Category: Uncategorized

Morning news: On ‘strength and conditioning,’ Mike Green and draft pick discussion

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. In the latest episode of The Red and White Authority podcast, DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner speaks with Red Wings strength and conditioning coach Mike Kadar:

2. Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff examined some of the major personnel decisions that the Red Wings must make this offseason, including Mike Green’s future, the team’s courting of Ilya Kovalchuk, their need for a back-up goaltender and the team’s cooling on re-signing Martin Frk:

This isn’t as much as choice for Detroit as it is for impending unrestricted free agent defenseman Mike Green. He’s been a Red Wing for the past three seasons, and the Wings made it abundantly clear a while back that they’d like to keep him in the fold, tabling an offer to Green not long after the NHL trade deadline passed and he wasn’t moved to another team.

Green hasn’t jumped on the offer, though. He’s 33 and has yet to win a Stanley Cup, and that certainly figures to weigh heavily into his decision. It would appear that at the very least he’s going to wait until July 1 and see what the market has to offer him.

Losing Green would prove costly, because there’s not much out there this summer in terms of available UFA defensemen. The Wings won’t have a shot at Washington’s John Carlson, and beyond him the class of 2018 includes the likes of Jack Johnson, Calvin de Haan, John Moore, Thomas Hickey and Roman Polak.

Continued

3. The Athletic’s Craig Custance discusses the Wings’ options with their 6th overall pick. As you might imagine, the situation is somewhat fluid as of this morning:

6. Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings’ preference is to take a defenseman or center with this pick, and it could be that the best player available is a winger. That makes Detroit a real candidate to trade down, but there’s no appetite internally to drop out of the top 10. Plus, the Red Wings already have another first-round pick and two high second-round picks. All that ammunition makes Detroit a team to watch in this spot. There are a lot of teams that would love a crack at the cluster of defensemen in this range and they know Ken Holland is a deal-maker, so there will be calls.

4. Finally, the Free Press’s Helene St. James has posted a mock draft (having the Wings select U of M defenseman Quinn Hughes at #6), a list of prospects both available in the neighborhood of the 6th overall and 30th overall picks; St. James offered a set of booms and busts picked 6th overall throughout draft history, and this morning, the Free Press posted a video of the Wings’ in-the-top-10 picks since 1983, when they drafted Steve Yzerman:

 

The Athletic’s Strang on the hit that changed David Booth

David Booth hasn’t formally retired yet, but the forward likely played his last NHL game when the Red Wings wrapped up their regular season on April 7th vs. the New York Islanders.

Booth played a supporting role on the Red Wings’ roster, reclaiming NHL credentials after two seasons abroad; before a severe concussion changed the course of his career.

The Athletic’s Katie Strang retells the tale of Booth’s concussion in a superb article this evening:

The​ date is Oct.​ 24, 2009,​ and the Philadelphia​ Flyers​ are​ leading the​ Florida Panthers 3-1 at​​ the Wachovia Center.

David Booth, coming off a 30-goal campaign the previous season, has scored the Panthers’ only goal of the game. There’s a little over three minutes remaining in the second period, and the Detroit native is barreling through the neutral zone with the puck, when he crosses the blue line and turns his head ever so slightly as he makes a drop pass to teammate Stephen Weiss. This is when the shoulder of Flyers center Mike Richards connects with Booth’s head and obliterates his path, sending him to the ice in a grotesque spin.

This is the exact moment when David Booth’s career, and in many ways, his life, changed forever.

“Here comes David Booth. He has the Panther goal tonight — Oh, did he get hit hard. Oh my goodness. David Booth is down. He got hit high on the ice, and he hasn’t moved. Oh my goodness.”

You can hear it right then in the voice of Panthers broadcaster Steve Goldstein — a mix of terror and concern. This is not just any thunderous hit. The camera cuts to Booth, face down and prone on the ice, motionless, and then back to the bench. Booth’s teammates look stunned, and there’s a palpable sense of the unknown.

“There’s an immediate emotional anger or response,” said Pete DeBoer, who was behind the bench for the Panthers that season. “And then it turns to fear for the player, when he gets stretchered off the ice. Rarely do you see that. We knew that once he was stretchered off and taken off to the hospital, that’s when there was real fear and concern to our group.”

Strang continues at length, reporting that Booth is working with Hockey Ministries International this summer.

 

HSJ examines the Wings’ 2017 draft class

The Free Press’s Helene St. James wraps up her examinations of the Red Wings’ most recent draft selections by discussing the 2017 draft, which consists of a crop of players still very much so “in progress” toward their developmental goals:

F Michael Rasmussen

Drafted: Ninth.

Draft year doings: 32 goals, 23 assists in 50 games for  Tri-City Americans (Western Hockey League).

Draft day scouting report: Goes to the hard areas. Plays the net-front on the power play. Good scoring touch around the net. Competitive. Good skater. Has got a chance to be really good.

Post-draft doings: Had 31 goals and 28 assists for 59 points in 47 regular-season games this past season with Tri-City, missing about six weeks because of wrist surgery. Finished season on a seven-game point streak (seven goals, three assists). In 2018 WHL playoffs, Rasmussen had 14 goals and 17 assists for 33 points in 14 games. He had multi-point performances in 10 games, and only went without a point in one game.

Next up: Rasmussen’s dominance down the stretch and through the playoffs have earned him a shot at making the Wings this autumn. He’s 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, so even though he’s only 19, that’ll help him as he plays against men. He’s smart, goes to the net, and a candidate for power-play minutes. He’s a center but played wing during the playoffs, and that should help him this autumn, because it’s a less demanding position than center, especially for a young player (Dylan Larkin started out in NHL as a wing, then found his footing at center).

Rasmussen has a year left of junior eligibility, so he’ll either be in Detroit next season, or juniors. The AHL is not an option. If the Wings keep him past 10 games, it’ll burn a year of his entry-level contract if they later end up sending him back to juniors.

Early assessment: Looks promising.

St. James continues…

Free Press posts Mitch Albom’s tale of the Wings’ 1998 Stanley Cup win

The Detroit Free Press commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Red Wings’ 1998 Stanley Cup win with a re-printing of Mitch Albom’s narrative regarding the Wings’ Cup win:

The first one they won for the city. This one they won for their hearts.  A hockey saga that began last summer in yelps of joy, and was interrupted six days later by tears of sadness, has worked itself back around to joy once more, with Red Wings players in a happy mob around the net, another Stanley Cup in tow. But this one was different. It was hard-fought, it was tiring, it was long and sometimes painful. But it was always meant to be. We can see that now. What happened here Tuesday night was less about victory than it was about belief.

And so, when the hockey ended, even as the pundits were banging out notes about a Detroit dynasty, even as fans back home were screaming themselves hoarse, the Wings were doing what they had dreamed of doing all year long.

Finally, with tears in their eyes, they handed the Stanley Cup to their fallen colleague, Vladimir Konstantinov, and that tells you all you need to know about this team. They weren’t playing for themselves. They were playing for a higher cause — and it took them to the highest heights.

“TWO! TWO! TWO!” yelled the Wings, as they posed for their first photo as 1998 champions gathered around Konstantinov in his wheelchair, the cup in his lap, a victory cigar in his fingers, an unbelievable smile on his face.

“Everything we did all year, we did for this guy,” Igor Larionov said. “We never stopped believing.”

Continued

 

Khan outlines the Wings’ free agency plans

MLive’s Ansar Khan penned a set of updates on Friday afternoon, discussing Jimmy Howard’s status (staying around), Martin Frk’s status (may or may not be re-signed), the statuses of the team’s other restricted free agents (Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha = 3 “bridge deals,” if not 4 if Larkin is not interested in a long-term contract), coaching staff (Dan Bylsma remains a possibility as an assistant coach) and outlining the Wings’ free agency plans:

Left wing Ilya Kovalchuk is at the top of their wish list. They’d be willing to give him a two-year contract at a high salary, a source said. They believe he’s capable of scoring 25 to 30 goals.

Kovalchuk, 35, is returning to the NHL after playing in Russia for five years. He has stated a desire to play for a Stanley Cup-contending team, so it’s unlikely he’d be interested in Detroit.

The Red Wings are interested in bringing back Thomas Vanek, 34, on a one-year deal. They would trade him at the deadline for a draft pick if they’re out of the playoff race. Vanek was a good fit in Detroit in 2016-17 (15 goals, 38 points in 48 games), before being dealt to Florida at the deadline for a third-round pick.

He had 24 goals and 56 points in 80 games last season between Vancouver and Columbus.

The Red Wings want to re-sign defenseman Mike Green, offering him a one-year deal at $6 million, his salary the past three seasons, or two years at $5 million per year.

Green turns 33 in October but was the team’s lone consistent offensive threat on the blue line. It’s a particularly weak free-agent market for defensemen.

The Red Wings are eying two 32-year-old goalies – Carter Hutton of St. Louis and Anton Khudobin of Boston. Hutton, their first choice, went 17-7-3 with a 2.09 goals-against average and .931 save percentage. Khudobin went 16-6-7, with a 2.56 GAA and .913 save percentage.

Khan continues at length…

 

Here are the Red Wings’ picks (officially) for the 2018 draft

The NHL released its Order of Selection for the 2018 draft in Dallas next Friday and Saturday, and the Red Wings’ picks are as follows:

1st round, 6th overall

1st round, 30th overall (from Vegas)

2nd round, 33rd overall (from Ottawa via NYR)

2nd round, 36th overall

3rd round, 67th overall

3rd round, 81st overall (from Philadelphia)

3rd round, 84th overall (from Pittsburgh)

4th round, 98th overall

6th round, 159th overall (from Montreal)

6th round, 160th overall

7th round, 191st overall

 

Duff: Fox Sports Detroit’s Wings ratings down for 2017-18 season

According to Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff, the Red Wings had a rough go in the ratings business this past season:

Missing the playoffs the past two seasons evidently has more people opting to miss the Red Wings. Broadcasts of Detroit games this past season on Fox Sports Detroit showed a 27 percent decrease in ratings, which was the third-lowest among NHL teams. Only the Chicago Blackhawks (29 percent) and New York Rangers (36 percent showed a larger decline in viewership.

Ouch!

Red Wings to play 8 preseason games

Sorry I’m late with this…ill today:

RED WINGS RELEASE 2018-19 PRESEASON SCHEDULE
… Detroit Begins Preseason Slate with Three-Straight Home Games …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today announced their 2018-19 preseason schedule.

The Red Wings will hit the ice for the first time in 2018-19 by hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena. That matchup starts a stretch of three home games in four days, with contests against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. and the Boston Bruins on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 7:00 p.m. Detroit will then travel for four road games in a six-day span, visiting Pittsburgh on Sunday, Sept. 23 (3:00 p.m.), Chicago on Tuesday, Sept. 25 (8:30 p.m.), Boston on Wednesday, Sept. 26 (7:00 p.m.) and Toronto on Friday, Sept. 28 (7:30 p.m.), prior to the eighth and final preseason game against the division-rival Maple Leafs on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 7:00 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena.

Tickets for all Red Wings home preseason games will go on sale on Monday, Aug. 6 and can be purchased at the Little Caesars Arena XFINITY Box Office (313-471-7575), all Ticketmaster outlets (800-745-3000) or online at DetroitRedWings.com. The complete 2018-19 preseason schedule can be found below.

DETROIT RED WINGS 2018-19 PRESEASON SCHEDULE

                        DATE  DAY                                        SITE                                        TIME (ET)
September     19        Wed.    PITTSBURGH            Little Caesars Arena               7:30 p.m.
20        Thu.     CHICAGO                  Little Caesars Arena               7:30 p.m.
22        Sat.      BOSTON                    Little Caesars Arena              7:00 p.m.
23        Sun.     at Pittsburgh               PPG Paints Arena                  3:00 p.m.
25        Tue.     at Chicago                  United Center                         8:30 p.m.
26        Wed.    at Boston                    TD Garden                             7:00 p.m.
28        Fri.       at Toronto                   Scotiabank Arena                   7:30 p.m.
29        Sat.      TORONTO                 Little Caesars Arena               7:00 p.m.

2018-19 SEASON TICKET PLANS NOW AVAILABLE

Ticket plans are now available for the 2018-19 season. Red Wings FLEX partial plans are back to give fans the opportunity to design a plan based on their schedule. Fans can purchase convenient half-season ticket plans (22 games) or new quarter-season ticket plans (11 games). Red Wings partial season ticket plans feature savings on box office prices and increased savings on premium games. Partial season ticket holders also have the opportunity to lock in their tickets before single game tickets go on sale to the general public. Additional benefits include flexible payment plans, access to the Ticket Donation Program to put unused tickets to good use in the community, presale opportunities for 313 Presents events, a dedicated personal Ticket Service Executive and much more.

In addition to the benefits of FLEX plans, full season ticket plans feature an action-packed 45-game schedule, giving fans the opportunity to see every NHL opponent at the state-of-the-art Little Caesars Arena. Full season ticket holders receive a 10 percent discount on all merchandise at the Little Caesars Arena Team Store and Hockeytown Authentics in Troy, invitations to exclusive team autograph sessions and events, personalized entry on the arena’s Season Ticket Holder Interactive Touchscreen Displays, a complimentary in-game welcome on the Little Caesars Arena Scoreboard and much more.

Information on Red Wings full and FLEX partial season ticket plans can be obtained by visiting www.DetroitRedWings.com/SeasonTicketPlans or by calling the Red Wings’ Ticket Sales & Service Office at 313-471-7575.

Update: FYI:

 

Regner talks about Wings prospect Cole Fraser

DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner examines defensive prospect Cole Fraser’s 2017-18 season “numbers” this morning. Fraser had an up-and-down season with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes thanks to injuries and a suspension, but his pluck and toughness are two of his best qualities:

Quotable: “He was like a lot of our players, he missed time with injuries. He received a big hit two-thirds of the way through the season and the player that hit him was suspended 10 games. So, he missed a big chunk of the second half and it didn’t leave a good taste in his mouth as he finished on an injury. It was an in-between year for him because he was in and out of the lineup with injuries. We have a new coach and the way he wants the D to play, it’s going to fit Cole nicely. He’s a big, strong, good-skating defenseman. We want the D to play up ice and be physical, which is right in Cole’s wheelhouse. We expect him to have a pretty good year. We expect him and Zach (Gallant) to be 19-year-old leaders on the team going forward.” – Andrew Verner, Peterborough Petes assistant coach (interim head coach last year from January-April).

Continued