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!

Some summertime speculation yields an unlikely trade proposal for Rasmussen

At this point in the offseason, a fair number of, “Team X should trade for Team Y’s Player Z” articles, and I usually pay them little heed.

Today is an exception, I suppose. Sports Illustrated’s “Inside the Penguins'” Jacob Punturi posted a list of “Five Depth Forwards the Penguins Should Target,” and I’m not saying that this guy is off-limits, but he strikes me as already having been penciled-in as Detroit’s fourth-line center:

Michael Rasmussen: The biggest option available (literally) for the Penguins is 6’6″ forward Michael Rasmussen of the Detroit Red Wings. The 23-year-old has seen continual improvement at the NHL level and most recently set career highs in goals, assists, and points this past season (15 goals, 12 assists, 27 points). With both center and wing capabilities, Rasmussen would bring a little of everything to the Penguin’s bottom six. 

He can score and would add a net front presence to the power play units. He’s also adept defensively and would give head coach Mike Sullivan another penalty killing option. Rasmussen is under contract for this upcoming season and the following one at a modest cap hit of $1.4 million. 

The Red Wings are looking to take the next step and might be unwilling to deal with their depth players, but if things take a turn, expect Hextall to make a call or two on this player.

Continued; now anything is possible in this NHL, and this summer, especially, but I don’t see the Red Wings dealing a 23-year-old who is 6’6″ and does have potential to become a stalwart 3rd-line center to “make room” for someone, and I don’t see anyone on the Penguins’ depth chart that intrigues me.

That’s a hard “No, why?” from me.

Some late July Power Rankings from Sportsnet (and Detroit’s 25th)

Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon examines the offseason moves made by each and every one of the NHL’s 32 member teams, and, while it’s early, he offers a set of power rankings going into the 2022-2023 season. Let’s just say that the Wings’ half-dozen-plus moves didn’t move Dixon’s needle:

25. Detroit Red Wings: Basically the Red Wings added a lot of steady hands in the form of Andrew Copp, Ben Chiarot and David Perron. This team’s ability to move forward, though, will largely rest with newcomer Ville Husso in the crease.

Continued; I guess the Wings will have to earn their respect on the ice.

Chris Chelios to appear at West Michigan Whitecaps game Wednesday, Traverse City Pit Spitters game Thursday

Per Grand Rapids Business Magazine’s Abby Poirier, former Red Wings defenseman and current Chicago Blackhawks ambassador/El Bandito Yankee Tequila creator Chris Chelios will be making something of a tour of West Michigan this week:

Chris Chelios will be signing autographs at LMCU Ballpark as part of the West Michigan Whitecaps’ Made in Michigan Wednesdays series.

Chelios, a member of the NHL Hall of Fame, will meet fans and sign autographs from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, at LMCU Ballpark, 4500 W. River Drive NE in Comstock Park. 

Chelios played 26 seasons in the NHL, including 10 with the Detroit Red Wings. He also played with the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks and Atlanta Thrashers. Chelios played 1,651 NHL games before retiring, the most for any NHL defenseman, and was a three-time Norris Trophy winner for best defenseman. He also is a three-time Stanley Cup winner, including two wins with the Red Wings in 2002 and 2008. 

He played in the Olympics in 2002 and led the U.S. to a silver medal that year. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013. 

Chelios is coming to the ballpark courtesy of his personal tequila brand, El Bandido Yankee, part of the Made in Michigan Wednesdays series, which brings Michigan players or Michigan-born athletes to LMCU Ballpark to meet West Michigan fans.  

The first 500 fans (21 and older) at the event will receive a mini-hockey stick courtesy of Sip Shine and El Bandido Yankee Tequila. 

The next night, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported earlier this month that Chelios will make an appearance and sign autographs at the Traverse City Pit Spitters’ game (per one Brendan Quealy):

The Traverse City Pit Spitters announced Thursday that NHL Hall of Famer Chris Chelios will appear at the Pit Spitters Hockey Night on Thursday, July 28.

Chelios played 26 seasons in the NHL, including 10 with the Detroit Red Wings. He also played with the Montreal Canadians, Chicago Blackhawks and Atlanta Thrashers in his storied career.

Chelios played in 1,651 NHL games, which is the fifth on that all-time list and the most for any NHL defenseman. During that time, he was a three-time Norris Trophy winner for best defenseman and an 11-time all-star and three-time Stanley Cup winner, including two with the Red Wings (2002, 2008). In the 2002 season, Chelios played in the Olympics and led the United States to a silver medal.

His amazing career culminated at his Hall of Fame induction in 2013.

On July 28, Chelios will be throwing a ceremonial first pitch and signing autographs for fans from 6-8 p.m.

The game starts at 7:05 p.m. and the gates will open at 6 p.m. The first 1,000 fans in the gate will receive a Pit Spitters hockey puck courtesy of Sip Shine.

The Hockey News’s Stephens suggests that the Wings remain a ‘dark horse’ candidate to sign Nazem Kadri.

This comes to us via a Tweet from radio host extraordinaire Sean Baligian, and the Hockey News’s Mike Stephens, who suggests that the Red Wings remain a “dark horse” candidate to land none other than unrestricted free agent winger Nazem Kadri (and ignore the part where Ville Husso is listed as a free agent signing instead of a traded player):

Detroit Red Wings
Cap Space: $10,296,111

Detroit’s rebuild is over. You don’t sign Ville Husso, Andrew Copp, David Perron, Ben Chiarot, Olli Maata, and Mark Pysyk all in the same offseason if you’re looking to lose. 

These Red Wings mean business once again, boasting a decent young core that is now supported by useful veterans while currently sitting with over $10 million in cap space even after their summer signing spree. 

A top-nine headlined down the middle by Kadri, Larkin, and Copp looks pretty good to me. All that’s left is to reel their big fish in. 

Detroit seems to offer everything Kadri could be looking for in a landing spot with whom he’d be spending the remaining years of his prime. 

With Steve Yzerman leading the way up top, the Red Wings have solid and entrenched leadership in the front office, a robust player development department on the ice, and the financial resources to remain a serious player in free agency for years to come. 

Sure, the icy chill of Michigan winters might scare off other prospective free agents. But Kadri has spent his entire career to date in Toronto and Denver; the two locales aren’t exactly known for their balmy temperatures. 

Has the Red Wings’ offseason been perfect? Heck, no. Handing Chiarot nearly $5 million over four years is the type of deal I thought Yzerman was smart enough to avoid. But when it comes to organizational prestige, odds of contention, and financial flexibility, no other logical destination seems to come close. 

Continued, with the Avs, Islanders and Kraken as the favorites to sign Kadri…

Via A2Y @ KK: Tweet of note: Darren McCarty on the Wings’ summer of signings

Via Abel to Yzerman at Kukla’s Korner comes this clip of Darren McCarty discussing the Red Wings’ summer of free agent signings as it applies to the team’s rebuild:

Allen offers a short scouting report on hard-hitting Robert Hagg

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen got a bit of a scouting report on one Robert Hagg, a 27-year-old defenseman signed by the Red Wings today to assuage for the loss of Mark Pysyk to an Achilles tendon injury:

Over the past couple of weeks media speculation and social media chatter had the Detroit Red Wings being interested in free agent defenseman John Klingberg.

It turned out the Red Wings were interested in a Swedish free agent D man. But it was 6-foot-2, 210-pound Robert Haag, not puck mover Klingberg. Hagg played last season for the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers and is known as a heavy hitter.

“(He’s a) solid defender that should factor in a 3rd pairing for Detroit,” NHL Network analyst Stu Grimson told Detroit Hockey Now. “He’s not shy to get up into the attack; a strong skater with size who “gets” the north American brand of hockey. He will play the body and stick up for a teammate where needed.”

The signing was announced in conjunction with the Red Wings revealing recently-signed defenseman Mark Pysyk will be out four to six months with a torn Achilles tendon.

Continued

Red Wings sign defenseman Robert Hagg to 1-year contract

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

UPDATE: The #RedWings today signed defenseman Robert Hagg to a one-year contract with an average annual value of $800,000.

📰 » https://t.co/c70lnkfJmt pic.twitter.com/65zwmV2rAX— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 25, 2022

DETROIT SIGNS ROBERT HAGG TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT

  … Defenseman Split 2021-22 Season Between Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today signed defenseman Robert Hagg to a one-year contract with an average annual value of $800,000.

Hagg, 27, split the 2021-22 season between the Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres, recording nine points (1-8-9) and 35 penalty minutes in 64 games. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound blueliner has skated in 300 career NHL games with the Panthers (2021-22), Sabres (2021-22) and Philadelphia Flyers (2016-21), notching 56 points (14-42-56), a plus-four rating and 178 penalty minutes. He also registered three assists in 14 postseason appearances with the Flyers, helping the team reach the second round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Additionally, Hagg has compiled 50 points (16-34-50) and 142 penalty minutes in 202 games with the American Hockey League’s Adirondack/Lehigh Valley Phantoms from 2013-17.

Originally selected by the Flyers in the second round (41st overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, the Uppsala, Sweden, native logged a plus-two rating and four penalty minutes in eight appearances for his country at the 2019 IIHF World Championship. Hagg also competed in three-straight IIHF World Junior Championships from 2013-15, winning back-to-back silver medals in 2013 and 2014. He previously served as an alternate captain for Sweden at the 2013 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, tallying four points (1-3-4), a plus-one rating and 12 penalty minutes in five contests. Hagg represented Sweden at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, logging five points (3-2-5) in four games. He led all defensemen in scoring at the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with six points (2-4-6) while adding 16 penalty minutes in six contests, and also skated in four games at the 2011 World Junior A Challenge. Prior to arriving in North America, Hagg played two seasons with MODO Hockey in Sweden’s top professional league, picking up seven points (1-6-7) and 49 penalty minutes in 77 games from 2012-14. 

Hagg, 27, is 6’2″ and 205 pounds.