The Malik Report

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

The Walleye have signed forward Thomas Ebbing, a center who has appeared in 187 ECHL games in a four-year pro career.

Ebbing, a native of Troy, Mich., posted 54 points with 31 goals and 23 assists in 71 contests for the Reading Royals during the 2021-22 season. He also added another five points in 13 playoff contests for the Royals.

The 27-year-old did not play during the 2020-21 season, but did appear in another 46 games for Reading in 2019-20 and produced 27 points (12 G, 15 A).

In 187 ECHL games, Ebbing has posted 115 points (56 G, 59 A). The 5-foot-11 and 185-pound forward has also played for Greenville, Fort Wayne, and Brampton.

Continued

The Hockey News’s Tony Ferrari posted a “long list” of Calder Trophy candidates, and he included Simon Edvinsson on the list:

17 | D Simon Edvinsson | Detroit Red Wings | 6th Overall, 2021

Is Edvinsson the second coming of the great and powerful Seider? That’s probably asking a bit much, especially considering that Edvinsson is a year behind where Seider was in his rookie season. Edvinsson is a bit more offensively inclined and his defensive game, although improved, isn’t as mature as Seider’s which could limit the overall impact and sheer amount of playing time that Edvinsson receives. An improved Detroit roster will also impact that. If Edvinsson can come in and show off his offensive prowess, puck-moving ability, and continued improvement defensively, he could very well get into the conversation higher up this list.

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The Score’s Sean O’Leary graded the Atlantic Division teams’ offseasons, including the Red Wings’ work to improve their team:

Steve Yzerman added like a madman in free agency, completely transforming the outlook of Detroit’s roster with a slew of moves that should instantly help the Red Wings become more competitive. Bringing in Copp, Perron, and Kubalik creates a much deeper top nine, and the veteran presence should help insulate the club’s young stars on and off the ice.

Not only did Yzerman revamp Detroit’s forward corps, but he pounced on Husso to create a formidable goaltending tandem alongside Alex Nedeljkovic. Husso was in high demand in a red-hot goalie market this offseason after a strong year with the St. Louis Blues, and the Red Wings surrendered only a third-round pick to acquire the netminder and subsequently sign him to a three-year extension at a modest price.

The Wings needed more experience on their blue line, and Yzerman found that, too, but the four-year deal for Chiarot might be the savvy GM’s only swing-and-miss of the offseason. Chiarot has routinely posted some of the worst defensive metrics in the NHL, and paying such a high price for intangibles tends to backfire in a league so reliant on cap space. Luckily for Detroit, it has a projected $41 million in cap space next season, so the rugged blue-liner’s questionable deal shouldn’t hold the Wings back too much as they look to climb the ranks in the league’s deepest division.

Grade: A

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Per WXYZ’s Brad Galli:

The captain hits the ice: Dylan Larkin working in Red Wings training camp pic.twitter.com/bsNh1jOXYQ— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 22, 2022

New man in charge: Derek Lalonde guiding the second group of Red Wings players for a practice to open camp pic.twitter.com/IsIsfoJCYX— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 22, 2022

Simon Edvinsson looking to make the Red Wings roster pic.twitter.com/QAz8OT95jf— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 22, 2022

DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce, Carley Johnson and Ken Kal covered a full hour’s worth of training camp practice today:

FYI, via Red Wings prospect and University of Denver sophomore Carter Mazur on Twitter:

Senior Kyle Mayhew, junior McKade Webster & sophomore Carter Mazur will join Justin Lee in wearing letters this season.#GoPios

MORE: https://t.co/jUN26k5GnE pic.twitter.com/OaMQdSXnX3— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) September 22, 2022

Enjoy. I said, “Hi” to Brad this morning. All class, wise gent.

The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro weighs in regarding the potential NBA/MLB/NHL buy-out of Sinclair’s Bally Sports divisions:

The NHL’s ever-changing broadcasting landscape is potentially on the verge of another shift in direction.

As first reported by the New York Post and confirmed by The Athletic, the NHL, MLB and the NBA could soon purchase the right to broadcast local games on regional sports networks (RSNs) owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group.

“Everything is on the table now,” a league source said. “It’s a space you have to be proactive in now, before you get left with a worse solution.”

Sinclair, through its Diamond Sports subsidiary, owns the local broadcast rights to 12 U.S.-based NHL teams, with games appearing on Bally Sports-branded networks. Diamond is struggling financially and could be headed for bankruptcy, which in turn could lead to teams losing out on the massive rights fees they’ve negotiated with the company. NHL teams, on average, make around $25 million per season from those agreements, according to one source with knowledge of the situation.

“The model is changing, slowly, but team rights fees are still one of the biggest drivers of revenue for an individual team,” a team executive said. “That’s a financial pillar for the finances of an NHL club and, thus, the league.”

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Okay, yesterday’s fundraising post raised about $450, which is awesome, but there’s still about $500 to go before we cover the hotel bill. Things are a wee bit desperate, and if you can lend a hand, this is the “time of need” given that my debit card got charged early for the second half of the hotel bill.

If you’re are willing or able to lend a fundraising assist, 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. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums” (an old nickname).

Per DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce:

Good Morning, everyone!☕️☀️We will be live from day one of @DetroitRedWings training camp starting at 10:30am today! Tune in on the Red Wings website, YouTube, & Facebook. #LGRW— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) September 22, 2022