Morning Khan: Mickey Redmond discusses his memories of the 1972 Summit Series

This summer marks 50 years since the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union, a series which changed the course of hockey.

This morning, MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with Red Wings play-by-play announcer and former Team Canada member Mickey Redmond regarding his experiences in the Summit Series, all ahead of a new set of documentaries set to air on the CBC starting on September 14th:

The Soviets led 5-3 in Game 8 before Esposito and Yvan Cournoyer scored in the third period to tie it. Then, with 34 seconds remaining, Paul Henderson fired in his own rebound past Vladislav Tretiak. Canada prevailed 6-5 to win the series 4-3-1.

“It was pure jubilation,” Redmond said. “For them it had to be devastating that we were able to come back like that. Tretiak was supposed to be, at least by international standards, the best goaltender in the world, but I think we proved that to be different. That’s where our advantage came — screened shots and confusion in front of the net. European players never played like that, so (their goalies) could see everything. Part of our strategy was getting in front of this guy as much as you can because he’s not used to it and he’s going to have trouble. Obviously, his goals-against wasn’t very good in the series (3.88).”

Players sang ‘O Canada!’ on the flight home and returned to massive parades and a hero’s welcome.

“There was a lot of nationalism, patriotism,” Redmond said. “Going back, right or wrong, we were considered the supreme hockey players in the world, and basically, we were defending that mindset going against the Russians. If we had tied that series at eight points apiece it would have been considered a loss for us and a win for them. We had to win to continue that supremacy thought.”

Continued; it’s a hell of an interview, so give Khan’s article a thorough read.

A thought experiment suggesting Patrick Kane could be traded to…Detroit?

I’m a little lost as to how this would work, but the Hockey News’s Mike Stephens has offered 4 potential trade destinations for one Patrick Kane, a 33-year-old winger with a $10.5 million cap hit, and he includes Kane’s hometown Buffalo Sabres, the already cap-strapped Toronto Maple Leafs, the Nazem Kadri-less Colorado Avalanche, and the…Red Wings?

Detroit Red Wings 
2022-23 Cap Space: $8,171,111

These Red Wings are no longer rebuilding. They’re going for it — ready to win with a vastly improved roster of promising young talents and established, productive veterans. 

Oh, and they also have the most valuable asset any team can have these days: Cap space.  Of all the clubs focused primarily on winning games next season, the Red Wings arguably have the most financial wiggle room, sitting with over $8 million in cap space to spend on any further upgrades of their choice. Kane would certainly fit that bill, requiring roughly $3 million to be moved out to make the money work. 

It’s right about now that Steve Yzerman might realize giving Ben Chiarot nearly $5 million per year probably wasn’t the best idea. But I digress! 

The Red Wings wouldn’t need to tire themselves out too much to fit Kane’s contract onto their books, perhaps by adding a sweetener to Adam Erne’s $2.1 million cap hit along with another guy making near league minimum — maybe, Jake Walman? —  in exchange for a late-round pick. 

The thought of Kane alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond is a tantalizing vision for anyone — Red Wings management included. With a little elbow grease, they could turn it into reality.  

Continued; the thought of Patrick Kane playing in Detroit on the top line is indeed tantalizing.

But I think it’s pretty unrealistic, too. I’m just struggling to see how the Wings could manage to not have to surrender Simon Edvinsson or a first-round pick as a “sweetener” on the Red Wings’ side.

It’s a nice “thought experiment,” but I don’t see some sort of desperate need for the Red Wings to go out and grab Kane.

We’re fundraising as time is short and the need is significant

Okay, it’s August 30th, and in two weeks, I’ll be packing up the Pacifica to head to Traverse City on September 14th. I’ve raised about $700 thus far, but that puts me about $3,000 short of a realistic goal in this economic climate.

Long story long, it’s fundraising season, and the stakes are high just over two weeks out. I don’t believe that I’ll be able to raise the full amount in two weeks–these days, it’s more likely that I’ll be able to raise what I need by the time the second half of the hotel bill comes due, but not earlier…

But I need to raise as much as possible to pay the first half of that $2K hotel bill and enough to fix the Pacifica’s headlight/tail light, go grocery shopping, do my dry cleaning, et. al.

So it’s time to ask for help. If you’re a TMR reader and find value in what you read, and you’re able to aid the cause, no matter how small your donation, it’s greatly appreciated. I understand that it’s particularly hard to send bucks someone else’s way right now, but this is a non-profit enterprise.

If you’re are willing to help, you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check.

Daily Faceoff’s McKenna discusses the Husso-vs-Nedeljkovic ‘training camp battle’

Daily Faceoff’s Mike McKenna posted a list of potential training camp battles between goaltenders playing in the Eastern Conference, and he includes the Red Wings’ Ville Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic in his mix:

DETROIT RED WINGS: Alex Nedeljkovic & Ville Husso: Two young NHL goaltenders gunning for the crease on an up-and-coming team like the Red Wings? Keep your eyes on Detroit because I think this will be a fun battle to keep track of.

Nedeljkovic is the incumbent and has one year remaining on his contract at $3 million. Husso is starting a three-year pact worth $4.75 million a year. So let’s not pretend that Husso isn’t going to get every chance to play the bulk of games.

I really like both netminders for different reasons. Nedeljkovic is an outstanding puckhandler while Husso plays with a ton of detail. Both have had successful runs in an NHL crease.

If everything goes as planned in training camp, Husso seems like the safe bet to grab the No. 1 role in Detroit. He won 25 games in 40 appearances for the St. Louis Blues last season.

But I expect the Red Wings to be better as a team than they were last year, and that should benefit Nedeljkovic. The 26 year old from Ohio is just one year removed from posting a .932 save percentage over 23 games for the Carolina Hurricanes.

I think Husso has the inside edge going into training camp. But the leash will be short. And Nedeljkovic will be hungry.

Continued; I really don’t know how things are going to play out, honestly…

Videos: a little pre-game hype ahead of Rogle BK and TPS Turku’s Champions Hockey League games

The Champions Hockey League kicks off its proceedings on Thursday, September 1st, and Rogle BK (Marco Kasper, Theodor Niederbach, William Wallinder) and Frolunda HC (Liam Dower Nilsson) will play on the first day of competition, while TPS Turku (Antti Tuomisto) will play on Friday.

Rogle, last year’s champions, are hyped up in a video this morning…

As is TPS Turku, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this season…

And you’re not going to get much out of it unless you speak Swedish, but there’s a new episode of “Green and White” out from Rogle BK, and Theodor Niederbach has a chat with the host, Joel Nordstrom, about getting ready for his Rogle debut when the team plays GKS Katowice on Thursday:

DHN’s Duff on Herman Liv

I was keeping this one to myself, but Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff is talking about it, so enjoy:

When Herman Liv walks the streets of his hometown of Jönköping, Sweden, he gets the same question.

Is he the son of Stefan Liv?

Like father. Like son.

It’s the same when he dons his goalie gear. Herman Liv is definitely the son of Stefan.

Once a top goaltending prospect in the Detroit Red Wings system. Stefan Liv was one of the players tragically killed when the plane carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL club crashed on September 7, 2011.

Herman was five at the time of his father’s death.

“I am happy when people say that we are the same,” Herman Liv, 15, told Magnus Nystrom of Swedish website Expressen.se. “And I’ve heard that many times.”

Continued; Nystrom’s article on Liv is really fun to read, if you’re willing to plug it into Google Translate and read the lengthy missive.

Herman’s just an upbeat young man who’s playing in Orebro’s system right now, and he was on the Swedish Under-18 team recently, so he seems to have a real future.

Monroe: Toledo Walleye sign defenseman Kurt Gosselin

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe, the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye have made a late-summer signing to bolster their blueline:

The Toledo Walleye have signed defenseman Kurt Gosselin for the upcoming season. Gosselin, a native of Brighton, Mich., has played in 54 games in the ECHL over two seasons. He has produced 25 points with 11 goals and 14 assists.

