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!

Tweets of note: Grand Rapids Griffins begin their training camp

The Grand Rapids Griffins began their training camp ahead of Friday’s season-opener vs. the Colorado Eagles:

Tweets from Monday’s practice: Red Wings begin regular season preparation at the ‘BELFOR’

The Detroit Red Wings began their 2023-2024 regular season preparation at the BELFOR Training Center under Little Caesars Arena this afternoon:

Changez le canal

USA Today’s Mary Clarke ranks every NHL team by its “watchability rankings” today, and she’s not a fan of spending time watching the Red Wings:

Detroit Red Wings: Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond both went through unfortunate sophomore slumps last season. For the Red Wings to continue to make strides forward, they’ll need their two cornerstone pieces to pick off where they left off in their rookie seasons. Steve Yzerman made some interesting offseason additions — like Alex DeBrincat — but considering the other powerhouses in the Atlantic Division, you’re better off tuning into a more competitive team if you want consistent highlights.

Continued; bah, humbug.

Wouldn’t that be a beautiful thing

Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen is offering a “bold prediction” for every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and he’s got an optimistic take on the Red Wings’ most potent scorer:

Detroit Red Wings: Alex DeBrincat scores 40 goals again

When the Senators acquired DeBrincat last season, they thought they might be getting the last piece of their offence for a playoff push as the then-24-year-old was coming off his second 41-goal season. It didn’t fully click, however, and after DeBrincat finished with 27 goals he made clear that Ottawa was not where he was going to sign long-term. Now in Detroit, his hometown team, DeBrincat got a four-year contract and a top-line job, where he will be counted on to step back up as the Red Wings try to keep pace in the Atlantic. Here’s predicting that DeBrincat does score 40-plus again, and actually sets a new career high.

Continued; I sure hope so.

The Score’s power rankings offer a 21st-place start for the Wings

The Score posted a set of power rankings to start off the 2023-2024 NHL season, and the Red Wings rank just about where you’d expect them to:

21. Detroit Red Wings

Offseason rank: 20

Can the Red Wings finally get back into contention for a playoff spot? GM Steve Yzerman again splashed the cash in free agency to bring in J.T. Compher, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Justin Holl, but the biggest moves of Detroit’s offseason came via trade. The addition of Alex DeBrincat significantly upgrades the team’s top six, while Jeff Petry should take some of the onus off Moritz Seider.

Continued;

Khan discusses the Red Wings’ so-called ‘fourth line’

The Detroit Red Wings’ fourth-line players don’t believe that they are a classic “fourth line” per se, but Christian Fischer, Joe Veleno and Klim Kostin will give the Red Wings a physical edge this upcoming season–and hopefully score some goals.

MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of the remarks made by Christian Fischer and coach Derek Lalonde on Saturday night, regarding the “fourth line’s” purpose and form:

“You don’t want to say the fourth line, because it’s the new NHL, you got to be able to play hockey,” Fischer said. “All three of us can make plays, we can score goals. Me and Klimmie are two pretty big bodies matching up against other teams’ top lines. I think (Saturday) was a great scenario. We score a goal; Newsie puts us out there with a minute left in the period and I think we spent the whole minute in (the offensive zone) and Joe ended up scoring.

“Definitely an identity-type line, bring some energy. When it comes to that you need to be really good defensively. You need those lines. You don’t need (Dylan Larkin) out there for the first PK and killing his energy and playing 25 minutes. It’s a lot of work to do. If we take that load, especially against top lines (and) keep them off the scoresheet that’s a good job by our line. That’s definitely a lot of roles we can be put in.”

Fischer said there’s value playing together as a unit even for one exhibition game.

“We practice every now and then but it’s much quicker, much harder in a game,” he said. “You learn a lot about a guy and his tendencies, where you guys can find each other and where you guys can go to make more space. There’s a lot of small reads that happen in a game. Chemistry is a big deal in this league.”

Continued

A bit of praise for Simon Edvinsson’s delayed NHL ascent

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis offers a rookie to watch for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and he has to pick a Griffins-playing rookie for the Red Wings:

Detroit Red Wings: Simon Edvinsson, D: Edvinsson already looks better than most of the veteran blueliners on the Red Wings’ D-core, but he’ll start the year in Grand Rapids. Paired alongside Jeff Petry, Edvinsson has shown standout gap control and two-way play, and he can clearly keep up with the pace. As a 6-foot-6 defender, Edvinsson does an excellent job of taking space away. He’ll be ready for the NHL soon.

Continued; Edvinsson will be recalled at some point this season, and I believe that, eventually, he won’t be sent back to Grand Rapids. It’s just a question of time.

Press release: WXSP to air 9 Grand Rapids Griffins home games

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Nine Grand Rapids Griffins 2023-24 regular-season home games at Van Andel Arena will be televised live to fans across West Michigan on WXSP-TV.

