The Malik Report

I’m gonna be honest, I don’t appreciate pessimism in August, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen suggests that the Red Wings should also be preparing for “Five Worst-Case Scenarios” that will prevent the team from making the playoff cut.

We all know that the Red Wings still need another top-six forward and another top-four defenseman, ideally speaking…

But between the lack of free agency targets and the high price of the trade market this summer, Detroit hasn’t been able to address their biggest needs.

As such, the players going to training camp next month are going to have to give it their all and then some in order to improve their record during the upcoming 2025-2026 season.

Still, Allen is already preparing us for a playoff-less spring, and his scenarios for doom include the following:

Gibson Doesn’t Deliver

The Red Wings didn’t land the big-name offensive player they hoped to find in the free agent marketplace. And they didn’t get a chance to bid on Aaron Ekblad because he took less to stay in Florida. GM Steve Yzerman undoubtedly counting on Gibson to be the goalie he was early in his career, maybe like he was in the four-season run from 2015-16 t0 2018-19 when he posted save percentages of .920, .924, .926 and .924. It would be disastrous if was the sub-.900 goalie he was in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

I’m definitely worried that the 32-year-old Gibson might not be able to regain his form, but the Red Wings have gone through so many goaltenders who were supposed to be “the answer in the crease” over the past couple of seasons that I’m just not that concerned as to whether things work out at this point…

And I’m just confused about this one:

Continue reading August gloom and doom

Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider engaged in the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour yesterday, and today, after exchanging jerseys with Inter Milan’s goaltender, Yann Sommer, the players participating in the media tour took in a game played by Inter Milan’s rival, AC Milan, as noted by NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger:

One day after more than two dozen players completed a saturated schedule of interviews as part of the NHL/NHLPA’s European Player Media tour in Milan, a group of them were awestruck as they were standing on the pitch prior to the opener of the Lega Serie A season for legendary AC Milan and newly promoted Cremonese, the visitors, on Saturday. It was part of the groundbreaking Content Collaboration Partnership between the NHL/NHLPA and Italy’s top soccer league, and it already seems like an ideal marriage.

Just ask any one of Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils, Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of the Buffalo Sabres, or William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were all on the verge of being awestruck at being on the playing surface, at this venue, at this time, for this occasion.

“It’s unreal,” said Seider, the German defenseman who grew up cheering for Bayern Munich. “Just seeing how passionate they are about it, seeing what football means in Milan, it’s quite special. Having the experience to see that on the pitch is quite unique and obviously an unforgettable moment. There are 80,000 fans in the stands right now. You can feel the energy … They live for coming here, they live for supporting this team. It’s quite special.”

Prior to the game…

Earlier in the day, the NHLers were given a tour of the training grounds of Inter Milan, AC Milan’s arch rivals. There they were able to watch practice and chat with goalie Jan Sommer, a good friend of Hischier’s from their native Switzerland.

“It was fun to get a look into their world and see what they’re doing and their facilities,” Raymond said of the experience with Inter Milan. “It was fun. It was pretty awesome.”

Raymond said the chance for players to get an inside look at the highest level of soccer prompted some to eagerly stay behind in Italy’s second largest city rather than immediately bolt back to their home countries after the completion of their media responsibilities Friday.

“Just the whole Milan as a city, lots of stuff to do, good restaurants, it attracts a lot of guys to stay,” he said. “And being able to see it down here (on the pitch), it’s awesome.”

Continued; given that the 2026 Olympics are taking place in Milan and Cortina, Italy, Raymond and Seider were able to do a little reconnaissance ahead of time.

The NHL reposted this Tweet of Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider giving an Inter Milan player his jersey as part of the NHL/NHLPA’s European Media Tour:

👋📹@NHL pic.twitter.com/WptfUtucDb

— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter) August 23, 2025

Update: The Hockey News’s Jake Tye explains who the Inter Milan player is:

Yann Sommer is a professional soccer player from Switzerland who plays as a goalkeeper, the player who protects the net and tries to stop the other team from scoring. He currently plays for Inter Milan, one of the top soccer clubs in Italy. Sommer joined Inter in 2023 and quickly became an impact player on the team. In his first season, he helped Inter win the Serie A championship, which is the top league in Italian soccer.

Red Wings forward Marco Kasper had a very solid rookie season, posting 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points over the course of 77 games played. In terms of his fantasy hockey impact, DobberHockey’s Ian Gooding notes that Kasper added “bang for his buck” in the literal sense:

Marco Kasper

In his first full NHL season, Kasper finished seventh in rookie scoring with 37 points in 77 games. Even more impressive was the fact that he finished the season with nine goals and 14 points and a plus-11 in his last 18 games. Kasper was shooting the lights out at 20.5% during that span, so we shouldn’t suddenly forecast him to score 40 goals. That surge is still a good sign for a 21-year-old player, though.

His usage varied throughout the Red Wings’ lineup, but his two most frequent line combinations included top 6 forwards Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane, and Alex DeBrincat. Looking at the Red Wings’ depth chart, Kasper appears to be slotted in as the second-line center behind Larkin and ahead of J.T. Compher and Andrew Copp. The odds seem good that he will be a used as a top-6 forward throughout 2025-26, although it’s worth mentioning that Copp was out of the lineup from late February onward due to season-ending surgery.

Another element to Kasper’s fantasy value is in the hits category. With 156 hits, Kasper trailed only Moritz Seider for the Detroit team lead in hits. That’s something to keep in mind for bangers leagues. Kasper has two-way skill, so it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if he took on some minutes on the third line.

The Wings will need their young high-end talent to take another step forward in order to become an Eastern Conference playoff team. Kasper was the eighth overall pick in 2022, so he comes with those high expectations. That’s why I’d expect Kasper’s icetime to increase from the 15:27 average in 2024-25 and perhaps take a small step forward in 2025-26.

Continued; I knew that Kasper was a scrappy fellow, but his hit total is positively surprising. He’s definitely slotting in as the Wings’ #2 center now, and he’s most certainly earned that spot with his work ethic, determination and resolve.

He just happens to be a player with untapped offensive potential, too.

I’m beginning to think that the NHL Network and NHL.com simply significantly underrate Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond as a rule.

Earlier this summer, NHL.com completely omitted Raymond from a list of the top 10 forwards under 25 in the NHL, and then he was omitted from a list of the top 20 wingers in the NHL as well, earning a “maybe next year” instead (with the Red Wings being none too pleased about that under-25 omission); Seider also earned a “maybe next year” from the NHL in its list of the top 20 defensemen in the league…

And this evening, when Seider and Raymond were busy taking part in the NHL-NHLPA media tour in Milan, Italy, NHL.com posted a list of their top 25 NHL players born in the 21st century; this time around, both Seider and Raymond cracked the list, but their relatively low rankings are a little surprising:

Continue reading Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond crack NHL.com’s list of the ‘Top 25 players born in the 21st century’

MLive’s Ansar Khan examines the progress made by the Detroit Red Wings’ 2024 draft picks today:

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, RW (No. 15): This decent-sized physical forward (6-1, 207) with an edge is preparing for his first full season in Grand Rapids. He led Skelleftea AIK in penalty minutes (51) in his lone season in Sweden’s top men’s league. After producing only five goals and 11 points in 42 regular season games, he elevated his game in the playoffs (four goals, six points in 11 games). He made his North American debut with the Griffins late in the season and picked up two goals and an assist in the playoffs. Then he collected four assists in five games with Norway at the World Championship.

Max Plante, C (No. 47): Plante displayed his passing skills as a freshman at Minnesota-Duluth with 19 assists among his 28 points. His season was shortened to 23 games due to an upper-body injury. He had a goal and two assists for the U.S, at the World Junior Championship.

Ondrej Becher, C/LW (No. 80): After a dominant final junior season with Prince George (32 goals, 96 points in 58 games), Becher contributed some offense in his first pro season with the Griffins (10 goals, 20 points in 59 games). He is poised for a bigger role at age 21.

Continued (paywall); right now, it looks like Brandsegg-Nygard is going to be an NHL player, Plante is small but savvy as a superb play-maker at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and Becher is something of a wild card…The other 5 picks are long shots, but that’s okay.

Now that Sergei Fedorov’s #91 will finally be retired on January 12th vs. Carolina, both MLive’s Ansar Khan and Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff weighed in as to which numbers we’ll see in the rafters next.

Again, I’m a big fan of the concept of a “Ring of Honor” or “Red Wings Hall of Fame” so that the players not named Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg (who are absolute empty-net tap-ins to see their numbers #13 and #40 go to the rafters) are honored–so that units like the Grind Line (and their 14 Stanley Cup rings between the 4 players who skated on said line) and players like Tomas Holmstrom (also 4 Cups), Chris Chelios, Bob Probert, Vladimir Konstantinov, et. al. earn their places in Red Wings history…

And this afternoon, the Hockey News’s Jake Tye makes the case for Chris Osgood’s #30 to be retired:

Chris Osgood – No. 30

A three-time Stanley Cup champion and longtime goaltender for the Wings, Chris Osgood’s place in team history is significant as one of the franchise’s best netminders. His 401 career wins (317 with Detroit) and playoff heroics, include his stellar play during Detroit’s runs to Stanley Cups in 1998 and 2008. Osgood’s critics often attributed his success to playing behind a powerhouse blueline, pointing to the fact that he never won the Vezina Trophy as evidence.

