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.
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The Detroit Red Wings’ head coach spoke with the media ahead of tonight’s game vs. the Calgary Flames (7:30 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/Sportsnet East/Sportsnet West/Sportsnet Ontario/ESPN+/97.1 FM), and the Flames’ website just posted Calgary’s pre-game media availabilities.
Seider has three assists in three games while averaging 21:24 in ice time, second on the team to Filip Hronek (23:55). Seider is playing in all situations, manning the point on one of the power-play units and killing penalties.
“He’s getting those minutes because he’s earning those minutes,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think he’s done a good job. He’s on our power play and he kills penalties as well, so he’s going to get those minutes on the specialty teams, so that’s going to increase your minutes.”
The Red Wings (2-0-1) wrap up a season-opening four-game homestand tonight against the Calgary Flames (0-1-1) at Little Caesars Arena (7:30, Bally Sports Detroit).
Seider is only 20, but clearly was NHL-ready after spending the 2019-20 season with AHL Grand Rapids and last season with Rogle BK in the Swedish Hockey League. He has been paired with Nick Leddy.
“I think for his personal development, one of the things that we’ve tried to do here, that we’ve done since Ken (former general manager Holland) was here and certainly with Steve (Yzerman), is try not to bring players up until they’re really ready to make an impact,” Blashill said. “I think when you do that, you get into a position where you’re not playing minimal minutes. You’re playing more minutes and that’s going to help you grow. And certainly, Moritz has done some really good stuff. He’s got some real good abilities. I think there’s definitely room for growth and we’re going to help him grow and try to become a great player. I don’t want Seids to be a good player, I want him to be a great player. And we’re going to push him to try to become a great player.”
The Detroit Red Wings face the Calgary Flames this evening (7:30 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/Sportsnet East/Sportsnet Ontario/Sportsnet West/ESPN+/97.1 FM), and the Red Wings will start Alex Nedeljkovic this evening.
After the Wings’ morning skate concluded, coach Jeff Blashill spoke about Moritz Seider, as well as the team’s looming 3-game road trip. As our friends from Calgary conduct their morning skate at present, you can watch the video of coach Jeff Blashill’s post-skate remarks below:
Meanwhile, our friends from Calgary took to the ice at LCA for their morning skate…
The Red Wings are starting Alex Nedeljkovic against the Calgary Flames this evening (7:30 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/Sportsnet East/Sportsnet Ontario/Sportsnet West/ESPN+/97.1 FM). After the Wings’ morning skate, the Red Wings’ coach and players spoke with the media:
“We don’t want Seider to be a good player, we want him to be a great player.” – Jeff Blashill. #LGRW@DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) October 21, 2021
Coach Blashill says Moritz Seider has earned the minutes he’s been playing the past three games #LGRW@DetroitRedWings— Carley Johnston (@carleykjohnston) October 21, 2021
Just enjoy this one:
Missed this on @DetroitRedWings opening night: Dylan Larkin’s reaction to seeing Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg
Asked if being on the road is a good time for team bonding, Coach Blashill says “If you win” with a smirk #LGRW@DetroitRedWings— Carley Johnston (@carleykjohnston) October 21, 2021
Gordie Howe signed thousands of autographs during his lifetime, all with the same fluid stroke that made his perfectly legible signature one of the most iconic and cherished in hockey history.
More than five years after his death, we’ll never know what “Mr. Hockey” would think of the latest Howe collectibles that are going to auction timed roughly to the 75th anniversary of his first NHL game, played for the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 16, 1946.
For six days beginning Friday, nine original non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will be up for bidding on the digital collectibles platform Blockparty. All proceeds will go to the Howe Foundation, the charitable endeavor launched in 1994 by Howe and his late wife, Colleen, to benefit children in sports and women working in the business of sports.
NFTs are defined as unique digital and collectible assets representing a moment or an item that can be electronically bought, sold or traded through a decentralized marketplace.
Old-school Gordie Howe surely would have been puzzled that he wouldn’t have been able to put his pen to any of the items in “The Gentl9man 2021 NFT Art Collection,” a celebration of his achievements and legacy.
What I believe: The Red Wings look like a team that enjoys playing with (and for) each other. You’ve seen the fights and the team standing up for each other. There was another Tuesday when Raymond took a hard hit from behind into the boards and Bertuzzi and Larkin started a fracas with Jack Roslovic immediately. Certainly, that (along with the other, surprisingly numerous examples three games into the season) is pretty good evidence of a team that wants to stand up for each other.
What I know: Larkin attributed the team’s closeness in part to what a young core they have (and have added to) this season.
“We have a lot of young players that (have) been with the team for a couple years now, kind of coming into leadership roles and a couple young players that just made our team, and we’re a young core,” Larkin said. “And that’s how you get close: You spend time with those guys, you talk, you hang out, you do everything with them. So I think our youth — and I don’t really have an answer to pinpoint one thing, but it’s great to see, it’s great to have that feeling.”
To commemorate the occasion, The Howe Foundation, founded by Gordie and his wife, Colleen, is offering fans a chance at a collection of art work that celebrates one of the game’s greatest players.
The Gentl9man 2021 NFT Art Collection includes nine original non-fungible tokens (NFT) that will be available in a six-day auction beginning Friday. One of the items is an image of Howe shaped by 1,071 pucks, representing the number of goals Gordie scored in his professional hockey career.
“The artwork in THE GENTL9MAN 2021 NFT Art Collection brings Gordie’s iconic talent and relentless humanity to life in an exciting new way,” Gordie’s son Mark said. Mark Howe is a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman and pro scout for the Wings.
