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Red Wings Plan To Start Michael Rasmussen On The Wing In The NHL

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Although he was drafted as a center, the Red Wings envision top prospect Michael Rasmussen debuting in the NHL on the wing, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan.  Rasmussen has shifted to the wing in the WHL playoffs with Tri-City and has adapted quite well, tallying 24 points (10-14-24) in just eight games through the first two rounds.

Rasmussen was Detroit’s first-round pick (ninth overall) last June and Khan notes that the team is hopeful that he may be able to lock down a regular roster spot as soon as next season.  With the Red Wings intending to transition into somewhat of a youth movement, having him up with the big club in a position with less responsibility would make some sense to help him get acclimated to the rigors of playing at the NHL level.

Wings Getting The Better Deal From Trades

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The Tomas Tatar trade seems so far to be a big win for the Detroit Red Wings writes the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. Dealt at the deadline for Vegas’ 2018 1st rounder, a 2019 second rounder and a 2021 third rounder, Tatar is a healthy scratch for the Golden Knights as they made quick work of Los Angeles. St. James believes Tatar will see time again in the playoffs, but she cites this trade as one in a series where the Red Wings got the better of another team. St. James points out that the Brendan Smith trade a year prior with the Rangers is now considered a heist with the Wings picking up a 2017 third round pick, and Ottawa’s 2018 second round pick, which will be the 33rd overall pick. Smith, meanwhile, had a tumultuous season with the Blueshirts that saw healthy scratches, a demotion, and a fight in practice–all of this occurring after signing a four-year, $17.4MM deal. Petr Mrazek was flipped for a conditional 2018 fourth round pick that is now a third rounder along with a conditional 2019 third round pick should Mrazek re-sign with the Flyers. Not a bad haul for players who haven’t really lived up to their end of the bargain for their new teams.

Dennis Cholowski Joins Grand Rapids Griffins

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Dennis Cholowski has had quite the path to professional hockey, but that dream finally seems a reality. The Detroit Red Wings prospect has been assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins, where he’ll likely suit up in the playoffs and then stay with for the 2018-19 season—that is, if he doesn’t make the NHL out of camp. Cholowski’s CHL team, the Portland Winterhawks, were eliminated from the WHL playoffs recently, ending his junior career.

In 2016, Cholowski was selected in the first round by the Red Wings who knew full well that he was planning on heading to college. The young defenseman had played in the BCHL to maintain NCAA eligibility, and was headed to St. Cloud State in 2016-17. He would make it to the collegiate ranks, but spend just one season at St. Cloud before signing his entry-level contract. That came with a single game for the Griffins last spring on an amateur tryout, though he’d have to wait for another opportunity in professional hockey.

Instead, he was sent to the CHL where he signed a deal with the Prince George Cougars. Prince George had drafted him way back in 2013 with the 200th selection in their bantam draft, never really expecting him to play for them. Instead, they received half a season—and an excellent one at that, scoring 39 points in 37 games—before moving him to Portland for a boatload of draft picks. Cholowski wold continue his strong play, scoring another 34 points in 44 games for the Winterhawks down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Cholowski was seen as a reach of sorts in his draft year, but looks like he’ll pay off for the Red Wings at the next level. A talented puck-mover, he’ll be a key part of how the Detroit re-tool looks over the next few seasons. For now, he’ll get some playoff experience with the Griffins who are trying to defend their 2017 Calder Cup Championship.

John Torchetti Will Not Return To Detroit Red Wings

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The Detroit Red Wings have already made their decision on bringing head coach Jeff Blashill back for another year, but he won’t be coming with the same group of assistants. John Torchetti, who has served as an assistant coach since 2016, will not return according to Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required).

Torchetti, 53, has a long history of coaching in the NHL, serving briefly as head coach of Florida, Los Angeles and Minnesota during transition periods for the three organizations. He also has experience as a head coach in the AHL and CHL, and even a year behind the bench of CSKA Moscow in the KHL.

Under Torchetti, the Detroit powerplay sat 24th in the league this season at just over 17% and the club struggled to score enough goals on a regular basis. The Red Wings finished 28th in goals for, and clearly needed a change to their offensive identity. For better or worse, that change will come as a new assistant for Blashill’s group, who will likely be tasked with improving their efficiency with the man advantage next season.

Cholowski Set To Join Grand Rapids

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One of the young players who Ken Holland spoke of at his recent press conference will be a step closer to breaking into the Red Wings future. Defenseman Dennis Cholowski will join the Grand Rapids Griffins, writes the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James, as his Portland Winterhawks were eliminated from the second round of the WHL playoffs. Cholowski has been tied to much of the criticism Red Wings fans have about Holland, being that the former was considered a “reach” by many draft analysts while Detroit traded out of a chance to grab Jakob Chychrun, who already has 118 NHL games to his name. The development of Cholowski will be watched closely by fans and Detroit’s brass. A solid year with both Prince George and Portland has seen his stock rise. St. James writes that Cholowski is expected to report to Grand Rapids as early as Tuesday.

Snapshots: Appleton, Goaltenders, Turgeon

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Mason Appleton has been named the AHL Rookie of the Year, joining teammate Sami Niku as a Winnipeg Jets prospect with an individual trophy. Appleton was also named to the All-Rookie and First All-Star Teams after a huge season with the Manitoba Moose. The sixth-round pick recorded 63 points in his first professional season, leading the Moose to one of the league’s best records.

Appleton is just another example of the fine draft and development work the Jets have accomplished over the last few years. Though there is no guarantee he will find success at the NHL level, getting any sixth round pick to perform this well in the AHL is an organizational accomplishment.

  • The Washington Capitals have recalled Pheonix Copley to serve as their third goaltender for tonight’s game. Philipp Grubauer is set to start, and Copley will only be called upon if someone gets injured in warm-up. Similarly, the San Jose Sharks have recalled Antoine Bibeau for the same reason. Teams almost always carry a third goaltender in the playoffs, to avoid a Scott Foster situation where an amateur is forced into the net.
  • Dominic Turgeon won’t be available for the Grand Rapids Griffins for some time, as the team announced that the Detroit Red Wings prospect has been diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. It caused a blood clot in his arm, but after a procedure yesterday and another today he is expected to make a full recovery. Turgeon, the son of former player and Los Angeles Kings assistant coach Pierre Turgeon, made his NHL debut this season for the Red Wings.

Snapshots: Awards, Holland, Leiweke

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The NHL will hold their annual awards ceremony on June 20th, a few days before the 2018 Entry Draft. The event will be held in Las Vegas once again, an exciting proposition for the Golden Knights who could be coming off a historic Stanley Cup victory in their first season.

Finalists will start to be announced in just a few days on April 17th, with the Vezina Trophy kicking things off. This awards season has been even more debated than usual, with almost a dozen legitimate candidates for the Hart Trophy and no consensus on other top awards like the Norris or Selke.

  • Ken Holland is back in the Detroit Red Wings front office, but he is willing to bring in some more voices to help strengthen the club’s decision making. That’s what Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) examines in his latest piece, digging into who could be potential additions. An interesting name that comes up is Kyle Raftis, GM of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and successor to Toronto whiz-kid Kyle Dubas.
  • Tod Leiweke has officially been announced as CEO and President of the prospective Seattle expansion team, joining his brother Tim Leiweke who is already part of the Oak View Group that placed the bid and will be minority owner. The pair have tons of experience running professional sports teams, including Tod’s stint as CEO of the Seattle Seahawks in the past.

Red Wings Notes: Green, Goaltending, Larkin, Nielsen

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Red Wings defenseman Mike Green’s surgery to repair his cervical spine was a successful one, GM Ken Holland told reporters, including Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News (Twitter link).  Holland also noted that Green should be fully recovered for the start of training camp.  The rearguard was shut down late in March and wasn’t healthy heading into the trade deadline which played a role in him not being traded.

The question now becomes whether or not Detroit shows interest in re-signing the pending unrestricted free agent.  While Green’s offensive prowess isn’t what it once was, he still put up 33 points (8-25-33) in 66 games and their back end doesn’t have a lot of threats from the point.  However, considering that he’s 32 years old and the fact that the Wings are in the midst of a rebuild, it may not make a lot of sense to bring him back unless he’s amenable to a short-term contract.  Holland stated that a decision on whether or not to pursue a new deal with him may not be made until after the draft in June.  Green made $6MM in each of the last three years and it’s likely that his next deal will carry a pay cut.

More from Detroit:

  • Blues goaltender Carter Hutton is on Detroit’s radar for the offseason, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan. The 32-year-old is coming off a career year in which he led the league in goals-against average (2.09) and save percentage (.931).  The Red Wings are in need of another goalie with the trade of Petr Mrazek prior to the trade deadline to play alongside Jimmy Howard, who has one more year on his deal with a cap hit of just under $5.3MM.  Hutton’s salary was an even $1MM this season and he will undoubtedly command a significantly bigger deal on the open market this summer.
  • Centers Dylan Larkin Frans Nielsen has committed to play at the upcoming World Championships, Khan notes (Twitter links). It will be Larkin’s fourth appearance in the tournament while Nielsen will be suiting up for the first time since 2012 (and eighth time overall).  The tournament is set to be held in Nielsen’s native Denmark which likely plays a role in his decision to play this time around.

Red Wings Head Coach Jeff Blashill Expected To Return For Next Season

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Tuesday: At his season-ending press conference, Holland confirmed that Blashill will be back for the 2018-19 season. The Detroit GM cited the improvement of their young players under Blashill as a positive. The Red Wings have decisions to make on some of those young players, as Anthony Mantha, Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, Martin Frk and Tyler Bertuzzi are all restricted free agents.

Sunday: There has been plenty of speculation surrounding the status of Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill lately.  Detroit struggled considerably this season and wound up missing the playoffs by 25 points and as a result, some have wondered if a change may be coming.

Although an official announcement isn’t expected until Tuesday, both Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News and Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos (video link) report that Blashill will be sticking around for next season.  He was GM Ken Holland’s choice as the replacement for Mike Babcock when he left to join the Maple Leafs three years ago and Holland himself just landed a contract extension earlier in the week.

This means that Blashill will be behind the bench to start his fourth season as an NHL head coach in October but now, the focus will shift to whether or not he will get an extension or enter his ‘lame duck’ season.  CapFriendly’s coaches contract tracker has the 44-year-old entering the final year of his deal in 2018-19 and while most teams frown on having their coaches in that situation, we have seen it happen the last couple of years with Barry Trotz in Washington and Ken Hitchcock when he was with St. Louis.  Considering how Detroit fared in 2017-18, it would make some sense for Holland to at least consider that approach here.

Regardless of which way they go when it comes to another contract, it appears that the status quo will remain intact in Detroit heading into the 2018-19 season.

2018 NHL Draft Lottery Odds

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The regular season is over and for the first time in NHL history there are 15 teams on the outside of the playoff picture. For those squads and their fans, it’s a long wait for anything positive to come, with the 2018 NHL Entry Draft more than ten weeks away, scheduled for June 18th, and the start of free agency another two weeks after that. However, the odds for this year’s NHL Draft Lottery are now set and teams can at least look forward to the ping pong balls being drawn at the end of the month, on Saturday, April 28th. With the teams in the running now set, here are the odds for the #1 overall pick in this years draft:

31st – Buffalo Sabres: 18.5%

30th – Ottawa Senators: 13.5%

29th – Arizona Coyotes: 11.5%

28th – Montreal Canadiens: 9.5%

27th – Detroit Red Wings: 8.5%

26th – Vancouver Canucks: 7.5%

25th – Chicago Blackhawks: 6.5%

24th – New York Rangers: 6.0%

23rd – Edmonton Oilers: 5.0%

22nd – New York Islanders: 3.5%

21st – Carolina Hurricanes: 3.0%

20th – New York Islanders (from Calgary Flames): 2.5%

19th – Dallas Stars: 2.0%

18th – Philadelphia Flyers (from St. Louis Blues (top-ten option)): 1.5%

17th – Florida Panthers: 1.0%

If you are a fan of one of these teams, you can entertain yourself for the next few weeks with this Lottery Simulator from Tankathon.com.

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