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!

Regarding the Red Wings’ competitive ‘window’

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin estimates the “Stanley Cup Windows” of the NHL’s Eastern Conference teams this morning, and he has the following to say about the Red Wings:

Window Opening: Detroit Red Wings

A week ago, I would’ve placed Detroit in the Foggy Window section. Their rebuild under Steve Yzerman had progressed in the sense that they were amassing close to a critical mass of young talent to build around: Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson, Sebastian Cossa, Marco Kasper, Nate Danielson, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and more. But the existing veteran group Yzerman was merging with them looked subpar outside of captain Dylan Larkin. The Wings have been busy the past two summers but have added a lot of middling and/or aging talent: Andrew Copp, David Perron, Ben Chiarot, J.T. Compher, Justin Holl, Klim Kostin, Shayne Gostisbehere, Daniel Sprong…but all that changed with the Alex DeBrincat acquisition and four-year extension, secured last weekend. Detroit finally added a legitimate front-line talent to take the pressure off its younger forwards, and as long as all the veteran depth additions over the past two seasons aren’t playing too high in the lineup, they can elevate Detroit’s floor. The Wings have improved their points percentage in three straight seasons. They still missed the playoffs by a dozen points in 2022-23, but they could cut that deficit to half a dozen this time around, and once you’re that close, anything can happen.

Continued

Tweet of note: Toledo Walleye officially name Pat Mikesch coach

Per the Toledo Walleye:

Here’s the Walleye’s press release:

Continue reading Tweet of note: Toledo Walleye officially name Pat Mikesch coach

Betting on Lucas Raymond’s resurgence

The Hockey News’s Colin Hayes posted a list of Eastern Conference breakout candidates, and here’s hoping that his candidate from the Detroit Red Wings finds his form:

Detroit Red Wings: Lucas Raymond, LW

Raymond had a good rookie season in 2021-22, but his production dipped in his sophomore year on an underachieving Red Wings team. He’s a prolific offensive talent who possesses a good shot and is great at creating space for himself on the ice. This year is a chance for him to prove last season was a sophomore slump and continue to develop into one of the NHL’s premier offensive players.

Continued; Raymond seemed to hit a bit of a wall at times during the middle of what was a long 2022-2023 season, but he’s likely to “bounce back” from his slight drop-off in production from his rookie campaign.

Monroe: Pat Mikesch to be named Toledo Walleye’s head coach on Thursday

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

The Toledo Walleye have selected Pat Mikesch to be the organization’s next coach, The Blade has learned.

Mikesch (pronounced mick-ish) was head coach of the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League for eight seasons.

Mikesch, 50, had been with the Gamblers organization since 2011-12. Mikesch was an assistant coach under former Walleye coach Derek Lalonde in Green Bay for three seasons. Lalonde was hired to coach the Walleye in 2014 and is currently the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings.

A source confirmed the hiring earlier this week. Wednesday, an announcement was prematurely posted to the Walleye website before being taken down. Some did see it and posted the news online.

A native of Hancock, Mich., Mikesch, is expected to be introduced as the fourth coach in franchise history at a news conference Friday morning.

Two other coaching candidates made the Walleye’s final round of interviews: Jared Nightingale (former Walleye captain and lead assistant for the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs) and former ECHL and AHL coach Chuck Weber, according to a source with knowledge of the process.

Continued

Oskar Sundqvist returns to St. Louis

Via TSN:

The St. Louis Blues signed unrestricted free agent forward Oskar Sundqvist to a one-year, $775,000 deal, the team announced on Wednesday.

Sundqvist, 29, finished last season with the Minnesota Wild after he was traded by the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a draft pick at the trade deadline.

The 6-foot-3 centre recorded 10 goals and 28 points in 67 games split between the Red Wings and Wild last season. He added a goal in his only playoff appearance with the Wild before they were eliminated in six games by the Dallas Stars.

Sundqvist will be making his second stint with the Blues after spending parts of five seasons with the club between 2018-22, recording 35 goals and 83 points in 242 games.

Drafted 81st overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2012 draft, Sundqvist has 50 goals and 123 points in 355 career games split between the Penguins, Blues, Red Wings, and Wild.

Thomas Greiss retires

Per NHL.com:

Thomas Greiss announced his retirement from the NHL on Wednesday after 14 seasons.

The 37-year-old goalie, who was an unrestricted free agent, told NHL.com/de senior independent correspondent Stefan Herget that his playing career is over.

Greiss was 7-10-0 with a 3.64 goals-against average, .896 save percentage and one shutout in 21 games (16 starts) for the St. Louis Blues last season.

“There have been some considerations (about playing), but the bottom line is, I looked at a few offers that didn’t really appeal to me,” Greiss said. “As a result, I was ready to make the move and am looking forward to doing some new things in my life. Our job comes with a lot of freedom, but now I can tackle some new challenges.”

Selected by the San Jose Sharks in the third round (No. 94) of the 2004 NHL Draft, Greiss was 162-130-37 with a 2.77 GAA, .911 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 368 regular-season games (323 starts) for the Blues, Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Phoenix Coyotes and Sharks, and 7-8 with a 2.43 GAA, .922 save percentage and one shutout in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games (14 starts).

Continued

Tweet of note: Kasper, Lombardi, Danielson and Draper battle the N64

Kids.

Press release: Grand Rapids Griffins release 2023-2024 regular season schedule

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday announced their schedule for the 2023-24 American Hockey League season. It will mark the franchise’s 28th campaign overall, its 23rd as a member of the AHL, and the 22nd as the primary affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings.

Under first-year head coach Dan Watson, the Griffins will begin a 72-game schedule when they host the Colorado Eagles at Van Andel Arena on Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. for Opening Night presented by Huntington Bank. This will mark the first-ever meeting between the Griffins and the Eagles. For the second straight season, all AHL teams will play the same number of games, with standings order determined by total points.

Continue reading Press release: Grand Rapids Griffins release 2023-2024 regular season schedule