Khan wonders whether the Wings should pursue Kevin Shattenkirk

The New York Rangers bought out Kevin Shattenkirk today, and MLive’s Ansar Khan wonders aloud whether the Wings should pursue the 30-year-old defenseman’s services:

Shattenkirk, 30, was one of the top players in the 2017 free-agent class. The Rangers signed him to a four-year, $26.6 million contract, but he was made expendable due to his lack of production and their acquisition of Jacob Trouba from Winnipeg, who the Rangers inked two weeks ago to a seven-year, $56 million extension.

A knee injury limited Shattenkirk (6-0, 206) to 46 games in 2017-18, when he tallied 23 points. He appeared in 73 games last season, picking up only two goals and 26 assists.

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The Hockey News posts a Red Wings ‘protected list’ for the 2021 expansion draft

The Hockey News’s Jared Clinton anticipates the Red Wings’ expansion draft protected list for the summer of 2021, when the Seattle franchise will enter the NHL and build its roster via an expansion draft’s worth of selections from each and every one of the NHL’s other 31 teams:

STRATEGY: Out with the old, in with (or hang on to) the new. Yzerman had his work cut out for him when he arrived in Detroit and replaced Ken Holland, the franchise’s longtime architect who has since departed for the Edmonton Oilers. One of Yzerman’s tasks is going to be sparking a full-on youth movement that centers around some of the bright young talent that has been compiled. That means protecting every piece of promising talent and leaving any veteran players who are available up for grabs.

Given that’s the plan, that means any veteran under contract at the time of the draft has been left unprotected. Nielsen? Unprotected. Abdelkader? Unprotected. DeKeyser? Unprotected. Together, those three skaters account for $14.5 million against the cap through the expansion draft and that’s money the Red Wings will want to rid themselves of around the time Seattle is making its way into the league.

THE NO BRAINER: Dylan Larkin isn’t just the offensive leader in Detroit, he’s a future captain and the centerpiece of the franchise. If there is one player on the roster today who can be built around, it’s Larkin, and as such he’s the safest bet for the Red Wings to use a protection slot on. Like a few others who’ve fallen into the no-brainer category throughout the Expansion Plan series, Larkin basically carries a no-movement clause without actually having the tag next to his name. That’s how important he is.

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Monroe: Walleye retain Brenden Kotyk’s services for 2019-2020

The Toledo Walleye are teasing a major player announcement…

PLAYER IS GOING LIVE NOW HEAD OVER TO INSTAGRAM. https://t.co/QLjB01bPBX— Toledo Walleye (@ToledoWalleye) August 1, 2019

And the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe revealed the identity of the player taking over the Walleye’s Instagram account:

D Brenden Kotyk (6-foot-6 and 225-pounds) is returning to the @ToledoWalleye.— Mark Monroe (@MonroeBlade) August 1, 2019

Update: The Walleye confirm:

? PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT ?

Defenseman Brenden Kotyk (@BrendenKotyk74) is returning for his second season with the Fish ➡️ https://t.co/XnkLcddOTg pic.twitter.com/iaQSOF4IuE— Toledo Walleye (@ToledoWalleye) August 1, 2019

NHL.com gives Dylan Larkin an ‘honorable mention’ as a near-elite center

NHL.com is going to list its top 20 players at each position over the course of 9 specials on the NHL Network, and NHL.com’s David Satriano reports that Dylan Larkin didn’t quite make the cut, instead earning an “honorable mention”:

Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings

In his fourth NHL season, Larkin led the Red Wings in goals (32), assists (41), points (73) and penalty minutes (75), and scored seven power-play goals and two shorthanded goals in 21:51 of ice time, best among Detroit forwards. The 23-year-old also won 54.5 percent of face-offs and was the first Red Wings player to score at least 30 goals since Marian Hossa (40), Johan Franzen (34), Pavel Datsyuk (32) and Henrik Zetterberg (31) in 2008-09.

“You weren’t sure if he was going to be a centerman when he first started,” [Mike] Johnson said. “You weren’t sure if he was going to be able to slow the game down to deal with all those responsibilities, but he can. He’s the go-to guy for Detroit offensively and he is OK with that. He’s a new-age player with all the speed that he can play with. All aspects of his game have grown. He should be a fixture on this list for the next several years.”

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Jared McIsaac recovering from shoulder surgery

Red Wings prospect Jared McIsaac has been participating in the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, MI as a spectator, cheering on Team Canada from the stands as he recovers from shoulder surgery.

He spoke with DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji regarding his recovery process and his progress made this past season with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads.

“It’s been going pretty good so far,” McIsaac said before the game started. “I’m just taking my time with it, not rushing anything. I’m set up real good back home with Nick Bagnall (strength and conditioning specialist). I rehabbed with him last year after the injury and then continuing now after surgery.”

McIsaac originally injured his shoulder during the prospect tournament last September in Traverse City.

“Then it got worse throughout the year,” McIsaac said. “After world juniors, it kept sliding out in playoffs, kept sliding on me. The organization and myself, they thought it was best for me to get it done. Obviously can’t argue with them.”

In spite of the injury, McIsaac took a big step forward while playing a big role with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads.

In 53 games, McIsaac had 16 goals and 46 assists. His 62 points marked a 15-point jump from the previous season. He followed that up with two goals and 14 assists in 22 playoff games.

Wakiji continues, discussing Jonatan Berggren’s difficult day playing for Sweden and Otto Kivenmaki’s progress.

Via KK: Griffins’ Wade Megan retires at 29

From NNY 360’s Cap Carey, via Kukla’s Korner:

Wade Megan, the first National Hockey League player from Canton, has retired as a player and is focusing now on running the NoCo Hockey camp for area kids at SUNY Canton.

Megan, a forward who turned 29 on July 22, played in 11 games last year with the Detroit Red Wings and picked up an assist. He also played in 48 games with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, recording 19 goals and 18 assists.

He made his NHL debut in the 2016-17 season with the St. Louis Blues, scoring his only career NHL goal in his first game. He played in 15 NHL games over the past three years.

“It’s just one of those things where I worked incredibly hard and no one can ever take that away from me,” Megan said. “I was able to get up there and play some games in the NHL and have an incredible experience along the way and meet a lot of great people, a lot of great coaches. Some of my best friends I’ve met through the game of hockey.”

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