The Malik Report

From the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Darren Helm was watching Olympic skeleton when he, a man once nicknamed ‘Danger’ because of his speed on ice, found himself curious.

“I just want to know how they get into a sport like that,” Helm said Thursday. “Like, what makes them join that event.”

As the Detroit Red Wings prepared for the evening game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena, the television in the visitors locker room was tuned to coverage of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. As highly trained athletes themselves, players are fascinated by a variety of the events. It is bittersweet for some that the NHL decided to forgo participating, but that doesn’t affect enthusiasm for watching, dreaming about trying out an event, and picking teammates to participate.

“Whenever there is a chance to watch I turn it on,” Helm said. “I think there are a lot of really interesting events – bobsled, luge, skeleton, that’s all pretty interesting to me. It’s pretty exciting. The skiing stuff, snowboarding, the half pipes. I think almost every event has that certain element that’s exciting to watch.”

Continued, and St. James spent 9-and-a-half minutes speaking with the Wings about Olympic events:

 

Updated at 3:33 PM: The Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning will face off this evening (7:30 PM EST on FSD/FS Sun/97.1 FM) after engaging in a morning skate where news was hard to come by.

It appears that Jimmy Howard and Andrei Vasilevskiy will oppose each other in goal, and it sounds like Andreas Athanasiou will miss the game due to an illness (per the Free Press’s Helene St. James), but at almost 3 in the afternoon, all that’s out there is “Bolts stuff.”

The Lightning spoke with TampaBayLightning.com’s Jacob Lynn about heading home for an extended stretch after spending most of the first two thirds of the season on the road, as well as tonight’s match-up with Detroit…

Continue reading Red Wings-Lightning game-day updates: Mostly Bolts stuff

From the Detroit Free Press…

The dramatic story of the five Russian hockey stars who helped propel the Detroit Red Wings to two Stanley Cup championships is the focus of Freep Film Festival’s opening night film.

The world premiere of “The Russian Five” documentary will open the fifth annual Freep Film Festival on April 11 at the Fillmore Detroit.

The movie, directed by Port Huron native Joshua Riehl, includes new interviews with Russian Five stars Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Viacheslav Fetisov, along with other Red Wing and NHL greats, including Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Darren McCarty and Wayne Gretzky. Top brass like Jim Devellano, Scotty Bowman and Tom Wilson also appear, as does actor and super fan Jeff Daniels.

The film gives the behind-the-scenes story of the Red Wings’ strategy in luring the five Russian players, including the under-cover-of-night defections of Fedorov and Vladimir Konstantinov. It also provides new insight into many key moments in Red Wings’ history, including coach Bowman’s decision to play all of the Russian Five at the same time, the bloody rivalry between the Wings and Colorado Avalanche, the 1996-97 Stanley Cup run and the horrific limousine accident that seriously injured Konstantinov and masseuse Sergei Mnatsakanov in the celebration aftermath.

“I think the story of the Russian Five is one of the most exciting chapters in the history of sports in Detroit, and I’m absolutely thrilled to screen our documentary at the Freep Film Festival,” said director Riehl. “There won’t be a better audience for this film anywhere in the world, and I can’t wait to share it with the people of Detroit.”

Continued

 

Of note from TSN’s Frank Seravalli’s “Trade Board” report:

At No. 24, Detroit’s Petr Mrazek is the top-ranked goalie on the board. The Philadelphia Flyers recently lost starter Brian Elliott for a period of five-to-six weeks after core muscle surgery. Mrazek is an RFA at the end of the season and the Red Wings are not expected to qualify him at $4 million. That is the exact situation under which Philadelphia rescued and resuscitated Steve Mason’s career from Columbus on Deadline Day in 2013.

The belief is the Red Wings are looking to move one of either Mrazek or Jimmy Howard before the deadline. Howard, 33, has one more season remaining at $5.3 million. A comparable either-or situation exists up front in Detroit. Gustav Nyquist ranks No. 27 on the list, but the Red Wings are also shopping two-time 20-goal scorer Tomas Tatar. The difference is Tatar is in the first season of a four-year, $21.2 million deal.

Continued

Today we’re kicking off The Malik Report’s logo contest. Anyone can enter, and the winner will earn $50 and a cut of merchandise sales.

