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!

Prospect round-up: Buchelnikov scores, Gylander stops 44 for Walleye, Finnie 1G+1A for Kamloops

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In the KHL, Dmitri Buchelnikov scored a goal on 4 shots, playing 17:08 in Vityaz Moscow Region’s 3-2 OT loss to Red Star Kunlun:

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Maximilian Kilpinen finished even in 11:18 played as Ostersunds IK won 3-2 over Mora;

Liam Dower Nilsson finished at -1 with 1 shot in 15:03 played as IF Bjorkloven lost 2-1 in overtime to Almtuna;

In the ECHL, Carter Gylander stopped 44 shots in the Toledo Walleye’s 4-3 win over the Fort Wayne Komets;

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Buchelnikov scores, Gylander stops 44 for Walleye, Finnie 1G+1A for Kamloops

DeBrincat unleashed

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article which discusses Alex DeBrincat’s new-found status as a point-per-game contributor to the Red Wings’ cause:

“I’m happy he’s on our team because (McLellan’s previous) teams were getting tired of playing against him,” McLellan said after Thursday’s dramatic 5-4 victory in Columbus.

DeBrincat had a goal and two assists in the game, pushing his team-leading total to 16 goals and tying Dylan Larkin with 31 points (behind Lucas Raymond’s 38).

Now in his second year with the Wings, DeBrincat is on pace to surpass last season’s 27 goals and is enjoying — to this juncture in the schedule — a more consistent campaign, avoiding the peaks and valleys of last season.

One particularly difficult stretch, from Feb. 29 to April 9, saw DeBrincat score one goal (with six assists) in 19 games. With the Wings missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker, even the slightest uptick in goal-scoring from DeBrincat could have proven to be a difference.

But DeBrincat, twice a 41-goal scorer in the NHL, has looked more like that type of player at times this season.

“You almost appreciate him more when you’re around him more,” McLellan said. “You see him shift after shift and there is more to his game than his shot and goals, which we all know him for. But the work he does in and around the blue paint, screens, his thought process on the power play, how he gets open, his shooting and competitiveness … I’m glad he’s on our team.”

Continued (paywall)

Khan on Berggren and the resurgent Wings

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article discussing the resurgent play of Jonatan Berggren as emblematic of the entire team’s renaissance under new coach Todd McLellan:

Berggren might the player who will most benefit from the coaching change. He came out of the penalty box to score on a breakaway with 32 seconds remaining in regulation to beat the Blue Jackets. It was his second breakaway goal in as many games.

“I’m feeling like there’s confidence in the game,” Berggren said. “We don’t want to sit back and watch the game. We want to attack and skate a lot. I feel that we’ve done a pretty good job with that.”

The Red Wings (16-18-4) suddenly are only four points out of the final wild card spot, though they’d need to pass five teams to get there, which makes it even more difficult.

They’ll face a bigger challenge Saturday at Winnipeg against the league-leading Jets (27-11-2).

McLellan during his first full practice with the team last Saturday told players to “Play (bleeping) hockey, you’ve done it all your lives).” They have responded.

James van Riemsdyk tied the game with 2:41 to play in the third period and the Red Wings needed to kill a delay of game penalty immediately after due to an unsuccessful challenge for goaltender interference. They didn’t fold, however.

“I think there’s no quit,” Alex DeBrincat told media at Thursday’s game. “We gave up that goal and our PK does a great job and Berggy scores right after that. We’re not getting down on the bench when we have a momentum swing. We just keep working to get that momentum back.”

Continued (paywall)

Press release: Red Wings recall William Lagesson

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

Red Wings recall William Lagesson from Grand Rapids

Defenseman has skated in 102 NHL games with Oilers, Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Ducks and Red Wings since 2019-20

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today recalled defensemen William Lagesson from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

Lagesson, 28, has skated in two games with the Red Wings during the 2024-25 season, recording two penalty minutes and two shots in 15:57 average time on ice. The 6-foot-2, 213-pound defenseman has also tallied nine points (3-6-9), a plus-13 rating and 18 penalty minutes in 23 games with the Griffins this season. Lagesson split the 2023-24 campaign between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks, notching four assists, a plus-five rating and 19 penalty minutes in 30 games with the Maple Leafs before logging 13 penalty minutes in 10 games with the Ducks. Lagesson also picked up one assist in five appearances with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in 2023-24. Originally selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the fourth round (91st overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Lagesson has totaled 11 assists and 56 penalty minutes in 102 games with the Oilers, Montréal Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Ducks and Red Wings since 2019-20. He has also collected 81 points (24-57-81), a plus-46 rating and 136 penalty minutes in 196 AHL games with the Bakersfield Condors, Chicago Wolves, Marlies and Griffins. Lagesson began the 2020-21 season with HC Vita Hästen and Kristianstads IK in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan, posting 12 points (3-9-12), a plus-six rating and 12 penalty minutes in 14 games. He made his professional debut with Djurgårdens IF in the Swedish Hockey League in 2017-18, registering 13 points (1-12-13), a plus-13 rating and 30 penalty minutes in 49 regular-season games, in addition to one assist in 11 postseason contests.