The Howe family hired Detroit-based artist Zelley to illustrate the memories of Gordie’s career and provided an estimated 60 GB of personal footage. Zelley used the footage as inspiration, creating unique digital art pieces. One of them, titled “Hockey Dad,” shows Gordie walking and with sons Mark and Marty, holding their hands. Gordie is wearing his No. 9 — which hangs from the rafters at Little Caesars Arena — and the boys wear 3 and 4.
NFTs are unique digital and collectible assets representing a moment or item that can be electronically bought, sold or traded through a decentralized marketplace. The items are available on digital collectibles platform Blockparty, with all proceeds benefiting The Howe Foundation. A tenth of the money raised from the NFT sales will be donated to the NHL Alumni Association.
A general manager since 1997, Holland didn’t have to make too many tough calls on the captaincy. He inherited Yzerman with the Detroit Red Wings, who was then succeeded by Nicklas Lidstrom.
“That took about two minutes to decide,” said Holland with a laugh.
The only close race for the captaincy was when Lidstrom retired and the “C” was going to go to either Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg. The captain would be Zetterberg, but he and Datsyuk would be co-leaders.
When Zetterberg retired, Holland opted not to give anyone on the Red Wings the captaincy. Yzerman arrived as GM and waited two years to give the “C” to Dylan Larkin.
“We were clearly in a rebuilding cycle,” Holland said. “You look at the team, and you see where you’re at. Are we in a rebuild mode? Are we in a down cycle? Is there a great young player we’re going to put the ‘C’ on or are we going to wait a few years? Then you have to factor in whether he’s ready for it, or if we’re putting too much pressure on him.”
What Holland has seen in the past two decades are captains relieving that pressure by sharing the responsibilities with teammates.
“The captain is the captain. But there’s also now a leadership group with the captain. There had been leadership groups before, but it would always defer to the captain. Now it would be a group of four or five players meeting with the head coach, instead of one player,” Holland said.
The Detroit Red Wings face a tricky opponent tonight in the Calgary Flames (7:30 PM on Bally Sports Detroit/Sportsnet East/Sportsnet Ontario/Sportsnet West/ESPN+/97.1 FM).
The Red Wings stand at 2-0-and-1 coming into tonight’s game, and are kicking off a set of 3 games to be played over the course of only 4 nights.
Calgary is 0-1-and-1, having most recently dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Anaheim on Monday, and while the Flames placed center Glenn Gladwin on waivers, that was a roster-clearing move (as defenseman Tyler Pitlick will rotate into the lineup).
Calgary didn’t practice on Monday, choosing to fly to Detroit during the day instead, and the Flames are looking to shake things up as they kick off a 5-game road trip. Field Level Media offered the following take on the State of the Flames heading into tonight’s game:
Calgary will be seeking its first victory. The Flames lost to Edmonton 5-2 in their opener and 3-2 in overtime to Anaheim on Monday.
The offensive output has been modest even though they’ve had a combined 89 shots on goal during regulation in those games.
“I think we can be better around the net, for sure,” Flames coach Darryl Sutter told the Calgary Herald. “Still, that emphasis has to be on around the goalie more, and the second and thirds. There are very few goals that are highlight goals, when you look at it. Most of them are a screen or a flash play or a tip or a rebound or something like that. And I think, as a group, we can be better at that.”
The Flames begin a five-game, eight-night road trip, which also includes stops in Washington, New York, New Jersey and Pittsburgh.
Sutter believes his team needs to play smarter and tougher to have a successful journey.
“You have to accentuate the positive things and clean up little areas,” Sutter said. “We have some guys that have to be better players for us. Even after the two games, just in the little details of the game, they have to be better. For the type of team we have, they have to be better players in order for us to win games.”
Absent line rushes from Wednesday, you can watch the Flames-Ducks highlights here…
As recently as the 2019-20 season, the Wings began 3-1-0 — only to finish with a 17-49-5 record and a woeful .275 points percentage when the pandemic ended that season. They started 4-1-0 in 2017-18 and 6-2-0 in 2016-17 — and missed the playoffs both those seasons.
Still, there’s room for optimism and hope, especially this early in the season. And in forward Tyler Bertuzzi’s estimation, there’s belief this particular time the Wings can continue the good mojo and hockey.
“We got a lot of young guys with a lot of energy, and that makes the older guys have a lot more energy, too,” said Bertuzzi, who still puts himself in the younger group, incidentally. “It’s good to see them enjoying themselves and playing good hockey and playing in the NHL. It just makes everyone want to work and play harder, and work more together.”
Coach Jeff Blashill is enjoying the positive first week but realize it’s a small, small sample size.
“Winning is way more fun than losing, that’s a fact, and we’re in that business and you feel better about yourself,” Blashill said. “But the other thing, for sure, is this is an everyday league. We’ve played three games and we’ll have a game (Thursday) against a good team (Calgary) we’ll have to find a way to win.”
Kulfan continues; the Red Wings have a rough schedule for the rest of the month; the Wings will head on the road to play in Montreal on Saturday, and Chicago on Sunday;
The team heads back home for two days off, then plays another stretch of 3 games in four nights in Washington, at home vs. Florida, and then on the road again vs. Toronto to finish the month;
Then the Wings play 11 times in 20 days to start November, so it’s going to become a grind very quickly for a Wings team that’s had enough rest to avoid the injury bug thus far.
We’ll learn more about both teams’ lines and lineups in about twelve hours, so come back for the game-day coverage.
