FYI from Grand Rapids:

UPDATE: The Red Wings on Monday recalled defenseman Dan Renouf and reassigned blueliner Seth Barton to GR. In addition, the Red Wings reassigned goaltender Kaden Fulcher to Toledo (ECHL) and netminder Victor Brattstrom to GR.

Details >> https://t.co/Kjl1LlDj0S pic.twitter.com/PlwyKNtyde— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) December 6, 2021

With Marc Staal in COVID protocol, and 3 games upcoming on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday…

UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today recalled defenseman Dan Renouf from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

Details: https://t.co/dGQ2I8mql6 pic.twitter.com/xsiruSnS0i— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 6, 2021

The Wings are likely to recall a defenseman from GR, even with Danny DeKeyser heading back into the lineup, with 3 games in 4 nights this week:

UPDATE: The #RedWings have placed defenseman Marc Staal in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 6, 2021

Ilitch Holdings found someone to replace Chris Granger as their president:

Accomplished executive Chris McGowan was announced as the President and CEO of Ilitch Sports + Entertainment on Monday, the new business division of the Red Wings, Tigers, The District Detroit, Olympia Parking & the Ilitch joint venture in 313 Presents.

Welcome aboard, Chris! pic.twitter.com/Rqga2BkX6s— 313Presents (@313Presents) December 6, 2021

Chris McGowan Introduced as President and Chief Executive Officer of Ilitch Sports Entertainment https://t.co/yXsqljk5s0— Ilitch Companies (@IlitchCompanies) December 6, 2021

Here’s the press release:

IceHockeyGifs on Twitter offers us a glance behind the paywall…

Swedish Ice Hockey Association’s Olof Östblom doesn’t think they will be allowed to add Lucas Raymond to Sweden’s Olympic roster.

”-The signals we’re getting indicates it’s not that easy.”

No final decision has been made by the IIHF yet however. #LGRW https://t.co/gWCmqooisa— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) December 6, 2021

Ostblom also spoke to Hockeynews.se’s Mattias Ek, explaining that the Swedes want to revise their “long list” of 55 players to add both Raymond and some European players who have impressed them. They haven’t received an answer from the IIHF as of yet.

From the Red Wings…

FYI:

You can watch the whole interview with @alexned_ on YouTube!

The episode was brought to you by @DoorDash and @hockeyfightshttps://t.co/ASLGXwgDKT pic.twitter.com/szYYXWGELQ— Dropping the Gloves (@dropping_gloves) December 6, 2021

The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted an article in which he discusses the Red Wings’ NCAA-playing prospects, including Boston University forward Robert Mastrosimone and University of Denver forward Carter Mazur:

The real surprise of the early NCAA season, however, (at least as far as the Red Wings are concerned) is at the University of Denver, where freshman forward Carter Mazur is off to a scorching start for the Pioneers. With four more points this weekend, Mazur — a 2021 third-rounder — has 14 points in his first 14 college hockey games.

Now, it’s important to note that Mazur is a year older than a typical freshman at 19. He was selected by Detroit this past summer as a re-entry into the draft, so he’s had a bit more time to marinate before debuting in college.

Still: Mazur’s production speaks for itself. His 14 points include eight goals, and he’s averaging nearly three shots on goal per game to rank near the top of the team.

“I think he’s gotten better every week,” Denver coach David Carle said prior to this weekend’s games.

In particular, Carle pointed to Mazur’s confidence rising, noting he was holding onto pucks more, getting to the net and “attacking inside the dots” — all signs of a player getting increasingly comfortable at a new level.

Continued (paywall)

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an early-morning column which discusses the Red Wings’ overall play and their ability to win in a gritty fashion, with St. James noting that the Red Wings have turned things around since their 0-3-and-1 road trip in early November:

They used a three-day break to refresh themselves and, as rookie defenseman Moritz Seider put it, “decided to be great.” That’s led to a season high on the swagger meter as the Wings take their 12-9-3 record up against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

Sunday was a chance for a little respite after grinding out a 4-3 victory in overtime Saturday against the New York Islanders.

“It wasn’t our best game,” Seider said, “but we have that swagger now, and that confidence in our abilities to stick together and win those games somehow.”

That echoed what Dylan Larkin said Tuesday after the Wings won at Boston, which came after home victories against the St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres, and was followed the next night by a home victory against the Seattle Kraken. To coach Jeff Blashill, who has emphasized the Wings’ need to finish close games, that’s a sign of growth.

“Two things I like when I hear that is, one, our guys understand that we have to keep getting better, and they’re not satisfied… our game isn’t nearly perfect and we need to keep striving for that perfection,” he said. “But with that said I do think you can work and compete yourself past mistakes, and I think we have done that.

“And I think that’s part of grinding out wins — part of it is staying with it, part of it is stepping up in big moments and we’ve had all those things, whether it be a goalie or a player making a big play in overtime — guys have stepped up in big moments.”

Continued (paywall)

The Associated Press has already posted a bare-bones preview of tomorrow night’s Red Wings-Predators game, which takes place at 7 PM EST Tuesday, and airs on ESPN+/Hulu/97.1 FM exclusively:

Nashville Predators (13-10-1, third in the Central) vs. Detroit Red Wings (13-9-3, fourth in the Atlantic)

…

BOTTOM LINE: Nashville visits the Detroit Red Wings after the Predators knocked off Montreal 4-3 in overtime [Saturday night].

The Red Wings are 9-2-2 on their home ice. Detroit averages 8.2 penalty minutes per game, the 10th-most in the Eastern Conference. Filip Hronek leads the team serving 24 total minutes.

The Predators are 5-5-1 on the road. Nashville is 10th in the Western Conference averaging 4.9 assists per game, led by Mikael Granlund with 0.9.

The match-up Tuesday is the first meeting this season for the two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Moritz Seider leads the Red Wings with 14 assists and has 17 points this season. Dylan Larkin has six goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Detroit.

Granlund leads the Predators with 26 points, scoring five goals and adding 21 assists. Filip Forsberg has seven goals and two assists over the last 10 games for Nashville.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Wings: 6-3-1, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.6 assists, 2.8 penalties and 6.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .912 save percentage.

Predators: 5-5-0, averaging 2.8 goals, 4.7 assists, 4.9 penalties and 13.8 penalty minutes while allowing 2.7 goals per game with a .908 save percentage.