Author: George Malik

The Detroit Red Wings have drafted Michael Brandsegg-Nygard with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

At No. 15, Red Wings pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. Norwegian power forward with a big-time shot. Will be in Skellefteå next season with Axel Sandin Pellikka

— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) June 29, 2024

Welcome to Hockeytown, Michael! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/qjlm9XaQ3d

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) June 29, 2024

Red Wings do in fact pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygård at 15th.
He'll play next season for Skelleftea in SHL, where he'll be teammates with Axel Sandin Pelikka, Wings 1st rounder from last season.

— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) June 29, 2024

Good morning.

Things are not going super in terms of raising funds to get me down to the Red Wings’ summer development camp next week. We raised $270 of the approximately $900 or so needed to rent a vehicle in order to get me downtown on the first day of fundraising…

And we haven’t raised a penny since.

I understand that it’s hard to pay for a product when it’s not here yet, but I’ve attended these development camps since 2006, and if I was able to drag down the 18-year-old Pacifica with its tailpipe scraping the ground, I would…But I can’t do that safely, so I need your help.

If you can’t or won’t donate, I ask you to please share this fundraiser with your friends, so that we can at least keep a sliver of hope available regarding being able to rent a vehicle to safely attend the Wings’ prospect camp by Monday, July 1st.

If that’s not possible…It’s really going to break my heart, and make me incredibly sad, but my family has endured so many setbacks and difficulties over the course of the last eight months that I won’t let it break me. I hope.

Anyway, things are going shittily, and all I can do at this moment is hope against hope that the unthinkable might actually come to pass.

Thanks for reading.

If you’re at all interested in having me attend the Red Wings’ summer development camp next week, here are the fundraising details: you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums.”

Good evening, everybody.

We’ve been a little busy at TMR headquarters as our air conditioner has ceased to function, so I’ve got an 82-year-old sweltering upstairs in 80-degree heat at 11 PM, and so we’ve spent the past couple of days sorting out our options and working with a HVAC company to finance an air conditioner, which will be installed tomorrow morning.

In terms of the Quid-Pro-Prospect fundraising drive, we’re doing pretty well. We’ve raised $270 over the course of 2 days, which means that we’ve got about $700 to go. I’m hoping to pick the vehicle up sometime on Monday, July 1st (UFA day), so we’ve got approximately five days to work out the funding.

If you’re at all interested in having me attend the Red Wings’ summer development camp next week, here are the fundraising details: you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums.”

Thanks again for your time and support. I know it’s been a weird year for TMR–first I got sick, then some profound depression hit, and had to be sorted out, and then Aunt Annie suffered falls and eventually a broken hip.

But we’re going to try to get back to “normal” this summer, and whatever that normal is, we’ll try to continue it into the 2024-2024 regular season.

It’s been a wild ride of on-and-off-again coverage for me, and I don’t like that fact, but life isn’t easy for a one-person blog whose blogger is also an elder caregiver. Aunt Annie is very supportive of this endeavor, however, and we both want to make this work.

Thanks again.

Good morning, everybody.

I’ve been immersed in the caregiving process for the past couple of months as my aunt has recovered from double hip replacement surgery, but the draft and free agency are coming…

And I’d like to be able to at least get to the Red Wings’ summer development camp after the draft to do some work for you.

Regrettably, my 18-year-old Chrysler Pacifica’s tailpipe is dragging on the ground in three places, and there are parts falling off under the driver’s side door as well.

As such, it would be optimal if I could rent a vehicle for the five or so days that the Red Wings hold their summer development camp–most likely starting on July 1st or July 2nd–so I’m throwing a Hail Mary pass here with little notice.

Securing a vehicle for a week costs $500-600 including taxes and fees, and there’s a $300 deposit as well. If there is any way that we can defer the costs of renting a car, getting some gas into the vehicle and some food into me, that would be more than “generous compensation” on your behalf.

