The Malik Report

Detroit Hockey Now has been discussing “the state of the Red Wings” of late, with articles about the team’s forwards and the Wings’ defensive corps, and this morning, Tim Robinson examines Detroit’s goaltending situation, profiling each of the Wings’ four NHL-caliber goaltenders in Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon, Ville Husso and Jack Campbell:

The Detroit Red Wings had to adapt on the fly last season when it came to their goalies.  They started  the season with Ville Husso as the unquestioned starter and Alex Lyon languishing on the bench. 

After Husso suffered the first of several lower-body injuries, James Reimer temporarily took on a bigger role, only to give way to Lyon before Reimer made a couple of key starts at the end of the season.

In this year’s goalies picture, Reimer is gone, having signed with the Buffalo Sabres as a free agent. The Red Wings also, as of now, have moved on from Michael Hutchinson, who played in one game with them last season while spending the rest of the season in Grand Rapids. He’s a free agent.

The Wings have two solid prospects in net in Sebastian Cossa and Michigan State goalie Trey Augustine. Neither are expected to be ready for at least one year (Cossa) or two (Augustine). 

They’ve added two goalies in the offseason: Cam Talbot, late of the Los Angeles Kings, and Jack Campbell, who flamed out spectacularly after signing a huge contract with Edmonton.

Robinson continues…

The Red Wings signed free agent forward Jakub Rychlovsky from the Czech Extraliga’s Liberec Bili Tygri (the Liberec White Tigers) in an attempt to add goal-scoring to the team’s portfolio. Rychlovsky is 22 years old, and he’ll probably begin the season with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

This morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses the fact that the Red Wings haven’t had the best record signing European free agents over the past decade:

Rychlovsky will be coming to Detroit on a high. With 26 goals last season for Liberec Bili Tygri HC, the 22-year-old left shot forward was the leading goal scorer in the Czech Extraliga.

“I really like him,” Red Wings director of player development Dan Cleary said. “Quiet, strong little guy. I was friends with someone who was coaching him in Czech, so he kind of reached out. He thought it was a great signing for us.”

That’s what everyone thought two years ago when the Red Wings were signing Swedish free agent forward Pontus Andreasson. He was also coming to North America off a tide turning European campaign. During the 2021-22 SHL season, Andreasson netted 18 goals for Lulea. He’d scored 12 goals for the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins in 2022-23, then head home to Sweden.

Before Andreasson, Mathias Brome scored one goal in 26 games for Detroit in 2020-21. Slovak defenseman Libor Sulak was minus-four during a six-game Red Wings stint in 2018-19. Slovak goalie Patrik Rybar, Czech goalie Matej Machovsky, Finnish goalie Jussi Olkinuora and and Finnish defenseman Oliwer Kaski never played a single NHL game for Detroit.

Why will Rychlovsky be different? Well, for one thing, he’s got wheels.

Continued; it doesn’t hurt to sign European free agents as it only costs the Wings a contract’s worth of money, but there’s no doubt that the Wings have been hit-or-mostly-miss in the player recruitment department.

Making the jump from Europe to the AHL isn’t easy, and the travel and schedule are punishing, so it takes a lot of character to “tough it out” and deal with those six-hour bus rides while playing 2-in-2’s and 3-in-3’s. Hopefully, Rychlovsky will “click” in Grand Rapids and withstand the adjustment from a 50-game schedule to a 73-game one.

The Red Wings selected a 20-year-old in Prince George Cougars forward Ondrej Becher this past June in Las Vegas, taking a flyer on the young Czech with the 80th overall draft pick.

Becher blossomed with the Cougars this past season, posting 32 goals and 64 assists for 96 points in 58 games played–as well as 19 playoff points in 15 games played–and while Becher can return to his WHL team as an “overager,” he may end up playing for Grand Rapids or Toledo.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James explains why the Wings drafted this older player in a draft that’s usually for 18 and 19-year-olds:

“I got to see Bechs play past few world juniors,” assistant director of player development Dan Cleary said during the team’s early July development camp. “Obviously he has skills. We’ll see what transpires here in terms of where he is going to go play.”

Becher himself wasn’t sure where he will play this coming season, but wherever it is, he knows that, “I have to work hard every day, more than even before.”

A lanky 6 feet 2 and 187 pounds, Becher has spent the past two seasons playing with the Prince George Cougars. He had an OK first season, with 16 goals and 22 assists in 63 games, plus three points in three playoff games.

This past season, though, he had almost as many goals (32) as he had points the previous year (38) and also picked up 64 assists in 58 games, giving him a 1.65 points-per-game average. In the playoffs, he posted 19 points in 15 games. It turned out that when Becher committed to his own end of the ice, he was much more effective in the opponent’s end.

“I think I start playing more defensively, so I become two-way player,” he said. “I wasn’t two-way player before. I try to improve in defensive zone and I think I did. I think that’s why I am here now.”

Continued; Becher’s playing situation is a little complicated due to his age, but there’s no harm in utilizing a middle-of-the-draft pick on a player that amateur scouts believe might become a high-scorer. The Wings need as many scorers as they can get.

This morning, MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the possibility of Marco Kasper or Carter Mazur making the Red Wings’ roster this September:

Mazur, a right-shooting winger selected 70th overall in 2021 (third round), tallied 17 goals and 37 points in 60 regular season games and three goals and eight points in nine playoff games with the Griffins. It was the first full AHL season for the scrappy 6-foot, 175-pound Jackson native.

Kasper, a left-shooting center taken eighth overall in 2022, collected 14 goals and 35 points in 71 regular season games and four goals and seven points in nine playoff games. He had a tough adjustment during his first season in North America with two goals and eight points in his first 26 games but improved as the season progressed.

“Both of those players had very good seasons,” Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said before the draft. “Marco’s play just got stronger and stronger as the year went on. He’s a real good two-way player. The offense started to generate more, in particular in the playoffs. He goes to the net hard, strong on the puck. He’s strong defensively as a centerman. We’re really pleased with his development.

“The same with Carter Mazur. He’s got a real good feel for the game. He knows how to get open, he knows to work, where to go. He goes to all the hard areas, and he gets a puck on his stick and off the stick. It’s a little bit like the (Alex) DeBrincat shot. He shoots the puck and it’s a threat to go in. He’s got that every time he shoots. It’s a scoring chance.”

Continued (paywall); my gut feeling is that Mazur might make the Wings’ roster due to his status as a grinding player who doesn’t need “top six” minutes to excel.

This is a good one to add to the mix on a mid-July Wednesday night. The Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune’s Nicholas Huenefeld wrote an article about a member of the Junior Red Wings, who recently won the Brick Invitational hockey tournament in Edmonton…

But there’s a chunk of the article about former Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard, who coached the Junior Red Wings to the title:

The Jr. Red Wings are coached by former Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard, who also has a son, Henry, on the team.

“I’m just so proud of these boys,” Howard told HNLive following the championship game win. “This is what it’s all about. This isn’t about me. It’s about them. They went out there and got the job done for all the people back in Detroit.

“These boys are with each other a lot. The majority of this team plays falls and winters together. I’m so proud of them. They worked so hard all week, and they deserved it.”

As for the Otsego, Ohio native who took part in the tournament for the Junior Red Wings, a team constituted of mostly Michigan-born players in the 9-10 age range…

Ten-year-old Haskins resident Carter Oney helped lead the Detroit Jr. Red Wings youth hockey team to a championship in the prestigious 35th Brick Invitational earlier this month.

A product of Otsego schools, Oney tallied one assist in each of his team’s first four round-robin games.

With his play, the Jr. Red Wings eventually finished with an 8-0 record in the seven-day tournament, which included a 5-2 win over the Boston Jr. Bruins in the semifinals and a 4-3 win over the Toronto Bulldogs in the championship.

Not bad, boys!

Yesterday night, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discussed the Red Wings’ forward depth in a “State of the Red Wings” article, and this evening, Kevin Allen discusses the Red Wings’ defense, and the need for the team to reduce the number of goals they surrender to opponents via blueline improvements:

While [GM Steve] Yzerman appreciated how hard the Red Wings worked down the stretch to stay in the playoff race with come-from-behind and dramatic wins, he also understood the team was undermined by lack of consistency in defensive coverage. The Red Wings ranked 24th in goals-against average, and the bottom 10 teams in that category all missed the playoffs.

Yzerman wants his team’s defensive coverage to be more predictable, more dependable, more simplistic, maybe even boring. Teams that follow that script usually have a better chance of making the playoffs.

“It’s incumbent upon our coaching staff to instill or improve, continue to work on, whether it’s a different system or getting better in how we play and improving our players in the system,” Yzerman said. “It’s practice, practice, practice for me and get it over with.”

This certainly isn’t a new approach, also teams are probably talking more about blocking shots and denying shots more in recent years.

“Goals against is a challenge around the league,” Yzerman said. “It’s more of an offensive league. You’re seeing it in the scoring totals of the top players around the league. Goals-against averages for goaltenders is (up). It’s a difficult league to defend in right now. For whatever reason it’s become more offensive, and that’s entertaining and exciting, but the best teams in the league are probably somewhere in the top in goals against and defensive play, whether it’s the traditional stats or the underlying numbers. So collectively as a team we have to get better, that’s the No. 1 thing.”

Allen continues and discusses the Wings’ personnel changes on defense, and in goal, as they apply to the team-wide emphasis on shoring up their “D.”

The Detroit Red Wings have posted a 6-and-a-half minute-long video which offers a behind-the-scenes look at the team’s Summer Development Camp:

Via Paul Kukla of Kukla’s Korner and Abel to Yzerman, The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek answered questions from readers as part of a mailbag feature, and he shows the Red Wings no love for their offseason moves:

Who do you think did the most nothing this offseason? Lots of moves but ultimately you don’t believe it will amount to much on-ice change. — Patrick S.

It has to be Detroit. The expectation there must be that any improvement that happens next year comes from within. Vladimir Tarasenko essentially replaced David Perron on the payroll. I’d rather have Perron. Erik Gustafsson replaced Shayne Gostisbehere, I’d rather have Gostisbehere. Tyler Motte is a useful fourth liner but isn’t moving any needles. Cam Talbot and Jack Campbell, to supplement a goaltending crew that also includes Ville Husso and Alex Lyon, was a head-scratcher. It’s clear they’re buying time for Sebastian Cossa to be ready — maybe that’s when they believe they can collectively make that move up the standings. Getting Patrick Kane to re-sign on moderate terms was good business — but let’s call it a ground rule double, not a home run. But in Detroit, a lot of new faces were added and bodies shuffled, none that is likely to make a significant team-altering impact going into next year.

Continued (paywall); yes, the expectation is that improvement is going to come from within.

I believe that Tarasenko, even at 32, is an upgrade on Perron, who’s gotten painfully slow of late; Gustafsson is obviously a step back from “Ghost,” but there’s not much that the Red Wings could do about Gostisbehere’s desire to return to Carolina; Motte isn’t supposed to move any needles; and Talbot, should he continue to display the form he did for Los Angeles this past season, is an upgrade in terms of consistency over the Reimer-Husso-Lyon three-headed monster, with Campbell slated to help mentor Cossa.

And re-signing Kane was no “meh” move for a team that is still in the latter stages of what is probably a 10-to-12-year rebuild.

Plus and minus, the Red Wings added offense up front, they lost a little offense on defense, and their goaltending is marginally better and a lot deeper.

Changes still need to be made–a second-pair, shut-down defenseman is necessary, the goaltending situation needs to be hammered out, and Seider and Raymond need to be re-signed, but the Red Wings got into a situation in free agency where the “big fish” were gobbled up by Nashville, their “own fish” left for greener pastures and/or more money than the team was comfortable giving out to veteran players, and the team had to make some painful cuts (Jake Walman, for example) just to make things work with an eye toward a future where Raymond, Seider, Larkin and now Edvinsson and Johansson start to move the needle their own damn selves.

It’s a B-ish offseason grade from me. But I’m biased.

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRAND RAPIDS SIGNS CHAZ REDDEKOPP TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins signed defenseman Chaz Reddekopp (REH-deh-kawp) to a one-year, two-way contract for the upcoming 2024-25 season.

Reddekopp, the former 187th pick by the Los Angeles Kings in 2015, totaled career-high numbers with the Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL) last season in games played (67), goals (5), points (15) and penalty minutes (194). Last year, the 27-year-old ranked second in the ECHL with 194 penalty minutes. During the 2022-23 campaign with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL), Reddekopp notched a career-best 13 assists in 51 games to go along with his 14 points (1-13—14), 109 penalty minutes and a plus-12 rating. The 6-foot-3 defenseman has spent the majority of his career in the ECHL from 2018-24, totaling 46 points (8-38—46), 340 penalty minutes and a plus-six rating in 172 appearances.

Reddekopp last competed in the AHL during the 2021-22 season with the Belleville Senators and Tucson Roadrunners, recording a combined two assists in 14 outings. The West Kelowna, British Columbia, native saw his most action in the AHL in 2018-19 with the Ontario Reign when he registered 10 points (1-9—10) and 101 penalty minutes in 40 games. He made his pro debut with Ontario on April 12, 2017 at the Stockton Heat. In the AHL with Ontario (2016-17; 2018-20), San Jose (2020-21), Belleville (2021-22) and Tucson (2021-22), Reddekopp has a combined 13 points (1-12—13) and 191 penalty minutes in 92 contests.

Prior to turning pro, Reddekopp spent six seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Victoria Royals. From 2012-18, he amassed 134 points (27-107—134), 293 penalty minutes and a plus-58 rating in 280 regular-season games. Reddekopp had his best junior season in 2016-17 when he logged a career-high 43 points (10-33—43) in 51 contests. In 2013-14, Reddekopp claimed a silver medal with Canada Pacific U17 at the U17 World Hockey Challenge.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills has written an article which discusses the assets which free agent signing Vladimir Tarasenko this morning. Mills discusses the fact that Tarasenko asked former New York Rangers teammate Patrick Kane for some intelligence about the Metro Detroit area before signing with the Wings three days into free agency:

“I liked the way the team played last year,” Tarasenko said in an introductory Zoom call with the media on July 8. “I decided with the family this is the best decision for us moving forward. We are really excited about it. It’s a new chapter for us. We can’t wait to get to Detroit, get settled and start Training Camp.”

Tarasenko split last season between the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers, recording 55 points (23 goals, 32 assists) in 76 regular-season games. He also earned nine points (five goals, four assists) in 24 postseason games with Florida, helping the club win its first-ever Stanley Cup championship.

Originally selected by St. Louis with the 16th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, Tarasenko has 629 points (293 goals, 336 assists) in 751 games with the Blues, Rangers, Senators and Panthers.

“I think he is going to be so good for the group,” Kane said about Tarasenko. “He’s a proven winner. The way he plays, how hard he plays – I think a lot of players in general, not just young guys, will see how hard he works and how much effort he gives every shift. That’s why he has a couple Stanley Cups to his name too.”

Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman said Tarasenko will boost Detroit’s offense.

“A little bit different type of player than our wingers Lucas (Raymond), Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat,” Yzerman said about Tarasenko on July 4. “A left-shot who will fill out that top-six, top-nine group. A scorer and straight-ahead guy who is big, strong and will go to the net. We feel that’s a really good addition.”

Continued; Tarasenko doesn’t have the blazing speed he possessed in his 20’s, and his backchecking isn’t elegant, but he’s a true sniper with a really stocky build who takes no shit from his opponents. He’s good for 25 goals and 50+ points a season, and as Yzerman says, he’ll play the kind of north-south hockey that coach Lalonde has been pressing his team to play.