The Malik Report

Updated at 11:57 AM: The Detroit Red Wings hit the ice just after 11 AM this morning, beginning their preparations for hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night:

Two days away. ☺️#LGRW pic.twitter.com/5U4iZf5jOX— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 12, 2021

The Athletic’s Max Bultman noted the line formations…

Red Wings lines/pairs today

Bertuzzi-Larkin-Raymond
Fabbri-Suter-Zadina
Namestnikov-Rasmussen-Erne
Smith-Stephens-Gagner
Rowney rotating in @ 4W

DeKeyser-Hronek
Leddy-Seider
Oesterle-Stecher
Staal-Lindstrom
(Don’t read into the order ^, just the order in which I noticed them)— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) October 12, 2021

And DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce said “hello”…

Continue reading Red Wings Tweets from practice: Wings’ lines stable as they prepare for home opener

Great stuff from DetroitRedWings.com’s Ethan Sears this morning:

When Henrik Zetterberg left Detroit, moving home to Sweden after a storied playing career, he made a delivery to Dylan Larkin.

A friend had given Zetterberg a treatment bench to use at home, with the number 40 stitched into it and the captain’s C above it. When Zetterberg retired in 2018, Larkin was still two years away from being officially named the Detroit Red Wings’ captain. Zetterberg decided that didn’t matter.

“To be honest,” Zetterberg told DetroitRedWings.com, “even though he didn’t have the C on his jersey, he’s been the captain for a few years.”

So Zetterberg made an addition to the table. He put the number 71 on it, with the C next to it. When he dropped it at Larkin’s house, he told him that only captains could have the table.

“Well, I’m not the captain,” Zetterberg recalled Larkin saying.

“Well, you’re gonna be the next captain,” Zetterberg replied.

Continued

The Athletic’s Max Bultman makes 10 predictions about the Red Wings’ 2021-2022 season this morning, and I believe that this one may very well come to pass:

Detroit lands two on the All-Rookie team: [Lucas] Raymond might need to duke it out with [Shane] Pinto for the final forward spot, but if he makes it, I like Moritz Seider’s odds even better to end up on the All-Rookie team. That could give the Red Wings two players on the All-Rookie team and serve as a clear sign of the rebuild’s progress

Seider had his share of mistakes in the preseason, as was to be expected, but history suggests he’ll be a quick study and rise to meet the challenging NHL pace. Once he gets used to the NHL speed, his intelligence, length and physicality should help him make a big difference for the Red Wings.

Seider is also a sneaky beneficiary of Raymond making the roster: It takes a little bit of the pressure off Seider because people won’t be watching his every move quite so closely, in search of a savior. The two will get to share the weight of the Hockeytown spotlight, which should help them both.

Continued (paywall)

The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe, a.k.a. “Down Goes Brown,” offers “Oddly specific predictions for every NHL team” this morning, and here’s his best guess as to what will happen to Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic:

Detroit Red Wings: One of the weirdest minor subplots of the season will be Alex Nedeljkovic’s quest to win rookie-of-the-year honors one year after he was a finalist for rookie-of-the-year honors. Yeah, it turns out that his 23 games last season and previous career totals fall just under the Calder cutoff, so despite this being the fifth season in which he’ll appear in the NHL, he’s still eligible. Can he pull off the seemingly impossible feat of being a Calder finalist two years in a row? No, because he finishes fourth.

Continued; it’d be great if Nedeljkovic was in Calder Trophy discussion again this upcoming season, but that trophy is probably Cole Caufield’s to lose.

The Red Wings may not make the playoffs this season, but that doesn’t mean that they’re starting the season with expectations of doing anything less than improving upon their record over the past couple of years.

WXYZ’s Brad Galli posted a video of Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin stating that it’s time for the Red Wings’ players to play in more meaningful games, to compete for more important wins, and to begin a push for the playoffs–in their own way–as individuals and a team, starting this season:

If you wish to watch this, Darren McCarty weighed in on Bobby Ryan being released from the Red Wings this afternoon and Lucas Raymond making the team on the Woodward Sports Network:

Of prospect-related note in North America on Monday:

In the QMJHL, Oscar Plandowski finished at -2 with 2 shots in the Charlottetown Islanders’ 3-2 loss to Saint John;

Jan Bednar stopped 26 of 27 shots and had an assist in the Acadie-Bathurst Titan’s 2-1 win over Cape Breton. Bednar’s assist was on the game-winning goal:

?: @kidney_riley
?: Cole Huckins
?: @2Bedynka

BAT 2, CAP 1 pic.twitter.com/T42dPC4eWf— Titan d’Acadie-Bathurst (@ABTitan) October 11, 2021

And in the OHL, Pasquale Zito finished at -1 with 2 shots and a 14-for-27 faceoff record (and he was stopped in the shootout) in the Windsor Spitfires’ 4-3 shootout loss to London.

The fact that the Red Wings are 8 defensemen deep to start the 2021-2022 season is downright…different…as the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan notes in his notebook:

This will be Blashill’s seventh season coaching the Wings, but this particular roster might be his deepest overall.

Particularly on defense, where seven of the eight defensemen on the roster are proven NHL players, and the eighth — Moritz Seider — is considered one of the game’s brightest prospects.

Blashill feels that will create competition for playing time, and will be a challenge for those players not in the lineup.

“For sure we have the most depth on defense that we’ve had, probably, since I’ve been here,” Blashill said. “There’s going to be some good players who will be sitting out and they’re going to have to find a way to keep their heads above water and not let the mental strain, or lose confidence, or not play good, because it’s going to be real competitive back there.”

Continued

This serves as an FYI, per Grand Rapids Magazine’s Danielle Nelson:

The Grand Rapids Griffins will open their 2021-22 season on Oct. 15 with new COVID-19 policies and protocols.

Fans will not be required to provide proof of vaccinations or negative tests. Masks will also not be required during home games. However, to reduce contact between guest and security staff, fans cannot enter Van Andel Arena with large bags. Medical bags and small clutches no larger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches will be permitted.

Griffins tickets will be delivered in a contactless mobile format for display on smartphones and other electronic devices. Additionally, cashless transactions will be required for all box office, merchandise and concession purchases.

A mobile ordering system is available at the Ionia Street Grill, located on the east side of the concourse outside of Section 108/109, and the Ottawa Street Grill, located on the west side of the concourse outside of Section 121/122. When orders are ready for pickup, the program will notify the customer and confirm the pickup location. For more information on the new concession mobile ordering system, click here.

To ensure fans and others are safe, Van Andel Arena increased air filtration, including bipolar ionization equipment and placing hand sanitizing stations throughout the venue.

VenueShield, a comprehensive environmental hygiene program, has been implemented at Van Andel Arena.

Continued

Updated at 4:32 PM: The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan has just posted a post-Lucas Raymond-makes-the-roster article which notes that the Red Wings’ 23-man roster may not be the roster that they actually start the season with:

Injuries could still play a role in the days ahead. [Adam] Erne didn’t finish the second half of Monday’s practice, nursing an undisclosed injury, and [Michael] Rasmussen and [Givani] Smith returned to the ice Monday after missing exhibition games last week.

“It’s a fluctuating roster all the time,” [coach Jeff] Blashill said. “Right now, we have some guys that are question marks that are going to work through the week, and we’ll see where they’re at health-wise and make the decision when we need to.

“(Erne) hadn’t skated to this pace in a while. He felt he could go longer. But from a medical perspective we decided for him to work his way into it. I’m hoping to have him ready for the opener, but I don’t have that answer yet. (Smith) is feeling better. I didn’t know if he was going to practice (Monday) and he went through the full practice, so that’s a positive sign.”

The Wings felt Veleno, a Wings 2018 first-round pick, was best served by spending more time in Grand Rapids. Veleno will play first-line minutes, and gain valuable ice time he likely wouldn’t have come close to getting with the Wings.

“That’s a huge part of the decision,” Blashill said. “He may be in a role that’s higher than he is here, which hopefully would maximize his development. And it gives us more organizational depth because he is a guy who can get sent down without exposing to waivers. Those are things that go into the decision. When guys play great, they find their way onto the team. When they’re playing good and other guys are playing good, then factors come into play like waiver-eligibility.”

Continued; MLive’s Ansar Khan also penned a similar story:

Veleno, 21, appeared in five games with the Red Wings near the end of last season (one goal, no assists). He did well in the preseason (two goals, two assists in six games), but there wasn’t a spot for him on one of the top three lines.

Veleno and Lucas Raymond, who made the roster, were the last remaining waiver-exempt forwards in camp.

The Red Wings also assigned forwards Riley Barber and Taro Hirose to the Griffins after they cleared waivers. They designated center Kyle Criscuolo and defenseman Seth Barton as injured non-roster and placed left wing Jakub Vrana on injured reserve (out four months due to shoulder surgery).

The Red Wings earlier today announced that right wing Bobby Ryan was released from his professional tryout.

“We felt that Bobby had a good preseason for us, but due to roster limitations, we aren’t able to offer him a contract at this time,” general manager Steve Yzerman said in a statement. “We will continue to evaluate whether there is an opportunity for Bobby in Detroit as the 2021-22 season begins.”

Update: The Free Press’s Helene St. James weighed in, too:

Continue reading Kulfan, Khan, St. James discuss injuries, Veleno to GR, releasing Ryan