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!

Discussing a ‘bold prediction’ about Simon Edvinsson

The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted a set of 10 “bold predictions” for the Red Wings’ 2023-2024 season. I believe that this one might come true:

Simon Edvinsson is called up by Halloween and never sent back down

Boldness level: 3.5/5
Confidence level: 50%

After what Edvinsson showed this preseason, I just can’t see any way he isn’t playing a role for the Red Wings at some point this season. Frankly, I thought he deserved to break camp with Detroit — but instead, the team leaned toward its seven veterans, and Edvinsson was among the players sent to AHL Grand Rapids on Sunday night. Regardless, there is no such thing as a “final roster” in the NHL, and Edvinsson won’t have to wait too long for his shot.

When that time comes, most likely as an injury call-up, it’ll be on Edvinsson to make sure he makes it impossible for the team to send him back. That means using his remarkable physical gifts and creating offense, of course, but it also means not allowing himself to get caught out of position after doing so. It’ll be a balancing act, but one Edvinsson continues to manage better and better. He looks ready to be a factor for the Red Wings.

Continued (paywall), with some realistic predictions and some guesses; I do believe that, at some point this season, both Simon Edvinsson and Jonatan Berggren will earn opportunities to “stick” with the Red Wings, and I believe that they’ll remain with the Wings after their try-outs. I just don’t think those opportunities will happen until later in the season.

HSJ in the morning: Red Wings’ leadership group helped team bond

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a morning notebook which looks back upon the comments made by Red Wings forward Christian Fischer and coach Derek Lalonde after the Red Wings’ exhibition season-ending 4-3 win over Toronto. Of note:

The September week spent in Traverse City afforded time in the afternoon and evenings to golf, fish and go to dinner. But even before the Wings officially gathered for training camp, there was an effort to speed up acclimating the many newcomers, which include forwards Compher, Kostin, Fischer, Alex DeBrincat and Daniel Sprong, defensemen Gostisbehere, Justin Holl and Jeff Petry, and goalies Alex Lyon and James Reimer.

“A big shout-out to the leadership group here, starting with Larks,” Fischer said. “They did such a good job bringing us all together as a team. I could make a list of all the things we did outside the rink, even in the rink. It’s a fun team, I can tell you that. We get along well and that goes a long way on the ice. Guys want to work for each other. Golfed a bunch, multiple Saturday and Sunday football days, probably seven or eight team dinners. To do that early on, there’s no adjustment period when we go into New Jersey. We’re all comfortable with each other on a personal level.”

Continued; sometimes a captain’s work is never done, and I’m impressed with the Wings leadership group’s work to bring a disparate set of personalities together.

Revisiting the Red Wings’ offseason moves

The Associated Press’s Larry Lage posted an article which focuses on the Red Wings and GM Steve Yzerman’s offseason roster revisions as part of a push to earn a playoff spot:

Yzerman sent signs over the summer that his patient approach was over, signing 2022 Stanley Cup-winning forward J.T. Compher to a $25.5 million, five-year contract in free agency and later trading for 2022 All-Star forward Alex DeBrincat from Ottawa.

“Players are no different than coaches and fans,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “You add some pieces, it gets guys excited.”

The newly acquired players, captain Dylan Larkin along with third-year pros Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond give Detroit its best chance to end its skid in years.

“I’m trying to build a nucleus of a team that can make the playoffs on an annual basis,” said Yzerman, who was hired in 2019 to turn around the franchise. “You squeak in one year and you don’t have the foundation to sustain it, we’re going to be sitting here a year or two years from now and wondering again.

“We did what we could in the offseason to improve without mortgaging any part of the future. We’ll continue to try to get better and hopefully sooner than later we’re a playoff team.”

Continued; Lage also discusses the playoff aspirations of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators and Ottawa Senators.

Prospect round-up: Augstine wins/Savage scores for Spartans;

Of Red Wings prospect-related note on Sunday evening:

In the WHL, Emmitt Finnie finished at -1 with 1 shot and a 25-for-39 faceoff rating as the Kamloops Blazers lost 7-6 to the Wentachee Wild;

In the USHL, Jack Phelan finished at -1 with 1 shot in a the Sioux Falls Stampede’s 3-2 win to the Tri-City Storm;

In NCAA Hockey, Carter Gylander stopped 27 of 30 shots as his Colgate Raiders tied Chase Bradley’s UConn Huskies 3-3. Bradley did not play for UConn;

Red Savage scored a goal and finished at +2 with 3 shots and a 10-and-7 faceoff record, and Trey Augustine stopped 26 of 28 shots as the Michigan State Spartans won 4-2 over Lake Superior State;

Keenan Draper did not play in the University of Michigan Wolverines’ 5-4 win over Providence;

Brennan Ali finished at +1 with 1 shot in the University of Notre Dame’s 3-0 win over Clarkson;

The University of Wisconsin Badgers won 3-0 over Augustina without Brady Cleveland, Sam Stange or Owen Mehlenbacher;

And Shai Buium finished at -1 with 1 shot in the University of Denver Pioneers’ 5-2 win over Alaska Fairbanks.

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