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Here we go, Tarasenko! 2 years, $9.5 million for the scoring forward

Updated 2x at 6:30 PM: The Red Wings have signed Vladimir Tarasenko to a 2-year, $9.5 million contract while I was writing about prospects:

He’s 32, and at $4.75 million, the 23-goal-scorer isn’t what he was as a 25-year-old, but he’s going to help the top six recover from the loss of David Perron with a lot more speed and sniping.

Continue reading Here we go, Tarasenko! 2 years, $9.5 million for the scoring forward

Khan: Cam Talbot wants to earn the starter’s job

MLive’s Ansar Khan filed an article discussing Cam Talbot’s conference call with the media yesterday afternoon, and Khan noted that Talbot fully believes that he can assume the starting goaltender’s role here in Detroit:

“Absolutely,” Talbot, who signed for two years at an average annual value of $2.5 million, said. “That’s one of the reasons why I chose to sign here. There’s going to be competition no matter what between three or four of us. I feel healthy and good even at my age. I played 54 games last year, made an All-Star appearance. I still feel like I got a lot to give. That’s one of the biggest reasons why I wanted a two-year deal to come in and try to help a team win and compete for starts.”

Talbot went 27-20-6 for the Los Angeles Kings, with a 2.48 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. He wasn’t sharp in the first-round playoff series against Edmonton, allowing 16 goals in the first three games (1-2) before being replaced by David Rittich, who lost the next two resulting in the team’s quick exit.

The Kings traded for Darcy Kuemper and moved on from Talbot, who was surprised the Red Wings called because they have Husso and Alex Lyon, who played 44 games, a heavier workload than he was accustomed.

“That internal competition is good for everyone,” Talbot said. “It pushes us. It pushes the goalie coaches to try to make us better. But it gives the team confidence in both of the guys that are in there. And when they see us battling hard for that spot, they’re going to want to play that much harder for us in front of us.”

Continued

A trio of Tweets from the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp

Of note from the Detroit Red Wings’ third day of the Summer Development Camp:

Update: Make it a quartet:

Shapiro notes that the Augustine’s gloves match his pads…for now…

Red Wings goaltender Trey Augustine is a bit of a hybrid goalie in that he’s worn different pads and gloves for the majority of his career…But EP Rinkside’s Sean Shapiro reports in his “Shap Shots” blog that the Vaughn glove and blocker that Augustine prefers may have to go to the way of the dodo for his sponsorship deal with True by Lefevre:

I spoke with Augustine about his equipment during the season, particular the Vaughn glove. He really liked the break of the Vaughn glove, and at the time hadn’t found a similar fit or comfort from True, which I know has pushed to sponsor the goalie.

And while it’s common to see mismatched equipment in a local beer league game, mismatched gear in the NHL simply doesn’t happen. To my knowledge, Jake Allen was the last NHL goalie to use a mixed up set, using a Brian’s glove and True pads before switching completely to Brian’s last season.

For Augustine, to get the full financial benefit of a gear sponsorship, he’ll have to match his pads and gloves before reaching the NHL. He was smart when I asked him about it on Wednesday, saying he didn’t want to comment on whether the Vaughn glove was still his go-to choice.

Continued (paywall)

Tweets of note: Dan Cleary speaks with the media at the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp

Red Wings director of player development Daniel Cleary is speaking with the media at the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp:

Tweets from Day 3 of the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp

The Detroit Red Wings are engaged in the third day of skill development, power skating coaching and off-ice learning at the team’s annual Summer Development Camp. I’ll post a repository of the Tweets regarding Day 3 here:

Again, Datsyuk works back home in a developmental role with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, so he’s looking to learn some stuff from the Red Wings’ other development camp coaches, too.

The BELFOR Training Center is much, much more like a superhero’s secret underground lair than it is a basement.

Continue reading Tweets from Day 3 of the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp

Tweet of note: ‘Where were you when Steve Yzerman retired?’

I was in Chicago with my cousin Dan, listening to Steve Yzerman’s retirement press conference online while trying to transcribe it for my MLive blog. It was a sad day:

Regarding the best of the ‘leftovers’

The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood posted an article which discusses 3 still-unrestricted-free-agent forwards which could help the Red Wings address their scoring issues, including Vladimir Tarasenko, Jack Roslovic and Tyler Johnson. Here’s what Eargood has to say about the #1 choice, Tarasenko:

Fresh off a Stanley Cup win with the Florida Panthers, Vladimir Tarasenko is still on the market as a free agent. Even at 32, he could bring scoring punch with his big shot and nifty stickhandling.

At his age, there’s no telling if Tarasenko can match his totals season to season, but last year, he put up 55 points in 76 regular season games with Ottawa and Florida. In the postseason, he scored nine points in the Panthers’ playoff run. He isn’t the same 35 to 40 goal scorer he was at his prime, but Tarasenko still shoots well, and this Detroit could use another capable shooter in the middle six to diversify its options.

Tarasenko could play on the second line, but his best usage would be as a shooter on the third line alongside a potential rerun of the Andrew Copp and Michael Rasmussen duo. Whereas Christian Fischer made that third line a hard, checking unit, Tarasenko could give it some well-rounded offense through his shot. And he wouldn’t be a complete aberration to that line’s heavy play, as his game has picked up more physicality as he has aged. That was part of why he could be so effective down the lineup with the Panthers, where he became less of an offensive focal point and more so offensive depth. The Red Wings don’t have Florida-level talent around him, but a similar third line role could net a similar source of scoring.

Right now, AFP Analytics projects Tarasenko to make $4,171,200 for two seasons on his next contract. Detroit probably can’t afford anything close to that while still signing its RFAs, though a trade — particularly of a goalie — might free up enough cap space.

Continued; I’d love to see the Wings add Tarsenko, but the rumor mill suggests that he’s interested in a reunion with the Panthers. The most intriguing candidate might be Tyler Johnson, who could fill the skates of David Perron.