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The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan asked Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon about Alex Nedeljkovic’s goal and assist registered in last night’s Pittsburgh Penguins win over Buffalo:

“He’s always been great at playing the puck, that’s been a staple in his game,” Lyon said.

For his part, don’t expect Lyon to go out anytime soon and aggressively try to duplicate what Nedeljkovic and Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson, who scored earlier in the season, have done in scoring into empty nets.

“It’s not my thing,” Lyon said of handling the puck. “I’m always trying to get better with it. I know he (Nedeljkovic) has wanted to do that for a long time, so I’m just happy for him. And the assist, too. He was pretty hot, one-and-one, that’s good. (But) it’s not really in my toolbox.

“He was talking about it after the game and how he watched Marty Turco and (Martin) Brodeur and those guys, and they were amazing. It’s just something that I have not been drawn to. So, I’m always trying to get better at it, but no, there’s no huge desire to score a goal. But if I did, it would be cool.”

Penguins players, and Lyon himself, noted Nedeljkovic was only a fight away from earning a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight). And Nedeljkovic came close Friday with that, too.

“Kind of the nature of the goaltending position in 2025,” Lyon said.

Continued

After the morning skate ahead of tonight’s game between the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel Sports Sun/97.1 FM), the Lightning posted clips of defenseman Max Crozier and coach Jon Cooper speaking with the media.

Coach Cooper discusses his relationship with Todd McLellan, and he suggests that the Red Wings are going to be a bit of an enigma in terms of playing against them.

The clips aren’t embeddable, but you can click on the links above to watch the NHL.com-formatted videos.

The Red Wings posted a YouTube video of goaltender Alex Lyon and coach McLellan speaking with the media today:

Per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli:

#NHL players have been notified escrow withholding from checks will be terminated for the remainder of this season starting with Jan. 30 payroll run. Revenue projections indicate amount already withheld will also be returned in full following final season accounting.

Related:…

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 18, 2025

The 21-19-and-4 Detroit Red Wings will play the 24-16-and-3 Tampa Bay Lightning tonight (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel Sports Sun/97.1 FM), and it may be an opportune time to play Tampa Bay.

For the Red Wings, this is the first of a set of back-to-back games, with Detroit traveling to Dallas to play the Stars tomorrow night as well.

I know that not many of you plan on watching the entire game as the Detroit Lions play the Washington Commanders at 8 PM, but I’m just not a football person, so while I want the Lions to win for you and the city’s long-suffering Lions fans, I’m going to be watching the Wings-Bolts game all the way through.

The Bolts won their last game, a 3-2 shootout decision over the Anaheim Ducks, but Tampa is 2-1-and-1 over their last 4 games, and they’re 4-1-and-5 in their past 10 games.

As TampaBayLightning.com’s Benjamin Pierce notes, the Lightning tend to dominate against the Red Wings, at least historically speaking…

Continue reading Red Wings-Lightning morning skate Tweets and game preview: Talbot vs. Vasilevskiy; Cernak out for Bolts

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis attempts to handicap each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams’ trade deadline outlooks, and here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings, after noting the team’s draft picks over the course of the next three seasons:

Detroit Red Wings

2025: 1/2/3/3/5/6/7/7
2026: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7
2027: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7

The playoffs are definitely within reach – but how aggressive will the Red Wings get if they don’t see a path to success? The Wings already have a quality prospect pool with solid options at every position, so they can afford to move picks to get more immediate help. If anything, the Wings need someone who can thrive on the penalty kill and help out a bit offensively, too. Detroit has struggled while down a man and could use some help on the blueline – something they didn’t address adequately enough after shipping out Jake Walman last summer.

Continued; with Erik Gustafsson coming out of hibernation, the Wings’ need for a Shayne Gostisbehere replacement has lessened, but snagging a shut-down defenseman to spare Moritz Seider wouldn’t hurt, and if they can snag a net-crashing power forward, that would help as well.

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton noted a Tweet from Red Wings Prospects which indicates that forward Carter Mazur, who’s missed time this season with both a high ankle sprain and an undisclosed injury, may return to the Griffins’ lineup shortly…

Bob Kaser says Carter Mazur could return as soon as next week. #LGRW #GoGRG

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) January 18, 2025

Per Stockton:

Mazur, whom Detroit selected in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft, has struggled with injury in the early days of his professional career.  A year ago, an injury at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament derailed the start to his season, limiting him to just 60 games.  This year, he has played in just three of Grand Rapids’ 37 games to date, picking up a goal and an assist.

To state the obvious, it’s unfortunate that injuries have unsettled each of Mazur’s first two professional seasons, but that shouldn’t dampen the optimism around the former University of Denver Pioneer’s potential.  Mazur’s game—physical, industrious, and pugnacious with enough skill to wind up just shy of a point-a-game pace at the NCAA level—features lots of qualities that should serve him well in the NHL.

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the successes of the Red Wings’ “youth movement” this morning, spotlighting Simon Edvinsson, Albert Johansson, Marco Kasper and Jonatan Berggren’s strong play under coach Todd McLellan:

“You get excited about your first-round draft picks, all your draft picks,” McLellan said. “You pick them and they come and you’re excited about them. You don’t see a lot of negative aspects in their game. And then they get here and we kind of figure them out a little bit, formulate a plan for them.

“Some develop quicker than others, physically or mentally, and then when they finally get here, you hope that they can fit quickly, that they can find ways to be productive. Not always based on points. But be productive in contributing to a game and if you can be winning while they do that, then I think the process moves a little bit quicker. It does take time and for as much as you try to hurry it, you can’t.”

