Author: George Malik

From NHL.com’s Christopher Detwiler:

Stanley got to spend his long weekend on the lake with some old friends.

While Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez was celebrating the third Stanley Cup championship of his career on his boat in Michigan on Wednesday, he ran into former Detroit Red Wings forward Kris Draper, who won the Cup four times himself.

Before winning the Cup with the Golden Knights this past season, Martinez won the Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014. Draper won all four of his Stanley Cups with the Red Wings (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008).

The two met up on Martinez’s boat for a photo with their old friend Stanley.

That’s someone who’s worth keeping in touch with.

It's pretty cool when you are a 3x time #stanleycup champion and your party gets crashed by a 3x time #stanleycup champion @nhl@GoldenKnights @DetroitRedWings @HockeyHallFame pic.twitter.com/BCUl6cuH2D

— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) September 6, 2023

MLive’s Patrick Nothaft posted an article discussing the comments made by Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman at the West Michigan Sports Commission’s luncheon in Grand Rapids today:

Steve Yzerman captained the Detroit Red Wings to three Stanley Cup championships during his 22-year NHL playing career, but hockey’s top prize has eluded the Hall of Fame player during his 18 years as an executive.

And that’s something the Red Wings’ fifth-year general manager hopes to change in a city that he helped turn into “Hockeytown.”

Yzerman served as the keynote speaker of the West Michigan Sports Commission’s 16th Annual Luncheon Wednesday at the J.W. Marriott in Grand Rapids, where he discussed his goal of winning a Stanley Cup as a general manager, some of his unforgettable on-ice accomplishments and a couple former teammates who he hopes to see in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“Truthfully, for me, it would be a greater accomplishment than doing it as a player,” Yzerman said of building a Stanley Cup-winning team. “To be in this position and kind of direct the team or guide an organization can be an incredible opportunity and something I wasn’t about to pass on.”

Continued; if you missed the video post, you can watch his full speech here via WZZM 13:

EP Rinkside’s Sean Shapiro posted an article which discusses “NHL storylines to watch” in the Atlantic Division for this upcoming season. Here’s what he has to say about the Detroit Red Wings:

Detroit Red Wings – There’s been this funny tit for tat argument on social media going on between Senators and Red Wings fans in the offseason – especially after the Alex DeBrincat trade. Both are pushing they have the better team, both could make that claim, and both are missing the reality that neither will likely make the playoffs this season. 

In Detroit the plan, or Yzerplan, this season is to contend, play meaningful games, and maybe get into the playoffs – playoff hockey would be a bonus, but not a necessity. There are some additions, the Red Wings got better, but in the long run, Steve Yzerman has built his cap structure and team for an overhaul of assets in a couple years as the salary cap rises. 

If Detroit is out of the playoff picture, there could be another sell-off at the deadline, David Perron, Daniel Sprong, Christian Fischer, and Shayne Gostisbehere will all be pending UFAs.

Until then, this season in Detroit is about finding a way to keep things fun and interesting, while also eventually making room for some of the prospects like Simon Edvinsson, Carter Mazur, and Sebastian Cossa in the following season. 

Continued (paywall); Shapiro’s not the first person I’ve heard who suggests that the Red Wings are just buying time until the salary cap rises and more impactful free agents hit the market when Detroit’s current top prospects become NHL-ready.

The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, Michael Russo and Peter Baugh asked 20 NHL players what their favorite “cheat food” happens to be, and Red Wings forward David Perron goes with a hometown favo(u)rite:

David Perron, Detroit

“Mine is poutine in Quebec. French fries with special poutine cheese and sauce. I go to Louis Luncheonette in Sherbrooke. It’s the same old-school place I’ve been going to my whole life, and I brought the Stanley Cup there in 2019.”

Continued (paywall); it’s a fun little offbeat story.

I can’t embed it, but WZZM 13 posted the entirety of Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s 18-minute speech today at the West Michigan Sports Commission’s luncheon in Grand Rapids.

Edit: Here it is from YouTube:

Update: WZZM 13 also posted a shorter summary clip…

As did Fox 17…

Which noted the following:

“We certainly would like to make the playoffs,” Yzerman said. “Our goal isn’t just to make the playoffs our goal is to build a championship team, a team that can compete for a championship, the moves we are making along the way here aren’t necessarily designed to be ‘oh my god we have to make the playoffs this year or its playoffs or bust,’ we are trying to build a nucleus of a young team that’s going to be together for a long time that can compete in the playoffs for the Stanley Cup and we are sticking with that plan.”

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton examines Robby Fabbri’s potential performance this upcoming season. Fabbri may be “bumped down the lineup” a bit by the Red Wings’ offseason signings, but the Wings will still count upon him to provide an offensive impact:

It’s unfortunate that injuries precluded Fabbri from enjoying any semblance of continuity throughout his Red Wings tenure.  With a sustained run as regular in the lineup, Fabbri could have offer more robust proof of concept that he makes sense in a featured role, but it hasn’t gone that way.  Instead, Fabbri will have to compete just to a secure a place in the lineup each night.

