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Filip Zadina Will Go To World Juniors, Michael Rasmussen Will Not

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The Detroit Red Wings have made some decisions on which of their young players they’ll allow to play in the upcoming World Junior Championship. Michael Rasmussen, who has been playing in the NHL this season will not leave the Red Wings to join Canada according to Dhiren Mahiban, who spoke with head coach Jeff Blashill. Filip Zadina though, who has spent the season playing in the AHL, will be released to join the Czech Republic for the tournament. Zadina isn’t expected to leave the Grand Rapids Griffins until just before the tournament, but Blashill told Max Bultman of The Athletic that he’s excited for the young forward’s opportunity:

I think it’s great for him. … I think he can go to play for Czech and be the man, and I think there’s nothing like the confidence that you get when you produce offensively and you have the ability to control the game.

Zadina, 19, was the sixth overall pick in June’s draft despite being rumored to be in contention for the top three picks at one point. His fall is Detroit’s gain, snapping him up to immediately inject some high-end scoring talent into their prospect system. The team was eventually allowed to send him to the AHL instead of back to the QMJHL where he played last season, and Zadina has excelled with 15 points in his first 23 games as a North American professional. That success should carry over to the World Juniors, where he was already a dominant presence last year alongside Martin Necas. Zadina’s seven goals trailed only Kieffer Bellows’ nine for the tournament lead, and this year should be more of the same.

The fact that Rasmussen will not be released to join Team Canada comes as no surprise, given that he is playing regularly for the Red Wings this year. Another high draft pick, ninth overall in 2017, Rasmussen turned heads at training camp and earned a spot despite his still developing offensive game. Things really started to click for the 6’6″ center in the WHL playoffs last season, where he scored an incredible 33 points in 14 games for the Tri-City Americans. Though he has just nine points in 26 games for the Red Wings this year, the development he’s receiving by being around the team on a daily basis is clearly worth more to the organization than a few weeks at a junior tournament.

Canada meanwhile has plenty of options down the middle already, likely adding another reason to the decision to keep Rasmussen in Detroit. There is no guarantee that he would even play a big role on the team, something that Zadina is assured of. In fact, another Detroit prospect Joe Veleno might actually get an increased role given Rasmussen’s absence, as part of a center group that also includes Cody Glass, Gabe Vilardi, Barrett Hayton and Ty Dellandrea among others.

Danny DeKeyser Out Four To Six Weeks

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Stop reading if you’ve heard this one before. The Detroit Red Wings will be without another key player for more than a month, as head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters today including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that Danny DeKeyser will miss four to six weeks with a hand injury. This comes after just yesterday announcing the same recovery timeline for Anthony Mantha, also out with a hand injury.

DeKeyser, 28, hasn’t quite turned into the star two-way defenseman that some thought he was on track to become after he experienced so much success as a young player, but is still a reliable option for the Red Wings on the blue line. Logging more than 21 minutes of ice time this season, he had seven points in his first 20 games and was on track for his best offensive season in quite some time. Unfortunately, injury limited him to 65 games last season and looks like it will keep him out of the lineup perhaps even longer this year. Six weeks would put DeKeyser on track for a mid-January return, at which point the Red Wings could find themselves out of the race for an Atlantic Division playoff spot.

As they continue to try and move on to the next wave of talent in Detroit, DeKeyser is the one defenseman who is still signed long-term. The team needs him and his $5MM cap hit to stay healthy enough to contribute going forward, especially as the other veteran options start to reach unrestricted free agency. Experience and leadership will be required as young players like Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek and others start to see more and more playing time, and DeKeyser will be the one who is looked at for both. That is of course if the Red Wings decide to keep him through this rebuild, which isn’t necessarily a guarantee.

The defenseman has a full no-trade clause currently, but that will reduce to just a 10-team clause on January 1, 2021. Even before that date the team could potentially approach him with a deal, given that he’s likely one of the only high-salary players on the team with any real value. For now though, he’ll have to work hard to get through his rehab and get back on the ice.

Anthony Mantha Out Four To Six Weeks

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Not much has gone right for the Detroit Red Wings this season, but at least Anthony Mantha had developed into a legitimate top line option for the team. Unfortunately, that development will be put on hold for the time being, as head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters today that Mantha will be out four to six weeks with a hand injury. The big forward will undergo surgery today according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

Mantha injured the hand while fighting with Patrik Nemeth of the Colorado Avalanche, in a game that hearkened back to the old Detroit-Colorado rivalry of the past. A suspension of Tyler Bertuzzi also came out of the game, though his two-game ban is nothing compared to the loss of Mantha for more than a month. The 24-year old has 14 points in 27 games this season and has used his 6’5″ frame to create room for himself and his linemates on a regular basis.

The Red Wings lost the game as well and have dropped to seventh place in the Atlantic Division, a stone’s throw away from the bottom of the Eastern Conference. While the team wasn’t expected to compete for the Stanley Cup this season, plenty of hope grew out of the early performances from some of their young core forwards. Mantha, Bertuzzi, Andreas Athanasiou, Dylan Larkin, and Michael Rasmussen have all looked like they can be parts of the next wave of Red Wings success, and with others like Joe Veleno and Filip Zadina on the way there was plenty of reason to be excited for the future.

That excitement should still exist, though this outcome is far from ideal. While the team wants Mantha to get involved physically and defend his teammates, losing a big chunk of a developmental season could have tough consequences. The team will have to hope he can jump right back into the action once he returns in the New Year.

Atlantic Notes: Bergeron, Helm, Marner, Price

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The Boston Bruins already have plenty of injury concerns this season, especially on the defensive end. However, it may have gotten worse as the Bruins announced in an injury breakdown, that they have sent Patrice Bergeron back to Boston to be re-evaluated for his upper-body injury by team doctors with two games left on their road trip. That means that Bergeron is out for Saturday’s game against Arizona, although considering their next game won’t be until Wednesday, he could return to the team before then.

The team also reported that defenseman John Moore, already listed as day-to-day, has also left with Bergeron for Boston to get his lower-body injury looked at by doctors. The release also notes that Zdeno Chara, who was listed as out for four to six weeks, will not be re-evaluated for another four weeks.

While many were already aware of the defensive injuries, however the loss of Bergeron would be another devastating blow. The 33-year-old was driven into the boards on Friday on a hit from Dallas’ Radek Faksa. Bergeron has nine goals and 26 points in 19 games this season and anchors one of the top lines in the NHL.

  • The Detroit Red Wings may be without a forward as well as Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James reports that Darren Helm, who left the first period of today’s game against New Jersey after taking a hard hit from Travis Zajac, could be out for a while. Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill said that he had no timetable for his injury, but the 31-year-old winger was holding his right wrist after it had taken the brunt of his fall to the ice.
  • Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun writes that with the way that Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner has been playing lately, he is likely to fetch a huge price when he hits restricted free agency at the end of the year. The 21-year-old Marner, who has 26 points in the first 20 games is currently on a trajectory to hit 106 points this season and become the franchise’s first 100-point winger. That could cost the team that has carefully weighed each players’ salary carefully before signing John Tavares this summer. With holdout William Nylander asking for big numbers on his next contract, Marner could complicate things for Toronto as well as he might be the best young winger outside of Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen and Boston’s David Pastrnak.
  • Montreal Canadiens Carey Price’s numbers may not be particularly impressive as he owns a 2.99 GAA and a .899 save percentage. However, after an impressive performance against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, The Athletic’s Paul Campbell (subscription required) analyzes the 31-year-old’s play and notes that Price is starting to adapt to a combination of his aging skills and the improved shootings skills of younger forwards. The scribe breaks down his play Thursday, writing that if Price can continue to play like that, then the Canadiens have a chance to fare well this season.

