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!

Justin Holl presses the ‘reset’ button

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a notebook article whose main thrust is a discussion of Carter Mazur’s status as an up-and-coming prospect, but he offers this regarding Justin Holl as well…

Last season didn’t go as planned for defenseman Justin Holl. Signed to a three-year contract, Holl wound up playing on 38 games as he fell out of the playing rotation, combined with a defensive unit that was mostly healthy kept Holl pinned as a healthy scratch. Holl appears to be in a tight battle for playing time this season, too.

“I can just maintain a narrow focus, that’s all I can do,” Holl said. “As a player you learn control what you can. For me, that’s trying to perform as well as I can every practice and game and let the chips fall as they may.”

Holl is viewing this season as a “clean slate,” a fresh start after last season’s disappointment.

“That’s common theme in the NHL, it’s the best league in the world and every year you have to continue to prove yourself,” Holl said. “I’m definitely highly motivated and want to be a big part of this team, and I know I can be. That’s the focus for me.”

And there are a few more notes of interest from Kulfan:

… Lalonde would like to, and feels it’s likely, the Wings will have a close to an NHL lineup in either of the home games Thursday or Friday.

The Red Wings traditionally have an NHL lineup against the Leafs for their Friday home game, before giving their AHL’ers and prospects one last chance to impress on Saturday night…

… Lalonde has made this one of the more challenging training camps in recent years, and there’s both a physical and mental aspect to it.

“Part of this harder camp, if you will, has been asking the group for a little bit more,” Lalonde said. “We want to push a little more physically, and hopefully it turns into a little more mentally, too.”

Regarding Joe Veleno’s position–and positioning–on the Wings’ roster

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton wonders aloud where Joe Veleno fits into the Red Wings’ lineup, and he receives a succinct answer from Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde…

“I foresee him starting as our [fourth] center there,” coach Derek Lalonde told The Hockey News, when asked about Veleno’s current place in his lineup. “And he’s given us some good games at center. I think he’s a very valuable, versatile player. I like him at the wing at times too. He can play just a little bit North-South, create a little bit on the forecheck. If you recall last year, he had a little run with Larkin and Raymond, and it game them a huge boost because of his legs. He’s gonna start as a center, but he’s one of those versatile guys that can play both center and wing.” Lalonde added that there is a balance to strike between optimizing each individual player’s role with the overall health and effectiveness of the team, saying “It’s all connected. You’re playing to win every night, but you wanna do that to make your team successful [and put] guys [in a role] where they’re at their best.”

But Veleno himself sees room for growth:

When asked for his opinion on the next steps for his career, Veleno replied, “I wanna up my game in every situation.  Every opportunity that I’m given, I wanna take advantage of that, keep striding in the right direction, being more consistent every night, just bringing that energy night in and night out…I wanna be a part of what’s going on here.  I wanna be part of this trend moving forward, and I think we got something good going on.”

He went on to explain that he doesn’t see a dissonance between pushing for more offense and playing a reliable two-way game.  Instead, for Veleno, the former follows from the latter.  “I think it’s all about anticipation and reading the play and knowing when to be above guys and when to get those opportunities offensively,” he explained.  “I’ve always been taught that if you’re well positioned defensively [and] don’t cheat the game, offense will come to you.  If you’re always in the right spot, somehow you’ll be open and guys will find you.  So I think just always being in the right spot defensively, it will lead to good offense.  Sometimes it will even surprise you.  You’re in a good spot defensively, and the next thing you know, a couple seconds later, you’re getting a Grade A chance in front of the net.”

Continued; really good stuff from Stockton here.

On the Wings’ mobility in the ‘most interesting division’

Sportsnet’s Andrew Brewer wonders aloud, “Who could move up, and down, in the NHL’s most interesting division?” and that division is, of course, the Atlantic Division.

Brewer offers thorough profiles of every one of the NHL’s 8 Atlantic Division teams, and the Red Wings are slotted in a mobile group of teams that “could jump in” to the playoff picture (though Brewer believes that it’s Ottawa, at the expense of Tampa Bay, which will make the playoffs outright):

Detroit Red Wings

Last Playoff Appearance: 2015-2016
Games Before Thanksgiving: 22
Home: 11
Away: 11
vs. 2024 Playoff Team: 13
Back-to-Backs: 3
Coach: Derek Lalonde, hired summer of 2022

Reason they will make the playoffs:

1. They are so close: The Red Wings came a tiebreaker away from securing a spot in the 2023-24 playoffs and have built towards this since Steve Yzerman took over as GM in the post playoff streak era. They are so close they can smell it at this point, and they need a reason to light up the pizza ovens at Little Caesar’s Arena for its first playoff game.

2. Roster build: They might be the most complete team of the bottom four in the Atlantic, with experienced netminders, a mix of skills on the back end and a top-six forward group to rival anyone in the East. The Red Wings’ roster is built for success.

Reason they won’t make the playoffs:

1. What’s New?: I think Lalonde is a great coach, but how can he find the fire that the team showed down the stretch and bring that to the ice in the middle of October?  One of the hardest things a coach can do is motivate experienced players to perform on a Tuesday night in October for a road game against, say, the Islanders (which you’ll see on the 22nd). What’s going to light the spark in Alex Debrincat, Patrick Kane and Ben Chiarot to turn up the heat from the puck drop on October 10?

