Category: Uncategorized

Lucas Raymond set for an ’empty calorie’ season?

Yahoo Sports’ Jacob Stoller suggests that Lucas Raymond is among the NHL stars facing significant pressure this upcoming season:

Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings: Before we get into Lucas Raymond’s well-documented sophomore slump, we have to keep something in mind. He’s scored 102 points in 152 career NHL games and he just turned 21 in March.

“The fact that he’s never seen the American Hockey League — he jumped right into the National Hockey League — I don’t think people respect how hard that is,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde told reporters back in April.

But despite all of that, there’s no denying Raymond’s dip in production during his second NHL season. After scoring 23 goals and 57 points as a rookie in 82 games — finishing fourth in Calder Trophy voting — Raymond recorded 17 goals and 45 points in 74 games. He was more trigger-shy, too — averaging 1.81 shots per game last season after recording 2.24 per game the year prior. He also recorded a paltry 42.60 Expected Goals-for percentage during 5-on-5 play. Mind you, this is a player who played alongside Dylan Larkin for most of the year.

Yes, the Swede is still young, but he’s also entering the final year of his entry-level contract. If Raymond wants to cash in on a long-term deal, or even a comfortable bridge deal, he’s going to have to show that he’s capable of more and able to bring something to the table every night – even when he’s not scoring points.

Entering camp 12 pounds heavier this year and on the Red Wings’ top line alongside Alex Debrincat and Larkin, the stars appear to be aligning for Raymond’s season. But what if they don’t and Raymond repeats another empty calorie 40-50 point season? It’ll undoubtedly affect his next payday, and there’s little doubt he’s well aware of that.

Continued; no need to freak out about Raymond yet.

More suggestions that the Red Wings aren’t quite good enough to make the playoffs

The Hockey News’s Adam Proteau names the Red Wings as one of three teams whose rosters have not improved enough to make the playoffs:

The first such team is the Detroit Red Wings, who posted a 35-37-10 record last season and finished seventh overall in the Atlantic Division. Wings GM Steve Yzerman added skill and grit to his lineup, most notably with forwards Alex DeBrincat, J.T., Compher, Christian Fischer and Daniel Sprong, defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere, Justin Holl and Jeff Petry, and goalie James Reimer.

When you look at the other Atlantic playoff contenders – Buffalo, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Florida, Toronto and Boston – can you say the Wings have the high-end quality of talent that its opponents do? Stranger things have happened, but on the whole, the answer to that question is “no.” 

The Red Wings need all the stars to line up perfectly to be a post-season team in 2023-24. As we all know, very rarely do all the stars line up perfectly for any team. A fifth- or sixth-place finish is in the cards for them, and that won’t please long-suffering Wings fans, but that’s the sense many NHL observers have for them.

Continued; I’m with coach Lalonde here. Bah, humbug.

Kulfan’s notebook: Could Soderblom *and* Johnny Burgers start the season in Grand Rapids?

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article about Red Wings 2023 1st round draft pick Nate Danielson, but it’s his second topic that you should be reading today:

With forwards Carter Mazur and Matt Luff both out with long-term injuries, it possibly betters the odds for Jonatan Berggren and Elmer Soderblom to make the opening night roster.

Then again, if neither is actually in the lineup but rather a healthy scratch or maybe not seeing meaningful minutes, would it be better for them to play in Grand Rapids? What happens during the exhibition season will answer those questions.

“It’s something we’ll evaluate,” Lalonde said of the Berggren and Soderblom issue. “We’d like to have the luxury of having 13 or 14 forwards. We’re two forwards down long term with the Mazur and Luff injuries. They (Berggren and Soderblom) are very raw in their development. It’s something we’ll evaluate after the eight (exhibition) games.”

Berggren, 23, played in 67 games with the Wings last season, with 15 goals and 13 assists. He got off to a quick start and sparked the Wings offensively, but he tailed off as the season progressed.

Soderblom, 22, made the opening night roster last year as injuries cut into the Wings’ depth. But as those players got healthy, Soderblom’s role diminished and he was returned to Grand Rapids. Soderblom did come back, but he was sent back and eventually saw his season cut short by injury.

