The Malik Report

The Sporting News’s Ryan Murphy posted a late-night article which digs into the Red Wings’ offseason moves, attempting to discern how the team will fare in a stacked Atlantic Division. This reads more like an “explainer” for people who aren’t familiar with teams’ offseason moves than a piece of in-depth analysis, which is fine:

Just because Detroit got a whole lot better does not make them automatic playoff contenders. 

They are in arguably the toughest division in the NHL right now. Looking at the four teams that made the playoffs last season, all four are arguably in better spots than the Red Wings.

The Panthers didn’t make any major additions with their cap troubles, and lost Mason Marchment in free agency, but still have their core group together. The Maple Leafs brought in Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov as their goaltending tandem and we’ll see if that helps them get over the first-round hump. 

The Lightning are the Lightning and re-upped a bunch of their players while not bringing in anyone significant. They did lose Ondrej Palat in free agency. The Bruins are going to have to deal with the losses of Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk at the beginning of the season, but still have their core group intact and will get three of those players back at some point. 

The bottom line is the four playoff teams from the Atlantic last season are heading into the fall with rosters that are very similar to last year’s and will very well compete for a postseason spot.

Murphy continues, concluding that the Red Wings won’t make the playoffs. We shall see.

Deadline Detroit’s Paul Harris is a long-time hockey writer, and he posted an article this evening which both summarizes the Red Wings free agency moves, projects the Wings’ opening-night roster, and questions whether GM Steve Yzerman’s moves were the best ones for the growth of top prospects Jonatan Berggren, Simon Edvinsson, Elmer Soderblom:

Before those signings the team was already looking at a potential talent infusion going into the 2022-23 season but from more of its own draft choices who are beginning to come of age.

Defenseman Simon Edvinsson – the team’s first-round pick (sixth overall) in 2021 and who at 19 and 6-feet-6, has been compared to last season’s NHL Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) winner Moritz Seider, late bloomer Elmer Soderblom, 21 (the 159th pick in 2019) a 6-feet-8, 250-pound winger … with hands both signed three-year entry-level deals and are preparing for their first season in North America (both are from Sweden). Another Swede, left winger Jonatan Berggren who is 22, led the Red Wings American Hockey League affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins with 64 points (21 goals and 43 assists) in 70 games in 2021-22, his first season in North America after being taken in the second round (33rd overall) in the 2018 draft.

All would have gotten a long look in training camp – Edvinsson was expected by most to make the team, Soderblom was expected to ultimately head to Grand Rapids, and the natural progression would have had Berggren heading the opposite direction to Detroit. And maybe they could have rivaled or come close to the impact that Seider and right wing Lucas Raymond had as rookies last season.

Not anymore.

It is always possible that one or more of Edvinsson, Soderblom and Berggren could still play their way onto the team in Traverse City and in exhibition games, but now all three will likely be in Grand Rapids when the regular season begins. Yzerman, like Ken Holland before him, prefers the Red Wings top prospects to get as much seasoning as possible in the American Hockey League as key players getting power-play time, etc., as opposed to being extra players in the NHL who sit out many games and/or go back and forth from Detroit to Grand Rapids before they are ready to be NHL regulars.

Harris continues at length, and I’ll readily admit that I was a bit shocked by the Red Wings’ aggressive draft and free agency moves…

But I have faith that the players who merit NHL ice time will get it, Berggren, Edvinsson and Soderblom included.

Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Seth Barton is something of a “mystery prospect” to me. The 2018 3rd round pick is 22 going on 23, and at 6’3” and 196 pounds, the Griffins defenseman hasn’t played a full professional season yet, nor did he replicate his prolific BCHL numbers at the NCAA, AHL or ECHL levels.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Nate Brown profiles Barton this evening, and his “upside” is hard to pin down due to injuries…

Injuries hindered Seth Barton’s time on the ice this season as well as a solid grading of where he stands in the system. The small sample size of 20 games did show favorable returns, however. A big bodied defenseman at 6’3 and 215 pounds, Barton was looking to add more muscle to his frame during last year’s offseason to prepare him for the 2021-22 season. 

In the handful of games he did play, Barton was efficient and scored his first goal with the Griffins as 2021 was coming to an end. In a 5-4 victory over Milwaukee on December 31, Barton found the back of the net in just his first five games.

So, as Brown suggests, Barton’s more than a little bit down the depth chart in terms of his status as a potential NHL prospect:

Barton’s arrival in Hockeytown is going to come with some competition in a crowded pipeline. Not only did Detroit beef up during free agency, but there are a number of players ahead of him knocking on the door. Simon Edvinsson, Jared McIsaac, William Wallinder, and Albert Johansson all have the inside track as of now. Detroit Hockey Now has Barton as the Red Wings’ tenth best defensive prospect in the system.

Brown continues, and I’m not about to write off a Red Wings prospect while he’s still in the system, but Barton’s climb toward the NHL is certainly uphill.

