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!

Jake Walman holds a conference call with San Jose reporters

Former Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman held a conference call with reporters yesterday afternoon, and the now-San Jose Sharks defender told the Hockey News’s Max Miller that he found out he was traded while traveling to the NHLPA meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada…

When he found out he had been traded, Walman was on his way to Las Vegas for NHLPA meetings as the Detroit Red Wings representative. When GM Steve Yzerman called, Walman said he knew the only reason was that he had been traded.

“He didn’t really have any reason to call me other than, I guess, to tell me I was traded,” Walman said. “It started off [with], how was my summer going and then waiting for him to get to the point, and when he told me, it was almost like a little bit surreal. I didn’t think that trade was in the equation, but it almost felt like a dream. Once it kind of settled in my head, I called my family and told them. I called my brother and my best friends, and off I was with my thoughts.”

But Walman is optimistic about joining the Sharks…

Continue reading Jake Walman holds a conference call with San Jose reporters

Now work on the front half of the roster, GMSY

If you’ve been sleeping since the NHL Draft ended on June 29th, here’s what the Red Wings have accomplished over the course of the weekend and the start of unrestricted free agency, per Daily Faceoff’s Hunter Crowther:

It has been a very busy few days of free agency for the Red Wings. On Monday, the club signed goaltendersĀ Cam TalbotĀ andĀ Jack Campbell, as well as forwardsĀ Christian FischerĀ andĀ Sheldon Dries, and defendersĀ Erik GustafssonĀ andĀ William Lagesson.

And tonight, the team has signed Tyler Motte to a 1-year contract.

On Sunday night, Detroit re-signedĀ Patrick KaneĀ to a one-year contract with a base cap hit of $4 million. Last season, he scored 20 goals and 27 assists for 47 points in 50 games with the Red Wings, giving Detroit a valuable option on the wing as they attempt to make the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons.

Unless you’re interested in Vladimir Tarasenko, Joe Pavelski or James van Riemsdyk, there aren’t many options left in terms of adding the top-six scoring winger the Red Wings need, and there’s only so much cap space with restricted free agents Jonatan Berggren, Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider and Joe Veleno left to sign…

So the Red Wings may require a trade or two this summer in order to truly improve the team in a meaningful manner.

Fundraising update: ‘we wonder all about him, and the point of it all’

I’ve been walking around today exhausted from five long days starting up the blog again during the busiest time of the season…and in a daze, almost feeling grief about the fact that I’m not able to attend the Red Wings’ summer development camp due to vehicle trouble.

As I’ve already told you, our 18-year-old Chrysler Pacifica was deemed unsafe-to-drive over eight months ago, but we can’t find any outside resources to help us replace the vehicle (after contacting Oakland County, our congressperson and even WDIV; there are also no car charities that can legally spend their funds in Oakland County, so we’ve gone down that road as well), so we’ve been letting the rusted-out vehicle serve as an errand-runner.

Regrettably, its tailpipe’s fallen off and drags on the road (in three places) when I try to drive it, and we can’t afford to fix it, so the whole purpose of fundraising was to get me in a rental car for the week and down to Little Caesars Arena for the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp.

Now I’m not down there at the Red Wings’ rink for the first time since 2006, and…

Continue reading Fundraising update: ‘we wonder all about him, and the point of it all’

Press release: Red Wings confirm Tyler Motte signing

Another good down-the-lineup player:

RED WINGS SIGN FORWARD TYLER MOTTE TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT
ā€¦ St. Clair Native and University of Michigan Product Has Skated in 400 NHL Games Since 2016-17 ā€¦

DETROIT ā€“ The Detroit Red Wings today signed center Tyler Motte to a one-year contract with an average annual value of $800,000.

Motte, 29, spent the 2023-24 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, recording nine points (6-3-9) and 28 penalty minutes in 69 regular-season games. The 5-foot-10, 194-pound forward also netted one goal in five postseason games with the Lightning. Motte split the 2022-23 campaign between the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers, logging nine points (3-6-9) and four penalty minutes in 38 games with the Senators before adding 10 points (5-5-10) and two penalty minutes in 24 regular-season contests with the Rangers. Originally selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fourth round (121st overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Motte has registered 90 points (49-41-90) and 110 penalty minutes in 400 games with the Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks, Rangers, Senators and Lightning since 2016-17. He also collected 32 points (21-11-32) and 49 penalty minutes in 67 American Hockey League games with the Rockford IceHogs, Cleveland Monsters and Utica Comets.

A native of St. Clair, Mich., Motte played three seasons at the University of Michigan from 2013-16, where he skated alongside Red Wings forwards J.T. Compher, Andrew Copp and Dylan Larkin. As a junior, Motte earned First Team All-American honors after racking up 56 points (32-24-56), a plus-28 rating and 36 penalty minutes in 38 games, helping the Wolverines earn a Big Ten Tournament championship. In total, Motte accumulated 105 points (50-55-105), a plus-38 rating and 72 penalty minutes in 107 games with the Wolverines. Motte also spent two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program from 2011-13. On the international stage, Motte represented Team USA at the 2016 IIHF World Championship, notching three points (1-2-3) in 10 games. He also competed at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, picking up one assist in five appearances. Motte captured a silver medal at the 2013 World Under-18 Championship with seven points (5-2-7) in seven games, and also won silver at the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Red Wings sign Tyler Motte to 1-year contract

Per the Red Wings on Twitter:

Motte’s 29, he’s from Port Huron, and he played for the University of Michigan for four years.

Red Wings make a ‘movie magic’ cameo in ‘Axel F’

According to the Detroit News’s Adam Graham, the Red Wings make a cameo appearance in the new Beverly Hills Cop film Axel F, but only as b-roll footage and a little bit of “movie magic”:

Detroit Red Wings: The movie’s first big set piece is a robbery at Little Caesars Arena, during a Red Wings game. Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley is seen in the stands at the game and in a standoff inside the Red Wings locker room, but that was all movie magic: cameras were rolling when the Red Wings faced the Las Vegas Golden Knights at LCA on Dec. 3, 2022 ā€” the Wings lost that game, 4-1 ā€” but Murphy never stepped foot in Detroit for the shoot. And the locker room is a set, not the Wings’ real locker room.

Continued; I’d imagine that it was easier (and less smelly) to recreate the locker room, but it’s a bit of a bummer that they didn’t use the Wings’ real locker room, too.

In Toledo, the Walleye’s re-signing of Brandon Hawkins is big news

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe reports that the Red Wings’ ECHL affiliate, the Toledo Walleye, were able to re-sign leading scorer Brandon Hawkins for another season, and the Walleye are thrilled about the fit–as is Hawkins himself:

Hawkins, known by many as ā€œThe Mayor,ā€ recently re-signed to play his fourth season with the Walleye.. Last season, Hawkins led the ECHL in scoring with 93 points, including a league-high 40 goals. He earned the ECHLā€™s MVP honor and guided Toledo to the Western Conference finals.

ā€œI couldnā€™t be more excited to come back,ā€ Hawkins said. ā€œMy wife and I call Toledo home now. The fans and everybody here are family to us. And every year I get a little more excited to come back.ā€

Over his 188 games with the Walleye in three seasons, Hawkins has averaged 1.3 points per contest. Hawkins had a career year in 2023-24, posting the most goals, assists (53), and points of his five-year pro career.

ā€œHe plays a well-rounded game, and his numbers speak for themselves,ā€ Toledo coach Pat Mikesch said. ā€œHeā€™s got the ability to slow down the game. And Hawk loves being at the rink and talking hockey with everyone. He takes pride in his accomplishments, but always makes the organizationā€™s success the top priority.ā€

Continued

DHN’s Allen breaks down Sheldon Dries’ ‘fit’ with both Grand Rapids and Detroit

The Red Wings signed free agents William Lagesson, Joe Snively and Sheldon Dries to bolster the Grand Rapids Griffins over the course of the first day of free agency, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen has posted a subscriber-only article which discusses the reasons why Dries, a 30-year-old forward, is the “right fit” for the organization:

Proper Attitude: When he played at Western Michigan, he was seen as a quiet leader. Teammates took note of how he prepared himself for a game and how hard he played. Heā€™s not a complainer. Dries is always humble about his contributions. Coaches love having dedicated players like Dries.

When he played for the Canucks, he was a viewed as a true professional.

ā€œI really appreciate these kind of guys because Iā€™ve been through it myself as a player,ā€ former Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau told the Providence newspaper in 2023. ā€œEvery time we sent him down, he said: ā€˜Donā€™t worry. Iā€™ll have a great attitude and Iā€™ll work my butt off to be backā€™. And he has. When you put him in any situation, all heā€™s doing is giving it his best. Thereā€™s no pouting.ā€

Heā€™s a 5-foot-9, 180 pounder. Dreis doesnā€™t offer a beastly presence. But he pushes himself to get to the net. He is always where he needs to be.

Continued (paywall)

Cam Talbot’s hoping to hit home with Red Wings

New Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot has played for eight NHL teams, but the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan reports that the Wings’ new goalie hopes to have found a home in Detroit:

“I seem to be a part of it every summer,” Talbot said of the free agent frenzy during a Zoom call with media on Tuesday. “You never really get used to it, especially with kids and family now. There’s a lot more to think about ā€” situations, term, length, all of that stuff. But Detroit checked a lot of boxes for me.”

Talbot, 36, is joining his fourth team in four years (the Wings are his eighth team overall) so the security of a second year was huge. Secondly, his wife grew up in the Detroit area until her teen years, so having family in the area was nice.

“We’ve never had that with any of the teams I’ve been part of,” Talbot said. “And my family is a four-hour drive away (in Caledonia, Ontario), so all these things kind of factored in. It all seemed to work out and we couldn’t be happier.”

Talbot played in 54 games with the Kings this past season, going 27-20-6 with a 2.50 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. He struggled in three playoff appearances, though, going 1-2 with a 5.30 GAA and .861 SVS as the Kings were eliminated in five games in the first round by Edmonton.

“I thought I played pretty well,” Talbot said of his season. “It was kind of healthy competition (with goaltender David Rittich) to start the season. I started the season strong, got the All-Star nod in January and a little dip like the rest of the team there getting into February, but I finished strong again. I just wanted to go in there and wanted to prove after a down year in Ottawa that I could still be the guy and I was able to do that.”

Continued (with comments from Erik Gustafsson as well)