The Malik Report

Red Wings free agent signing Olli Maatta spoke with NHL.com/fi’s Teksti Simo Jarvinen, and Suomi Kiekko’s Joni Alatalo took note, of the conversation:

Olli Maatta is excited about this upcoming season with the Detroit Red Wings, and he also praised the team’s potential: “Able to raise his level tremendously”

The Detroit Red Wings made some tough additions to their team in recent weeks. They include, among others, Ville Husso, Andrew Copp, David Perron and Dominik Kubalik.

Finnish defenseman Olli Maata, who signed with Detroit on a one-year contract after a season with the Los Angeles Kings, can be added to that list. The 27-year-old Maatta has high expectations for the upcoming season.

“I”m excited about this opportunity. The team had good players even before the free agent market started, and now the recent signings have raised hope that the team wants to succeed. I really want to be a part of it,” said Maatta, according to the NHL’s Finnish website.

Maatta’s NHL career began in the 2013-14 season, and he’s played in 534 regular season games (30 goals, 106 assists, 136 points) and 85 playoff games (5 goals, 22 assists and 27 points) in the NHL. In addition to the Kings, he’s also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks. With the Penguins, he won two Stanley Cups. Maatta believes that he’s going to give the Red Wings some necessary experience.

“I remember how good a team the Red Wings had at the time. I hope I can bring the necessary value to help the team improve its play. Of course, it’s about trying to be yourself and finding your place in the lineup, but I believe that I have a lot to give to the team,” Maatta summarized.

Next season, Maatta will be able to play on the Red Wings together with, among others, the young German star Moritz Seider. The 21-year-old promising defenseman was chosen as the best rookie in the NHL last season, posting 7 goals, 43 assists and 50 points over the course of 82 games. Maatta was excited to discuss Seider’s properties and potential.

“He has good skill and attacking power. In addition, Seider plays excellently both ways. He’s an amazing talent to watch. Detroit has drafted well in recent years, and he’s proof of that. Seider is a defender who can raise his level tremendously over the next couple of seasons,” Maatta said.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Nate Brown continues DHN’s audit of the Red Wings’ prospect system with a profile of big Colgate junior and goaltender Carter Gylander.

Gylander is something of a wild card in the team’s goaltending system: the 21-year-old is a massive 6’5″ and 185 pounds, but he lost his starter’s job last season, which complicated his development.

Here’s Brown’s summary of Gylander’s game and achievements thus far:

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff wrote about Gylander last year and though on a team that isn’t in the spotlight as say a Boston University, or a University of Michigan, he’s held his own, including his freshman year.

…

Gylander is in a line of goaltender prospects that Yzerman has selected to bolster the pipeline. He was at development camp last week and though he might not have the attention that a Sebastian Cossa has, he’s certainly a prospect to keep an eye on.

Gylander’s junior season could be one that raises his profile some more. Gylander’s biggest issue is that his program isn’t as prominent. This certainly isn’t a negative- it’s just a reality. In the aforementioned game where he made 47 saves–it was on 53 shots. Detroit Hockey Now had Gylander ranked fifth in the system in the goaltender snapshot back in June.

The talent is certainly there, and development for goalies is always a bit more of a waiting game. Hammering down an estimated time of arrival is a bit trickier. Gylander’s rights don’t expire until August 15, 2024, which gives him his senior season as well to really showcase where his standing is in the system.

Continued; I think that Gylander’s best chance of making himself stand out in the Wings’ developmental system will to reclaim his starter’s spot next year and to continue developing as a junior and senior at Colgate.

He’s gigantic, and he’s working on tamping down his tendency to boot out big rebounds, but he needs more time to work on his game.

Red Wings prospect William Wallinder spoke with Rogle BK’s website’s Peter Ekholm, discussing the fact that, on his third try, he’s finally made the roster for Sweden’s World Junior Championship team which will take part in the World Juniors in Edmonton this August. Here’s a rough translation of the article:

Finally, camp for Wallinder: “It’s awesome to be here”

William Wallinder has taken part in his first camp with the Detroit Red Wings. Now he’s staying in Detroit to prepare for the World Junior Championship.

Defenseman William Wallinder will hardly get any time off from hockey this summer. Last week, he was on site in Detroit to take part in the team’s summer development camp, and he will soon be playing with the Junior Crowns [Juniorkrona] at the World Junior Championship.

“It was really cool to be on site to see their arena, training facility and explore the city, and of course to meet all the leadership and players,” says Wallinder.

Continue reading Roughly translated: William Wallinder’s excited to be preparing for the World Junior Championship (in Detroit)

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills reviews Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s remarks regarding his unrestricted free agent haul late last week, discussing Yzerman’s belief that his team has improved, but has to continue building under the guidance of its new coaching staff:

Yzerman, heading into his fourth season as the Red Wings’ executive vice president and general manager, hopes the new additions will help improve team defense and special teams, but knows progress doesn’t happen overnight.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Yzerman said. “We’ve got a lot of improving left to do. But the new players coming in and with our small nucleus of remaining players with the young kids coming in, I think we’re trending in the right direction.”

Under new coach Derek Lalonde and his staff, the Red Wings enter the 2022-23 campaign ready to build on a strong foundation of young talent. While the excitement level is high in Hockeytown, Yzerman wants to be realistic when evaluating Detroit’s rebuild.

“Time will tell,” Yzerman said. “I’m optimistic that we’re progressing, but the plan really hasn’t changed. I’m sticking with what I intended to do – keep younger guys and be patient with them, keep our draft picks and continue to build this way.”

Looking ahead, Yzerman added that he doesn’t anticipate making further splashes in free agency but is “always looking at ways to get better.”

“I don’t have a blockbuster in the works or anything like that,” Yzerman said. “I think we get through free agency and explore some teams that have to make moves in light of what’s happened. I think it’s important to keep looking around and keep communicating with other teams around the league to see if there’s any potential fit, but I wouldn’t expect me to announce any future signings.”

Continued

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a notebook article which discusses Red Wings prospect and Rogle BK defenseman William Wallinder, who was willing to admit at last week’s summer development camp that he’s not NHL-ready…yet.

Wallinder, 19, was honest with where he believes he’s at hockey-wise. There’s still room for improvement and catching up to do on the defensive end of the rink.

“I don’t feel like I’m there yet,” Wallinder said of being ready for North American pro hockey. “I’m going to spend another year in Sweden with Rogle and hopefully I’ll be ready after that season. It’s hard to tell (how playing in North America will be) but hopefully it translates pretty easy, so it’s like playing as usual.”

At 6-foot-4 and 191 pounds, Wallinder is maturing physically and already has shown aspects of his game that could translate some day to the NHL.

Last season at Rogle, playing at three different levels, Wallinder had five goals and 18 assists in 67 games, with a plus-12 rating. Moving from MoDo to Rogle worked out well.

“It went just the way I wanted,” Wallinder said. “I got my game going and my defensive game started to work (itself) out and went in the right direction. I (was) really comfortable this last season. It felt like everything was coming into place. All my defensive issues from the past, everything is good now.”

Wallinder gave a glowing report on Kasper, who the Wings selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft earlier this month.

“I played with him the entire season, he works hard,” Wallinder said. “He likes to go straight to the net and be a little dirty in front of the net. He’s a tough guy to play against. He’s a really skilled, too.”

Continued

This morning, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox listed 10 notable unrestricted free agents who remain available on the market, and, despite his status as a right-shooting, right defenseman, there is still speculation that 29-year-old John Klingberg will land in Detroit:

John Klingberg

Age: 29
Position: Defence
2021-22 salary cap hit: $4.25 million

The latest: Much like Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm, a younger Klingberg signed a sweetheart team-friendly deal and is finally due a meaningful raise.

While Klingberg’s production has dipped from his 67-point performance in 2017-18, top-four right-shot blueliners who can play in all situations never fail to command bidding wars.

That Klingberg remains searching for the proper dance partner is curious. A wild 24 hours suggested the Hurricanes, Kraken, Red Wings, and Senators were all in the mix here. Then, suddenly, the Dallas Stars were making a pitch to keep him in the fold.

A last-ditch return to Dallas fell apart, and the Hurricanes decided to trade for Brent Burns instead.

Where Klingberg — the top-rated D-man to hit the market — lands will be fascinating. Red Wings speculation persists.

Continued; if the Wings were to sign Klingberg, they’d probably need to trade Filip Hronek to both clear some cap space and to search for a left-side defenseman.

I don’t see the fit, but that’s just me.

This is pretty darn cool:

Confirmed: Big fan of the tattoo. https://t.co/bmD0Nilpc9 pic.twitter.com/1SBh9Gl0PE— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 19, 2022

@DetroitRedWings how many likes to get a video of the Moose’s reaction to my tattoo?🧐 I need this man to see the faith I have in him! pic.twitter.com/zFAbxSVYNm— Cameron Haskell (@CamHaskell1023) July 15, 2022

Red Wings prospects won several championships at the developmental hockey level this past season, including NCAA Division I hockey (Shai Buium, Carter Mazur and Antti Tuomisto at Denver), the WHL (Sebastian Cossa in Edmonton), the Champions Hockey League (Marco Kasper and William Wallinder with Rogle), the SHL (Albert Johansson with Farjestad) and USHL (Dylan James with Sioux City).

This morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses said championships, as well as what “winning” means in terms of prospect development:

It’s been six long seasons without playoff action for the Detroit Red Wings. However, several top prospects in the Detroit organization are sensing that championship feeling.

Numerous players climbing the ladder of the Red Wings chain won titles in their respective leagues last season. It might not be the Stanley Cup playoffs but it’s a title, and that’s a big deal at any level of the game. Making a long playoff run in whatever the league in which they are playing is an important step in the development of a player.

“I just think it’s great for their confidence, great for development, playing in playoff series, or college hockey winner go home sudden-death games,” Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman said. “I think they’re tremendous experiences. You build up your nerve, you build up your resolve.”

…

Yzerman believes whether players win or lose in a championship round, just surviving the grind and getting there is a benefit in itself.

“There’s a lot to be learned from winning and losing,” Yzerman said. “We’re very happy that some of these kids got a chance to go deep into their playoffs, or even win a national championship, or a championship in some cases.

“I think it’s great for their confidence as hockey players but also in their development, to be thrown into these situations and have to perform. Win or lose, you’re getting a lot out of it.”

Continued; the Wings prefer that the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toledo Walleye make the playoffs, too, to earn playoff experience at the professional level.

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin attempts to discern which non-playoff teams might make the post-season during the 2022-2023 season, and he includes the Red Wings in his column:

Detroit Red Wings: Detroit only spiked its points percentage from .429 in 2020-21 to a modest .451 this past season, but it was still improvement, and what made it particularly promising were the specific players contributing to the rise. Moritz Seider was already one of the league’s best all-round defensemen in his rookie season and won the Calder Trophy in a walk. Slick-mitted Lucas Raymond flashed excellent scoring touch and two-way intelligence. Top-line center Dylan Larkin had one of the best seasons of his career.

And GM Steve Yzerman evidently decided he saw enough promise to reward his young core with some veteran help. In a flurry of early-offseason activity, he traded for goaltender Ville Husso to form a tandem with Alex Nedeljkovic; signed forwards David Perron, Andrew Copp and Dominik Kubalik, and added defenseman Ben Chiarot. It remains to be seen if these were the right players to target for long-term contention but, in the short term, the Wings are undoubtedly better now than they were a year ago – while almost every other Atlantic Division team has gotten worse on paper this summer.

Continued

I have little time for “thought experiments,” and, this morning, two columnists offer just that.

2. First, the Free Press’s Mason Young ponders which 2022 draft pick (of the Red Wings, Tigers, Pistons or Lions) may eventually become the “next big thing in Detroit sports,” and Young makes it sound like he only includes Marco Kasper–and the Red Wings–because he has to:

Marco Kasper: Kasper probably won’t be a Red Wing for at least one more season while further honing his craft in Sweden, giving [Aidan] Hutchison, [Jameson] Williams, [Jaden] Ivey and [Jalen] Duren a huge jump start. But, as is the case is for Duren, the 18-year-old Kasper’s youth could be helpful.

Yet, Dylan Larkin is the beloved captain and leading scorer for the Red Wings, and a Waterford Mott High and Michigan Wolverines alum. One day, Larkin’s mantle may be Kasper’s to accept, but will he surpass Calder Trophy winner Mortiz Seider or talented 2020 pick Lucas Raymond to match Yzerman and Gordie Howe among the franchise’s greatest of all time? And if the Wings don’t start winning again, will anyone notice?

Ho hum, who cares about the Red Wings?

Oy. Vey. Don’t bother mentioning them if you’re not even interested in the team.

Anyway, I’m not sure that Kasper will be better than Seider or Raymond, but Marco (who confirmed to the Kleine Zeitung that, yes, he’s heading back to Sweden this upcoming season) is sharp, composed and self-confident about his excellent-and-improving skill set in a similar vein to Seider and Raymond…

2. And the Toronto Star’s Damien Cox suggests that the Maple Leafs ought to add to their stable of superstars by somehow adding another star to the mix, and he includes the Red Wings’ captain on his list simply because one Dylan Larkin will be 26 this July 30th:

Continue reading Grumpy George grouses about two ‘thought experiment’ columns