Author: George Malik

DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji examines Tyler Bertuzzi’s 2018-2019 season’s significant statistics today:

100 — On Jan. 12 at Minnesota, Bertuzzi played in his 100th career game, a 5-2 victory.

1 — Bertuzzi made his 100th game a very memorable one, scoring his first career hat trick. He scored the first goal of the game 24 seconds into the first period, assisted by Gustav Nyquist and Dylan Larkin. Bertuzzi then scored the final two goals of the game, 47 seconds into the third, assisted by Larkin and Mike Green, and at 8:38 of the third, assisted by Nyquist and Larkin.

4 — For an Original Six team, it’s hard to believe that there are still records to be set. Yet Bertuzzi set a new one with four straight three-point games from March 28-April 2. He was the first NHL player to turn that trick since Keith Tkachuk did so for the St. Louis Blues from Dec. 1-10, 2005 and Patrick Marleau did so for the San Jose Sharks from Dec. 2-8, 2005.

Continued

The Detroit Free Press’s Kathleen Gray spoke with former Red Wing Darren McCarty regarding his business partnership with a Michigan-based marijuana company. McCarty is an outspoken advocate of medicinal and non-medical marijuana:

McCarty has formed a partnership with Pincanna, a cannabis company that is building a massive marijuana grow and processing operation along I-75 in Pinconning, north of Bay City. And McCarty hopes one day to win a Cannabis Cup — a marijuana competition that is held all over the United States to rate different pot products — with his own strains of legal weed.

By partnering with the company, McCarty wants to broaden the advocacy he already has been doing since he kicked his addiction to alcohol in 2015 with the help of pot. While he has grown his own pot outdoors, he’s leaving the cultivating, processing and retail sales to the experts and will lend his name instead to products ranging from a CBD rub and gummy, to a mellowing strain of marijuana and a high-potency, marijuana-infused chocolate peanut-butter candy bar that will “crush” those who choose to indulge.

“I have a couple of ideas for the names (of the marijuana strains). Something to do with four cups, maybe sweet revenge,” McCarty said, referring to his now infamous fight with Colorado Avalanche forward Claude Lemieux, whom he pummeled in 1997 in retaliation for Lemieux’s brutal attack on Red Wings’ teammate Kris Draper in 1996. “The names will come from some pretty big moments that I’ve had.”

Continued; the Free Press posted a video of McCarty’s comments as well:

MLive’s Ansar Khan continues his player profiles this morning by examining Dylan Larkin’s 2018-19 season and 2019-2020 season outlook. Khan suggests that Larkin hasn’t reached his ceiling as a player yet:

2019-20 outlook: Larkin stepped up with the best of his four NHL seasons in his first full season as the top-line center following Henrik Zetterberg’s retirement and nearly doubled his goal output from the previous two seasons combined.

In the first year of a five-year, $30.5 million contract, Larkin fulfilled his goal of being that “go-to guy that is a main cog,” playing in all situations and stepping up in overtime.

Larkin was better defensively and must continue improving his play without the puck.

He formed good chemistry late in the season with linemates Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi.

Larkin’s effort has never been questioned. His motor is always running, and he is highly motivated to keep improving and lead this team. He is certain to be the Red Wings’ next captain, whether it’s this season (which seems likely) or in 2020-21.

Continued

Red Wings TV spent a day with Justin Abdelkader and his family in his hometown of Muskegon, MI:

WXYZ posted a short video in which Joe Kocur discusses his charitable foundation’s set of charity softball games, which took place on Saturday in Highland, MI. According to Kocur, Dylan Larkin will be helping the Ted Lindsay Foundation going forward:

The Red Wings Instagram account captured action from the Saturday’s games:

View this post on Instagram

Always a good time joining in on @kocurfoundation’s Charity Softball Series! ⚾️?? #forthekids #lgrw

A post shared by Detroit Red Wings Hockey Club (@detroitredwings) on Aug 24, 2019 at 5:59pm PDT

Red Wings goaltender Jonathan Bernier was interviewed by the Journal de Montreal’s…Jonathan Bernier…for an article published on Friday. Here’s a rough translation of the French-language article:

Bernier wants to see more action

A fight is to be expected with goaltender Jimmy Howard in Detroit

In his first season in Detroit, Jonathan Bernier had to ride the brakes until getting the confidence of Jeff Blashill. Stuck behind Jimmy Howard, he had to wait until mid-February before taking his place in front of the Red Wings’ net more regularly.

Met a few days before leaving for the Motor City, Bernier spoke well of his coach.

“That’s what happens when you sign with a new team. The coach doesn’t know you, so it takes time for him to trust you,” he told de Journal. “You have to win so much in this league that it’s demanding, even for coaches. So if he doesn’t know you, he’ll go with someone he’s confident in.”

This is a very solid example of an article that sometimes gets “sat on” as the blogger ponders the author’s point–which does happen sometimes in a one-man blog.