I’m looking for two logos: a 500-pixels-wide-by-100-pixels-high banner using “The Malik Report” name as an anchor and incorporating Red Wings red (Pantone 186), black, gray and/or white into the logo, anda 150×150-pixel design to use as the webpage’s bookmark logo, and possibly a hat design.

Whether you use part of the Wings’ logo in the design is up to you, but using an entire Wings logo probably won’t fly.

If you are interested in taking part in the contest, please either post your submission below via upload of a logo from your Imageshack, etc. account, or email me at rtxg@yahoo.com with your submission. Ideally, I’d like the submissions to come in by Tuesday, February 20th.

Also “ideally,” I’d like to conduct several votes as to which “banner” and “bookmark” pass muster by February 28th, with a winner declared on March 1st. That may not be realistic, but setting a two-week timeline for the contest seems logical.

Thanks for reading and participating!

 

Updated 4x at 12:59 PM: The Detroit Red Wings hope to snap a 10-game losing streak when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning this evening (7:30 PM EST on FSD/FS Sun/97.1 FM).

Our friends in Tampa Bay are annoyed with themselves after dropping 2 straight games, and the Bolts will be desperate to bolster their status in a dogfight for the Atlantic Division title when they play the Wings this evening.

The Lightning took to the ice first at Amalie Arena for their morning skate, per Fox Sports Sun’s Paul Kennedy…

@TBLightning Morning Skate underway with @CoopersLaw offering instruction. Seeking four game regular season sweep of @DetroitRedWings 7pm @FOXSportsBolts pic.twitter.com/jSUd4tZpGF

— Paul Kennedy (@PaulKennedyFOX) February 15, 2018

The Lightning said, “Hello”…

Continue reading Red Wings-Lightning morning skate Tweets: Bolts want to get back to winning; AA out sick

South Korean hockey coach and former Grand Rapids Griffins assistant coach Jim Paek spoke with The Coaches’ Site regarding his journey with the Korean national ice hockey team:

Being a part of Olympic hockey is great for our team, it’s helped tremendously, giving [the sport] a lot more visibility. And with how hockey in China has taken off, that’s grown the sport on this side of the world, and it’s given notice to the rest of the world that there is hockey over here in Asia.

For us in the hockey world right now, there’s a huge buzz. The media coverage we’re getting for the hockey team is fantastic, it’s on TV and in the papers. It’s never been seen before and people are starting to notice the sport. It’s really exciting.

There are always hurdles and obstacles you have to overcome. But with the support from the Korean Ice Hockey Association, people in the hockey circle, and even the fans now, especially with the media supporting us, we’re really fortunate.

The Olympics are not the end goal for us, it’s just the start. Being a part of the Olympics here is the start of something great to come for Korean hockey.

When you go to one of the IIHF conferences and then you can see all the countries that are involved in hockey, it’s unbelievable. Kuwait, India, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, places you never thought there’d be hockey have teams now.

Why? It’s a great sport. Once you play it, you get hooked. It teaches you a lot of things and life skills — team play, leadership, discipline. And it’s a great sport to watch.

Continued

The Athletic’s Max Bultman asked Slovenian Olympic hockey forward Jan Mursak’s former Red Wings and Griffins teammates to weigh in on Mursak’s Olympic success (Mursak scored 2 goals as Slovenia upset Team USA 3-2 on Wednesday):

Mursak, 30, spent time between Grand Rapids and Detroit from 2007 to 2013 (though he spent the 2007-08 season in the OHL), including winning the Calder Cup with the Griffins in 2013. He was second on the team in both goals (11) and points (17) in those playoffs, behind only Tatar.

If Red Wings fans have foggy memories of Mursak, they could be forgiven. His NHL totals include just 46 games and two goals.

But that’s part of what makes his showing on Wednesday special. NHL players have made no bones about their desire to be playing in these Olympics, but with them back in North America, there’s more spotlight for someone like Mursak — now in the Swedish Hockey League — to shine on the world stage.

That’s not to say he wouldn’t have been on Team Slovenia regardless — he is one of two Slovenian-born players to play in the NHL — but the lack of traditional star power helped open the window for this sort of moment. Slovenia may not have been in position to even tie the U.S. with NHL inclusion.

