Roughly translated: Eduards Tralmaks says he’s receptive to starting this season in the AHL

There’s been some significant concern of late, via some fine reporting from Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, that Red Wings free agent signing Eduards Tralmaks might end up playing in the Czech Extraliga (where he was the leading scorer last season) for HC Energie Karlovy Vary if he doesn’t make the Red Wings’ NHL roster.

Thankfully, Tralmaks gave an interview to Rem Ratnikov on HokejaZinas.com in which the 28-year-old winger (who stands at 6’4″ and 209 pounds) seems receptive to starting the season in the AHL.

There’s an 8-minute video accompanying the interview, but it’s in Latvian–as is the interview itself–so you’ll have to be patient with the rough translation from a hard-to-translate language:

Tralmaks: My style of play doesn’t fit the NHL’s first or second line

Eduards Tralmaks, the forward of the Detroit Red Wings and the Latvian national ice hockey team, and now the National Hockey League (NHL), told Sporta Studija about his preparation for the season.

HokejaZinas.com has already reported that Tralmaks signed a two-way contract with Red Wings for one season.

“I know how to prepare. I’ve been preparing in the Czech Republic for the last two years, I know the training plan. At the beginning or middle of August, I will have to fly to Detroit, where I will be examined and continue to prepare in the presence of their coaches.”

“If it were that easy, I would love to withdraw the one-way contract. After such a season, I’ve been given the opportunity to move back [to North America] and fulfill the goal of the dream I have. At that point, I didn’t really think whether the contract is one-way or two-way, it was just important to me that the team sees in me the potential to play in the NHL. I think I have that with the Red Wings organization,” says Tralmaks.

Continue reading Roughly translated: Eduards Tralmaks says he’s receptive to starting this season in the AHL

The ‘henchmen’

Former Red Wings players Sean Avery and Chris Chelios appear in the movie Happy Gilmore 2, very briefly, as mafia henchmen:

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff explains:

Adam Sandler may be decked out in a Boston Bruins jersey as the star of Happy Gilmore 2, but a couple of former Detroit Red Wings are the ones representing the NHL in the hit film.

Sandler portrays a hockey player turned golfer, but it’s ex-Red Wings Sean Avery and Chris Chelios who are hockey players turned actors on screen.

Well, actors might be a bit of a stretch. Extras would be the more appropriate acting handle to apply to their cameo roles on screen.

Billing in the credits shows them as Henchman #1 (Avery) and Henchman #2 (Chelios). The two former hockey stars feature briefly in a black and white scene, serving as the muscle for a 1950s-era gangster. Chelios appears especially impressive in his role, looking as though they were lifting him straight out of an old George Raft gangster flick. Don’t blink or you might miss it, though.

Continued…

Praising Lucas Raymond’s ‘value contract’

The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn posted a column ranking the NHL’s 10 best “value contracts per Luszczyszyn’s metrics as to a player’s value over the remainder of the contract.

Lucas Raymond makes the cut with his $8.1 million contract, which Luszczyszyn says is worth $12.6 million in market value, but Moritz Seider does not make the cut (nor does any defenseman or goaltender):

8. Lucas Raymond

Contract: $8.1M x seven years
Surplus Value: $31M
Positive Value Probability: 92 percent

Lucas Raymond has reached another level. That was clear to close out the 2023-24 season and confirmed the following year with a near point-per-game season. Raymond is the real deal and the Red Wings are about to benefit greatly from it.

That’s because of his $8.1 million cap hit, an amount that will equate to a high-end second-line player during the remainder of Raymond’s deal. It’s a mark he looks likely to blow past. Raymond is already a bona fide top-line talent and looks likely to ascend to stardom as he enters his prime. He’s on track to become a franchise winger, a legit star-level threat and his current price tag is a pittance for the kind of value he should bring. 

Raymond’s deal looked like a win last year before he truly established his current level. Now, it’s a slam dunk. The fruits of Detroit’s rebuild are finally coming together.

