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!

Kulfan profiles Shayne Gostisbehere

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a profile of Red Wings free agent signing Shayne Gostisbehere on Friday:

“When you sign a one-year deal, you’re betting on yourself,” Gostisbehere said. “You’re trusting that organization and that opportunity that’s given to you. I need to have the right opportunity to show what I can do, and I thought it was a great fit.”

Gostisbehere pointed to defenseman Olli Maatta, who was in a similar situation the previous summer and signed a one-year contract with the Wings. Maatta played so well, the Wings extended Maatta for two more years (at a $3 million annual average value), showing one-year deals can work out for both sides.

“Olli was in the same situation as me,” Gostisbehere said. “Fell out of favor somewhere, go somewhere else and resurrects his career and springboards that into a contract extension. That’s the dream of every NHL guy when he gets an opportunity somewhere.”

For Gostisbehere, playing in Arizona the last two seasons was a chance for him to re-establish himself on the NHL radar.

After three seasons of subpar performance in Philadelphia, the Flyers traded Gostisbehere to Arizona in July 2021. Gostisbehere regained his confidence and scored 82 points (24 goals, 58 assists) in 134 games with the Coyotes, before being dealt to Carolina at last season’s trade deadline. In Arizona, Gostisbehere earned significant ice time and sparked the Coyotes’ power play and offensive attack.

“I had a few good years in Philly and then injuries really caught up with me,” Gostisbehere said. “It’s just a blend of falling out of favor there. Thankfully, I got a great opportunity in Arizona and I got to showcase that I could still play in this league and resurrect my career, and a chance in showing people that I’m still a good player. I’ll be forever thankful to the Coyotes organization.”

Continued

A bit belated: Pius Suter signs 2-year contract with Vancouver Canucks

Per TSN, former Red Wings center Pius Suter signed a 2-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks on Friday afternoon:

Free agent forward Pius Suter has signed a two-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks, the club announced Friday.

The contract carries an average annual value (AAV) of $1.6 million.

Suter, a 27-year-old Swiss centre, arrives in Vancouver after spending the last two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

He contributed 29 goals and 31 assists in 161 games with the Wings.

Suter broke into the NHL as an undrafted rookie with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2020-21 season, recording 14 goals and 13 assists in 55 games.

“Bringing in Pius for the next couple of years really helps us strengthen our centre ice position,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said in release. “Adding a player who has scored 43 goals the past three seasons will be a boost for us up front and he will also add to our penalty killing unit as well.”

Promotion: Red Wings holding ‘silent disco’ night on August 26th

For the price of a preseason game ticket to the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 26th or the Washington Capitals on September 30th, the Red Wings are offering a “silent disco” night on August 26th:

A profile of Amadeus Lombardi

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills filed a profile of Red Wings prospect Amadeus Lombardi this morning:

Detroit Red Wings forward prospect Amadeus Lombardi does has not let his 5-foot-10, 165-pound frame deter him from pursuing his professional hockey dreams.

“I was always small growing up,” Lombardi said on July 3. “Late-bloomer, still kind of growing into my body. It’s obviously gonna take time. I think it kind of helped me growing up, being so small, because I had to learn how to deal with it at such a young age and dealt with it my whole life. It’s always gonna come up, but there’s a lot of small guys who play.”

That approach helped Lombardi enjoy a breakout 2022-23 campaign with the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League. This past season – his second with Flint – Lombardi recorded a team-high 102 points (45-57-102) in 67 regular-season games.

“Hockey is such a team sport,” said Lombardi, who became the first player in Firebirds franchise history to reach the 100-point plateau. “I think we had a really good staff that helped give us a lot to go out and play our best. I had great teammates and linemates, and it all kind of clicked together. For my game, I’m a fast-paced player, more of a playmaker than a shooter. But this year, I really tried to shoot more and be more deceptive.”

Continued

Oh, fun.

I don’t know whether any of this is true, and I’m going to be blunt: if the accusations are true, then Mr. DeMelo should file a police report. Period.

Anyway, per Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, Daniel Sprong is being accused of assault via social media:

IndyCar driver Zach Claman DeMelo is accusing Detroit Red Wings forward Daniel Sprong of assaulting him. DeMelo claims the assault took place in a nightclub during the week of the Detroit Grand Prix. He’s also claiming that there were two separate incidents involving him and Sprong.

DeMelo took took social media to make his accusations, posting it on his Instagram stories. He also included a trio of photos of damage he claims Sprong did to his face. in the photos, DeMelo is displaying chipped teeth and a bloodied mouth, along with some scrapes on his arm. He also says he suffered a concussion from the alleged incident.

