The Malik Report

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a notebook article this afternoon which discusses the Red Wings’ signing of Dominik Kubalik to a 2-year, $5 million contract as an unrestricted free agent:

“He’s big. He can skate. He has a great shot,” Yzerman said. “And the contract we think is very reasonable. It’s a guy that has a lot of upside. It’s another player who gives us more scoring depth.”

Kubalik might slot onto the third line alongside former teammate Pius Suter, who took the same path to Detroit a year ago after the Blackhawks opted not to qualify him.

Like they did with Suter, the Red Wing became quite familiar with Kubalik during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, when they played the Blackhawks eight times. Kubalik scored 13 fewer goals in 12 less games that season, but he maintained the same points per game output.

His production slipped significantly last season with 15 goals and 32 points in 78 games.

“Last season was up and down pretty much the whole year,” Kubalik said. “Right from the beginning we got on a losing streak and it’s usually hard to get back and get it going. We just couldn’t figure it out, how to win, how to play. That’s exactly what happened with me, too. I couldn’t find my game. I had some good streaks and some bad moments at the beginning of the season. But right now, it’s a fresh start, it’s a clean table and I’m very excited about the opportunity.”

Continued

The Hockey News’s Steven Ellis offers a detailed scouting report on Red Wings prospect and 2022 8th overall draft pick Marco Kasper this evening:

“He really forced himself into the top 10 conversation as the season went on because he’s such a fascinating player,” a scout said. “Detroit made the right choice taking him. He’s going to be great.”

After going eighth overall, Kasper became the second highest drafted player in Austrian history behind Thomas Vanek after the Buffalo Sabres picked him fifth overall in 2003. Kasper just edged out Marco Rossi (ninth overall, 2020) by one spot and became the fourth Austrian ever selected in the first round.

So, for Kasper, there’s a nice sense of pride. And the Red Wings are getting an electrifying forward with a bright future.

At 18, Kasper has nearly games of pro experience with Rogle during regular season, playoff and Champions Hockey League play. He doesn’t have a ton of offense to show for, but SHL teams are conditioned to win, which means some top prospects get lost in the shuffle. As a comparison, Kasper had 11 points in 46 regular season games compared to Lucas Raymond’s 10 points in 33 games in his NHL draft year. Definitely a better points-per-game average for Raymond, one of the top rookies in the NHL this past season, but still solid results for Kasper, who led all U-18 SHLers in scoring this year.

Kasper had six points in 11 games with Austria’s men’s national team, where he quickly forced himself up the lineup, playing over 19 minutes a night in three outings at the World Championship.

“It’s tough to play against men, I think seeing what the pros do every day, it’s helped me to see what it is to live like a pro and it’s helped me a lot,” Kasper said at the NHL draft combine in early June. 

Continued

The Athletic’s Sean Gentille conducted an offseason mailbag feature today, and he answered two Red Wings-related questions:

Which rebuilding team wins a championship first? Hawks, Coyotes, Canadiens, Sabres, & the Kraken (though not “re” building) come to mind as franchises in similar positions right now. I’d bet on LA or Detroit before any of those, but they’re further along in the process. (Late additions: New Jersey and Anaheim)

— Andrew G.

I’m not comfortable picking the Coyotes to win anything. The Blackhawks haven’t completed the teardown, though it’s early in the day, so who knows? Kent Hughes did well to fix one long-term cap issue in Montreal but still has one to go. I love the Sabres, but it’s still relatively early for them. I’m not considering the Kraken because they’re playing with a different set of cards. The Devils have huge pieces but not a ton else in the NHL.

From your group? It’s Detroit. They’ve got elite young players in the NHL, some really solid mid-20s pieces, a strong prospect base, a nice cap situation, an influx of win-now guys and Steve Yzerman running the whole deal. What’s not to love? Seems almost unfair to include them. It should be a really attractive spot for big names, too … which we’ll discuss shortly.

…

Break down who you think will win the Matthew Tkachuk sweepstakes and why….

— Charles W.

We’ve written a ton about this in the last few days, and I still think smart money has to be on the Blues. They’re prohibitive favorites for reasons beyond the obvious, starting with the ability to offer Jordan Kyrou as a centerpiece. So they’re my pick — but man, the Red Wings are a compelling option. If I’m Tkachuk, and going home isn’t in the cards, I’m trying to land in Detroit. That roster is officially on the verge of decency, and I’m not sure hockey means more to any U.S. market.

Continued (paywall); here’s hoping…

Red Wings forward Oskar Sundqvist spoke with 101 ESPN in St. Louis this morning, appearing on the “Karraker and Smallmon Show” with Randy Karraker and Michelle Smallmon.

Sundqvist is at home in Sweden, but he spoke about both his ties to St. Louis, where he will keep a home and split his summers between St. Louis and Sweden, and his ties to Detroit, whose Blues collective (see: Jake Walman, David Perron, Ville Husso, Robby Fabbri and Sundqvist) is helping him adjust to being a Red Wing.

Sundqvist admitted that he had knee surgery to “clean up” his knee at the end of the season, stating that he didn’t have any power to push off in his stride, and he suggested that he’s “getting toward 100%” again, which is good to hear.

Here’s the 101 ESPN summary of the interview…

Continue reading Audio: Red Wings forward Oskar Sundqvist appears on St. Louis’ 101 ESPN, admits having knee surgery this past spring

FYI:

Will the #LGRW return to the playoffs this season?

The #Yzerplan has been accelerated by offseason moves (Husso, Perron, Copp, Kubalik) to vastly improve the supporting cast for Larkin, Raymond & Seider

Listen to @NHLFantasy on Ice: https://t.co/MGGfTroq4Z pic.twitter.com/oZMNjCjeYb— Pete Jensen 🏒 (@NHLJensen) July 22, 2022

You can listen to the podcast here.

National Team Development Program play-by-play announcer Pete Krupsky, who’s been growing the game in Southeastern Michigan for what feels like forever, posted a clip of goals by former National Team Development Program members Oliver Moore and some guy named Dylan Larkin this morning:

Enjoy a 4:25 clip of Moritz Seider’s “Top 5” plays:

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski examines nine possible destinations for Matthew Tkachuk this morning in an article for ESPN+, and Wyshynski includes the Red Wings in his examples of potential trades:

Detroit Red Wings

Cap space: $10,296,111

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman clearly signaled this summer that the time to turn the corner back to contention is now, with big free-agent signings (David Perron, Ben Chiarot, Andrew Copp) and a trade for Ville Husso. The Red Wings have the cap space and the capital to make a run at Tkachuk if that in fact fits into the Yzer-plan.

The pitch: F Tyler Bertuzzi, F Michael Rasmussen, D Filip Hronek, and an unprotected 2024 first-round pick for Tkachuk.

There’s zero chance that Yzerman trades a 2023 first-rounder with Connor Bedard waiting to supercharge someone’s franchise.

Bertuzzi helps immediately and is coming off a 30-goal season, but he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Rasmussen and Hronek give the Flames two players with more contractual control. We could see Jakub Vrana here instead of Bertuzzi, as he’s signed for two more seasons. It’s not a trade the Red Wings need to make, but one they could make if the price is right. And hey, Matthew and his brother would become division rivals, which would be fun.

Continued (paywall); I think Wyshynski’s offer is light. If the Flames took that kind of package, I’d do it.

NHL.com’s Dave Hogg profiles Red Wings prospect and 2022 8th overall draft pick Marco Kasper this morning. Kasper, of course, is Austrian-born, but plays for Rogle BK of the Swedish SHL, and he’s learned Swedish so that he can finish high school in Sweden:

“It was a difficult decision to leave home and leave my family, but I think it has been a good decision to go play in Sweden against better competition,” he said. “We have a good team and I’ve really developed as a player.”

[Red Wings assistant director of player development Dan] Cleary said the main focus of development camp wasn’t to evaluate players, but to make sure they had the best possible tools to evolve as players.

“We work on skills with them, but a lot of what we are teaching is about proper recovery techniques,” he said. “We also have a nutritionist here, so the kids can learn what to eat and when to eat it — that’s an important aspect — and a sports psychologist to deal with the mental side of things.”

So, Kasper, who signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Detroit on July 13, is heading back to Sweden with homework, even if his workload might be lighter than others.

“We know Rogle runs a legit program that’s already dialed in,” Cleary said. “We might have some suggestions about making it a little better, but they are already in a good position.”

Continued

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a notebook article this morning which delves into Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur’s status as a life-long Red Wings fan from Jackson, MI, who has many ties to the team:

Growing up, Mazur, who is an alumnus of the Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club, loved practicing at Joe Louis Arena and then at the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena.

“Having that history, meeting players every day and having coach Kris (Draper) be my mentor in a way while he’s bringing in people like (Niklas) Kronwall to skate with us was something you really don’t have an opportunity to do when you’re younger,” Mazur said about his experience with Little Caesars. “But we did here and that was pretty special.”

After playing seven games for USA Hockey National Team Development Program’s (NTDP) under-17 team in 2018-19, Mazur was selected third overall in the 2018 USHL Phase I Draft by the Tri-City Storm. He tallied 13 points (6-7-13) in 47 games the following season with Tri-City, then was named captain for the 2020-21 season, notching 20 goals and 24 assists in 47 games.

This past season, Mazur concluded his freshman campaign at the University of Denver with 14 goals and 24 assists in 41 games, helping the Pioneers win the 2022 NCAA Championship in April and garnering NCHC Rookie of the Year honors.

When reflecting on his first year as a Division I student-athlete, Mazur evolved both on and off the ice

“I felt I grew a lot physically and mentally,” said Mazur. “Especially studying and doing school with hockey. That added a lot to my mental game, so I think that had a really good impact on us.”

Continued