The Malik Report

Friday, August 8th (8/8) is “Patrick Kane Day” in Chicago, which means that Kane will be holding an event which promises the following to take place at the Morgan MFG building in downtown Chicago:

#88 is coming back to Chicago on 8/8 where his professional hockey career started! Patrick Kane’s legacy in Chicago is bigger than life, bringing home 3 Stanley Cups and so many exciting moments on the ice.

This special evening includes an Emcee-hosted Q&A with Patrick Kane. Sit back and hear about the games, highlights, hat tricks, power plays and more! Following the stage, #88 will greet everyone in the line to sign your autograph (limit of 1 item per person) and a photo on your device. Beverages and apps will be available.

The VIP ticket includes a pre-event for 50 guests with Patrick Kane including open bar, apps, professional photograph, an autograph, door gift, and social time from 5:30-7:15 p.m with the main event to follow.

8/8 PATRICK KANE DAY is devoted to his fans and the community here in Chicago. This event is his time to meet you, give autographs, a photo on your camera, and to say thank you for your support over the years.

This event is for those 21 yrs. and up.

Kane has been making the rounds of Chicago radio and podcasts of late, and as you might expect, the Chicago Daily Herald’s Jim O’Donnell is speculating that Kane, who will likely retire in the Windy City, should end his career as a Blackhawk:

Continue reading A bit of wishful thinking ahead of Patrick Kane Day on Friday, 8/8

Daily Faceoff’s Paul Pidutti attempts to discern which NHL players will be the NHL’s best in the 2030-2031 season, and two Red Wings make his list:

#20. Moritz Seider, Age: 29
Trajectory: Shea Theodore

Seider went from puzzling draft choice to the next Nicklas Lidstrom to overrated by his 21st birthday. Parking the noise, Seider continues to improve and take on major responsibility – he averaged 25:04 last season at 23. By 2030, the German will be 29 and in full bloom as a Norris conversation fixture. If the Shea Theodore match looks underwhelming, he finished sixth for the Norris at ages 24 and 25, and might have been a finalist if not for games lost to injuries.

…

#22. Lucas Raymond, Age: 28
Trajectory: Matthew Tkachuk

It’s hard not to like Raymond, a great skater with hockey sense, discipline, and offensive skills for days. Fresh off his first 80-point season, Raymond profiles well statistically to Tkachuk. While no one will confuse their skating or their physicality, Tkachuk kept finding new offensive and defensive levels into his mid-20s. Helping the Red Wings finally take the next step to the playoffs can only help Raymond’s rep. Speaking of Tkachuk, he’ll fall from the top 30 by 2030 given his damaging style of play.

Continued

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

TICKETS FOR RED WINGS’ ‘RED & WHITE GAME’ IN GRAND RAPIDS ON SALE NOW

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Tickets for the Detroit Red Wings’ Red & White Game at Van Andel Arena on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. are now available to the general public through griffinshockey.com. The stars of Hockeytown will play their intrasquad game in Grand Rapids for the first time since 2011, as the likes of Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat take the ice alongside former Griffins such as Moritz Seider, Dylan Larkin, Simon Edvinsson and Marco Kasper.

Advance ticket prices start at $28 for upper level crease, $30 for upper level faceoff, $33 for upper level center ice, $34 for upper level preferred, $35 for upper level prime and $37 for upper level edge; and $36 for lower level faceoff, $40 for lower level center ice, $46 for lower level preferred and $63 for lower level glass. (Additional $3 per ticket on game day.) Group ticket packages may be ordered by calling the Griffins’ office at (616) 774-4585 ext. 4 or visiting griffinshockey.com.

The event will conclude the Red Wings’ 2025 training camp and serve as a showcase for West Michigan fans to cheer both the stars of Hockeytown and the prospects who will play in Grand Rapids this season. All healthy players on Detroit’s training camp roster are expected to play in the game, which bridges the team’s camp in Traverse City and the start of its preseason schedule. 

The Red & White Game will consist of two 20-minute periods followed by a shootout. Details on special pre-game activities will be announced in the coming weeks. 

This marks the fifth time that the Griffins will host a Red & White Game, following events in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2011. Detroit also visited Van Andel Arena for a “Wings for Lunch” midday event with local fans in 2007.  

The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn offers a list of NHL teams’ “contract efficiencies” this morning, and given that the Red Wings finished 24th overall a season ago, the Wings’ status as 13th overall feels like a relief.

Luszczyszyn makes sure to suggest that the players’ present contract values are what matters–what happened in the past in terms of player performance does not count to him–so this is a ranking of 32 teams’ present contract values.

13. Detroit Red Wings

Last season: 24th

Copyright Dom Luszczyszyn and The Athletic

Things are finally starting to trend in the right direction for Detroit and that’s in large part thanks to the team locking up Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider long-term last year. While both entered each deal with some question marks, they proved themselves worthy of future franchise status, offering immense future value. Raymond is on one of the league’s best contracts and Seider’s deal has potential to be just as strong. I’d imagine both Marco Kasper and Simon Edvinsson will only add to this in the future.

As for Detroit’s problem contracts, many of them are thankfully ending soon. Ben Chiarot and Justin Holl only have one year left, while Andrew Copp only has two. The rest are manageable, and it’s what has Detroit’s future looking brighter.

Continued (paywall); here’s hoping that the Red Wings’ management avoids “problem contracts” in the present and future…

Though I’m going to admit that I don’t understand why DeBrincat, Johansson or Gibson’s contracts have “negative values.”

Red Wings defenseman Erik Gustafsson is 33 and is in the last year of his 2-year, $4 million contract. He’s training with Djurgardens IF of the SHL this August, and HockeyNews.se’s Uffe Bodin offers a paywalled article in which Gustafsson’s picture is prominently placed, with a bit of a tabloid-y “lede” included:

When Djurgården started its ice training in earnest for the season, Detroit and World Championship-defenseman Erik Gustafsson was involved.

And of course Djurgården hopes for his return.

“We try to keep as close contact with them as possible,” sports director Niklas Wikegård told Hockeynews.

If I had a dollar for every time that a European sports publication hinted that so-and-so would return home to play for their former sports team in the twilight days of their pro careers, I’d have at least several hundred dollars.

I don’t know whether Erik Gustafsson’s future plans involve a “return home,” but this is the kind of talk that sells paywalled articles.

Kirk Maltby speaks with Chris Osgood and John Keating this week:

Later this morning, Red Wings forward James van Riemsdyk will be speaking with Daily Faceoff’s “Morning Cuppa Hockey” on YouTube.

The teaser says:

Jonny and Colby are joined by James van Riemsdyk to discuss this past season in Columbus, why he chose the Detroit Red Wings, playing for Team USA at the Olympics, and his thoughts on the 84-game schedule coming in the new CBA.

Meanwhile, in Central Europe…

1. The Adler Mannheim’s Instagram account posted a picture of Moritz Seider playing golf in his hometown, as noted by NHL.com/de on Twitter…

Sorgt auch auf dem Golfplatz für Freude: Moritz Seider! 😁

(📸 @adlermannheim) | #LGRW | @detroitredwings | #Seider pic.twitter.com/hLsfCJqcRp

— NHL Deutsch (@NHLde) August 3, 2025

2. And if you find yourself in Carinth, Austria between now and early September, Krone.at reports that Marco Kasper will be training on the ice with EC-KAC Klagenfurt of the ICE Hockey League at the Heidi Horten Arena, starting with the team’s on-ice premiere on Wednesday.

Kasper’s slated to skate with the “Rotjacken” (Red Jackets) for three weeks, and coach Kirk Furey is quoted as saying:

“Marco has a great attitude, brings a high level and always gives 100%,” emphasizes coach Kirk Furey. “Especially our young players can learn a lot from him.”

On Tuesday afternoon, MLive’s Ansar Khan discussed several remaining unrestricted free agents who the Red Wings could target with their $12 million in salary cap space, and I’d only take a look at two or three of Khan’s listed names:

Forwards (with position, age, 2024-25 cap hit)

Jack Roslovic, C, 28, $2.8 million: He’s probably the best player available after equaling a career-high with 22 goals and tallying 39 points for Carolina. He must score to be effective because he’s not a checker or defensive player.

Max Pacioretty, LW, 36, $873,000: He turns 37 in November and his play has declined the past three seasons due to age and multiple injuries. He had five goals and eight assists in 37 games with Toronto but elevated his game in the playoffs (eight points in 11 games).

Defensemen (age, 2024-25 cap hit)

Matt Grzelcyk, 31, $2.75 million: The longtime Boston Bruin tallied a career-high 40 points (including 39 assists) while playing 82 games for the first time with Pittsburgh. He had 15 assists on the power play.

I’m not interested in a reunion with Robby Fabbri or Andreas Athanasiou; Victor Olofsson is injured too regularly, and on defense, Jan Rutta‘s a “meh” candidate, and David Savard retired.

I know that Roslovic, Grzelcyk and even Pacioretty have their fits of the litter, so to speak, in terms of remaining teams interested, but it would be encouraging to see the Wings snag one of the aformentioned players.

NHL.com dropped this little ditty overnight, suggesting that Lucas Raymond might eventually be one of 20 young wingers who could join the NHL Network’s Top 20 Wingers at some point in the future. Why “at some point?”

NHL Network will reveal its list of the top 20 wings in the League right now Wednesday when the first of a nine-part series debuts (NHLN, 6 p.m. ET).

While we wait for that much-discussed annual list, NHL.com asked a panel of its writers to identify players who could join the top 20 list next season.

Here is the NHL.com list:

It’s an honor just being mentioned, I suppose…

Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings

Selected by the Red Wings with the No. 4 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Raymond quickly is developing into an elite offensive forward and soon could be considered one of the top 20 wings in the League. Raymond led Detroit last season with 80 points (27 goals, 53 assists) in 82 games. The Red Wings have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2015-16 and will be counting heavily on Raymond to help end the drought this season. The 23-year-old has continued his steady progression since he had 57 points (23 goals, 34 assists) in 82 games as a rookie in 2021-22. With his prime years still in front of him, it’s reasonable to believe Raymond could push for the 100-point plateau. Detroit has not had a 100-point player since Sergei Fedorov had 107 points (39 goals, 68 assists) in 78 games in 1995-96. — Derek Van Diest, staff writer

Continued…Maybe next year…