The Woodward Sports Network’s Nick Leach reminds us that the Rocket Mortgage Classic is taking place next week at the Detroit Golf Club next Wednesday, and a “Celebrity Scramble” will precede the event. Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin will be attending and participating in the “Celebrity Scramble”:

PGA TOUR players participating include; Will Zalatoris, Tony Finau, Jason Day, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar.

Celebs will be Barry Sanders, Tom Izzo, Calvin Johnson, Dylan Larkin, Maurice Allen, and Kelley James.

— Rocket Mortgage Classic (@RocketClassic) July 13, 2022

Here’s the press release, in case you plan on attending:

The AREA 313 Celebrity Scramble – awarded the PGA TOUR’s “Best Special Event” after its debut in 2019 – will be held Tuesday, July 26 at Detroit Golf Club. It is one of the many special events being held during Detroit Community Days presented by DTE Energy, which provide complimentary admission and parking on Tuesday, July 26 and Wednesday, July 27.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic returns July 26-31 to Detroit Golf Club, bringing the PGA TOUR event to the city of Detroit for the fourth straight year. Tickets for Thursday-Sunday competition rounds are available at RocketMortgageClassic.com.

I’m not a golf person, but if you are, enjoy!

Dobber Hockey’s Shane Malloy discusses four free agent forwards who signed with new teams over the course of the past week, and he endorses the Red Wings’ decision to sign 28-year-old center Andrew Copp to a 5-year contract:

#4) Andrew Copp – C – Detroit Red Wings

Contract: $5.625M – 5 Years remaining

Personally, this may be one of the best signings in free agency so fa. He has term on his contract, a controllable cap hit (currently), while he has a modified no trade clause (M-NTC, meaning he submits a 10-team no-trade list), he is going to be 33 years old when the contract expires. Some people have said the amount is a little too high, if anything I think it is around fair value in today’s market. He plays the middle of the ice well, above average in the faceoff dot, in the last couple of seasons he has played with some talented players in Winnipeg and while a member of the Rangers as well. His point production has seen improvements spanning from the 2020-2021 season, and with this seasoning in Detroit it seems he should be the second line center behind Larkin for the next little while. This signing gives recently drafted, Marco Kasper time to develop, along with a player that most people forget about, Joe Veleno. Detroit has a solid cast of players to play alongside of Copp in the meantime, and overall, his value shouldn’t be seen in a negative light when it comes to him as a real-life NHL asset. In the fantasy realm though, I’m not sure if I like the cap-hit versus the little amount of time he has shown an offensive flair. But it’s one that I believe can age well given the upcoming cast that Detroit has in the pipeline, along with their young roster players, and the other players that Yzerman brought in.

Continued; Copp has definitely been a late-bloomer offensively, but as a stalwart two-way center slated to play on the Red Wings’ second line, I don’t believe that the Red Wings overpaid too badly for his services.

I think that Malloy is right that the fact that Copp buys Kasper and Veleno a couple of years to really find their form is part of the reason why Yzerman signed him.

As for his offensive game, he blossomed with Artemi Panerin on his wing in New York, but his body of work with the Winnipeg Jets was very strong, too.

The Red Wings invited big Connor Murphy, a 23-year-old free agent goaltender, to last week’s development camp.

At present, the Union College senior isn’t harboring many pro aspirations, but Murphy told the Daily Gazette’s Ken Schott that he enjoyed attending the camp immensely:

“It was a great experience,” Murphy said during a phone interview Tuesday. It’s a super honor just to get invited, first of all. I really enjoyed my time there. The whole [coaching] staff in general did a really good job of making sure that we enjoyed our time there. It was kind of a stress-free environment, where they were basically just kind of focused on teaching us new things, getting us to work on certain aspects of our game and stuff like that. So it was really a stress-free time for me, and it was just a lot of fun.”

Murphy had a solid first season for the Dutchmen after transferring from Northeastern. He posted a 14-18-3 record with a 2.66 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage and three shutouts. He set a program record making 1,060 saves. That caught the attention of the Red Wings.

“I actually received a call from Phil Osaer, who was their goaltending scout and head development coach,” Murphy said. “He actually reached out to my advisor at the end of the season, probably a couple of weeks after we finished. He just invited me to the camp and said that they would love to have me there.

“I had one other offer to go to a different camp, but I decided ultimately to go to Detroit because they reached out first. I just thought that was the best decision, and I’m very glad I did because it was a really good time.”

Continued

The Sporting News’s Bryan Murphy posted a list of potential landing spots for former Dallas Stars defenseman and soon-to-be-30-year-old John Klingberg. As Murphy suggests, Klingberg and the Red Wings are a bit of an awkward combination:

Detroit Red Wings: Another Atlantic Division team that has taken major strides to becoming contenders are the Red Wings. GM Steve Yzerman had a busy offseason, bringing in Ville Husso, Ben Chiarot, Andrew Copp, David Perron, Dominik Kubalik and Olli Maata. 

Despite all of that spending, the Red Wings still have about $10 million left in cap space for this season, which theoretically would be more than enough to bring in Klingberg. 

