Category: Uncategorized

Are the Minnesota Wild the inevitable destination for Dylan Larkin?

Bleacher Report’s Joe Yerdon ranks the potential team “fits” for Dylan Larkin today, suggesting that the Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild can all accommodate Larkin’s trade desires.

Yerdon suggests that the Minnesota Wild remain the best fit for Larkin at this time:

1. Minnesota Wild

One of the players Larkin hit it off with instantly during the Four Nations Face-Off and at the Olympics was Wild forward Matt Boldy.

The instant chemistry those two had in both tournaments was probably enough for everyone involved to wonder, “what if?” When you factor in Quinn Hughes’ play during Team USA’s gold-medal run to go along with Boldy, you can almost not blame Larkin for wondering if the grass is that much greener in Minnesota.

After all, the Wild were one of the best teams in the NHL last season while the Red Wings missed the playoffs for the 10th straight season and now own the NHL’s longest playoff drought. Given that Wild GM Bill Guerin was also Team USA’s GM, the connections are easy to make.

Continue reading Are the Minnesota Wild the inevitable destination for Dylan Larkin?

DHN: Hey Wings, put Alex DeBrincat on the top line

Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith suggests that the Red Wings must promote Alex DeBrincat to the top line to unleash his full potential.

Given that the Wings may end up utilizing Andrew Copp as an interim #1 center, and given Lucas Raymond’s self-driven evolution into an elite playmaker as opposed to a 35-goal-scorer, I agree with Smith’s argument:

The 28-year-old Farmington Hills-born forward is known for his speed and ability to shoot the puck from just about any point of the ice, but one wonders if he has been somewhat limited by having to stay on the second line.

With 37-year-old Kane likely not returning to the roster, the Red Wings have no reason not to put their best goal-scorer with their best center and best winger on the other side, Lucas Raymond.

Not only would putting DeBrincat on the top line likely help to drive the Red Wings’ offense, but it would also help to alleviate pressure on some of the Red Wings’ younger players. Marco Kasper and Emmitt Finnie spent most of their rookie campaigns on the top line wing. The jury is still out for what Finnie’s sophomore season will look like, but Kasper seemed to take a major step back this last season and bounced around the lineup.

With DeBrincat partnered with Larkin and Raymond, the second line would be able to field two experienced veterans in Andrew Copp and Viktor Arvidsson to help the development of Finnie, taking away some of the tougher assignments expected when you play 20+ minutes a night.

Of course, that only temporarily solves the problem. DeBrincat’s only signed through the end of the year, and Larkin still wants out. But it looks like the best of a bad group of options, and this one, Red Wings fans should be able to stomach.

Continued at length; I believe that DeBrincat should play with whoever the Wings end up using as their #1 center.

He’s proven to have the forechecking, playmaking and back-checking abilities necessary for top-line duty, and, with Kane likely out of the picture, there’s just no reason to not stack the top line as best as Detroit can.

Discussing Dylan Larkin’s situation as a matter of great concern

The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman examines several unresolved situations of importance in her “Offseason Concern-O-Meter,” and she includes the Dylan Larkin situation on her list:

The Larkin stalemate in Detroit 

Concern-o-meter: 8/10

On the one hand, there is no reason to rush into a Dylan Larkin trade. While he has control with a no-trade clause that will hamstring a return, it doesn’t benefit Detroit to move him for pennies on the dollar, either. This isn’t the same as the Panthers landing Brad Marchand or Claude Giroux for next to nothing a few months before their contracts expired. Larkin still has another five years on his deal. 

On the other hand, the longer this situation drags out, the tougher it will be to reset for this next era. It lingers over everything the Red Wings do this summer — from the draft to the trade frenzy to free agency, and beyond. Detroit can’t really start building up its supporting cast without knowing what types of needle movers Larkin can bring back. Sure, the Viktor Arvidsson signing was savvy, but this team hasn’t done much else so far this summer, leaving everything else feeling unsettled and uncertain. 

I would argue that the Wings appear to at least be starting a culture change thanks to the Keegan Kolesar trade, but that’s just me…

But I do think that Patrick Kane is in a holding pattern because he’s waiting to see what happens with Larkin (among other things)…

Continue reading Discussing Dylan Larkin’s situation as a matter of great concern

Friedman, Zeisberger: NHL Alumni Association establishes ‘post-retirement wellness plan’ with $4 million donation from NHL/NHLPA

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman broke this story, as he tends to do, and it’s more important than you might think:

NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger has more from the NHL Alumni Association’s annual Alumni Celebrity Golf Classic in Collingwood, Ontario today:

The recent collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHL Players Association features a $4 million-plus donation from both parties combined for a post-retirement wellness plan.