However, it’s difficult to overlook his ability to rise to the occasion when it mattered most. From 1993 to 2011, Osgood recorded 74 playoff wins, the third most during that span, along with an impressive 2.09 goals against average. He also made 2,918 playoff saves, more than elite goaltenders like Dominik Hasek and Curtis Joseph, ranking fourth overall in that period.

Odds: Moderate

Continued; I’m not certain whether Osgood’s #30 will go to the rafters as he didn’t spend his entire career with the Red Wings, and being a “lifer” is a big factor in getting one’s number retired…

But #30 hasn’t been worn by anyone else yet, while we still see #18, #24, #25, #33 and #96, for example, in circulation, so there’s that.

Osgood is at least a “slam dunk” for a Ring of Honor or Red Wings Hall of Fame, should the organization be wise enough to establish one.

All DLLS sports‘ Stars podcast happened to focus upon the Detroit Red Wings today, with the Winged Wheel Podcast’s Ryan Hana and The Athletic’s Max Bultman speaking with EliteProspects’ multi-talented Sean Shapiro, NHL defenseman Craig Ludwig, and broadcaster Owen Newkirk to examine the Red Wings’ organization as their podcast discusses “The other 31,” and bags on the team a bit.

This entry’s just a light-hearted one for the fun of it:

The Colorado Avalanche have compiled a list and a Tweet encapsulating their franchise’s 30 best goals over the course of the team’s 30-year tenure in Denver. Some of them were of course against the Red Wings, given that they did win the 1996 Western Conference Final against Detroit…

30 memorable goals from 30 years of Avalanche action!

Learn more: https://t.co/pRrhlUHJud pic.twitter.com/hOFat1uKA5

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 22, 2025

But let’s just remember that the Red Wings won their playoff series vs. Colorado in 1997 and 2002, and that the Wings still lead in Stanley Cups over the last 30 years by a 4-3 margin.

That, and the Red Wings were on, as they say, “the right side of history” against Claude Lemieux, Patrick Roy, Adam Foote and the rest of those arrogant bastards:

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article this afternoon which discusses Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond, who suggested at his end-of-the-season press conference that he’s got more to give:

Raymond, 23, posted career-highs of 80 points and 53 assists last season, to go along with 27 goals. Raymond has made steady progress since entering the league in 2021-22 and putting up 57 points (23 goals, 34 assists) and establishing himself quickly as a player to watch, after being the fourth overall pick in 2020.

Raymond is confident the upcoming season will be another positive step toward joining the elite class of NHL wingers.

“I want to take another step in my game,” said Raymond. “I did feel like I took a step this year but I feel like I have a lot more left. You go into the summer, every year, and you focus on maybe a couple things that you really want to pinpoint and develop. For me, it’s just the game. Put in the work and hopefully get a good result.”

Interestingly, when NHL.com released its list of top 20 wingers this month, Raymond didn’t make the cut. Raymond was included among a group of under-age 25 wingers who could make the top 20 list next year, along with talented young players such as Cole Caufield (Montreal), Matthew Knies (Toronto) and Quinton Byfield (Los Angeles).

The website, in its fantasy previews, projected Raymond as an 82-point scorer in 2025-26 and said Raymond “should be considered a fringe top 50 overall player in standard leagues and fringe top 20 option in keeper and dynasty formats.”

Raymond’s 152 points the last two seasons ranks 29th in the NHL. Raymond was especially prolific on the Wings’ potent power play last season, given his 37 points on the power play trailed only Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov (46 points) and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (38) in the NHL.

“A lot of the power play, it does run through Lucas and Patrick (Kane), but Lucas gets a lot of touches there and he makes really good plays with it,” said captain Dylan Larkin, Raymond’s linemate. “You look at all the big guys in the league that put up points consistently, they get the puck on the power play and they make it count when they have it. And I see (Raymond) doing that really all over the ice. He wants it on his stick. He’s built confidence and when he’s got it, he is looking to make the other team pay.”

Continued (paywall); Raymond won’t care very much about the NHL Network’s snub, but he’s definitely going to have a chip on his shoulder as he prepares to find some real consistency in both the goal-scoring and set-up departments.

Raymond can score, he can pass and make plays, he skates well, and he’s got a bit of an edge to his game. To me, Raymond is the Swedish version of a Swiss Army Knife, capable in all situations, and it will be very interesting to see how well he reacts to a full season under coach Todd McLellan’s guidance.