Updated 2x at 1:47 PM: The Red Wings took to the ice at noon today at Little Caesars Arena, hoping to build upon Saturday night’s win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

A two-games-in-two-days series against the Columbus Blue Jackets looms ahead on Monday and Tuesday:

Red Wings practice, host Columbus at noon Monday fresh off victory over Carolina. pic.twitter.com/9e31VsPs1p— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) January 17, 2021

A little practice before tomorrow’s matinee. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/EliazK7Re9— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 17, 2021

The Red Wings also waived Alex Biega at 12 PM EST to make room for Christian Djoos on the roster…

While we waited for the Wings’ beat writers to take part in Zoom calls, Field Level Media posted a Wings-Blue Jackets preview (Monday’s game takes place at 12 PM EST due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and it will air on NBCSN):

Per Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, the Red Wings have waived Alex Biega for the purposes of placing him on the Taxi Squad. This is not surprising after the Wings acquired Christian Djoos off the waiver wire:

Brett Ritchie (CGY) is also on waivers after signing a contract. Alex Biega (DET) and Joel Kellman (SJ), too.— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) January 17, 2021

#RedWings Biega on waivers. If he clears tomorrow at noon, he can be assigned to @griffinshockey or the taxi squad. https://t.co/NdBev1cpxy— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 17, 2021

I could see him going to Grand Rapids once the AHL season begins, but I don’t think that the Wings will screw him over (AHL’ers are not being paid right now).

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. The Free Press’s Helene St. James took note of Dylan Larkin and coach Jeff Blashill’s comments regarding the impact of the Red Wings‘ newer recruits…

“A year ago when we got scored on, it felt like we got scored on 10 times,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “When they tied the game up a year ago, it felt like we were going to lose. Instead, we did a good job of just keeping playing. We come right out and score and that’s a huge response, and we responded again with the game-winning goal. Part of that is fresh faces, part of that is maturity, and part of that is just a long time between seasons.”

Ryan, along with fellow new additions in Vladislav Namestnikov, Troy Stecher, Jon Merrill and Marc Staal provide stability and depth. In Thursday’s opener, new goaltender Thomas Greiss did everything he could to give his teammates a chance to rally.

“I’ve been so impressed,” Larkin said. “I can’t talk enough about their attitudes, their mindset. They’ve all been in big games and they understand that some things are going to go against us, and it’s all right. We’re going to play hard. Troy Stecher playing with the body, Marc Staal blocking shots, Namestnikov blocked a huge shot and had two breakaways. I’ve been very impressed with Mathias Brome and his poise. I’ve just been impressed with all the guys. They love being Red Wings and they’re just hockey players. They want to make plays. They never get discouraged.”

2. And MLive’s Ansar Khan made three observations over the course of a subscriber-only article this morning. Among them:

Of prospect-related note in North America on Saturday:

In the USHL, Chase Bradley had 2 assists, finishing at +2 in the Sioux City Musketeers’ 6-2 win over the Sioux Falls Stampede;

Cross Hanas scored a goal but finished at -3 as his Lincoln Stars lost 7-1 to the Omaha Lancers. Kienan Draper finished even with a shot and 2 minor penalties taken;

Kyle Aucoin finished at +1 with 2 shots as his Tri-City Storm won 5-2 over the Fargo Force;

In NCAA Hockey, Jack Adams did not play in the Providence College Friars’ 3-2 win over Maine;

Patrick Holway finished at -1 with 4 shots in the Merrimack College Warriors’ 2-1 loss to Boston College;

Sam Stange finished even with a blocked shot in the University of Wisconsin Badgers’ 4-0 shutout of the Arizona State University Sun Devils. Ryan O’Reilly did not play for Arizona State.

The Detroit Red Wings earned their first win of the 2020-2021 season on Saturday night, earning a hard-fought (if sloppy) 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Wings split their 2-game series against Carolina, and a 2-game, back-to-back series with the 0-and-2 Columbus Blue Jackets lurks on Monday (at 12 PM) and Tuesday.

In terms of rounding up the recaps that are available, the Hurricanes were particularly disappointed by their loss–and the way it started–as they told CarolinaHurricanes.com’s Michael Smith:

Here’s Bobby Ryan speaking with Fox Sports Detroit’s Larry Murphy and “birthday boy” John Keating after the Wings’ 4-2 win over Carolina on Saturday night:

Here’s a bit of Mickey Redmond, well, being Mickey Redmond…

Here’s a bit of Dylan Larkin’s post-game interview…

Here’s coach Blashill…

The Detroit Red Wings hoped to avenge their 3-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes as the teams wrapped up a back-to-back series at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.

On top of revenge, the Red Wings wanted to earn a measure of redemption after playing rusty as hell in Thursday’s season-opener–an outing that left Red Wings fans concerned about the team’s trajectory.

The Red Wings answered some questions over the course of a hard-fought, 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. The Wings were still messy, still rusty, still shaky at times, but the Red Wings received both some pop-gun offense from Ryan, Larkin (2) and Fabbri and some fine goaltending from Jonathan Bernier (29 saves) en route to their first win of the season.

Now two games in two days loom against the Columbus Blue Jackets, on Monday at 12 PM and Tuesday at 7:30 PM.

I’m trying out some new things this evening, and the “quick take” may not remain in this format, but I’m hoping that shorter and more “to the point” is more useful for you:

From the Satellite Hotstove on Hockey Night in Canada comes this from Elliotte Friedman:

.@FriedgeHNIC said that Ken Holland reached out to Jimmy Howard, but Howard is happy with his family and is coaching minor hockey. He’s not going to help the Oilers, he’s going to retire in the next couple of days.— George Malik (@georgemalik) January 17, 2021

Sportsnet confirms:

Veteran goalie Jimmy Howard will announce his retirement from the NHL in the coming days, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported during Saturday Headlines on Hockey Night in Canada.

Howard, who turns 37 in March, spent his entire 14-year NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings but was a free agent after not having his contract renewed by the team.

The Syracuse, N.Y. native took over the full-time starting goalie role in Detroit in the 2009-10 season, immediately following back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances by the club. That year, he finished runner-up to Tyler Myers in Calder Trophy voting as the NHL’s top rookie. After 11 consecutive years as the primary starter in Detroit, injuries and the play of Jonathan Bernier saw Howard only appear in 27 games last season, his final year in the league.

In all, Howard appeared in 543 regular season games for the Red Wings and posted a 246-196-70 record with 24 shutouts and a .912 save percentage. His games played and wins totals are both third in franchise history behind only Terry Sawchuk and Chris Osgood. Howard also appeared in 48 playoff games for the Red Wings, and led them to the second round on three separate occasions.

Very briefly: According to HockeyNews.se‘s editorial staff and Gothenburgs-Posten’s Emma Tonnvik and Andreas Johansson, Red Wings prospect Theodor Niederbach both signed an A-league contract with the Frolunda Indians’ men’s team next season, and he’s been loaned out to MODO Ornskoldsvik of the Swedish Allsvenskan for the remainder of the 2020-2021 season.

Niederbach can’t play in the Under-20 league (J20) because it’s been cancelled for the remainder of the year due to coronavirus, and he won’t get a lot of time on the men’s league team this season, so sending the Ornskoldsvik native to MODO makes the most sense for the present moment. His contract with Frolunda will last until 2022, by which time he should be a mainstay on their men’s team.

This is not good news from the New York Post’s Larry Brooks:

If you’re on a two-way contract, were cut by an NHL team and assigned to an NHL taxi squad, you hit the jackpot. Or at least you’re going to be paid 100 percent of your minor league salary. But if you’re on a two-way contract and were assigned to the AHL, well, you’re plumb out of luck.

Because not only won’t you receive so much as a penny leading up to the start of a severely truncated season set to begin on Feb. 5, once the AHL does get underway there is no telling what you will be paid on a prorated contract. There is no current agreement in force between the PHPA (Professional Hockey Players’ Association) and the league’s governing bodies.

Three teams have opted out of 2020-21, leaving 28 clubs to play the season. The schedule will differ by division. Some teams will play as few as 24 games. Others may play as many as 42. Most two-way contracts mandate salaries in the range of $70,000.

You do the math. If players’ pay is strictly prorated, a player on a 24-game team making $70,000 would earn the grand total of $20,487 — before taxes. Players on teams on 42-game schedules would then earn a pre-tax $35,853 that they’d shouldn’t spend in one place.

Come on, man.

And in addition, these players have not been paid since receiving their final 2019-20 paychecks in the middle of April. That’s nine months. It may be nobody’s fault, but there is a crisis consuming the bedrock of the NHL’s development and it is crushing a wave of prospects.

Continued