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!

‘Two sentences’ on the Red Wings’ signings of Talbot, Gustafsson and Campbell

Sportsnet’s Justin Bourne posted two-sentence commentaries on “every notable [free agent] signing” from yesterday’s opening of the unrestricted free agent marketplace. Here are his takes on three of the Red Wings’ signings:

Cam Talbot: Detroit, 2 x $2.5M: Pretty low risk deal for Detroit, but how it pans out depends on how their D plays. If anything, Talbot’s stint in Ottawa in 2022-23 showed that he can’t do it without stability in front of him, and I think Detroit’s still got some work to do there.

Erik Gustafsson: Detroit, 2 x $2M: Gustafsson is a high-event guy, but also one of the league’s more raw-talented ones. He can make some of the hardest plays, but also makes some easy ones look hard in the process.

Jack Campbell: Detroit, 1 x $775K: He’s got the pedigree, is a great personality, and most of that can be buried in the minors. On the other hand, maybe he finds himself with a fresh start, and you luck into a legitimate league-average NHL goalie.

Continued at astonishing length…

Development camp Day 2 interview Tweets


Of note from the Red Wings’ second day of Summer Development Camp, in Twitter form:

From DetroitRedWings.com’s Carley Johnston…

WXYZ’s Jeanna Trotman…

As well as DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce…

Change of (developmental) plans?

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff believes that the Red Wings’ quiet start to the unrestricted free agent period might mean that GM Steve Yzerman will finally “give the kids a chance” to play more regular roles this upcoming season:

The Red Wings really have taken a hit since the end of the season in terms of depth, especially scoring depth. Gone are David Perron (17 goals), Daniel Sprong (18), Shayne Gostisbehere (10) and Jake Walman (12). That’s 57 goals exiting.

Regression for a team that missed the playoffs by a point last season would appear quite possible. While the Red Wings have patchworked the past couple of years with journeymen veterans, teams like Philadelphia, Buffalo and Ottawa were opting to run out their kids and take some lumps while they were learning.

Will their kids be a step ahead of Detroit’s youngsters on the NHL learning curve because of that?

Who knows what other plans the Red Wings might have cooking right now on the back burner. Yzerman isn’t one for entering the sharing circle when it comes to discussing his plans for his team.

Following the weekend’s NHL draft, he certainly didn’t seem at all concerned about not signing any A-list free agents.

“If we can get somebody at the right number, we’ll do it,” Yzerman said at the time. “If not, we’ll wait. We’re confident we’ll fill our roster out one way or another.”

Continued

Tweet and video of note: Alex Lyon on InGoal Radio

FYI from Red Wings Prospects on Twitter:

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NHL releases 2024-2025 season schedule: Here’s the Red Wings’ sked

Here’s the Detroit Red Wings’ 2024-2025 schedule:

Here’s the Wings’ press release:

Continue reading NHL releases 2024-2025 season schedule: Here’s the Red Wings’ sked

Tweet of note: Datsyuk’s at development camp

FYI from the Detroit Red Wings:

And Sean Shapiro:

As well as WXYZ’s Jeanna Trotman:

The Griffins are at development camp, too:

Tweet of note: The summer development camp starts a busy day for the Red Wings’ media corps

I’m not at the BELFOR Training Center today due to a fundraising deficit, so we’ll rely on the Wings’ beat writers for coverage of the second day of the Red Wings’ summer development camp:

The Red Wings will hold media availabilities with select players during this afternoon–and some ZOOM calls with some of the UFA signings–and the 2024-2025 schedule is coming out today as well. It’s going to be a busy day.

The Wings have covered the development camp through Instagram thus far:

Continue reading Tweet of note: The summer development camp starts a busy day for the Red Wings’ media corps

Where the goal-scoring deficit stands

Per Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen, here’s a plain and simple summary of the Red Wings’ goal-scoring losses over the course of the first day of free agency:

With the loss of David Perron, Jake Walman, Shayne Gostisbehere and probably Daniel Sprong, the Red Wings have lost 57 goals off last season’s team. Walman (12) and Gostisbehere (10) were the team’s top goal-scoring defensemen, while Sprong netted 18 goals and Perron 17. Sprong is still available in the free agent market. How will Detroit recoup those goals? Detroit Hockey Now will address that with a story later this week.

Continued (and I’m looking forward to Allen or Bob Duff addressing the issue); at this point, unless the Wings sign a Tarasenko or van Riemsdyk, the answer is going to be through a trade or two.