Former Red Wings and Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Jimmy Howard appears on the latest episode of, “Blasts from the Past” with Bob Kaser:
Author: George Malik
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill’s part of The Athletic’s latest ‘Full 60’ podcast
From The Athletic:
?️This week on the Full 60 @CraigCustance @TheAthleticNHL welcomes @LindsayArtkin of @NHLCoachesAssoc Dan Muse of USNTDP & @DetroitRedWings Jeff Blashill for a discussion on the coach mentorship program. ?⬇️@TheAthleticDET: https://t.co/uOMvfWflDU
— Jeff Domet (@jeffdomet) December 10, 2020
? https://t.co/6VN8JWWYar pic.twitter.com/ZUOHkS0Yrr
You can listen to the podcast here.
The Athletic’s LeBrun Tweets probable division alignment for 20-21 season
Per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun:
The proposed re-alignment below was discussed on the Board of Governors call today among other things.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 9, 2020
Also, league said on the call that if all went well in season planning with the NHLPA, a Board of Governors vote hopefully will be held by the end of next week. https://t.co/GP0nlV6Juv
Not finalized yet, and still subject to change, but the 2020-21 four-division re-alignment currently looks like this according to sources:
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 9, 2020
Bos-Buf-NJ-NYI-NYR-Pha-Pgh-Was
Car-CBJ-Det-Chi-Fla-Min-Nas-TB
Ana-Ari-Col-Dal-LA-SJ-STL-VGK
All-Canadian teams
Larry Murphy, John Ogrodnick, Ken Daniels to appear on today’s ‘The Word on Woodward’
Per the Red Wings: Larry Murphy, John Ogrodnick, Ken Daniels and more! Catch them all in today’s episode of The Word on Woodward.
HSJ: Wings’ captaincy one of many unsettled situations as coach Blashill prepares for 20-21 season
The Free Press’s Helene St. James engaged in a Q and A with Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill on Wednesday afternoon, and Blashill addressed an “elephant in the room”:
Dylan Larkin was earmarked to be named captain before the start of the 2019-20 season, but that was when Ken Holland was the general manager. When Steve Yzerman took the job, he decided he wanted to get to know his players before making the decision. In May, Yzerman said he anticipated naming a captain before the 2020-21 season, but that was before it became clear the season would have to start without fans at games. Will that affect the decision?
“Steve and I talked about it at that time,” Blashill said. “We haven’t had that conversation in a little bit, so I would just leave that statement sit as it was.”
The team held news conferences when Yzerman was named captain in 1986, and again when Henrik Zetterberg was named captain in 2013. For Nicklas Lidstrom, he was announced as the new captain on opening night in 2006, drawing a standing ovation.
Wednesday’s Prospect Round-up: Larsson loses in OT
Of prospect-related note from Wednesday, December 9th:
In the ICE Hockey League, Michael Rasmussen finished at -1 with 3 shots and a penalty taken in the Graz99ers’ 5-2 loss to Red Bulls Salzburg. Jesper Eliasson served as the back-up for RBS;
And in the Swedish Allsvenskan, Gustav Lindstrom finished even with 3 shots and a penalty taken in 24:44 played during Almtuna IS’s 3-2 overtime loss to Vasterviks IK. Filip Larsson stopped 21 of 24 shots for Almtuna.
Possible AHL divisional formats from Inside AHL Hockey’s Androckitis
FYI for AHL fans, per Inside AHL Hockey’s Tony Androckitis:
Not that @frank_seravalli needs my confirmation, but I heard from a source back in mid-November (Nov 14?) that said a probable realignment would have #LVPhantoms in the same division as Utica for 2020-21 season.— Tony Androckitis (@TonyAndrock) December 9, 2020
Here are the proposed AHL divisions (not finalized), per @frank_seravalli:
AHL Eastern Conference
North: Binghamton, Cleveland, Hershey, Lehigh Valley, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica & #WBSPens.
Atlantic: Bridgeport, Charlotte, Hartford, Providence, Springfield.— Tony Androckitis (@TonyAndrock) December 9, 2020
AHL Western Conference
Central: Chicago, Grand Rapids, Iowa, Milwaukee, Rockford, Texas.
Pacific: Bakersfield, Colorado, Henderson, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose, Stockton, Tucson.— Tony Androckitis (@TonyAndrock) December 9, 2020
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill appears on the NHL Network (both short and long form)
The NHL Network posted a Tweet today in which Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill engages in a 2-minute interview…
“We’re a hungry group to play, I can tell you that.” – @DetroitRedWings Head Coach Jeff Blashill. #NHLTonight | https://t.co/zg1faBBunz pic.twitter.com/gmmfsfknh2— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) December 9, 2020
And the interview clip is actually part of an 8-minute clip posted on NHL.com:
Red Wings and many other NHL teams lose value in latest Forbes report regarding NHL team valuations
I suppose we’ll call this an FYI: the annual Forbes report regarding NHL team valuations came out today, and Mike Ozanian and Kurt Badenhausen’s report states that the Red Wings and most other teams actually lost equitable value and/or operating income due to the pandemic.
8. Detroit Red Wings
• Value: $775 million
• 1-Year Change: –3%
• Owner: Marian Ilitch
• Operating Income: $31.2 million
The NHL’s salary cap all but ensures that teams can make “bank value” every year because their costs are theoretically capped, but this year, that’s not the case.
Grand Rapids Griffins to hold virtual teddy bear toss on December 15th
From the Grand Rapids Griffins comes this charitable note:
Continue reading Grand Rapids Griffins to hold virtual teddy bear toss on December 15thGriffins to Hold Drive-Thru “Teddy Bear Toss & Holiday Drive”
Stuffed Animals, Canned Goods and Cash Donations to be Collected at Griff’s IceHouse on Dec. 15
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Although the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 2020-21 season is delayed, the season of giving will be in full force on Tuesday, Dec. 15 when they team up with J&H Family Stores and three local charities to host a drive-thru Teddy Bear Toss & Holiday Drive from 5-7 p.m. at Griff’s IceHouse at Belknap Park (30 Coldbrook St. NE).
Fans are invited to show their support and generous spirit by donating any of the following: