The Malik Report

This was coming. That’s my “bottom line” thought about the Red Wings and Ken Holland’s decisions to re-sign Mike Green, bring Thomas Vanek back and ink Jonathan Bernier to a generous 3-year contract–that all of this was coming.

When I left the Wings’ summer development camp on Saturday, I understood that Ken Holland was going to put some roadblocks in the faces of the players the team had spent the week promoting, and I knew that from the instant the Wings re-signed Holland himself.

In my opinion, there’s just nothing to be enraged or infuriated about not because Kenny wasn’t gonna do what he does, but instead, precisely because Kenny Holland has never, ever changed his stripes as it relates to padding the roster with veteran players.

It happens every summer, no matter how damn good the young players are, and the only people that can fight the battles against the Old Guardian are the Wings’ young players, not you nor I, so I just try my best to sigh heavily and move on with my day.

I hope that you can find your happy place and know that the enthusiasm I conveyed regarding the Red Wings’ young players this past week is still very real, and that they are still the future, regardless of how many roadblocks Holland places along their path toward the NHL. In the end, talent prevails, and over the long haul, the Wings’ best players will shine through…

It’s just going to take a little longer to get to that bright future than you or I would like, because “our team’s” general manager is one stubborn old codger.

That’s my take, at least.

Filling in some loose ends, Grand Rapids Griffins goalie and Calder Cup winner Jared Coreau is heading to Anaheim…

Former Red Wings goalie Jared Coreau signs a 1-year deal with the Ducks worth $650/$450K.

— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) July 1, 2018

While Valtteri Filppula is not going to end up with the Red Wings, despite strong rumors to the contrary:

Source says #Isles have indeed signed C Valteri Filppula, though team has not confirmed.

— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) July 2, 2018

 

Xavier Ouellet thanked the Red Wings and Griffins on Instagram as he signed a 1-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens today:

Before l talk about how excited l am about signing with the @canadiensmtl , I want to take a second to thank the @detroitredwings organization and the city of Detroit for giving me an opportunity to make my debut in the NHL—it was an amazing experience! The cities of Detroit and Grand Rapids brought me so much. It was an honor to wear the Redwings jersey and I’m sad to leave Michigan behind as I move back home to Montreal. Thanks again to all my teammates, all the fans, and the organization. #detroit #RedWings Maintenant c’est le temps de dire a quel point ma famille et moi sommes excité pour ce nouveau depart à Montreal, la ville ou j’ai grandi, devant le support de ma famille et mes amies. Now l want to say how truly excited my family and l are about this new opportunity in Montreal. A fresh start in my hometown in front of my family and friends is going to be amazing. #montreal @canadiensmtl

A post shared by Xavier Ouellet (@the_xman16) on Jul 1, 2018 at 1:07pm PDT

Of Red Wings-related note this evening:

1. The Associated Press’s Stephen Whyno penned an article regarding today’s Red Wings’ free agent signings…

Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff chimes in on the Red Wings’ free agent signings this afternoon. Duff suggests that the Red Wings are taking steps backward, not forward, by re-signing Mike Green and Thomas Vanek and bringing in Jonathan Bernier:

What Holland doesn’t seem to comprehend is that being competitive right now is the worst possible solution for Detroit’s future. The Wings don’t need to keep just missing the playoffs. They need to stop missing out on the Rasmus Dahlins of the hockey world.

On the one hand, it’s a puzzling approach. Then again, as you looked around at the many empty seats at the new Little Caesars Arena, did you really believe the team line that the reason for those empty seats was because everyone was wandering around the concourse?

The fact of the matter is it’s been a battle for the team this summer so far in terms of season-ticket renewals, and as much as bottoming out would help the Wings get a franchise player, it won’t do much for the franchise’s bottom line.

Holland admitted he is trying to have the best of both worlds, but all that’s done the past two seasons is create a losing environment. Still, he believes in the long term, their approach is going to pan out.

“We’ve got lots of kids coming,” Holland said. “It’s going to take a little bit of time. We’re going to have to have some patience. I believe we’re headed in the right direction. In the short term, trying to bring in some veteran players to mentor, to role model the young kids. We need to be competitive. It’s important to develop players in an environment that’s positive and we go into every game with a chance to win. We’re trying to obviously juggle having veterans on the roster with moving depth players into the roster.”

That blueprint hasn’t panned out to a playoff spot the past two seasons and third-time unlucky would seem to be almost a certainty at this point.

Duff continues…

DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji took note of the comments made by Mike Green, Thomas Vanek, Jonathan Bernier and Ken Holland on the players and GM’s respective conference calls this afternoon, and Wakiji also spoke with Red Wings goaltending coach Jeff Salajko regarding the team’s decision to go with Bernier as Jimmy Howard’s back-up:

“I feel he got Colorado into the playoffs last year, I think he won nine in a row in that winning streak, year before did it with Anaheim when (John) Gibson went down,” Salajko said. “I’m not viewing him as a backup goalie, whether we’re talking about a 1-B, this is a guy that can give you 30 to 40 games. A lot of backups are more in the 20-25 range, maybe more. He wants to play. Everybody that I’ve talked to, the coaches, the players, said he’s a worker and he will work and he’s a great teammate. That’s kind of what we need.”

Salajko said Howard is also a hard worker and now the two netminders will be able to have a friendly competition for playing time.

“Now you got two guys that are going to push each other,” Salajko said. “Jimmy will embrace it, I know that. We had to sign another goalie, we wanted to get the best one out there. Jonathan Bernier was the best goalie on the free agent market. Carter Hutton’s a nice goalie, he’s right there, but we feel like we got the best one. I’m excited to work with him. We talked for 20 minutes (the other day), he sounds like a real pro. He’s excited to get here and find a house and whatnot. I just think it gives us a little stability and depth in net. Maybe we don’t have to play Jimmy Howard 60 games this year, maybe it’s 50. The season will dictate that with these guys’ play and their health.

Continued

Of Henrik Zetterberg-related note from MLive’s Ansar Khan:

General manager Ken Holland, during Sunday’s conference call about the team’s free-agent signings, wasn’t certain about Zetterberg’s plans.

“The last I talked to him, I think he’s planning on playing,” Holland said. “Obviously, his back is going to determine whether he can or can’t. Do I have a clear green light? I’m expecting him to play. Do I have a clear green light? No. I don’t know that I’ve got a clear green light.

“Obviously, when you are dealing with the back and you’re dealing with the health of a person, it’s hard to read the future when it comes to health. Obviously, that’s a key piece for us. I’ll stay in touch with Henrik as we get into July to see how his health is.”

Red Wings GM Ken Holland spoke with the Wings’ media corps this afternoon, and Michigan Hockey’s Stefan Kubus took note of Holland’s take as to how today’s three free agency signings impact the team’s youth movement:

“As we go into training camp, players I want to see – Michael Rasmussen, Zadina, Svechnikov, Dom Turgeon played well last year and got up a little bit. On defense, Sulak, Hronek, Cholowski, Hicketts, hopefully I haven’t missed anybody, but we’re going to give a lot of young players a long look in preseason and the plan is, the hope is, that kids crack our line-up, but they have to be ready. I don’t believe you just put them on the team. You have to be ready. The message that we’ve talked to these players is obviously, Rasmussen and Zadina were just here at our Development Camp, and the message to those players is that you have to come in and win a job. We’re going to give them every opportunity.”

He also wanted to remind people that just because certain players may not be on the Opening Night roster come October, it doesn’t mean they won’t be making the drive from Grand Rapids to Detroit shortly thereafter.

“These kids have to come in, there’s that fine line between just putting them on the team, what do they have to accomplish to just be put on the team, and what do they have to accomplish, what do they have to do to win a job. That’s what we’re going to judge as we get into training camp. Again, we’re going to end up with two or three kids on our team, two or three young players. Who are they going to be? We’re going to decide after we go to Traverse City for training camp and preseason and then we’ll sit down with Jeff Blashill a couple of days prior to the season start to get our Opening Day roster.

“If they don’t make the roster opening day, it doesn’t mean they’re not up two weeks later. I look at Anthony Mantha a year and a half ago, we sent him down and then he scored I think eight goals in 11 games to start the AHL season and we called him up in early to mid-November. Everybody obviously always focuses in on opening day but it’s a six-month season and lots happens. In order to crack the line-up opening day, they have to come in and grab it. We think we’re going to be in a position where we can put two or three guys on the team, if two young defensemen can make our team maybe we’ll carry eight defensemen, maybe we’ll go 13 and eight, maybe we’ll go 14 and seven, we want to get to training camp and watch and see what these players do.”

Caples continues…

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

DETROIT ADDS MEGAN, TERRY, CHELIOS AND SATERI
… Red Wings Bolster Depth with Two Forwards, One Defenseman and One Goaltender …
DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today agreed to terms with center Wade Megan, defenseman Jake Chelios and goaltender Harri Sateri on one-year contracts and agreed to terms with left wing Chris Terry on a two-year contract.

Megan, 27, spent the last two seasons with the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves. He ranked seventh on the Wolves in 2017-18 with 33 points (11-22-33) alongside a plus-seven rating and 52 penalty minutes in 63 games. In his first year with Chicago, Megan was named to the AHL First All-Star Team after winning the Willie Marshall Award for leading the league in goals, totaling 66 points (33-33-66) in 73 games. He also appeared in four NHL games for the St. Louis Blues over the past two seasons, scoring a goal in his NHL debut on Dec. 22, 2016 at Tampa Bay. In 326 AHL games with the San Antonio Rampage, Portland Pirates and Wolves since 2012-13, the Canton, N.Y., native has tallied 153 points (78-75-153), a plus-28 rating and 224 penalty minutes.

Originally drafted by the Florida Panthers in the fifth round (138th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Megan spent four seasons at Boston University in the NCAA from 2009-13 and picked up 83 points (49-34-83) and 161 penalty minutes in 151 games, serving as captain of the Terriers as a senior in 2012-13. The 6-foot-1, 194-pound forward also spent parts of two seasons in the ECHL, racking up 27 points (17-10-27) in 21 regular-season games and 13 points (10-3-13) in 22 postseason games with the Cincinnati Cyclones from 2013-15.

Terry, a veteran of nine professional seasons, posted an AHL career-high 71 points (32-39-71) in 62 games with the Laval Rocket to 2017-18 to win the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the league’s leading scorer. Terry led Laval in goals, points, power-play goals (14) and shots on goal (217). The 29-year-old has logged 500 AHL games with the Albany River Rats, Charlotte Checkers, St. John’s IceCaps and Rocket since 2007-08, notching 440 points (183-257-440) and 353 penalty minutes while adding 20 points (11-9-20) in 33 AHL Calder Cup Playoff games. He is a two-time AHL All-Star (2012, 2018) and was an AHL First-Team All-Star in 2018 and Second-Team All-Star in 2017. Terry has also appeared in 152 games for the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens between 2012-16, recording 38 points (22-16-38) and 34 penalty minutes in 152 games.

A native of Brampton, Ontario, Terry was originally drafted by the Hurricanes in the fifth round (132nd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. The 5-foot-10, 197-pound forward spent four seasons with the Ontario Hockey League’s Plymouth Whalers from 2005-09, where he totaled 289 points (114-175-289), a plus-51 rating and 352 penalty minutes in 253 regular-season games and 46 points (22-24-46) in 46 playoff games, helping the Whalers win an OHL championship in 2006-07. In his final season of major junior hockey (2008-09), Terry was an OHL Third-Team All-Star and won the Mickey Renaud Captain’s Trophy as the team captain that best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice and the Dan Snyder Trophy as the league’s humanitarian of the year.

Chelios, 27, is the son of Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios and has spent the last three seasons with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, picking up 14 points (4-10-14) in 41 games during the 2017-18 season after a career-high 32 points (4-28-32) in 76 games in 2016-17 to lead all Checkers defensemen. Chelios has appeared in 235 AHL contests with Chicago and Charlotte since 2013-14 and has registered 93 points (16-77-93) and 175 penalty minutes and served as an alternate captain for the Checkers in each of the last two seasons. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound defenseman also logged two ECHL stints with the Toledo Walleye and Kalamazoo Wings between 2013-15, picking up five points (2-3-5) in 15 games.

Born in Chicago and raised in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., the fifth-year pro is a graduate of Michigan State University, playing 154 games for the Spartans between 2010-14 and totaling 54 points (17-37-54) and 195 penalty minutes. He graduated in 2014 and was an All-Big Ten honorable mention, while leading the Spartans defensemen with 21 points (2-19-21) to win the team’s most outstanding defensive player award. Chelios, who is also a product of the Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club, also skated one season for the Chicago Steel in 2009-10 and produced 34 points (12-22-34) and 45 penalty minutes in 52 games.

Sateri, 28, appeared in 29 games for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds and nine games for the Florida Panthers in 2017-18, which was his 10th professional season and fifth in North America. With the Thunderbirds, Sateri posted a 14-9-1 record, 2.30 goals-against average, 0.927 save percentage and four shutouts. The 6-foot, 207-pound native of Toijala, Finland, made his NHL debut for Florida in a relief effort on Jan. 2 at Minnesota, picking up his first win with a 32-save performance on Jan. 30 at NY Islanders. Sateri went 4-4 in nine appearances with the Panthers, posting a 2.92 goals-against average and 0.911 save percentage. In 158 career AHL games with the Worcester Sharks and Springfield, he owns a 62-77-3 record, 2.78 goals-against average, 0.907 save percentage and eight shutouts.

Originally drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Sateri returned to North America in 2017-18 after spending the previous three seasons (2014-17) with Vityaz Podolsk in the Kontinental Hockey League, appearing in 132 games and posting a 52-60-16 record, 2.63 goals-against average, 0.923 save percentage and nine shutouts. Sateri also has professional experience with Tappara Tampere in the top professional league in Finland, logging a 27-34-7 record in 74 games from 2006-10. He has also represented his country several times internationally, most recently at the 2018 IIHF World Championship in which he posted a 1.41 goals-against average and 0.939 save percentage in five games for Finland.

 

 

Wade Megan, Center
Born Jul 22 1990 — Canton, NY
Height 6.01 — Weight 194 — Shoots L

Selected by Florida Panthers round 5 #138 overall 2009 NHL Entry Draft

— Regular Season —  —- Playoffs —-

Season   Team                   Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
———————————————————————————
2009-10  Boston University      H-Eas  35    5    7   12   22
2010-11  Boston University      H-Eas  39    8    5   13   32
2011-12  Boston University      H-Eas  39   20    9   29   57
2012-13  Boston University      H-Eas  38   16   13   29   50
2012-13  San Antonio Rampage    AHL    13    1    0    1    0  —  —  —  —  —
2013-14  Cincinnati Cyclones    ECHL   16   13    7   20   11  22  10   3  13  12
2013-14  San Antonio Rampage    AHL    43   11    6   17   18  —  —  —  —  —
2014-15  Cincinnati Cyclones    ECHL    5    4    3    7   12  —  —  —  —  —
2014-15  San Antonio Rampage    AHL    59    8    5   13   44   3   0   0   0   0
2015-16  Portland Pirates       AHL    75   14    9   23   53   5   0   0   0  10
2016-17  Chicago Wolves         AHL    73   33   33   66   57   5   0   1   1   4
2016-17  St. Louis Blues        NHL     3    1    0    1    0  —  —  —  —  —
2017-18  St. Louis Blues        NHL     1    0    0    0    0  —  —  —  —  —
2017-18  Chicago Wolves         AHL    63   11   22   33   52   3   2   0   2   2
———————————————————————————

NHL Totals                     4    1    0    1    0

 

Chris Terry, Left Wing
Born Apr 7 1989 — Brampton, ONT
Height 5.10 — Weight 197 — Shoots L

Selected by Carolina Hurricanes round 5 #132 overall 2007 NHL Entry Draft

— Regular Season —  —- Playoffs —-

Season   Team                   Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
———————————————————————————
2005-06  Plymouth Whalers       OHL    64    9   19   28   72  11   3   2   5   4
2006-07  Plymouth Whalers       OHL    68   22   44   66   98  20   8  10  18  21
2007-08  Plymouth Whalers       OHL    68   44   57  101  107   4   4   3   7   6
2007-08  Albany River Rats      AHL     1    0    0    0    0  —  —  —  —  —
2008-09  Plymouth Whalers       OHL    53   39   55   94   75  11   7   9  16  18
2009-10  Albany River Rats      AHL    80   17   30   47   47   8   2   4   6   0
2010-11  Charlotte Checkers     AHL    80   34   30   64   52  16   6   3   9  14
2011-12  Charlotte Checkers     AHL    74   16   43   59   67  —  —  —  —  —
2012-13  Charlotte Checkers     AHL    70   25   35   60   40   5   2   2   4   8
2012-13  Carolina Hurricanes    NHL     3    1    0    1    0  —  —  —  —  —
2013-14  Charlotte Checkers     AHL    70   28   41   69   62  —  —  —  —  —
2013-14  Carolina Hurricanes    NHL    10    0    2    2    0  —  —  —  —  —
2014-15  Carolina Hurricanes    NHL    57   11    9   20   14  —  —  —  —  —
2014-15  Charlotte Checkers     AHL     5    1    1    2    4  —  —  —  —  —
2015-16  Carolina Hurricanes    NHL    68    8    3   11   16  —  —  —  —  —
2016-17  St. John’s IceCaps     AHL    58   30   38   68   36   4   1   0   1   4
2016-17  Montreal Canadiens     NHL    14    2    2    4    4  —  —  —  —  —
2017-18  Laval Rocket           AHL    62   32   39   71   45  —  —  —  —  —
———————————————————————————

NHL Totals                   152   22   16   38   34

 

Jake Chelios, Defenseman
Born Mar 8 1991 — Chicago, IL
Height 6.02 — Weight 185 — Shoots L

— Regular Season —  —- Playoffs —-

Season   Team                   Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
———————————————————————————
2009-10  Chicago Steel          USHL   52   12   22   34   45  —  —  —  —  —
2010-11  Michigan State         CCHA   37    8    6   14   34
2011-12  Michigan State         CCHA   39    2    7    9   44
2012-13  Michigan State         CCHA   42    5    5   10   79
2013-14  Michigan State         Big-10 36    2   19   21   38
2013-14  Toledo Walleye         ECHL    7    1    1    2    2  —  —  —  —  —
2013-14  Chicago Wolves         AHL     4    0    1    1    4  —  —  —  —  —
2014-15  Chicago Wolves         AHL    41    1   14   15   32  —  —  —  —  —
2014-15  Kalamazoo Wings        ECHL    8    1    2    3    2   4   1   1   2   2
2015-16  Charlotte Checkers     AHL    73    7   24   31   44  —  —  —  —  —
2016-17  Charlotte Checkers     AHL    76    4   28   32   54   5   0   1   1   6
2017-18  Charlotte Checkers     AHL    41    4   10   14   41  —  —  —  —  —
———————————————————————————
Harri Sateri, Goalie
Born Dec 29 1989 — Toijala, Finland
Height 6.00 — Weight 207 — Catches L

Selected by San Jose Sharks round 4 #106 overall 2008 NHL Entry Draft

Season   Team           Lge    GP   Min   GA  EN SO   GAA   W   L   T   Svs    Pct
———————————————————————————-
2008-09  Tappara TampereFIN    22  1253   48   0  2  2.30   6  12   3   560  0.921
2009-10  Tappara TampereFIN    49  2836  129   0  2  2.73  21  22   4  1393  0.915
2010-11  Worcester      AHL     7   351   15   2  0  2.56   1   3   1   167  0.918
2011-12  Worcester      AHL    38  2116  101   5  2  2.86  15  20   1  1002  0.908
2012-13  Worcester      AHL    39  2201  106   4  1  2.89  14  21   3   983  0.903
2013-14  Worcester      AHL    45  2646  130   4  1  2.95  18  24   2  1092  0.894
2014-15  Podolsk Vityaz KHL    45  2603  128   0  3  2.95  17  21   5  1308  0.911
2015-16  Podolsk Vityaz KHL    45  2565  104   0  4  2.43  15  23   6  1365  0.929
2016-17  Podolsk Vityaz KHL    42  2424  101   0  2  2.50  20  16   5  1314  0.929
2017-18  Springfield    AHL    29  1670   64   2  4  2.30  14   9   1   814  0.927
2017-18  Florida        NHL     9   493   24   0  0  2.92   4   4   0   247  0.911

FYI:

Megan led AHL in goal scoring two years ago as member of @Chicago_Wolves while Terry sat atop AHL in points this past season with @RocketLaval. https://t.co/rH9S2n4xSH

— Bob Kaser (@bkaser1) July 1, 2018

The Detroit #RedWings today agreed to terms with C Wade Megan, D Jake Chelios and G Harri Sateri on one-year contracts and agreed to terms with LW Chris Terry on a two-year contract. pic.twitter.com/TpUndAuQs1

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 1, 2018

UPDATE: The @DetroitRedWings have added four players with glossy AHL resumes in 2017-18 scoring champ Chris Terry, 2016-17 goals leader Wade Megan, goaltender Harri Sateri and defenseman Jake Chelios. https://t.co/u4BIcUhJRu

— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) July 1, 2018

#RedWings bolster depth with two forwards, one defenseman and one goaltender.

Details: https://t.co/FvOEn1et4K pic.twitter.com/8b2KbH7hZL

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 1, 2018

 

The Free Press’s Helene St. James offers grades regarding the Wings’ signings of Thomas Vanek, Jonathan Bernier and Mike Green:

D Mike Green

Why: Green, 32, led the Wings defense with 33 points (eight goals, 25 assists) and 13 power-play points. He and Nick Jensen are the only defensemen on the team who shoot right. Green was the Wings’ best defenseman at times last season (especially in the first half as Danny DeKeyser struggled). Green will run one of the power plays, and he fits in well in the locker room.

Ramifications: The length of the deal means that in two years, Green, Trevor Daley and Jonathan Ericsson’s contracts are all up, creating opportunity for prospects to take on bigger roles or grab a job. Green puts the Wings at six NHL defensemen signed toward 2018-19, leaving room for at least one prospect to take a spot. Filip Hronek has the edge because he had a very good first year of pro hockey (11 goals, 28 assists for 39 points in 67 games with with the Griffins, ran a power play), but 2016 first-round pick Dennis Cholowski is a well-rounded package of skill, skating and size, and could make a push to be first on the call-up list if he starts in Grand Rapids.

Grade: B-.

Continued