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Nicklas Lidstrom recently spoke with the “Sommar & Vinter i P1” program on Swedish Radio, and Lidstrom gave a nearly 90-minute-long interview.

According to the Swedish sports tabloids, Aftonbladet and Expressen, Lidstrom discussed the furor that Swedish fans unleashed upon Tommy Salo when he gave up an infamous goal to Belarus during the 2002 Olympics, he talked about his decision to move home, per Aftonbladet’s Andreas Kack (and what follows is roughly translated)…

Continue reading Roughly Translated: Per Expressen, Nicklas Lidstrom’s Swedish Radio interview discusses #5’s anxiety issues

The Detroit News’s John Niyo suggests that the Red Wings made some relatively wise signings during Steve Yzerman’s first crack at the unrestricted free agent marketplace as the Wings’ GM, “Eschewing sizzle for sensible signings” in Valtteri Filppula, Patrik Nemeth and Calvin Pickard:

Taken together, it’s hardly the kind of hat trick we grew accustomed to when Yzerman was in uniform, or even in a suit, in Detroit. But while all three moves “are designed to help us immediately,” Yzerman noted, “our hands aren’t necessarily tied into long-term contracts.”

Others certainly can’t say the same around the league. Barely a half-hour into the official free-agent signing period, teams had committed some $300 million in salary. That’s chicken scratch compared to the NBA, where teams doled out a whopping $3 billion in guaranteed contracts in six hours Sunday night at the start of free agency.

But in a league where the cap still carries consequences — last month’s P.K. Subban trade is just one of many examples — free-agent spending sprees often don’t make sense in the long run.

Some of these teams are certainly going to regret the moves we saw Monday. The Rangers made Artemi Panarin the league’s second-highest paid player with a seven-year, $81.5 million contract, while the Panthers handed Sergei Bobrovsky, the mercurial two-time Vezina Trophy winner, a seven-year, $70 million deal at age 30. Elsewhere, veteran winger Mats Zuccarello got $30 million over five years from the Wild, and the Penguins ponied up $21 million on a six-year deal — six years for a bottom-six forward? — in Brandon Tanev.

Asked about that, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford shrugged, “It’s the way things work on July 1: You either give the player close to what he wants or you don’t get the player.”

Niyo continues…

Red Wings draft pick Moritz Seider spoke with Adler Mannheim’s website today, discussing the Wings’ decision to pick him 6th overall and his experiences at the Wings’ summer development camp. What follows is roughly translated from German:

Seider: “As a player, you don’t know anything before”

It was perhaps the biggest surprise of this year’s NHL Draft: Adler Mannheim defender Moritz Seider was picked 6th overall by Detroit. The youngster discusses in an interview how he experienced his time before he was drafted, the draft day itself, and the subsequent development camp.

Continue reading Roughly Translated: Moritz Seider speaks with Adler Mannheim’s website

Red Wings prospects Seth Barton and Joe Veleno appear on DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner’s latest “Red and White Authority” podcast:

Detroit prospects, defenseman Seth and center Joe Veleno join us from #RedWings Development on Episode 117 of The Red and White Authority.

?: https://t.co/lhAkEDpTK2 pic.twitter.com/0ayItGOYtf— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 2, 2019

Bad news for Jack Adams:

Union Dutchman/ @DetroitRedWings prospect Jack Adams (@J_Danglefest2) fully tore his ACL and MCL on the last day of development camp after a knee on knee hit. He told me Surgery is in a month. Full recovery expected.. ?? pic.twitter.com/9Qp35E18WQ— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) July 2, 2019

Of Red Wings-related note on a Canada Day evening:

1. Valtteri Filppula had some things to say about joining a rebuilding Red Wings team as a 35-year-old center, as noted by 97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burtchfield:

“I think pretty quickly it came between the Islanders or coming back to Detroit,” he said. “But I’m definitely happy about this decision.”

Though the rebuilding Wings have spent the last three seasons in the basement of the Eastern Conference, Filppula believes they’re close to getting back to the playoffs. He could sense it from playing against them in recent seasons.

That was another reason he opted for a reunion. 