For the fourth consecutive year, WXSP will serve as the exclusive live in-market television partner for the Griffins. A sister station to WOOD TV8 and WOTV, WSXP can be found on all local cable systems as well as a series of low-power channels across the region, including in Grand Rapids (WOLP channel 27), Holland (WOHO ch. 33), Muskegon (WOMS ch. 29), Kalamazoo (WOKZ ch. 50) and Battle Creek (WOBC ch. 14).

The slate of games on WXSP kicks off Friday, Nov. 10 when the Toronto Marlies visit Van Andel Arena at 7 p.m. The nine games will feature seven different opponents, ensuring fans in West Michigan have the opportunity to view some of the top NHL prospects coming through the ranks. The full list of televised games on WXSP can be found below. The Griffins are working on the possibility of televising road games this season with more information to come at a later date. Click here to see the Griffins’ complete 2023-24 schedule.

The Voice of the Griffins, Bob Kaser, returns for his 24th season in the broadcast booth, while former WOOD TV8 sports anchor Larry Figurski will be on color commentating duties on the Griffins telecasts, which will be simulcast on WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM.

For Griffins fans outside of the WXSP viewing area or who prefer to watch games on their mobile device or computer, AHLTV remains the exclusive streaming provider for all 72 games, both home and away, with a full-season subscription priced at $64.99.

Griffins Hockey on WXSP-TV

Friday, Nov. 10 vs. Toronto

Sunday, Nov. 26 vs. Manitoba (5 p.m. start time)

Friday, Dec. 15 vs. Texas

Sunday, Dec. 31 vs. Cleveland (6 p.m. start time)

Saturday, Jan. 27 vs. Belleville

Friday, Feb. 16 vs. Cleveland

Saturday, March 2 vs. Rockford

Friday, March 15 vs. Iowa

Friday, April 12 vs. Rockford

*All games will begin at 7 p.m. EST unless otherwise noted

Press release: Griffins open camp on Tuesday

The Detroit Red Wings assigned Zach Aston-Reese to Grand Rapids and Alexandre Doucet to Toledo today, but it’s the second half paragraph that explains why the Red Wings made the move:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Monday assigned forward Zach Aston-Reese to the Grand Rapids Griffins. In addition, the Red Wings reassigned Alexandre Doucet to the Toledo Walleye (ECHL) from the Griffins.

The Griffins will continue practices in Grand Rapids tomorrow at 11 a.m. in preparation for Friday’s season opener against the Colorado Eagles at 7 p.m. at Van Andel Arena.

Fans can secure their full-season, select-season or group ticket packages by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com for more information. Single-game tickets for the Griffins’ 2023-24 season can be purchased through griffinshockey.com/tickets.

Press release: Grand Rapids Griffins assign Zach Aston-Reese to Grand Rapids, Alexandre Doucet to Toledo

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

RED WINGS ASSIGN ZACH ASTON-REESE TO GRAND RAPIDS

  … Veteran of 307 NHL Games Signed One-Year Contract With Detroit on Oct. 8 …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today assigned center Zach Aston-Reese to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Additionally, the Red Wings have reassigned left wing Alexandre Doucet from the Griffins to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.

Aston-Reese, 29, was signed by the Red Wings to a one-year, two-way contract on Oct. 8. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound forward spent the entire 2022-23 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, recording 14 points (10-4-14) and 25 penalty minutes in 77 regular-season games. Aston-Reese also tallied one goal in six Stanley Cup playoff contests with Toronto, helping the franchise clinch its first postseason series win since 2004. He split the 2021-22 campaign between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks, logging 15 points (5-10-15), a plus-nine rating and 28 penalty minutes in 69 games. Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by Pittsburgh on March 14, 2017, Aston-Reese has compiled 80 points (42-38-80), a plus-33 rating and 124 penalty minutes in 307 games with the Penguins, Ducks and Maple Leafs since 2017-18. Additionally, Aston-Reese registered 46 points (18-28-46), a plus-26 rating and 74 penalty minutes in 62 appearances with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins from 2016-19.

Prior to turning professional, Aston-Reese played four seasons at Northeastern University from 2013-17, racking up 148 points (66-82-148), a plus-48 rating and 182 penalty minutes in 145 games. As a senior, he was selected to the NCAA First All-American Team and named Hockey East Player of the Year after leading the NCAA in goals (31) and points (63) in just 38 games during the 2016-17 season. Aston-Reese also guided the Huskies to a Hockey East Tournament championship as a junior in 2015-16. The Staten Island, N.Y., native added 50 points (16-34-50), a plus-12 rating and 188 penalty minutes in 140 games with the Des Moines Buccaneers and Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League from 2010-13.