Continued (paywall); it’s great to read some due praise for Raymond’s value. There’s no doubt that, with the salary cap rising, Raymond’s $8.075 million cap hit will be a pittance soon.

I’m just a little puzzled as to why all 10 of Luszczyszyn’s deals are forwards. There are some great deals out there for defensemen, like Seider and his $8.55 million cap hit deal.

Remembering Ted Lindsay on his 100th birthday

NHL.com’s Dave Stubbs is a real gem of a fellow, a passionate hockey historian and writer. This morning, Stubbs honors what would have been the 100th birthday of Red Wings legend Ted Lindsay, offering a set of vignettes symbolizing the life and legacy of “Terrible Ted”:

You won’t find Lindsay’s name on the Stanley Cup today. In 2010, the sterling and nickel-alloy band bearing the champions from 1953-54 to 1964-65 was retired to the vault of the Hockey Hall of Fame, the names of Howe, Maurice Richard, Glenn Hall (a friend packaged in his 1957 trade to Chicago), Bobby Hull and more than 300 others also removed.

“That’s part of history,” Lindsay said. “I’m fine with it. I know I won the Stanley Cup; I don’t need to see my name on it.”

He joked about the fact his name was misspelled “Lindsey” for the 1949-50 championship, saying “it didn’t bother me as long as we won the Cup.” And it was Lindsay who as captain of the Red Wings began the tradition of carrying the trophy around the ice for fans to have a better look.

“In those days (before shatterproof glass), everything was chicken wire at the end of the rink, from the faceoff dots and around behind the net,” he remembered. “Where the screen ended, the fans would lean on the boards, over the ice. They’d move back when the play came by.

“These were the people who paid my salary. When I saw the Cup sitting on a table after Clarence (Campbell, the NHL president) presented it to (Red Wings GM Jack) Adams, I guess I saw these people by the penalty box. So, I just picked it up. Adams was probably thinking, ‘What’s that idiot Lindsay going to do, throw it?’ The fans all wanted to see it.”

The small gesture was one of Lindsay’s many, part of his impressive, important legacy that is celebrated a century after his birth.

Today, the footprint on hockey of this small giant remains immeasurable. He is still larger than life, still heavier than the scale suggested, still taller than the tape measure read.

“I hope it’s good, what they would say,” he said of how he’d like to be remembered. “Maybe I didn’t always have a good night, but I never cheated them.”

Continued; you can find out more about Ted and his charitable endeavors for autism research at the Ted Lindsay Foundation’s webpage.

Talking about Detroit’s 5-on-5 scoring and the Wings’ PK

Pro Hockey Rumors’ Brian La Rose conducted a mailbag feature in which he answers a Red Wings-related question (and PHR is an unfortunate name for a website that does a lot more than discuss rumors):

rule78.1: The Red Wings had a couple of major issues last season. Their ability to score 5-on-5 and their penalty kill.  Do you see any improvement in these areas up to this point for this coming season after their signings?

Let’s look at the offensive moves.  They gave up Vladimir Tarasenko and added James van Riemsdyk and Mason Appleton.  On paper, that’s not a lot better although van Riemsdyk was much better than usual at five-on-five last season.  But generally, he’s more of a power play specialist (nearly 43% of his goals from 2020-21 through 2023-24 were on the man advantage) so I think the even strength production might drop.  At best, I think it’s a wash beyond hoping for some internal improvement and bounce backs.

Before digging into the second question, let’s review the defensive moves.  John Gibson is now the starting goalie and as a team that needed to make some defensive changes, they added Jacob Bernard-Docker to replace Jeff Petry.  I like the Bernard-Docker contract but that’s not a needle-mover.