The Red Wings (21-19-4), 8-1-0 in their past nine, visit Tampa Bay tonight (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network).

Many fans surely were disappointed that Edvinsson, the 6-6 defenseman drafted sixth overall in 2021, played most of last season in Grand Rapids. The extra development time was beneficial. He’s averaging more than 20 minutes, has 17 points despite not playing on the power play, has a plus-8 rating and has been equally effective paired with Moritz Seider, Jeff Petry or Johansson.

Johansson was the odd-man out of the lineup much of the season before being thrust into the lineup after Petry was injured Jan. 2. His first career goal Jan. 10 vs. Chicago proved to be the game-winner and he logged a career-high 18:02 in Thursday’s 5-2 win at Florida.

“Get a couple games in a row helps the confidence for sure,” Johansson said. “Makes it, I wouldn’t say easier, but you’re always in a game mode and tempo. It’s easier when you know where you’re going, playing couple games in a row. Kind of hard to be in and then out and then in again. You want to be in the flow and in games.”

Continued (paywall)

Ahead of tonight’s game between the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders–a NFL playoff game which will probably leave about 10 of us watching the entirety of the Red Wings-Lightning game (7 PM EST on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel Sun/97.1 FM)–the Free Press’s Helene St. James asked several Red Wings about their NFL allegiances:

“We have a big night for us and big night for the Lions, too,” Dylan Larkin, who grew up in Waterford, said. “We’re pulling for those guys and proud to be from Detroit and represent our city and kind of follow what they’ve done and how they’ve represented our sports fans.”

Alex DeBrincat, from Farmington Hills, grew up a Lions fan thanks to his dad, and has rekindled the passion since joining the Wings in the summer of 2023.

“The past couple years since I got into fantasy football, I’ve gotten a lot more into it,” DeBrincat said. “The team being good makes it that much easier to watch.”

The Super Bowl is Feb. 9, the day after the Wings host a matinee against the Lightning, after which the NHL goes on a two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-off tournament. Should the Lions make it, it certainly presents a temptation for an impromptu trip to New Orleans — if not a wholly realistic one.

“I had thought about it, but unfortunately with our schedule, we have to be in Montreal and practice on Monday morning, so not much of a break for us,” Larkin, who will represent the U.S. at the tournament, said. “But I would hope some guys would go if the Lions do make it. “

Continued (paywall); St. James also posted a video of Larkin, DeBrincat, Alex Lyon, Justin Holl and coach Todd McLellan discussing the NFL playoffs:

Former Red Wing Sergei Fedorov has always insisted that Detroit pulled a contract offer (supposedly 5 years at $10 million per season) off the table before he signed a 5-year, $40 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks.

According to the Russian press that I was following way back in 2003 (back in the day, you could still read Sport-Express and Sovetsky Sport, but it took wading through clunky online translations from PROMT), the Red Wings felt that it was Fedorov who walked away from a still-valid contract offer to sign with the Ducks.

Between Fedorov signing the $28 million offer sheet from Carolina in 1998, and the Wings ownership’s belief that he betrayed the team in the summer of 2003…

That’s where you get the still-bitter feelings that have kept #91 out of the rafters in Detroit.

This morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff reports that Fedorov, who left CSKA Moscow’s board of directors, has spoken with Sport-Express.ru’s Yuri Golishak and Aleksandr Kruzhkov about his divorce from the Wings. Per Mr. Duff:

Continue reading Duff on Fedorov and hurt feelings

The Red Wings held a late-afternoon practice at Amalie Arena on Friday, ahead of tomorrow night’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After practice, Simon Edvinsson and coach Todd McLellan spoke with the media, and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spoke with Red Wings coach Todd McLellan regarding the contributions of young players like Simon Edvinsson, Jonatan Berggren, Joe Veleno, Albert Johansson and Marco Kasper of late:

“It’s great when youth can come in and gain confidence and begin to produce,” McLellan said. “It’s not always about points but having an impact on the game. Usually it means the organization is going in the right direction, and the future has a chance to be taken care of. It also pushes others in the lineup to maintain a certain standard of play and maintain their status on the team. There’s a lot of things that can happen when youth arrives.”

McLellan had a pretty good handle on Seider (age 23) and Raymond (22), two players who made an immediate impact in the NHL. Still, McLellan continues to learn more being around them every day. But it’s players like Edvinsson (21), Berggren (24) and Kasper (20) whom McLellan had heard snippets about as prospects in the Wings organization that he’s excited about.

“With Seider and Raymond and those type of players, you knew more about them,” McLellan said. “Simon, getting to know him, he’s everything we thought he would be and even more. The amount of minutes he can handle as a young player is pretty impressive. Berggren and Kasper are two that I didn’t know much about. When you’re drafted fairly high, you have something going for you and I didn’t know what it was. They have found ways to contribute.”

McLellan has found a common characteristic through the young players.

“They’re hungry right now, that group,” McLellan said. “Hungry to play and learn, and that’s a healthy thing.”

Kulfan also spoke with Jonatan Berggren regarding the Wings’ strong play:

“It’s always fun when the team is winning and you’re able to contribute with some offense,” said Berggren, who has scored three of his seven goals this season under McLellan. “Just coming to the rink after a win, than a loss, is a great feeling.”

Continued, with talk of the Wings “traveling well”…