Bultman discusses expectations for eight top Red Wings prospects

The Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses realistic expectations for 8 of the Red Wings’ top prospects today, and we’ll examine his take regarding the potential performance of Marco Kasper:

Marco Kasper

Expected level: AHL, with some NHL time

Analysis: Kasper finished strong in his first AHL season — particularly in the playoffs, where his hard-nosed game translated to seven points in nine playoff games. And while he has an outside shot at making the NHL roster right away with a big camp, the best bet is on him starting in Grand Rapids again, looking to pick up where he left off.

Point production is only one piece of the way Kasper will be evaluated, but certainly Detroit would take as much offense as it can get from the 2022 No. 8 pick, who put up 35 points in 71 games last season. Increasing that rate would be encouraging, and if he could creep up toward that same 0.7 or 0.8 points-per-game territory, that would be excellent — that’s the range where ace shutdown centers Anthony Cirelli (.73) and Lars Eller (.81) were in their draft-plus-three seasons in the AHL.

And of course, that comes with Kasper continuing to look like a strong defensive center who won’t be pushed around, and one who keeps possessions alive in the offensive zone — the bedrocks of his profile.

He has a good chance to work his way into becoming a call-up at some point this year.

Continued (paywall); Kasper will probably start the year in Grand Rapids, as Bultman suggests, and yes, adding more in the points category would be good.

I’m not certain whether we’re looking at a two-way center of the Lars Eller variety or a real defensive stalwart at center with Kasper, however–and I’m hoping for the former–so I’m going to measure his success by hearing and hopefully seeing reports of Kasper playing well defensively and playing with that trademark edge to his game.

The second year of North American hockey is normally where prospects’ stats bump up to the neighborhood of a realistic professional ceiling, but I’ve seen some prospects never really figure out the chaotic nature of the AHL game as compared to the NHL, so I’m not going to panic if Kasper continues to be a point-per-every-other-game guy at the AHL level.

It’s called ‘team defense’ for a reason

Bleacher Report’s Adam Gretz has posted an article declaring the “biggest losers of the 2024 NHL offseason,” and he bags on the Red Wings’ defense (or the lack thereof) pretty heavily:

Moritz Seider and the Red Wings Defense

The Detroit Red Wings had one thing they needed to improve this offseason. Their defense.

Not only in terms of adding more high-level talent on that unit, but also adding more depth.

They have one bonafide stud in Moritz Seider, and then a bunch of question marks and bad contracts surrounding him. The lack of depth forced Seider into playing some of the toughest minutes in the NHL during the 2023-24 season. He was constantly starting in the defensive zone, he was playing against every team’s best players, and he did not have anywhere near enough support on a team that finished the season as one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

What did the Red Wings do to help him this offseason?

They gave away one of the only other reliable defenders in the roster in Jake Walman in a salary dump trade and signed Erik Gustafsson, while also taking some significant defensive hits at forward with the re-signing of Patrick Kane and addition of Vladimir Tarasenko in place of David Perron.

That is not enough. It is not enough for the Red Wings’ playoff pursuit, and it is not enough to take some of the pressure of Seider.

They really need a young player like Simon Edvinsson to take a huge leap forward and become an immediate star to make a difference.

Continued; the Red Wings had to walk and chew gum at the same time.

They needed to assuage the losses of David Perron and Daniel Sprong, they needed to bolster the defense in terms of both Shayne Gostisbehere’s exit and yes, adding a shut-down defender to spell Moritz Seider, and they needed to reinforce their goaltending situation.

Oh, and the team needed the cap space to re-sign Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider.

The team’s management at least adequately addressed its offensive issues by re-signing Patrick Kane and bringing in Vladimir Tarasenko; they tried very hard to bring in Erik Gustafsson to replace Gostisbehere; Cam Talbot will shore up the team’s goaltending, and they’ve got the cap space to ink Raymond and Seider (and Jonatan Berggren) to extensions.

They did not address the glaring need for a shut-down defenseman to spell Seider, that is true. It may take until the 2024-2025 trade deadline to address that issue fully (and Jacob Trouba was probably going to be “that guy” until the trade fell through).

As such, yes, Simon Edvinsson will have to take a step forward. But the team does not have two defensemen, it has eight. They are not elegant “studs” on the blueline, or the belles of the ball, but it’s up to Ben Chiarot, Justin Holl, Olli Maatta, Erik Gustafsson, Jeff Petry and Albert Johansson to step up and play better.

That’s what the team’s got, and you work with what you’ve got until you can bring in reinforcements. Again, not “sexy” names by any stretch of the imagination, but that’s what coach Lalonde and his assistants have to work with, and they have to make due with it.

The Wings’ forwards will have to chip in in terms of reducing the team’s goals-against average, too, as will the goaltenders.

It’s a team dynamic, not Seider’s job alone, though he’s definitely going to continue playing hard minutes for a bit yet. But all is not doom and gloom.

Two things: A belated birthday wish and a video of ‘first goals’

Of Red Wings-related note early on Monday morning:

  1. My apologies for the lateness of noting this Tweet from the Red Wings, who wished coach Derek Lalonde a happy 52nd birthday:

2. And Alex Wood on YouTube posted a 15-minute clip of Red Wings players scoring their first goal with the team in their first games with Detroit:

Duff discusses Tarasenko and Kane’s motivations for signing with Detroit

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted an subscriber-only story discussing Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko’s motivations for choosing to stay with and sign with Detroit, respectively:

Tarasenko, fresh off a Stanley Cup win with the Florida Panthers, chose to turn down other teams and was in agreement on a two-year pact with the Red Wings. Likewise Kane, after joining Detroit last November, eschewed the chance to depart as a UFA.

Kane took a look around at the potential opportunities he could be finding elsewhere, and came to the determination his best opportunity was to stand pat and stay put.

“I think I was just kind of going over what happened last year and for the team and me personally, I thought it was a good fit, so looking forward to build off that for another year,” Kane said. “You know, obviously, it was a pretty crazy end to the year and (we) just missed the playoffs by a point, so it’ll be nice to kind of start building off that right from training camp. I’m excited about being a part of that and hopefully getting the chance to have a good regular season and playoff hockey again.”

Continued (paywall); Kane and Tarasenko obviously have healthy motivations as to why they’ve joined the Red Wings, and they’re really the first free agents without Michigan ties to suggest that Detroit is a destination for UFAs.

That’s a very good thing for the Red Wings, who’ve still been eschewed by a bunch of targets because they’re still in a rebuilding process.

Tweet of note: it’s a mid-August preseason game…but MBN rips a slapper goal for Skelleftea AIK

It’s just a preseason game in mid-August, but IceHockeyG posted a clip of Michael Brandsegg-Nygard scoring a nifty slap shot goal for Skelleftea AIK in their game vs. Bjorkloven IF today:

EP Rinkside ranks their top 100 NHL-affiliated skaters and top 15 goalies

EP Rinkside’s Mitch Brown, David St-Louis and J.D. Burke ranked their top 100 NHL-affiliated prospects for the 2024-2025 season today, with a heavy emphasis on Calder Trophy-eligible players and 2024 draft picks:

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard finished 35th…

With his speed, motor, and physical skills, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård pressures the opposition, retrieves pucks, and passes them to teammates. Once his line has established control, he hunts space to set up his catch-and-release and one-timer shots. He’s the type of forward who complements skilled playmakers very well, amplifying their effectiveness and pushing a contending team over the edge. The Detroit Red Wings like to take their time with their prospects, but Brandsegg-Nygård’s package of tools could put him on a faster-track to the NHL. 

Axel Sandin Pellikka finished 37th…

The NHL seems to be slowly moving away from defencemen of smaller size, but the best ones, like Axel Sandin Pellikka, will continue to find their place in the league. His defensive mechanics improved this season. More engaged and better capable of battling with opponents, he managed to stop the opposition’s offence earlier and get the play flowing offensively, where his game truly shines. With his deception and playmaking skills, he could inject creativity in Detroit’s offence. 

Marco Kasper finished 45th…

Continue reading EP Rinkside ranks their top 100 NHL-affiliated skaters and top 15 goalies

Tweet of note: Red Wings reveal numbers for free agent signings

Here we go:

So that’s #56 for Erik Gustafsson, #39 for Cam Talbot, #11 for Vladimir Tarasenko and #14 for Tyler Motte.

DetroitHockey.net’s Clark Rasmussen reveals the balance of players’ numbers:

Erik Gustafsson taking #56, Tyler Motte getting #14, Sheldon Dries going with #15, and Joe Snively picking #21 were all pretty obvious (and among my predictions) as well, as they were numbers the players had usually worn and were all available.  Similarly, Cam Talbot getting #39 was an obvious choice as he probably wasn’t going to get #33 from Sebastian Cossa.

William Lagesson taking #84 seemed likely to me but it’s an “out there” enough number that you never know what direction it’ll go.  That’s why I couldn’t predict Tory Dello taking #87; his usual numbers were out of the mix so I had no way of knowing which way he’d go with it.

I’d expected Jack Campbell to take either #31 or #32 and he took #32.  I’d mentioned in my Development Camp jersey number wrap up that I thought Carter Mazur might be switching from #32 to #43 this season and Campbell taking #32 solidifies that for me.

