Toledo Walleye re-sign F Sam Craggs

Per the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye:

Here’s their press release:

(Toledo, OH) ā€“ Forward Sam Craggs has agreed to terms to make it a third straight season with the Toledo Walleye.

The native of Elmhurst, Illinois finished last year appearing in 60 games for the Walleye, reaching double digits in both goals (10) and assists (10), while posting 51 penalty minutes and a plus-5 rating. He finished the season strong with eight points (4G, 4A) over the final ten games of the season. Craggs made his professional debut with Toledo at the end of the 2021-2022 season, appearing in 11 games with a goal and four assists.

Craggs left the Falcons as their all-time leader in career games played with 181 and finished ranked ninth all-time in penalty minutes with 295. The 26-year-old also scored 30 goals with 34 assists and was a plus-21 in his college career. Three times in his career he was named not only a WCHA Scholar-Athlete but also three times he landed on the WCHA All-Academic list.

Tweets of note: Griffins break down their schedule; Vitucci weighs in on Walleye’s Mikesch hiring

Of Red Wings affiliate-related Twitter note today:

  1. The Grand Rapids Griffins break down their schedule by opponent in a 2-minute Twitter video…

2. And Toledo Walleye pro scout and former coach Nick Vitucci discusses his take on the Walleye’s hiring of Pat Mikesch as head coach:

Update: Here’s a YouTube version of the Griffins’ “Chel” video:

Continue reading Tweets of note: Griffins break down their schedule; Vitucci weighs in on Walleye’s Mikesch hiring

Giving the rebuild a solid ‘C?’

Bleacher Report’s Joe Yerdon assesses the progress made by 11 teams which he deems to be in the rebuilding process this afternoon. Here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings’ rebuild:

The Red Wings have been rebuilding for years and even now they don’t seem to be settled with what they’re doing.

They’ve made great draft picks in recent years with Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Sebastian Cossa and Marco Kasper. They’ve also had some picks not pan out, most notably Filip Zadina (No. 6 in 2018) whom they recently parted ways with and signed with San Jose. Joe Veleno (No. 30 in 2018) hasn’t lived up to his high-scoring days in the QMJHL and Michael Rasmussen (No. 9 in 2017) has been more of a heavy than a scorer with the Wings.

Since Steve Yzerman took over as GM, the drafting has been a bit smarter but the free-agent signings make us tilt our heads like curious puppies.

Adding Andrew Copp made sense for defensive help with scoring touch up front, but at five years and $28.5 million, the goals haven’t been there consistently. Ben Chiarot had questionable analytics but played the prototypical defensive defenseman game which earned him four years and $19 million in Detroit. Ville Husso’s three-year, $14.5 million contract shows he might be there to keep the crease warm until Cossa is ready to compete for the NHL gig.

Justin Holl and J.T. Compher’s signings stick out from this year, but trading for Alex DeBrincat and signing him for four years at $31.5 million could be a superb addition.

The Red Wings believe they are right there and their offseason moves show their hand. There are some prospects coming, but Yzerman and his scouts are trying to play a little catch-up after Ken Holland struggled to keep up at the end of his Detroit tenure.

Grade: C

Continued; I’m sticking to the line that Yzerman had to tear down for a couple seasons before truly beginning the “Yzerplan” in earnest last season, and, as a result, the “Yzer-timeline” might take a little longer than any of us would have hoped.

That being said, I wouldn’t knock Steve for what Ken Holland did or didn’t do.

McKeen’s Hockey weighs in on the Red Wings’ ‘C’-rated 2023 draft class

McKeen’s Hockey’s Chase Rochon offers a review of the team performances at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville, Tennessee last month, and here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings’ haul:

#20 Detroit Red Wings (C)

9 Nate Danielson (F)

17 Axel Sandin Pellikka (D)

41 Trey Augustine (G)

42 Andrew Gibson (D)

47 Brady Cleveland (D)

73 Noah Dower Nilsson (F)

117 Larry Keenan (D)

137 Jack Phelan (D)

147 Kevin Bicker (F)

169 Rudy Guimond (G)

201 Emmitt Finnie (F)

Detroit’s draft was very interesting to me because I find it hard to criticize Steve Yzermanā€™s picks which have been excellent in the past with some home runs to show for it. Nate Danielson and Axel-Sandin Pellika are great players who will be NHLers and good ones. They just didn’t strike me as the types of players Detroit has recently drafted with some hard nose battlers that are going to be warriors. I think it might take a while for either to become impact playoff players relative to some of the skill still left on the board, such as Oliver Moore at pick #9 and still available at #17. They pass with a C as most other picks were good, but just that they were good and not great, where teams ahead of them made some great picks.

Continued; I find it frustrating that people expect the Red Wings to do anything other than “stick to their player lists,” rankings be damned. Thus far, the Wings have made some good picks by going their own way, and they’re not about to stop for the sake of comparing players to the brighter, shinier names on the board.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Mills: Yzerman on the Wings’ top prospects

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills penned an early-morning article which discusses the importance of prospect development for the Red Wings, as reflected in the comments of GM Steve Yzerman over the course of the Red Wings’ 2023 Summer Development Camp:

Simon Edvinsson and Marco Kasper, two of Detroit Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman’s former first-round draft selections, both made their NHL debuts in the 2022-23 season.

But according to Yzerman, Edvinsson and Kasper still need to earn a roster spot with the Red Wings in 2023-24. Like any player, the pair of highly regarded prospects must prove they belong in Detroit.

“With all these guys, we’ll let their play determine where they go,” Yzerman said on July 3. “But we don’t want to put ourselves in a position that we’re hoping that they make it because if they don’t, then what do we do? You gotta address these needs in the offseason.”

Edvinsson, selected sixth overall by Detroit in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, made his Red Wings debut on March 18 against the Colorado Avalanche and finished last season with two goals in nine NHL games.

The 6-foot-6, 209-pound defenseman spent most of his inaugural North American campaign with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, recording 27 points (5-22-27) in 52 games.

Yzerman said he has high hopes for Edvinsson but does not want to automatically slot the 20-year-old blueliner into a role that he might not be ready for.

“I don’t think it’s beyond a possibility that Simon comes in, has an outstanding training camp and preseason then simply forces his way into the lineup,” Yzerman said. “That’s what every one of us — our organization and fans — would love to see. If that happens, that’s great and we’ll figure it out. But at this stage, to say we’re gonna put him right in the top six, I’m not prepared to say that. I don’t want to do that and that’s unfair to him.”

Continued, with comments regarding Kasper, Michael Rasmussen and Joe Veleno.

Talking Seider’s contract and more in Bultman’s mailbag

The Athletic’s Max Bultman filed a lengthy mailbag feature today, and here’s a look at one pertinent question and answer:

I donā€™t believe I noticed anyone ask about Seider or Raymond extensions during press conferences soā€¦. Any chance either of them sign a long term (or medium term) extension this summer? Assuming Seider more likely than Raymond. ā€” Adrian K.

Iā€™d be quite surprised to see Raymond extend this summer. Thereā€™s too much incentive for him to have a big season in 2023-24 before locking in with any kind of term. His talent level is so high, and it wouldnā€™t shock me at all if heā€™s a 60-point (or more) player next season.

Seider is a more interesting question, as you can make the case that there is an incentive for both sides to lock in now. From Detroitā€™s perspective, it would be trying to lock in a foundational defenseman for the long-term, before the cap rises. And from Seiderā€™s perspective, well, what more can he really prove in the next year? Barring a top-10 Norris-type season, which would likely take a 60-point outburst in addition to strong defense, heā€™s already proven himself to be a No. 1 defenseman worthy of $8 million or more on the market. And who knows if itā€™s him or Gostisbehere getting the PP1 looks next season?

I havenā€™t heard any rumblings of an imminent extension with either, so weā€™ll see where it goes. But I agree that Seider is more likely than Raymond.

Iā€™m most curious to see if the Red Wings are willing to go right to eight years with him, rather than bridging. Yzerman dealt heavily in bridge contracts in Tampa, but weā€™ve seen most of the gameā€™s top-flight young defenders taking long-term deals straight out of entry-level contracts in recent years.

To me, Miro Heiskanen makes a lot of sense as a comparable. Seider actually has more raw point production at the same stage, which matters with contracts, but Heiskanen already had Norris votes to his name due to his elite defensive ability. The Dallas blueliner inked long-term for just shy of $8.5 million, which, on the projected $87.5 million salary cap for 2024-25, would be about $9 million. That, to me, would be a solid range for a long-term deal ā€” with an $8.7 million cap hit to match Larkin as a possible logical conclusion.

Continued (paywall); Max is spot-on here. Heiskanen plays a similar game to Seider, and Dylan Larkin’s paycheck is likely the Red Wings’ “internal cap,” so if Seider signs a longer-term deal instead of a “bridge contract,” he’ll sign at the Wings’ maximum dollar amount for maximum term.

DobberHockey’s ’15 Most Baffling Moves of the Offseason’ include the Wings’ signings of Daniel Sprong and Justin Holl

One Darryl “Dobber” Dobbs of DobberHockey.com posted a list of his “15 Most Baffling Moves of the Offseason,” and Dobber spends quite a bit of time questioning why Daniel Sprong signed with the Red Wings:

14. Detroit/Daniel Sprong ā€“ Detroit and Daniel Sprong: This ā€˜baffleā€™ is for both parties. Sprong enjoyed a great season with Seattle despite being held down the lineup by his coach ā€“ his production kept him afloat despite limited opportunity. It’s smart of him and his agent to get him signed to a contract right away. They read the market and determined that they needed to lock things down before the money dried up, because he didn’t have a strong enough foothold on a roster spot to get an NHL job even days after free agency opened. He also did well to get a $2M contract, even for one year. Butā€¦Detroit? He is genuinely risking that next contract. With Alex DeBrincat, David Perron, Robby Fabbri, Lucas Raymond, Jonatan Berggren absolutely locking up the first five wing spots, he has to beat out both Klim Kostin and Joe Veleno (who I believe moves to the wing this year) if he wants a spot in the top nine. If he’s not in the top nine nor on a PP unit, he’s not getting a contract next year, simple as that. Seems a little risky, when other teams could have used him even if it meant taking a bit less.

And from Detroitā€™s standpoint? Why? Seems like the Red Wings solved their issues in adding depth on the wing by acquiring Kostin and signing Christan Fischer. And if they still need one, they can call up Marco Kasper or Elmer Soderblom. Not a huge deal, just a bit of a curiosity for me due to a lack of fit.

As far as I’m concerned, Sprong fits quite well as a 3rd line scorer, and as a 25-year-old who posted 21 goals and 25 assists for 46 points over the course of only 66 games this past season, maybe he’ll give somebody in the Wings’ “top six” a run for their money.

From the Red Wings’ point of view, you have to over-build up front, because injuries are going to happen, and from Sprong’s point of view, snagging a $2 million contract is perhaps more than market value for a player who was on a 57-point pace for the first time in his career. Maybe it’s not the best fit, but it’s not an irrational move.

As for this one from Dobber…

Continue reading DobberHockey’s ’15 Most Baffling Moves of the Offseason’ include the Wings’ signings of Daniel Sprong and Justin Holl

Three things: Sunday night multimedia and Khan on the Griffins’ blueline

Of brief Red Wings-related note early on Monday morning:

  1. The Red Wings posted an afternoon Tweet on Sunday celebrating 88 (and now 87) days and counting until the home opener, confirming that Daniel Sprong will wear #88 in Detroit:

2. Also in the multimedia department, the Detroit News’s Bob Wojnowski, Oakland University basketball coach Greg Kampe and Fox 2’s Dan Miller briefly discuss the last week in Red Wings news at the 12-minute mark of a video chronicling their Sunday night sports conversation on Sportsworks:

Continue reading Three things: Sunday night multimedia and Khan on the Griffins’ blueline