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Red Wings Rumors

PHR Mailbag: Detroit Red Wings Edition

June 25, 2022 at 12:27 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 5 Comments

There were several questions about the Red Wings in our latest callout for questions for the PHR Mailbag.  Rather than try to condense them to fit them within a full mailbag, let’s examine them in a bit more detail in a Detroit-specific piece.  The rest of the mailbag will run on Sunday.

pawdog13: What have you heard about the Red Wings’ coaching search? Crickets everywhere!

@jamara23732: Who do you believe the Red Wings will hire as head coach?

The best way to describe Detroit’s coaching search thus far is that it’s thorough.  GM Steve Yzerman is known to be patient and he’s turning over every rock while considering both experienced and first-time options.  Barry Trotz interviewed for the opening back in May but Trotz basically interviewed with every team that has a coaching vacancy and then decided to take next season off.  David Quinn, the former Rangers head coach, has also been interviewed.  He’s someone that has a lot of experience working with younger players and with the Red Wings having a younger roster, that could be appealing.  They also interviewed Bruce Cassidy but clearly, that one isn’t happening as he’s now with Vegas.

Speculatively, I think part of their hold up is that Yzerman wants to have a conversation with Derek Lalonde, an assistant with the Lightning.  Yzerman was still with Tampa Bay when Lalonde joined them so he will have some familiarity and considering what Tampa Bay has done since then, he has only helped boost his stock since then.  Detroit might not be the only team waiting for the Stanley Cup Final to end to have a conversation with Lalonde.

As for who I think they’ll hire, I’ve covered that one in a prior mailbag but I’ll mention it here again in Jim Montgomery.  Dallas was doing well under his tutelage before his departure so it’s not as if he’s a first-time bench boss.  He also has a track record of working with younger players from his days in college.  He’s also someone that fits both types of coaching options.  He could be the long-term solution behind the bench which would be great for them but he could also be a transitional coach, one that helps elevate the stock and development of certain players but might not be the right fit in the end.  Either option would be a win for them at this stage.  In reality, your guess is as good as mine with the lack of information out there about their search but Montgomery would be my pick.

gowings2008: Any idea who the Red Wings may target in free agency? Based on the direction the team is headed, I think adding a player like Andre Burakovsky could make sense.

@jamara23732: What free agents do you see the Red Wings pursuing when free agency starts?

I don’t expect Detroit to necessarily be shopping at the top end of the market yet.  Are they ready to flip the switch and move to win-now mode?  They’re getting closer to that point but I don’t think it’ll be this summer.  That should keep them out of the bidding wars for the top players.

Looking at their depth chart, their center situation stands out.  Dylan Larkin is in place although he only has one yet left on his contract.  After that, there are a lot of question marks.  Pius Suter isn’t a true top-six option and while Michael Rasmussen has shown some improvement, he fits much better on the third line than the second.  Joe Veleno has similar upside.  Oskar Sundqvist, acquired at the trade deadline, is also a bottom-sixer.  There’s a definite need for a top-six center.

Vincent Trocheck is someone I expect them to take a serious run at.  He turns 29 next month so he should still have several good seasons ahead of him.  He’s not going to push to be a top pivot – that spot is still Larkin’s – but he’d allow Rasmussen and Veleno to slot into the last two center spots and give them a very stable group of middlemen.  Good teams need good center depth and Trocheck would give them exactly that.  If that doesn’t happen, they might inquire on Andrew Copp and Ryan Strome, similar-aged players that would give them some stability although the upside isn’t as great.  I’d be more worried about adding middlemen than wingers at this point so while Burakovsky would certainly help, he shouldn’t be their top priority either.

The left side of their back end is another sizable hole but that will be difficult to fill in free agency as the impact rearguards are righties.  I’ve mused in the past about them taking a look at someone like John Klingberg which would free them up to trade Filip Hronek for a lefty that better fits their needs.  That might be their best shot at adding an impact left-side defender, actually.  Simon Edvinsson will see some time next season but their free agent target on that side might be a veteran like Ian Cole, someone that can play on the third pairing and log some tough minutes on the penalty kill.  Keeping Marc Staal is another option.  Alexander Edler would be a tier a bit above that but that’s as good as I think they can do on the free agent front on that side of their back end.

