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!

Duff: ASP started out as a forward

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted an article this morning which discusses Axel Sandin Pellikka’s history as more than a defenseman who joins offensive rushes:

At the age of 10, Detroit Red Wings prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka desperately wanted to attend a hockey school in his native Sweden. The problem is, the only spots open at the school were for defenseman.

Sandin Pellikka was a forward. With emphasis on the was.

“In my youth I was mostly a forward,” Sandin Pellika said in an interview with SHL.se. “I remember I was at a hockey school, but I don’t remember where, and it only had (defense spots) left. Then I registered as a (defenseman) and after that I was a (defenseman).

“I thought I can score from that position too, haha.”

Continued

Lalonde, Larkin discuss the Wings’ de-facto underdog status

MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde and captain Dylan Larkin regarding the Red Wings’ status as a team with much to prove this upcoming season:

“Obviously, no one has us making the playoffs,” Lalonde said. “I don’t necessarily have that as a knock on our guys. There’s really nowhere to go in the division. … I saw an article, ‘The 10 Hopeless Teams.’ I scrolled through and we’re the first hopeless team. It’s up to us to change that narrative. Playing the right way and establishing an identity, creating a little bit of a process will give us a chance to talk about (playoffs). Last year through three-quarters of the season, we were right there because we were playing the right way. Now we have to get there again.”

….

“I know Steve and Newsie have not really set an expectation,” Larkin said. “The guys in the room, we want more. There’s a good attitude. There’s guys coming in that have been on teams that have been locks for the playoffs. There’s veteran players, guys going into contract years. I like the dynamic of everyone’s situation on our team.”

Still, they will need a lot more than the 80 points they accumulated last season, coupled with significant decline from multiple teams that finished ahead of them.

Lalonde said the ‘underdog’ label might be a little extreme in describing his team.

“Probably more of a reality where the conference and division are at,” Lalonde said. “I don’t think we’re going to go in there ‘Us vs. the World, no one believes in us.’ Just do the right thing and let’s see where this plays out.”

Continued

A quick Red Wings-Devils preview

The Associated Press posted a short preview ahead of tomorrow night’s season-opener between the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils (7:30 PM EDT on ESPN+/hulu):

BOTTOM LINE: The New Jersey Devils host the Detroit Red Wings in the season opener.

New Jersey had a 52-22-8 record overall and a 27-16-4 record in home games last season. The Devils scored 3.5 goals per game last season while allowing 2.7 per game.

Detroit had a 35-37-10 record overall and a 16-20-5 record in road games last season. The Red Wings averaged 3.3 power-play chances per game last season, and converted on 21.1% (57 total power-play goals).

INJURIES: Devils: Erik Haula: day to day (undisclosed), Dougie Hamilton: out (wrist).

Red Wings: Matt Luff: out (undisclosed), Carter Mazur: out (undisclosed).

DHN’s Allen discusses the Wings’ three-headed goalie monster

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen filed a subscriber-only article which discusses the Red Wings’ three-goalie system, with which the team will start its 2023-2024 season:

Yzerman has three varsity goalies because they give the Red Wings the best chance of qualifying for the playoffs. To have a chance to earn a playoff spot, they must squeeze every point they can out of backup goalie starts.

Last season, the Red Wings picked up nine wins in 26 starts with their backup goalies. The Red Wings’ Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg picked up 21 out of a possible 52 points (40.3%). Starter Husso earned 59 out of a possible 112 points (52.6%). The Florida Panthers were 12 points ahead of Detroit for that final postseason spot. No. 1 Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky earned 51 out of a possible 98 starts (52%). Bobrovsky’s back-ups Spencer Knight and Lyon earned 41 out 66 (62.1%).

Those numbers illustrate why the Red Wings are going above and beyond to make sure their goaltending doesn’t hold them back. If the Red Wings earn a playoff spot, it will likely be by a point or two.

The original plan probably called for Reimer to backup Husso and then Lyon serving as the just-in-case goalie in Grand Rapids. Lyon would be called up in case of injury or if Reimer faltered. But the plan didn’t seem viable when the Tampa Bay Lightning lost Andrei Vasilevskiy for two months to an injury. It was speculated around the NHL that the Lightning would claim Lyon if the Red Wings put him on waivers to send him to Grand Rapids.

Continued (paywall)

Naming some of the Griffins’ more notable veteran players

TheAHL.com’s Patrick Williams posted a list of “familiar faces in new places” ahead of the AHL’s 2023-2024 season, and his list of notable Grand Rapids Griffins vets includes the following:

Forward Tim Gettinger joins the Detroit/Grand Rapids organization after five seasons with the New York Rangers, where he is joined by Nolan Stevens and Zach Aston-Reese, who signed a two-way deal with Detroit last week. Brogan Rafferty solidifies the Red Wings’ blue-line depth after helping Coachella Valley reach the Finals last spring.

Continued; players like Gettinger, Stevens, Aston-Reese and Rafferty aren’t Wings prospects (nor is Josiah Didier, for example), but the Griffins’ vets will help the Wings’ prospects grow and shine.

Promotional Tweets: ‘Time to make the [Red Wings-themed] doughnuts…’

You kids are probably too young to remember the headline, which was from a Dunkin’ Donuts ad. Instead, we’re going to Tim’s tomorrow: