Category: Uncategorized

The Athletic’s Joe Smith profiles new NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh

The Athletic’s Joe Smith posted a profile of new NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh, who is attempting to restore a level of trust in his union:

In his introductory news conference in late March, Walsh vowed to bring a “different” style of leadership. And it feels like Walsh is going with a more personal approach. He’s starting his fall tour of team visits next week, heading to Las Vegas for the Golden Knights’ season opener. He plans to meet with every player in the NHL by Christmas. He went to the BioSteel camp in Halifax this summer and the European NHL Media Tour in Stockholm. He’s checked in with many players by phone.

And Walsh is giving them all his personal cell phone number.

The NHL and NHLPA jointly established and launched a hotline, operated by an independent third-party provider, that enables players, staff and anyone else in the NHL ecosystem to report unethical behavior and misconduct. This is separate from the line established by the long-standing NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.

But it was telling that Babcock’s behavior was sparked by a whistleblowing player going to “Spittin’ Chiclets,” not the league. Walsh hopes to change that, saying he’s already heard concerns from players on other issues.

“It’s about building relationships,” Walsh said. “I’m working with some players who have come up to me with other things. They didn’t go through the hotline or a podcast; it came directly to me or (Hainsey). Let’s be honest: I’m still fairly early in this journey. So the players know me directly or by hearsay or through somebody. By Christmas, I’m going to have met every single player in the NHL at least once — and a lot of them will be multiple times. After our fall tour, there’s no reason for a player to not call us directly.

“That’s what we’re going to do here.”

Continued (paywall)

Red Wings-Penguins preseason morning skate stuff: Pens skate in P’burgh; prospective Wings roster posted

The Red Wings did not hold a morning skate today, so the Pittsburgh Penguins are our subject ahead of tonight’s game between Pittsburgh and Detroit at PPG Paints Arena (7 PM EDT on DetroitRedWings.com and 97.1 the Ticket):

And the Red Wings haven’t officially posted their roster, but…

FYI:

Big update: the Red Wings did hold a morning skate after all:

Morning mishmash: On Chiarot, Hutchinson, Danielson and the Kraken Plan

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

  1. Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff took note of Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde’s defense of Ben Chiarot, who was -31 last season:

“He can put a lot of value in,” Lalonde said. “Beating the Ben Chiarot drum, he’s extremely valuable to us. Even last year, fielding some questions on some of his underlying numbers and plus/minus, we think he’s very valuable to us in a lot of ways.”

At 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, Chiarot is capable of playing a heavy game and being a physical presence between the boards. That was an element that was in short supply with the Red Wings last season. Looking to some other numbers, those digits are telling a story of how Chiarot was delivering the goods in other areas of the game.

He was second among the club’s rearguards in hits (147) and blocked shots (163). Chiarot was parrying pucks at a team-high per-game rate of 6.24.

“I think that’s one of the reasons why people are getting away from that black and white plus/minus,” Lalonde said. “I still think there’s some value to it. But at the same time, there’s a reason that black and white plus/minus is getting faded out around the league. He was culpable for some of it but a lot of it was circumstantial.”

2. The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an article regarding Wings try-out goaltender Michael Hutchinson:

Continue reading Morning mishmash: On Chiarot, Hutchinson, Danielson and the Kraken Plan

Tweets of note: Pens’ roster for tonight’s game; Red Wings to stream Sportsnet Pittsburgh feed

The Detroit Red Wings will play their sixth preseason game tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins (7 PM EDT start on Sportsnet Pittsburgh, 97.1 FM). Here is tonight’s Penguins roster…

And it appears that the Red Wings may stream the game on DetroitRedWings.com:

Late-night Red Wings-Blackhawks quips and quotes

Okay, I posted my Tweetcap of the Red Wings’ 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday evening, and the other media folks posted recaps sans quotes, including MLive’s Ansar Khan, the Free Press’s Kirkland Crawford (photo gallery attached) and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan (photo gallery attached).

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills also added a few comments from coach Derek Lalonde and forward Joe Veleno…

Lalonde on dressing more inexperienced players Tuesday night: “It’s good. It’s opportunities for some of our inexperienced guys in a tougher situation, no different than what we faced at home with the some of the lines we faced. Some of our younger d-men had some experience against some of these top-caliber-type forwards.”

Lalonde on Veleno: “I love the finish on both those plays. That’s a very good sign and good game from Joe. Had some looks and a big impact on the game, which was great.”

Veleno on his two-goal performance: “I felt good tonight. I think our line was clicking. We had some good chances and good o-zone time. We showed some flashes. Now we just got to keep going and be consistent here all throughout camp.”

Veleno on the pushback from Detroit’s younger players: “I thought we did a pretty good job of fighting back. They had pretty much their full lineup, a couple players missing.”

And Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff pondered the timing of goaltending try-out Andrew Hutchinson’s inclusion on the Red Wings’ training camp roster:

Continue reading Late-night Red Wings-Blackhawks quips and quotes

Red Wings-Blackhawks preseason quick take: It’s a Tweetcap as the Red Wings lose 4-2

The Detroit Red Wings kicked off a busy stretch of 3 preseason games to be played over the course of 3 nights tonight in Chicago, where they lost a 4-2 decision to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Chicago opened the scoring only 2:09 into the 1st period, scoring the 1-0 goal via one Corey Perry:

The Hawks rushed out to a 6-2 shot advantage before Detroit was able to push back some 10:00 into the 1st, narrowing the shot deficit to 7-5…

But William Wallinder took a holding penalty at 10:03, and Chicago headed to the power play.

Detroit killed the penalty.

As the game continued, the Red Wings were icing the following lines:

Continue reading Red Wings-Blackhawks preseason quick take: It’s a Tweetcap as the Red Wings lose 4-2

Comparing the Red Wings and Blackhawks’ rebuilding processes

The Chicago Tribune’s Phil Thompson posted an article which discusses comparisons and contrasts between the rebuilding Red Wings and the rebuilding Blackhawks. It’s at least interesting pregame reading:

Last season Detroit finished 12 games out of wild-card contention; the Hawks, 36. Both franchises consider themselves in the midst of a rebuild, although at different points in the spectrum.

The Hawks are early enough in their makeover that fans can fill their heads with the illusions that optimism and high draft picks bring.

The Wings once harbored similar hopes, but they haven’t cracked the playoffs since 2017. General manager Steve Yzerman’s rebuild keeps rebuilding.

In a poetic twist, one player symbolizes where the Hawks and Wings are on their respective roads to contention: Alex DeBrincat.

For the Hawks, trading DeBrincat, who wasn’t scheduled to play Tuesday, to Ottawa in July 2022 cemented the notion the teardown wasn’t just talk (or temporary).

For the Wings, trading to acquire DeBrincat from Ottawa on July 9 (for a package that includes Dominik Kubalik and a 2024 conditional first-round draft pick), is an acknowledgment they need to go big to get over the hump.

“We did trade a first-round pick, which I am loathe to trade first-round picks, particularly at the start of the season because you don’t know what pick you’re trading, but we did that to acquire Alex DeBrincat, who’s a young player, so he fits into the timeline of our team,” Yzerman said, according to mlive.com. “But we’re still in a phase of acquiring talent and letting them develop.”

Continued; there is of course one big difference between Detroit and Chicago, and his name is Connor Bedard.

DHN’s Allen discusses 5 ways in which the Red Wings *might* make the playoffs

In a subscriber-only article, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen lists 5 reasons why the Red Wings might make the playoffs this upcoming season. I’m going with #3 and #4:

3.  Red Wings Will Score More Goals: Coach Derek Lalonde’s group isn’t going to suddenly become a top 10 scoring team. But if Alex DeBrincat nets 35+ plus, Daniel Sprong adds 20, Lucas Raymond scores 25 and Robby Fabbri stays healthy maybe the Red Wings could go from 24th in scoring last season to middle of the pack this season. Surely, Andrew Copp will score more than nine goals.

4.  Sharper Goalie Numbers: Thanks to the addition of James Reimer and Alex Lyon, the Red Wings are deeper at goalie than a year ago. The Red Wings only won 34.6% of their backup goalie starts last season and had an ugly team save percentage of .894. They may decide to keep three goalies this to start the season. They could win more than they lose when they play the backup goalie this season. With an improved defensive group as well, the Red Wings hope, maybe expect, to have a save percentage above .900. If Ville Husso plays like he did in the first half of last season, Detroit owns a shot at the playoffs.

Continued (paywall); I don’t know whether the Red Wings will make the playoffs or not. I have a feeling that it’s a long shot at best. But I hope they are at least playoff-relevant for the vast majority of this upcoming season.

Prospect round-up and catch-up of doom: Sandin Pellikka doing his thing in the SHL; Major Junior hockey underway

Of Red Wings prospect-related note today in Europe:

In the SHL, Anton Johansson’s Leksands IF won 4-1 over Theodor Niederbach’s MoDo Hockey.

Johansson finished even with 2 shots in 14:25 played for Leksand; Niederbach finished at -2 with 1 shot, 1 blocked shot and a penalty taken in 16:28;

And in the DEL, Kevin Bicker finished with a shot on goal and a penalty in 8:19 played as the Frankfurt Lowen won 5-3 over the Schwenniger Wild Wings.

Earlier…Last Thursday…

In the SHL, Johansson finished even in 12:42 played as Leksands IF lost 5-0 to Farjestads BK;

Theodor Niederbach had an assist, finishing even with 2 shots on goal in 14:27 played as MoDo Hockey won 4-3 in overtime over Malmo;

Axel Sandin Pellikka had an assist, finishing even in 14:33 as Skelleftea AIK won 3-1 over HV71.

Aftonbladet reported that Nicklas Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall attended the game. From IceHockeyGifs on Twitter:

Continue reading Prospect round-up and catch-up of doom: Sandin Pellikka doing his thing in the SHL; Major Junior hockey underway

A bit about Joe Veleno from THN’s Stockton

Among the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton’s game-day notes:

After the non-game group practiced this afternoon, Joe Veleno gave a reflective interview on his path toward personal growth and the threshold between being an up-and-comer and an established pro in the modern NHL.

When asked where he’d like to grow his own game heading into his third full season of pro hockey, Veleno responded, “It’s being in better spots on the ice, being in better positions in the offensive zone, getting to those hard areas, getting a couple of those extra goals in front of the net.  And obviously, you don’t want to cheat the game…I definitely want to be on the right side of the puck and strong defensively.  Being good defensively that’ll transition to more touches with the puck offensively.”  

It’s a similar message to one David Perron offered earlier in camp as advice for young players—that despite how it might sometimes seem, defensive solidity will feed the attacking game young players so often want to play.

While he wants to improve his productivity, Veleno is adamant that taking the next step for his game is less about lighting up the score sheet and instead more based on earning a greater role through 200-foot reliability.

“I had 20 points last year and would like to increase that total for sure,” Veleno said.  “I definitely want to stick to my game and stick to the strengths of my game.  I gotta take care of my own end first, being responsible defensively and kind of gaining that trust to be on the ice a lot more.  And if I’m on the ice a lot more, I’ll get more chances.”

Continued; Veleno’s 23 and he’s on a 1-year, $850,000 deal. He’s in his “prove it” year, no doubt. With younger players with more offensive upside knocking on the door, Veleno needs to prove that he’s worth an NHL spot.