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The Free Press’s Helene St. James spoke with Red Wings GM Ken Holland regarding his trade deadline outlook:

While players and coaches concern themselves with making a playoff push, general manager Ken Holland is among 10 Wings personnel scouting the Five Nations tournament in Plymouth. The tourney features top players under the age of 18 from the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States, and the majority of them are eligible for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

Holland also is juggling phone calls as the Feb. 26 trade deadline inches closer.

“I’m working the phones, I’m trying to see what the other teams in the league are thinking,” Holland said. “We are obviously not a buyer, we are not spending future assets to try to get in. We’ll see here over the next week what direction we are going, but I am aware we are eight points out and games are running out.”

The next four games — Tampa Bay, Nashville (Saturday on the road and next week at home) and Toronto — come against three of the best teams in the NHL. Even if the Wings build on their 2-0-1 streak, it is unlikely to sway Holland to not be a seller. There’s interest in defenseman Mike Green — including from the Lightning — and in forward Gustav Nyquist; both would have to approve a trade. There also has been interest in goaltender Jimmy Howard, but backup Petr Mrazek has not sparked much interest.

“I’ve talked to lots of teams over the last week and 10 days, and I’m doubling back with a number of them,” Holland said. “We’d like to get assets, open up spots for a kid or two for next season.”

Updated 3x at 12:44 PM: The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun shared a trade deadline primer for the Eastern Conference, and I’m going to share the main points of his take on the Red Wings’ situation:

Detroit Red Wings: Sellers

Pending UFA Mike Green is the big fish on the market for the Wings. He’s got a full no-trade but is willing to waive it for the right contender. At least a two-asset haul including a first-round pick seems part of the ask. Does GM Ken Holland and his former Hall of Fame superstar Steve Yzerman get together on a deal? Or can Holland entice the Caps into taking Green back?

I’ve always assumed that the Wings would get 2 2nd-round picks for Green, not a 1st-rounder. We shall see…

Goalie Petr Mrazek is an RFA July 1 but it’s doubtful the Wings qualify him at $4 million so he’s really a rental in many ways, as colleague Craig Custance argued earlier this week. If I’m Holland, I’m all over the Flyers and Islanders with Mrazek. Otherwise, Holland will obviously listen on hockey deals for several of his players, but keep in mind as he continues to transition the Red Wings, he also wants a competitive team next fall, so this isn’t about giving away players for draft picks for the sake of it. If there’s a hockey deal that makes sense, he’ll listen to it.

LeBrun continues (paywall)…

Update: Via KK, NHL.com’s Rob Vollman discussed Green’s probable trade value:

Shattenkirk’s trade also provides a clue as to what Detroit may be expecting in return for Green. St. Louis received Zach Sanford, a first-round pick, plus two conditional picks for Shattenkirk.

That package isn’t without precedent; it’s almost exactly what the Toronto Maple Leafs obtained from the Boston Bruins for Tomas Kaberle at the 2011 NHL Trade Deadline.

The Red Wings may not be expecting much less to part with Green, who can be an unrestricted free agent July 1.

Update #2: Here’s ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski on the Wings’ status as sellers:

Detroit Red Wings

Deadline cap space: $233,525

Likely available: D Mike Green (32, UFA, $6M); G Petr Mrazek (26, RFA, $4M); Xavier Ouellet (24, 2019 UFA, $1.25M); LW/RW Tomas Tatar (27, 2021 UFA, $5.3M); LW/RW Gustav Nyquist (28, 2019 UFA, $4.75M, no-trade clause).

Would they actually deal… Andreas Athanasiou (23, RFA, $1,387,500)? The speedy winger is putting up the best per-game numbers in his career, and is coming off a bitter contract impasse with GM Ken Holland.

Deadline game plan: Trading Green. There’s going to be a robust market for the veteran, puck-moving defenseman, with the Lightning and the Maple Leafs among the suitors — two teams that could end up facing each other in Round 1 of the playoffs. If the Wings can’t pull at least what the Blues got for Kevin Shattenkirk last season, it’ll be a whiff.

Keep in mind that wherever Mrazek ends up for the rest of the season, that team can walk away from him in the summer during arbitration.

Tatar is, for my money, a better player than Nyquist, and has no trade protection. But he also has the higher average annual value on his contract and the longer commitment. Not for nothing, but Dallas GM Jim Nill and Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman were with Detroit when these two were drafted.

Best-case scenario: The Wings find there’s a bidding war for Green, and get above-market value for him.

The Athletic’s Max Bultman spoke with Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley regarding his attempts to remain professional on a team that probably won’t make the playoffs:

He had been asked about this grueling February schedule, and the difference between going through it in past seasons — as part of a Stanley Cup contender in Pittsburgh — compared to his current situation: playing for a team that may need a minor miracle to compete beyond the regular season.

“When you’re fighting through it, you know that you need wins. You’ve gotta bring your game every night,” the 34-year-old Daley told The Athletic. “When you have a lot of points and you’re just trying to get through (to) the playoffs, your mindset’s still you need points, you want to increase. (But) you’re playing a little bit more relaxed. That helps your game out, too, when you know you’re winning every night.

“This way’s a little bit more of a grind — just ‘cause it’s the grind of the season, and every night you’re scratching and clawing for two points.”

Daley offered this take on his outlook as he signed with the Red Wings last July:

“I never thought that we’d be in this situation,” Daley said. “I couldn’t think that far. But I knew it was going to be a battle.”