Continued; again, if these accusations are true, then Mr. DeMelo should file a police report, and these accusations should follow the legal process.

Reminder: ‘All in 4 ALS’ game takes place this Saturday at Windsor’s WFCU Centre

Just as a reminder…

The All in 4 ALS game takes place on Saturday at 2 PM EDT, and tickets are anywhere between $15 and $35 Canadian.

As noted by Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Michael Rasmussen, Robby Fabbri, Andrew Copp and Jake Walman are all taking part in the game, as are Brady Tkachuk, Cam Fowler, Matty Beniers, Senators coach D.J. Smith, Red Wings assistant coach Bob Boughner, and more:

A bit of praise for Lucas Raymond’s potential

NHL.com asked its columnists to vote upon the league’s best players under 23 years of age who play on the wing, as to whether the players might become the NHL’s best wingers over the next 3 seasons, and Lucas Raymond received the 5th-most votes:

Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings (52): The 21-year-old is entering his third NHL season, and his future is quite bright. The No. 4 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft had 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 74 regular-season games last season, a slight step back from the 57 points (23 goals, 34 assists) he had in 82 games as a rookie in 2021-22. But now that Detroit has added veteran talent up front for the second straight offseason, it’s expected that Raymond’s game will start to grow considerably.

Continued; I’m surprised that Raymond received more votes than Juraj Slafkovsky.

NHL.com’s ’32 in 32′ series previews the Red Wings’ 2023-2024 season

NHL.com will focus on the Red Wings Friday as part of their “32 in 32” series of season previews. This evening, their articles hit the wires a little early, starting with NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika’s “Inside Look” at the team:

The Detroit Red Wings hope to take another step in their rebuild this season after making several offseason additions, highlighted by two-time 40-goal scorer Alex DeBrincat.

“You see a team that’s maybe frustrated with being in a rebuild and wants to get out,” DeBrincat said. “I’m excited to be here and kind of join that and hopefully be part of the solution to get out of that. I’m just really excited to join these guys, and I definitely see the potential in this group.”

The Red Wings have not made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for seven straight seasons, tying the longest drought (1970-77) in their 97-year history.

But after bottoming out with 39 points in 71 games in 2019-20, their first season under general manager Steve Yzerman, they have improved steadily season by season. They had 48 points in 56 games in 2020-21, 74 points in 82 games in 2021-22 and 80 points in 82 games last season.

They held the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference on Feb. 23 last season before finishing 12 points behind the Florida Panthers.

Detroit was active in the offseason, adding DeBrincat, forwards J.T. Compher, Daniel Sprong, Klim Kostin and Christian Fischer; defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Justin Holl; and goalie James Reimer.

Cotsonika continues, and he asks three important questions regarding the team’s performance this upcoming season…

Continue reading NHL.com’s ’32 in 32′ series previews the Red Wings’ 2023-2024 season

DHN’s Allen discusses ten Red Wings prospects who could ‘steal jobs’ this upcoming season

Despite the fact that the Red Wings turned over somewhere between a quarter and a third of their roster this summer, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted an article in which he discusses ten Red Wings prospects who will try to “steal a job” on the roster come September and October:

Simon Edvinsson (Drafted 6th, 2021): On one hand, he showed his potential in his brief trial with the Red Wings. On the other hand, Yzerman signed veteran defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Justin Holl. Detroit has six veteran defensemen.

Plus, he is coming off surgery.

What Yzerman said last month after signing two defensemen: “We have high hopes for Simon. I’m not prepared to put him on the team in a top-six role. Certainly, I don’t think it’s beyond a possibility that Simon comes in and had an outstanding training camp, and outstanding preseason and simply forces his way into the lineup. That’s what every one of us – our fans, our organization – would love to see. And if that happens, that’s great.”

If Edvinsson starts in Grand Rapids don’t fret, NHL teams always have injuries. Edvinsson is going to end up in the Red Wings’ lineup in 2023-24.

Marco Kasper (Drafted 8th, 2022): Just based on his one NHL game, you want to believe he will get a chance this season. This is a serious young man with serious ability. But his chance may not come at the start of the season.

Unless he performs like Raymond did in his first NHL preseason, it makes too much sense for him to pick up some AHL experience. He will benefit from that.

But if he looks sharp against AHL competition, he will get his chance at the NHL.

Allen continues; there’s no doubt that the Red Wings will give their prospects long looks based upon their performances during the prospect tournament, training camp, and the exhibition season.

Some of that will be out of necessity, as injuries tend to happen, and a prospect hierarchy tends to naturally form, but a player or two may be able to swipe a regular player’s job from a veteran.

We’ll have to see how the roster develops over the course of the regular season, and who stands out in Grand Rapids as the season progresses.