The Malik Report

As Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes, with each passing hour, it feels more and more likely that the Red Wings’ Patrick Kane era is over. That’s both disappointing and a little concerning, because the free agent marketplace is particularly thin at forward:

The best remaining UFA forwards are Claude Giroux, Michael Bunting, Adam Henrique, Eeli Tovanen, Anthony Mantha, Vladimir Tarasenko and James van Riemsdyk. The last three are probably not an option under a been-there-done-that mindset. Giroux is interesting, but he has not been linked to Detroit.

Tolvanen has been linked to Detroit because he has the ability to score 16 to 20 goals while recording 200 hits per season. Tolvanen is likely to get a four-year deal worth at least $4.5 million per season.

Keep in mind that Dylan Larkin is making $8.7 million. If or when they trade him, depending upon the return, they could end up with more cap space.

At this point, the best hope of plugging holes may come from the players coming back in the Larkin trade. GM Steve Yzerman has made it clear that he wants a return that helps the Red Wings now, not four years from now.

The Red Wings are also looking at possible trades, although the No. 1 trade option Vince Trocheck is now in Utah.

Continued; at this point, I’m on Team Tolvanen, because he’s very well-balanced, but I honestly believe that the Red Wings will have to make a trade to address their needs at center in addition to trading Dylan Larkin for whatever return he provides.

None of the teams that Larkin has been linked to, both on his trade list and off of it, are willing to trade the kind of #1/2 center that Detroit will need, so the Wings will either have to make a secondary trade, or they’ll have to hope that the situation rectifies itself organically via prospects and an in-season trade.

This morning, the Red Wings’ press corps discussed the intangibles that new Red Wings forward Keegan Kolesar brings to the team in his physicality and leadership. This afternoon, MLive’s Ansar Khan focuses on the Kolesar’s leadership abilities…

“Just talking to guys now, it felt like there was a missing piece, maybe an identity of just having that, not the fighting aspect, but more the toughness of being hard to play against, being a veteran presence on the front end, bringing guys into the fight,” Kolesar, 29, said. “I think that’s something I can provide. With the skill that they have, that part of the game is fine for them. They have a lot of young studs who I have felt have been good for a number of years and are tough to play against. I just want to bring whatever I can to (form) more of an identity to the team.

“You try to bring guys into the fight every night. If I can be one of those older guys that comes in and shows guys that we’re going to go in there to trenches tonight and see who wants to follow me and, maybe it uplifts the guys a little bit more.”

Not everyone is suddenly going to be abrasive, but that element can become contagious. It was well worth relinquishing third- and seventh-round picks to acquire.

“I think when you have that in your lineup, it makes everyone play a little bit tougher,” Kolesar said. “You can play a little bit more confident when you have someone that is going to go in the trenches and do all the dirty work.”

Continued (paywall); 97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield also took note of Kolesar’s comments regarding the aspects in which he’ll improve the Wings’ forechecking game…

Continue reading Even more about Keegan Kolesar, as both the hard-nosed player and real human being

After four seasons playing for the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, Red Wings prospect forward Carter Bear will “turn pro” this upcoming season. As such, Bear told the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan that he’s getting ready for the transition from Major Junior hockey to the AHL:

“It’s pro now, and it’s a whole level of hockey,” Bear said this week at the Wings’ development camp. “It’s different than junior. It’s faster and you have to be smarter and stronger. I just have to work on my game, that’s what Detroit wants me to focus on and I trust Detroit on whatever their best development is for me. I trust them with that and it’ll all work out.”

Bear suffered a torn Achilles tendon in March 2025, but was able to be ready for Wings’ training camp, where he impressed with his competitiveness, intelligence on the ice and ability to score.

After a slow start, Bear heated up the second half of the season in Everett and finished with 36 goals and 41 assists (77 points) with a plus-45 rating in 53 games. Bear was outstanding in the playoffs, helping Everett to the WHL championship and trip to the Memorial Cup, with 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 18 games, with a plus-22 rating.

“I don’t really like to put any excuse on it,” Bear said of the average start. “I just started playing and (the injury) went away from my mind and started feeling normal. It’s all healthy now, for sure.”