The Hockey News’s Jared Clinton penned a list of “Breakout Candidates” for each and every one of the NHL’s 31 teams, and I really scratched my head wondering if 1. This was “meaty” enough to post and 2. whether he was correct in his assumption.

Clinton believes that Filip Zadina is probably going to make the Red Wings’ roster and display the promise that convinced the Red Wings to draft him 6th in 2018; I’m not sure whether Zadina is ready, and I want to hold off on my assessment until I see Zadina take part in training camp and the preseason.

Anyway, here’s what Clinton has to say about Zadina:

Detroit Red Wings:Filip Zadina is ready. He fired home 16 goals and 35 points in the AHL last season and got a nine-game look with the Red Wings, during which he scored one goal and three points. He’s a full-timer come the season, though, and a dark horse for the Calder Trophy.

Clinton continues with 30 more picks; I’m somewhere between, “I don’t know if he’s ready” and, “I don’t think that he’s ready at all,” and I got all guilty and thought, “Posting that opinion and leaving it is too flighty for one entry in late August.”

I really haven’t seen Zadina on the ice since his 10-game stint with the Wings, and I wasn’t able to follow the Griffins in any closeness due to the mom, so I’m incredibly curious to see whether Zadina’s late-season surge in GR will translate into any sort of forward momentum going over the course of the summer. He’s a tremendously talented player, but my gut says that he’ll probably need another half-a-season in the AHL before he really takes off, and that’s where I’m at–hoping to be proved wrong!

What do you think about Zadina’s NHL readiness?

Red Wings prospect Jack Adams suffered a horrible setback when he tore his ACL and MCL ligaments in his right knee during the Wings’ summer development camp. Adams worked hard to prepare his knee for surgery, and now he’s recovering from the reconstructive procedure, as he tells us in this installment of, “You Don’t Know Jack“:

One day, you’ll look back on all the hardships in your life and have nothing but gratitude for everything that’s happened along the way. A simple message Danny Carr constantly echoes to me is engraved in my mind: feeling sorry for yourself gets you nowhere.

5:15 a.m. The time my alarm sounds off each morning, a daily reminder that it’s time to start my work and preparation for the day. While this routine might sound ubiquitous and somewhat boring, this strict schedule that my trainer and I put in place is what we believe in, and it’s the reason why my recovery is moving at a rapid pace. However, the day of surgery, I honestly thought I’d never walk again. It hurt … So. Bad.

An ACL tear is a life-changing experience and injury, and while the prognosis at first is formidable, the pain from the surgery is excruciating, both physically and mentally. But, as I said before, I kept telling myself to not feel sorry for myself.

Continued on the Red Wings’ website;

The Hockey News’s Ryan Kennedy examines what the Red Wings’ 2023-24 season roster might look like if the Wings were not to make trades or add significant prospects through the draft, essentially determining how the team’s current players and prospects might develop over time.

At forward, Kennedy expects a significant turnover:

By the time 2023-24 rolls around, the Red Wings will have a very nice set of forwards, led by captain Larkin. Naturally, Detroit fans have to hope that player such as Svechnikov, Veleno and Zadina develop on an upward trajectory, but that’s a big part of this forecasting exercise, isn’t it? Rasmussen can be an excellent third-line center with a couple bangers on his wings, while Smith brings some muscle to the fourth line. You will also notice that by this time, the Red Wings will mercifully be free of the current long-term contracts to veterans such as Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm. It’s going to be a whole new era.

Continued

From the Toledo Walleye:

Toledo, OH – Forward Josh Winquist has agreed to terms with the Toledo Walleye for the 2019-2020 season.

Winquist has performed above a point per game in his ECHL career with 84 points (27G, 57A) in just 78 contests between Bakersfield, Orlando and Utah. Due to an injury he only appeared in five games for Utah last year but did have 8 points (4G, 4A) in those contests. In 2017-18 while with Orlando, the St. Albert, Alberta native had 53 points (18G, 35A) over 55 contests to go along with 65 penalty minutes.

“This is a player that we are very excited about because of his playmaking,” said Head Coach Dan Watson. “Josh has the ability to produce offense at an extremely high level that is evident by each stop he has made in his career.”

To go along with high production in the ECHL, Winquist has another 81 points (31G, 50A) at the AHL level. His pro career got started with Oklahoma City at the end of the 2013-2014 season for one game before heading into the next year when he skated in 46 contests for the Barons posting eight goals, 11 assists and 17 penalty minutes. The 25-year-old moved to Bakersfield the in 2015-2016 season and had 30 points (8G, 22A) in 35 contests. He had another full AHL season in 2016-2017 with Bridgeport, when Winquist had 15 goals with 17assists over 53 appearances for the Sound Tigers.

The 6’0”, 180 pound forward rolled in his junior career also picking up 216 points (101G, 115A) in 301 career games in the WHL. His entire junior career was spent with Everett from 2009-2014. Winquist posted career best numbers in his final year with the Silvertips with an outstanding 47 goals with 46 assists for 93 points while playing as a plus 19.