Via a Twitter heads-up from GriffinsNest, I took a look at the Finnish newspapers, and former Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Patrik Rybar has signed with Karpat Oulu of the Finnish Liiga:
Patrik Rybar signed with Karpat Oulu.https://t.co/oMEWrH0XcG https://t.co/LIKh7uJmUl— George Malik (@georgemalik) July 1, 2019
Rybar’s contract with Karpat goes through the 2021-22 is for 1 year, per their official website.
Fil is back:
The #RedWings today signed center Valtteri Filppula to a 2-year contract. pic.twitter.com/S8HavAUPSa— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 1, 2019
Appears #RedWings and Valtteri Filppula agree on a 2-year contract— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) July 1, 2019
Update: Helene St. James confirms on the Free Press’s website:
Filppula
The Finnish forward is rejoining the Wings, for whom he played from 2005-2013. Yzerman has history with Filppula, having signed him in 2013 to a five-year, $25 million deal while general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Filppula, 35, is an underwhelming but safe choice, a solid two-way guy who will be a good fit in the locker room, can play center or wing, and both special teams.
#RedWings two-year deal with Valtteri Filppula is for $3 million per season.— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) July 1, 2019
Fil’s got a good agent. https://t.co/7pR411psyY— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) July 1, 2019
I wonder about Frans Nielsen’s future on #RedWings…Nielsen and Filppula basically the same player, more or less. Don’t need 2 of these on a rebuilding team, ideally— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) July 1, 2019
Depth signing or something more?
Patrik Nemeth is heading to the #RedWings on a two-year deal with a nice raise from the $2.5 million he made last year.— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 1, 2019
Meanwhile…
#RedWings quiet thus far…and given the money that supposedly will be doled out today, you can understand why.— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) July 1, 2019
Nemeth is 28 and played this past season for the Colorado Avalanche, posting 1 goal and 9 assists in 74 games played. He’s 6’3″ and 219 pounds and shoots left.
The Athletic’s Max Bultman weighs in:
LRT: Nemeth would give the Red Wings a bit of veteran cover for next summer, when all their vets except Danny DeKeyser come off the books.— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) July 1, 2019
As Seravalli noted, Nemeth earned $2.5 million this past season, per CapFriendly.
Update: Here’s the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:
Continue reading Seravalli: Red Wings to sign defenseman Patrik NemethThe Free Press’s Helene St. James offers her suggestions as to who the Red Wings should pursue when free agency begins today at noon:
Think forward Valtteri Filppula, defenseman Ben Chiarot, guys like that. Maybe the Wings take another shot at Gustav Nyquist if he doesn’t get a five-year deal from another team (former Wings general manager Ken Holland tried to re-sign Nyquist last season, and lack of common ground led Holland to trade Nyquist).
Filppula, 35, is coming off a $2.75 million contract with the New York Islanders. The ex-Wing scored 17 goals among 31 points in 72 games. He also has history with Yzerman, who signed Filppula for five years, $25 million in 2013. Filppula is a sound 200-foot guy who can play center or wing and both special teams.
Richard Panik is another guy who could be a fit on a one- or two-year deal. He’s younger (28) and scored 14 goals among 33 points in 75 games last season for Arizona. He’s coming off a two-year, $5.6 million contract. He can play either wing and both special teams and adds some size at 6-foot-1, 208 pounds.
St. James says the Wings were interested in Corey Perry, too..
The Wings are likely to sign a defenseman. Niklas Kronwall has yet to announce whether he’s retiring or returning, but regardless, the defense corps needs to be addressed. Veterans Danny DeKeyser, Mike Green, Trevor Daley and Jonathan Ericsson are under contract, but given the injury history especially of Daley and Ericsson, the Wings cannot count on having either available a whole season. Filip Hronek has earned a spot on the roster, and Dennis Cholowski and newcomer Oliwer Kaski are expected to push for spots during exhibition season.
Chiarot, 28, is coming off a two-year, $2.8 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets. He had 20 points in 78 games and averaged 18:37 minutes per game. He could be a fit as a second-pairing defenseman and penalty killer.
According to MLive’s Ansar Khan, the Red Wings’ free agent plans involve signing up to two players:
The Detroit Red Wings are in the market for a forward and a defenseman
Via the Red Wings on Twitter:
#OTD in 1993: The #RedWings acquire Kris Draper from the Winnipeg Jets for future considerations. pic.twitter.com/uIffCv3fCZ— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) June 30, 2019
Sorry I’m late with this one:
Sounds like Calvin Pickard is joining the #RedWings on a two-year deal. He’s expected to compete with Jonathan Bernier in training camp to back up Jimmy Howard.— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 30, 2019
Pickard is still 27, and I’m gathering that he’ll start for the Griffins. Per TSN:
The 27-year-old split the 2018-19 season between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Arizona Coyotes.