Red Wings director of player development Dan Cleary told Kulfan that Bear, who turns 20 this November, does need to improve in several categories:

Continue reading Carter Bear’s dedicated to preparation for his first professional season of play

The Red Wings woke up this morning to post a “hype reel” illustrating that trade acquisition Keegan Kolesar can offer depth scoring and hard hitting, and I’ve got it on repeat as I await Patrick Kane’s free agency decision on Twitter:

Bringin' the boom 💪 pic.twitter.com/3LI9rnyYT2

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 3, 2026

Again, Kolesar is a bottom-six forward, but the 29-year-old’s toughness and leadership are two qualities that the Wings’ lineup has lacked for some time. It’s going to be better having this big guy (6’2,” 216 pounds) in the lineup.

Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, the Red Wings signed forward Wilmer Skoog to a 1-year contract to add depth to the organization’s forward corps, but the 6’2,” 198-pound forward told Hockeysverige.se’s Ronnie Ronnqvist that he’s excited about joining the Wings’ organization.

What follows is roughly translated:

Swedish forward Wilmer Skoog initially received information that he would remain in Florida. Instead, the Swede ended up on the free agent marketplace, and signed with Detroit.

“I had been informed that I could expect to be offered a contract,” he told hockeysverige.se after Florida’s sudden swing.

At the end of the last season Wilmer Skoog made his NHL debut with Florida. But for the upcoming season, it will be a different team for the Tyresö/Hanviken-educated forward. He signed with the Detroit Red Wings.

The Florida Panthers released my rights, so we looked around a bit. Then Detroit felt like a good opportunity and a new challenge, so it will be a lot of fun to get there,” says the 26-year-old when hockeysverige.se meets him after a practice at Stora Mossen.

Was it disappointing when Florida released your rights?

“There was no disappointment, but I was a little surprised. I then saw most opportunities were to be able to talk to other teams, and see where there was interest.”

Wilmer Skoog chose the Detroit Red Wings.

There was also interest from other teams.

“We talked about a few different options, but Detroit felt good and I’m looking forward to it.”

Continue reading Roughly Translated: Former Panthers forward Wilmer Skoog is ready for new opportunities with the Red Wings

New Red Wings forward Keegan Kolesar introduced himself to the Wings’ media corps on Thursday, discussing his desire to bring a physical element to his new team’s “bottom six.”

This morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James offers more from Kolesar’s introductory press conference, noting that Kolesar’s having a somewhat difficult time dealing with the first trade of his NHL career:

Kolesar sounded both wistful and wishful the day after he was traded from the only NHL team he has known to the Detroit Red Wings. One the one hand: He’s used to winning, and to being in the playoffs. On the other hand: It’s nice to be wanted.

“It’s tough when you hear news like that because your whole life changes,” Kolesar said on Thursday, July 2. “But I also look at it as like I’m in the NHL, on an Original Six team. Life’s good.”

As St. James also notes, Kolesar brings the toughness to the back half of the Wings’ forward lineup that Detroit’s lacked over the past half-dozen seasons:

Continue reading Keegan Kolesar offers physicality, leadership for the Red Wings

Of Red Wings-related note this evening:

1. Sportsnet’s Justin Bourne offers “two sentences” regarding every notable free agent signing, and, as the Red Wings made two notable free agent signings in Viktor Arvidsson and Daniil Tarasov (Keegan Kolesar was brought in via trade)…

Bourne offers this regarding the 33-year-old Arvidsson, who posted 25 goals and 54 points in 69 games last season…

Arvidsson is one of those guys who, when he’s healthy, is easy to love. Small but lays it all on the line, goes to the net, but his availability will be a question mark.

And this regarding Tarasov, a 27-year-old who stands at a massive 6’5″ and 196 pounds:

Big, young, and actually had better numbers than Bobrovsky in Florida last year. The goalie market is a crapshoot, though, so who knows.

2. This is just plain old neat. Hetrik.sk, a Slovakian sports website, reports that the goaltending coach for the legendary Slovak team Dukla Trencin took part in the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp (and what follows is roughly translated):

Continue reading Four things: ‘Two sentences’ about Viktor Arvidsson and Daniil Tarasov, a Slovakian Summer Development Camp cameo, and a bit about Keegan Kolesar

I’m not certain why this is/was the case, but the coverage of the Red Wings’ annual Summer Development Camp was hit-and-miss this past week.

The Wings themselves at least posted daily press conference videos and some cute/insightful behind-the-scenes stuff, but the scrimmage-less camp didn’t include the usual broadcast from the rink or commentary from Kris Draper regarding the Wings’ newest prospects.

The beat writers seemed preoccupied with Dylan Larkin’s situation, Patrick Kane’s situation, and Detroit’s free agency performance (or the lack thereof), too–understandably so–but they’ve already moved on to post-free agency and offseason coverage for the most part.

