The Malik Report

As part of a promotion in which the NHL Network will discuss the “Top 20 wings” in the NHL via a 1-hour TV special this Sunday evening, NHL.com asked its writers to name 10 young players who may join the list in short order, and Mike G. Morreale picked Filip Zadina as a potential quick-riser:

Filip Zadina, RW, Detroit Red Wings — It remains a mystery to me how one of the finest goal-scorers of the 2018 NHL Draft fell to the Red Wings at No. 6. Zadina (6-foot, 195 pounds) will prove to be one of the steals of this draft class as the 18-year-old challenges for an NHL roster spot as early as this season. He’s a playmaker with hockey sense, great on special teams, and has a wicked wrist shot. In his first season in North America, he was named the top professional prospect in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League after finishing first in rookie scoring with 44 goals and 82 points in 57 games for Halifax. — Mike Morreale, staff writer

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MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses Jimmy Howard’s 2018-19 season outlook this morning:

2018-19 outlook: Howard started strong last season but lacked consistency from mid-November until the end of the season. If he stays healthy, he’s in line for another heavy workload, possibly 50-plus games. But he’ll be pushed for playing time by veteran free-agent signee Jonathan Bernier.

Howard’s performance will determine whether he earns another contract from the Red Wings. If he plays well, they’ll likely re-sign him to a short-term deal (two years). It’ll be a few years before any of their prospects (Filip Larsson, Keith Petruzzelli, Joren Van Pottelberghe, Kaden Fulcher) is ready to challenge for an NHL roster spot.

If Howard doesn’t perform well enough, he could be shopped at the trade deadline if there is a market for him.

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Expressen’s Magnus Nystrom and Johanna Dahlen spoke with several NHL’ers regarding concussions, using Johan Franzen as a prime example of outmoded policies and player attitudes toward head injuries, and Niklas Kronwall is consulted regarding his teammate’s career-ending injury:

Brutal–I get goosebumps when I think about it”

Johan Franzen has not been able to play for three years. The Swedish hockey star still suffers from the symptoms after concussions–and his fate has been shaken in the NHL.

After a series of serious brain injuries, several significant pros are now trying to get rid of the ‘game culture’ from the ice:

“It’s tragic that it had to get to this level at this moment,” says Gabriel Landeksog.

“I think the league and NHLPA players have set up good guidelines in recent years, it feels like there have been fewer ugly hits,” says Niklas Kronwall.

Johan Franzen has two years left on his contract with the Detroit Red Wings, but he can’t play ice hockey. He hasn’t been able to do so since 2015.

Then, the Swedish star was hit by Rob Klinkhammer, and had a serious hit to his head that forced him to finish his career.

Niklas Kronwall is still significantly affected when he speaks about the fate of Franzen:

“It’s brutal, I get goosebumps just thinking about it,” says Kronwall, who continues:

“He got a brain injury and was forced to step off, and then you think…that’s it.”

Continue reading Roughly Translated: Kronwall and Swedish NHL’ers talk about concussions and Johan Franzen

Twitter provides information for your hockey-watching needs! Via a question from Wingnut289, here’s the answer to your question, “Hey George, when does the annual MSU Pro Camp at Munn Arena take place?” via MSU Hockey:

Spartan Hockey Pro Camp Begins Monday

Annual camp will take place at Munn Ice Arena.

Aug. 16, 2018

EAST LANSING – The Michigan State hockey program’s annual Pro Camp will take place next week at Munn Ice Arena. The camp will run Monday, Aug. 20 — Friday, Aug. 24 with players skating from 10 a.m. — noon on Monday — Thursday, and then 9 — 11 a.m. on Friday. The camp is open and free to spectators.

The longtime camp, run by MSU director of hockey operations Brad Fast, goaltending coach Jason Muzzatti and former Spartan assistant Tom Newton, helps the players prepare for their upcoming training camps with their respective professional teams. MSU had players in the NHL, American Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League and in various European leagues last season. As in past years, several pros that did not play collegiately at MSU will also attend the camp.

Justin Abdelkader usually leads the list of Red Wings who participate in the camp, and next week is very busy for hockey fans as the Joe Kocur Foundation’s softball game will take place on Saturday the 25th, with Dylan Larkin’s Stars and Stripes Showdown to take place on Sunday the 26th.

Expressen’s Gunnar Nordstrom is well-regarded among the Red Wings’ Swedish players–to the point that when Nordstrom calls players after games, they pick up and hold conversations with Expressen’s NHL scribe from the team bus or tarmac–so when he speaks about the Wings, it’s important to pay attention.

This evening, Nordstrom penned a column about Henrik Zetterberg’s health, and while he offers no blockbuster revelations, he does reinforce the belief that Zetterberg’s ultimate future won’t be determined until sometime this September, at the earliest:

Here are his comments, roughly translated from Swedish:

Anxiety around Henrik Zetterberg–is his career over now?

Los Angeles. Can he play another season?

That’s the big question regarding Henrik Zetterberg’s future with the Detroit Red Wings.

The answer won’t be known for a few weeks.

Soon, the 38-year-old forward and team captain will test his troubled back when he comes to Detroit at the end of August.

Then Zata will make the decision if he can play this season.

The information comes from related persons to Henrik Zetterberg. The Hockey Star does not provide interviews right now.

The reason is that he doesn’t know how this thriller ends.

Summer training at home in Sweden has not given him a decisive answer.

It’s no secret that Zata went through the last NHL season with back pain.

But he is a fighter and played all 82 games in the regular season last winter.

And not only that, Zata was also consistently the Red Wings’ best player.

Continue reading Expressen’s Nordstrom weighs in on Henrik Zetterberg’s uncertain status

The Hockey News’s Jared Clinton offers a set of goaltenders who may usurp their teams’ starting goaltender’s spots, and while Jimmy Howard’s health is always of concern…I think that Clinton is writing Howard off to his peril:

JONATHAN BERNIER, DETROIT RED WINGS
As he enters the final season of a six-year contract with the Red Wings, it can safely be said that the writing is on the wall for veteran netminder Jimmy Howard. Long considered as a trade chip for Detroit, albeit one that they’ve been unable to move, the Red Wings went out and brought in some insurance for the oft-injured keeper this summer when they inked Bernier to a three-year, $9-million pact. And while Bernier might not seem a sizeable upgrade over the incumbent Red Wings netminder, the numbers suggest differently.

When Howard, 34, has been healthy over the past few seasons, he has managed a halfway decent .912 save percentage and 2.68 goals-against average across 123 games. But Bernier, though in a backup role, has been just as solid with a .912 SP and 2.75 GAA of his own. The difference? Bernier has more consistently average than Howard, who has only eclipsed a .910 SP once in the past five seasons. Bernier, meanwhile, has only one season below the .910 SP mark.

The two are all but certain to split time out of the gates, but if or when Howard stumbles — and if or when he falls injured — the crease is likely to fall into Bernier’s hands and it could remain that way for the next few seasons.

Continued, and Petr Mrazek makes Clinton’s list, too. Mrazek was also supposed to send Howard to the recycling bin.

I like Bernier, but it’s not going to be easy for him to knock off the Wings’ incumbent #1.

 

ESPN’s Sean Allen was very busy today, posting a set of fantasy hockey previews for the Atlantic Division’s teams, and Allen suggests that fantasy hockey poolies bet on the Wings‘ youth movement:

Detroit Red Wings

Kids are all right: The Wings need Tyler Bertuzzi, Filip Zadina, Anthony Mantha, Michael Rasmussen and maybe even Evgeny Svechnikov to have solid seasons for the rebuilding squad to show signs of a turnaround. Henrik Zetterberg is still around, and Dylan Larkin, while also young, will be leaned on as the top center, but the pieces around them will largely be filled by the aforementioned group. All of these offensive pieces appear to be coming at reasonable draft prices this season, so going in on high-ceiling players like Zadina and Mantha makes plenty of sense as your offense is filling out. Rasmussen can be left alone in shallower leagues until he officially makes the team.

Who is on D?: I don’t know if there’s a thinner defensive core for fantasy value in the NHL. Mike Green is Mike Green, so he’ll have streaks of value through the season, but that’s about where the buck stops. Filip Hronek is the only guy I’ll have my eye on as the season approaches. He turned some heads in the AHL last season running the Grand Rapids Griffins’ power play, but he’s still only 20.

Can Bernier emerge?: Jimmy Howard is 34 and his ratios took a hit last season, with him unable to follow up a 2016-17 campaign that offered a glimmer of hope. He’s in the last year of his contract and likely on his way to becoming a veteran backup sooner than later. Jonathan Bernier, on the other hand, has offered a tantalizing taste of high-ceiling goaltending as an injury replacement for two consecutive seasons. In short stints filling in for the Colorado Avalanche last season and the Anaheim Ducks the season prior, Bernier put in a body of work among the best in the NHL for short windows. I’ll have plenty of shares of him as a G3 or G4 for fantasy in later rounds and deeper leagues.

