oct. 12).

In fact, seven of the first 11 Red Wings games will be taking place on home ice at Little Caesars Arena. On the flip side, the Red Wings will close out regular-season play with five of the last six and 10 of the final 15 games on the road.

The Detroit Red Wings will be counting on some home cooking to get the 2024-25 NHL regular season off to a tasty start. The Red Wings open the season with back-to-back home games – Pittsburgh (Oct. 10) and Nashville (Oct. 12).

In fact, seven of the first 11 Red Wings games will be taking place on home ice at Little Caesars Arena. On the flip side, the Red Wings will close out regular-season play with five of the last six and 10 of the final 15 games on the road.

The team will play a pair of four-game homestands – from December 23-31 and from January 7-14. There are a quartet of four-game road swings, three of them in the New Year. The first is from November 13-18. There are also four-game road swings on January 16-21, and from January 30-February 4. Detroit will also play four in a row away from home March 18-25.

Continued; the Red Wings’ schedule is typically more home-heavy over the first half of the season, and then road-heavy after January 1st. I don’t know why that is.

Discussing the Red Wings’ goaltending moves

The Athletic’s Jesse Granger posted an article which discusses the goaltending moves made by NHL teams during the offseason thus far, and he suggests that the Red Wings “filled a need with potential for more” in signing Cam Talbot and Jack Campbell:

There’s a lot going on in the Detroit crease at the moment. After two signings on Monday, the Red Wings now have four goalies with extensive NHL experience under contract: Cam Talbot, Ville Husso, Alex Lyon and Jack Campbell. Plus, they have two of the top goalie prospects in the league, Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine.

Augustine will be a sophomore at Michigan State, so he’s not ready to join the traffic jam, but Cossa (a first-round pick in 2021) has already put together excellent seasons in the ECHL and last year in the AHL. He’s likely the future in net for Detroit, and one of the reasons why the signing of Talbot makes a ton of sense.

Not only can Talbot still play — he proved that with 15.01 GSAx last year in Los Angeles — but he’s a perfect veteran presence to have around Cossa. How many games Talbot will end up playing is still to be settled, but he adds a professionalism to the Red Wings’ goalie room that should benefit everyone in it.

Continued (paywall); if Talbot assumes the starter’s role over Alex Lyon, he’s 36 going on 37 this Friday, and he’s signed two-year deal, so that does track toward an eventual succession plan where Cossa comes up to the NHL and Augustine joins the Red Wings’ organization in Grand Rapids.

How the Wings will alleviate their goalie glut, I don’t yet know, but my gut feeling is that Husso will be the odd man out, with some salary retained, and that Campbell is going to mentor Cossa and push him for starts in Grand Rapids.