The Malik Report

Of prospect-related note from the time in which I was sidelined:

On Saturday, in the AHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins were shut out 4-0 by the San Antonio Rampage. The Griffins’ website posted a recap and photo gallery from the game; the Rampage’s website posted a recap.

In the ECHL, the Toledo Walleye beat the Kalmazoo K-Wings 8-5 in an exhibition game held at the Huntington Center. The Walleye’s website posted a recap, as did the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe; Toledo and Grand Rapids both open their regular seasons on Friday, October 12th. Continue reading Prospect round-up: Catching up with a busy weekend

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. Fox Sports Detroit posted its inside-the-locker-room video from the 1st intermission of Monday night’s 3-2 shootout loss to Anaheim:

2. The Free Press’s Helene St. James wrote a recap discussing the state of the Red Wings as the team returns home for a single game, and then heads on the road for four:

 Three close games, three losses, lots of learning.

The Detroit Red Wings return home still in search of their first victory of the season, but while they stagnate in the standings their young players are enriched. Rookie defensemen Dennis Cholowski, Libor Sulak and Filip Hronek are playing big minutes to offset the absence of veterans. Rookie forward Michael Rasmussen made a nice pass to earn his first NHL point. Second-year forward Tyler Bertuzzi already has two goals. Rookie Christoffer Ehn looks like a solid grinder-type.

That’s what needs to be the focus as the Wings nurse an 0-1-2 record despite playing well in back-to-back games at Los Angeles and Anaheim.

“We know where we are at in terms of having a young team, and we are looking towards a number of these guys to be the future of the Detroit Red Wings,” coach Jeff Blashill said after Monday’s 3-2 shootout loss at Honda Center. “I think as they continue to show improvement, that’s a positive for the organization. In the meantime, we’re working like crazy to win games and there are areas where we can be a little bit better.”

Continued

The Detroit Red Wings dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night, and the Wings return home for a single game (vs. Toronto on Thursday) before heading back on the road for 4 games (@Boston, @Montreal, @Tampa Bay, @Florida) spanning the middle of the month.

We should know much more about the now 0-1-and-2 Red Wings come October 22nd (when the Wings host Carolina) than we do now, but initial impressions suggest that this young-by-necessity Red Wings team is fleet of foot, smart with the puck, but prone to the kinds of mistakes and “teachable moments” that result in goals against.

Detroit will get no sympathy from the Ducks, either, as Anaheim celebrated its 25th anniversary with 6 rookies to Detroit’s 6, as the Orange County Register’s Elliott Teaford noted:

Continue reading Red Wings-Ducks wrap-up: shootout loss leaves Wings winless during young season

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to earn their first win of the 2018-19 season in Anaheim, hoping to spoil the Ducks’ 25th anniversary home opener.

There were some positives and some negatives to the Red Wings’ 3-2 shootout loss to Anaheim. The positives included Jimmy Howard’s 25-save effort–Howard made a couple of highlight-reel stops–the play of Tyler Bertuzzi (goal), Michael Rasmussen (assist) and most of the Wings’ defense (especially Libor Sulak and Dennis Cholowski)…

But the negatives included mistake-making by that same young defense, inattention to detail by the “kids” up front (the Mantha-Larkin-Nyquist line had a significant number of “almosts” because they didn’t bear down, and they weren’t alone), and some general sloppiness when playing special teams hockey (Detroit went 0-for-2 on the PP and stopped 3 Ducks PK’s), combined with a loss of energy level as the 3rd period ticked on down, was enough for Anaheim to get back into things with a 3rd period GTG (game-tying goal) and then nurse the game toward overtime.

Blashill made another bizarre challenge on a goal against as well (Silfverberg’s game-tying marker), and that timeout could have come in handy late in regulation.

So the Wings head home 0-1-and-2 ahead of a home game against Toronto before a road trip spanning a week-and-a-half and road games against Boston, Montreal, Tampa Bay and Florida.

Continue reading Red Wings-Ducks quick take: Wings flag late, quack up a shootout loss

From Crain’s Detroit Business’s Bill Shea:

Little Caesars Arena’s red seats to be swapped for black

The red seats at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena will be swapped for black seats over several months beginning in December.
All of the red seats at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena — which show up starkly on TV when they’re not filled during games — will be swapped for black seats over several months beginning in December, the venue’s operator said Monday evening.

The announcement comes 13 months after the building opened and its two primary tenants, the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons, were the subject of commentary about the unfilled bright red seats during games.

Seats in the entire lower bowl will be covered with temporary black fabric covers for all events during the replacement process, something that was done earlier this year during the 2017-18 Detroit Pistons season.

Olympia Entertainment, which manages the building, said in a statement that games and events won’t be affected because the seat replacement will be done in phases when there are no events at the arena.

“We evaluated every aspect of arena operations during the inaugural year, and after numerous discussions with the Pistons and other stakeholders, we have made the decision to install black seats at Little Caesars Arena,” said Chris Granger, group president for sports and entertainment at Ilitch Holdings Inc., in a statement. Ilitch Holdings is the umbrella company for the entities that built and operate the arena.

The original seat installation was a $3.5 million project contracted with Grand Rapids-based Irwin Seating Co., one of the country’s major manufacturers of stadium, arena and theater seating. The contract was for 18,600 seats.

Irwin will do the replacement job, Olympia confirmed to Crain’s. It wasn’t immediately clear what will happen with the current seats.

Continued

From the Toledo Walleye:

Former NHL forward Hensick joins Walleye

(Toledo, OH) – He has skated in 112 games in the National Hockey League and now forward TJ Hensick brings his skills to the Walleye agreeing to terms for the 2018-19 season.

Hensick was drafted in the third round of the 2005 draft (#88 overall) by the Colorado Avalanche out of the University of Michigan. The native of Howell, Michigan appeared in 60 games last year for the Ontario Reign of the AHL with 11 goals and 34 assists. In his career, Hensick has skated in 630 games at the AHL level since turning pro in 2007 with an outstanding 568 points (166G, 402A) while making the AHL All-Star Game four times.

His NHL career begun in his pro season when he skated in 31 contests for Colorado with six goals and five assists. In 2008-09, Hensick skated in 61 games for the Avalanche with 17 assists and 21 points. Thirteen more games went on his total in 2010-11 with the St. Louis Blues. In total, the 32 year old has 112 games at the NHL level with 12 goals, 26 assists, 38 points and 18 penalty minutes.

Hensick spent four years at Michigan that saw the 5’10”, 190 pound forward skated in 164 contests with an amazing 222 points (75G, 147A) for a 1.35 point per game average. One of his best college seasons came as a sophomore in the 2004-05 season with 55 points (23G, 32A) while helping the Wolverines become NCAA Champions. As a senior, Hensick dominated the college ranks with 66 points (23G, 46A) over just 41 games finishing as a Hobey Baker Award Finalist. The 69 points and 46 assists in 2006-07 led all NCAA players.

From the Bangor Daily News’s Larry Mahoney:

Junior Patrick Holway, the second-leading scorer among the University of Maine’s defensemen last year with 19 points on six goals and 13 assists, has decided to leave the men’s hockey program.

“I need to get back closer to home. It’s a personal matter and that’s all I can say about it,” said Holway. “We’ll see how things work out. It wasn’t an easy decision.”

Holway, a native of Cohasset, Mass., played in all situations and was a key contributor on the point on the power play.

The possessor of an NHL-caliber shot, Holway had a two goals and three assists on the power play. He also notched five game-winning assists last season.

He was the Hockey East Player of the Month for December.

The 6-foot-4, 201-pound Holway, who was drafted in the sixth round by the Detroit Red Wings (170th overall) in 2015, said he wasn’t sure what is on the horizon for him.

“I’m not sure yet. I haven’t thought about it. I’m going to keep all of my options open for now,” said Holway. “I’m just going to focus on taking things one step at a time.”

Continued

Hello. I’m sorry for the interruption in service over the past two days, but I’ve been suffering from a severe and sustained anxiety attack. I’ve taken extra medication to no avail, and am going to see my therapist today to try to “talk it out.” I hope to return today but will see how things play out. At present I’m in a lot of pain and feel severe fatigue, as is predictable with these attacks.

The Free Press’s Jamie Samuelssen (who also hosts the Jamie and Stoney Show on 97.1 the Ticket) wrote a very long column this morning, discussing his expectations for the Red Wings as the rebuild progresses this season:

You look at the Detroit Red Wings. You look at the division. You look at the conference. And you realize this season may bear a strong resemblance to last season. There will be pain. There will be losses. And barring a ton of things going right, there will be a third consecutive year without making it to the postseason.

And that’s fine. The Red Wings need players, and a first-round exit in the playoffs would benefit this team less than adding another top prospect. The motto “Lose for Hughes” (Michigan product Jack Hughes) has gained steam already among Red Wings fans. When we interviewed Holland on the radio Thursday morning, he understood the sentiment, but wasn’t about to talk about anything other than his team winning as many games as they possibly can.

Holland is also doing his job this year under the shadow of Steve Yzerman who stepped down as the Lightning GM last month and will essentially be a free agent after the season. Nobody knows what he wants to do next. Nobody knows what the Red Wings want to do next. But the facts are Yzerman’s family lives in Michigan, and his track record has been much better than Holland’s over the past five years.

Whatever off-ice drama takes place behind the scenes should have little effect on what happens on the ice. The Red Wings have a talented, young team which should delight us on certain nights and frustrate us on others. Did I mention they were young?

Here’s the good thing about watching the Red Wings this season: When we watch them on the ice, we know we are watching the future right here in Detroit. Sure, there are some holdovers from the past like Darren Helm, Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson. But for the most part, you know whenever the Red Wings are a playoff team again, you are watching a core group of players that will get them there.

Samuelssen continues…

 

Among Sportsnet’s Luke Fox’s weekly notes:

There is an urban legend about Henrik Zetterberg, and it goes like this: Whenever the Red Wings were offered a day off in a fun road city if they won that night, Zetterberg would absolutely explode on the score sheet.

Last fall in Vegas — when no one could beat the Knights at home — Zetterberg scored four points in Sin City with a bad back for a bad team. That’s captain material.

Detroit had two days off afterwards. Must’ve been fun. The Wings followed that victory on The Strip with six straight losses.

Nice touch by the Wings, bringing Zetterberg over from Sweden to drop the puck at Thursday’s home opener in Detroit.

“They’re looking to pass the torch to other guys,” long-serving former coach Babcock said. “I know when Stevie and Shanny left that year, they passed it on to Z and Pav and Nick, and they did just fine with it. So I imagine that, as a storied franchise, that they’ll retool and they’ll be ready to go.”

Continued with mostly Leafs stuff…