Soderblom played 21 games with the Wings, with five goals and three assists.

Continued

Khan on Danielson’s preseason debut

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses Nate Danielson’s preseason debut tonight vs. Pittsburgh (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit Extra/WWJ 950 AM/PittsburghPenguins.com):

“I’m sure there will be a little bit of nerves before the game,” Danielson, who turns 19 on Wednesday, said. “Just pretty excited right now to have the first one.”

Danielson impressed [coach Derek] Lalonde with his 200-foot game in Traverse City during the Prospects Tournament and training camp.

“A lot of the times you’re teaching some of that 200-foot game,” Lalonde said. “I’m told he’s a 200-foot player. You see clips. But pleasantly for me he seems to have a little more offense, a little more deception to his game, his shot, he can make some plays, which is exciting.”

Danielson it not being overwhelmed by instruction.

“At the end of the day, they just want me to go out and play hockey and play the way I can,” he said. “There’s little details that they try to help me with.”

Naturally, the size, strength and skill level of the competition is the biggest difference. The margin for error also is much slimmer.

“You make a mistake it’s probably going to end up in the back of your net,” Danielson said.

Continued

Stockton reviews training camp

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton posted a training camp wrap-up, including this summary of yesterday’s activities:

On the final day of camp, the Red Wings announced three more cuts.  Emmitt Finnie, Detroit’s 2023 seventh rounder, was sent back to the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, while Dean Loukas and Nic Sima were released from their try-out deals.

“We have some good teaching from everything we covered yesterday, and it’ll be a good step into our game tomorrow,” said Lalonde to open his final press availability of camp.

“Even in the Red & White game yesterday, you could see a little more organization with our structure,” Lalonde added of his team’s progress through the five days.  “It’s a small thing, but even our sets and our face-offs, guys were on the same page.  It looked organized; it looked detailed.”

Lalonde noted that experimentation with line combinations and competition for roster spots will continue throughout the eight pre-season games and that the organization would “probably like to have our group by that last exhibition game on that Saturday.”

The second-year head coach also spoke about his not-so-pleasant experience reading some preseason prognostications.

“I’ve stopped reading media because it’s so negative on us,” Lalonde said, setting an us against the world tone to Detroit’s 2023-24 season.  “I think the highest article I read is a 14% chance to make the playoffs.  Everyone’s writing us off, and…it’s not a knock on our guys, it’s just the reality of the division and the conference that we’re in.  We’ll knock the noise away.  It’ll be about our process, just doing things correctly.”

Continued

Mills previews the preseason

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted something of a pre-game set-up ahead of tonight’s game vs. Pittsburgh (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit Extra/950 AM/Pittsburgh Penguins’ website):

The Red Wings will play eight preseason games, featuring two contests each against the Penguins, Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Second-year head coach Derek Lalonde said the home-and-home sets are opportunities for players to prove they belong on Detroit’s Opening Night roster.

“Everyone is going to get plenty of game time,” Lalonde said. “Some more than others, obviously. There will be a purpose to that.”

Overall, Lalonde said he likes the way camp played out.

“Even in the Red & White game, you could see a little more organization with our structure,” Lalonde said. “I know it’s a small thing, but even our sets and face-offs guys were on the same page. It looked organized and detailed. It’s still a huge work in progress.”

Applying lessons learned in Traverse City is what the Red Wings aim to “rinse and repeat” throughout the preseason, according to Lalonde.

“You’re just working off your process of improving from the games and holes within your game,” Lalonde said. “Even from our Red & White game, we’ll be making some improvements, enhancements and where we want to be into Pittsburgh.”

Continued

Red Wings-Penguins morning skate Tweets: Lines, lineups and quotes

Detroit plays Pittsburgh tonight at 7 PM (Bally Sports Detroit Extra/WWJ; streamed on PittsburghPenguins.com). Here’s the Wings’ roster…

And the Penguins’ roster:

Of Twitter-related note from the Wings’ beat writers:

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins morning skate Tweets: Lines, lineups and quotes

Tweets of note: Red Wings post roster, broadcast information for tonight’s game

From the Red Wings: