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Coach Lalonde talks prospects, free agent signings and expectations

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde addressed a slate of topics while speaking to the media at the Wings’ “Summer Hockey in the D” event yesterday, and MLive’s Ansar Khan offers a few more quips from coach Lalonde this morning.

First, coach Lalonde addressed the fact that Nate Danielson, Marco Kasper and Carter Mazur will be pushing for spots on the Wings’ roster this fall…

“Very excited about some of our young guys in Grand Rapids that will be pushing,” Lalonde said. “You need that push from the bottom. I was able to see Grand Rapids a couple of times late in the year. [Jonatan] Berggren, Mazur, (Nate) Danielson, watching his playoff in junior, Marco was awesome in the playoffs. I think you need some of that competition and push from the young guys.”

They also need proven, experienced scorers like [Patrick] Kane and [Vladimir] Tarasenko.

“Pat had a lot of options; he had different options as far as term also,” Lalonde said. “In my conversations with him, his heart was here. It speaks volumes about Patrick and it also speaks about what we’re doing here the last couple of years. I think (Tarasenko) is a similar situation. … I think it’s exciting that they want to be part of it.”

The Atlantic Division remains the toughest in the NHL, featuring Stanley Cup champion Florida, playoff mainstays Boston, Toronto and Tampa Bay and clubs with a lot of young talent in Buffalo and Ottawa.

“These are different expectations, that’s a different challenge in itself,” Lalonde said. “I think there’s a lot of excitement for good reason going into this year, but it’s going to be on us and the group to narrow our focus on doing the right things, especially early, and we’d love to put ourselves in the same situation next year.”

Continued (paywall); the Red Wings definitely need to evolve into a team which can focus its attention upon winning a 60-minute game this upcoming season.

HSJ in the morning: coach Lalonde likes his team’s roster balance heading into ’24-25

The Red Wings’ media corps attended a “Street Hockey in the D” event held by the team in order to speak with coach Derek Lalonde, who addressed a number of topics, including Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider’s contract negotiations, the roles which #23 and #53 will play this upcoming season, the team’s goals-against average and the goaltending situation.

This morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses coach Lalonde’s remarks on the Red Wings’ revised lineup, as well as his take on the Wings’ probability of starting the 2024-2025 season with a three-headed goalie monster:

“Of course I like it,” Lalonde said Wednesday. “We did a good job addressing some holes. It feels like guys may be slotted going into the year a little bit. I think we did a good job addressing some lost offense, which is very important.”

Signing forward Vladimir Tarasenko, a former 40-goal scorer, is expected to ameliorate the departures of David Perron (17 goals) and Daniel Sprong (18 goals). Signing defenseman Erik Gustafsson should lessen the blow of losing Shayne Gostisbehere (team-leading 29 power play points).

Tarasenko joins a forward corps that also features Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, Patrick Kane, Andrew Copp, Michael Rasmussen, Joe Veleno and Christian Fischer, another newcomer in Tyler Motte and, once they’re signed, Lucas Raymond and Jonatan Berggren, making for an even dozen. Prospects Carter Mazur, Marco Kasper and Nate Danielson could all push for a role, too.

On the back end, besides Gustafsson there’s Ben Chiarot, Olli Määttä, Jeff Petry, Justin Holl, and Simon Edvinsson; Seider (who also needs a new contract) and Albert Johansson, who has yet to play in the NHL but is out of waiver exemptions.

Lalonde described his possible line combinations as “fluid, especially early in camp. But it just feels like guys are slotted a bit more proper, and it will make more of an ideal top-six, bottom-six situation. But that will be fluid as the season starts.”

Coach Lalonde told St. James that the Red Wings simply need to advance this upcoming season:

“It’s just exciting,” Lalonde said. “All I’ve known here since I’ve come here is some progression. We’ve moved in the right direction from Year 1 to Year 2. And now we need to keep building. Expectations will change, which is all good. This is all part of the process. We just want a little bit more [from] everybody.”

Continued (paywall); the Red Wings did lose a ton of offense in Perron, Sprong and Gostisbehere, but Tarasenko and Gustafsson should at least dig into that lost offense, and yes, coach Lalonde is correct–the team’s got more of a real “top six” and “bottom six” up front, as well as a little more balance to its three defensive pairs.

It would be nice if the team could acquire a second-pair, shut-down defenseman by the time the season starts, but that’s more likely to happen toward the trade deadline…

And the goaltending situation isn’t going to sort itself out until it sorts itself out, whether that’s over the course of training camp and the exhibition season, or whether it takes until sometime during the regular season.

Roughly translated: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and the blue cheese incident

Yesterday, Hockeysverige.se reported that Red Wings prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard still expects to end up playing for Skelleftea AIK of the SHL after participating in the Red Wings’ training camp this fall.

Today, Brandsegg-Nygard speaks with Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin regarding a prank committed by his World Championship teammates on Team Norway this past spring (what follows is roughly translated from Swedish):

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard about Zuccarello and Thoresen’s practical joke

Don’t leave your hotel room unattended if you’re at the World Championship with Mats Zuccarello and Patrick Thoresen. That lesson was learned by new SHL duo Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Stian Solberg during the World Championship in the Czech Republic last spring.

“They didn’t say anything until we were at the airport on the way home,” says Brandsegg-Nygard about the practical joke he was subjected to by the two veterans.

During the hockey World Championship in the Czech Republic last spring, junior players Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Stian Solberg earned the opportunity to debut next to seasoned veterans like Mats Zuccarello and Patrick Thoresen. It was a big moment for the two 18-year-olds who grew up with the Norwegian stars as role models.

What did they learn about the two pros?

A lot. But, perhaps above all, despite their age, they still have the minds of children.

Continue reading Roughly translated: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and the blue cheese incident

Accentuating a higher standard of performance

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff took note of a familiar thread for the Red Wings’ players and coach over the course of this summer’s media availabilities: every player and coach Lalonde has suggested that the team faces higher expectations in terms of performance going forward:

“I think there’s definitely expectations going into this season, so that’s always a good thing,” Detroit forward Patrick Kane said. “You want those expectations.”

After finishing the season with 91 points and missing out on postseason play via tiebreaker, the Red Wings have given cause for high hopes.

“I think you set expectations high after coming down to Game 82 (and) that (is when) you missed the playoffs,” Detroit GM Steve Yzerman said.

The Red Wings are ready to deal with the accompanying pressure that raised expectations do bring.

“I think that’s great for our group to have expectations like that to come in the next year to get back to that point,” Red Wings forward Christian Fischer said. “I’m honestly fully confident that we could get back there.

“You don’t want to set crazy expectations but I think everybody’s in the same boat. I think we kind of showed last year a big step in the progression of our team and setting the standard that we could be in the postseason, and that we expect to be in the postseason.

Continued; it’s a damn good thing that the Red Wings expect to make the playoffs this upcoming season. Detroit’s not going to finish first in the Atlantic Division, but as the team moves forward, it must attempt to exceed its standard of performance from this past campaign.

Tweet of note: Bally Sports Detroit highlights Red Wings’ ‘Street Hockey in the D’ event

The Detroit Red Wings held a “Street Hockey in the D” event today, and the Red Wings’ media corps attended it in order to speak with Detroit coach Derek Lalonde.

Bally Sports Detroit’s Natalie Kerwin also took part in the event, and BSD posted a 2:30 highlight clip from the event during tonight’s Detroit Tigers game:

I can’t do more than link it, but CBS Detroit’s Rachel Hopmayer posted a 2:13 report about the event as well.

Tweet of note: Babs being Babs, Jimmy Howard’s version

Red Wings alumnus Jimmy Howard appeared on the “Cam & Strick Podcast” early on Wednesday morning, and the “Cam & Strick” Twitter account revealed a bit of a typically Babcockian tale.

According to Howard, at the end of his rookie campaign, Babcock made sure to tell the media that he was going to vote for Tyler Myers as the Calder Trophy winner, instead of his own goaltender (thankfully, coaches don’t get a vote in the Calder Trophy rankings):

If you missed the podcast video/audio, Jimmy Howard appears at the 1 hour and 40 minute mark:

Update: The Detroit News reports that Howard also earns credit for one moment in a superb career more often than he feels is necessary:

Continue reading Tweet of note: Babs being Babs, Jimmy Howard’s version

A bit more from coach Lalonde regarding Raymond and Seider’s roles this upcoming season

Updated at 5:04 PM: Earlier today, Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde took part in a “Street Hockey in the D” event sponsored by the Red Wings organization in Detroit, and both the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton and Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff took note of Lalonde’s remarks at said event.

This afternoon, the Free Press’s Helene St. James and MLive’s Ansar Khan share their commentary on Lalonde’s remarks. St. James took note of Lalonde’s take on both Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider’s expected roles increasing this upcoming season…

“I’ve talked with them two to three times during the summer and we don’t even talk about the contract,” Lalonde said. “That’s between Steve and them. With us, it’s just the same message as with the other guys — we want to progress, we want to keep moving, keep building this. Obviously those two guys are a big part of it.”

Raymond came in last season about a dozen pounds heavier and it showed in his play, as he went on to lead the Wings with 72 points in 82 games.

“He found something in his offseason last year, he came back and he just looked like a different athlete,” Lalonde said. “A little of that was just him maturing — he’s still a very young player and naturally his body matured a little bit. But just keep building on what he did last year.”

Lalonde’s message to Seider was also to keep building. Seider is entering his fourth season and Raymond his third, and given their importance, each is a prime candidate to join the rotation of alternate captains after David Perron’s departure in free agency.

“Those two, the role they’ll play on our team, I think it will be a little increased role with our leadership, too,” Lalonde said. “That’s something we talked about with those two over the summer.”

As did Khan, who noted that Lalonde didn’t want to discuss the contractual negotiations with Raymond and Seider per se:

Continue reading A bit more from coach Lalonde regarding Raymond and Seider’s roles this upcoming season

Coach Lalonde addresses several topics during Red Wings’ ‘Street Hockey in the D’ event

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde attended the Detroit Red Wings’ “Street Hockey in the D” event this morning, and the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton asked coach Lalonde about the Red Wings’ need to re-sign Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider before training camp begins…

When asked whether he could provide an update on the situation, Lalonde said, “Not a whole lot…This is exactly why we have the GM layer, the agent layer…I’ve talked to them two, three times throughout the summer, and we don’t even talk about the contract. That’s between Steve and them, Steve and the agent. With us, it’s just the same message for all the guys: We wanna progress, we wanna keep building this, we want a little bit more from last year. Obviously those two guys are a big part of it.”

While not quite the revelation Red Wings fans were likely hoping for, it was nonetheless another reassurance that Detroit is in no serious jeopardy of losing Raymond or Seider’s services this summer.  While many fans are no doubt eager to see that set in stone (or ink, as the case may be), Lalonde himself said, “I’m not worried.  It’s all part of it.  I have a little experience with this with past RFAs, so it’s all part of the process” in response to being asked directly over whether their contract status was causing him any stress.

Lalonde went on to note that not only is he fully counting on Raymond and Seider for next season but also he expects their roles to continue to grow, specifically by becoming a greater part of Detroit’s leadership team.

“I think those two and the role they’ll play on our team, I think it’ll be a little increased with our leadership too,” Lalonde said.  “It’s something we talked about with those two.  [I’m] very comfortable with where the situation is exactly.  I sound like a broken record, but this is why coaches coach, managers manage, it’s why players have agents—to avoid the layer of what’s going on with the contract.”  With David Perron (who wore an “A” as alternate captain) off to Ottawa, perhaps one or both of Raymond and Seider could wind up wearing a letter in 2024-25.

And coach Lalonde emphasized improving the team’s defensive numbers while speaking with Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen:

Continue reading Coach Lalonde addresses several topics during Red Wings’ ‘Street Hockey in the D’ event

Is Dylan Larkin a candidate to wear the ‘C’ for Team USA in 2026?

The Hockey News is focusing on the 2024 Winter Olympics this week, and THN’s Jason Duench suggests that Team USA should pick Dylan Larkin as their next team captain:

United States: Dylan Larkin, C, Detroit Red Wings

While it’s worth mentioning American legend Patrick Kane, who is third all-time in NHL points for American-born players, the USA is deep at forward and Kane’s dazzling resume may be passed over completely when he turns 37 in 2026. Besides, Kane has only ever worn an ‘A’ in the NHL.

That’s why the sensical choice is Larkin, who will be 29 and captain of five years for the Detroit Red Wings. He hasn’t been named to the Four Nations roster, but he’s consistently been one of the NHL’s most effective two-way pivots and if he can get Motor City back into playoff contention in the next two seasons, he’ll make an even better case for Team USA general manager Bill Guerin to give him the nod.

Other candidates: Brady Tkachuk, LW, Ottawa Senators; Jaccob Slavin, D, Carolina Hurricanes; Adam Fox, D, New York Rangers; Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs; Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston Bruins

Continued