The Malik Report

Sportsnet’s Luke Fox posted a list of offseason power rankings this morning, and here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings:

14. Detroit Red Wings

Love it: Holding six picks in the first three rounds of the 2021 draft. Recruiting an influx of NHL-calibre players — Troy Stecher, Thomas Griess, Sam Gagner, Bobby Ryan, Vladislav Namestnikov, Marc Staal — without committing term. Weaponizing cap space for the Staal deal. Still holding $18.7 million below the ceiling.

Hate it: Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha still unsigned. Buyout of Justin Abdelkader will be on the books until 2026. We’re still waiting on a thunderbolt move from Steve Yzerman — Mikhail Sergachev offer sheet? Patience is the prudent course, but it’s not fun for headlines.

Continued

The Athletic’s Max Bultman wrote a superb article this morning, discussing Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris Draper’s first time running Detroit’s NHL draft as it pertains to the team’s direction going forward. Bultman notes that Draper takes the “get the Red Wings back to the playoffs, and then even more” parts of his job very, very seriously:

“Everybody knows how much the Detroit Red Wings mean to me,” he said. “I’ve spent half my life here, and I want to do everything that’s possible to get us back to where we want it to be, where the fans want it to be. And we know we have work to do. And we also realize that a big part of us getting back to where we want to go is going to be drafting and developing.”

The charge of getting the Red Wings back into contention falls onto more shoulders than just Draper’s. It takes an entire franchise. But as Steve Yzerman has preached building through the draft, the department Draper now helms has a massive hand in shaping the future of the franchise.

Draper’s correct that it will take years to find clarity about this draft class. But for now, this first draft can hopefully tell us a few things about how the department will run under the four-time Cup winner.

Bultman continues (paywall)

Today is a very busy day in the SHL for Red Wings prospects, with Jonatan Berggren (Skelleftea), Albert Johansson (Farjestad BK), Matias Brome (Orebro), Lucas Raymond (Frolunda), Albin Grewe (Djurgarden) and Malte Setkov (Malmo) all playing hockey today.

According to Sydsvenskan’s Kent Leijon Jonsson, Joe Veleno will join the fray playing for Malmo, centering a line of Eric Engstrand and Jan-Mikael Jarvinen;

And Hockeynews.se points us to Rogle BK’s website, which reports that Moritz Seider will make his SHL debut alongside Eric Gelinas. In a subscriber-only story (i.e. one that I can’t access), Seider told HD.se’s Linus Ahlin that he wants to be one of the world’s best defensemen.

WXYZ’s Brad Galli posted a video profile of former Red Wings forward Drew Miller, who now works as an insurance agent for Southfield, Michigan’s KIG:

Fox Sports Detroit has posted the Jamie Daniels Foundation’s “Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman” on YouTube for all to watch, and its silent auction is still underway…

Among the roast’s highlights, from the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Continue reading Fox Sports Detroit posts Jamie Daniels Foundation’s ‘Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman’ online

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In the Finnish Liiga, Victor Brattstrom served as the back-up in KooKoo’s 3-2 loss to the Lahti Pelicans;

Jared McIsaac remained sidelined with a hand injury as HPK won 4-3 in a shootout over TPS Turku. Eemil Viro had an assist and 4 shots in 21:25 played for TPS Turku;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Gustav Lindstrom took 4 shots and finished even in 20:51 played as Almtuna IS lost 3-1 to Vita Hasten. Filip Larsson served as the back-up goaltender for Almtuna;

Gustav Berglund played 13:45 in Vasteras IK’s 9-1 loss to Bjorklowen;

Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, William Wallinder played 20:00 in MODO Hockey’s 2-1 loss to Kristianstads IK;

And in the Swedish J20 league, Theodor Niederbach scored a goal and had an assist as the Frolunda Indians won 5-4 over the Malmo Redhawks. Niederbach now has 21 points (6 goals and 15 assists) over the course of only 12 games played for Frolunda’s J20 team.

Here’s Niederbach’s goal from Antonj85 on Twitter:

Theodor Niederbach gör 3-1 till Frölunda mot Malmö. #J20gifs #J20NS #FHC #DRW #LGRW pic.twitter.com/hEnJwUDnS6

— Anton (@antonj85) October 14, 2020

MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles new Red Wings defenseman Troy Stetcher. Stetcher isn’t big at 5’10,” but he brings a lot of grit and determination to the table:

“I pride myself in my work ethic, I try to lead by example in practice and throughout games,” Stecher said. “I know I’m not the biggest guy, but I definitely try to create a spark for my teammates through the (course) of a 60-minute game and I rely on my work ethic and skating.”

He also listed the areas he is looking to improve.

“Just boxing out in front is one of the bigger ones,” Stecher said. “Being a smaller guy, you need to find different leverage points. And then continuing to support the rush and having a good gap. I think it works both ways, offensively and defensively.”

The Canucks missed the playoffs four years in a row before making a nice run in the Edmonton bubble. They defeated Minnesota in the qualifying round and defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis in the first round before losing in seven games to Vegas in the second round. He is hoping to be part of a similar progression in Detroit.

“There’s been some challenging times,” Stecher said. “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel and you just got to stay focused on what your process is and your goals are. I think the biggest thing is understanding it’s not going to happen overnight, it’s a process of getting there.”

Continued

Fox Sports Detroit will stream tonight’s “Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman” at 8 PM EDT tonight on their YouTube channel:

From the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers comes a profile of Red Wings 3rd round pick Dominic Sebrango, a rugged two-way defenseman who plays for Kitchener:

? “I’ve been lucky to be drafted to both Kitchener and @DetroitRedWings, I know I’ll be guided so I can turn into the best player I can be” – Donovan Sebrango (@D_sebrango3) on #NHLDraft Day

?: https://t.co/iEIBOrDgmK
 #RTown | #OHLRangers— Kitchener Rangers (@OHLRangers) October 14, 2020

Sportsnet’s Luke Fox examines the respective situations of his top 15 restricted free agents this morning, including Red Wings forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha:

9. Tyler Bertuzzi
Age: 25
Position: Left wing
2019-20 salary cap hit: $1.4 million
Arbitration rights: Yes — and filed
Bargaining chips: Made first All-Star Game appearance. Back-to-back 21-goal, 47-point seasons. Skates nearly 20 minutes a night. Organization has invested seven years developing him into a first-line threat.

The latest: One of the few bright spots on a sad-sack Red Wings, Bertuzzi has over-delivered on his two-year, $2.8-million bridge pact signed back in 2018 and deserves a nice pay bump.

Of the three pending RFA forwards GM Steve Yzerman still must make decisions on, Bertuzzi is the most essential. Yzerman has been busy rebuilding his roster through smart, low-risk UFA signings, while clearing out veterans through buyout (Justin Abdelkader) or simply letting them walk (Jimmy Howard, Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson).

Bertuzzi has 30-goal potential, brings grit to his game, and should be seen as a building block for a rebuild that needs as many as it can get.

Negotiations with Yzerman have begun as the sides try to work out a deal prior to arbitration Oct. 25.

Continued; Fox notes that Mantha has suggested that contract talks with the Wings won’t be easy, but we do know per Steve Yzerman’s conference calls that the talks with Mantha are a little further along than Bertuzzi’s negotiations.