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Sports Illustrated’s hockey staff compiled a list of pressing off-season questions for each and every one of the NHL’s 31 teams. As the Red Wings prepare for free agency, SI’s staff suggests that Steve Yzerman’s free agency and summer trade season plans serve as the Wings‘ biggest unknown:

Detroit Red Wings: What will Steve Yzerman do? 

Back in Detroit, Yzerman has the keys to the team that Ken Holland built. Yzerman made his first mark on the rebuild at the draft, selecting German defenseman Moritz Seider earlier than anyone anticipated. The undertaking is similar to his time in Tampa Bay: Find the pieces to supplement the team’s core. Yzerman is stocked with nine picks in the first three rounds of the 2020 and 2021 drafts. Bonfide No. 1 center Dylan Larkin headlines a forward group flush with talent, including Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi. The defense, though, is shaky at best and needs some attention.

I’m just not sure whether the Red Wings need to address their defense via free agency. If they’re not going the “veteran route” (think Dion Phaneuf or Anton Stralman), the names out there (per CapFriendly) are going to be Joel Edmunson, Ben Hutton, Jake Gardiner, Patrik Nemeth, Joe Morrow or Ben Chariot (among others).

Aside from Gardiner, the long story shot for the 20-somethings is that they’ve either got a limited offensive upside or they have to answer serious questions about their consistency and form.

We’ll see what the Yzerplan is for both the Red Wings and Griffins over the course of the next 7 days. I am hoping that Yzerman sits on the sidelines and allows as much of that $12 million in cap space to sit fallow as possible, but that’s just me.

Dear GM Steve,

Please let this be your Monday.

Thanks,

George pic.twitter.com/WUZcRSwarc— George Malik (@georgemalik) June 30, 2019

This morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a notebook article which reflects upon the Red Wings’ summer development camp. Among her notes is this snippet regarding Taro Hirose’s high “ceiling”:

It’s a small sample size, but since the Wings signed Taro Hirose (Michigan State) in mid-March, he’s done nothing but impress — seven points his first 10 NHL games. He’s also easy to play with. 

“My coach at Union always says you can’t teach hockey sense and a guy like that, it’s evident,” Jack Adams, a sixth-round pick in 2017, said after playing with Hirose in Friday’s 3-on-3 tourney (it was after that event Adams noted that Yzerman was watching everything). 

Hirose is a front-runner to secure a spot on next season’s team. When he isn’t studying video, he’s hitting up guys like Larkin and Thomas Vanek for tips.

“I’m trying to be a student of the game, watch what the best players in the world are doing, because those guys see things like that,” Hirose said. “Being able to pick their brains, guys on the team, to what they’re seeing on plays and seeing things that I maybe don’t see. I’m trying to learn all the time and that’s a big part for me.”

St. James continues, discussing Mortiz Seider, Albin Grewe, Otto Kivenmaki and Malte Setkov…

Among DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji’s summer development camp Red and White game notes is this general summary from director of player development Shawn Horcoff, which includes some praise for Otto Kivenmaki:

It was a fitting finish to a competitive development camp for Detroit Red Wings prospects at Little Caesars Arena Saturday afternoon.

It started out as a blowout for Team Howe, who took a 3-0 lead, turned into a 4-4 tie at the end of regulation and was decided in a shootout.

“I liked the pace of the scrimmage,” said Shawn Horcoff, Detroit’s director of player development. “A lot stood out this week. They practice all week, they don’t get in that many game situations and we ask them to go out there and play a game, which they haven’t done in a while, it makes it tough on the kids. It’s a nice ending to the week. The guys we drafted this week, those are the guys I don’t really know that well, so it was nice seeing them play in a game situation. I saw a lot of talent, a lot of skill out there, and we’re excited.”

Otto Kivenmaki (7th round, 191st overall, 2018) scored the only goal of the shootout, lifting Team Lindsay to a 5-4 victory.

Kivenmaki, 5-foot-8, 154 pounds, also scored for Team Lindsay during their second-period comeback.

“You can tell his hockey sense and his talent level is high,” Horcoff said. “He’s continued to get stronger. He’s put on 12-13 pounds since last year and just has to continue to do that. He really finished strong the second half of the season in Finland, 11 points in 11 games or something close to that, but he played a lot, first-line power play, top-six minutes, that’s the biggest thing. He believes and he knows the way last season finished how he can play and how he can produce. I think he’s looking forward to this year and having a really big year.”

Wakiji continues at length.

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects engaged in a spirited, physical and sometimes nasty affair as Teams Howe and Lindsay took part in a full scrimmage on Saturday, with Team Lindsay winning 5-4 in a shootout.

The four nearly full lower-bowl sections represented a pretty dang intense fan presence for a summer game played on Saturday, June 29th, and Little Caesars Arena buzzed with energy, especially when defenseman Moritz Seider skated with the puck (there was a moment when Seider was actually applauded for making a savvy play).

Continue reading Impressions from the Red and White Game on the fifth and final day of the Wings’ summer development camp ’19

Albin Grewe, pronounced “ALL-bin GREW-vay,” will most likely end up being called “AL-bin GROOVY” by North American broadcasters, and that’s OK, because the nasty little Djurgardens IF forward makes a hell of an impression during competitive play. Grewe both looked like a player who can score goals, distribute pucks, and plain old instigate during Saturday’s scrimmage, as the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan notes in his Red and White Game notebook:

Those comparisons between Boston’s Brad Marchand and Wings prospect Albin Grewe might be true.

Grewe showed his agitating side during Saturday’s scrimmage, getting into a shoving match with 6-foot-7 draft pick Elmer Soderblom, and delivering some crunching hits.

“You don’t see too many Swede-on-Swede altercations,” Horcoff said. “He’s a guy who you’re going to notice even more in games where his competitiveness sticks out.”

At 6-foot and 187 pounds, Grewe already has the strength and strong core to someday compete for an NHL job.

“Some kids are just naturally thick,” Horcoff said. “There’s no shortage of compete in the NHL, especially with the elite players. It’s something that comes natural with him.

“We knew he was that type of player when we talked to the amateur staff. They were excited to get that type of player with talent onto our club.”

Kulfan continues…

The Free Press’s Helene St. James, Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan and The Athletic’s Max Bultman have all weighed in on the Red Wings’ potential free agency options. This afternoon, MLive’s Ansar Khan rounds out the chorus with an assessment of his own as to what the Wings should do, as well as a long list of players that the Wings might want to target come July 1st at 12 PM EDT.

What should the Wings do with their $12 million in cap space? Khan believes that signing players to short-term deals is the answer:

The Red Wings won’t be in the hunt for the elite players and probably not the next level of talent either, given their reluctance to dole out longer-term deals and their rebuilding status.

There are many lower-cost alternatives. It might take a few days after free agency opens to get those players, after they’ve explored options and concluded they won’t get the term they were seeking.

General manager Steve Yzerman will look to plug some holes.

Veteran winger Thomas Vanek has been informed he won’t be re-signed. Defenseman/winger Luke Witkowski could still be a low-cost option on a one-year deal for later in the summer. Yzerman has said he’d welcome back defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who is contemplating one more season or retirement.

The Red Wings also are in the market for an experienced goaltender to split the net with prospect Filip Larsson in Grand Rapids. They made a qualifying offer to Patrik Rybar but don’t expect him to return.

The Red Wings will have more money to spend next summer when several contracts are off the books (Mike Green, Jonathan Ericsson, Trevor Daley and possibly Jimmy Howard). But some of their young restricted free agents will be due for new deals (Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou and Tyler Bertuzzi) as well.

Khan continues at length, and his list of players that could be possible targets is interesting, but I would barf in my mouth and barf in the toilet of the Wings ever signed someone like Corey Perry to a contract.

Among MLive’s Ansar Khan’s notes from today’s Red and White game:

Moritz Seider showed off the skating ability that was one of the reasons the Red Wings took the 6-4, 207-pound defenseman sixth overall this year.

“He can skate, he’s got some poise, he’s got good sense, he was really impressive today and throughout the week,” Horcoff said.

Seider will train in his hometown of Mannheim, Germany, before returning for prospects tournament and training camp in Traverse City. The Red Wings will then decide where he should play in 2019-20.

“We have to figure out what’s best for myself,” Seider said. “Maybe it’s in the AHL with Grand Rapids but maybe also CHL (OHL Owen Sound owns his rights). But why stay in Mannheim? I think it’s one of the best organizations in Europe. We won a championship last season. We have to figure it out where I can get the most ice time.”

Khan continues at length, addressing a wide variety of topics.

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday re-signed right wing Dominik Shine to a one-year contract.

In his second full professional season with the Griffins in 2018-19, Shine tied for the team lead with 72 games played while tallying 11 points (6-5—11) and 53 penalty minutes. The 26-year-old skated in all five Calder Cup Playoff contests, showing two points (1-1—2), a plus-one rating and two PIM.

Continue reading Grand Rapids Griffins re-sign Dominik Shine

The Red Wings posted the following Tweet on Saturday morning…

An official @WesternMichU Graduate. ?‍?

Congrats, @DeKeyser5! pic.twitter.com/Wd2fGIIxMZ— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) June 29, 2019

And DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji spoke with DeKeyser about his decision to complete his college degree, a general studies major, after leaving Western Michigan University post-junior year:

It wasn’t like DeKeyser had to finish just a couple of classes either. He had some real work to do.

“I had about 35 credits or so. So I’ve been working on it for the last two years,” DeKeyser said. “I think I started in the middle of the summer in 2017 and I’ve taken just classes every semester since then. A few semesters I took two classes, but during the season I just did one class each semester.”

To complicate matters — in a very good way — DeKeyser’s wife, Melissa, gave birth to their first child, daughter McKinley Ann, at the end of February in 2018.

So that is why DeKeyser was doing so much schoolwork when the team was away.

“It was time-consuming but I did most of the work when we were on the road in the hotels and stuff,” DeKeyser said. “I tried to keep the family time the same way at home and then when we were gone I’d do most of the work. It worked out pretty good, I guess.”

Continued

The Free Press’s Helene St. James penned an article about Filip Zadina this afternoon, discussing the injured forward’s somewhat frustrating week at the Red Wings’ summer development camp. Zadina was able to skate a little bit despite nursing an injured hamstring, but he mostly participated in the off-ice activities over the past week’s worth of nutrition, physical training and recovery classes.

St. James took note of Zadina’s reflections upon his rookie pro season as the 19-year-old prepares to work on earning an NHL spot this fall:

Zadina ended his first year of pro hockey with 16 goals and 19 assists in 59 AHL games, plus three points in five playoff games.

He described 2018-19 as a “good season for me. I got to learn something and I hope and I believe (next season) will be way better.” 

He wants to prove the Wings chose well last summer, that he can live up to the identity he established with a blistering draft year stats line (44 goals, 38 assists for 82 points in 57 games with Halifax).

Zadina has met with new general manager Steve Yzerman, who “talked to me a couple times about what I have to do better, how to improve my game, improve myself as an athlete,” he said. 

“I’ll go to training camp to make the first team. I have to show them myself – I just want to be there as Filip Zadina. They drafted as a goal scorer and that’s what I have to focus on.  Now the exhibition, games, I know what they will be all about. So just go in there with my best and see what happens.”

St. James continues…