Predicting a breakout season for Simon Edvinsson

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski predicts “breakout performances” from young NHL players this upcoming season, and the Red Wings are mentioned in the article once, with Wyshynski suggesting that “The wait is over” for one prospect:

Simon Edvinsson
D, Detroit Red Wings

Edvinsson has always had the vertical, standing 6-foot-6. In the offseason, he decided to address the horizontal by adding some muscle to his frame for his first full NHL season. The secret to his bulk? “It was just a lot of avocados,” he said.

Edvinsson saw time with veteran Jeff Petry last season, and should do so again in 2024-25. Fans have waited a bit to see the No. 6 pick from 2021 make his impact. This could be the time.

Continued (paywall); it’s taken a while for Edvinsson to physically fill out, and it’s taken a while for Edvinsson to fill out in terms of his game. He’s tremendously smooth in terms of his skating and his ability to be a difference-maker offensively, but he’s also needed to work on playing dependable, reliable defense, and that aspect of his game is coming around in a big way. Employing a predictably solid two-way game will take the superb skater to another level.

The Athletic’s ‘model’ predicts an 80.9-point performance from the Wings this season

Bleh. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn, Sean Gentille and Shayna Goldman preview the Red Wings this morning, and they’re predicting that a team that earned 91 points this past season will earn 80.9 points…As well as predicting that the Red Wings are going to be an “also-ran” for some time to come:

Here’s what they say about Luszczyszyn’s “model,” which predicts that the Wings have an 8% chance of making the playoffs…

We admit, this does feel low for the Red Wings. Detroit had a respectable 91 points last season and looks poised to finally take the next step — but the model isn’t quite convinced this team is legit. At least not as currently constructed.

At 80.9 points, the team’s forecast is actually below where they were to start last season (85 points) which may surprise some. That’s a byproduct of uninspiring underlying numbers last season (weaker overall than the year prior when Detroit earned just 80 points) and a tepid offseason that saw the team arguably get worse.

Perhaps the core can take a massive leap or a prospect will surprise, but the Red Wings still have a lot of holes that have been filled rather poorly via free agency — especially on defense. With the rest of the East looking a lot better, this may be a season primed for disappointment.

Then there’s some bagging on Raymond and Seider’s statuses as ranked by the Luszczyszyn/Gentille/Goldman player tiers, which were quite hard on a “fringe star player” and a middling defenseman given his hard minutes, respectively…

So their bottom line comes down to defense, and Seider, specifically:

Continue reading The Athletic’s ‘model’ predicts an 80.9-point performance from the Wings this season

Morning Khan: Repetition should bear results for the Red Wings’ power play

The Red Wings’ special teams were pretty mediocre over the course of Monday night’s 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, with the Wings going 1-for-6 on the PP, surrendering a power play goal against and a shorthanded goal against.

As such, MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the special teams issue this morning, suggesting that repetition will probably solve what ails the power play:

“(The power play) needs its reps,” Derek Lalonde, who coached in the home game, said. “Their penalty kill played a little more pace than our power play. I didn’t hate our five-on-five. Again, talk about reps. Our inability to hit the net. A little credit to them to block shots, but it’s exactly why you have exhibition games. They need reps for the guys.”

A team consisting mainly of prospects and AHL players will play at Pittsburgh on Tuesday (7 p.m., Bally Sports Detroit), before the Red Wings close out the preseason with three games in three nights Thursday through Saturday.

Lucas Raymond’s power-play goal, on his team’s fifth opportunity, cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 2-1 at 9:31 of the second. It was his second goal in as many preseason games.

The Red Wings lost some key contributors on a power play that ranked ninth last season – point man Shayne Gostisbehere and forwards David Perron, Robby Fabbri and Daniel Sprong. Two of their replacements, winger Vladimir Tarasenko and point man Erik Gustafsson, played on Monday.

“I think we have a lot of skillful players who make good plays and can finish as well,” Raymond said. “I think it’s about getting on the same page, moving the puck well and taking the shots and create opportunities from there. I think when we got the best chances tonight is from retrieval. It’s not always the prettiest, but retrieve the puck well in a quick attack, and I think that leads to a lot of good stuff.”

Continued; the Red Wings need to simplify their power plays a bit. Less passing on the perimeter, more shots on goal from high-danger areas, and better rebound retrieval–the fundamentals of good power play habits–will solve the issues pretty quick, regardless of personnel.

Red Wings-Penguins and Red Wings-Sabres wrap-ups: pressure mounts after the Wings go 0-1-and-1 vs. Pittsburgh, in Buffalo

You don’t often lose twice in the same period of time, but the Red Wings managed to do just that on Monday night, with their “split squad” dropping a 5-1 decision to Pittsburgh at Little Caesars Arena, all while the “Wiffins” lost a 4-3 OT decision to the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo.

Things aren’t going to get any easier for the Red Wings as tomorrow night’s rematch in Pittsburgh will include a star-studded Penguins lineup, and, after a day off on Wednesday, the Wings host Ottawa on Thursday, host Toronto on Friday, and head to Toronto to battle the Leafs on Saturday.

That’s a whole lot of hockey to play over the course of the balance of this week, even if you’re able to dress two different rosters.

Anyway, the story at Little Caesars Arena was the one that the Wings’ media corps followed for the most part. As MLive’s Ansar Khan noted, the Wings kind of blew their special teams advantage, going 1-for-6 on the power play, surrendering a power play goal against, and surrendering a shorthanded marker as well:

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins and Red Wings-Sabres wrap-ups: pressure mounts after the Wings go 0-1-and-1 vs. Pittsburgh, in Buffalo

Red Wings-Penguins / Red Wings-Sabres quick takes: Wings go 0-1-and-1 on the night via a 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh, 4-3 OT loss to Buffalo

It was a weird sort of night in Detroit…and Buffalo…As the Red Wings’ “split squads” undertook games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres, respectively.