 

Snapshots: Three Stars, Betting, Rasmussen

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The NHL has decided on their Three Stars for the most recent week of hockey, and leading the way is someone who is no stranger to individual accolades. Sidney Crosby is the first star, after recording seven points in three games including two highlight reel efforts against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. Crosby continues to shine as he enters the back half of his career, and is well on his way to another point-per-game campaign.

The other two spots go to young Western Conference stars, with Mark Scheifele and Mikko Rantanen garnering second and third star respectively. Scheifele has developed into one of the very best two-way centers in the entire league, and will lead the Winnipeg Jets into action in Finland this week. Rantanen meanwhile is part of the hottest line in hockey for the Colorado Avalanche, and currently leads the league in points with 21 through his first 12 games.

  • The NHL has announced a partnership with MGM Resorts to enter the world of sports betting, giving the organization use of their official branding and trademarks. Commissioner Gary Bettman spoke very positively about the development as he announced it, and also explained that player tracking systems will be ready to implement next season. The league expects the partnership to first and foremost help with fan engagement, though it also will provide a new revenue stream.
  • Though it had been expected, head coach Jeff Blashill of the Detroit Red Wings confirmed that Michael Rasmussen will remain with the team for the time being. Rasmussen has currently played nine games in the NHL this season, meaning his next test will burn the first year of his entry-level contract. Blashill spoke highly of his young rookie, and explained that he’ll be moved back to center as they deal with injuries to some of their other options.

Red Wings Will Not Be Quick To Make Major Changes

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The Detroit Red Wings are off to a 1-5-2 start in 2018-19, the worst record in the NHL. They have yet to win one game in regulation, but already have two losses of four or more goals. The team is among the worst in the league in goals for and goals against, with rookie forward Christoffer Ehn as the only player on the roster sporting a positive rating. There is simply little to like about Detroit so far this season.

Despite all of this, The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan says not to expect any major changes, at least not yet. In fact, Kulfan actually encourages the team to hold on to head coach Jeff Blashill, who many expected to be the first to go if things went south this year. Kulfan points out that Blashill is in the final year of his contract and almost certainly not returning next season, but assistant and expected replacement Dan Bylsma is unlikely to have any better luck with this current roster and may as well get a fresh start with a refurbished lineup in 2019-20. Kulfan’s suggestion seems to be one that the Red Wings have seemingly already adopted; Bylsma has long been expected to take over for Blashill, who has been on the hot seat for some time, but no move has been made. A tough start to a season expected to be spent in the basement of the league is not going to change their plan so easily.

Kulfan implies that the team’s best plan of action, and the one they will most likely follow, is to first get healthy, evaluate their roster once it more closely resembles their off-season estimation, and then only after that begin to consider trading away pieces ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline. The Red Wings have little incentive not to test the market value of their impending free agents – Gustav Nyquist, Thomas Vanek, Jimmy Howard, and Niklas Kronwall – as well as others like Luke Glendening, Trevor Daley, or Jonathan Ericsson, but the team can afford to be patient with those decisions this season. In terms of their more prized younger players, don’t be surprised to see Detroit hold off on trading any of those such players, unless they are blown away by an offer such at the Tomas Tatar trade last year.

It could be a quiet season in Detroit and will almost certainly be a disappointing one. However, if the franchise is going to get back on track any time soon, avoiding any more mistakes is the first step. Patience and well-thought out roster decisions are a necessity this season.

Atlantic Notes: Blashill, Bruins, Andersen, Deslauriers

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While Detroit’s rough start to the season has led to some early speculation that a coaching change could soon be on the horizon, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press suggests that it’s an unlikely scenario at this point.  While they’ve allowed five goals per game, they’ve also been bombarded with injuries on the back end thus far.  Through six games, the only blueliners to suit up in each contest are rookies Filip Hronek and Libor Sulak and it’s hard to have success with their back end in the shape that it’s in.  St. James adds that management’s lower expectations heading into the season should also buy Jeff Blashill a longer leash to work with.  However, it should still be noted that Blashill is in the final year of his contract and the Red Wings added veteran bench boss Dan Bylsma to their staff this summer so if they want to make a move, they have an in-house option already in place.