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If you haven’t been checking your YouTube subscriptions of late, AWood40, a.k.a. Alex Wood, has been producing a metric ton of Red Wings highlight videos on his YouTube page recently, starting with the Wings’ 1987 playoff series against Toronto and going from there.

Today, he posted a clip of Vladimir Konstantinov’s hits during the 1997 playoffs:

 

The Grand Rapids Griffins released their 2018-19 season promotional schedule today:

GRIFFINS RELEASE 2018-19 PROMOTIONAL SCHEDULE

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday announced their 2018-19 promotional schedule, which features a number of giveaways and the return of many popular season-long promotions.

Under first-year head coach Ben Simon, the Griffins will begin the home portion of their 76-game slate on Friday, Oct. 12 against the Hershey Bears with Opening Night presented by Huntington Bank. Promotions for the home opener include a magnet schedule giveaway and $2 beers/hot dogs.

Grand Rapids’ other giveaways include a 2019 calendar (Oct. 20), tumbler (Nov. 3), lunch box (Nov. 17), power bank (Dec. 1), athletic socks (Dec. 15), Bluetooth speaker (Dec. 29), plaid hat (Jan. 12), Rubik’s cube (Jan. 19), two bobbleheads (Jan. 26 and Feb. 9), and the third Griffins comic book (Feb. 9).

Key promotional dates include Hockey Fights Cancer (Nov. 2), the 18th annual School Day Game (Nov. 14 – 11 a.m. start), Princess Night (Nov. 17), Teddy Bear Toss (Nov. 23), Red Kettle Game (Nov. 30), Social Media Night (Dec. 1), Arcade Night (Dec. 15), the 22nd Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration (Dec. 31 – 6 p.m. start), Toy Night (Jan. 19), the Great Skate Winterfest (Jan. 19-20), Y2K Night (Jan. 25), Superhero Night (Feb. 9), Star Wars Night (Feb. 16), the eighth annual Purple Community Game (March 8), ‘90s Night (March 15) and the Jake Engel Memorial Dog Game (March 31).

The popular Friday night beer and hot dog promotion returns in conjunction with College Night presented by Michigan First Credit Union for all 14 Friday home games this season, featuring $2 hot dogs and $2 domestic drafts from 6-8 p.m., while supplies last. Free Ride Friday allows fans to enjoy complimentary fare on the Rapid by showing their ticket to that night’s game. Visit ridetherapid.org for schedule information, routes and maps.

Several other recurring promotions will be featured throughout the Griffins’ schedule, including 10 Winning Wednesdays, five post-game open skates, five Huntington Bank post-game autograph sessions with select Griffins players, and seven post-game jersey auctions. The jersey auctions are set to include Hockey Fights Cancer jerseys (Nov. 2), Red Kettle jerseys (Nov. 30), two fan-designed jerseys (Dec. 29 and Feb. 15), toy-inspired jerseys (Jan. 19), Van Andel Institute purple jerseys (March 8) and the team’s Friday night jerseys (April 12).

All promotions and dates are subject to change. For more information, visit griffinshockey.com or call (800) 2-HOCKEY.

Single-game tickets for all 38 regular season home games at Van Andel Arena will go on sale to the general public on Friday, Sept. 14.

Continue reading Grand Rapids Griffins release 2018-19 promotional schedule

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan examines the Red Wings’ defense this evening, and Kulfan duly notes that the Wings’ prospects on the blueline will have an uphill battle in their attempts to earn spots on the Wings’ roster:

Prospects such as Dennis Cholowski, Joe Hicketts, Filip Hronek and Libor Sulak are making concerted runs at roster spots.

One, maybe two, will break through this camp, given the way the defense’s depth chart is constructed.

“It’s easy to say one is going to be on our team and if we have two (young defensemen) push to be on our team, that means they’ve beat out good players and we’re a better hockey team,” Blashill said. “We’re not handing jobs. But if they end up beating players out, the theory is, we’re better because of it.

“There are guys certainly who have put themselves in positions to potentially win jobs. Filip Hronek, Sulak, Cholowski, Hicketts — all those guys have put themselves in position to win jobs. Now come to camp, and win a job.”

It won’t be easy to land more than one defenseman’s spot, as six of the positions appear all set.

Trevor Daley (age 34), Danny DeKeyser (28), Jonathan Ericsson (34), Green (32), Nick Jensen (27) and Niklas Kronwall (37) all return.

Continued