As such, the local news media didn’t really head down to LCA for video hits, and while the Detroit News’s David Guralnick posted his annual 65 image photo gallery from the BELFOR Training Center on Monday, and I’m sure that Max (Bultman) will offer some observations from the SDC at some point soon…

I was surprised when I spotted a 1:50 video from WNEM 5’s Cole Martens, who gave us a full-fledged sports report, comments from Red Wings director of player development Dan Cleary and prospect forward JP Hurlbert included:

Continue reading Video: Putting a bow on the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp

Three authors from the Hockey News have written disparate articles which mention and/or critique the Detroit Red Wings this evening, and some of their takes are better than others.

First, THN’s Mike Fink isn’t impressed with the way Detroit attempted to develop goaltender Sebastian Cossa, who was traded this past weekend to Utah in return for the 23rd overall draft pick (which became JP Hurlbert).

As such, Fink wrote a very well-crafted critique about goaltender development in the AHL:

There’s this belief that some GMs have that a great organization can never have enough prospects. The talent pool and the pipeline bringing young players to the NHL can never be too deep. It turns out that’s not the case, and some teams, to put it bluntly, are hoarding prospects.

The Red Wings entered the 2026 trade deadline on the verge of snapping one of the longest playoff droughts in the NHL. They have prospects on top of prospects, plenty in the system to make a blockbuster move, and they didn’t.

On top of that, they have three goaltenders in their system to move. Cossa was the primary starter with the Griffins while Michal Postava was the backup who ultimately took over the starting job during the Calder Cup Playoffs. Throw in Trey Augustine, who spent most of last season in college but joined the Griffins late, and Yzerman had goaltenders to move and chose to move none of them. 

It’s part of Yzerman’s difficult relationship with the position, one that’s troubled him since he became the Wings GM. He’s never found a true number one starter despite making all the moves, including a John Gibson trade, to find one. It’s why Yzerman kept three in the system, hoping one of them would work out. 

The problem is that he eventually had to make a move with one of them. By the time he did, it was too late, and now, the Red Wings enter the offseason with pieces to sell instead of players to add, especially after top-line center Dylan Larkin demanded a trade. The surprise is that the Red Wings landed a first-round pick in the Cossa trade, which says a lot about the value of a potential NHL starter. 

As far as Fink is concerned, the Red Wings should have both given Cossa more of an NHL shot, and that they should have traded him sooner instead of “hoarding” goalies:

Continue reading Three THN Things: On managing goaltenders, a ‘radioactive’ Detroit, and more Larkin reconciliation talk

The Canadian Hockey League’s Import Draft is a strange bit of business. Teams “take a flyer” on European players, making educated guesses as to whether the players might end up joining teams in the QMJHL, OHL and WHL.

Sometimes things work out. Most of the time, things don’t work out. But there’s no shame in making a wild stab in the direction of a good prospect.

Here’s an example thereof: Last year at this time, the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires drafted the rights to Michal Svrcek, a Red Wings prospect and 2025 draft pick who chose to remain with Brynas IF of the SHL. Svrcek, a 5’11,” 199-pound Slovakian playmaker, was expecting to earn the opportunity to play regularly with Brynas’ men’s team at the SHL level.

As it turns out, Svrcek ended up getting bounced around between the SHL, Brynas’ Under-20 team, and Vasteras IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan, the Swedish second division.

As such, Svrcek made the decision this spring to come over to Windsor after all, where he’ll both earn more playing time and he’ll be skating across the river from Little Caesars Arena. In this case, the Spitfires made an educated guess that Svrcek would want to play close to the Red Wings’ amateur scouts and management if things went south with Brynas, and they did, so he’s going to be a Spitfire.

This week, the Erie Otters made a similarly educated guess regarding Red Wings 2026 draft pick Luka Arkko, a Finnish-born 6’3,” 212-pound winger who’s grown up playing in the Pelicans Lahti’s system.

We have selected forward Luka Arkko with the 65th overall selection in the CHL Import Draft!

Please join us in welcoming Luka to Erie! 🦦 #ErieOtters #Otters30 pic.twitter.com/BdwnAhuNYY

— Erie Otters 🦦 (@ErieOtters) June 30, 2026

According to Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith, it’s entirely possible, if not probable, that Arkko will end up skating in North America this upcoming season. Dan Cleary, the Red Wings’ director of player development, happened to suggest as much during this morning’s end-of-Summer-Development-Camp press conference:

Continue reading For Red Wings prospect Luka Arkko, taking the ‘North American Route’ may prove the most direct route to the NHL