And if we don’t make the fundraising goals by the end of the week, I’ll just refund your donations.

If you’re willing to take part in this little endeavor, here are the details:

A GoFundMe is not useful in this instance as it can take a week to two weeks for funds to reach me, so: you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums.”

I know I’m springing this one on you at the last minute, but I’m hoping that we can work something out so that a week from now, I’m writing up prospect reports for you.

Thanks for your time!

After almost three weeks’ worth of hospitalization and rehabilitation, my Aunt Annie and her pair of titanium hips are coming home tomorrow morning.

We received the OK from our orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday (he gave no restrictions on her hips, save using he walker) and from the physical therapy department here, so we’re more than ready to get back home, get some solid sleep, and restart our lives together.

Things are going to be different for now–I’ll have to supervise my aunt as she uses her walker to go to the restroom, day or night, and we’ll have to be careful with her hips as they heal (no bending, no twisting, no crossing her feet, etc. etc.)…

But we’re going to have some assistance in the home health care department in the form of more PT, OT and nursing for a couple of weeks, but the main responsibilities lie upon my shoulders, as per usual, in terms of caregiving.

Hi, everybody. The Malik Report remains offline due to a significant medical setback for my aunt:

On Saturday, April 13th, my 81-year-old Aunt Annie, for whom I am the primary caregiver through the State of Michigan’s Home Health Care program, had a fall.

She fell into our raised toilet seat’s railings in the bathroom, and she appeared to suffer a very bad bruise to her pelvis. She also fell on her way back to her bed, falling backward out of her walker onto the floor.

For the next two days, Aunt Annie’s condition slowly deteriorated, though she repeatedly refused to go to the ER or Urgent Care.

On the recommendation of a nurse, on Monday, April 15th, we visited her primary care physician, who noted that Aunt Annie was in pain whenever she put weight on her left leg, but was still able to do so, and I employed our wheelchair to get her into our janky 17-year-old Pacifica and to the doctor’s office.

We were told that if she simply couldn’t put weight on the leg, or her pain level increased, that we should head to the ER. Aunt Annie joked with her physician of over 40 years as we headed out the door and back home, and we were able to wobble her up the three stairs to our condominium with assistance.

By Monday evening, however, Aunt Annie was unable to put any weight on her left leg, and while she was refusing treatment as I pled with her to head to the ER or Urgent Care to get some x-rays, she was becoming quite fuzzy mentally. She was “in and out.” I waffled and decided to let her sleep, and see what would happen in the morning.

It’s been a while…And we’ve been sick. Emphasis on we.

So you’re going to get a bit of a verbal mishmash, and I apologize for that, but it’s necessary to explain the situation.

Both Aunt Annie and I are dealing with persistent health issues which have taken me away from the blog, and kept me away from the blog over the last couple of months.

Those issues have been complicated by the fact that Aunt Annie took a rough fall a couple of weeks ago.

She’s required in-home nursing care to treat her wounds (though I’ve learned my share of wound care over the last three years), and give her some physical therapy, and that’s made things more complicated for me, because I’ve been shepherding her through four or five nursing visits a week.

That’s a lot of time, energy and effort to be dedicating to caregiving, so even if I was healthy enough to blog full-time, right now, I’m kind of stuck doing the caregiving job, and hoping that she doesn’t fall again.

Even though she’s using a walker, and is making sure that I supervise her locomotion right now, she’s been really shaky over the past couple of months, and she’s had a very rough week this week…So we’re just hoping for a full recovery over time.

The “long story long” about me is pretty simple: nobody knows why I’m still physically ill and dealing with low energy levels so regularly. I’ve seen my primary care physician several times about this issue, I’ve seen an ENT/otolaryngologist to address the issue, but we just don’t know why some days, I can get out of bed and work and be a caregiver at the same time…

And other days, I can barely function for more than a couple of hours in the morning and a couple of hours at night. I’ve tried very hard to pop up on Twitter and do the full “game call” thing over the past couple of months, and that’s been life-giving in terms of interacting with like-minded hockey fans, but just doing a couple hours’ worth of Twitter interaction can exhaust me for a day or more.