However, before going too doom and gloom, it’s also worth pointing out that Fabbri is only 27, and while he might be in the latter stages of his prime, there is still ample time for him to re-discover his health and form and play his way up the lineup.

To state the blindingly obvious, the first step for Fabbri has to be health and continuity.  

Since that first season with the Red Wings, Fabbri’s challenge has been establishing a clearly defined role, a task made all the more difficult by missing time due to injury.  If he can stay healthy and sustain a run of solid form, that reliability and consistency can in turn set Fabbri up to develop a clear part to play for Derek Lalonde.

Detroit doesn’t need him to be a top scorer but pitching in some offense would be a good start. The other side of the puck might prove more important (and more challenging) for him though.

Continued; Stockton’s right in suggesting that Fabbri has to become a better two-way player.

In the fantasy hockey department, RotoWire’s John Litterine examines prominent offseason moves as they apply to fantasy hockey poolies, and he spotlights the Red Wings trade for Alex DeBrincat:

DeBrincat’s one season in Ottawa was underwhelming. He scored just 27 goals (and 66 points) in 82 games while finishing with a horrific minus-31 rating in 2022-23. That said, DeBrincat is still just 25 years of age, exceedingly durable, and he’ll be joining a team on the rise in the Red Wings. The Farmington Hills, Michigan native should be extremely motivated for a bounce-back performance with his new club.

Continued, with a mention of J.T. Compher coming off his career-best offensive season; here’s hoping that DeBrincat is indeed “durable.”

Shai Buium is an NCAA-playing prospect, so he won’t be taking part in next week’s prospect tournament, but he’s about to embark upon an important junior season with the University of Denver Pioneers. As such, MLive’s Ansar Khan filed a profile of Buium today:

Shai Buium might have more offense in him after tallying seven goals and 32 assists in 77 games over two seasons, but defense is his top priority.

“I think every year I’m developing a lot, different parts of my game,” Buium said. “Maturing is a big part of it. I think the defensive part of the game is a big part I needed to work on at the start. I think I’m definitely getting better at that. The more you play in that league, the more confident you get. I feel that becoming a leader is a big step for me this year. I just want to take on those roles.”

That was the Red Wings’ message to him at development camp in July, along with other valuable advice.

“I’ve learned one of the big things is getting enough hours of sleep every night, and they talk about the more you get used to getting to bed earlier your body will get used to waking up earlier,” Buium said. “Little things like stepping outside and seeing daylight first thing in the morning is really good for you. So, applying those little things really make a big change.”

Continued

Via The Athletic’s Max Bultman on Twitter/X, WZZM 13’s Jamal Spencer is reporting from the West Michigan Sports Commission’s luncheon today, and the GM reported this regarding one Simon Edvinsson, who’s recovering from shoulder surgery:

Steve Yzerman says @DetroitRedWings defenseman Simon Evidssom has been skating in Detroit and likely won’t be ready for the start of training camp, but he believes he’ll be ready for the season opener pic.twitter.com/dOBmJmmxgJ

— Jamal Spencer (@JamalSpencerTV) September 6, 2023

Yzerman mentioned the Lions opener so I asked if he played football then what position would he play?

“Backup place kicker”

He said he can sense the excitement around the organization and the energy Dan Campbell brings is noticeable. Hopes they win a title sooner than later.

— Jamal Spencer (@JamalSpencerTV) September 6, 2023

Okay, I’ve been dreading writing this one for a bit, but let’s get down to brass tacks:

Facing a $2,925 hotel bill for myself and my 81-year-old Aunt Annie to head to Traverse City, to cover the Red Wings’ prospect tournament, a mysterious benefactor has been the main force behind our GoFundMe for the hotel bill reaching the $2,550 mark, out of a projected $3,500 in total to get us up to Traverse City.

That’s out of a $3,500 goal, and as we attempt to “get up the road,” the daunting cost of car repairs for my 2006 Chrysler Pacifica (see: steering, right rear brake, oil change, hood latch) has made reaching that $3,500 goal soon a necessity.

And, for better or worse, I don’t think that it’s going to happen before the trip starts with our drive up to TC next Tuesday, September 12th. Hell, I don’t think that we’re going to end up raising enough funds to totally cover the hotel bill before the trip starts.

Right now, we’re raising about $50 per fundraising post, which is great, don’t get me wrong, but not ideal in terms of rectifying the deficit in terms of our overall expenses. I’m trying to limit these posts to one a day, but I may have to amp up the frequency thereof and be a bit of a pain in the butt to generate more funds.

And they are fundraising funds, not revenues. We don’t really make any money from this trip–the goal here is to break even–and we’re basically going to have to exhaust what little financial reserves our low-income family has to get up to TC and get the hotel bill paid.