“There’s positives either way,” said Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, who coached Mursak in Grand Rapids. “You can debate what you prefer, and I get that, but … today’s a moment for Jan Mursak, who might not have got that moment.”

Continued

The Red Wings’ Warrior Hockey gear-wearing players gave new Warrior gear to the Motor City Stars hockey team (a team for players with disabilities) as part of Hockey Is For Everyone month, as chronicled by WXYZ…

And Michigan Hockey:

DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner also penned an article about the event:

In conjunction with the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association, the Red Wings launched their numerous activities celebrating Hockey is for Everyone Month on Wednesday by hosting the Stars players, their parents, family, friends and coaching staff to a day they’ll never forget at the BELFOR Training Center.

The festivities began with the Stars watching the Wings practice and culminated with the team skating on the practice ice where many of the players showed off their on-ice skills.

But it was what occurred between the Wings practice and the Stars’ on-ice experience that made everyone’s day.

Several of the Red Wings met with the Stars, including captain Henrik Zetterberg and Hockey is for Everyone ambassador Justin Abdelkader.

As the players were awestruck meeting the Wings, Abdelkader escorted the Stars into an adjoining locker room where the team was surprised with $12,000 worth of new hockey equipment donated by Michigan-based Warrior Hockey. Not only were the Stars overwhelmed at this point, their reaction touched the Red Wings players.

“This is awesome,” Zetterberg said. “What the Wings are doing with Warrior and the league, especially this month with Hockey is for Everyone, meeting these guys, to have them come down here to watch a practice and to see them pick out their own sticks and see them skating around, flying around here right now, it’s awesome for the players to be part of it.”

Continued

CBS Detroit’s Will Burtchfield penned an article wondering whether the latest benching of Andreas Athanasiou. Burtchifeld wonders aloud whether the relationship between coach Jeff Blashill and Athanasiou, who has handled his benchings with team-first answers, is already beyond repair:

“There’s other guys that some nights their minutes are diminished a little bit and we don’t talk tons about it,” said Blashill, “… but obviously because of the profile of Double-A we talk lots about it.”

The erratic nature of things fuels further frustration, as does this: Athanasiou’s pending free agency. The Red Wings might consider him a key piece of their future, but is the feeling mutual? Athanasiou’s numbers the past two seasons have no doubt been suppressed by inconsistent playing time. He might decide this summer — or maybe he already has — that he’d be better off in a new environment under a different coach.

The Red Wings’ fledgling rebuild is desperate for players of Athanasiou’s ilk. His talent is that of a 30-plus goal scorer. But the strained relationship between the two sides doesn’t bode well for a long-term partnership. Even in the short term, Athanasiou’s status as a restricted free agent matters little if he already has designs of leaving. A change in the GM’s office, where Holland’s contract expires after this season, and/or behind the bench, where Blashill is under contract through next season, may be the only way to salvage the situation.

For now, Athanasiou will “get back on the horse,” as Blashill said Wednesday, and put Tuesday behind him. The coach believes he’s played well over the past month, even if points have been hard to come by and ice time has been as volatile as ever. Athanasiou was bumped back up to the second line with Dylan Larkin and Tomas Tatar Wednesday at practice, and Blashill plans to call his number often Thursday night.

“He’ll get another chance against Tampa to have a big impact,” said Blashill.

Burtchfield continues…

I’m probably in the minority here, but I don’t think that Blashill’s relationship with Athanasiou is unusual given Athanasiou’s potential…

And I don’t believe that Athanasiou’s talent, nor his pre-season, end-the-hold-out discussions with Ken Holland or Jeff Blashill have somehow earned him deference from the coach. I fall in the, “If you perform well, you’ll play more” side of the argument as to whether ice time merits performance or performance merits ice time. As such, and as far as I’m concerned, AA’s inconsistencies in terms of his performance merit the occasional kick in the ass by planting his ass on the bench.

Mind you, I wish the entire team was treated in a more egalitarian manner, but given that Athanasiou tends to respond to these benchings with bursts of performance, I can’t suggest that Blashill is doing something that doesn’t work in #72’s case.