Custance: NHL executives give Yzerman’s free agency moves a thumbs-up

The Athletic’s Craig Custance asked anonymous NHL executives to weigh in regarding all 31 NHL teams’ free agency moves (or the lack thereof), and here are some of the execs’ takes on Steve Yzerman’s short-term deals (as one executive notes, the Wings’ moves aren’t Cup-winners, but that’s okay):

“To be honest, the Red Wings have done a good job,” said another executive. “They’ll be somewhat competitive. They brought in character and leadership. Stevie Y does a great job.”

“Detroit had a good offseason,” said a Western Conference exec. “Namestnikov for $2 million. Bobby Ryan for $1 million. It fits exactly what they’re doing. They’re not going long term with anybody. They’ve got some good, cheap players who will improve their team right away. They’ve got a couple more D. They got more assets for the deadline. They’re movable contracts.”

Multiple execs brought up the character element. All the players signed seem to be oozing in character.

“Stevie is very deliberate who he puts around his team,” said one. “If a player is not a culture guy or does not serve a specific purpose, they get shipped out pretty quick. I like Namestnikov. Bobby Ryan is fine. I like Stecher. I like Greiss. Those guys are pretty good.”

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Wyshynski declares Yzerman a ‘free agency winner’

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski and Emily Kaplan posted a lengthy article which discusses free agency “winners and losers” this morning, and Wyshynski deems Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s low-cost, short-term UFA deals to be “winners”:

Yzerman had a year to figure out a path forward for the Detroit Red Wings, and he made a series of smart decisions to help the team in the short and long term.

He signed forwards Vladislav Namestnikov (two years, $2 million AAV) and Bobby Ryan (one year, $1 million) at great bargains.

He inked defensemen Jon Merrill (one year, $925,000 AAV) and Troy Stecher (two years, $1.7 million AAV) to smart deals and replaced an ineffective Jimmy Howard with Thomas Greiss of the Islanders — a nice, German-born liaison for top defensive prospect Moritz Seider — at two years and $3.6 million AAV.

He picked up defenseman Marc Staal, along with a second-round pick from the Rangers, for the last year of his contract to help stabilize the blue line.

Finally, he bought out the rest of Justin Abdelkader‘s ill-fated contract.

The Wings have only eight players signed beyond this season, and they have six picks in the first three rounds of next year’s draft. Let’s go! — Wyshynski

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Update: The Score’s John Matisz agrees with Wyshynski’s assessment:

Continue reading Wyshynski declares Yzerman a ‘free agency winner’

‘Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman’ will be streamed on Foxsportsdetroit.com tonight at 8 PM, aired on the NHL Network this Saturday

For those of you who don’t get Fox Sports Detroit on your local cable or satellite TV systems, there’s good news: Foxsportsdetroit.com will stream the Jamie Daniels Foundation’s “Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman” tonight at 8 PM EDT, i.e. as the program airs on Fox Sports Detroit itself. The show will repeat at 9:30 PM EDT as well.

Among today’s Tweets of note regarding the “Celebrity Roast”:

Thanks to our friend @JShannonhl! Streaming information can be found at https://t.co/FIsVN6BkMJ https://t.co/0JVDD1ZuMw— Jamie Daniels Foundation (@JDanielsFund) October 14, 2020

Calling attention to this special event tomorrow night. The show can be seen outside of Michigan on https://t.co/u8dENNKKDj or https://t.co/47uXvSYP9i (There is an impressive silent auction underway at the foundation’s site) https://t.co/slKnHxgNB9— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 14, 2020

It will be on @NHLNetwork on Sunday, October 18th at 2pm et. https://t.co/8911vHhEyb— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) October 13, 2020

Here’s a link to the impressive silent auction to help support @JDanielsFund tonight during the Scotty Bowman Roast. Just a great cause.

Really surprised Sabres fans are letting the McDavid stick go for that much more than Eichel: https://t.co/jQouRMv3f2 pic.twitter.com/JQ5YqYRjUZ— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) October 14, 2020

As the presenting sponsor of the @JDanielsFund‘s Virtual Roast of Scotty Bowman, it is important to educate people about the dangers of opioid addiction, even in the dental industry. Read more about the importance of spreading the message to everyone. https://t.co/jqJfIq1DPs pic.twitter.com/6rRS3jDvzZ— Delta Dental of Michigan (@DeltaDentalMI) October 13, 2020

For what it’s worth, the charity auction is also remarkable in terms of its breadth and scope of items, as well as the affordability of its items. Give it a look.

Update:

This big event goes tonight. ?

Good luck to @coachwsb @davehodge20 @JShannonhl and everyone connected with the Jamie Daniels Foundation.

Which, BTW, you can support here:https://t.co/M0txtgYAgF https://t.co/dYWXoo559z— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) October 14, 2020

Update #2:

Wings prospect Sam Stange speaks with the Detroit News’s Falkner regarding the U.S. World Junior Evaluation Camp

Red Wings 2020 draft pick Sam Stange attended this year’s World Junior Evaluation Camp in Plymouth, Michigan alongside fellow Wings prospect Robert Mastrosimone.

