Somewhat expected. Go chase a Cup, Luke:
#RedWings made an offer to Luke Glendening, but I have a feeling he’ll get a better one from another team and leave. We’ll see. Free agency officially begins in 30 minutes. Finding right-handed shooting forwards might be difficult.— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) July 28, 2021
Per the Saginaw Spirit, we have our first Red Wings prospect tournament invite:
?NHL Camp Updates?#LGRW has invited #Spirit forward Davis ‘T-Bone’ Codd (@tbone_codd) to attend their Development Camp pic.twitter.com/NzeIWHRr97— Saginaw Spirit (@SpiritHockey) July 28, 2021
The 5’9,” 163-pound forward was passed over in this year’s draft .
Good depth for Grand Rapids:
UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today agreed to terms with goaltender Calvin Pickard on a one-year contract extension. pic.twitter.com/QJmyEKepVz— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 28, 2021
Here’s the press release for the Pickard and Gagner signings:
Continue reading Red Wings extend Calvin Pickard for one yearFrom the Red Wings:
UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today agreed to terms with center Sam Gagner on a one-year contract extension. pic.twitter.com/N23EbGboqR— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 28, 2021
Update: PuckPedia has the Gagner deal’s terms:
The #LGRW re-signed 31 y/o Sam Gagner to 1 year $850K Deal.
7G 15P in 42GP
Rep’d by Jeff Jackson @wassermanhockey https://t.co/gHiLqULDSt— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 28, 2021
Update: The Free Press’s Helene St. James weighs in:
Continue reading Red Wings re-sign Sam Gagner for one yearDetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce and Arthur J. Regner spoke with Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris Draper regarding the Wings’ 8 2021 draft picks:
#RedWings Director of Amateur Scouting Kris Draper evaluates the 8 prospects taken in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft with @daniellabruce_ and @ArthurJRegner. #DRWDraft #LGRW
Presented by: @PointsBetMI
? Full Interview: https://t.co/TFNgc8WFgu pic.twitter.com/4u8nzDuNEX— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 28, 2021
Here’s hoping that Justin Abdelkader finds NHL employment, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie:
After winning a Swiss League championship in Zug and captaining Team ?? to a bronze medal at the World Championship, veteran NHL forward Justin Abdelkader is still hunting for an NHL job. He’s getting $1M+ for each of the next 5 years on a buyout from DET.— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 28, 2021
Team Finland won an absolutely wacky game at the World Junior Summer Showcase on Tuesday, defeating the U.S. 7-6 in a shootout.
After the game, Red Wings prospect Eemil Viro spoke with me and the Detroit News’s Nolan Bianchi regarding the utterly insane result, his hope that Finland can win a tournament that everyone is taking very seriously, his goal scored for the Finns, whether he’s staying with TPS Turku of the Liiga for another season (he isn’t sure at this time, but he wants to stay home for one more year) and the skills that he feels he has to improve upon:
Viro was the most impactful player on the ice in terms of the Red Wings’ prospects; there’s no doubt that he needs to add more strength and physicality to his game, but he’s mobile as all hell get out, he has experience playing against men with TPS Turku, and he did score a long-bomb goal that gave Finland a very brief lead in a game where the lead was a hot potato.
Carter Mazur looked strong and solid as a penalty-killer and shift disturber for the U.S. While he wasn’t able to earn a ton of ice time due to the oodles of special teams play during the game, when he did get a regular shift, he looked like the heart-and-soul player that the Wings envision him to be;
And Cross Hanas continued to earn looks on the U.S. penalty-kill, which is something new for the Portland Winterhawks winger. Hanas still has to work on his skating a bit as he can be caught flat-footed transitioning from defense to offense, but he possesses strong two-way instincts, he can shoot and pass well, and his all-round ceiling is fairly high as a second-line forward who can provide a good two-way game.
The Detroit News’s Nolan Bianchi was at USA Hockey Arena yesterday for a day of team practices at the World Junior Summer Showcase, and he spoke with Wings prospects Carter Mazur, Cross Hanas and Theodor Niederbach about their respective journeys as prospects hoping to make the Red Wings one day.
For Hanas, who’s playing on Team USA Blue, playing in the USHL while the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks were on hiatus served as an educational process:
The 19-year-old Hanas was forced across the border to get playing time in the USHL. His point production dipped considerably over 27 games, as the prolific scorer netted just three goals. The reason, he said, was apparent almost immediately.
“It was way more defensive-oriented teams,” Hanas said. “Right away, it was like, ‘Oh man, this is different.'”
That was a far cry from the goal-happy WHL and hindered the style of game he’d become accustomed to. But as far as fulfilling his NHL dreams, it was the exact shift in perspective that he needed.
Anybody who watched Jeff Blashill’s Red Wings in 2021 — and the unceremonious end to Evgeny Svechnikov’s tenure in Detroit — could tell you that was never going to fly at the next level. He was told that bluntly by the Red Wings development staff, and seems to have taken it to heart.
“In Portland, I’ve never even been a penalty killer, and it’s going to be my fourth season, so I’m hoping to get there this season,” he said. “It does feel pretty good” to come up with stops instead of making the highlight-reel play. Sometimes it’s like, well this is — I can get used to this a little bit.”
Bianchi continues, and Hanas has been used as a penalty-killer this week by Team USA–and he looks good doing it.
The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan wonders aloud what exactly the Red Wings are looking for in terms of unrestricted free agents, starting tomorrow, and Kulfan suggests that the Wings’ greatest need may be filled from “within”–by re-signing some or all of their respective free agents (i.e. Luke Glendening, Bobby Ryan, Sam Gagner and/or Darren Helm):
If negotiations with any, or all, of those forwards don’t produce results, then the Wings will aggressively hit the market looking for replacements.
“We’ll talk to our own free agents for sure,” general manager Steve Yzerman said after the NHL Entry Draft. “We’ll continue to stay in touch with them.”
Ironically, Glendening, Gagner and Ryan were the only right-shot forwards in the Wings’ lineup.
Without them, it creates a further imbalance and would force the Wings to work the free-agent market.
All three, especially East Grand Rapids native and alternate captain Glendening, have shown an interest in returning to the Wings.
“Right shots are a bit of a concern for us,” Yzerman said. “Our three right-shot forwards are unrestricted free agents, and we have definite interest in all three of them. Between now and (start of free agency), we’ll decide if we can get something done. Can we get something done with any of those guys or do we go beyond the 28th (Wednesday) and see what else is out there?”
Continued
Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen offers a day-before-the-start-of-free-agency glance at the Red Wings’ salary cap situation, including an estimate as to how much money it might take to re-sign Tyler Bertuzzi, Filip Hronek, Jakub Vrana, Adam Erne and Givani Smith:
Detroit Hockey Now’s Estimate salary cost for RFAs: $15.9 presuming that none of the players get a long-term deal. If the Red Wings tied up Vrana long-term it might increase the salary cap hit by up to $2 million.After RFAs are signed, the Red Wings will be $21.7 million under the cap with 19 players signed.
Other additions: The above estimates include Moritz Seider because it is highly likely he will play in Detroit this season. It doesn’t include Joe Veleno. DHN projects he will be on the roster. His salary is $894,000. That would put the Red Wings with $20.8 million in salary cap space left with 20 players signed.
Projected cost of four free agent veterans: Unless Yzerman decides to make a trade for a higher salaried player, the best guess is that Yzerman will sign four $1 million players. That’s essentially what he did last season. That would give him a 24-person roster with $16.8 million in salary cap space remaining.
