Over the last few days, we’ve taken your mailbag questions on Twitter using the hashtag #PHRMailbag and on the site via the comments feature. Here are the inquiries for this edition of the mailbag:
@JimRouleau39: When will the Red Wings make a move on Jeff Blashill? The team seems to have no energy! And continue to beat themselves.
This season has been nothing short of a disaster so far for Detroit. They sit dead last in the Eastern Conference and their quarter-century playoff streak is in serious jeopardy. Despite that, I don’t suspect Blashill’s job is in jeopardy any time soon.
GM Ken Holland is quite patient and Blashill was long heralded as Mike Babcock’s successor even while he was still behind the bench for the Red Wings. At that time, they were hesitant to grant interviews for Blashill to interview for other NHL head coaching jobs, something that doesn’t typically happen. Blashill has been Holland’s guy for a long time now and it’s hard to see one season, as bad as it has been, cause him to change his mind.
Detroit has been hit hard by injuries this year while goalie Petr Mrazek hasn’t played anywhere near the level that he is capable of. These are also factors that suggest that Blashill will get another opportunity next season with what may be a bit of a different looking roster.
Jay: In general would you expect less trades this deadline because of the expansion draft or will that not really have a huge impact.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see a quieter deadline this year because of the dearth of sellers and a lot of teams being capped out. I don’t expect the expansion draft to be at the forefront at the deadline though except for the sellers who can try to plan ahead a little bit. For the teams that are looking to contend, their focus is going to be adding the right piece(s) to help them win now and worry about sorting out their protected list later. Most of the deadline deals are likely to be rental players anyways and it’s unlikely that those pending unrestricted free agents will be considered for protection.
For teams like Arizona, Colorado, and whoever else becomes a sure fire seller over the next month, they can determine what their list is likely to look like in June and who is most likely to be selected by the Golden Knights. From there, they could see if a buyer would have interest in making a move for that player but beyond that, I suspect the bulk of the expansion-related deals will come after the trade deadline.
@Grade5Woolgar: Where and how is Marc Savard? Post concussion and no news since. Is he ok?
Savard is living in Peterborough, ON and is staying involved in hockey as, like many retired players, he is coaching his son at the minor hockey level. He also has taken up golf and has qualified for a couple of tournaments on a lower professional golf circuit although his physical limitations have made it difficult for him to play a full four rounds. He’s also dealing with some memory loss as well given all of the concussions he has dealt with, the last one coming back in 2010-11 when he last played.
This is the final year that Savard will be on the books of an NHL team as the Devils acquired him from Florida as a salary cap dump last offseason. Once his contract expires, he will likely officially file his retirement papers.
How about the Red Wings making a move on both Blashill and Holland.