More from the Atlantic:

  • While they have no plans to sign Lee Stempniak, the Bruins are looking to add a veteran forward, preferably a center, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported in the latest edition of Insider Trading (video link). He added that young wingers Anders Bjork and Danton Heinen could be dangled as a potential return although he was quick to indicate that they aren’t being shopped.  Boston lost center Riley Nash to Columbus in free agency this summer and have shifted David Backes down the middle to replace him.
  • Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen provided an update to reporters, including Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star, regarding the knee issue that kept him out of Monday’s game. It’s not an actual injury that he’s dealing with but rather some excess swelling.  Andersen left practice early today and when asked about his availability for Thursday night, he was non-committal.  Toronto is currently carrying three goaltenders (the third being Eamon McAdam on recall from the ECHL) under emergency conditions but those will only last until Wednesday as there is a 48-hour limit.  At that time, the Leafs will either have to make a roster move to create a roster spot for McAdam or send him back down.
  • Montreal winger Nicolas Deslauriers participated in practice today for the first time since sustaining facial fractures in a preseason fight last month, notes Matt Cudzinowski of the Canadiens’ team website.  While he’ll need a few more skates before being game ready, it appears that they will soon once again be facing a roster crunch up front with the team already carrying 14 forwards on their active roster.  He’s coming off a season that saw him post ten goals in 58 games while leading the Canadiens in hits with 238.

Injury Notes: Red Wings, Bogosian, Beleskey, Peca

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The Detroit Red Wings’ defense could look much different to begin the season than many expected. With top pair defenseman Mike Green already shut down and confirmed to be out for at least the team’s opener due to a viral infection, coach Jeff Blashill revealed today that banged-up blue liners Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson, and Trevor Daley are all considered questionable to begin the season. As Ansar Khan of MLive.com points out, it could be a very young, inexperienced defensive corps to start the year in Detroit. Niklas Kronwall and Nick Jensen could be the only regulars healthy enough to play, joined perhaps by a veteran like Brian Lashoff or Dylan McIlrath. Outside of those options, rookies will likely make up the rest of the top six. 5’8″ Joe Hicketts, who got a brief look last season, leads the way, with 2016 first-rounder Dennis Cholowski, second-rounder the same year Filip Hronek, and Czech import Libor Sulak in the mix as well.

  • Injury news about Zach Bogosian usually isn’t good and unfortunately, this could be trending in that direction as well. Bogosian has been taking it easy in training camp, working his way back from major hip surgery, but the Athletic’s Joe Yerndon reports that he has still managed to get injured. According to head coach Phil Housley, Bogosian is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Even worse, Yerndon notes that it is a new injury, unrelated to his hip issues. Bogosian’s career has been marred by frequent injuries and an inability to bounce back quickly. The Sabres have to hope that this case is different, as Bogosian and Marco Scandella will be needed to lead a young defensive unit and groom top overall pick Rasmus Dahlin.
  • It didn’t take long for the New York Rangers to get clarification on Matt Beleskey’s status. After head coach David Quinn said yesterday that it was “too early to tell” the extent of Beleskey’s injury, suffered during a fight on Monday night, the Rangers released an update today. Beleskey will be out two to four weeks with a separated shoulder, the team determined. Since Beleskey was a likely training camp casualty anyway, the only change for the Rangers is that he cannot be placed on waiver while injured. Instead, he will be placed on the injured reserve with only a minor salary cap charge.
  • Montreal Canadiens’ free agent addition Matthew Peca is currently sidelined. The team revealed that he is dealing with a minor groin injury. No timeline has been established for his return. Peca’s NHL ability and role for the Habs is still unclear, so missing preseason action and potentially the start of the season is unfortunate. The former Tampa Bay Lightning prospect will have to hit the ground running upon his return.