The final details of that program were ironed out last week, allowing Healy to announce details of it to the 40 former players on hand for the NHL Alumni Celebrity Golf Classic at the picturesque Coppenwood Golf Club on Monday. With Hall of Famers like Paul Coffey, Doug Gilmour, Bryan Trottier, Mike Gartner and Mark Recchi showing their support, the association president outlined just how deeply its members now can get help once they’ve taken their final NHL shift.

“The way it’s set up now, if you’ve played one shift in the NHL you will get a family doctor. If you played one shift in the NHL you get a mental health wellness professional for you, your wife and your kids,” Healy said.

Continue reading Friedman, Zeisberger: NHL Alumni Association establishes ‘post-retirement wellness plan’ with $4 million donation from NHL/NHLPA

Grand Rapids Griffins sign center Kaden Bohlsen to a 1-year AHL contract

The Grand Rapids Griffins signed 25-year-old center Kaden Bohlsen to a 1-year AHL contract on Monday night.

The 6’3,” 192-pound Minnesota native posted 20 goals and 29 points in 55 games for the ECHL’s Carolina Stingrays last season.

GRIFFINS SIGN KADEN BOHLSEN TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Monday signed forward Kaden Bohlsen to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season.   

Bohlsen totaled 29 points (20-9—29), 39 penalty minutes and a minus-two rating in 55 regular-season games with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingray this past season as a rookie. In addition, the 25-year-old showed two goals in five games with the Hershey Bears in 2025-26. Following the conclusion of his collegiate career, Bohlsen made his professional debut with the Calgary Wranglers and notched one assist in four games at the end of the 2024-25 season. The Willmar, Minnesota, native, has three points (2-1—3) and two penalty minutes in nine-career AHL outings, adding 29 points (20-9—29) in 55 ECHL appearances.  

Continue reading Grand Rapids Griffins sign center Kaden Bohlsen to a 1-year AHL contract

Press release: Red Wings sign defenseman Ronnie Attard to 1-year, 2-way contract

The Detroit Red Wings have signed Ronnie Attard, a 27-year-old right-shot defenseman who stands at 6’3″ and 207 pounds, to a 1-year, 2-way contract:

RED WINGS SIGN RONNIE ATTARD TO ONE-YEAR, TWO-WAY CONTRACT

  … White Lake Native and Western Michigan University Product Has Skated in 29 Games with Philadelphia Flyers …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today signed defenseman Ronnie Attard to a one-year, two-way contract.

Attard, 27, played the 2025-26 season with the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles, recording 17 points (3-14-17), a plus-three rating and 38 penalty minutes in 44 regular-season games. The 6-foot-3, 208-pound defenseman also netted two goals in four Calder Cup Playoff games with the Eagles. Attard split the 2024-25 campaign between the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Bakersfield Condors, logging 17 points (7-10-17) and 80 penalty minutes in 66 games. Originally selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Attard registered six points (2-4-6) and 14 penalty minutes in 29 games with the Flyers from 2021-24. He has also tallied 93 points (32-61-93), a plus-nine rating and 196 penalty minutes in 226 AHL games with Lehigh Valley, Bakersfield and Colorado since 2022-23.

Continue reading Press release: Red Wings sign defenseman Ronnie Attard to 1-year, 2-way contract

Tweet of note: NHL Network’s Grimson and Coyle discuss Patrick Kane’s attributes

The NHL Network posted a 1-minute clip of Stu Grimson and Jamison Coyle discussing what Patrick Kane can bring his future NHL employer. It probably won’t be Detroit, but I can hope against hope:

Tweet of note: Myles Brosnan officially heads to QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats

As noted yesterday by Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, Red Wings 7th round draft pick Myles Brosnan has a college commitment to Harvard, but fans of the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats were abuzz that the young defenseman would be joining Moncton for a “gap year” (or two) of Major Junior Hockey.

Today, via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, Moncton confirmed the news that Brosnan’s headed to New Brunswick:

Tweet of note: Trey Augustine named Big Ten Distinguished Scholar

Grand Rapids Griffins forward and University of Michigan alumnus Kienan Draper was named a “Big Ten Distinguished Scholar” today. A little later this afternoon, Michigan State University named Red Wings prospect Trey Augustine a “Big Ten Distinguished Scholar” as well:

Video: Red Wings free agent signing Theo Rochette speaks with Swisshabs.ch…en Francais…

The Detroit Red Wings signed free agent forward Theo Rochette, a 24-year-old dual Swiss/Canadian national who stands at 5’11” and 172 pounds, just before I returned to the blog.

Rochette posted 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points in 46 games with Lausanne HC of the Swiss NLA last season, and PuckPedia states that Rochette will earn $1.025 million at the NHL level and $85,000 at the AHL level.

Today, the Swiss hockey blog SwissHabs.ch posted a 3-minute video interview with Rochette today, but it’s regrettably in French. I can surmise that Rochette talks about his signing with Detroit and his background as a QMJHL-bred star player, but that’s about all I’ve got as I speak some German, not French.

Enjoy?