Red Wings center Andrew Copp re-aggravated a core muscle injury back in August that was nagging him last season, resulting in surgery at that time. The expected timeline for recovery put his availability for the start of the season in question but the veteran told reporters including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that he feels that he’s ahead of schedule enough to the point where he could be available on October 14th when they take on Montreal. Copp signed a five-year, $28.125MM contract this summer to serve as Detroit’s second-line center following a career year that saw him put up 21 goals and 32 assists in 72 games.
Red Wings Rumors
Waivers: 09/30/22
After waivers opened yesterday, quite a few players have ended up on the wire today. Teams keep making cuts to their rosters, and any veteran player needs to clear before being assigned to the minor leagues. Here are the names on waivers today.
Dallas Stars
Riley Barber
Ben Gleason
Tanner Kero
Jerad Rosburg
Joseph Cecconi
Rhett Gardner
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
San Jose Sharks
Tampa Bay Lightning
Daniel Walcott
Darren Raddysh
Maxime Lagace
Trevor Carrick
Washington Capitals
Michael Sgarbossa
Riley Sutter
Mike Vecchione
Hunter Shepard
Training Camp Notes: Stone, Biakabutuka, Mangiapane
Injury troubles plagued the Vegas Golden Knights last season, something they can ill-afford a repeat of in 2022-23. There’s some good news on that front regarding one of their star players, though, as right wing Mark Stone skated in a contact jersey today for the first time during training camp.
The Golden Knights will count on Stone to have a rebound year as their captain, especially with their offensive depth thinning. The 2021 Selke Trophy finalist and 2019 runner-up played in just 37 games due to injury last season, registering nine goals, 21 assists, and 30 points. Hopefully, the serious back injuries that plagued him last season don’t become a long-term issue for the 30-year-old.
- Somewhat of a rarity these days, a player attending camp on an amateur tryout might do well enough to earn a contract within the organization. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes that the Red Wings have been impressed with defenseman Jérémie Biakabutuka, with head coach Derek Lalonde complimenting his skating and compete level. The 20-year-old is set to return to the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders next season but could receive an NHL entry-level contract from Detroit or receive an AHL offer from the Grand Rapids Griffins when his season is over.
- Calgary Flames winger Andrew Mangiapane was a full participant in camp today after missing the first four days of group skates with what the team called a “minor lower-body injury.” He made his return to scrimmages skating on a line with newcomer Nazem Kadri, a role he’s likely to reprise in the regular season as well. Mangiapane is coming off a career-high 35 goals and 55 points.
Andrew Copp Out Until Regular Season
The Detroit Red Wings will be without Andrew Copp for training camp, announcing today that the big free agent signing underwent abdominal surgery in the offseason. Copp is expected back the first week of the regular season, when he’ll start to try and live up to the five-year, $28.125MM contract he signed this offseason.
It’s a tough start for the Red Wings, who also confirmed some timelines on other previously-reported injuries. Jake Walman will be back at some point in November, while Robby Fabbri and Mark Pysyk are out until early 2023. Chase Pearson, who made his NHL debut last season with Detroit, is away from the team indefinitely due to personal matters.
Finding A Match For A Nils Lundkvist Trade
With Rangers prospect Nils Lundkvist’s trade request now well-known, efforts continue to find the youngster a new home for the upcoming season. If the belief that he won’t attend training camp in New York holds true, that could be a trigger point for GM Chris Drury to avoid any distractions heading into camp while getting a chance to integrate whichever player or prospect they get for the rearguard at training camp.
With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the potential suitors for Lundkvist. Since he’s looking for a team that will have a chance to give him an NHL opportunity in the short-term, the focus will be on those squads although there undoubtedly will be others that will kick the tires. Los Angeles is a team that has been speculated as a landing spot with their deep prospect pool but they don’t really have an opening on the right side of their back end for him to slide into so they don’t appear among the teams below.
Detroit: The Red Wings have two right-side rearguards in place in Calder winner Moritz Seider and young veteran Filip Hronek. There are questions behind those two, however. Gustav Lindstrom has yet to establish himself as a full-time player while Mark Pysyk will miss the first half of the season after undergoing surgery in July to repair a torn Achilles tendon. If Lundkvist was to go there and do well, it could free them up to move Hronek who is the type of blueliner that could yield a nice return for the Red Wings.
Detroit has a couple of young centers that the Rangers would likely show some interest in. One is Joe Veleno who is close to being ready for full-time duty while Jonatan Berggren, who was picked just five spots after Lundkvist in 2018, had a very promising first season in North America in 2021-22. They also have an extra second-round pick at their disposal if New York ultimately decides that a draft pick is the right return. Arthur Staple of The Athletic reported a few days ago (subscription link) that at least one team had a second-rounder on the table in an offer for the blueliner.
Montreal: At the moment, the right side of the back end for the Canadiens is David Savard, Justin Barron, and Chris Wideman. The only established full-time player out of that group is Savard. Montreal is likely to use several prospects throughout the season (Jordan Harris and Kaiden Guhle among them) but those are left-shot options, not righties like Lundkvist. It’s plausible that Lundkvist could jump into their lineup right away. Jeff Gorton, who was GM at the time Lundkvist was drafted, now works in Montreal’s front office.
While the Rangers wouldn’t be likely to get a return that could help them right away, Montreal’s prospect pool is one of the deeper ones around the league with recent center picks like Jan Mysak, Owen Beck, and Riley Kidney potentially being of interest. They could also deal from the left side of their defensive pool if New York would prefer a defenseman in return with Harris, Mattias Norlinder, and prospect Jayden Struble being possible options.
San Jose: The only established must-play right-shot defender on their roster is Erik Karlsson. Matthew Benning got a four-year deal but could bounce in and out of the lineup while Ryan Merkley could stand to spend more time in the minors before becoming an everyday regular. With Brent Burns not really being replaced after his trade to Carolina, there’s a definite need for a second defenseman to help shoulder the offensive load. Worth noting, one of New York’s former top scouts, Chris Morehouse, is now heading up San Jose’s amateur scouting ranks. He wasn’t there when Lundkvist was drafted but he’ll have some extra familiarity with the blueliner.
Center Thomas Bordeleau didn’t look out of place in his brief NHL stint late last season and acquitted himself well at the World Championship as well and is the type of young center that might entice the Rangers. Merkley himself could be an option if Drury decides to look for a similar player, one that will be more amenable to being in the minors to start the season. The Sharks don’t have an extra second-round pick but the one that they do have projects to be a good one based on the state of their roster heading into training camp.
Seattle: While the addition of Justin Schultz lessens their need for an extra offensive defenseman, the third RD spot is far from secure with William Borgen spending a lot of time as a healthy scratch last season. That’s a spot that Lundkvist could conceivably battle for or least position himself to be the first one recalled.
The Kraken don’t have the deepest of prospect pools to work with since they’ve only been around for two drafts but they do have three second-rounders for the 2023 draft. Parting with one for a potentially near-ready young defenseman would be a defensible move for the second-year squad.
Vancouver: The Canucks have been busy this summer when it comes to their forward group but nothing has been done with their back end yet and it’s not for a lack of trying. Vancouver already has an offensive weapon in Quinn Hughes but someone like Lundkvist could potentially help run a second power play group and perhaps take some minutes from veteran Oliver Ekman-Larsson who is getting near the point where he will need to be managed more carefully. With Tucker Poolman’s availability uncertain for training camp, there’s a spot on the right side of their back end up for grabs.
As for possible trade options, Linus Karlsson is coming off a strong SHL season and shouldn’t be too far away from being NHL-ready which would give New York another option down the middle. Alternatively, winger Nils Hoglander is someone that, on the surface, might be on the fringes of making Vancouver’s roster with their additions on the wing. Perhaps there’s a trade to be made featuring those two?
Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list and other teams will inquire but if Lundkvist and agent Claude Lemieux’s intention is to have him start the upcoming season in the NHL, that does limit the number of viable opportunities for a trade if the Rangers decide to move him before training camp.
They don’t have to move Lundkvist, however. He’s still waiver-exempt and even if he doesn’t want to report to the minors, they can send him there and suspend him for not reporting. If it’s going to be more of a drawn-out process, a loan overseas (as they did last year with Vitali Kravtsov) is also on the table. There are certainly non-trade options they’ll want to consider but if they do decide to go ahead with a trade, they’ll have some viable teams to consider.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
What Might Tyler Bertuzzi's Next Deal Cost?
- Dylan Larkin isn’t the only notable Red Wings forward that’s entering the final year of his contract as winger Tyler Bertuzzi is also in that situation. MLive’s Ansar Khan posits that a long-term agreement for the 27-year-old should check in somewhere between $6MM and $7MM per season. Bertuzzi is coming off his best season with 30 goals and 32 assists in 68 games after missing almost all of 2020-21 due to injury and even with a more limited market compared to most free agents since he wasn’t able to play in Canada last season, he’ll be one of the more sought-after players if he gets to free agency next summer.