Hello and a belated “Happy New Year!” to you.

I wanted to update my situation as my health issues persist:

1. I’ve seen an ear-nose-and-throat specialist, and he recommended both the usage of sinus sprays, and that I have a CT scan of my sinuses (scheduled for today), which will hopefully determine whether I have any blockages in my cheek or orbital sinuses. I have a follow-up appointment scheduled with my ENT in one week.
2. My inability to do much other than get on Twitter/X during games, and my need to take entire days off to recover from said activity = I’ve been quite depressed of late. I’m working with my therapist and psychiatrist to address the issue with a higher level of medication.
3. Aunt Annie and I are really struggling financially because I’m unable to work right now. I hate to ask for assistance at present, but I really have no other choice as we’re tremendously short on bills this month.

If you can lend a hand with our overall expenses, we have an old-fashioned GoFundMe here https://gofund.me/64fd3d8f, you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums.”

It really sucks to still be in this situation again, but we are where we are. I’m doing my best medically and psychologically to attempt to return to action, but right now, to quote Cheech and Chong, “Things are tough all over.”

So we’re trying to scrape by. I don’t do the financial dance lightly–I do it with some embarrassment–but when you’ve been on the IR for three full months, you do what you have to do to survive.

Long story long, I’m doing everything I can to address my physical and mental illnesses, but it’s been mind-numbingly difficult. I’m sorry for my continued absence, and as soon as I feel even partially better, I will get back to work.

Hello again, friends. Here’s an update on the Great Sinus Infection of 2023, and the person who’s got it (me):

I’ve had my third doctor’s appointment on Wednesday, and I got tested for COVID, influenza, HIV and Hepatitis B (all negative, thankfully), but my doctor can’t determine why my body is still in a fatigue funk, so I’m going to take a course of Prednisone to try and boost my immune system.

I do terribly badly on steroids, but after two courses of heavy antibiotics, I guess the job right now is to suck it up and try my best to get through it without going completely bonkers.

This upcoming Monday, I will see a sinus specialist, and we will try to get some answers there. As I’ve previously said, more corrective sinus surgery is likely in my future, though it’s more like a “tune-up” is needed than another severe surgery, which I had some 20 years ago.

I miss you and I miss blogging, so I’m doing my best to get better here. Putting in the work and dealing with discomfort is just part of the job description right now.

I hope to see you soon. Take care.

I’ve been reading the reactions to the Red Wings’ signing of Patrick Kane on social media (generally something I don’t recommend, but it was a weird day), and…

I get it. Patrick Kane was more than a long-time Wing-killer and agitant in Chicago. He’s got an off-ice “history,” to put things delicately, and the so-called “character issues” have long-time Wings fans perturbed about the karmic value of this particular signing.

Put indelicately, let’s be honest regarding the hockey part of the equation: Patrick Kane is, at this point in his career, a 35-year-old hired gun–a mercenary of sorts–and this is a marriage of convenience for both parties.

If Kane’s resurfaced hip holds up (which is a BIG “IF” at this point), and his chemistry with Alex DeBrincat holds true, then this is a no-brainer.

If something goes amiss, physically or otherwise, this is not the Toronto Maple Leafs we’re talking about. The stakes here in Detroit are about making the playoffs and extending the season, not necessarily contending for the Stanley Cup.

Realistically, from a hockey perspective here, if Kane finds some sort of suitable middle ground, in the top-six, and the Wings are in the playoff mix down the stretch, all is well…

And both parties can decide whether this “dry run” for what may be a year-from-now Cup run for Kane (there’s no reason to suggest this will be his last stop if he succeeds here) continues.

And, getting back to the heart of the matter: a 35-year-old on a one-year contract is a lot like the Todd Bertuzzi who the Red Wings acquired from Florida long ago and far away.