Henrik Zetterberg Confirmed To Miss Regular Season Games

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While updates on Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg and his injury struggles have been frequent all off-season long, most of it has been fueled by vague comments and speculation. However, the wait if finally over for an actual timeline on his recovery, if he returns to the game at all. Zetterberg himself confirmed to Swedish news source Sport Bladet that he is set to miss training camp and the start of the season.

Missing that amount of time is all but definite, but that may be a best case scenario for the Red Wings. Zetterberg has insinuated for some time that he may not be able to play anymore. Chronic back pain is the source of his doubts and states in the interview that he has not managed to work though it at all this summer. Zetterberg continues to live in Detroit and work on his rehab, but the outlook is reportedly “bleak”. Zetterberg describes how the pains set in last February, leading to him sitting out most practices, but it didn’t help. The veteran center is no longer willing to take that shortcut approach either, stating that he will “not play NHL matches without being well prepared, especially not at my age.”

When last we heard about Zetterberg’s state, it was a report from head coach Jeff Blashill just a few days ago claiming that he didn’t expect Zetterberg to be ready for the start of training camp. Yet, now that this news has emerged from the player himself, it is another one of Blashill’s comments that stands out. The Red Wings’ bench boss speculated that if Zetterberg was not able to take part in training camp at all, that he was unlikely to play at all in the coming season. Since the respected veteran feels he will not be ready until well past the beginning of the season, that would indicate that he is most likely going to be shut down for the entire 2018-19 campaign. A comeback after that would be unlikely. Even though Zetterberg still has three years remaining on his contract, it is starting to feel like he has played his last game in the NHL.

“A Lot Of Doubt” Still Surrounds Henrik Zetterberg’s Future

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Reports have surfaced every few weeks this summer that Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg may not play in the 2018-19 season due to a lingering back injury, and last week GM Ken Holland muddied the water even further. Holland called Zetterberg an “unknown” when speaking to reporters, and indicated he would know more in September. That timeline is what head coach Jeff Blashill repeated to Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News, but seemed even less confident in Zetterberg’s ability to play this season:

He’s had a hard summer and I don’t think his back is reacting great. Certainly we’ll know more in a month, but as of today, there’s a lot of doubt as to whether his back will be healthy enough to play.

If Zetterberg does sit out the year, the Red Wings could put his $6.08MM cap hit on long-term injured reserve to create some more cap flexibility. The actual salary of his deal drops to just $3.35MM this season, and the contract will pay him just $1MM in each of the next two years. That seems like quite the coincidence given that Zetterberg hasn’t missed a regular season game in three straight seasons, but Blashill was quick to point out that his captain was also forced to stop practicing entirely for the last two months of the 2017-18 season.

From 1990-91 to 2015-16 the Red Wings never missed the postseason, and Zetterberg played a crucial role in many of those seasons. He, Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom formed the core of a powerhouse team for years, until the latter’s retirement in 2012. Now having missed the postseason in back to back years, the Red Wings will try to form a new young core of players like Dylan Larkin, Filip Zadina and Anthony Mantha to get them back to the promised land and compete for the Stanley Cup once again. It never seemed like Zetterberg could be a real part of that, even without a career-threatening injury popping up. The 37-year old has seen his offensive numbers decline in recent years, to the point of just scoring 11 goals last season. That was the lowest full-season total of his career, and one that the team should be able to replace.

They won’t as easily replace his leadership though, which will put even more pressure on Larkin to develop into a true first-line center. Without that the Red Wings could be in for a tough season, given their cap problems and lack of real elite talent throughout the lineup.

If it is the end for Zetterberg, he would be leaving the game with 960 career points in 1,082 regular season games. The veteran forward has been in Selke contention for nearly his entire career as one of the better defensive forwards in the league, and took home a Conn Smythe trophy during the Red Wings 2008 Stanley Cup run. Undoubtedly one of the most well-respected and beloved Red Wings players in history, this would be a tough way to see his career come to an end.

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