In 17 games with the two teams, he posted a 4-6-2 record with a 3.86 goals against average and .875 save percentage.
The Moncton, New Brunswick native has spent time with the Colorado Avalanche and Toronto Maple Leafs over the course of his five-year NHL career.
As The Athletic’s Max Bultman reports, Filip Larsson knew this past week that he was going to have competition in GR:
Top Detroit goalie prospect Filip Larsson was asked this week about his goals for the upcoming season w/rt how many games he hopes to play if he is indeed in Grand Rapids. His answer: pic.twitter.com/c9K21UDz5f— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) June 30, 2019
The Red Wings’ beat writers have weighed in as to what the team might want to do as the Wings approach free agency tomorrow, and Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff makes some bold UFA suggestions this afternoon:
There are some players who figure to interest the Wings that aren’t going to be settling for short-term pacts. That includes former Detroit forward Gustav Nyquist. Others like forwards Wayne Simmonds and Brett Connolly and defenseman Anton Stralman are likely to garner longer term from other teams.
A possibility could be journeyman defenseman Ron Hainsey. He’s 38, and played in Ann Arbor with USA Hockey’s NTDP, so he’s familiar with the area. He’s a reliable, stay-at-home type who’s won a Stanley Cup.
Hanisey averaged 20 minutes a game with Toronto last season and played 81 games. Hainsey could also be a guy the Wings would be able to flip to a contender at the NHL trade deadline.
Longtime Wings antagonist Corey Perry is also a free agent after being bought out by Anaheim. He could add abrasiveness in a bottom-six forward role and would be another that might interest a contender at the deadline.
An intriguing possibility is forward Joonas Donskoi. He’s another bottom-six forward type who can put the puck in the net, with back-to-back 14 goal seasons on his resume. But at 27, he’s not likely to get a longer-term pact from some team.
The Athletic’s Max Bultman offers his observations regarding the Red Wings’ summer development camp this afternoon, and Bultman’s introduction may serve as the best summary of what the summer development camp is about:
“We’re working on a lot of things that are uncomfortable for these guys,” said Detroit’s director of player development Shawn Horcoff. “We’re trying to work on skills that are going to help them in the future, skills they’re going to need to develop in order to play in the NHL, and they’re not there yet. That’s just how it works. They’re kids. And so, if they’re worried about evaluation, they won’t try the necessary things. They’re scared to make mistakes, so to (speak), so we make that very clear.”
That’s the eternal ethos of development camp. Horcoff’s job is to develop the players, and evaluation, by necessity, plays a part in that. But he’s not worried about picking the opening-night lineup in a few months. He won’t have to.
What’s inevitable, though, is that impressions are made over the course of a week. Even if they’re pretty low consequence, they’re there. Steve Yzerman and Jeff Blashill were in a Little Caesars Arena suite Saturday for the annual Red & White game, a reminder that, in just over three months, one or two of the prospects playing in front of this late-June crowd could also be on the ice for the home-opener against Dallas.
Continued (paywall)…
Sports Illustrated’s hockey staff compiled a list of pressing off-season questions for each and every one of the NHL’s 31 teams. As the Red Wings prepare for free agency, SI’s staff suggests that Steve Yzerman’s free agency and summer trade season plans serve as the Wings‘ biggest unknown:
Detroit Red Wings: What will Steve Yzerman do?
Back in Detroit, Yzerman has the keys to the team that Ken Holland built. Yzerman made his first mark on the rebuild at the draft, selecting German defenseman Moritz Seider earlier than anyone anticipated. The undertaking is similar to his time in Tampa Bay: Find the pieces to supplement the team’s core. Yzerman is stocked with nine picks in the first three rounds of the 2020 and 2021 drafts. Bonfide No. 1 center Dylan Larkin headlines a forward group flush with talent, including Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi. The defense, though, is shaky at best and needs some attention.
I’m just not sure whether the Red Wings need to address their defense via free agency. If they’re not going the “veteran route” (think Dion Phaneuf or Anton Stralman), the names out there (per CapFriendly) are going to be Joel Edmunson, Ben Hutton, Jake Gardiner, Patrik Nemeth, Joe Morrow or Ben Chariot (among others).
Aside from Gardiner, the long story shot for the 20-somethings is that they’ve either got a limited offensive upside or they have to answer serious questions about their consistency and form.
We’ll see what the Yzerplan is for both the Red Wings and Griffins over the course of the next 7 days. I am hoping that Yzerman sits on the sidelines and allows as much of that $12 million in cap space to sit fallow as possible, but that’s just me.
Dear GM Steve,
Please let this be your Monday.
Thanks,
George pic.twitter.com/WUZcRSwarc— George Malik (@georgemalik) June 30, 2019
