Kulfan’s notebook: Wings, Pistons playing on Saturday at Little Caesars Arena

The Red Wings and Pistons are holding a double-header at Little Caesars Arena for the first time tomorrow, December 18th. The Pistons will play a 12 PM EST game against the Houston Rockets, and then the Red Wings will host the New Jersey Devils at 8 PM EST.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spoke with Ilitch Sports & Entertainment’s Tim Padgett regarding the first attempt to pull off an NBA-and-then-NHL-game-hosting day:

“It’s definitely going to be a challenge but it’s something that we’re excited about, and something we’ve been looking forward to doing since we opened the venue (in 2017),” said Tim Padgett, vice-president of venue operations for Ilitch Sports & Entertainment. “It’s something we’ve been planning for a long time and we’re in good shape for it. We’ve had a lot of meetings, literally for months. To see it all come together, it will be super satisfying for sure.”

The hoopla actually began Friday with the WJLB Big Holiday Show concert at LCA. That meant the conversion team was transforming the venue for basketball, with shoot-around beginning as early as 9 a.m., then converting for hockey immediately when the Pistons end at approximately 2:30 p.m.

“There’s no rest for those guys,” said Padgett of the approximately 80-member team that transforms the arena from event to event. “They’ll put in a very long day (Saturday). They’ll be in the arena at night converting all night and be ready for the shoot-around and they’ll get some time off during the day and be back for hockey.

“Then we’ll have the Pistons on Sunday (against Miami, 6 p.m.) and would have had the Wings on Monday (the game has been postponed) and back to basketball Tuesday with Oakland and Michigan State. That COVID game (Colorado’s COVID issues necessitated Monday’s game to be postponed), as much as we hate to see it happen, it gives our conversion team one night of rest they weren’t expecting.”

Having a basketball and hockey game on the same day gets a large segment of fans into downtown Detroit for essentially the whole day. It also frees up the calendar to get concerts or shows for open, available evenings.

“People will take in both games, which is awesome, and there will be a lot of people in the district going to restaurants, and going forward, it gives us an opportunity to put more events in the building,” Padgett said. “Normally you’d see a more of a Pistons game on Friday night, but we’re able to get our guests an opportunity for a concert and both (teams) on Saturday and a Pistons game on Sunday.”

Continued, and this is a very good read!

Still fundraising

“Some days are better than others” is one of my favorite U2 songs, and it’s certainly true for blog fundraising.

There are days that your generosity seems to know no bounds, and days where I really feel the holidays and inflation squeezing your wallets. I understand where you’re coming from, and it’s…

It’s a hard thing to do, to plain old ask for support, and I’m learning to get comfortable being uncomfortable. We’re fairly close to getting the property taxes paid off, but nowhere close to being able to afford a phone that, in the words of Aunt Annie, isn’t “breaking apart” (my screen is peeling right off my 6-year-old phone, which is kind of scary), so:

This is the NPR of blogs, for now, at least. No ads, no paywalls, but yes, fundraising posts. And if you can assist me in staying in my condo and just doing the basic stuff that a non-profit does, that would be awesome. If not, that’s okay.

If you’re willing to lend a hand, you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check.

Griffins release Max Humitz from PTO

From the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS RELEASE HUMITZ FROM PTO

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday released left wing Max Humitz from his professional tryout.

A second-year pro, Humitz competed in one contest with Grand Rapids during his third stint with the team this year. The forward logged one assist in two games with the Griffins from Nov. 5-6 and appeared in four contests from Nov. 17-28. The Livonia, Mich., native has skated in seven games this season with Grand Rapids, totaling one assist and a plus-three rating. Humitz will return to the Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL) where he has eight points (6-2—8) and eight penalty minutes in nine outings

Prospect round-up, Europe: Kivenmaki and the no-shows

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in Europe on Friday:

In the Finnish Liiga, Eemil Viro did not play in TPS Turku’s 4-2 loss to Lukko as Viro is with the Finnish World Junior team;

Otto Kivenmaki finished a +1 in 17:19 of ice time as the Lahti Pelicans lost 4-3 to KalPa;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Filip Larsson was absent from HV71’s roster, but they won 4-0 over Tingsryds AIF anyway;

And Albin Grewe remains out for Mora IK with a concussion. Mora won a 3-2 decision over Vasteras IK.

Grand Rapids Griffins’ games vs. Toronto postponed this weekend

Per the AHL:

Due to league COVID-19 protocols affecting the @TorontoMarlies, their games through Dec. 21 have been postponed.

Details: https://t.co/q5bWPAWeuv pic.twitter.com/CnvKNEK1pW— AHL Communications (@AHLPR) December 17, 2021

Grand Rapids was to have hosted the Marlies tonight and Sunday.

The Griffins’ home games scheduled for this Saturday, Dec. 18 and Sunday, Dec. 19 against the Toronto Marlies have been postponed due to league COVID-19 protocols affecting the Marlies.

Ticket info >> https://t.co/WR4tk9ns3U pic.twitter.com/3g7UD6C1A5— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) December 17, 2021

Here’s the Griffins’ press release:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The American Hockey League on Friday announced that the Grand Rapids Griffins’ home games scheduled for this Saturday, Dec. 18 and Sunday, Dec. 19 against the Toronto Marlies have been postponed due to league COVID-19 protocols affecting the Marlies, as well as Toronto Public Heath workplace guidelines.

Make-up dates have not yet been determined. All tickets purchased for this weekend’s games will be honored for the rescheduled game dates that will be announced soon. Those using mobile ticketing will see the new date and time automatically reflected when make-up dates have been determined, and all printed tickets will be valid for the new dates. Fans who have questions regarding their Dec. 18 or Dec. 19 tickets are asked to email customerservice@griffinshockey.com.

The Griffins will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 22 when they welcome the Milwaukee Admirals to Van Andel Arena at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game via AHLTV or tune in to Newsradio WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM.

NHL’s ‘pauses’ for Avs, Panthers, Flames = Detroit vs. Colorado on December 20th is postponed

From the NHL:

The @NHL has extended the period of game postponements for the @NHLFlames through Dec. 23.

Additionally, @Avalanche and @FlaPanthers games also will be postponed at least through the scheduled completion of the League’s Holiday Break on Dec. 26. https://t.co/uwKuHkEhJw pic.twitter.com/d8r558IcCa— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 17, 2021

So the Red Wings’ game vs. the Avs at Little Caesars Arena on December 20th has been postponed…And the Wild, who are the Wings’ last opponent before Christmas (in Minnesota on the 23rd), have had their last two games postponed due to COVID issues on their opposing teams.

The Red Wings are confirming the news:

Red Wings vs. Avalanche game on Dec. 20 has been postponed.

More details to come. https://t.co/7lodH57yXA— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 17, 2021

All tickets for Monday’s game will be valid once a new date for the game is selected.— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 17, 2021

Update #2: Here’s the NHL’s press release, per the Red Wings’ PR:

NHL FURTHER DELAYS FLAMES’ RETURN TO PLAY; AVALANCHE & PANTHERS ALSO SHUT DOWN THROUGH THE HOLIDAY BREAK

NEW YORK (Dec. 17, 2021) – The National Hockey League announced today that it has extended the period of game postponements for the Calgary Flames through their game previously scheduled for Dec. 23 against Seattle. Additionally, due to concern with the number of positive cases within the last two days as well concern for continued COVID spread in the coming days, the Colorado Avalanche’s and Florida Panthers’ games also will be postponed at least through the scheduled completion of the League’s Holiday Break in the schedule on Dec. 26. The decision was made by the NHL’s, the NHLPA’s and the Club medical groups.

A decision on when each team’s training facilities will re-open will be made by the League and the NHLPA in the coming days. The League is in the process of reviewing and revising all three teams’ regular season schedules.

The Flames’ postponed games to date include: Dec. 13 @ Chicago; Dec. 14 @ Nashville; Dec. 16 vs. Toronto; Dec. 18 vs. Columbus; Dec. 21 vs. Anaheim; Dec. 23 vs. Seattle.

The Avalanche’s postponed games include: Dec. 18 vs. Tampa Bay; Dec. 20 @ Detroit; Dec. 22 @ Buffalo; Dec. 23 @ Boston.

The Panthers’ postponed games include: Dec. 18 @ Minnesota; Dec. 21 @ Chicago; Dec. 23 vs. Nashville.

The Flames, Avalanche and Panthers organizations have followed, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of their Players, staff and community at large as set by the NHL, local, state/provincial and federal agencies.

A bit of praise for Simon Edvinsson, WJC star-to-be?

Daily Faceoff’s Chris Peters was tasked with listing a set of 32 prospects to watch during the World Junior Championship in Edmonton starting on Christmas Day, and his pick for the Red Wings is a good one:

Detroit Red Wings: Simon Edvinsson, D, Sweden

The Red Wings have eight prospects in the tournament, but the one I’m most looking forward to seeing is Edvinsson, who has been having a phenomenal year in Sweden. He does a little bit of everything, but has really seen his offensive game blossom this year. As a 6-foot-5 defenseman with outstanding mobility, he should play major minutes for Sweden in this tournament.

Others: G Sebastian Cossa (CAN), C Red Savage (USA), RW Carter Mazur (USA), D Dononvan Sebrango (CAN), D Eemil Viro (FIN), G Jan Bednar (CZE), C Theodor Niederbach (SWE)

Continued

Yahoo Sports’ Psihogios praises Moritz Seider in his weekly fantasy hockey column

Among Yahoo Sports Stephen Psihogios’ 10 Fantasy Hockey Takeaways:

Moritz Seider (82 percent rostered on Yahoo) has been special

If you were one of the lucky people who plucked Moritz Seider off the waiver wire at the beginning of the year, congratulations: you’re rostering a stellar defenceman.

Seider recorded his 20th-career point this past week and became the third-fastest Detroit Red Wings blueliner to reach the mark as a rookie. The 29 games it took for Seider to hit the plateau sit just seven behind the great Nicklas Lidstrom, and any time your name is beside his, that’s a sign that you’re doing something right.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t good news for Jeff Sharples (whom I admittedly had to look up after reading this), but it seems much more plausible that Seider has more in common with Lidstrom than Sharples.

Currently, Seider is on pace for 57 points, which would be the most from any rookie blueliner since, coincidentally, Lidstrom tallied 60 points in 1991-92. 

What we’ve seen out of the young German rearguard so far is very impressive, and those who were proactive in fantasy are reaping the rewards.

Continued

The Athletic’s beat writers offer round-table discussion on the state of Detroit sports

The Athletic’s Detroit sportswriters–Chris Burke, Cody Stavenhagen, Max Bultman and James L. Edwards III–engaged in a round-table discussion regarding Detroit’s “four major sports teams'” rebuilding efforts, and here’s what they said about the “Face of Detroit Sports”:

Who is the face of Detroit sports right now?

Stavenhagen: As an Oklahoma State grad, my knocks on Cade Cunningham last year were, like, 50 percent just a bit. He’s proving he can be a franchise-type player. So if it’s not Cade yet, I think it will be soon. 

Burke: I think I argued for Dylan Larkin, like, three years ago, when we first did this. I’m definitely going to bang the table for him now as the Red Wings start to turn a corner. There’s a case for Cade, Casey Mize, T.J. Hockenson and — still — Miggy. But Larkin’s a hometown, homegrown talent on a rising club that the fans are starting to find again.

Bultman: It’s fair to debate Cade versus Mize or Torkelson, who have the No. 1 pick factor, and I think Chris’ point about Larkin as the homegrown captain is good (though with all the face time Raymond and Seider are getting, they may soon challenge him for face of the Red Wings). 

But come on: Whoever emerges as the Lions’ QB of the Future is going to quickly become the face of the city’s sports. If that means the city’s sports face is a vague silhouette right now … well, I’d make that case!

Edwards: If the Pistons were better, I think it would be Cade without a doubt. I think he eventually settles into that, though. For now, Larkin makes the most sense for all the reasons you guys mentioned. I could see Torkelson making a run, too, when he gets situated at the top level. And, of course, whoever the Lions QB is will be worshipped. That person just isn’t in place yet.

So, just to rank, I’ll go: 1. Larkin, 2. Cunningham, 3. Miggy

Continued (paywall); I hate to agree with Bultman here, but the Lions tend to rule the town. In no small part thanks to 97.1 the Ticket’s propaganda machine.

AP posts Red Wings-Devils preview

The Associated Press posted a bullet-pointed Red Wings-Devils preview ahead of Saturday’s game between the two teams:

New Jersey Devils (10-13-5, sixth in the Metropolitan) vs. Detroit Red Wings (14-13-3, second in the Atlantic)

BOTTOM LINE: New Jersey heads into the matchup with Detroit as losers of four straight games.

The Red Wings are 8-7-2 in conference play. Detroit ranks 10th in the Eastern Conference with 29.2 shots per game and is averaging 2.7 goals.

The Devils are 4-3-2 against opponents from the Metropolitan. New Jersey is 10th in the Eastern Conference averaging 4.6 assists per game, led by Jesper Bratt with 0.6.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season for the two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Lucas Raymond has 27 total points for the Red Wings, 10 goals and 17 assists. Dylan Larkin has 9 points over the last 10 games for Detroit.

Bratt leads the Devils with 16 total assists and has 24 points. Tomas Tatar has three goals and two assists over the last 10 games for New Jersey.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Wings: 6-4-0, averaging 2.8 goals, 4.8 assists, 2.8 penalties and 6.5 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game with a .904 save percentage.

Devils: 2-7-1, averaging 2.6 goals, 4.3 assists, 3.6 penalties and 8.9 penalty minutes while allowing 3.8 goals per game with an .872 save percentage.