2. Reputation: Like it or not, franchises and groups have reputations, and opponents will take games more or less seriously against them. For Detroit, their opponents are less likely to sleep on Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko and Dylan Larkin and on a team that just missed the playoffs, than they are on Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch and a Buffalo team that hasn’t played in May since the opposition was in elementary school.

Continued; the Red Wings are not going to surprise any on-ice opponents this year, but they may yet surprise the media folks and even experts like Brewer in terms of pushing through to earn a Wild Card spot this upcoming season. We shall see.

Tweet of note: Kane 16 points away from 1,300 points

Per the NHL’s PR department:

Prospect round-up: No points for NDN, Johansson or Sandin Pellikka in the SHL

Of Red Wings prospect-related note today in the SHL:

Noah Dower Nilsson finished at -1 with 1 shot in 11:13 as Frolunda HC lost 4-1 to Orebro Hockey;

Anton Johansson finished at -1 with 1 shot in 9:48 played as Leksands IF lost 2-1 to Timra IK;

And Axel Sandin Pellikka finished at +2 with 1 shot in 16:50 played as Skelleftea AIK won 5-2 over Lulea Hockey.

Yzerman under pressure

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli posted an article discussing 10 players and people who face the most pressure in the NHL this upcoming season, and the picture which accompanies his article is one of Steve Yzerman’s face:

5. Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings GM

Similarly, Yzerman is now on the clock, as we are entering Year 6 of the Yzerplan and the Red Wings’ playoff drought has stretched to eight years. They’re not used to that in Hockeytown. Patience has been key – and the Wings have drafted pretty well. Mo Seider and Lucas Raymond are locked up for the foreseeable future. Simon Edvinsson should burst onto the scene this year. And Yzerman has had some wins, courting Patrick Kane twice now. But he hasn’t been able to get the Wings’ defense up to playoff-caliber yet, despite lots of money spent, and Detroit seems to be wandering the desert in search of a solution in goal until Sebastian Cossa is ready.

Continued; the Wings aren’t quite wandering in the desert with Moses here…

Two previews of tonight’s ‘skeleton crew’ game vs. Pittsburgh

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a game preview ahead of tonight’s tilt with Pittsburgh (7 PM in Pittsburgh on Bally Sports Detroit)…

“You’re going to have some of these back-to-backs, which is fine,” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said after Tuesday’s morning skate at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center. “It’s just kind of spreading them out. We’ll try to avoid some three [games] in four [days] for some guys. We’re trying to balance what we’re trying to get accomplished in camp with obviously making sure guys have their best opportunity to perform in camp and avoid some potential injuries.”

As the Red Wings continue to prepare for Opening Night against the Penguins on Oct. 10, Justin Holl said the intensity of this year’s Training Camp will prove valuable for the players when the regular season begins.

“It’s been challenging physically,” Holl said. “I feel like Training Camp is always difficult, just in the sense that you try to prepare yourself as best you can in the summer. There’s really no way to replicate what you’re doing on the ice when Training Camp starts and the amount of workload you’re putting your body under. It has been difficult, but I would expect nothing less.”

Pace and skating have been two key areas of emphasis from the Red Wings coaching staff that have stood out to Holl throughout Training Camp.

“You’re doing difficult drills where you’re going up and down the ice maybe a couple times, then it’s a hard lap in between,” Holl said. “It’s kind of the accumulation of all these things, then at the end of the skate you’re doing conditioning. It’s meant to be hard. That’s the idea, and it’s meant to test us physically and mentally.”

In 2023-24, his first season with Detroit, Holl had five points (all assists) in 38 games. The 32-year-old defenseman said he’s entering this season with a narrow focus.

Continued; here’s the Wings’ lineup:

And the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood posted a game preview that ties in well with Mills’ preview:

Continue reading Two previews of tonight’s ‘skeleton crew’ game vs. Pittsburgh

Alex Chiasson hopes to snag a spot with the Red Wings as a ‘pro try-out’

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a profile of Red Wings free agent try-out Alex Chiasson, who underwent hip surgery last season after not making the Boston Bruins’ roster during a PTO in 2023:

“I’ve worked really hard to come back,” Chiasson said. “It’s not easy at (34) to put in the work, but you can only do this for so long, and hopefully I can show what I can do and what I’m capable of still doing and help the organization any way I can.”

Coach Derek Lalonde called the 6-4, 208-pound Chiasson a natural net-front type.

“He’s got good instincts,” Lalonde said. “He’s hard to play against, he’s a bit of a bigger body. The two PTOs we have (Chiasson and Austin Watson), the way we’re built, I don’t think it’s an accident they’re bigger bodies to completement some of our other players.”

Lalonde said Chiasson is a little ahead of where he expected him to be after missing a year of hockey.

“He’s a smart hockey player, he’s experienced,” Lalonde said. “It’s crazy watching some practice video, see those older guys, we’re trying to teach younger guys neutral-zone coverage, proper angle from in-out, stick positioning. You can see those older guys are there already.”

Chiasson realizes this could be his last opportunity in the game.

“I know my game, I know my role, how I can help a team,” he said. “I can help my linemates just go out and do what I do best and the rest, we’ll see where it goes.”

Continued (paywall); Chiasson faces long odds in terms of earning a Red Wings contract, but he could bolster the Griffins’ lineup.