But Gibson gives them a shot at improving shorthanded.  If we look at Goals Saved Above Expected (per MoneyPuck) at four-on-five, Cam Talbot was one of the worst goalies in the league at -7.1.  Alex Lyon was at -2.3 and Petr Mrazek was in that range, also including his time with Chicago.  Gibson was still in the negative but at -0.5 which is at least closer to average.  All else being equal (and given the skater group, it largely is), even average goaltending on the penalty kill will be an improvement.  Appleton has killed penalties in the past as well so he could help.  They’ve improved a bit here but it still could be one of the weaker units overall.

Continued; I want to see what coach Todd McLellan and assistants Trent Yawney, Alex Tanguay and video coordinator Jeff Weintraub–and whoever else the Red Wings hire this summer to fill in the bench–are able to instill upon the Red Wings’ player personnel before making any hard-and-fast judgments as to whether the current personnel are “enough” to “move the needle” in terms of even-strength scoring or penalty-killing.

The interplay between coaches and player personnel are essential, starting with what’s taught during training camp and the exhibition season, and we’ve got very little data to go upon save a half-season of coaches McLellan and Yawney working with the Wings’ staff.

Once McLellan hires his preferred lieutenants, then I want to see what the Wings can really do in terms of cleaning up their play and leaning less on the PP to bail out everything else.

Red Wings prospect Max Plante’s participating in the WJSS, but he isn’t skating quite yet

Red Wings prospect Max Plante is taking part in the World Junior Summer Showcase in Minneapolis, Minnesota this week, alongside fellow Wings prospects John Whipple (USA) and Eddie Genborg (Sweden).

Plante hasn’t appeared on the scoresheets of any of Team USA’s games, however, and that’s had me concerned.

After overcoming a significant wrist injury to play in the World Junior Championship and in the latter half of the NCAA season with the University of Minnesota-Duluth last season, Plante explained to the Duluth News-Tribune’s Matt Wellens that he’s not participating in the on-ice portion of the WJSS (nor did he skate at the Wings’ summer development camp) out of an abundance of caution:

Plante is only practicing this week with Team USA and not playing in any games. The 2024 second-round NHL draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings didn’t skate earlier in July at the franchise’s pro development camp, either. Plante said he should be good to go next week, but for now, his body needed rest.

[U.S. National Team coach Bob] Motzko said Plante has been begging to play this week, but like a few other returnees sitting out (Cole Eiserman, Cole Hutson), USA Hockey is being “smart,” Motzko said.

“It’s kind of hard not playing, but it’s the right thing to do,” Plante said. “It’s really cool to see the guys again, guys that I’ve been with for four years now, since NTDP. It’s really cool to be with everybody again and just to compete in practice. I haven’t been able to go full on, but just to be around them, hang out at the hotel, just see how life’s going — there’s no place I’d rather be.”

Plante played two seasons at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan, prior to returning home to play for the Bulldogs last season. After playing in Michigan and holding events in Buffalo, Plante said it’s special to have his former teammates on the University of Minnesota campus this week. He’s looking forward to possibly having Team USA in Duluth for pre-tournament games in December.

“There’s rumors, yup,” he said, smiling.

Plante is a native of Hermantown, Minnesota, which is a suburb of Duluth, where he attends the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

He’s looking forward to the upcoming World Junior Championship as well, as it’s being held in Minneapolis and St. Paul this year:

“I hope I can stay healthy, hope I can have a good start to the year, just have a chance to play at the ‘X’ like I did when I won the state tournament,” said Plante, a member of the Hawks’ most recent state championship team, from 2022. Yeah, I’m undefeated there. It would be super special. Kind of the last hurrah for our age group in the U.S., and we get to do it on the home soil, and to try and do the three-peat.”

Continued; at this point, the Red Wings just want Plante to get healthy, stay healthy, and earn some ice time with Minnesota-Duluth. Playing at the World Junior Championship in his home state would be icing on the cake for the playmaking forward.