Neither team did particularly well, with the Red Wings’ “A Team” playing really solid hockey, but losing 5-1 to a harder-working and more efficient Pittsburgh Penguins team, and the “Wiffins” lost a 4-3 overtime decision to Buffalo due to their own mistakes and inexperience.

In Detroit, the teams lined up as follows…

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins / Red Wings-Sabres quick takes: Wings go 0-1-and-1 on the night via a 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh, 4-3 OT loss to Buffalo

Penguins stack their lineup for Tuesday’s Wings-Pens rematch in the ‘Burgh

The Pittsburgh Penguins released their lineup for Tuesday’s game vs. Detroit, and it’s going to be a doozy of a lineup for the Pens:

Below is the Penguins’ lineup for Tuesday’s preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM ET and the game will be available to watch locally on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also tune in on the Penguins’ official flagship radio station, 105.9 ‘The X’.

GOALIES

31 – Filip Larsson

35 – Tristan Jarry

DEFENSE

4 – Nathan Clurman

24 – Matt Grzelcyk

28 – Marcus Pettersson

38 – Owen Pickering

45 – Harrison Brunicke

58 – Kris Letang

82 – Filip Kral

FORWARDS

2 – Rutger McGroarty

8 – Michael Bunting

11 – Vasily Ponomarev

13 – Kevin Hayes

15 – Joona Koppanen

17 – Bryan Rust

19 – Cody Glass

41 – Ville Koivunen

44 – Jonathan Gruden

67 – Rickard Rakell

71 – Evgeni Malkin

72 – Anthony Beauvillier

87 – Sidney Crosby

The Hockey News names its Red Wings ‘Mount Rushmore’

The Hockey News’s Ken Campbell has been discussing NHL teams’ “Mount Rushmore” figures via video missives, and today, he suggests that the Detroit Red Wings‘ “Mount Rushmore” consists of–including a current roster player–Gordie Howe, Nicklas Lidstrom, Steve Yzerman and Dylan Larkin.

I’m not sure I’d put Larkin on the Mount Rushmore over Ted Lindsay or Terry Sawchuk, but that’s just me.

The AP posts a Red Wings preview

The Associated Press has posted a Red Wings season preview, and it’s a little blocky, and it leans on the, “The Red Wings don’t have a superstar” line, but it’s decent enough:

What to expect

The Red Wings might finally break through and end the franchise’s longest playoff drought after losing a tiebreaker for the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs last season. They bolstered an above-average offense by signing Tarasenko to a $9.5 million, two-year deal after he helped Florida win the Stanley Cup and retaining Patrick Kane with a one-year contract worth up to $6.5 million. Captain Dylan Larkin has a chance to be Detroit’s first player to score 30-plus goals in four straight seasons since Hall of Famer Henrik Zetterberg did it from 2006-09.

Strengths and weaknesses

The good: Averaging 3.35 goals, ranking ninth in the league last season, shows the team can score enough to win. The Red Wings should be a top-10 team on the power play for the second straight season. Detroit is deep up front and on the back end, giving Lalonde a lot of lineup options.

The not-so-good: Giving up 3.33 goals a game, a total ahead of just seven NHL teams last year, negates the team’s ability to win on a consistent basis. With all due respect to Larkin and Kane, Detroit lacks a superstar that most contending teams have on the roster. Husso had an injury-shortened season, causing concerns for a franchise counting on him.

Players to watch

The Red Wings made big investments in defenseman Moritz Seider ($60 million, seven years) and forward Lucas Raymond ($64.6 million, eight years) and desperately needs them both to become stars very soon.

Husso’s health is a big key. When the Red Wings have him on the ice, he increases their chances of winning with a 34-13-7 record.

Continued; we have no idea whether Husso will remain healthy over the course of the season, and that’s the big question mark in my opinion–goaltending in general.

Carter Mazur’s angling for a job on the big club, despite long odds

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a profile of Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur, who’s bulked up by `13 pounds and feels much more ready to compete for an NHL job this season:

If Mazur was playing for another NHL team, he might be favored to earn a roster spot. He’s coming off a quality season in Grand Rapids, including a strong postseason (Eight points in nine games).  But the Red Wings don’t have much wiggle room when it comes to roster room.

“I had confidence in the playoffs last year in the AHL, building off that and then adding that weight is a big factor in me not making the team or making the team,” Mazur said.  “It is a little thing but it’s something that really adds to my game. That’s how I play. I want to be heavy, I want to be physical. Even if I’m not 200 pounds I still think I can do that at 188. It adds a lot of confidence to my game and I feel very comfortable where I’m at.”

Mazur’s read on his situation is probably right on the money, because what the Red Wings really like about Mazur he offers a snarl and fire breathing to go with his scoring touch. He totaled 17 goals in 60 games, and added three more in the playoffs.  Mazur likely can be a 20-goal scorer at the NHL level. He projects to be a Tyler Bertuzzi type player,

“He’s obviously a bigger boy,” Detroit forward Joe Veleno said. “Not scared to battle in the corners and competes really hard. Always gives that extra effort. Just like that assist that he had the other night. He’s just kind of relentless on the puck, got some good skills in tight, got a good shot and he’s kind of built pretty thick.”

…

Mazur played with Marco Kasper in the AHL playoffs. They seem to fit well together, both are tough to play against. Both play prickly.

(Kasper’s) also gotten bigger and stronger, I can tell,” Mazur said. ” He’s a player that can really change the game on a physical side and offensive size. He’s using his speed pretty well. In the first preseason game he was a really standout guy. I thought he did all the little things the right way. He’s not making mistakes. He’s just a really good hockey player. ”

Continued