Continue reading Press release: Red Wings recall William Lagesson

Allen: Husso probably not on the move this season

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a subscriber-only article which discusses whether Ville Husso might be traded at some point this season:

In eight games for the Griffins, Husso has limited opponents to two or fewer goals seven times. He has two shutouts, and shows a 1.86 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. In four of his last five starts for Detroit before being sent down, his game save percentage was above .914.

With Cam Talbot (.303, .903) and Alex Lyon (2.83, .899) playing well enough in Detroit, Husso isn’t likely to be called up unless someone becomes injured.

The other way Husso could come back to Detroit is if the Red Wings trade a netminder.

Even if another NHL team liked how Husso is playing, his $4.75 million salary cap hit makes it unlikely any GM would seek him in a deal.

An NHL team looking for goaltending help would be more interested in Talbot ($2.5 million) for his history of dependability or Lyon ($900,000) for low cap hit. Lyon becomes a UFA this summer, and Talbot has another year left.

Continued (paywall)

Tweet of note: Larkin-and-Werenski interview teaser

FanDuel Sports Network Ohio’s Jody Shelley interviewed Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski for the Columbus Blue Jackets’ pregame show, and this is what’s available from the interview:

Tweet of note: Superb Husso

Ville Husso is shining for the Grand Rapids Griffins right now. He posted a 31-save shutout and a 3-save shootout shutout as well as the Griffins won 1-0 over Cleveland last night, and the Griffins posted a highlight clip of Husso’s heroics:

Husso may eventually be moved, but for the present moment, he’s playing fantastic hockey for the Griffins, and that’s a good thing.

Trade, I mean re-sign, Kane!

The Hockey News’s Adam Proteau was trading Patrick Kane away from Detroit a week ago, but today, he’s suggesting that the Red Wings extend Kane’s contract for another season:

Patrick Kane, RW, Detroit Red Wings

If the Red Wings are intent on making the playoffs – a long shot for this season – they will need to keep Kane in the fold. Like most of the Wings, Kane has struggled this season, posting just seven goals and 17 points in 32 games. But he’s clearly bought into GM Steve Yzerman’s plan, and a decent contract extension shouldn’t be all that difficult for him to obtain. The 36-year-old is making $4 million, but he’s not looking to break the bank on a new contract. A slight raise should be able to keep him in the fold.

Continued; there have been a significant amount of trade proposals regarding Red Wings players over the past three weeks, mostly involving the Buffalo Sabres’ top players, but it’s a lot of fluffernutter.

I don’t see the Wings and Sabres making a significant trade unless “the stars line up” and both teams find good fits in terms of both salary and compensation, and that’s bloody difficult to do.

If the Red Wings do choose to “buy” or “sell,” it’s far more likely that they’ll stay out of their own division when doing so.

Trade Husso? I dunno.

After last night’s 1-0 shootout win, I was thinking that the Grand Rapids Griffins are doing a great job of making a 3-goaltender system work as all of Jack Campbell, Ville Husso and Sebastian Cossa are earning playing time and practice time…

But the Hockey News’s Caleb Kearney sees the glut of goaltenders in GR and says that it’s time for the Red Wings to trade Campbell or Husso:

Husso has been lights out with two shutouts in eight games. He currently holds a 6-1-0 record to go along with a 1.86 goals against average (GAA) and a .935 save percentage (SV%).

With 18 games played, Cossa has taken most of the year’s starts. He has a 10-5-3 record in those starts, a 2.31 GAA, a .919 SV%, and one shutout.

Campbell is starting to get his feet wet, with four games and a 2-2-0 record. Although this sample is small, he has a 2.02 GAA and a .924 SV%.

Having several goalies who perform well is not a bad thing. What is bad about this situation is that the veterans, Husso and Campbell, will take away Cossa’s starts.

While this might give Cossa a nice break in the short term, it’s not good for his long-term development. Having a break is one thing, but sitting too long can negatively impact goaltending performance. Therefore, one of Husso or Campbell must be traded.

Husso is probably the easiest of the two to visit the trade block. Campbell fell out of favor with NHL GMs last season and is still rebuilding his game to deliver consistent results.

Campbell’s contract is more digestible: He earned $775,000 this season. Husso, on the other hand, is in the last year of a three-year $4.75 million deal.

I’m going to have to disagree here. The Wings would have to eat half of Husso’s salary to trade him, and while it’s a nice thought to clear the Griffins’ logjam, right now, it’s working, and that matters more than one might think, especially with the possibility of an injury at the NHL level quite probable at some point this season.