“The league is really even now,” he said. “Every team can play well, you’re going to have a good chance against anybody. Obviously I’ve played against these guys for a while now, and I feel like it’s been a tough team to play against. To have some familiar faces as well, that’s always a nice thing. I think it’s going to be a good opportunity for us to play well and fight for a playoff spot, like everybody else.”

2. And the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of what GM Steve Yzerman believes that Filppula’s addition means for one Andreas Athanasiou:

“We had a hole in the middle, we felt, on our roster,” said Yzerman, naming Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen and Luke Glendening down the middle, and possibly Jacob de la Rose and Justin Abdelkader, if needed. “We have options but we were looking for someone that can (play center).

“We know he (Athanasiou) played at the end of the season at center, but his natural position is on the wing and it allows us to put him back on the wing. Fil is a good two-way centerman, he can win faceoffs, he can play in all situations.

“We thought we would plug a hole by bringing him in.”

I have to exit the Blog Cave for a little while, so, assuming that the Wings don’t sign someone while I’m gone, I’ll leave you with this “evening line”:

Back in the Red and White. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/heKKP4caXT— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 1, 2019

Yeah, and Valtteri hasn’t aged a frickin’ day, either. I’m jealous.

Updated at 6:12 PM: Of Red Wings-related note this evening:

1. The Free Press’s Helene St. James has filed her UFA Day story regarding the Red Wings’ signings of Valtteri Filppula, Patrik Nemeth and Calvin Pickard. St. James leads off by discussing Steve Yzerman’s motivation for making the moves that he made today:

Free agency is Yzerman’s second big assignment since taking control of the Wings on April 19, and he spent the week after his first big task – the 2019 draft – laying groundwork for Monday’s decisions.

He made safe choices that should improve the Wings defensively: two-way forward Valtteri Filppula, defenseman Patrik Nemeth, and depth goaltender Calvin Pickard, each signed for two years. The Wings were not in play for any big nam

“We were looking at doing shorter term deals with everyone we spoke with,” Yzerman said. “Being new to the organization, I wanted to proceed somewhat slowly and kind of get to know what we have within the organization. I think I have a good handle on the NHL team, but the kids, the prospects we have coming, the players we have in Grand Rapids, I want to balance the flexibility of providing opportunity for our young players, but also try to help the Detroit Red Wings immediately as much as possible. 

“The shorter term deals made the most sense for us at this stage, hence we signed three players on two-year contracts. They are all designed to help us immediately, but our hands aren’t necessarily tied to long-term contracts.”

Continued with comments from Filppula and signing grades…

2. MLive’s Ansar Khan has also weighed in with his take on Yzerman and Filppula’s comments. Khan notes that Filppula’s signing means that Andreas Athanasiou is penciled in as a winger to start the 2019-2020 season…

“We had a hole in the middle; (we have) Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen, Luke Glendening down the middle, potentially (Jacob) de la Rose can play there, Abby (Justin Abdelkader) can even play there, Darren Helm could play there,” Yzerman said. “We have options, but we’re looking for someone that can play on the power play. It allows (coach Jeff Blashill) to put Andreas Athanasiou back to the wing. He played some center at the end of the season and looked good there, but his natural position is on the wing. Fil’s a very good two-way centerman. He can win faceoffs; he can play in all situations.”

And Khan continues by noting that Yzerman is not necessarily done adding players, with a right winger and a defenseman possibly still on tap as UFA additions…

Continue reading Evening news: Wings’ beat writers weigh in on the team’s UFA signings

The Red Wings held a conference call in which GM Steve Yzerman and UFA signing Valtteri Filppula spoke with the media today. I posted the Tweets from said presser, and Fox 2 Detroit posted the audio from the 14-minute call:

Added to the bottom of MLive’s Ansar Khan’s story about the Wings’ signing of Valtteri Filppula:

The Red Wings were interested in Corey Perry on a one-year deal but he signed with Dallas. They kicked the tires on former Red Wing Gustav Nyquist but weren’t even in the ballpark with their offer of two years at $4.5 million per season. He signed a four-year deal with Columbus for $5.5 million per season.