HSJ in the afternoon: Mason Appleton’s standing out for the right reasons, but coach McLellan says that the tie doesn’t always go to the veteran

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So the Red Wings practiced at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Friday, preparing for Saturday’s exhibition finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets (7 PM EDT start on Detroit SportsNet and WWJ 950) with what was essentially an NHL lineup.

Dylan Larkin (upper-body injury) and Jacob Bernard-Docker (upper-body injury) won’t be playing on Saturday, with JBD missing practice due to his ailment. Simon Edvinsson also can’t play as he’s not yet signed to a contract, so most of the hubbub surrounding the team involves whether Axel Sandin Pellikka or Anton Johansson can unseat a veteran and earn a regular spot on the blueline…

Coach Todd McLellan and forward Mason Appleton spoke with the media about the shape of the Wings’ forward lines, too, as the Free Press’s Helene St. James noted:

As with the defense, where Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson (pending a new contract), Ben Chiarot, Justin Faulk and Albert Johansson all have spots locked up, there’s several givens among the forwards: Larkin (pending his injury status) Alex DeBrincat, Andrew Copp, Lucas Raymond, Marco Kasper, Viktor Arvidsson, Emmitt Finnie, J.T. Compher, and newcomer Keegan Kolesar. Nate Danielson and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard are also above the cutline.

Carter Mazur, whose injuries have hampered his progress, was not with the main group Friday, indicating the team may decide it can risk putting him on waivers to send to the minors. (The same goes for defense prospect William Wallinder, who, like Mazur, is no longer waiver exempt.)

Michael Rasmussen and Mason Appleton are both coming off subpar seasons, the kind that can prompt a team to put a veteran on waivers, but Appleton, especially, has had a solid showing in camp, playing with energy and picking up an assist in two appearances.

Continue reading HSJ in the afternoon: Mason Appleton’s standing out for the right reasons, but coach McLellan says that the tie doesn’t always go to the veteran →

Video: Mason Appleton and coach Todd McLellan speak with the media after Friday’s Red Wings practice

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The Detroit Red Wings practiced with all but an NHL lineup on Friday at the BELFOR Training Center under Little Caesars Arena, preparing for Saturday’s exhibition finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

After practice, coach Todd McLellan told the media that Dylan Larkin won’t play in the final exhibition game, nor will Jacob Bernard-Docker, who has an upper-body injury.

Here’s a clip of Mason Appleton and McLellan’s scrum and presser, respectively:

Also:

Friday’s post-practice Tweets: Larkin won’t play on Saturday; Bernard-Docker’s got an upper-body injury

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The Detroit Red Wings practiced with something very close to an NHL lineup today at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center, as noted by MLive’s Ansar Khan and The Athletic’s Max Bultman.

With a “dress rehearsal” set for tomorrow night vs. Columbus at LCA (7 PM EDT start on Detroit SportsNet/950 WWJ), the Red Wings appear to be inching closer to making final cuts ahead of Monday’s 5 PM deadline to submit a 23-man roster to the NHL.

After practice, the Red Wings’ coach and players spoke with the Wings’ media corps:

Meanwhile, in Columbus, Adam Fantilli returned after signing a massive $82.5 million contract yesterday afternoon…

Continue reading Friday’s post-practice Tweets: Larkin won’t play on Saturday; Bernard-Docker’s got an upper-body injury →

Reasons for Red Wings fans to keep tabs on the Toledo Walleye

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FloHockey’s Joe Harrington offers several reasons for Red Wings fans to watch Toledo Walleye games:

Why Red Wings Fans Should Watch Toledo Walleye

The Detroit Red Wings → Grand Rapids Griffins → Toledo Walleye structure gives Detroit fans another professional level to monitor within an established regional pipeline.

The combination of geography and organizational continuity makes Toledo particularly relevant when NHL and AHL roster decisions lead to assignments. Which Red Wings or Griffins players actually reach Toledo will depend on those decisions, so fans should monitor transactions rather than assume specific prospects will play for the Walleye.

Toledo also has current ECHL-side players to follow. Forwards Garrett Van Wyhe, Mitch Lewandowski and Greg Smith and defensemen Cooper Zech and Jack Duff are among the players currently listed on the Walleye roster page.

The franchise’s history adds another layer. The Toledo Storm won Riley Cups in 1993 and 1994, while the modern Walleye’s three trips to the Kelly Cup Final show how consistently Toledo has approached another championship.

For Red Wings fans, Toledo combines organizational development, regional relevance and a proven ability to make deep ECHL postseason runs.

Continued…

Tweet of note: Grand Rapids Griffins confirm that Dan Cleary’s their interim GM

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The Grand Rapids Griffins have confirmed the news reported by WZZM 13 On Your Side and Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco on Wednesday night:

Cleary gave a 5-minute interview to Daniella Bruce and Logan Reever on Detroit SportsNet last night:

Tweets from Friday’s Red Wings preseason practice: It’s an NHL-heavy lineup skating at LCA

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The Detroit Red Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center to prepare for their 4th and final exhibition game, an evening tilt against the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow evening (7 PM EDT start on Detroit SportsNet, WWJ 950). The Red Wings bolstered their preseason record to 2-0-and-1 with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night…

Anyway, the Red Wings hit the ice at the BELFOR at 11:30, and MLive’s Ansar Khan reported that the Wings dressed an NHL-heavy group today (Grand Rapids’ players are heading to Toledo to play the Cleveland Monsters at the Huntington Center tomorrow and Sunday):

Continue reading Tweets from Friday’s Red Wings preseason practice: It’s an NHL-heavy lineup skating at LCA →

Bultman discusses Red Wings roster battles on the blueline, the ‘bottom six’ forwards and the team’s waiver situation

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The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted a mid-morning column addressing the three major roster battles on the team in terms of the team’s depth on defense, its bottom-six forwards, and its waiver situation:

My read on the Red Wings’ bottom-six battles has changed in the last 48 hours. Two days ago, I wrote about an apparent duel between Michael Rasmussen and Mason Appleton for a spot on the fourth line — what I presumed would be the final lineup spot. But Appleton had another noticeable game Thursday, and after the Red Wings bumped Carter Mazur to the AHL practice group the last two days, it increasingly looks like Appleton and Rasmussen could end up back in the bottom six.