Red Wings Invite Ivan Ivan To Rookie Camp
- The Red Wings have invited prospect Ivan Ivan to rookie camp, the youngster confirmed to Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now. The 20-year-old went undrafted back in July despite a strong season with Cape Breton of the QMJHL where he had 31 goals and 34 assists in 65 games. Ivan most recently suited up for the Czechs at the World Juniors last month and is eligible to play in the pros this season so even if he can’t earn an entry-level contract with Detroit, an AHL deal could still be a possibility.
Max-Term Deal Likely For Dylan Larkin; Red Wings Approved Robert Mastrosimone's Transfer
- While extension talks between the Red Wings and Dylan Larkin clearly haven’t resulted in a new deal yet, MLive’s Ansar Khan believes an agreement, whenever it does get reached, should give the Michigan native maximum term and an AAV in the $8MM range. The 26-year-old isn’t the prototypical number one center from an offensive standpoint as he has never reached the point-per-game mark but he has logged more than 20 minutes a game on average over the past five seasons. If a deal does get done in that price range, it would represent a roughly $2MM increase on what Larkin is making now.
- Robert Mastrosimone’s decision to leave Boston University for Arizona State University raised some eyebrows but Khan notes in a separate column that the Red Wings were on board with the idea of him transferring. The 21-year-old was a second-round pick in 2019 (52nd overall) and was coming off a good season with the Terriers that saw him put up 25 points in 34 games but he should have an opportunity for a bigger role with the Sun Devils next season in the hopes that a good showing will give him an entry-level deal.
Former Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock Retiring From Coaching
Considered one of the premier head coaches of his generation, Babcock amassed a record of 700-418-19-164 over 1,301 career regular season NHL games between the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the Detroit Red Wings, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Perhaps most impressive, all but three of Babcock’s teams made it to the playoffs under his watch, leading to a 90-74 record in those playoffs, including three appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals and a championship with the 2007-08 Detroit Red Wings. Babcock last coached in the NHL during the 2019-20 season before he was let go by the Maple Leafs after a 9-10-4 start to the season. As recently as the 2020 offseason, he had been a candidate of interest for available NHL head coaching positions. If this is indeed the end of the road for Babcock, Hall of Fame debates are very likely part of his near future.
Detroit Red Wings Sign Filip Zadina
The Red Wings have taken care of their last remaining restricted free agent, signing winger Filip Zadina to a three-year contract. Per the team announcement, the contract carries a $1.825MM cap hit. Zadina will be a restricted free agent once again when the deal expires.
The narrative around Zadina’s career thus far has largely been centered around how he’s failed to live up to the lofty expectations that were placed on him as a prospect. Drafted sixth overall at the 2018 draft, many outlets had Zadina ranked even higher, with quite a few considering him the best prospect outside of the clearly-defined top two players, Rasmus Dahlin and Andrei Svechnikov.
Zadina was coming off of a monster draft year in the QMJHL, a season where he torched junior defenses to the tune of 44 goals and 82 points in 57 games. After he was drafted, the Red Wings made the somewhat unconventional choice to send him to their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids rather than send him for another year of junior hockey. At the AHL level, Zadina impressed, scoring 16 goals and 35 points in 59 games.
Zadina scored well at the AHL level the next season, with 16 points in 21 games, but at the NHL level offensive success has eluded him. The talent is there with Zadina, he has a good shot, and he can generate some scoring chances from the wing. But the consistency NHL coaches expect on a night-to-night basis has been missing. While Zadina’s defensive issues would not be cause for issue at lower levels, at the NHL level his inability to round out his two-way game has cost him opportunities to play higher in the lineup and with more talented linemates.
If Zadina can learn to rely less on a perimeter-style offensive game and improve his two-way hockey, he can quickly make this three-year contract extension look very wise on the part of Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman. But the quality of play he’s put forth so far in the NHL has been so underwhelming that there’s a legitimate chance that he does not finish this contract in Detroit.
The Red Wings have made significant additions this offseason with the idea of moving back into the hunt for a playoff spot. With Jakub Vrana finally healthy, David Perron and Dominik Kubalik now in the fold, and a new coach to prove himself to, it’s possible that Zadina will need to play better than he ever has before in order to get prime offensive opportunities in this new-look Red Wings squad. If nothing else, his leash will likely be shorter than it has ever been before in his NHL career.
This contract gives Zadina some runway to determine who he wants to be in the NHL. Does he want to take full advantage of his tools and become an impact scorer, or does he want to remain mired in the issues that have plagued him so far as an NHLer? That’s a question only Zadina can decide, and with this contract, he’ll now have the opportunity to answer it.
Picture courtesy of USA Today Sports Images