Khan on the Wings moving up, RFA talk and Green

According to MLive’s Ansar Khan:

  1. The Red Wings have indeed considered moving up in the draft…

The Detroit Red Wings have the sixth pick in the June 22 draft, their highest selection since 1990.

But it might not be high enough to suit them. A couple of the players they covet, right wing Filip Zadina and defenseman Evan Bouchard, might be off the board.

That’s why the Red Wings are trying to move up the draft, to as high as No. 3, a league source said.

2. The Wings have begun to speak with their restricted free agents’ representatives (see: Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi, Martin Frk, Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha)..

Darren Ferris, the agent for Andreas Athanasiou, said he and Red Wings general manager Ken Holland had preliminary discussions during this week’s NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo. Athanasiou is arbitration-eligible this year, unlike last season, when he didn’t sign until October. If either side files for arbitration, it will assure him of having a contract no later than early August.

3. And Khan reports that the Wings are trying to re-sign Mike Green:

The Red Wings remain interested in re-signing defenseman Mike Green, if he’ll accept a two-year deal, and had talks with his representative in Buffalo. Green is an unrestricted free agent whose season ended in late March due to neck surgery.

A bit about Kaden Fulcher

The Sarnia Journal’s Jake Romphf penned a profile of Red Wings prospect Kaden Fulcher, discussing Fulcher’s background and Sarnia-area ties:

“Not getting drafted was tough, but getting the call from Detroit saying they wanted me to come to some camps with them was pretty unbelievable,” he said.

Last fall, after attending the Red Wings’ training camp, Fulcher signed a three-year entry-level deal.

“When you’re a kid you really want to make it to the NHL, but you never really expect it,” he said. “It’s been really special.”

Continued

Garrioch: Wings may attempt to move into draft’s top three

This is an intriguing rumor from the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch:

There’s plenty of talk about the teams trying to move up in the draft and one of those could be the Detroit Red Wings. There’s speculation here that the Wings would like to move into the top three from the No. 6 position and may be dangling the first-round selection the club obtained from the Vegas Golden Knights at the deadline. Should be interesting to watch because the Carolina Hurricanes have already declared they’re willing to listen.

Continued…

Wings, HSJ interviewing prospects at the NHL’s Scouting Combine

Updated 2x at 7:48 PM: The Red Wings and the Free Press’s Helene St. James took part in the media availability at the NHL’s Scouting Combine in Buffalo this afternoon, doing their due diligence in interviewing some of the more likely Red Wings targets at this month’s draft:

And the Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a 4-minute clip of interviews with Evan Bouchard, Andrei Svechnikov and Noah Dobson:
Continue reading Wings, HSJ interviewing prospects at the NHL’s Scouting Combine

Monroe: Simon Denis leaves Walleye for Asia League

On Thursday, Toledo Walleye veteran Kyle Bonis signed with a team in Norway, and today, the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe and the Toledo Wallumni report that Simon Denis has signed with a South Korean team:

 

Van Andel Arena to undergo renovations including roof replacement, locker room upgrades

According to the Grand Rapids Press’s Amy Biolchini, Van Andel Arena will undergo some necessary renovations in 2019:

The home of the Grand Rapids Griffins is set to receive a new roof and locker-room updates in the next year.

Money for the updates is among $5.1 million in capital projects approved Friday, June 1, for Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place by the joint public authority that oversees both buildings.

Overall the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention Arena Authority will be spending $19 million in the coming fiscal year to operate and maintain Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place Convention Center.

The authority is planning to use $4.4 million of its savings to cover the gap between revenue and expenditures, but still projects it will have $20 million left in its rainy day fund at the end of fiscal 2019.

The biggest capital projects include a $1 million roof replacement at Van Andel Arena. The money would cover the first phase of the roof replacement project. The arena was built in 1995.

Locker rooms at the arena will receive a $2 million upgrade — a request long made by performers and athletes, according to authority officials.

Continued

Darren McCarty to appear in Soutgate on June 9th–as a stand-up comedian

From Fox 2 Detroit:

A Red Wings legend and three local comedians are joining forces for a one-of-a-kind comedy show next weekend in Southgate.

Darren McCarty and comedian Jason Douglas join Fox 2 with more.

Click here for more information.

McCarty and Douglas explained the event to Fox 2’s Amy Andrews this morning:

McCarty will appear at Crystal Gardens in Southgate on June 9th

A couple of thoughts on Todd Nelson’s departure

Grand Rapids Griffins coach Todd Nelson’s decision to move on after three years as the Griffins’ bench boss wasn’t surprising, but it did leave some fans scratching their heads.

At 49, Nelson told the Grand Rapids media that he “had to go” back to the NHL to further his hopes of landing a head coaching job in the NHL at some point in the future, and as Nelson had won a pair of Calder Cup championships, there really was nothing more for Nelson to prove at the AHL level.

More than a few Wings fans were dissatisfied with Nelson’s move not because he chose to move onward and upward, but because he didn’t end up flanking Jeff Blashill’s shoulder as the person filling the assistant coach’s spot vacated by John Torchetti. That means that Wings fans are angry (though it takes nothing more than a sneeze from the management group to piss off a Wings fan these days).

As far as I can tell:

Continue reading A couple of thoughts on Todd Nelson’s departure

Centre ICE Arena still crowdfunding rink renovations

Centre ICE Arena posted a Tweet encouraging Red Wings fans to lend a hand as the facility attempts to crowdfund the rink renovations necessary to continue holding training camp in Traverse City. Spread the word!

 

A pair of Wings-related articles from The Athletic: A bad fourth line and a Dobson/Bouchard comparison

Of Red Wings-related note from The Athletic this morning:

1. The Athletic’s Tyler Dellow penned a list of the 12 NHL lines that had the worst goal differential, and it’s not surprising to read that the Red Wings’ various combinations of fourth-line forwards struggled:

5. Detroit Red Wings, Line 4 (-20.4 goal difference). Key members: Luke Glendening, Martin Frk, Frans Nielsen, Darren Helm, Andreas Athanasiou, Justin Abdelkader, David Booth

It’s hard for a team to bury itself with a fourth line but Detroit managed to do it. Detroit’s -20.4 goal difference from the fourth line was nearly double the league’s next worst fourth line, Pittsburgh at -10.5. It got outshot by more than 10 shots an hour. Unsurprisingly, there are some percentages at play here – Detroit had an .881 save percentage with the fourth line on the ice and the shooting percentage was bad to boot – but they were just overwhelmed in terms of possession too.

Continue reading A pair of Wings-related articles from The Athletic: A bad fourth line and a Dobson/Bouchard comparison