Red Wings super-video-maker Alex Wood, a.k.a. AWood40 on YouTube, has produced a 58-minute highlight clip of Henrik Zetterberg’s early career, from his NHL debut in 2003 to the Wings’ Conference Final appearance in 2007:

The Toledo Blade is examining the “state of sports” in Toledo and Northwest Ohio, and today, the Blade’s Mark Monroe discusses the phenomenon that is the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. The Walleye draw huge crowds, play damn well, and help develop the occasional Red Wings prospect. Monroe notes that the state of the sport–for now, anyway–is very good:

The Walleye organization has enjoyed steady support since its inception, but a recent uptick in success on the ice has led to record-setting attendance.

The team has enjoyed consistent success at the turnstiles in the ECHL — annually ranking near the top in total attendance.

After they failed to make the playoffs in three of their first five seasons, the Walleye bottomed out with a 21-44-7 record in 2013-14. Former coach Derek Lalonde, an unknown commodity when he took charge in 2014-15, led Toledo to the greatest turnaround in ECHL history. Lalonde, who is now an NHL assistant in Tampa Bay, turned the keys over to current coach Dan Watson after leading the Walleye to the Brabham Cup (regular-season title).

Toledo has since earned a playoff berth in five consecutive seasons and has reached the conference finals three times in that span.

Watson earned ECHL coach of the year honors in 2017, and general manager Neil Neukam has been named ECHL executive of the year the past two seasons.

“With the excitement and energy of our brand, the city and region have fallen in love with the organization,” said Neukam, whose franchise hosted the ECHL All-Star Game for the first time in January. “It’s a great game, and you don’t have to be a fan to love it. It’s a very special sport.”

The Walleye set a team attendance record for the fifth consecutive year.

“What has made the Walleye so successful, and the reason why they are one of the few teams in Double-A hockey to turn a profit, is that they sell family entertainment,” Saevig said.

Continued at length…

I am a little wary of posting this as the Wings website’s personnel listings can be wonky, but the Winged Wheel Podcast’s Ryan Hana noted some significant changes made to the Wings’ hockey operations webpage:

Tyler Wright, Director of Amateur Scouting, is no longer listed on the Detroit Red Wings official Hockey Operations page. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/mdQIYaPiQd— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) July 10, 2019

Jeff Finley (Chief Amateur Scout), Andrew Dickson (Amateur Scout), Glenn Merkosky (Pro Scout), Archie Henderson (Pro Scout) are all also no longer listed. #LGRW— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) July 10, 2019

Wright, Finley and Dickson worked as a unit and all hail from the Vernon, BC area, which is Ken Holland’s home. The Oilers’ website still lists Edmonton’s normal staff, and the Lightning’s website still lists Al Murray as their chief of amateur scouting, so you may discuss this among yourselves.

My best guess? I would assume that the Red Wings let the contracts of Wright, Finley and Dickson expire on July 1st, and that Henderson and Merkosky followed Holland to Edmonton.

If I may put it bluntly, Wright’s staff landed some very solid second-and-later-round picks, but their first-round drafting was…sketchy.

Where do they go from here? Pat Verbeek and Ryan Martin (who runs the Griffins) are assistant GM’s and Kris Draper remains a special assistant to the GM, so there’s enough talent to go around, assuming that Steve Yzerman doesn’t want to bring in his own staff.

Via the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe on Twitter, the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye made a player-signing announcement today:

Forward Justin Buzzeo (buzz-ee-oh) has agreed to terms with the Toledo Walleye for the 2019-20 season.

Buzzeo has spent the past two seasons in Europe including appearing in a total of 43 games this past season with 12 goals and 21 assists. The Windsor, Ontario native last played in the ECHL in the 2016-17 season when he split the year between Atlanta and Orlando. That season Buzzeo posted career highs scoring 19 goals with 44 assists in 69 games played. In 139 career ECHL games played he has 31 goals, 63 assists with 66 penalty minutes.

“Justin is a tremendous hockey player,” said Head Coach Dan Watson. “He has parlayed a strong college career into a terrific professional one that will make him a great asset for us.”

The 5’11”, 174 pound forward spent four years (2011-2015) at Ferris State University prior to turning professional. Buzzeo posted 68 points (29G, 39A) in 122 career game for the Bulldogs. His 32 points (14G, 18A) in 2013-14 tied for the team lead over 42 games. Twice Buzzeo landed on the WCHA All-Academic Team from 2013-2015.

Justin Buzzeo played with former @ToledoWalleye D Simon Denis and F Kyle Bonis at Ferris State. https://t.co/kdQHUn7hBs— Mark Monroe (@MonroeBlade) July 10, 2019

The AHL and the Grand Rapids Griffins have released their 2019-2020 regular season schedule today:

Continue reading Grand Rapids Griffins release 2019-2020 regular season schedule →

The Athletic’s Joe Smith posted a lengthy interview with Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik this afternoon, and Smith’s interview includes the following discussion of Steve Yzerman’s decision to step down as Tampa Bay’s GM and eventually rejoin the Red Wings:

Last summer, you said you were surprised Steve stepped down (as GM). I think everyone was. I don’t think many people are surprised that he ended up back in Detroit (as Red Wings GM). Is this what you expected to happen, too, or was there still hope he’d stay with the Lightning beyond this year?

I hoped he’d stay beyond this year. [GM] Julien [BriseBois] (did), too. Steve talked about how his family needed him in Detroit and still needs him there. That was the right decision for him. Certainly, in the back of my mind, I knew there’s a good chance he’d become the manager of the Wings. At the end, he was very respectful. He didn’t have conversations (with Detroit) until later into the season. I’m not sure that any of us were surprised. I wish him the best of luck being the second-best team in the NHL.

Have you spoken with Yzerman much since he left?

We sat in these two seats where we are now, had a conversation after the end of the season, spent three or four hours together. We were talking about the last eight or nine years, talking about the season, why we lost — just enjoying each other’s company. We had a great run together.

But he apologized: “Sorry I didn’t bring you the Stanley Cup.” That’s why Steve was here, and that was his main motive. We wanted sustained success, a chance to win each year. And a lot has to go right to win. But we didn’t. Every year that goes by, that becomes even more our focus.

Continued (paywall)

From the Detroit Red Wings:

2019 NHL Prospect Tournament and Training Camp return to Traverse City

21st Annual Prospect Tournament set for Sept. 6-10; Training Camp will run Sept. 13-16

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today announced that the team will return to Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City, Mich., to host their annual NHL Prospect Tournament and Training Camp, as well as the 21st Annual Training Camp Golf Classic at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme, Mich.

NHL PROSPECT TOURNAMENT

The NHL Prospect Tournament returns to Traverse City for its 21st season, running from Friday, Sept. 6 through Tuesday, Sept. 10. The eight-team field consists of prospects from the Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, the defending tournament-champion Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs, who will participate in the tournament for the first time, replacing the Carolina Hurricanes.

Continue reading Red Wings release key dates for prospect tournament and main training camp →

Of Twitter-related note this morning:

1. Via Expressen:

My heartfelt condolences go out to Greg Johnson’s family. What a great teammate. RIP— Nicklas Lidstrom (@NicklasLidstrom) July 10, 2019

Sad to hear about the passing of former Red Wing Greg Johnson. One of the nicest pro athletes I’ve ever met. He was a pleasure to interview and just a great guy to be around.— Ken Kal (@KenKalDRW) July 10, 2019

2. In the alumni department, via CapFriendly and the Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa:

NY #Islanders signed free agent G Jared Coreau to a 1 year/2-way contract.

NHL: $700,000
Minor: $225,000 ($275,000 gtee)

Coreau will be an Unrestricted Free Agent again next summer.https://t.co/DDJTQkwoGS pic.twitter.com/YI6oyvoC2k— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) July 10, 2019

3. In the charitable event category:

Continue reading Tweets of note: Nicklas Lidstrom on Greg Johnson; on charitable events →

Hockeysverige.se’s Ronnie Ronnqvist posted an extensive interview with new Red Wings defenseman Patrik Nemeth today, and here’s a rough translation thereof:

Why the NHL Swede chose Detroit: “There needed an addition to the back of the defense”

He didn’t stay in Colorado–and landed a more lucrative contract in Detroit. To Hockeysverige.se, defenseman Patrik Nemeth tells about the years in Colorado and the left he hopes to earn with his new team.

“When you come to a new team, there are new eyes that see you and you really have the chance to make a [good] first impression,” he says.

Patrik Nemeth had a rather tough introduction to the NHL. He traveled over to join the Dallas organization in 2012. He played five seasons, but a nasty wrist injury yielded him not securing a position on the team. For the last two seasons, he’s been playing for Colorado, which was a boost for the 27-year-old from Kista. There he received a lot of playing time and good defensive responsibilities. Before the upcoming season, Nemeth became a free agent on July 1st, and it was Detroit that chose to sign him.

“It’s a process that you go through. The interview period starts a week before the first of July. It’s teams who interview and check your interest. then your agent asks the teams, ‘Where do you see him playing?’ In the end it sifted down to a handful of teams where everything felt more concrete and real,” says Nemeth when hockeysverige.se meets him for an interview on the Tyreso Strand.

Continue reading Roughly translated: Patrik Nemeth speaks with Hockeysverige.se’s Ronnie Ronnqvist →

MLives Ansar Khan profiles Red Wings prospect Ryan Kuffner this morning, noting that Kuffner chose to take part in the Wings’ summer development camp despite playing in 10 NHL games this past season:

Kuffner, 23, focused on individual skills during the Red Wings’ recent development camp.

“You’re playing against bigger guys,” Kuffner said. “It’s about spinning out in the corner and working on the stuff that you see on the ice, in-tight skills that are the difference-maker in the pros that so many of those guys do so well. I was able to witness it, but it’s just one thing I really have to work on.”

Another is lower-body strength.

“That’s pretty much in the corners, the tight spaces, because if you can be on the opposite side of the pushing around, that’s massive,” the 6-1, 195-pound Kuffner said. “Then it just opens up an extra second to make a play and that’s more than enough time to be able to make a difference. I think it’s strength, especially on the bottom, but working the whole body and just getting as strong as I can, not necessarily as big.”

The Ottawa native is spending the summer in metro Detroit, living with Patrick Holway, a defenseman the Red Wings drafted in the sixth round in 2015, who’ll be attending Merrimack College in the fall. He’s skating three times a week and training with the likes of Dylan Larkin, Luke Glendening and Darren Helm.

“I think a big thing for me this summer is just being here, being with the guys, doing everything we can to make it a competitive environment because that’s only going to make us better,” Kuffner said.

Khan continues