The Malik Report

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton doesn’t believe that there’s a “fit” between Patrick Kane and the Detroit Red Wings. Stockton is concerned about the fact that Kane had hip resurfacing surgery, which is still a very serious procedure, and Stockton believes that Kane bombed as a New York Ranger for a reason:

Even if Kane’s updates on his own status are 100% accurate, and he really does feel better than he did a year ago, there is no assurance that such a feeling translates to him returning to the form he once enjoyed.

Based on Kane’s comments to the AP, it seems reasonable to assume his return to action will come later rather than sooner (i.e. December rather than November).  From there, he will still require some amount of acclimation period to get reacquainted with NHL game pace.

Meanwhile, the Red Wings have numerous better options to put alongside DeBrincat than an aging and injured (or recovering) Kane.  If the goal is to maximize the production of Detroit’s biggest summer acquisition, linemates like Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Jonatan Berggren, J.T. Compher, or Andrew Copp are more enticing. 

Kane might be able to put up points alongside DeBrincat (or even without him), but that alone doesn’t justify his integration into this team. He’s still a good set-up man and above average finisher, but you have to also consider the other side of the puck.

Continued;  Stockton explains that Kane simply doesn’t play well defensively, and, as such, he can be a liability in his own end.

Now I’m willing to admit that Patrick Kane is a singular talent in terms of his passing and shooting, but at 34, coming off a surgery that only one player has returned from successfully (Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals), he’d be a risky signing…

And Kane will have the option to slide into the middle of a contender’s line-up anyway. That’s where I see him ending up unless his desire to reunite with DeBrincat is all-encompassing.

Long story long, I don’t see the “fit,” either, and he’s simply going to have better options.

I’ve got to give a thumbs-up regarding the following column from Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen, and I’ll tell you why in a little bit:

All Detroit Red Wings fans should care about the Jake Sanderson eight-year $64.4 contract with the Ottawa Senators is how it will impact future negotiations with Moritz Seider.

The answer: probably not much.

Sanderson was drafted a year later  (2020) than Seider (2019).  The young Ottawa defenseman, son of forrmer NHLer Geoff Sanderson, opted to go for the security. The Senators want to show fans they are committed to winning with new ownership coming aboard. In theory, there’s some risk here for Ottawa because they are giving him eight years after watching him for only 77 games. But it’s not much risk because it is accepted that Sanderson will be an elite No. 1 defenseman.

This could eventually be a bargain for Ottawa if Sanderson matures into one of the top five defensemen in the game. That’s plausible.

The Seider situation is different. With 164 games on his resume, he’s already fully established as an elite D Man. He’s not getting there. Seider is there, and he’s going to keep improving. Unless the Red Wings surprise us and get Seider signed quickly, the Red Wings will see more of Seider’s potential this season. He becomes a restricted free agent next summer.

Sanderson and Seider will both be high impact performers, but Seider offers a physical level and a beastly presence that raises his value.

Continued; at first, I certainly thought, “Crap, the Sanderson contract is going to make Seider more expensive to re-sign,” but Mr. Allen is correct as usual here. Seider’s going to cost the Wings more to re-sign to a long-term contract, and he may or may not end up as the highest-paid player on the Wings’ roster.

FYI from the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The American Hockey League on Thursday announced that the start time for the Grand Rapids Griffins’ home game against the Toronto Marlies on Saturday, Nov. 11 has been changed from 8 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Of prospect-related note on Thursday:

In the Champions Hockey League, Axel Sandin Pellikka did not play in Skelleftea AIK’s 1-0 loss to the Rouen Dragons;

In the VHL, Dmitri Buchelnikov had a goal and two assists, playing 15:56 in SKA Neva St. Petersburg’s 4-2 win over Ruben;

And MLive’s Ansar Khan filed a “cheat sheet” regarding the Red Wings’ European-playing prospects for this upcoming season. Among the Swedes playing for European teams are the following players:

Continue reading Prospect news: ASP scratched for CHL game; Buchelnikov 1+2 in VHL; Khan posts list of Wings’ European-playing prospects

Here’s an FYI in the alumni department: the Chicago Blackhawks announced late Thursday night that they’ll be retiring Chris Chelios’s #7, and the former Red Wings defenseman found out about the news at a Pearl Jam concert.

The press release for the event reads like only a Blackhawks press release could:

In front of a sold-out crowd of over 20,000 people at the United Center tonight, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder surprised his friend, and Chicago Blackhawks legend, Chris Chelios by announcing the team will have his No. 7 retired in an on-ice ceremony on Sunday, February 25 when the Blackhawks host the Detroit Red Wings. Chelios was brought on stage for the surprise moment to kick off the celebration.

Chelios—who was born and raised in Chicago—currently serves as Team Ambassador within the organization and will be the ninth Blackhawks player to have his number retired in franchise history joining: Glenn Hall (#1), Pierre Pilote (#3), Keith Magnusson (#3), Bobby Hull (#9), Denis Savard (#18), Stan Mikita (#21), Tony Esposito (#31) and Marian Hossa (#81). Fans wishing to attend this special event can visit Blackhawks.com/Tickets for tickets to the game.

Continue reading Press release: Blackhawks to retire Chris Chelios’s #7 on January 25th vs. Red Wings

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis posted a list of his 5 best candidates who should rebound from “sophomore slumps,” and Lucas Raymond made Ellis’ list:

Lucas Raymond, RW, 21 (Detroit Red Wings)

2022-23 stats: 74GP/17G/28A/45P

Raymond had the best season of anyone on this list, scoring 17 goals and 45 points in 74 games. But after scoring 23 goals and 57 points in 82 outings as a rookie, expectations were definitely higher. Raymond exceeded expectations as a rookie, going from a middle-six contributor with SHL Frolunda in 2020-21, but his early career play with the Red Wings made him appear like the real deal. He’s only 21, so there’s little reason to be concerned about the fall in production, but breaking the 60-point barrier would go a long way in helping the fanbase’s confidence. It’s worth noting he was Sweden’s best player at the World Championship, and it’s not uncommon to a see a player coming off a difficult season shine at the tournament before bouncing back in a big way the following year.

Continued; I expect Raymond to take a step forward this season, even if he’s playing on the Wings’ second line.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Art Regner has penned a profile of fan favorite Tomas Holmstrom as part of his “How Swede It Is” series of articles this morning:

Tomas Holmstrom never thought much about playing in the NHL.

“I was playing in the league under the Swedish Elite League and in 1992-93, I got the chance to move up to a better team in the Elite League in Sweden,” Holmstrom said. “There was a scout for Washington that saw me play with that team and told me that I was going to be drafted. I thought I was going to be a Washington Capital, but it ended up that the Detroit Red Wings took me in the 10th round (257th overall – 1994 NHL Entry Draft). My goal at that time was to first play in the Swedish Elite League and maybe even break into the Swedish national team before I would get the chance to go to the NHL.

“Until they drafted me, I had no idea that the Red Wings were interested in me. I didn’t know that much about the team except for a few of the players like Steve Yzerman, Dino Ciccarelli and Keith Primeau; who was a tough boy. I knew that they were a good hockey club and one of the Original Six teams. I didn’t know much more than that.”

Unbeknownst to Holmstrom, Detroit’s European scout Hakan Andersson was aware of him and though he liked certain aspects of his game, he wasn’t sure if Holmstrom’s build would hold to the rugged NHL style of play.

“He was actually at a camp when he was 17 years old for the Under-18 team. He may have turned 18, I don’t know,” Andersson said. “He was there at a camp, he was small, but he was tenacious and he kept going to the net and he battled. But he was about 5-foot-10, 165 pounds. Then a couple years later, I stumble across a friend of mine who was a coach up north, had him on his team, and I said, ‘Oh, I know that little shrimp.’ He said, ‘No, no, no, no. This kid is 6-feet, 190 pounds.’ This was two, three years later. So, I said, ‘Oh, that’s interesting.’ So that’s how I stumbled on him.”

Continued

Sportsnet’s Michael Amato posted a list of his top 250 fantasy hockey players. Here’s what he had to say about the Red Wings who made his list:

44. Dylan Larkin, DET, C: Larkin is as reliable as it gets. He’s essentially a point per game player you can count on for about 250 shots. He’ll come with upside this season as well, as perhaps the arrival of Alex DeBrincat can push Larkin closer to the 90-point threshold.

67. Alex DeBrincat, DET, RW: DeBrincat never looked quite comfortable in Ottawa and that, combined with a lower shooting percentage than his career average, resulted in a down year. There’s a good chance he and Larkin will be paired together in Detroit and that might be able to get DeBrincat back into 40-goal territory.

76. Moritz Seider, DET, D: Both Seider’s points and shots totals dropped in his sophomore season, but his hits and blocks took a nice jump. There will be more competition for Seider this season when it comes to power-play time, with Jeff Petry and Shayne Gostisbehere now in town.

186. Lucas Raymond, DET, LW: Raymond’s points and shots totals dropped significantly in his sophomore season, but he couldn’t be in a better spot to get back on track. He’ll likely be playing with Larkin and DeBrincat, and that combination should help Raymond boost his numbers back to what they looked like when he was a rookie.

222. Ville Husso, DET, G: Similar to most goalies on rebuilding teams, Husso’s value probably hinges on how much the Wings have improved. His numbers fell last year because the team in front of him wasn’t great, and that has to change to make Husso more than a spot starter off waivers.

228. David Perron, DET, LW: Even though it was a disappointing season for Perron from an offensive standpoint, he still put up 56 points. If that’s his floor with around 200 shots and 100 hits, he will still have some value.

Continued

Briefly: ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski spoke with Red Wings NHLPA Rookie Showcase participant Sebastian Cossa…Regarding the challenges inherent in stopping Connor Bedard’s slinky wrist shot:

Connor Bedard circled the ice, waiting for his cue from a hockey card photographer for Upper Deck. He skated purposefully towards an empty net and unleashed a shot.

OK, not a shot, but the shot. That quick, powerful release that’s his calling card as an NHL prospect. That skillful snipe that made him the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, and has positioned Bedard as the league’s latest franchise savior.

The puck rocketed off his blade and landed snugly under the crossbar. How many goals will the 18-year-old score just like that? How many goalies will be left wondering how to stop Bedard?

“Just get in front of it. Somehow,” said Sebastian Cossa, a goalie prospect for the Detroit Red Wings who attended the NHLPA Rookie Showcase in Arlington on Tuesday.

“He’s definitely got a good shot,” Cossa continued. “I played against him in junior and the world juniors. His pull-and-push is obviously pretty special. It’s not really knowing what to expect. You just got to really be on angle and take away the net from him. He’s a special player.”

Bedard was the talk of the rookie showcase.

Continued (paywall); a tidbit is better than nothing.

The Hockey News’s Jason Chen posted a fantasy hockey preview for the Detroit Red Wings this morning, and he offers some…interesting…theories:

Breakout Star

It’s hard to pick one with so many players and moving parts to the roster. But if Lucas Raymond stays with Larkin and DeBrincat plays on the opposite wing, Raymond’s being set up for a potential 30-goal season. However, Larkin and DeBrincat take a lot of shots, and you wonder if there’s enough for Raymond. Maybe it doesn’t matter because Raymond will rack up the assists instead, and he certainly has been particularly effective on the power play with 27 assists over the past two seasons. Breakout campaigns depend heavily on a player’s minutes and usage, and no other prospect is assured of top-six minutes.

Regression Candidate

I just don’t see Daniel Sprong as a reliable scorer. His 26-goal pace was really surprising and his Individual Point Percentage skewed very high for the second straight season. IPP is the percentage of goals for that player’s team while that player is on the ice that the player earned a point on, with the league average hovering around 70 percent. Sprong was at 80 percent, according to naturalstattrick.com, which hinted he was among the league’s elite in driving play and generating offense, and he is obviously not that kind of player.

It’s not unheard of for a player to move around a little bit before figuring it out – former Kraken teammate Jared McCann also suddenly scored at a much higher pace last season – but it always raises a few eyebrows when it happens out of the blue.

Sprong has averaged just 12 minutes per game in his career, by the way, and he faces a lot of competition for a top-six role. This was a low-risk signing by the Wings on a one-year deal, but it just begs the question of what exactly is the Yzerplan in its current iteration because it all feels like a shotgun approach. As far as high-upside options go, there are surer bets than Sprong.

Continued