While the camp was closed to the media due to the coronavirus, the Detroit News’s Mark Falkner reached out to Stange, a two-sport star (hockey and baseball) regarding Stange’s experiences at the camp, his outlook for both the World Junior Championship and the NCAA Division I hockey season to come (Stange will be a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Wisconsin) and Stange’s status as something of a late-blooming prospect:

“It was my first time being at a camp like this,” said Stange, a late bloomer who was bypassed in last year’s draft but stepped up with 24 goals and 18 assists in 44 games with the Sioux City Musketeers and Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League this year. “The level of skill is really high and the speed of the game goes up. I haven’t been able to represent the USA on a world stage or wear the jersey. To be able to get selected or take the next step would mean a lot to me.”

Stange’s Big Ten season will begin as soon as Nov. 13 (the schedules haven’t been released yet) and will feature 24-game conference schedules, plus an additional four games per school against Arizona State hosted at Big Ten venues. The 2020-21 schedule will conclude March 18-20 with the Big Ten tournament.

“It’s been pretty crazy the last week,” Stange said. “Less than 24 hours after I was picked, I was on my way here for the camp. I didn’t really get to see the city too much in the bubble environment. It was still cool knowing I was in the area.”

Stange helped his hometown of Eau Claire win the Wisconsin state baseball championship in 2019, but he’s made the choice to pursue hockey as a sporting career, and he tells Falkner that he’s leaving the World Junior Evaluation Camp with some homework to do:

“I want to take this experience back to Madison and learn from Tony and the rest of the coaching staff,” Stange said. “Even some of the smaller guys here have big-time strength. It shows me I’ll have to develop my strength and know how to use it.”

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Tweets of note: ‘Dog Days of the Offseason’ for three Wings players

Three members of the Detroit Red Wings have gone to the dogs today–shooting a “Pucks For Paws” calendar for the Red Wings:

More about the ‘how’s’ and ‘why’s’ behind the ‘Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman’ from Kulfan

Red Wings play-by-play announcer Ken Daniels doesn’t shy away from the “how’s” or “why’s” behind holding the Jamie Daniels Foundation’s “Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman” (8 PM EDT Wednesday on Fox Sports Detroit) in a conversation with the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:

There is also a silent auction that people can also go to at JamieDanielsFoundation.org to make a donation or bid on a variety of auction items until noon Thursday. 

The importance of generating funds for the foundation is needed more than ever, given the pandemic. Daniels said Michigan’s death rate from opioids is up 27% this year, and nationally, 185 people are dying every day from opioids.

“For those struggling with substance-use disorder, COVID exacerbates the issue, dealing with the isolation,” Daniels said.

There are long-term goals Ken Daniels wants to achieve through the foundation that he is intent on accomplishing. More college recovery program is one goal, Daniels said, noting there is now a Jamie Daniels Memorial Scholarship to help kids in recovery at Michigan State.

“It could be alcohol, it could be drugs, it could be anything, but we need to be in more college campuses; that’s one of our goals,” Daniels said. “Along with the education and to get the funding, we’re going to contribute or share from the foundation, for an 80-unit long-term safe recovery house for people who come out of detox and need a safe place to live and to get into the job force.

“More often than not, people who come out of detox go back home with their parents, like our son did with us, and there’s just a mistrust there. The more we can keep this front and center, the more we can get the word out, and people will have a safe place to live.”

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Wings’ beat writers summarize Marc Staal’s ‘welcome call

Updated at 7:41 PM: Red Wings defenseman Marc Staal was introduced to the media today via a conference call…

And the Wings’ beat writers took note of Staal’s remarks, including the Free Press’s Helene St. James…

“I didn’t really have much of a heads-up,” Staal said Tuesday from his home in Connecticut. “Just got called and they told me I was on my way to Detroit. Obviously, it was surprising and shocking when it happens. This is the only place I’ve been my whole career, it’s been home to me for a very long time.

“After the shock of it kind of wore off and I started thinking about it more, talking to the coaching staff and Steve, that shock turned more to excitement. We had a really good talk. Talking with him makes you feel a lot more comfortable with where the team is heading. You’re going to an outstanding franchise, beautiful new rink. It’s an Original Six, so I get to go from one great franchise to the next. I’m excited to be a part of that. I think it’s a pretty good situation I’m walking into.”

…

Staal has spent the past couple of weeks acclimatizing to coming to a new team; chatting with Yzerman made a difference.

“A lot of the conversation was him trying to relieve the shock of what happened and try to speak good things about Detroit,” Staal said, “which I know pretty well already. I’ve known a lot of guys who play there and speak very highly of it. That part I wasn’t really too worried about. The next thing was, just the opportunity to come in and be a big part of the team and play some minutes and be a guy that’s counted upon every night. I’m looking forward to that responsibility.”

MLive’s Ansar Khan…

Continue reading Wings’ beat writers summarize Marc Staal’s ‘welcome call