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!

2 Walleye stories from Monroe: G John Lethemon heads to Toledo; Simon Denis retires

According to the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe, goaltender John Lethemon is heading to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, as expected, as the team prepares to open camp with an open-to-the-public practice on Monday night at 6 PM EDT…

Goaltender John Lethemon, who was named the ECHL’s goalie of the year last season, will be returning to the Toledo Walleye.

Lethemon, who played in 26 games for the Walleye last season and compiled a stellar 18-1-3 record, was assigned to the team on Saturday by the Detroit Red Wings.

The 27-year-old also had four shutouts, a 1.99 goals-against average, and a .930 save percentage for Toledo last year.

Lethemon not only earned the ECHL goaltender of the year award, but he also garnered a spot on the ECHL first team.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound goaltender also had a 4-2 record with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage in seven postseason games to help the Walleye reach the Western Conference finals.

And long-time Walleye defenseman Simon Denis is retiring, and will do TV color commentary for the Walleye:

Continue reading 2 Walleye stories from Monroe: G John Lethemon heads to Toledo; Simon Denis retires

Press release: Red Wings establish 23-man roster, send Berggren and others to Grand Rapids

From the Detroit Red Wings:

RED WINGS REDUCE ROSTER TO 23

… Detroit to Begin 98th Season in Franchise History on Thursday, Oct. 12 With Road Game Against New Jersey Devils at 7:30 p.m. at Prudential Center …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today assigned forwards Jonatan Berggren, Cross Hanas and Elmer Soderblom and defenseman Simon Edvinsson to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Additionally, the Red Wings have assigned forward Nate Danielson to the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings. Detroit has also designated forwards Matt Luff and Carter Mazur as injured non-roster.

The roster moves bring the Red Wings to a 23-man roster, consisting of 13 forwards, seven defensemen and three goaltenders. The Red Wings will begin their 98th season in franchise history on Thursday, Oct. 12 with a road game against the New Jersey Devils at 7:30 p.m. at Prudential Center.

The Griffins confirm:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Sunday assigned forwards Jonatan Berggren, Cross Hanas and Elmer Soderblom, and defenseman Simon Edvinsson to the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The Griffins will begin 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.

Prospect round-up: Buchelnikov makes brief Admiral debut; Bicker’s ice time continues to grow

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In the KHL, this morning “our time,” Dmitri Buchelnikov made his Admiral Vladivostok debut, but if you were hoping that he would earn a fair shake, you’re bound to be disappointed with this stat line: Buchelnikov played all of 4:07, finishing even, in Admiral Vladivostok’s 2-1 loss to the Ak Bars Kazan;

And in the DEL, Kevin Bicker finished even in a healthy 11:42 as the Frankfurt Lowen won 6-2 over the Nurnberg Tigers. Bicker’s ice time is growing by a minute or two every game, which is encouraging.

Red Wings waive Zach Aston-Reese; Habs waive Gustav Lindstrom

The Detroit Red Wings waived the recently-signed Zach Aston-Reese today for the purposes of assigning him to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins:

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported this probability a short time ago.

Former Red Wings defenseman Gustav Lindstrom (Montreal) and goaltender Magnus Hellberg (Pittsburgh) were placed on waivers today as well.

Right now, it looks like the Habs traded Jeff Petry to Detroit for all of an AHL-bound defenseman and a conditional 4th round pick in 2025:

Take this for what you will, too:

Quick quip: Dylan Larkin praises the recently-retired Patrice Bergeron

Just a brief one here: Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin was asked about Patrice Bergeron by the Canadian Press’s Joshua Clipperton, who posted an article which discusses Bergeron’s enduring legacy. Here’s what Larkin had to say about the Boston Bruins’ #37:

“Every time we played, my back was sore from faceoffs,” Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. “He’s strong. He was so good at faceoffs. You knew that set the tone. Never out of position.

“And then he’s such a nice guy. He’s a class act. I don’t think I ever made him mad, but he’d be one of those guys where if you pissed him off, you’d want to apologize.”

Continued

Khan offers preseason observations

Among MLive’s Ansar Khan’s preseason observations:

After giving Lucas Raymond a good, long look on the top line, Lalonde said he still hasn’t settled on who’ll play on the top line with Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat. If it’s not Raymond, it could be a heavier body like David Perron, who goes the dirty areas and would provide a net presence.

Michael Rasmussen picked up where he left off before suffering a season-ending knee injury on Feb. 25. He’s also a possibility to wind up with Larkin-DeBrincat but seems to have better chemistry with Andrew Copp.

