Author: George Malik

Per Aftonbladet’s Mattias Karlsson, the SHL has postponed Orebro Hockey’s next four games due to conronavirus concerns. Orebro was supposed to play on the 26th and 28th of this month, then December 1st and 3rd, and the SHL’s website reports that all four games have been postponed “to a later date.”

This means that Red Wings prospect Matias Brome, who hasn’t been listed among the team’s ill players, won’t be playing again until December 5th.

Red Wings prospect Jack Adams entered the NCAA’s transfer portal when the Union College Dutchmen chose to suspend operations for the 2020-2021 campaign, and it appears that Adams will be suiting up for the Providence College Friars, his brother “Roo’s” school:

Let’s do this again @FriarsHockey ! Can’t wait to meet my new teammates and get to work. #RA4 #FriarTown pic.twitter.com/IAlLSekLf2— Jack Adams (@J_Danglefest2) November 25, 2020

Jack Adams tells me he is continuing his education and #CawlidgeHawkey play at @ProvidenceCol lege, transferring from Union College. The @DetroitRedWings draft pick plans to wear his late brother’s #4. Mark was on 2015 National Championship Friar team.. pic.twitter.com/WrAYIZy0nB— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) November 24, 2020

Of prospect-related note on a relatively light Tuesday’s worth of game action:

In the Czech Extraliga, the match-up between Filip Hronek’s Mountfield HK and Filip Zadina’s HC Ocelari Trinec didn’t live up to expectations, at least from a Red Wings standpoint.

Trinec shut out Mountfield 3-0, with Zadina finishing with 4 shots and an “even” plus-minus rating in 14:56 played; Hronek played a now-usual 24:16, taking 2 shots and finishing at -1;

Elsewhere in the Czech Extraliga, everything that could go wrong did go wrong for HC Energie Karlovy Vary. Wings prospect Jan Bednar got the start and stopped 16 of a staggering 21 first-period shots, giving up 5 goals en route to an 11-4 loss to BK Mlada Boleslav.

In the SHL, Albin Grewe took 1 shot and finished even in 9:44 played as Djurgardens IF won 4-1 over Brynas.

And later tonight, in NCAA Division I Hockey, Sam Stange and the University of Wisconsin will battle Penn State at 6 PM EDT on the Big Ten Network.

Update: Stange scored a goal on 2 shots, finishing even in the University of Wisconsin Badgers’ 7-3 win over Penn State.

Given that Hockey Canada’s already holding its World Junior Selection Camp, which has been beset by a couple of positive coronavirus cases, this news about the Swedish World Junior selection process ahead of this year’s World Junior Championship in Edmonton is a bit surprising:

Russia is having world junior selection camp Nov. 29 in Moscow. Swedes picking their team from players already playing in SHL and Allsvenskan. No camp.— Jim Matheson (@jimmathesonnhl) November 24, 2020

The World Junior Championship will begin in Edmonton on December 25th, and Lucas Raymond, William Wallinder, Theodor Niederbach and Elmer Soderblom are among the possible Wings prospects who may play for Sweden at the WJC.

Sportsnet’s “The Greatest: NHL Goal of the 21st Century” match-up for today pits Pavel Datsyuk’s goal vs. Antti Niemi in 2010 against a Matt Duchene rebound-out-of-the-air goal from 2018:

You can vote as to your favorite goal here.

Per the Detroit Red Wings: “Today’s episode features interviews with Hockey Hall of Fame writer Kevin Allen and hockey analyst & former NHL GM Brian Burke.”

The Word on Woodward will start at 12 PM EST.

ESPN’s Emily Kaplan posted a list of the best and worst contracts for each and every one of the NHL’s 31 teams (entry-level contracts excluded), and here’s her take on the Wings’ best and worst deals:

Detroit Red Wings

Best: Dylan Larkin 24, C
$6.1 million through 2022-23

The Red Wings were bottom-feeders last season, as they are in total revamp mode. Steve Yzerman is essentially trying to build a winner from scratch, though the top line of Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi (all 26 and under) is worth building around. The best of the bunch is Larkin, a fiery leader and likely next captain of this team (he currently wears an “A”). Having your No. 1 center count about $6 million against the cap is a coup in today’s NHL.

Worst: Frans Nielsen 36, C
$5.25 million through 2021-22

For the better part of the decade, the Red Wings have been saddled by bloated, poorly aging contracts — the aftermath of 25 consecutive playoff appearances. Ken Holland passed the torch to Yzerman, who has been slowly cleaning up (and waiting out) the salary-cap mess. The last big contract on the books belongs to Henrik Zetterberg, who hasn’t played since 2017-18 but is in his final year of a 12-year, $73 million contract extension signed in 2009. Since Zetterberg is on LTIR, our choice here is Nielsen, who scored just four goals and five assists in 60 games last season, saw his average ice time dip to 13:41 and is signed for two more seasons.

Continued; one may debate which deal is the Red Wings’ “best,” but the Nielsen contract, one made after the Wings swung and missed on landing Steven Stamkos back in 2016, is doubtlessly the worst remnant of the Holland regime.

The Nielsen deal doesn’t include a no-move clause any more, so the Wings can expose him for the 2021 expansion draft (if they don’t just buy the last year of his deal out), and Nielsen has been admirable in terms of his on-ice efforts and his off-ice accountability, but neither factor has produced on-ice results in terms of points or wins.

Moritz Seider’s Swedish team, Rogle BK, is still having some issues with coronavirus infections.

According to KvallsPosten’s Linus Vedmar, Rogle hasn’t played since they announced that the team wouldn’t be playing against Orebro on November 14th, and the team just postponed Thursday’s game against Djurgarden (their third postponement in a row) because the team is still attempting to reassemble its roster.

Rogle’s coach, Chris Abbott, tells Vedmar that the team has only 9 players practicing right now, so the team’s going to shoot for a Saturday restart vs. the Vaxjo Lakers at home.

There’s no word as to which players have contracted the coronavirus, but the players are apparently doing okay.

I don’t mind giving the Red Wings some free advertising here, so here’s the Red Wings’ “Pucks for Paws” calendar Tweet:

IT'S HERE! #RedWings and puppies! Puppies and Red Wings!

? Order your 2021 Pucks For Paws calendar and other merchandise presented by @PetSmart! ?

Visit: https://t.co/gZKfAyFnLA pic.twitter.com/9iPmpjAeFL

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 23, 2020

Here’s the Red Wings’ press release regarding the “Pucks for Paws” calendar:

The Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses the ramifications of possible divisional realignment for the 2020-2021 season upon the Red Wings this morning. Bultman’s bottom line is blunt:

Look, the Red Wings are unlikely to have a realistic shot at the playoffs in 2021. Even if Detroit were to add the most wins of any team from last season, it’s starting from a steep deficit. Finishing in 31st place again is a more reasonable expectation than making it into the top 16.

That said, if the season ends up significantly abbreviated, then one hot (or cold) streak has to the potential to carry outsize bearing on a team’s overall record. And that’s where chaos can happen.

But you still have to be able to put that kind of hot streak together. And bringing Cup contenders such as Pittsburgh and St. Louis into the fold for regular matchups would make that a challenge. That’s to say nothing of the actual defending champs, if the Lightning do indeed stick in the Red Wings’ division. And don’t forget the Blue Jackets, who have proven they’re a tough out for anyone.

On the other hand, regional divisions could also mean getting away from Boston, a perennial contender (albeit one Detroit went 2-1 against last season). And adding a team like Chicago, which announced its intention to rebuild this offseason, could make for a few “anything can happen” games. Maybe it all just ends up a wash, compared to the Atlantic.

Continued (paywall)