Bultman continues (paywall)…

Kudos to Jan Mursak. The former Griffins forward and Red Wings prospect scored 2 goals against Team USA on Wednesday morning, propelling Slovenia to a 3-2 OT win over the Americans. The Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa took note of Mursak’s accomplishment:

“I’m happy I was able to score today and help the team,” Mursak said after the game, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation. “But I think the whole team showed a really good performance today.”

He played 232 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins from 2008-13, and 46 with the Wings from 2010-13, before beginning to play in Russia for Moscow of the KHL

For the United States, the loss represented a huge stumble out of the gate in the first quadrennial Olympic tournament played without NHL players since 1994.

Tony Granato, a former assistant coach of the Red Wings, who is how head coach at Wisconsin, and Chris Chelios, who is currently an assistant coach in Detroit, are two of the United States coaches.

“I thought we played two great periods,” Granato said, according to USA Hockey. “We were on our heels in the third at times and they took advantage. Give them credit. All-in-all, I liked the way we played. We’ve got a terrific group and we’ll be ready to play Slovakia.”

Krupa continues, and Mursak isn’t tearing up the KHL, so he’s not exactly NHL-ready…

Updated 3x at 12:49 PM: The Red Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena just after 11 AM, skating ahead of both their Fathers’ Trip and a set of difficult games on the road against Tampa Bay (the Wings have a 10-game losing streak going against the Lightning) and Nashville:

Practice day. Tampa tomorrow. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/Dy85Ht7nj3

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 14, 2018

As usual, #RedWings Zetterberg is not practicing today. Expect it to be the customary maintenance day. Everyone else is skating.

— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) February 14, 2018

Continue reading Tweets from practice: Wings prepare for Fathers-and-mentors trip without Zetterberg; Howard likely to start Thursday

The Red Wings discussed their desire to “force management’s hand” after last night’s win over the Ducks. One of the most outspoken players is one of the most likely to be dealt. MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of Jimmy Howard’s post-game remarks:

“As long as we keep working hard, doing things the right way and getting results, maybe we can force management’s hand because, honestly, we do have a great group of guys in here and we all really enjoy going out there and competing for ourselves,” Jimmy Howard said. “So, we kind of want to flip the switch here.”

Howard was the star of the game, making 32 saves. He’s also a potential trade piece. The team would like to move one of its goaltenders, Howard or Petr Mrazek. It won’t be easy, since few, if any, playoff-contending clubs are in the market for a goalie.

Howard, the Red Wings’ top pick in 2003, truly doesn’t want to leave.

“You’ve got to block it out as best possible,” Howard said. “You have to be professional, and when you go out there and play you’ve got to play the right way. You can’t let it distract you. You just got to keep pushing forward. At the end of the day, whatever happens, happens.”

Khan continues…

The Detroit Red Wings out-worked the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night, taking away an important two points from the Ducks via a 3-1 victory in which the Wings were out-shot 33-16 and out-shot-attempted 66-43.

Jimmy Howard was superb, stopping 32 shots, and the Wings’ defense blocked 20 shots as Detroit bent but did not break under the weight of the Ducks’ attempted 3rd period comeback.

The game’s aesthetic value was null and void–this was a bit of an ugly Duckling of a game–but the Red Wings were particularly defiant in tone after the game, suggesting…well, we’ll get to that.

We start with a survey of the Ducks’ takes on the game, and for our friends from Anaheim, Tuesday’s loss stung. AnaheimDucks.com’s Kyle Shohara took note of the Ducks’ disappointment:

Continue reading Red Wings-Ducks wrap-up: Wings hope to delay deadline deals by winning games

In the ECHL, the Toledo Walleye lost their mojo away from home, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Brampton Beast. Tyler Barnes scored the Walleye’s goal and Matej Machovsky stopped 23 of 25 shots for Toledo. The Walleye’s website posted a recap:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Walleye lose in Brampton; Rasmussen 1+1

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to start a two-game winning streak at the expense of the Anaheim Ducks’ playoff hopes.

Both teams played rope-a-dope defensive hockey, but the Red Wings ended up out-grinding, out-working and out-goaltending the Ducks, winning 2-1 thanks in no small part to 32 stops from Jimmy Howard and another 20 blocked shots by a Wings defense that was peppered by the desperate Ducks.

Ultimately, Dylan Larkin’s goal on a Bieksa giveaway and Nielsen’s slapper from the slot were enough offense for the Wings to deal with a late Ducks goal (Henrique scored with only 3:54 remaining), and the Wings were excellent late, “killing off” the Ducks’ push to tie the game late in the 3rd.

Continue reading Red Wings-Ducks quick take: Wings goose the desperate Ducks

Toledo Walleye forward Dylan Sadowy was reassigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins today, and while it’s unknown whether Sadowy’s promotion involves a Griffins injury, there’s no doubt that he’s earned his call-up.

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe profiled Sadowy today, discussing the forward’s redemptive season in ECHL:

You always want to get back up to that next level,” he said. “You hope to get that call. You always want to play at the highest level you can. I hope to get into some games and perform.”

It was Sadowy’s performance of late that led to his promotion. Sadowy extended his point streak to four straight games on Sunday.

The native of Woodbridge, Ont. has bounced between Toledo and Grand Rapids in his first two seasons. So far this year he has tallied 21 points with six goals and 15 assists in 30 games with the ECHL Western Conference-leading Walleye.

Sadowy has accumulated nine points in his last 10 games with four goals and five assists.

“I’ve been getting my confidence back here,” Sadowy said. “The guys here help you get through [tough stretches]. I’m getting into a groove.”

Monroe continues…