The luxury of veteran depth on defense means the team can have Justin Holl, who signed a three-year, $10.2 million deal on July 1, as the seventh D, which appears to be the case at the start. Injuries are inevitable, however, so it’s a fluid situation.

Simon Edvinsson, the No. 6 pick in 2021, had a good preseason, but the handwriting was on the wall after the team brought in Holl, Shayne Gostisbehere and Jeff Petry. Expect Edvinsson to get an opportunity in Detroit at some point this season due to injuries.

Continued

Tweet of note: Seravalli reports that the Red Wings will waive Zach Aston-Reese for assignment to Grand Rapids

FYI regarding Red Wings two-way signing Zach Aston-Reese:

It’s a good deal for the 29-year-old, who will give the Griffins scoring “pop”:

Press release: Red Wings sign Zach Aston-Reese to 1-year, 2-way contract

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

Red Wings sign Zach Aston-Reese to one-year contract

Forward has recorded 80 points in 307 NHL games with Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs since 2017-18

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today signed center Zach Aston-Reese to a one-year, two-way contract.

Aston-Reese, 29, 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. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound forward also tallied one goal in six Stanley Cup playoff contests, helping the Maple Leafs clinch their first postseason series win since 2004. Aston-Reese 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 American Hockey League’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.

Zachary Aston-Reese, Center

Born Aug 10 1994 — Staten Island, NY

Height 6.01 — Weight 205 — Shoots L

Discussing an offseason grade and the ‘chemistry set’

Bleacher Report’s Joe Yerdon posted a set of grades for the NHL’s 32 teams’ respective offseason moves, and here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings’ renovations:

Detroit Red Wings

What Went Right: GM Steve Yzerman was one of the busiest executives in the league once again and made it even more apparent that getting the Red Wings back to the playoffs is the goal. He acquired forward Alex DeBrincat from Ottawa and signed him to a four-year, $31.5 million extension. Taking him from a division foe is a crucial move, particularly because they’ll be right there with the Senators in playoff competition.

They also added forwards Klim Kostin from Edmonton and signed free agents J.T. Compher (Colorado), Daniel Sprong (Seattle) and Christian Fischer (Arizona). He also deepened the blue line, adding veterans Shayne Gostisbehere (Carolina) and Justin Holl (Toronto), and acquired Jeff Petry from the Canadiens. James Reimer also signed on to be Ville Husso’s backup.

What Went Wrong: While the Wings were busier than most teams, the big question for a lot of the additions is whether most of these guys will address their needs. Yes, Detroit is much deeper with veteran talent, and they all seem to address very specific needs, but that kind of turnover sometimes requires time for chemistry to build, if it even builds at all. This puts a load of pressure on coach Derek Lalonde to get everyone on the same page ASAP because the Eastern Conference is going to be a battlefield.

Grade: B

Continued; again, the preseason doesn’t count for much, but the Red Wings did look like they were integrating the vast majority of their free agent and trade additions into the lineup quite well. Even though DeBrincat was snake-bitten in front of the net, he was skating and making plays and even bumping and grinding opponents, so he’s engaged, and players like Jeff Petry and J.T. Compher looked like they’d always played here.

The Wings have a rough start to their regular season in games at New Jersey and at home vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning, so they’ll be in tough, but their first two games are a good set of tests to see whether the 8-games-in-12-nights preseason helped the Wings get a running start.

Toledo Blade’s Monroe has a ‘Sunday conversation’ with former Walleye, Griffins goaltender Pat Nagle

Former Toledo Walleye and Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Pat Nagle retired this week at 36 years of age last week. The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe engaged in a Q and A with Nagle, who may very well be inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame sometime soon:

The Blade: How much has your phone blown up since you announced you were retiring? How gratifying is it to hear from so many people?

Nagle: It has been truly humbling. People that I may not have crossed paths with in years, to recent teammates. It really shows how lucky I have been to be a part of so many great organizations.

The Blade: Why did you decide to retire now?

Nagle: I don’t think it is ever an easy decision to walk away from something you have enjoyed for decades. However, I am not getting any younger and, eventually, the clock is no longer on your side.

The Blade: What were some of your highlights playing for the Walleye?

Nagle: I remember my first game in goal. I couldn’t believe how nice it was to be on the home team versus the away team. The Huntington Center is an incredible facility and the fans bring out your best. I also really enjoyed our playoff runs. We had some special groups during my time in Toledo.

Continued