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A bit of optimism regarding the Wings’ cap situation going forward

Pro Hockey Rumors’ Brian LaRose posted a “deep dive” regarding the Red Wings’ salary cap expenditures, and among his observations are the following:

Looking Ahead: Despite quite the spending spree by Yzerman this summer, cap space isn’t an issue for Detroit which is well-positioned to absorb the bonuses that Raymond and Seider are likely to hit.  If they’re in a position to add at the trade deadline, they should be a team to keep an eye on as they can take on some contracts and have a decent prospect pool to deal from.

While the Red Wings will have around 10 roster spots to fill next summer, they should have around $30MM to work with to fill them, putting them in a good position to take a swing at adding another core piece.  Longer-term, they’re similarly well-positioned as a lot of their signings have been medium-term fillers.  It has been a very slow build in Detroit but more spending sprees to build their roster should be on the horizon.

Continued

Michael Rasmussen appears on ‘The Red and White Authority’

Enjoy:

Stockton: Perron is leaner and meaner

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton wrote about David Perron’s minor transformation this past offseason:

Now 35 years old and entering his 17th NHL season, David Perron knows he can’t get ready for a new year the way he might have at 23.

“I talked with Alex Tanguay at my end-of-year meeting, and he mentioned himself that in the later years of his career, he wished that he maybe dropped five, six, seven pounds and made sure he showed up to camp in incredible shape, and that’s exactly what I did over the summer,” Perron explains to the press after a Friday morning practice. 

“I went from probably 200, 202 [pounds], and I’m at probably 194, 195 right now…I feel really good right now. Just working through those first couple days of soreness and then I’m gonna really start pushing…It’s one thing to play 3-on-3 in the summer, and there’s no physical plays, but I think you saw in the first two days, guys are trying to get physical to really increase the pace, and that’s what I’m out there to do.”

When asked what his motivation was, the Sherbrooke, Quebec-native quips cutting a few pounds “just to be able to follow Larks [Dylan Larkin] around.”  In a moment of greater sincerity, he offers, “I don’t want to just take on a leadership role and just do that in the room. I want to be a guy that does it on the ice too.”

Continued

Tweets of note: Buccigross on Augustine and the Wings on ‘social’ pressures

Of Red Wings-related Twitter note this morning:

This is cute, too:

HSJ in the morning: DeBrincat’s looking to bounce back this season

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted her customary morning article, and she discusses the Red Wings’ addition of Alex DeBrincat to the Wings’ roster this morning. As St. James notes, DeBrincat sounds like he had a much rougher season in Ottawa last year than he let on:

The Wings acquired the 25-year-old forward in a trade with the Ottawa Senators in July, and then signed him to a four-year, $31.5 million contract. DeBrincat comes to the Wings off a 27-goal season with the Senators, after twice reaching 41 goals during five seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks.

DeBrincat is confident he can recapture that 40-goal form in a new uniform.

“A lot of it is different looks in different situations,” DeBrincat said Friday. “I’ve got to focus a little more on bearing down when I get my chances. I think last year I gave up a lot of chances, maybe got lazy on it or whatever it may be, hit a post, stuff like that. I think a lot of it was like that. I’m pretty comfortable getting back to that form and obviously, we have a lot of great players here to play with, so I’ll just try to find the space out there and they’ll get me the puck.”

DeBrincat made a point of noting that he wants to bring a better 200-foot game to Detroit: “Last year I didn’t have the best two-way game, but in past years I’ve been a pretty good two-way forward, and that’s what I have to get back to. That creates so many more chances for me and my linemates.”

Continued; I find it interesting that both DeBrincat and David Perron have mentioned that playing a strong defensive structure leads to more offensive plays.

Duff on a heavier, stronger Lucas Raymond

Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond’s mother happens to be a nutritionist, so perhaps it’s not as surprising as we think that Raymond “bulked up” this past summer. As Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff notes, the 5’11,” 188-pound Raymond gained 12 pounds of muscle during the Wings’ lengthy offseason, and Raymond believes that he’ll be able to withstand more battles in the corners as a result:

“For sure you want to play with an edge and be physical,” Raymond said. “That was for sure one of the reasons (for bulking up). You want to be able to protect yourself, look after yourself in that way. I think this will help for sure. I think it was also me feeling like I could get more power out of it. I’ve felt a huge difference in that, which I feel real comfortable with. That was probably the main reasons.”

Raymond, 21, slipped from 23 goals as a rookie to 17 last season. While adding muscle to his frame, he was cognizant of doing so in a manner that wasn’t going to hinder his quickness or elusiveness on the ice.

“It isn’t bulking up in just the sense of getting bigger,” Raymond said. “It was bulking up in the sense where I want to get stronger and grow muscles. I think if you can combine that and keep the same lean but gain a bigger muscle mass, that’s helping you in every aspect. Happy I was able to do that.”

Raymond isn’t the only person with the Red Wings noticing the difference it’s making.

“The first three steps, it’s really wowed from what he was at the end of last season to how quick he looks now,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. “He’s put on some weight. He’s got the explosive power to go with it. It’s good to see.”

Continued; Raymond is still growing into his body, as is Moritz Seider. We tend to forget that their developmental curves are still ascending.

Tweets of note: Jeff Petry speaks with Bally Sports Detroit’s John Keating; J.T. Compher interview soon to follow?

Red Wings defenseman Jeff Petry spoke with Bally Sports Detroit’s John Keating today…

We’ll hear from J.T. Compher soon…

And I do not know for the life of me why the Red Wings’ captain thinks that if he uses a blue stick instead of a red one, we will notice it less.