On the trade front, if they keep Hronek and don’t add an impact righty, I could see them inquiring about Alec Martinez, a Michigan native.  Vegas still needs to clear money and since they played without him for a lot of this past season, they know they can manage without him if need be.  With two years left on his contract, he’d be an ideal bridge veteran to work with Edvinsson as well.

Johnny Z: Predict the unpredictable: What is Stevie Y’s big move this summer? Example: What LD vet does he find? Will he bolster the C position and with who? Does he get Larkin extended under $9M? What veteran goalie does he get?

The defense and center spots were covered above and I’ll lean into my Klingberg prediction as their big move with Hronek, who has two years left at an affordable $4.4MM price tag, being flipped for a left-shot defender that’s signed or under team control for at least two more years.

As for Larkin, I do think a long-term extension will get done this summer.  He stated at the end of the season that he couldn’t see himself playing elsewhere and then changed agents with the belief being that talks on a new deal will start soon.  Unless Yzerman was to low-ball his captain, something should get done.

I’m fairly confident it will be under $9MM per as well.  Larkin has never been a point-per-game player and has only come close to that mark twice.  In that sense, he’s not a true top center so he shouldn’t be expecting to be paid as such.  There are some recent comparables to work off of as well – Mika Zibanejad will get $8.5MM from the Rangers next year, Tomas Hertl is a little over $8MM from San Jose, and Sean Couturier checks in at $7.75MM.  Is Larkin’s track record better than those players?  He’d have a hard time making that case.  He’s younger so there will be an expectation of more in-prime years that should push his AAV into that range instead of being below it but I’d be quite surprised if his next price tag came in above Zibanejad’s $8.5MM.

Now, let’s look at the goaltending situation.  I don’t think Jussi Olkinuora is the intended backup although I do like that signing to see if he is indeed a late bloomer.  He’ll partner up with Sebastian Cossa in Grand Rapids and it’s his trajectory that Yzerman will need to be mindful of.  Yes, he’s a promising prospect but most goalies will need a few years before being NHL-ready.  With Alex Nedeljkovic’s deal set to expire next summer, they need someone on a multi-year deal.

This isn’t a great group of veterans to work with so I expect their primary targets to be Ville Husso and Jack Campbell.  Both players don’t have the type of clout to command a long-term contract but something in the three-year range is where they should fall.  That lines up with Cossa’s timeline in the sense that Husso or Campbell would be expiring when Cossa is ready.  At that point, they can either walk or be extended to partner up with him.  My pick would be one of those two.

If they go elsewhere, I would be looking towards Washington and one of their pending RFAs.  If they want a proven veteran, one of Ilya Samsonov or Vitek Vanecek would be on the move and both of those netminders would be candidates for the medium-term deals I’m suggesting they’ll want to give to Husso or Campbell.  They need some stability at the position and getting that should be near the top of Yzerman’s to-do list this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Detroit Red Wings| PHR Mailbag| Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

5 comments

Edmonton Oil Kings Eliminated From 2022 Memorial Cup

June 24, 2022 at 8:25 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 2 Comments

With the round-robin set to close tomorrow at the 2022 Memorial Cup, one team already knows its fate. The WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings are out of the top Canadian junior tournament, dropping their third game of the round-robin 4-2 against the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs.

The host Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL will play their league champion, the Shawinigan Cataractes, tomorrow. The winner of that game will advance directly to the 2022 Memorial Cup Final on June 29, while the loser will face Hamilton in the semi-final on Monday.

Edmonton bows out of the tournament without a regulation win. Their two points in the standings came courtesy of a 4-3 overtime win against Saint John.