Again, we’ll see what Saturday brings, but McLellan was complimentary of Appleton on Thursday — pointing out that he also looked good early last season before missing time with a lower-body injury. He started this year’s camp skating outside of the four NHL lines, but with a good preseason, he looks like he might have earned his spot back.

“I don’t think he ever recovered from that (injury last season) and skated like he is now,” McLellan said. “He’s got a chip on his shoulder. He wants to prove — not to me or you or anybody else — he wants to prove to his teammates that he’s the player we believe in. And he’s playing that way.”

Continue reading Bultman discusses Red Wings roster battles on the blueline, the ‘bottom six’ forwards and the team’s waiver situation →

Out-of-town praise for Anton Johansson

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Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis steps onto the Anton Johansson hype train this morning, offering a “blurb” regarding the Red Wings’ impressive rookie as Ellis surveys the most impressive first-year players around the NHL:

Anton Johansson, RHD (Detroit Red Wings)

Johansson has always been a bit of a late bloomer, given he was drafted in the fourth round by the Red Wings in 2022. He had a four-assist night on Tuesday, which is about as good of an outing as you could ask for when you’re trying to force your way into an NHL role. He’s a 6-foot-4 defenseman who moves the puck well and likes to join in on the rush. He proved that last year with his six points in eight games with Grand Rapids to close out the AHL season.

Johansson is expected to spend the full year with the Griffins, but he has impressed evaluators enough during the preseason to suggest giving him a shot out of training camp. Axel Sandin-Pellika did the same thing last year, when he played so well during the preseason that they let him stick around for the bulk of the season. Johansson could probably still use a bit more time getting comfortable in North America in the AHL, but it’s been good to see him coming over and looking so proficient already.

Continued; Ellis is probably right that Johansson will start the season in Grand Rapids, but he’s going to play significant minutes there, and he’ll be recalled for a “cup of coffee” as an injury replacement soon, and will steal a job to become an NHL regular a little bit down the line.

Friedman reports that the salary cap’s going to jump substantially in 28-29

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting a non-Red Wings-related bit of news that should be noted for Detroit fans, because Friedman’s comments regarding a soaring salary cap going forward = legitimate questions as to whether Chris Ilitch’s Red Wings will be allowed to spend to the upper limit thereof:

The NHL gave its first estimate for the 2028-29 salary cap at this week’s Board of Governors meeting, and according to multiple sources, it’s a whopper — $127.5 million. (All figures in U.S. dollars.)

The league and NHLPA are in the second of a three-season agreement that sent to the ceiling to record levels. This year’s number is $104 million and next year’s is $113.5 million. 

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said revenue projections for this coming season are approximately $8.1 billion in mixed currency, obviously a key factor in the rising total. If the 2028-29 guesstimate holds, it would also be the largest season-to-season jump of the cap era, at $14 million.

Even now, the Red Wings have a PuckPedia-estimated $19.51 million dollars in cap space, with Simon Edvinsson likely to sign in the $8-10 million range.

That extra money could have been used to sign a free agent forward to bridge the gap left by Patrick Kane’s departure, but it was not used for any purpose…

And if the cap blows up toward $130 million, more teams will be “haves” and “have-nots” depending on how and whether their respective ownership(s) choose to “spend to the cap.”

Audio link: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Dylan Larkin has expanded his trade list to 8 teams, including Colorado, Washington, Dallas and Tampa Bay

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Updated 2x at 12:27 PM: In today’s episode of the “32 Thoughts” podcast, Elliotte Friedman discusses the Dylan Larkin situation with Kyle Bukauskas, and, according to Friedman, the Red Wings’ disaffected and disgruntled captain has expanded his trade list.

At the 29:54 mark of the podcast, Friedman says that Larkin has more teams that he’s willing to go to than have been reported, and that Vegas, Minnesota and Florida have been expanded to Colorado, Washington, Dallas and Tampa Bay, guessing that there’s somewhere around 8 teams that Larkin is willing to be traded to. All U.S.-based teams, but they’re obviously teams where Larkin hears he can win.

Regarding Simon Edvinsson, Friedman says that the Red Wings’ preference is a shorter-term, “bridge contract” as the restricted free agent needs to be re-signed before next Friday to play in the home opener.

Update: From Sportsnet:

Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman reported on Friday that Larkin is now willing to accept a trade to as many as eight teams.

“One of the things I’ve heard about Larkin is that there are more teams that he’s willing to go to than have been reported,” Friedman said on the latest episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast. “I think some of the other teams that are there are Colorado, Washington and, I suspect, in case people didn’t know them already, Dallas and Tampa. So I don’t know how big that list is, but it’s bigger than that’s been reported. I think it’s somewhere around eight.”

The 30-year-old publicly requested a trade at the beginning of the off-season after the Red Wings failed to make the playoffs for the 10th straight year. The Detroit Free Press‘ Helene St. James reported at the time that Larkin would approve a trade only to the Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights or Florida Panthers.

Update #2: Here’s the podcast in YouTube format:

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