Author: George Malik

Sportsnet’s Luke Fox posted an article regarding his Top 15 unsigned restricted free agents, with both Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha making the list at 8th and 11th, respectively:

8. Tyler Bertuzzi
Age: 25
Position: Left wing
2019-20 salary cap hit: $1.4 million
Arbitration rights: Yes — and filed
Bargaining chips: Made first All-Star Game appearance. Back-to-back 21-goal, 47-point seasons. Skates nearly 20 minutes a night. Organization has invested seven years developing him into a first-line threat.

The latest: One of the few bright spots on a sad-sack Red Wings, Bertuzzi has over-delivered on his two-year, $2.8-million bridge pact signed back in 2018 and deserves a nice pay bump.

Of the three pending RFA forwards GM Steve Yzerman still must make decisions on, Bertuzzi is the most essential. Yzerman has been busy rebuilding his roster through smart, low-risk UFA signings, while clearing out veterans through buyout (Justin Abdelkader) or simply letting them walk (Jimmy Howard, Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson).

Bertuzzi has 30-goal potential, brings grit to his game, and should be seen as a building block for a rebuild that needs as many as it can get.

Negotiations with Yzerman have begun as the sides try to work out a deal prior to arbitration Oct. 25.

Continued

Red Wings prospect Joe Veleno spoke with Hockeynews.se’s Mattias Persson regarding his start with the SHL’s Malmo Redhawks. Here’s a rough translation of the Swedish article:

NHL-loaned forward about his form and first time in Malmö: “Will get into it”

He is seen as one of Detroit’s biggest hopes for the future.

But the transition from North America to the SHL and Swedish hockey has not been entirely easy for NHL loan Joe Veleno so far.

“I get to play a lot, and in many important situations, so I will get into it,” he says to HockeyNews.se.

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman analyzed and ranked the prospect pipelines of each and every one of the NHL’s 31 teams prior to the 2020 draft, ranking the Red Wings 18th, but there’s some good news for Wings fans this morning: Pronman has reassessed said prospect pools after the 2020 draft, revising his rankings, and the Wings now sit 13th:

Detroit Red Wings

Pre-draft org ranking: No. 18
2020 NHL Draft grade: A-

Things are getting better in Detroit. There’s still a lot of work to do given the Red Wings won 17 games last season. In terms of young players, they still need a lot more, particularly of the top of the lineup variety, but things are moving in the right direction. Their No. 4 pick Lucas Raymond has the potential to be one of the keys to ending the tough times.

1. Lucas Raymond, LW
2. Moritz Seider, D
3. Filip Hronek, D
4. Filip Zadina, RW
5. Joe Veleno, C
6. Jared McIsaac, D
7. Michael Rasmussen, C
8. William Wallinder, D
9. Dennis Cholowski, D
10. Jonatan Berggren, RW
11. Elmer Soderblom, RW
12. Robert Mastrosimone, LW
13. Donovan Sebrango, D
14. Albert Johansson, D

Continued (paywall); you’ll notice that many of the Wings’ “top prospects” per Pronman’s estimation are at or near the NHL level, which is a bit of a concern, but the Wings really are rebuilding their prospect pool, so any progress forward is good progress.

I should note that Swedish sports tabloid Aftonbladet produced a tell-all article about Jonatan Berggren’s comeback from back and shoulder injuries a couple of days ago, but the article is regrettably behind a paywall. Berggren sits 2nd in the SHL in points right now, having posted 2 goals and 11 assists for 13 points in 9 games played.

The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe, a.k.a. Down Goes Brown, compiled a list of neutral and/or unfortunate things about the NHL that one may “blame” upon Eastern Conference teams, and he’s not wrong in suggesting that Red Wings senior Vice President Jimmy Devellano is to “blame” for the shootout loss point (and Ken Holland came up with the Regulation-or-Overtime Win tiebreaker):

Detroit Red Wings

Thank them for: The loser point

Who should we blame for the dumbest rule in the NHL? Everyone. From Gary Bettman to the GMs who could change it to the coaches who alter their strategies to the media that still lets the league get away with spouting nonsense about it, it’s a stain on the entire sport.

But who can we blame for coming up with the idea? That would apparently be Red Wings legend Jimmy Devellano.

The longtime Wings executive and former GM is the one that typically gets the credit for suggesting the NHL’s new overtime format in 1999. And at the time, it made at least a little bit of sense – teams were playing for ties in overtime, making sudden death a boring slog. Remember, this was before the shootout, so Devellano’s idea to encourage teams to go for the win had some merit. And he also got the league to adopt 4-on-4 overtime, which led to today’s 3-on-3, so if you like that then you can thank Devellano.

But yeah, that stupid loser point. Whatever sense it made in 1999 was wiped out by the shootout’s arrival and the end of ties in 2005, yet we’re still stuck with it to this day. Is that Devellano’s fault? Probably not, but like the mad scientist who sees his well-intentioned creation break free and wreak havoc, he’ll always shoulder at least some of the blame for the misery his idea has caused.

Continued (paywall)

Red Wings prospect and 2020 draft pick Theodor Niederbach has been tearing up the Swedish J20 league, posting 22 points in 13 games for the Frolunda Indians. This morning, MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles the Wings’ second-round pick:

“Every time I talked to Hakan (Andersson, Detroit’s director of European scouting) and discussed Niederbach with our other Swedish scout, Thomas Carlsson, the one thing they kept coming back to was how creative and how smart of a hockey player he was,” [Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris] Draper said. “He has to get bigger and stronger, but we’ve been able to watch a lot of video on him because (their season) started, and this guy can do some special things with the puck. So, the things that really attracted us to him were his playmaking ability and hockey sense.”

Niederbach (5-11, 172) tied for ninth in Sweden’s top junior league with 48 points (including 15 goals) in 40 games in 2019-20. He is off to a strong start this season, with seven goals and 22 points in 13 games.

“We like that he’s very smart, he’s got really good skills, he’s a smooth skater,” Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said. “As an 18-year-old, 19-year-old, we’re hoping like most of them at 23 or 24 that they’re a little bit heavier, a little bit thicker, and more powerful.”

The Red Wings aren’t concerned that Niederbach missed the 2018-19 season due to a knee injury. Yzerman does not expect the injury to have a long-term effect.

“Guys get hurt at all different levels, at all different ages,” Yzerman said. “If anything, it delays things a little bit for him, just in getting up to speed, getting that full season of experience of playing.”

Continued; Niederbach’s playing alongside his brother, Adam, on Frolunda J20 team; I always take Under-20 stats with a grain of salt as they’re essentially the equivalent of playing in the Canadian Hockey League, but it is encouraging to see Theodor post the kinds of numbers he’s posting thus far.

Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon gave a nod to five sets of free agency moves which should improve the fortunes of the respective teams that made said moves, including the Red Wings’ decision to sign Bobby Ryan…

Bobby Ryan and the Red Wings: Everyone in hockey is rooting for Bobby Ryan to re-discover his game in a new locale. The former Senators forward can leave all that contract baggage behind and start anew on a team that can provide him plenty of quality ice.

It will be a long climb out of the basement for Detroit, but adding pros like Marc Staal, Thomas Greiss, Troy Stecher and Vladislav Namestnikov means the Wings won’t roll over against anybody.

And, in a subscriber-only article, the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan estimated probable fits for each and every one of the Red Wings’ four lines, three defensive pairs and goaltending pair:

►Vladislav Namestnikov – Robby Fabbri – Filip Zadina: A caveat here is the possibility of simply flipping Fabbri and Namestnikov.

Right now, it appears the Wings really want to try Fabbri at center, so this is assuming that scenario. But Namestnikov, though he can play all three positions up front, is a natural center and might thrive playing with two offensive players such as Fabbri and Zadina on the flanks. Playing with these two players would also help Zadina.

►Sam Gagner – Valtteri Filppula – Bobby Ryan: It’s easy to see Ryan flipped with Zadina, but let’s assume Ryan stays here.

This is a veteran line that knows how to play and they could create scoring opportunities with their hockey instincts and natural skills.

Ryan did say, however, one of the reasons he signed with the Wings was the opportunity to play with the likes of Larkin, Mantha, Bertuzzi and Fabbri. You have to expect Ryan will get that opportunity, often.

Continued (paywall)

MLive’s Steve Kaminski spoke with Red Wings signing Kyle Criscuolo regarding his decision to rejoin the Grand Rapids Griffins after three seasons spent with other AHL teams:

Criscuolo played all 76 regular-season games for the Griffins in 2016-17, along with 19 playoff games. He finished with 17 goals and 41 points, and he scored in overtime against Milwaukee that closed out the Griffins’ playoff series against Milwaukee.

“Over the years, every time I have been a free agent, I have thought about going back to Grand Rapids and Detroit,” he said. “The organization is a place where I enjoyed my time. The organization was great to me. I’m very excited to get back. I am going to hang tight right now. Whenever Detroit’s camp opens up, I will head up there. Right now, I’m gearing up for that and making sure I’m in the best shape possible.”

Criscuolo was a rookie out of Harvard when he joined the Griffins three seasons ago. The 28-year old native of Southampton, N.J., signed with Buffalo in July of 2017 before joining Philadelphia in July of 2019.

“Kyle came in as a little bit of an unknown,” Griffins coach Ben Simon said. “He came in the year prior and played a handful of games. He played maybe five games, and he got a taste of Grand Rapids and how the program works. He then came in the next season, and he played significant minutes with us. I think he played every game and put up over 40 points as a rookie. He had a really successful first year. He came in and made us play him in key situations. He’s a versatile guy. We used him most of the year at center, but he is able to play the wing as well. He is no dummy, either. He went to Harvard and was a two-time captain at Harvard.”

Continued

DetroitRedWings.com’s Josh Berenter posted an article discussing defenseman Danny DeKeyser’s career and 2019-2020 season “By the Numbers,” and, in this instance, the numbers are less important than the context which Bereneter provides regarding DeKeyser’s recovery from significant back surgery:

[Starting] in 2018, the injury bug set its sights on the 6-foot-3, 190-pound defenseman. On December 4, 2018, DeKeyser suffered a hand injury that sidelined him for six weeks, and this past season, on October 22, DeKeyser injured his back which eventually led to season-ending surgery in December, limiting him to just eight games in 2019-20.

Before his back injury, DeKeyser was the No. 1 defenseman for the Red Wings. He was playing on the club’s top defensive pairing with Filip Hronek and was facing the opponents’ top lines.

“When he’s healthy, he’s our top defenseman and I think he’s one of the most underrated defenders in the league,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “He obviously has a huge impact on our team.”

With the time off during rehab added to an extended offseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be the longest DeKeyser has ever gone in his career without seeing game action. The defenseman said he’s feeling better, though, and is ready to get back with his teammates as soon as possible.

“I’m feeling a lot better, which is good. It took me a little bit to kind of feel better again but I’ve finally gotten over that hump, I think,” DeKeyser said. “Definitely doing a lot better and I’m looking forward to skating, hopefully soon, when we get back on the ice. This year, I’m hoping to stay healthy and have a good year.”

Continued; it will be interesting to see what DeKeyser can bring to the table when he’s fully healthy.

HockeyNews.se’s Sebastian Von Eichwald is reporting that Red Wings prospect Filip Larsson has suffered a hand injury while playing for Almtuna IS of the Swedish Allsvenskan.

Almtuna coach Robert Kimby tells Von Eichwald that Larsson will miss several weeks with “an injury to the hand area,” which is basically coach-speak for a broken hand.

Update: This comes from Almtuna’s social media director:

Update on Filip Larsson’s injury ? https://t.co/LH5gUbtQ5b— Red Wings Prospects (@DRWProspects) October 19, 2020

Both MLive’s Ansar Khan and the Free Press’s Helene St. James discuss Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s managerial moves this morning.

Khan deems the Red Wings to be an offseason “winner” due to their machinations…

General manager Steve Yzerman moved out several players who might not appear in another NHL game and signed five free agents (forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Bobby Ryan, defensemen Troy Stecher and Jon Merrill and goaltender Thomas Greiss) to reasonable, short-term deals. He utilized his ample cap space to acquire a serviceable defenseman (Marc Staal) and second-round pick. The Red Wings will still be at or near the NHL’s basement, but they improved in all areas. They also are set-up to acquire additional draft picks at the trade deadline by moving some of these players and others.

Khan continues…

And the Free Press’s St. James issues 18 Thoughts regarding the 18 months that Yzerman has been the team’s general manager (in a subscriber-only article):

8. Fab Fabbri: Yzerman’s best trade was flipping Jacob de la Rose, a 2018 waiver-wire pickup, to St. Louis for former first-round pick Robby Fabbri. The ex-Blues forward has offensive skills (31 points in 52 games) and provided a much-needed booster shot. Signed to a two-year contract, he looks like he’ll be a solid contributor to the rebuild. 

9. Depth charge: Only having one effective line on offense was among the many things that hurt the Wings in 2019-20. Injuries to Mantha (28 games), Andreas Athanasiou (17) and Filip Zadina (17) limited coach Jeff Blashill’s options because the Wings had no depth. Yzerman addressed the dearth of effective forwards by signing Vladislav Namestnikov (2 years, $4 million) and Bobby Ryan (1 year, $1 million). Those two, along with Mantha, Bertuzzi, Fabbri, Zadina and Dylan Larkin give the Wings good options for the top six and beyond.

…

14. Nik’s knack: The 13th [player who did not return from the 2019-2020 roster] is Niklas Kronwall, who retired and immediately joined the front office, watching games from the GM’s suite at Little Caesars Arena. Former teammates took to calling him “Corporate Kronwall.”

St. James continues (paywall)…