It’s a shocking exit for the WHL champion, who terrorized the league with a 50-14-4 record during the regular season. But their offense was stricken heavily when it was announced that leading scorer Dylan Guenther, a 2021 first-round selection of the Arizona Coyotes, would miss the tournament due to injury. Still, the squad had a strong core with NHL prospects Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings) in goal, Kaiden Guhle (Montreal Canadiens) and Luke Prokop (Nashville Predators) on defense, and Jake Neighbours (St. Louis Blues) and Justin Sourdif (Florida Panthers) rounding out an all-star lineup. The team’s depth was nothing to scoff at either, with multiple other NHL prospects and WHL veterans playing big roles.

The WHL’s streak of Memorial Cup losses, which dates back now to 2014 with the Oil Kings, will continue.

Arizona Coyotes| Detroit Red Wings| Dylan Guenther| Florida Panthers| Injury| Jake Neighbours| Kaiden Guhle| Los Angeles Kings| Memorial Cup| Montreal Canadiens| Nashville Predators| NHL| OHL| Prospects| QMJHL| St. Louis Blues| WHL

2 comments

Detroit Red Wings Sign Victor Brattstrom

June 24, 2022 at 7:32 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

7:32 pm: CapFriendly reports that Brattstrom’s one-year extension is for the league-minimum $750,000. As the deal is two-way in nature, Brattstrom will be paid a minors salary of $75,000.

8:41 am: The Detroit Red Wings are keeping one of their depth goaltenders around for another year, signing Victor Brattstrom to a one-year contract extension. The Swedish netminder split time between the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toledo Walleye this season, after making the transition to North America. Brattstrom would have been an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this summer.

Originally a sixth-round pick of the Red Wings in 2018, Brattstrom is an interesting case. He was already 21 by the time he was finally picked, and at that point had not even reached the highest level in Sweden. In fact, he had just 15 games of experience at the Allsvenskan level (second-tier) and though they had gone well, the pick was always more about his frame–6’4″–and projected upside.

Now four years later, Brattstrom’s results haven’t really improved. He did play one season in the SHL for Timra IK but was shelled, going 5-14 with an .898 save percentage and losing the relegation game. In 2020-21, after signing his entry-level deal with the Red Wings, he played in Finland, where he had a middling 18-12-7 record and .903 save percentage in 38 appearances.

This year, he couldn’t crack the .900 mark even at the ECHL level, and yet the Red Wings obviously believe in him enough to give him another contract. It will interesting to follow the 25-year-old netminder this season and see if the Detroit front office has found a project, or if he’s nothing more than minor league depth.

Arbitration| Detroit Red Wings| Victor Brattstrom

1 comment

Moritz Seider Wins The 2022 Calder Trophy

June 21, 2022 at 6:25 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

On Tuesday, the final five NHL awards are being handed out.  The second award of the night was the Calder Memorial Trophy, handed out to the NHL’s top rookie.  Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider took home the trophy after a stellar first season.  Maple Leafs winger Michael Bunting and Ducks center Trevor Zegras were the other two finalists.

The 21-year-old was the sixth-overall pick by Detroit back in 2019 and spent his post-draft season with AHL Grand Rapids before playing in Sweden last season.  The extra seasoning certainly was beneficial as he led all rookie defensemen with 50 points (seven goals and 43 assists), the third-highest point output from a rookie rearguard in the last 30 years.  Seider also led all rookies (including forwards) in assists and power play points while logging more than 23 minutes a game to lead all Detroit defensemen, a franchise record for all rookies.

As a result, the vote wasn’t particularly close.  Of the 195 PHWA members to cast a ballot, Seider was ranked first on 170 of them while he was the only player to appear in the top three on every ballot.  That helped Seider become the first Detroit rookie to win the award since goaltender Roger Crozier back in the 1964-65 season.

The full results of the voting can be found here.

Detroit Red Wings| Moritz Seider| NHL Awards

4 comments

Red Wings Sign Jussi Olkinuora

June 14, 2022 at 6:43 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

The Red Wings have added some goaltending depth to their system as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that Detroit has signed netminder Jussi Olkinuora to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal will pay him $750K in the NHL, $375K in the minors, and contains a guarantee of $425K.

The 31-year-old spent some time in Winnipeg’s system earlier in his career after signing with them as an undrafted free agent back in 2013 after an impressive couple of years at the University of Denver.  However, things didn’t go well in the minors for Olkinuora as he posted a 3.79 GAA with a save percentage of just .879 in 21 appearances, resulting in the Jets non-tendering him in 2015 and him eventually heading back overseas in 2016.

Olkinuora has spent the last three seasons in the KHL and is coming off a pair of strong seasons with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.  This past season, he had a 2.45 GAA along with a .917 SV% in 36 games, numbers that were actually a small step back from the year before.  However, his performance helped earn him a spot on Finland’s entries into their Olympic and World Championship teams.  It was at the recently-completed Worlds that Olkinuora really shined as he posted a 1.11 GAA and a .948 SV%, resulting in him being named as the tournament MVP.

There are certainly some openings in Detroit’s system for goaltenders next season.  Backup goalie Thomas Greiss and third-stringer Calvin Pickard are both pending unrestricted free agents and neither appear to be likely to return.  The fate of Magnus Hellberg, a late-season signing, is also in question as he’s also a pending UFA.  Olkinuora could be ticketed to start at AHL Grand Rapids alongside top prospect Sebastian Cossa although, if they believe his recent showing in Russia is a sign of things to come, he could get a chance to battle for a shot at being Alex Nedeljkovic’s backup as well.

Detroit Red Wings| Transactions

1 comment

Detroit Red Wings Sign Elmer Soderblom

June 9, 2022 at 7:38 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 6 Comments

7:38 pm: CapFriendly has announced the terms of the deal, which carries a cap hit of $878,333:

2022-23: $750,000 base + $92,500 signing bonus + $82,500 performance bonus
2023-24: $775,000 base + $92,500 signing bonus + $57,500 performance bonus
2024-25: $832,500 base + $92,500 signing bonus

The contract carries a minor salary of $70,000 in all three seasons.

1:12 pm: The Detroit Red Wings have signed another interesting Swedish prospect, this time inking Elmer Soderblom to a three-year entry-level contract. The sixth-round pick is coming off a breakout season with Frolunda of the SHL.

It’s hard to focus on anything other than the size of Soderblom, given his 6’8″ frame. The massive forward is finally starting to find his way offensively though, leading to a very interesting package of size and skill. In 52 games this season he registered 21 goals, good enough to tie him for seventh in league scoring. If he can continue the same development trajectory, the Red Wings might have found a late-round steal that can actually contribute to their lineup down the road.

They certainly would have gotten a good look. Soderblom has played with top prospect Simon Edvinsson on Frolunda going back to their junior days, meaning the Red Wings have seen his progression first hand while watching their prized draft pick recently. Signing him now will get him into the organization, and since his contract has expired in Sweden, it could actually mean he’ll be joining the Grand Rapids Griffins next season.

Even if he goes back for another year, the 20-year-old Soderblom is a player to watch for Detroit fans and one that has a massive ceiling if he can continue to marry size and skill as he did this year. His entry-level deal will kick in no matter where he plays, making him an RFA in the summer of 2025.

Detroit Red Wings| Elmer Soderblom| SHL

6 comments

Red Wings Have Jim Hiller On Coaching Radar

June 9, 2022 at 5:05 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 12 Comments

Entering this season, the second-longest tenured coach in the league behind future Hall-of-Famer Jon Cooper was Detroit Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill. After just one playoff appearance (in his first year as coach), though, the rebuilding squad finally decided to move on as they try and begin their rise back toward contention. That makes the 48-year-old Blashill an experienced option on the open market, as he’s been in coaching roles since 1998 and coaching professionally since joining the Detroit organization in 2011. While he doesn’t have the shiniest resume, some of that can be attributed to the poor roster he was given in Detroit.