On the (Red Wings prospects’) margins

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a subscriber-only article which he discusses the NHL aspirations of Grand Rapids Griffins players and Red Wings prospects Shai Buium, Emmitt Finnie and Ondrej Becher:

Pro hockey is a tough business. Even after you sign your first professional contract, it’s still a hard climb to the top rung. First rounders have a high percentage of success, but it’s a battle for everyone else.

With that in mind, we offer three Grand Rapids Griffins to watch in 2025-26 as they work to take the next step in the process. These are players who are not sure bets to make it, but are showing early promise.

Defenseman Shai Buium (36th overall, 2021)

In his first pro season, Buium earned power play time as a point man. He was second on the Griffins with 25 points, and he finished with a plus-two plus-minus.  Having helped Denver win two NCAA championships, Buium does understand the two-way schematic necessary to play winning hockey. He has the size (6-3, 215) and skating to play in the show. The Red Wings would like to see him develop more  consistency this season.

If Axel Sandin Pellikka doesn’t make the Red Wings, he will play in Grand Rapids. That could mean, Buium won’t receive the power play time necessary to raise his point total. But that will allow him to put most of his focus on his defensive game. That’s what will get him to the NHL quicker.

Continued (paywall); Buium is one of those “in-betweeners” alongside William Wallinder and Antti Tuomisto, those middle-to-bottom-pair defensemen who will be given every opportunity to succeed this upcoming season, but might be pushed to the sidelines by the Sandin Pellikkas of the world.

In any case, Buium, Wallinder and Tuomisto have to do their best to maximize their ice time, maximize their contributions to the Griffins’ cause (both on and off the ice) and prove their professionalism to their potential NHL employer.

Carter Mazur accentuates the positive

According to CBS Sports, Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur has finally been removed from Detroit’s injured reserve list, and the 23-year-old forward spoke with DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills regarding his recovery from his most recent injury in a dislocated elbow suffered during his first NHL game:

“I was called up for a reason,” Mazur recently told DetroitRedWings.com. “My game is still there. It’s not a career-ending injury, but the thought of that happening with all my family and friends there is still brutal. However, I have a great support system behind me. Every single one of them supports me no matter what. It was a tough thing to go through, but I have the right people behind me to get me in the right spot.”

It hasn’t been easy, but Mazur has grown to embrace the challenges that have come his way. That includes his 2024-25 season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, which saw the 23-year-old forward sidelined from Oct. 19 – Jan. 18 because of an upper-body injury before he returned to notch 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in 20 American Hockey League contests.

“Already having a year in the American Hockey League under my belt, I felt more comfortable last year,” Mazur said. “That helped me a lot. I trust my ability, and I always go back to that. I feel like I have some skill and snarl to my game…And out of the 20 games I did play, I felt like my game added a lot to the group.”

Mazur believes his offseason work will help him stay healthy and effective in 2025-26. The Jackson, Mich., native confirmed he’s added 15 pounds of muscle this summer, thanks to a detailed nutrition and conditioning plan.

“Gaining strength was always a big part of probably why I’ve gotten hurt a lot,” Mazur said. “I’m on the smaller side, but [Griffins Strength and Conditioning Coordinator] Marcus [Kinney] and [Griffins Physical Therapist] Zack Harvey put me in a good spot heading into the summer. Just keeping that muscle on, figuring out more about my body and what I really need is huge.”

Continued; Mazur has a real chance to break into the Red Wings’ lineup this fall, and his physical, chippy style of play should benefit the Wings as they lack a physical edge. Mazur isn’t overly big at 6′ tall, but he’s reportedly put on quite a bit of weight from the 172 pounds that he’s listed on EliteProspects, and he’s retained his mobility along the way.

At 23 years of age, it’s just time for Mazur to compete for a spot on the Red Wings’ roster, even in a bottom-six role, and I believe that he’s up for the challenge.

Tweet of note: Red Wings promote ‘Eras Nights’ ticket sales

The Red Wings are announcing a set of 6 Centennial “Eras Nights” games for which tickets will go on sale shortly: