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!

Red Wings select Landon Miller 126th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

The Detroit Red Wings have selected Soo Greyhounds goaltender Landon Miller with the 126th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Per the Soo Greyhounds’ website’s Peter Ruicci:

Continue reading Red Wings select Landon Miller 126th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

Red Wings draft Ondrej Becher 80th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

The Detroit Red Wings have drafted Ondrej Becher with the 80th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft:

Per the Hockey News’s Adam Kierszeneblat:

The WHL is set to play a significant role in this year’s 2024 NHL Draft. 57 players were included on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings, with a handful expected to be drafted in the first round. Today’s draft profile is of Prince George Cougars’ Ondrej Becher, who enters the draft as the 69th-ranked North American Skater.

After being passed over in the last two drafts, Becher is projected to finally hear his name called by an NHL team. The Czechian winger had a season to remember, recording 96 points in 58 games while also representing his country at the 2024 World Juniors. A player who has an impact on the game at both ends of the ice, he has developed into an intriguing prospect this season. 

Before discussing his offensive ability, Becher’s defensive game needs to be recognized. He is excellent at blocking shots and creates turnovers at a high rate. As for his positioning, Becher understands where he needs to be at all times, making it a frustrating task for the opposition to try and generate chances when he is on the ice.

As for the offensive zone, Becher thrives with the puck on his stick. While he can score, he is a high-end playmaker who can set up teammates in scoring positions. Becher is also a master in the transition game, as he knows whether the best option is to pass the puck off to a teammate or carry it into the offensive zone himself.

Per the Canadian Hockey League’s website:

Continue reading Red Wings draft Ondrej Becher 80th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

Red Wings draft Max Plante 47th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

The Detroit Red Wings have drafted Max Plante with the 47th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

In the article department, per NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale on June 3rd…

Continue reading Red Wings draft Max Plante 47th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

Talking ‘bold offseason moves’ and the late-night Kane tidbit

The Athletic’s Harman Dayal names the Red Wings among 7 teams which “need to make an offseason splash” in a pre-free agency article:

Steve Yzerman’s stunning trade to give up a second-round pick to offload Jake Walman’s contract ($3.4 million AAV for two seasons) must be a sign that he has something major up his sleeve. There aren’t many other reasonable justifications for being that desperate to clear cap space.

After the Walman trade, we estimated that the Red Wings could have just over $13 million to play with after you plug in Evolving-Hockey’s RFA estimates for Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno. They’ll need to add a few depth pieces to the lineup (most likely through calling up young players internally), but after that, they’ll still have the room to chase a couple of impact players.

Adding top-six help should be high on Yzerman’s wish list. Re-signing Patrick Kane or taking a run at Steven Stamkos given Yzerman’s ties are a couple of possibilities that immediately come to mind. On the back end, it’d be ideal to land a shutdown top-four righty. An upgrade in goal would provide a substantial boost too. Detroit may need to carve out even more room — perhaps through a Justin Holl buyout, as one example — to effectively address all three of those needs.

Continued (paywall); if you missed last night’s TSN video…

Insider Chris Johnston said: “Patrick Kane is still in discussions with the Detroit Red Wings, where he spent last season, I think there’s at least a reasonable chance he ends up as a Red Wing. There’s been a lot of people connecting him to the Rangers, maybe to his hometown Buffalo Sabres, but it sounds like Detroit’s still in decent position, if they can get an agreement on term there…”

Just the Wings’ type

The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood did something interesting in a notebook article filed from the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas–he looked back at Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s early remarks regarding his hopes for the Wings’ 15th overall pick, which turned out to be Michael Brandsegg-Nygard:

Before the draft, Yzerman said, “That 15th pick, that’s still a pretty high pick. It’s important that we get a good player. It’s important that honestly we get a player that plays for us in the NHL [eventually]. We need that. It’s not as simple as we all think or as automatic as we all like to think it is. When you’re picking high, you wanna make sure that you get a good prospect, regardless of the position. I think over the course of each draft, you have to really start thinking about…how many prospects you have at each position, because ultimately, when they turn pro, you’ve got to find a spot for them to play.”

It’s an explanation that comports with the player he ultimately selected. Brandsegg-Nygård arguably jumps immediately to the top of Detroit’s prospect rankings along the wing (not necessarily in terms of his distance from NHL minutes right not but rather overall upside), and his game mirrors the exact style the Red Wings want to play.

With this selection, Yzerman is doubling down on the idea that the team he is building won’t try to boat race opponents 7-6 and 6-5. Instead, he wants a physical, aggressive, forechecking squad, not dissimilar to the Panthers outfit that just lifted the Cup. There are lots of ways to evaluate a draft pick, but in terms of fit, it could hardly get better for Detroit than Brandsegg-Nygård.

Continued; as I said last night, the Red Wings definitely have a “type” of player which they look to select in the first round of the NHL Draft, and while it’s not a sniper like Cole Eiserman or a power forward like Liam Greentree, Detroit’s amateur scouts have spent the past five drafts looking for a player with all-round skills who can play a two-way game, hold his own physically, and is a self-starter and self-improver.

Remembering Marty Pavelich

NHL.com’s Dave Stubbs posted an “obit” piece regarding Red Wings alumnus Marty Pavelich, who passed away recently at 96 years of age:

Pavelich won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955. He played 633 games, all with Detroit from 1947-57, and had 252 points (93 goals, 159 assists). He had 28 points (13 goals, 15 assists) in 91 Stanley Cup Playoff games, five of his goals game-winners.

“I may not have been the most talented member of those teams, but you were never going to outwork me,” he told the Free Press earlier this month. “Nor could you ever have more desire to win than I did. I would like to think my legacy and what I am most proud of was my leadership in the locker room. I hated to lose — still do — and that is what I have attempted to pass on to all of the young people in sports and business I have met through the years.”

The 5-foot-11, 168-pound native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario arrived full-time with the Red Wings having played four seasons, from 1944-47, for their junior team in Galt, Ontario, splitting his 1947-48 rookie season with the NHL team’s minor-league affiliate in Indianapolis.

Pavelich went to the playoffs in all 10 of his NHL seasons, his left-wing assignment on the powerful Red Wings of the 1950s usually to shadow the opposition’s top offensive threats.

“I was playing on a regular line and (coach) Tommy Ivan came to me one day and said, ‘We want to make a checking line,’” Pavelich told reporter Ansar Khan of mlive.com in 2022. “I played with Glen Skov and Tony Leswick. I had to check (Montreal Canadiens superstar) Rocket Richard 14 times a year. That was not easy. To me, he was the greatest goal-scorer of all-time.”

Continued; Mr. Pavelich retired to the town of Big Sky, Montana, and he helped build its first rink. Here’s what legendary Red Wings scribe Keith Gave had to say about Pavelich:

Continue reading Remembering Marty Pavelich

Morning tidbit: it’s a classic ‘hockey family’ story

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted an article which discusses the Red Wings’ drafting of Michael Brandsegg-Nygard earlier this morning. Mills gleaned most of his quotes Steve Yzerman and Kris Draper’s post-first-round press conferences. I thought that this part of the article was most interesting:

As the first Norwegian-born player selected in the first round of an NHL Entry Draft, Brandsegg-Nygard said he’s honored to represent his country and thankful to join the Red Wings organization.

“It has been a dream for so long,” said Brandsegg-Nygard, who was born in Olso. “Now I am living the dream, so I’m just going to work hard, do what I always do and hopefully I’m going to be an NHL player someday.”

Family has played an influential role in Brandsegg-Nygard’s success on and off the ice.

“My family has been so supportive to me, especially my mom and dad,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “They’ve sacrificed so much. My mom drove me to almost every practice and supported me. My dad was my coach back home.”

Continued; it’s my understanding that Brandsegg-Nygard’s father was a professional hockey player as well.

The ‘Y’s’ behind the Walman move

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman addressed the team’s decision to essentially give away Jake Walman and a second-round pick in a trade with the San Jose Sharks to simply shed salary (in order to keep and/or bid for unrestricted free agents) and open up a spot on the blueline, presumably for Simon Edvinsson…

And Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff took note of Yzerman’s remarks:

Continue reading The ‘Y’s’ behind the Walman move

Morning Michael Brandsegg-Nygard mash-up

A trio of columnists discuss the Red Wings’ drafting of Michael Brandsegg-Nygard with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 draft yesterday night in Las Vegas.

We’ll start with the Free Press’s Jeff Seidel, who reports that there was a palpable “buzz” at Little Caesars Arena’s draft party when MBN was drafted…

Back in Little Caesars Arena, as the selection was made, everybody screamed, and the goal horn went off. Spotlights danced around the crowd and the Wings logo swirled. T-shirts were thrown into the crowd, and everybody was up, screaming and waving, as Journey blared over the loudspeakers:

“Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit!”

It felt like the Wings had won a game. The vibe was electric.

But there really is only one huge question: Will he make it? Will he become a player? A star?

Who knows.

It’s an absolute crapshoot when you are drafting teenagers.

But that hardly mattered on this night. Because as everybody walked out of the arena, it sounded — and felt — like a Wings win.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James got the scoop on MBN from Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman and assistant GM/director of amateur scouting Kris Draper…

Continue reading Morning Michael Brandsegg-Nygard mash-up

NY Post’s Brooks says Wings considering trade for Jacob Trouba; Wings, Rangers may duke it out for Kane, Stamkos

The New York Post’s Larry Brooks reports that New York Rangers GM Chris Drury and Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman are discussing a possible trade in which Rangers captain Jacob Trouba would become a Red Wing:

until Jacob Trouba’s no-move transforms to a 15-team no-trade clause, also on Monday, as momentum continues to build for the defenseman’s exit from New York after five seasons.

Indeed, a well-placed source has told The Post that GM Chris Drury is working on a deal to send the captain to the Red Wings, a trade that the Michigan native would presumably accept after having played as a freshman for the Wolverines in 2012-13.

We are told the Rangers may retain $2.5 million per year on the two remaining seasons of Trouba’s $8M annual cap charge. That represents 31.25 percent retention that would also be applied to the $12M in salary Trouba has coming over the next two seasons.

If that does become the amount of retention if this deal goes through, that would clear an additional $5.5M in space … but the Blueshirts would have to then find a reasonable replacement for the most physical and menacing player on the team who held down a spot on their first penalty-kill unit.

Brooks also states that the Rangers and Red Wings might battle it out for Patrick Kane–and possibly Steven Stamkos:

The Rangers and Red Wings appear to be vying for the services of Patrick Kane, who will become available as a free agent on Monday if he does not sign an extension with Detroit. The Post has reported that Drury and the hierarchy are targeting Kane for a Broadway reprise.

But Drury and Detroit GM Steve Yzerman might also be vying to sign Steven Stamkos, who will the free agent market after the 34-year-old rejected Tampa Bay’s final offer that was believed $24M over eight seasons.

Continued; Brooks says that Kane wants a 2-to-3 year contract this time around…