Bringing in the free agent defenseman would make the team better, but may not make a ton of sense. It would bump Filip Hronek to the third pairing, and I’m not so sure Yzerman loves the idea of paying $4 million to a No. 5 defenseman. There also are the upcoming contracts to Dylan Larkin, Mo Seider and Lucas Raymond that all have to be considered in the future. 

Klingberg wouldn’t be the top, right-handed defenseman on the team, falling into a similar role as he did with the Stars. Plus, Detroit has plenty of righties on the blue line. Sure, he makes the roster better and they can make it work financially, but it’s not a great fit for either side. 

Continued

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen considers whether the Red Wings might be able to afford the asking price for Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk, and Allen does not believe that the Red Wings are the favorite for Tkachuk by any stretch of the imagination:

First, what we are hearing is that the Flames will want a top forward, a premium prospect and a first-round pick. The Flames will be looking for players like Lucas Raymond or Edvinsson, maybe Elmer Soderblom, etc.

Calgary once acquired  a young Jarome Iginla for Joe Nieuwendyk and they will be trying to replicate that deal. Yzerman is not likely to part with Raymond and Edvinsson.

Second, those who like the idea of moving Tyler Bertuzzi in a trade for Tkachuk have to consider that the Flames aren’t going to be interested in another player with a chance to be a UFA next summer. Second, Bertuzzi’s unvaccinated status could cause even more problems if he is on a Canadian team. Of course that is all dependent upon what Canada’s vaccination rules will be in 2022-23. We simply don’t know what those will be. But the Flames, having lost Gaudreau and now Tkachuk, will be looking for players with term on their contract.

Also, Tkachuk has the leverage here because most teams will want to sign him long-term. We don’t know know how he feels about Detroit. Would he want to be part of a rebuild? He is only 24. Tkachuk knows Michigan because he played two seasons for the U.S. National Team Development Program. He knows Larkin. That’s a plus.

Tkachuk is also probably going to want a long-term contract in the $9-10 million range. Remember, he is a restricted free agent so the acquiring team needs cap space for him this season. Depending upon who goes back in the deal, the Red Wings could suddenly be pushed up against the salary cap. Detroit Hockey Now projects the Red Wings will have about $7.5 million in cap space at the start of the season.

Continued; put bluntly, I can think of the minimum asking price for Tkachuk to be Bertuzzi, Edvinsson and a first round pick, if not all of that plus another second round pick.

I am certain that the Flames would ask for Raymond, Larkin or Seider, and I am certain that the GM would say, “No.”

And no, as The Athletic’s Max Bultman noted on Twitter today, because Tkachuk filed for salary arbitration, he can’t accept an offer sheet. The Flames earned the ability to protect their asset by Tkachuk’s arbitration filing.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed his afternoon notebook article, focusing today upon 28-year-old defenseman Olli Maatta, who’s joined the Red Wings as an unrestricted free agent signing. Maatta told Kulfan that he doesn’t feel as “old” as he is in terms of his NHL-playing experience:

“It’s kind of crazy,” said Maatta, who will turn 28 on Aug. 22 and is entering his 10th NHL season. “I don’t feel like a veteran in that sense. I feel like I have a lot of hockey left in me. I’m still kind of young, still have a lot of work to do and improve on. Having played that long, it feels like time flies. Nine seasons gone now, going into the 10th season, but I feel like I still have a lot left.”

The Wings feel the same way, having signed Maatta to a one-year contract worth $2.25 million. The addition of Maatta and defenseman Ben Chiarot, said general manager Steve Yzerman, “will help our special teams and particularly our penalty killing, and then defensively five-on-five as well.”

Maatta, who won two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh, was thrilled to join a Red Wings organization seemingly on the upswing.

“You see some of the players they already had before free agency started, and adding some big pieces, it’s a great place and exciting times,” Maatta said. “You can definitely see it, they’re up-and-coming and they want to be contenders. I want to be part of it.”

…

For his part, Maatta feels he can supply more offense than he has the past several years. He notched 29 points two times earlier in his career but has dropped off since, including posting single digits the last two years with the Kings.

“I have more offense in my game, more than in the last couple of years, and it’s definitely something I’ve been working on,” Maatta said. “I’m known as a defensive guy, but I have more offense in my game than my stats show.”

Continued

Sportsnet’s Sonny Sachdeva ranks every goaltending tandem in the NHL on a division-by-division basis this afternoon. Sachdeva believes that the Red Wings have fairly good goaltending, ranking the Wings 3rd in the stacked Atlantic Division:

3. Detroit Red Wings: Ville Husso, Alex Nedeljkovic
Steve Yzerman pulled off one of the key trades of this off-season in acquiring Husso, who’s fresh off stealing the starting job in St. Louis from Jordan Binnington, and emerged as a star. How he fares playing behind a different blue line, behind a more inexperienced squad, remains to be seen, but if Husso can keep it rolling and build on a great 2021-22, he should be a difference-maker for the up-and-coming Red Wings. And while Nedeljkovic fell flat in a greater role last season, a move back to the No. 2 spot might just help him regain the excellent form he showed as Carolina’s backup a season ago.

Continued