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The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn states that a survey by The Athletic reveals that fans are getting impatient with the Red Wings’ rebuilding process, with Detroit dropping to 21st out of 32 teams in terms of fan confidence in the Red Wings’ front office, per The Athletic’s reader survey:

21. Detroit Red Wings

Last year: 12th

“Still think that there is a vision as to what Yzerman and Co. are trying to do and build but there definitely has been some questionable signings and trades that leave you scratching your head.”

“Yzerman’s admittedly been handcuffed by absolutely nothing falling their way in terms of lottery luck despite over a half dozen kicks at the can, but his free agency track record has completely hindered the current version of this team. However, he has left a lot of flexibility in the future which is what truly matters so overall he’s been a net positive.”

It seems as if some of the shine from the Yzerplan has started to wear off within the fan base, with a 45 percentage point drop in confidence since last year. The fans still score the front office above average at a 3.7 rating, but that’s a step back from last year (4.2, seventh) and still well off from public perception.

Yzerman and company are doing the best they can with a bad hand: a rough starting point and a lot of poor lottery luck. But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been self-inflicted wounds along the way. Detroit’s track record in free agency has been abysmal with a lot of money spent at the wrong time on ineffective players that move the needle enough to get the Red Wings away from a higher pick, but not so much that they become a playoff team. Even if the players are stopgaps to let the prospects develop, it comes at a long-term cost.

Within the fan base, there’s also some concern that the team is playing safe at the draft table rather than shooting for upside. For a team that isn’t ready yet and lacks franchise-caliber talent, that feels like another red flag.

Continued (paywall); I’d still like to see a rebuilding team that’s landed all its free agent signings. Expecting free agency to be a solve-all salve just doesn’t work, and as we’ve discussed repeatedly here at TMR, the Red Wings’ player development team definitely has a “draft type,” and that’s not a boom-or-bust player.

I’m not defending a front office that’s clearly made some missteps in terms of free agency signings and “too safe” draft picks, but I do understand why the team’s made the decisions it has made thus far in the rebuilding process.

MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles Red Wings prospect Austin Baker, who was drafted 203rd overall by Detroit this past June. Baker’s from White Lake Township, MI, and Khan reports that the Michigan-born left wing’s delighted to be drafted by his local NHL team:

“My family went crazy,” Baker said. “It’s really a dream come true. I couldn’t even have imagined being picked by the Wings. Hearing my name called by them was like the best feeling ever.”

The 6-0, 190-pound left wing, a White Lake native who played for the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, was surprised because he hadn’t had many pre-draft conversations with Red Wings front-office personnel.

“I think it took a couple of hours to settle in and realize I just got drafted to the Red Wings,” Baker said. “I was just super excited.”

The seventh-round pick has a long way to go to fully realize his dream and knows he must buck the odds. Only 32 players selected 200th or later in the past 15 entry drafts have appeared in an NHL game.

For now, he’s enjoying his status as a Red Wings prospect and the perks that come with it. That included an opportunity at development camp to be on the ice with Pavel Datsyuk, the 171st selection in the 1998 draft who went on to fashion a Hall of Fame career.

“I got the chance to skate with him when I was younger at one of his camps,” Baker said during camp last month at Little Caesars Arena. “Seeing him out there now, trying to teach me something, that was pretty cool.”

Continued (paywall)

Quoting the introduction:

On this episode the boys are joined by long time Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard. With 500+ games and nearly 250 wins behind one of the most historic franchises in sports history, you know he has some incredible stories. He talks about legends like Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay being in the locker room, backing up Hasek, a hilarious Mike Babcock story and much more. Before the interview the boys get into who will score more, Stamkos or Guentzel, some Draisaitl rumors, Olympic talk and much more.

Interview Starts ▶️ 1:40:-00

I’m hesitant to do these fundraising posts, but…

We’re approximately $640 into a $5,500 fundraising effort, and we haven’t even covered the amount that the Bluehost and Jetpack server fees are going to cost later this month, never mind the $4,500 or so that it’s going to take to actually get up to Traverse City.

As such, it’s time to get down to business. I know that TMR restarted at a time of year that was not ideal for reader responses, but we’re trying very hard to fundraise for the purposes of both ensuring TMR’s future (via paying for the server fees) and then (hopefully) send me and my 82-year-old Aunt Annie up to Traverse City to cover the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and main training camp.

That doesn’t happen without you. And now I need your help, because we’re just over a calendar month away from training camp, and things are very, very quiet.

Continue reading Fun with fundraising

The “Cam & Strick” podcast will have an interesting guest tomorrow:

Jimmy Howard is unanimous with Wings hockey, and he’s got the stories to back it up 🐙🧱 pic.twitter.com/0GG7volft0

— The Cam & Strick Podcast (@CamandStrick) August 5, 2024

Former Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser had to retire due to back issues, and today, the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan reports that DeKeyser has been forced to sue the insurance company that’s handling disability payments regarding his career-ending injury:

Former Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser is suing HCC Life Insurance Company for $680,000 over disability payments.

The 15-page lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, accuses “a breach of the terms of a professional hockey player’s occupation-specific and sport disability insurance contract.”

“The purpose of this case is to compel Defendant HCC Life Insurance Company to provide certain long-term disability benefits in the amounts and at the coverage levels promised, as well as for an accounting, and an award of attorney fees and costs incurred as a consequence of Defendant’s failure to do so,” the lawsuit said.

DeKeyser, 34, from Macomb Township, joined the Wings in 2013 and played through the 2021-22 season.

Continued

Per an email from the Detroit Red Wings:

The biggest drop of the summer is about to happen and you know what that means… single-game tickets are about to go on sale!

Break out the calendars and get ready to score the best seats against your favorite opponents starting on Monday, August 12 at 10 a.m. EST!

A communication will be sent out with a ticket link prior to the start of the sale. Thank you as always and LET’S GO RED WINGS!

Of brief Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. We’ll all nod along to SI’s Jon Alfano’s list of “One move every Atlantic Division team must make,” even though he gives the Red Wings two to-do list items…

Detroit Red Wings: Detroit has two massive restricted free agents to sign in leading scorer Lucas Raymond and top defenseman Moritz Seider, and with $17.6 million in remaining cap space (according to PuckPedia), they should be able to get it done. The goalie trio of Ville Husso, Alex Lyon and free agent pickup Cam Talbot is also cause for concern, but that issue probably requires an internal solution.

2. Bleacher Report’s Joe Yerdon does not have much faith in the Red Wings improving this upcoming season. He suggests that fans should “sell” in terms of buying or not believing that the NHL’s rebuilding teams will improve in 2024-2025:

Continue reading Four things: a Red Wings ‘to-do list,’ ‘selling’ on improvement, McIsaac heads to Czechia and an unlikely trade rumor

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted an article in which Christian Fischer discusses the reasons why he re-signed with the Red Wings after briefly testing the unrestricted free agent marketplace.

Fischer explains his self-belief and his hopes that the Red Wings make the playoffs this upcoming season:

“I pride myself a lot with how I’ve gotten to where I am, how I got into this league and how I’ve sustained my career,” Fischer said. “A big emphasis is just playing the right way. I probably do it as a service to myself and I’m sure my agent would agree. Point total, that’s obviously a huge thing in contract stuff, but I pride myself on being a really good teammate, always showing up and working my ass off.”

That attitude is a big reason why the Red Wings re-signed Fischer, according to Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman.

“He’s a very popular player on our team,” Yzerman said about Fischer. “He’s very versatile on the ice. His character, personality and the role he’s going to play on our team are the biggest factors in bringing him back.”

As outgoing as he is competitive, Fischer helped Detroit finish last season with its most wins (41) and points (91) since 2015-16. He said the Red Wings are more determined than ever to improve this season after just missing out on the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“I don’t think anyone was too happy with how things shook out (last season),” Fischer said. “As athletes and hockey players, every returning guy probably has a little bit more motivation this summer to take that next step. Whatever it may be, just to improve your game. It doesn’t get any closer than coming down to a tiebreaker.”

Continued; Fischer is far from a superstar player, but good foot soldiers are incredibly important to teams, too. Fischer fills an enthusiastic grinder’s spot while giving his best effort 100% of the time, and that level of commitment is necessary in order to build a winning team.

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the Red Wings’ decision to allow Axel Sandin Pellikka to develop at home in Sweden this upcoming season.

There’s a certain percentage of the fan base that’s pretty miffed that ASP will be spending another season with Skelleftea AIK, but the 19-year-old defenseman told Khan that he’s looking forward to spending one final season in the SHL…

“It’s nice to be home another year,” Sandin Pellikka said last month at Red Wings development camp. “I know the coaches well. I know my teammates well. We have a good team. We’re going to go for the gold next year (at the World Juniors) So, stay home and develop for another year.”

And Red Wings assistant director of player development Daniel Cleary explained why the team believes that Sandin Pellikka will benefit from playing with Skelleftea this upcoming season instead of attempting to break into the Grand Rapids Griffins’ stacked defense:

“Axel is probably one of Sweden’s most important players on defense,” Danny Cleary, Red Wings assistant director of player development, said. “It’s hard for a defenseman to play (in Grand Rapids). He’s going to play quite a bit in Skelleftea, they’re going to have a good team, he’s going to run the power play. He’s going to play quite a bit with the puck.

“Axel is a very smart player. He moves well. We just don’t see the harm in it (staying in Sweden). No sense rushing him. We got a pretty good D in Grand Rapids. Got a couple D graduating, but we have some good players still down there. Not to say Axe couldn’t come over and play in Grand Rapids, no problem, but Skelleftea is a real good development place, it’s a good league, it’s a good city, well run. Axe will be back in Ottawa at the World Juniors again (this year). He’s a really talented player.”

Continued (paywall); Sandin Pellikka will be developing under the watchful eyes of director of player development Niklas Kronwall, Vice-President of hockey operations Nicklas Lidstrom, and even Henrik Zetterberg, who works with the Red Wings from time to time in an informal capacity.

ASP really will run Skelleftea’s power play, he’s going to be playing for another season against men, and he’ll work on filling out that 5’11,” 185-pound frame. At this point, the pluses of spending one more season in Sweden out-weigh the pluses of ASP playing in North America. Sometimes the best road to the NHL isn’t a direct one.

The fact that ASP can develop alongside Michael Brandsegg-Nygard is just the cherry on top of the cake.