The Malik Report

The Athletic’s Craig Custance examines how/whether/if the Atlantic Division’s teams stack up against the St. Louis Blues‘ championship model this morning, and it should not surprise you to find out that the Red Wings…need some work:

Detroit Red Wings

Strong contract efficiency: No. But the good news for Red Wings fans who have patiently waited out some bad contracts in Detroit, there is a lot coming off the books after this season. And that Dylan Larkin contract will look great in one year, tops.

Playoff scar tissue: The franchise that was once the envy of all sports for its playoff streak hasn’t made it in three seasons. They were knocked out in the first round the final three seasons of the streak. The scar tissue belongs to a different generation.

A balance of ages: Actually, yeah. One of the things the Red Wings have consciously done is keep players around with experience as to not rush the kids. GM Steve Yzerman continued that with the signing of 35-year-old Valtteri Filppula. There’s mid-range talent in players like Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou. Then Larkin leads the group that hopes to lead the turnaround.

Skill and size on defense: There’s not nearly enough skill to qualify, even if there is some size on the back end for the Red Wings.

A game-breaker: Athanasiou has his moments. Larkin blossomed offensively. But their best shot in this category spent last year getting acclimated in the AHL, and Filip Zadina probably still needs more time down there.

Total: 1 out of 5

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DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji discusses significant figures from Taro Hirose’s abbreviated 2018-19 campaign, as well as Hirose’s take on jumping into the Red Wings’ lineup after completing his NCAA season with Michigan State this past spring:

Quotable II: “Ending my season at Michigan State to the next couple of days playing at Madison Square Garden was definitely surreal. Playing on the road you sort of get acclimated to everything, spend a lot of time on the road with the guys. I jumped right in, didn’t have to think too much about it. When you’re in warmups and see Sidney Crosby, that was sort of a wow moment. We played (Evgeni) Malkin and (Phil) Kessel and those guys and sort of seeing what those guys do a shift by shift basis, how effective they are, it was definitely something … there’s a lot of good players and those guys take it to the next level.” — Hirose

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MLive’s Ansar Khan offers a season outlook for defenseman Madison Bowey this morning. It’s not certain whether Bowey will start the year with the Red Wings, but Khan believes that the 24-year-old’s waiver status will keep Bowey from being sent to Grand Rapids:

2019-20 outlook: Bowey got an opportunity to play regularly after arriving from Washington and logged a fair amount of ice time due to injuries on defense. A stay-at-home, right-shooting defender with decent size and mobility, he can step into opponent to deliver a solid check. But he’ll be evaluated in training camp and the preseason on how well he moves the puck and his ability to limit mistakes.

Bowey is not waiver-exempt, which could work in his favor if the competition for a roster spot is close between him, Oliwer Kaski and Dennis Cholowski, both of whom can be sent to Grand Rapids without waivers. But, given the health issues of several veterans last season, what are the odds this defense is completely healthy at the start of the regular season? So, expect Bowey, the 53rd overall pick in 2013, to be on the team and quite possibly in the lineup opening night.

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Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

The Toledo Walleye have brought former NHL forward T.J. Hensick back into the fold for the upcoming season.

Hensick, a 33-year-old who has appeared in 112 games in the NHL, played in 47 games for the Walleye last season. The organization announced the re-signing of the veteran at a special press conference at Fifth Third Field on Thursday.

Hensick, a native of Howell, Mich., was the team’s offensive star and leader during most of the regular season. Hensick finished second in scoring with 58 points (17 G, 41 A) before he was permanently called up to the American Hockey League.

“It’s a first-class organization and we’re excited to be back in Toledo,” Hensick said. “I was completely shocked with the fan base, the traditions, the environment. I’ve played a lot of hockey at a lot of places. I’ve been to a lot of minor league cities and this is as good as I’ve seen. It’s the best out there. There are not many places that compare to the atmosphere [at the Huntington Center]. As a player, you want to play in front of big crowds and that’s what you get when you come to Toledo.”

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As per usual, I tried to post one article regarding funding for Traverse City and my server expenses and then moved on…

And that wasn’t a great idea, so:

If you missed it, I’m raising funds for the annual two-week trip to Traverse City for the prospect tournament and training camp, and I’m also raising funds to defer the annual server cost as I mom’s medical issues = I can’t fund that on my own this year.

I’ve already raised $100, which is great, but I’ve got a week-and-a-half to finish raising $2,000 for the TC trip and about $700 for the server and web-hosting fees.

I’m raising funds by Paypal for the moment at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, and if you need me to create an alternate funding source and/or send you my address, please email me at rtxg@yahoo.com.

As I stated in the original Fundening post, we’ll be talking about what kinds of original content you’re looking for heading into September and October, and I hope that everyone who reads and helps raise funds will weigh in on that topic.

It’s time to get this fund drive going.

Today, AWood40 on YouTube, a.k.a. Alex Wood, wraps up his set of Henrik Zetterberg career highlights with a clip focusing on Zetterberg’s 2017 and 2018 seasons:

Here are the previous five installments of highlight clips:

Continue reading AWood40 wraps up his Zetterberg career highlights

The Joe Kocur Foundation’s annual charity softball games take place this Saturday, August 24th in Highland, MI:

It’s official! I hope to see ya all on Aug 24th!!!!! #KocurSoftball tickets at https://t.co/iq4N7zi07S pic.twitter.com/uMMd87ry2v— Joe Kocur (@kocurfoundation) June 10, 2019

Tickets cost $10 in advance on Eventbrite.com or $15 on Saturday.

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski stirs the pot today with a list of the “best homes for the remaining unrestricted free agents” in the latest “Wysh List.” Wyshynski suggests that Niklas Kronwall end his career somewhere other than Detroit:

Niklas Kronwall, D

Best match: Toronto Maple Leafs

I think it’s probably Detroit Red Wings or bust for Kronwall, the 38-year-old defenseman who hit opponents so hard that his name became a verb. But if he did continue on elsewhere, what about a left-side role for peanuts with Mike Babcock in Toronto? He averaged 19:57 per game last season with Detroit and was just a nose ahead of his teammates as far as relative Corsi. His expected goals percentage (44.31) was putrid, but it would improve on a better team. He’s Ron Hainsey with Red Wings Cup nostalgia. And hey, maybe he gets one good Kronwalling in on the Bruins in their inevitable playoff series next spring.

Continued; I would be extremely shocked if Kronwall didn’t finish his career as a one-team player.

Via Chris Zadorozny on Twitter, Paul Lukas’ Uni Watch is beginning its voting on user submissions for the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 90’s Jersey today:

Today on UW: the GR @griffinshockey design contest VOTING begins; the XFL (2.0) releases team names & logos; Paul’s adventures & MUCH MORE! [by @PhilHecken] https://t.co/8VHl9bfd0a— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) August 22, 2019

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman is ranking each and every one of the NHL’s 31 teams’ developmental systems, and he’s produced an analysis of the 13th-ranked Red Wings this morning:

The Wings’ system changed a lot over the past year. It graduated some key prospects and had an important draft in 2019. Filip Zadina was a guy I was very enthusiastic about at this time last season, but I may have hyped him a tad too much. He remains the team’s top prospect even though I bumped him down a notch. The Wings have a lot of very good players on the way but still look to be in the early parts of their rebuild.

Key additions: Moritz Seider, Robert Mastrosimone, Albin Grewe

Key subtractions/graduations: Michael Rasmussen, Filip Hronek, Dennis Cholowski

2018 farm system ranking: No. 7

2019 draft grade: B

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