Speaking of Development Camp, Jakub Rychlovsky already wore #81 there so it’s not a surprise to see him listed with it here.

A little Red Wings ‘Vibe Check’

Bleacher report’s Sara Civian offers a late-summer “Vibe Check” on NHL teams this morning, and her “Summer Thoughts” discuss the so-called “Yzerplan” and its hiccups of late:

Yzerplan: Yay or Nay?

I’m usually on the same page as my beloved Detroiters when it comes to their beloved Red Wings, but I ruffled some feathers on X when I suggested Vladimir Tarasenko’s two-year, $9.5 million contract was an overpay.

Look, two things can be true at the same time: That’s a slight overpay for the veteran winger, especially when you look at how the Cup champion Panthers were able to acquire him midseason. But unlike the Panthers, the Red Wings can afford a slight overpay for this player on a less-than-three year contract.

Detroit isn’t expected to contend right now, nor does it have too much money tied up in other overpays. I like Tarasenko on this team and his flexibility in the top six as some of the younger players hopefully evolve into bigger roles. A player like him gives some space and time for that to happen.

Then, there are the deals for Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond that GM Steve Yzerman has had to take into consideration. That’s perhaps why you lose a player like Jake Walman seemingly out of nowhere.

All in all, I still believe in the Yzerplan—the plan was to cultivate in-house and have a rotating cast of outside talent until it’s time to seriously contend, right? I’m good with two more years of letting the kids grow up.

Continued; I’ll readily admit that now I’m starting to get a little nervous about the Raymond and Seider contracts getting done, but Yzerman seems to be one of those wait-until-all-extra-time-has-expired GM’s, so I’m trying to have a little faith in that.

As for Tarasenko, yeah, the Wings gave him maybe half-a-million to a million more dollars than a contender would have, but that’s okay. The Red Wings do have to continue to sign star or near-star players to build up their cachet as a free agency destination, and sometimes, that means making hard decisions–like bringing in Tarasenko after David Perron left for more money and term than he was worth, or making a lateral move in signing Erik Gustafsson after Shayne Gostisbehere signed a cheap-for-a-contender contract with Carolina.

This free agency business isn’t easy–see one Andrew Copp–and sometimes mistakes are made. Here’s hoping that Tarasenko ends up fitting in well.

Video link: A bit more about the ‘Yoopers United’ vs. Red Wings Alumni game on September 13th

The Detroit Red Wings’ Alumni Association is going to face off against a team of Yoopers representing the United Way of Marquette County on September 13th, and Steve Carlson from Slap Shot will be giving the Yoopers a hand.

This morning, the United Way of Marquette County‘s executive director, Andrew Rickauer, appeared on Marquette’s TV 6 to discuss the event further.

I can’t embed the video, but Mr. Rickauer discusses some of the logistics of the event, its two-year history, and the day’s events.

The alumni will apparently be wearing a uniquely-designed jersey as well, and the jerseys for the Wings’ alums will be auctioned off after the game.

Talking about playoff droughts

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin examines the five teams with the longest playoff droughts, including the Red Wings:

  1. Detroit Red Wings, eight seasons

Last playoff appearance: 2015-16

By summer 2016, GM Ken Holland’s Red Wings had made the playoffs 25 consecutive seasons but were no longer any kind of threat once they got in, limping along as a veteran-laden club loaded with questionable contracts. I asked him whether the 25-year streak had actually become a curse, because it created a pressure to keep winning and handing out veteran deals when it might have been wiser to take a step backward. His response was that he couldn’t bring himself to make a determination about the team five years in the future and that he had to keep trying to win as long as he had a roster constructed to be competitive. He felt a true rebuild would require missing the playoffs five, six, seven years in a row.

Yikes, did those words ever prove prophetic. It took Detroit so long to get out from under the Justin Abdelkaders and Frans Nielsens of the world that the 25-year run indeed set them back badly, to the point Detroit has now gone eight years without making it. It’s debatable whether GM Steve Yzerman acted too rashly in free agency in the past few summers and built a veteran-heavy roster before assembling a strong enough young talent pool, but he has undeniably made the Wings more competitive. They missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker this past season, so even the tiniest amount of progression could halt the drought.

Continued; as we all know by now, a real rebuild takes something like 10-12 years, and the Red Wings are doing it the hard way, without any draft lottery luck. It’s obvious that there’s enough shine off the “Yzerplan” to conclude that the GM is in fact human and not a god-like figure, but other than that, Mr. Yzerman’s methodical rebuild is going about as well as we can expect.