The 27-year-old last played for the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2019-20. He finished with 18 points (6 goals, 12 assists) in 47 games that season.

Gosselin made his pro debut at the end of the 2018-19 season when he had three assists in eight games for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League. He also skated in seven games for the Cyclones and had seven points (5 G, 2 A).

“A couple of years away from the game, Kurt will look to get back into the form he was in previous to his break from hockey,” Walleye coach Dan Watson said. “He is reliable, has a good shot, and can think the game well.”

The 6-foot-1 and 201-pound defenseman played four years at the University of Alabama.

Continued; expect more signings as Monroe reports that the Walleye only have 11 players signed right now.

Ivan Ivan’s going to be attending the Red Wings’ prospect tournament as a try-out

Well, we’ve got our first prospect tournament try-out named via the Cape Breton Post’s Jeremy Fraser, listing the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles’ notable training camp roster additions and omissions:

Czech Republic product Ivan Ivan remains on the roster as an overage player for the time being and will attend the Detroit Red Wings training camp next month. Zachary Gravel, Samuel Johnston and Romain Rodzinski are the other overage players.

So now we know that the Red Wings have invited 2022 Czech World Junior Championship participant in Ivan Ivan Ivan (his real name), a 20-year-old who’s 5’11” and 172 pounds, per EliteProspects.

Ivan only posted 1 point in 7 games for the Czechs at the World Juniors, but he’s coming off a 65-points-in-65-games season (31 goals and 34 assists) for Cape Breton this past year (with an ugly -52 on a struggling team). His father Marek was a long-time European pro at various levels of competition.

Anyway, Ivan has been passed over in the draft twice, but his name caught on among fans during the summertime World Juniors: you can read more about him at the Sporting News or USA Today’s For the Win blog, as well as this Tweet from TSN’s BarDown blog:

I don’t mean to sound flippant, but this is the same case as last year’s most name-worthy try-out, T-Bone Codd, who’s still playing for the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL: his name is great and all, but it’s his play that will determine whether the Wings are intrigued by Ivan, who’s still eligible for the 2023 NHL draft.

Thomas Greiss, Nick Leddy speak with The Athletic about Greiss’s move to St. Louis

Former Red Wings goaltender Thomas Greiss spoke with The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford recently regarding the end of his tenure with the Detroit Red Wings…

After Detroit’s season ended in April, goalie Thomas Greiss had a meeting with general manager Steve Yzerman.

The rebuilding Red Wings had missed the playoffs for the sixth straight season and given up the second-most goals in the NHL (310). Though starter Alex Nedeljkovic had been in net for 178 of those, Greiss’ goals-against average (3.66) and save percentage (.891) were worse.

The 36-year-old was also going to be an unrestricted free agent.

“I really respect Steve, I think he’s a good GM, and we had a good talk about the whole thing,” Greiss said. “He was very honest with me and told me he’s shopping around and seeing what he can get. So they went in a different direction.”

And his decision to sign with the Blues, for 1 year and $1.25 million:

A couple of other clubs expressed interest, and there was “a chance,” Greiss said, that he might have retired if the right situation didn’t come along. But after 13 seasons in the league, he didn’t want to call it a career and was hoping to hear from a contending team.

“It was definitely, ‘What’s out there? What’s available?’” Greiss said. “St. Louis, being a very good team and a good city for the family too, it was an easy choice. There were other options, and St. Louis was my No. 1 pick.

“I think I still have some good hockey in me. Obviously last year wasn’t my best year, but looking back, I’ve been a pretty good goalie overall in the NHL in my career. I just want to have a good year. I still enjoy playing hockey, and that’s the most important part.”

Continued (paywall), with a few more interesting snippets from Gresis and Nick Leddy about playing for the Wings and Islanders as teammates…