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!

Coach Lalonde wants Albert Johansson to ‘keep it simple’

Amongst the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood’s “odds and ends” from training camp:

Albert Johansson is going to make the NHL roster this season because his waiver eligibility would otherwise allow a team to claim him if he were sent down. Whether or not he gets into games is a different story — as general manager Steve Yzerman explained Tuesday before camp. In terms of what they want to see from Johansson right now, his coaches feel that less is more.

“Simple game. Being able to move a puck,” Lalonde said Thursday. “He showed it in practice today. He had a couple eye-popping, breakout type plays in some very tight situations, but to be able to defend, it’s a little heavier at this level than it was last year.”

Johansson has never played in an NHL game, a product of both the depth chart and the NHL blue line’s unusual health last season. In Grand Rapids, he was a dependable two-way defender who teammates consistently praised. He made the simple play — the right play — and didn’t risk too much. Lalonde feels that Johansson’s best path to playing as a rookie is for that simplicity to build trust through the way it shows dependability.

“(I was) really impressed with him as a player last year,” Lalonde explained. “I was able to see him quite a bit down the stretch last year and we feel he’s ready to help us. He’s gonna have to go earn it. I want to see it in camp. But I just want a simple game out of him. Being able to transport a puck for us, being able to defend, and he did that at a pretty consistent level in Grand Rapids, and we want to see it at our level.”

Continued

Training camp Tweets of note: Saturday, the third day + a little ASP action from Sweden

As I did on Thursday and Friday, we’re going to go with a single thread for most of the training camp Tweets/X posts this morning, so check back on this post as it will continue to be updated until at least 2 PM.

Here we go…

Meanwhile, in Sweden…

Day 2: on building chemistry and the goaltending competition

As we prepare for the 3rd day of training camp to begin, DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted an article which summarizes the storylines on day 2:

“The details have been pretty sharp for the first two days of Training Camp,” J.T. Compher said. “Sometimes there’s a little bit of sloppiness. I can only speak for our group that I’ve skated with the last few days, but it’s been sharp and I feel the focus has been there, which is important. These are important days to hammer down the systems and learn. It’s really good to see the guys ready to go right from the start of camp.”

Training Camp also provides an early look at possible line combinations. During the first two days of camp, Compher skated on the second line between Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko.

“That’s what camp is about — learning each other’s tendencies,” Compher said. “Whether the lines switch up or stay the same, you want to try to get as much familiarity with guys as possible. The first day was maybe more feeling each other out, then today I feel like us three were a little more vocal with each other and talking through things.”

…

“That top-four [defense] could be fluid a little bit at times,” [coach Derek] Lalonde said. “Sometimes guys have chemistry, just puck support, being able to get pucks out on a breakout. Of course you’re starting to envision some pairs. No different from my conversation and comments about our offensive lines yesterday. We’ll be looking at some different things, could be fluid, and try to get a combination there.”

Among other things that Lalonde and his coaching staff will evaluate through Training Camp and the preseason is Detroit’s goaltending situation.

“Ville [Husso], Cam [Talbot] and Alex [Lyon] have had really nice stretches in this league,” Lalonde said. “They’ve proved they can win in this league, and we’ll look for one to step up. Jack [Campbell] has done that also. Obviously, we have some numbers in camp, which is a little unique, but it’s a positive. I still look back to last year, we kept the three goalies around for a while. It wasn’t ideal, getting in the net at times, but again, it saved our season. It’s going to be a healthy competition. It’s going to be wide open, and it’s a clean slate.”

Continued

Roughly translated: Leksands IF’s GM, ‘Tjomme’ Johansson, discusses son Anton Johansson’s potential

As the SHL season begins this morning, Leksands IF GM Thomas “Tjomme” Johansson spoke with Hockeynews.se’s Andreas Hanson about the relative lack of changes on his team over the course of the summer, as well as the potential for growth in “Tjomme’s” son, Red Wings prospect defenseman Anton Johansson:

His son Anton is one of the most exciting players on the team for this season. The 20-year-old played 46 games last season, and many LIF fans hope that he will start where he finished in the playoffs, when he posted 4 points in 7 games.

“Yes, Anton has huge potential. But he’s still young. He needs to build on his experience. I think last year he was a bit shaky initially, mixing highlights with some junior mistakes, but he sanded it away the longer the season went, and into the playoffs, so he was probably one of our best defensemen. So I hope that we can continue to give him the environment that allows him to continue taking the steps forward, so that he can become a huge force on our defensive side.”

The challenge for Anton will be to be patient, thinks Tjomme. “Above all, daring to keep his game simple and not make too much of it. Be patient in your own game. I think that he showed a lot of stability in his game. So I hope he keeps developing, and if he does, then he will be a huge asset for us.”

Simon Edvinsson, Jeff Petry likely to anchor the Red Wings’ second defensive pairing

The Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses big Simon Edvinsson’s role on the Red Wings’ 2024-2025 team this morning, noting that Edvinsson is likely to play on the Wings’ second defensive pairing, alongside Jeff Petry:

“I foresee him being in our top four to start the season,” coach Derek Lalonde said Friday. “With his overall play, from Grand Rapids to what he gave us down the stretch last year, where he was slotted with our push at the end — we foresee him in a similar role.”

It’s a role that, based on the first couple of days of training camp, Edvinsson will fulfill partnered with Jeff Petry, a veteran of 937 NHL games.

“Petey can be easy to play off at times,” Lalonde said. “He’s pretty simple, pretty predictable. That’s the vision. He could be a perfect mentor in that relationship.”

It’s a pairing that suits Edvinsson, who sees the 36-year-old as more than a defensive partner.

“He’s a great guy, we have a really good connection both on the ice and off the ice,” Edvinsson said. “We go to dinners, we do stuff together. We go out fishing. It’s just those small things that give you a good connection with your partner. Of course we talk a lot on the ice about what we can do better, what we can do different. We just feel the same thing and that’s what’s good to have.”

Continued; St. James also reports that Moritz Seider is scheduled to arrive in Detroit on Tuesday.

Red Wings hope to break even in terms of goal-scoring lost during free agency vs. UFA additions

By now we’ve all been told that the Red Wings have lost 75 goals over the course of free agency thanks to the departures of Shayne Gostisbehere, Daniel Sprong, David Perron, Jake Walman and Robby Fabbri.

This morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff asks whether this year’s Red Wings team will be able to match that lost production:

“I don’t think that’s necessarily a concern,” said Alex DeBrincat, author of 27 goals last season. “I think we should be ready to play and hopefully ready to score a lot of goals.”

Certainly, Detroit is going to be able to put out two top lines that should prove formidable when it comes time to light the lamp. It’s only training camp, but the top-six forwards set out by coach Derek Lalonde are telling.

He’s keeping DeBrincat with captain Dylan Larkin (33 goals) and Lucas Raymond (31 goals). They were a potent unit last season.

“I think all of us are looking to grow, too,” DeBrincat said. “All the guys that came back were looking to improve and be better players and obviously, hopefully score more goals.”

…

Larkin is also viewing Tarasenko as an X-factor when it comes to what he can bring to the Wings.

“I didn’t watch much of the first part of the playoffs, but obviously watched a lot of the finals and later rounds,” [Dylan] Larkin said. “And I watched Florida play and Vladi [Tarasenko] stuck out to me,” Larkin said. “I think him and Kaner can really click with Kaner’s playmaking ability and Vlad’s finishing and also Vlad’s forecheck. He can get on pucks and be very hard to play against. So I’m very excited to watch that line and how it goes throughout the season.”

Last season, this group of six was good for a combined 153 goals. It doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch for them to up that total to at least 165 goals this season.

Continued

Video: in which I appear on The Flying Octopus podcast

Evan Sabourin was kind enough to have me as a guest on The Flying Octopus podcast this afternoon: