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!

A Ristolainen trade is unlikely

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin lists the Red Wings as one of 8 potential destinations for Philadelphia Flyers trade target Rasmus Ristolainen:

Detroit Red Wings

Why he makes sense: Did anyone aside from Steve Yzerman actually think Justin Holl was going to cut it on the right side of that blueline when he signed in 2023? He’s been every bit the disaster we knew he’d be. Erik Gustafsson has never been a big minute muncher, either, and has played the left side of late anyway, so Detroit badly needs to upgrade at right defense. This team desperately wants a playoff berth this season, but the extra years of Ristolainen at least make him less of an “all the eggs in one basket” target. It’s never a bad thing for a bubble team to secure help for more than one season. Having missed the playoffs eight consecutive campaigns, the Wings also have an incredibly deep pool of prospects to dangle Philadelphia’s way, including plenty in the right price range to include in a Ristolainen deal.

Gustafsson’s come alive of late, and has been actually competent on defense while producing offense. And, of course, Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson have played particularly well together.

Fly in the ointment: The Wings rank among the worst defensive play-driving teams in the NHL. Would throwing Ristolainen at the problem actually repair that? It’s debatable whether he’d be enough, even though he’s improved defensively. I get that Detroit wants to halt its postseason drought, but is it worth paying a significant price just to nudge a middling team into the final Wildcard spot and get bulldozed by the top seed in the East in Round 1? More of a cautious buying posture would make more sense. As an example: you could pay less and target someone like Will Borgen. The Wings would also need to send some money the Flyers’ way to fit Ristolainen’s cap hit onto the books; I see no reason why the Flyers would need to retain money on Ristolainen given their strong bargaining position.

Continued; the fact that the Red Wings and Flyers are competing for the same Wild Card spots rules out this kind of deal as far as I’m concerned, never minding the cap concerns–and Ristolainen earns $5.1 million for the next two years.

Red Wings recall Elmer Soderblom

Per the Red Wings on Twitter:

The Grand Rapids Griffins confirm:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday recalled left wing Elmer Soderblom from the Grand Rapids Griffins.  

Soderblom, the 159th overall pick by the Red Wings in 2019, has 17 points (5-12—17), 29 penalty minutes and a plus-four rating in 38 games with Grand Rapids this season. The 6-foot-8 forward is currently on a three-game point streak with the Griffins (2-2—4) and has nine points in his last 10 appearances (4-5—9). Last season, the Gothenburg, Sweden, native totaled 29 points (13-16—29) in 61 regular-season games with Grand Rapids before showing two points (1-1—2) in seven Calder Cup Playoff contests, making his postseason debut on May 3, 2024 against the Rockford IceHogs. Throughout parts of three AHL campaigns with the Griffins, Soderblom has produced 54 points (23-31—54), 47 penalty minutes and a plus-two rating in 119 games. 

A little bit of Hank

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff suggests that Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond has a bit of Henrik Zetterberg in him:

Seeing Raymond at work on a daily basis has proven to be an eye-opening experience for his new coach.

“Now that I’m here, you see the tenacity that he plays with,” [Red Wings coach Todd] McLellan said. “He’s got an abrasiveness to him that I wasn’t aware of. He’s obviously got all the skills and all that other stuff.”

McLellan’s first tenure with the Red Wings was as an assistant coach from 2005-08. And he was reaching back into that time to find a player he’s coached that he views as a comparable to Raymond.

“For me, he’s got some of . . .” McLellan stopped himself in mid-sentence before continuing his thought process. “I’m going to use a name, and he’s not that player, but I see a little bit of (Henrik) Zetterberg in him like that determination and that little bit of abrasiveness, the fire kind of. So throw in all the other skills and that’s what I see in Lucas.”

It’s high praise, indeed. McLellan was coaching Zetterberg when the former Detroit captain was at the zenith of his abilities. In 2007-08, as he was helping lead the Red Wings to their most recent Stanley Cup title, Zetterberg was also winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as NHL playoff MVP.

Continued; Lucas Raymond is Lucas Raymond, just as Moritz Seider is Moritz Seider. But when you see a little bit of Zetterberg in Raymond, or a little bit of Lidstrom in Seider, you aren’t wrong.

Press release: Max Plante named NCHC Rookie of the Week

From the University of Minnesota-Duluth:

For a second time this season, University of Minnesota Duluth men’s hockey freshman forward Max Plante has been named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s Rookie of the Week after his three point performance against Colorado College.

The native of Hermantown, Minn., Plante had an assist in Friday night’s setback to the Tigers before scoring the Bulldogs opening goal on the power play and added an assist in UMD’s 4-1 win Saturday night. Plante, who was +1 on the weekend with four shots, has notched a point in his last six games for the Bulldogs. Over that span, Plante compiled five goals and four assists for nine points, and three of those games have been multiple point efforts. Plante has also scored at least a goal in five of his last six skates.

UMD has now had seven NCHC Player’s of the Week this season, including four Rookie of the Week honors, which includes goaltender Klayton Knapp, who picked up the award just last week.

Emmitt Finnie’s ‘in the right place at the right time’

Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, KamloopsBlazers.com’s Colton Davies wrote an article about Red Wings prospect and Kamloops Blazers forward Emmitt Finnie:

Kamloops Blazers forward Emmitt Finnie is off to a phenomenal start this season, racking up 23 goals and showing no signs of slowing down.

It wasn’t always an easy path for Finnie, though. The Detroit Red Wings prospect was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft and made his WHL debut the following season. During the 2021-22 campaign, Finnie appeared in 48 games, not scoring a single goal. He would go on to score his first WHL goal in 2022-23, the same season that he would go on a 15-game point streak that saw him tally eight goals and 14 assists in that frame.

One Red Wings scout told me, “Finnie is a player who is always in the right place at the right time.” That’s a big reason why the Lethbridge, Alberta product has been able to develop into the player he is today.

When asked about his impressive performance this season, Finnie emphasized the work he put in during the offseason. “Coming into the season, I wanted to score more, so that was obviously a big focus. I’ve been shooting a lot of pucks and just trying to score as much as possible,” he explained.

Finnie also reflected on his brief stint with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL last season, an experience he described as invaluable. “That’s one of the best leagues in the world. Just being able to see where I need to get my game was a huge experience for me. I’m looking forward to getting back there and hopefully sticking in that league,” he said.

When asked about feedback from the Detroit Red Wings organization, Finnie said they’ve emphasized the importance of becoming bigger, stronger, and faster. “Playing in those AHL games, you see the size and speed of the league. I’ve been focused on getting my game there and being as big and fast as I can,” he noted.

Continued

An early Red Wings-Flyers preview

The 21-21-and-4 Detroit Red Wings have lost 2 straight and 3 of their past 4 games heading into Tuesday night’s game against the 21-20-and-6 Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/NBC Sports Philadelphia/Sportsnet One/97.1 FM).

Philadelphia is obviously one of the opponents Detroit needs to leapfrog in order to earn a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference standings, and it’s going to be tough to slow the Flyers’ momentum. They’ve gone 4-0-and-1 in their past 5 games, most recently winning a 3-1 decision over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

The AP’s game preview gives us “just the statistical facts“…

Continue reading An early Red Wings-Flyers preview

‘Razor’ on a roll

Both Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen and the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton took note of this Tweet from FanDuel SportsNet Detroit:

Per Allen:

Since Todd McLellan took over as Detroit’s coach, the team is 8-4. Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond both have registered in 10 of the 12 games. Larkin has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points, while Raymond’s total is six goals, 11 assists for 17 points. Patrick Kane has at least one point in nine of 12 games under McLellan. He boasts six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. The Red Wings play in Philadelphia Tuesday.

And, per Stockton:

Through 46 games this season, the young Swede has 19 goals and 31 assists.  Raymond won’t turn 23 until March 28th, so he has plenty of time to score the three goals necessary to surpass Dionne.  Creeping ahead of Howe would be a tall order but not entirely outside the realm of possibility, while present Detroit GM Steve Yzerman can sleepy soundly in the comfort that his 164 goals before age 23 will hold firm.

On some level, it’s a rather arbitrary milestone, but the underlying truth is clear and obvious: Raymond has been highly prolific from the moment he arrived in Detroit.  The organization needed him and [Moritz Seider] to contribute immediately in a fashion without precedent for the team in the 21st century.

And against the back drop, both players have thrived from the moment of their arrival.  As Larkin said back before the season began, as a young and blossoming star, “You slowly become looked at as a leader on the team and a part of the core.  I’ve noticed them be more vocal. Lucas at the end of last season—the way he played, the way he took over, started to dominate shifts, periods, and games. Mo with how he sacrifices the body, he’s always there for us. Those guys have continued to grow. I think they have more growth in them, but that’s any young 20-something in the NHL. We expect a lot out of them, and they’ve always answered, so I’m excited for them this season.”

I can’t emphasize enough that Seider had 5 shots, 11 shot attempts, 6 hits, a takeaway and 2 blocked shots in 22:36 played last night. The Red Wings’ #23 and #53 are playing their hearts out.

Stemming the tide of goals against a priority for coach McLellan

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed an off-day notebook which discusses the Red Wings’ struggles of late in terms of defensive play:

It’s on the defensive end that, possibly, bad habits from early in the season are beginning to resurface. McLellan, who took over Dec. 26 and the Wings immediately went 7-2-0 afterward, wants to stomp out those habits before they hurt the Wings again.

“We’re aware of that certainly, and it’s not unexpected,” McLellan said Sunday, after a sloppy first period led to the loss. “It’s hard to change habits. We’ve worked real hard on the mindset and we’ll need to keep doing that.”

What’s making it difficult for McLellan and his staff is the lack of practice time during this compact, busy schedule.

The Wings didn’t practice Monday, flying to the finale of this road trip Tuesday in Philadelphia (7 p.m., FSN/97.1). They won’t skate Wednesday either. With games basically every other day until early February, it’s going to be difficult to squeeze in full-tilt, quality practices.

“We haven’t had a lot of practice time because we’ve been on the road and playing nearly every other night, but that’s not going to change,” McLellan said. “Our learning will have to come from video and applying it in the game. We’ll keep on them and pushing them and we’re not going to accept slippage. It may occur but we’re not going to accept it.”

Turnovers or missed assignments were the cause for three first-period Dallas goals. The 3-0 deficit was too much for the Wings to overcome.

“What we gave up were some real egregious errors by individuals again, and the whole group pays the price for them,” McLellan said. “We’re a good team but we’re not a great one yet, and great ones can overcome stuff. Good ones struggle with it.”

Continued

Monday fundraising

Aunt Annie and I have to pay the bills, and this blog and the work I do for it is the way that we close the gap between what we make and what we need to make to get everything taken care of.

It’s not easy to do this, but here we are. I need to make a modest amount of money from the work I do to pay the bills.

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