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The Detroit News’s Louis Aguilar posted several pictures showing the latest stages of Joe Louis Arena’s demolition…

Scenes from #Detroit #JoeLouisArena demo. Week 4, Monday, July 8, 2019. pic.twitter.com/AusAa6v4lq— Louis Aguilar (@LouisAguilar_DN) July 8, 2019

As well as a video of the Detroit River-side stairs being demolished:

Scenes from #Detroit #JoeLouisArena demo. Week 4, Monday, July 8, 2019. The stairs on the riverfront side are going away. pic.twitter.com/biFnC1JYba— Louis Aguilar (@LouisAguilar_DN) July 8, 2019

The Hockey News’s Steven Ellis discusses five players who need to rebound from difficult 2018-19 campaigns, and he mentions one Red Wings player on his list:

Mike Green, D, 33 (Detroit – $5.38 million)
Once the gold standard of offensive defensemen, Green has struggled to stay healthy and has played only one 82-game season, that back in 2007-08. He is still capable of putting up solid numbers, though. His 0.6 points-per-game average last season was his best since 2014-15 and would have seen him score 50 points had skated in all 82 games. Detroit desperately needs his help on defense, with the team looking weak on the right side without him. Green will have his modified no-trade clause kick in on Feb. 1 and he could be a prime trade deadline candidate, but he can’t afford another long stint on the injured reserve if he wants to have significant bargaining power next summer.

Via Kukla’s Korner on Twitter, the NHLPA is posting videos in which the late Ted Lindsay discusses the lessons he learned and values he upheld throughout his hockey career, as posted on NHLPA.com and the NHLPA’s YouTube channel:

Ted Lindsay, the Hockey Hall of Famer who played a pivotal role in forming the original Players’ Association in 1957, left behind a legacy on and off the ice after his passing March 4, 2019.

Mr. Lindsay set an example to follow, and in honour of the impact he had on all players, the NHLPA is sharing his stories, as told by Ted himself.

Each of the stories in this seven-part series is emblematic of the qualities that Ted represented and what made him so highly regarded among his peers, and anyone who had the privilege and pleasure of meeting him. 

The latest installment–a minute-and-a-half vignette-focuses on Lindsay’s discussion as to how he began plaing hockey:

And there are three more videos available in the yet-unfinished 7-part series:

Continue reading Via KK: The NHLPA is sharing seven ‘Ted Takes’

In the FYI department:

The Grand Rapids Griffins are posting “2018-19 (seasons) in review” for their key contributors, and today, they focus on Givani Smith…

4 – In his first taste of postseason action, Smith appeared in four Calder Cup Playoff games. He was suspended by the AHL for Game 4 of the Central Division Semifinals. Smith picked up an assist in his debut during Game 1 at Chicago.

5 – Smith scored five of his 13 points in the month of March.

6 – All six of Smith’s goals came against Central Division opponents (two vs. Iowa and one each vs. Chicago, Rockford, Milwaukee and Texas). Grand Rapids was 3-1-2-0 when Smith scored a goal.

86 – His 86 PIM placed second on the team (Dylan McIlrath, 98) and ranked eighth among AHL rookies. Smith received a season-high 17 PIM during a 4-0 home win against Milwaukee on March 9.

But at this point in the summer, the Griffins’ Roster and Alumni Tracker is absolutely indispensable if you want to know how the 2019-2020 Griffins’ roster is taking shape.

Continue reading Two things: A bit about Givani Smith’s 18-19 season and the Griffins’ ‘Roster and Alumni Tracker’

Ilta-Sanomat’s Tommi Koivunen wrote an article regarding Valtteri Filppula’s return to the Red Wings (Filppula happened to take part in an annual tennis tournament featuring NHL players and alumni over the weekend), and here’s a very rough translation thereof (Finnish is…complicated):

Valtteri Filppula didn’t dare to stop at traffic lights–now he returns to the notorious NHL city

NHL veteran Valtteri Filppula returns to the familiar surroundings of the Detroit Red Wings.

Detroit has a reputation as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States.

Continue reading Roughly Translated: Valtteri Filppula speaks with Ilta-Sanomat

The Free Press’s Helene St. James projects the Red Wings’ 2019-2020 season-opening lineup this morning, discussing her picks for the Wings’ roster, the prospects who may make the team, and those who will start the year in Grand Rapids:

Line 1: Dylan Larkin centering Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi

This line was put together with eight games to go last season and yielded 15 points from Mantha, 13 from Bertuzzi and 11 from Larkin. Larkin brings out the best in Mantha, as Mantha is all but forced to showcase his powerful stride because of how good a skater Larkin is. Bertuzzi is a combination pest and scorer. It’s easy to see how much they enjoy playing with one another.  

Line 2: Frans Nielsen centering Andreas Athanasiou and Taro Hirose

Nielsen plays a 200-foot game and he and Athanasiou have clicked in the past. Hirose has some of that Thomas Vanek-level hockey IQ, and he and Athanasiou could be dangerous offensively while Nielsen brings defensive responsibility. I could see Filip Zadina being a fit down the road with Nielsen and Athanasiou. 

St. James continues, and the Free Press posted a 23-image photo gallery of St. James’ picks.

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a profile of Red Wings prospect/roster player Taro Hirose this morning, discussing Hirose’s rookie campaign and his expectations for the upcoming season:

The Calgary native, who at 23 was one of the older prospects at development camp last month, will spend most of the off-season in metro Detroit, training and working on his game and, as he put it, “show them I can play at that level.”

Hirose, dubbed “Taco” by teammates, is trying to be shiftier on the ice.

“Being a smaller guy, that’s something I have to do, have that quickness,” Hirose said. “Definitely something I work on and watch video on and try to improve my overall game.”

He tries to pick up nuances from watching players like Patrick Kane and Johnny Gaudreau.

“Those elusive guys who make plays with the puck on their stick and always want the puck on their stick … those guys are hard to stop and that’s sort of who I want to be,” Hirose said.

“I’ve always been a guy who needs to work on my first couple steps for that separation. Simply being a smaller guy, I’m not going to go in the corner against (Zdeno) Chara and outmuscle him, Just got to be quick and explosive and sort of think my way out of situations.”

Continued

Via Winging It in Motown’s Jeff Hancock, Elite Prospects’ Christoffer Hedlund penned a profile of Red Wings draft pick Albert Johansson.

Johansson, a defenseman, was the 60th overall pick in the 2019 draft. He’s still a raw prospect, but he was dominant among his own age group while playing for Farjestads BK:

Albert Johansson, the son of former Calgary Flames and Chicago Blackhawks-player and Olympic gold medalist Roger Johansson, was one of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft’s biggest risers in the second half of the 2018-19 season.

Johansson spent most of the season with Färjestad’s J20 SuperElit team but also played a big part when Färjestad’s J18 roster made it all the way to the final in the J18 SM-playoffs. At the conclusion of his club season, Johansson earned a spot on Team Sweden’s roster to the U18 World Championship, where Sweden beat Russia in the finals to win its first ever gold medal in the prestigious tournament — on home soil, no less.

Whereas Johansson dominated on his club roster, the depth of Sweden’s U18 group relegated him to a depth role where chances to shine were few and far between. The silver lining is that Johansson had the opportunity to prove to potential draft suitors that he could flourish in a defensive role.

Hedlund continues at significant length, diagramming Johansson’s strengths via video clips.

As the St. Louis Blues don’t have many Michigan ties, the Stanley Cup hasn’t visited Michigan this summer. According to the Blackburn News’s Bob Montgomery, the Cup will make a relatively close visit across from the Blue Water Bridge in Seaforth and Goderich later this month:

Seaforth and Goderich will be honouring local hockey hero Ryan O’Reilly later this month.

O’Reilly and the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup this year and O’Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs.

The Seaforth parade will start at 9:30 in the morning on Thursday, July 25th –  come down the main street to the arena, where O’Reilly will be available for pictures for up to an hour and a half.

The parade in Goderich will start shortly after 1:00 that same afternoon – leaving the town hall, going around the Square and back to the town hall and then out to the YMCA for pictures.

O’Reilly only has a limited time with the Stanley Cup but there will be opportunities for people to talk with him and take pictures.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner posted a “By the Numbers” look at Jimmy Howard’s 2018-2019 season, and among Howard’s statistics are the following:

55 – Total number of games Howard appeared in last season. It was the seventh time in his NHL career, which spans over 13 seasons (10 full seasons) that he has played in more than 50 games.

23 – For the second time in his career, Howard notched 23 wins. Back in 2014-15, he also recorded 23 wins in 53 games played.

22 – His total number of losses, which was the second-most losses he suffered in a season as a Red Wing. The most losses he registered in a single season is 27 in 60 games during the 2017-18 campaign.

Regner continues.