  • After getting fired by the New York Islanders today, Jim Hiller is on the radar of the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings (among other clubs) for their head coaching vacancies, reports ESPN’s Kevin Weekes. It would be a return to the Red Wings organization for Hiller, who got his first NHL job there as an assistant in 2014-15 after five seasons as the head coach of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. He’s been with the Islanders since 2019-20 and has overseen their two back-to-back runs to the Eastern Conference Final in 2020 and 2021.

Dallas Stars| Detroit Red Wings| Elliotte Friedman| Florida Panthers| Jeff Blashill| Marc Savard| NHL

12 comments

Former Red Wings Defenseman Larry Hillman Passes Away

June 4, 2022 at 6:14 pm CDT | by John Gilroy 3 Comments

Not the household name of some of his Stanley Cup teammates, Hillman made a long career for himself, spanning 22 seasons, as a reliable, shutdown defenseman for his teams. The defenseman began his career in 1954-55 with the Detroit Red Wings as a teenager, a team that would go on to win the Stanley Cup. After parts of three seasons with Detroit, Hillman was claimed on waivers by the Boston Bruins, where he would play parts of three more seasons before again being claimed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hillman would spend the next eight seasons in Toronto, helping the team to four Stanley Cups.

Boston Bruins| Buffalo Sabres| Dallas Stars| Detroit Red Wings| Los Angeles Kings| Montreal Canadiens| NHL| Philadelphia Flyers| Toronto Maple Leafs| Winnipeg Jets

3 comments

Red Wings Hope To Sign Elmer Soderblom This Summer

June 4, 2022 at 9:37 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

  • The Red Wings are hoping to work out an entry-level contract this offseason with prospect Elmer Soderblom, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. The hulking winger stands 6’8 and weighs 249 pounds and is coming off a good season in the SHL that saw him put up 21 goals in 52 games with Frolunda of the SHL.  His deal in Sweden is now up so assuming the 2019 sixth-rounder does sign, he’ll almost certainly play in North America next season instead of being loaned back overseas like Detroit did with prospect blueliner Albert Johansson this season.

Boston Bruins| Bruce Cassidy| Detroit Red Wings| Jack Campbell| Toronto Maple Leafs

1 comment

Minor Transactions 5/26/22

May 26, 2022 at 4:00 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu Leave a Comment

With the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs now in full gear and one team already through to the Conference Finals, most AHL teams’ seasons are over and some have already begun chipping away at their offseason work. We’ll keep track of that AHL news here.

  • The Grand Rapids Griffins, the affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, announced today that they re-signed forward Dominik Shine to a two-year AHL contract. Shine, an undrafted player and Detroit native, has played in six seasons for the Griffins. After a successful career at Northern Michigan University, Shine turned pro and got into eight regular-season games for the Griffins in 2017-18, the year the team went on to win the Calder Cup. From that point, Shine became a regular in Grand Rapids and produced modestly. This past season Shine had his best offensive output, posting 17 goals and 32 points in 71 games, to go along with a career-high 141 penalty minutes.
  • The Hershey Bears announced two signings today, the first being of forward Bear Hughes on an AHL deal for the 2022-23 season. Hughes, 20, was the Capitals’ fifth-round choice at the 2020 draft. Hughes is coming off a productive season for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL, where he posted 67 points in 64 games, which led his team. The Post Falls, Idaho native will continue his development in Hershey hoping that his WHL production will translate to professional success and eventually an NHL contract.
  • The other signing the Bears announced today was of defenseman Benton Maass, also to an AHL deal covering 2022-23. Maass, 23, was a Washington Capitals sixth-rounder at the 2017 draft and has spent the past five seasons in the NCAA. He spent four years manning the blueline of the University of New Hampshire before spending a final season at Minnesota State University, where he played with Hobey Baker winner Dryden McKay and forward Nathan Smith, who now plays for the Arizona Coyotes.

AHL| Detroit Red Wings| NCAA| Washington Capitals

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