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Updated at 3:36 PM: The Free Press’s George Sipple asked Tigers and Red Wings owner Chris Ilitch to weigh in on the hockey team as the man in charge made an appearance in Lakeland, Florida, and here’s what Ilitch has to say–or not say–about the Wings:

Chris Ilitch spoke to reporters about the #tigers today. I did ask him if he wants Ken Holland back as GM and he said he was here to talk about @tigers @DetroitRedWings

— George Sipple (@GeorgeSipple) March 3, 2018

Instead…

Chris Ilitch said he addressed @Tigers when he arrived in Lakeland. He said he reminded them of “my incredible passion for baseball.”
Ilitch mentioned passion his father had for the game and said he shares it. Mentioned playing HS baseball and coaching his children last few yrs

— George Sipple (@GeorgeSipple) March 3, 2018

Chris Ilitch said he addressed @Tigers when he arrived in Lakeland. He said he reminded them of “my incredible passion for baseball.”
Ilitch mentioned passion his father had for the game and said he shares it. Mentioned playing HS baseball and coaching his children last few yrs

— George Sipple (@GeorgeSipple) March 3, 2018

For what it’s worth, Ilitch also plays men’s league hockey with Bill Ford…

But I don’t believe that we’re going to get an update on the “state of the Wings” until locker room clean-out day, if we receive a “state of the Wings” update at all.

Update: The Free Press’s Sipple penned an article regarding the exchange:

Continue reading Chris Ilitch declines commenting on Wings as he visits Lakeland

In the AHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins have had an up-and-down week thus far, with one more home game to come on Saturday night (against Milwaukee).

On Wednesday, the Griffins won 3-2 over the Tuscon Roadrunners, with Eric Tangradi scoring 2 goals and Ben Street registering a goal and an assist

On Friday, things did not go so well, with the Griffins blowing 1-0 and 2-1 leads en route to a 4-2 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Matt Puempel had a goal and an assist and Eric Tangradi scored his 25th goal of the season, but the Griffins could not withstand a 3-goal 3rd period push from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The Griffins’ website posted a recap: Continue reading Prospect round-up: Griffins lose to Penguins; Walleye beat Stingrays; NCAA hockey playoffs begin

This is a hockey blog, at least ostensibly so, and this is a sensitive subject, so I’m going to leave this note from the Oakland Press’s Anne Runkle here:

A parenting conference in West Bloomfield Township will address the opioid crisis and will feature Detroit Red Wings TV announcer Ken Daniels, who recently lost his son to addiction.

The annual Alicia Joy Techner Memorial Parenting Conference will be held at 7 p.m. March 7 at Temple Israel, 5725 Walnut Lake Road.

The free conference, “If Only I Had Known,” is open to the community; advance registration is requested.

It is designed to share personal stories from a variety of perspectives, so parents can feel more informed, empowered and educated about the opioid crisis. In addition to Daniels, other scheduled speakers include:

• Steve Feldman, chief operating officer, Feinberg Consulting/Feinberg Addiction Services

• Chief Michael Patton, West Bloomfield Police Department

• Hon. Edward Sosnick, retired Oakland County Circuit Court judge

To register, contact Kate Boman at 248-661-5700 or kate@temple-israel.org.

The Detroit Jewish News’s Jackie Hedapohl spoke with Mrs. Daniels about Jamie’s passing, and the story is really heartbreaking. Some of my family members have struggled with substance abuse, so all I can say is this:

If you need to get help for a problem with medication, alcohol or something else, it is available through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at 1-800-662-HELP.

The Detroit Red Wings were out-scored, out-shot and out-attempted en route to a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night.

Detroit rallied from 3-1 and 4-2 deficits, but Winnipeg’s domination of the shot clock (42-33) and shot attempts (80-53) disrupted the Red Wings’ attempts to sustain possession and control of the puck in the Jets’ zone.

Our friends from Winnipeg were coming off a 3rd-period collapse against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, so Friday’s win was particularly timely, as the Winnipeg Sun’s Paul Friesen noted:

Continue reading The overnight report: Red Wings-Jets wrap-up: afterburnt

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to rebound from Wednesday night’s loss to St. Louis as the Wings faced off against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night. The Wings faced a tough task in battling the surging Jets.

The Red Wings got good goaltending an excellent offense, but Detroit’s offense was not nearly as good as Winnipeg’s pop-gun machine. Detroit scored the game’s 1st goal and then they gave up 3 straight goals against, and while the Wings rallied from a 3-1 deficit to make it 3-2 and then 4-3 Winnipeg, Detroit could not tie an affair in which the Wings were out-shot 42-33 and out-attempted a stunning 80-53.

Winnipeg won 4-3 despite excellent efforts by, of all people, Niklas Kronwall (1G, 1A), Trevor Daley (1G), and some not-so-surprising names in Anthony Mantha (1G), Henrik Zetterberg (1A on 20:18 played), Gustav Nyquist (1A, 4 shots, 6 attempts) and Justin Abdelkader.

The Wings missed Jonathan Ericsson (illness) more than you might expect, and the fact that Luke Witkowski played all of 2:02 suggests that “the flu” may be making its way through the Wings’ room.

The Wild are losing badly tonight to Colorado, too, so Detroit won’t be in easy trying to snap a 2-game losing streak against Minnesota on Sunday.

Continue reading Red Wings-Jets quick take: Jets smoke out Wings’ attempts to rally

The Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner spoke with Red Wings assistant GM and Grand Rapids Griffins GM Ryan Martin regarding the future of the Grand Rapids Griffins as it applies to a future influx of the Red Wings’ top prospects:

The Red Wings have as many as 11 picks within the first six rounds of the NHL draft this June 22-23. That follows 11 selected last season and comes after 13 picks the previous two drafts combined. But, before the best prospects migrate to Detroit over the course of years they will inevitably first change the dynamic of the Griffins.

“At some point in the next four years you’ll see the makeup of the team become significantly different than what he has been the past couple years,” said Ryan Martin, the Red Wings assistant general manager who oversees the Griffins.

That means the organization will look to provide more younger players a shot in the ECHL with Toledo and – more so, they hope – in the AHL with Grand Rapids. For the Griffins, that would mean fewer veterans and seasoned developmental players.

If, for example, the team has five veteran forwards, the number may decrease to three. Likewise, for defensemen; instead of four veterans there may be two.

“We’re going to have to make room for the young kids and the young kids are going to have to have an opportunity to compete for playing time and compete for jobs,” Martin said. “There will be no entitlement, but at the same time we have to make sure we don’t have impediments to them playing and getting an opportunity to play.”

Continued with some roster projections from Martin…

Here is the Red Wings’ Game Day Preview video ahead of tonight’s game vs. Winnipeg…

And here is the Grand Rapids Griffins’ Game Day Preview video ahead of tonight’s game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton:

The Griffins made a roster move today, assigning Zach Nastasiuk to Toledo:

Continue reading Wings and Griffins Game Day Preview videos

As the Detroit Red Wings prepare to face off against the Winnipeg Jets this evening (8:00 PM EST on FSD Plus/TSN3/97.1 FM), DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji took note of Andreas Athanasiou’s flourishing offense…

Athanasiou, 23, has matched his point total of 29 from last season in 12 fewer games this campaign. The fast forward had 18 goals and 11 assists in 64 games last year and has 13 goals and 16 assists in 52 games this year.

“I think Andreas has improved his game from a year ago in a consistency perspective of winning puck battles and winning puck races and those types of things,” Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “Any player that wants to go from being a good player to a great player has to show up every single night and compete like crazy. That’s what all the great players in the league do. Certainly that’s where with a guy like Andreas or any of our young players, that’s where our growth will come from. Making sure it’s an every shift, every game thing.”

Blashill had promised Athanasiou a greater role with the team when he finally signed a new contract in late October.

“I think I’m just playing my game and I think a little bit more opportunity to produce a little more,” Athanasiou said. “I think it just comes with that.”

And Wakiji also noted that the Jets present a stiff challenge for the Red Wings:

Continue reading Red Wings-Jets game-day updates: Wings wary of Jets’ challenges as Winnipeg hopes to stay hot

MLive’s Ansar Khan has filed a Friday mailbag article, and among the questions posited to Khan:

Khan continues…

Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. ESPN’s hockey writers debated which team “deserves” to win the draft lottery, and Greg Wyshynski feels that the Canucks or Red Wings are most “deserving”…

Simply put: They’re both sort of directionless teams, even if the Canucks’ top line shows promise, with some good prospects and GMs who have lost the faith of their respective fan bases. What the Red Wings have that Vancouver doesn’t: a new arena that is in desperate need of an attraction like Dahlin. And, with due respect to Alexander Edler and Mattias Ohlund, the Red Wings also have already built a dynasty on the back of the best Swedish defenseman in hockey history. And Nicklas Lidstrom is already a fan of Dahlin, his young countrymate.

So to restore the glory of the Red Wings, and to fill a few seats at the Pizza Chain Arena, I’d say Detroit deserves Dahlin.

Will the Red Wings win the lottery? Of course not. We all know that the Chicago Blackhawks will, with Dahlin telling the assembled media at the draft how excited he is to join the Blackhawks because he loves playing outdoors. And then Gary Bettman winks at the camera. C’mon, you know it’s true.

2. And The Athletic’s Craig Custance weighed in on the likely 2020 expansion draft as it may affect the Red Wings’ roster:

Continue reading Talking Dahlin and expansion draft options