Red Wings, Athanasiou Hold "Productive Discussions"
- Talks continue between the Red Wings and RFA winger Andreas Athanasiou with agent Darren Ferris telling Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that they “are having productive discussions”. However, Ferris was quick to note that those discussions don’t mean that they are getting close to putting pen to paper on a new contract. It’s believed that Athanasiou has a one-year KHL offer on the table worth around $3MM while Detroit has come in well below that AAV in their offers. James added on Twitter that GM Ken Holland flew to Toronto today to continue negotiations in person.
Dan Cleary Hired As Director Of Player Development
- Dan Cleary is back with the Detroit Red Wings this year, as Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports that he’ll have the title of Director of Player Development. Cleary was an unofficial coach for the Grand Rapids Griffins last year, as he was actually on a player contract but never suited up for the club. The Griffins won the Calder Cup as league champions, and Cleary will continue his role as a mentor for the young players.
Prospects Tournament Update: DeBrincat, Hronek, Kostin
The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that Chicago Blackhawks prospect Alex DeBrincat believes he can “play better” despite potting two goals in as many games during the tournament so far. All eyes are on the scoring dynamo, who was a major contributor for the Erie Otters last year in the OHL. Some have projected the 19-year-old to make the Hawks roster while others believe it may take some seasoning in Rockford before the youngster is ready. The Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus wrote yesterday that it will ultimately boil down to how the shorter teenage phenom will compete when he’s fighting bigger, stronger, NHL players for not only space on the ice, but also puck battles. There’s no doubt that the talent is there: it’s more about how the rookie responds when he’s put on the ice against elite talent.
- Powers’ colleague Craig Custance weighs in on the Red Wings’ young talent and who tops the list in terms of having the best chance of playing in Detroit. Defenseman Filip Hronek leads the pack, and though he’s shown growing pains, appears to be on the same course as forward Evgeny Svechnikov, who didn’t make his first appearance in Detroit until April. More than anything, it was to ensure the young forward wasn’t rushed and the Red Wings look to take the same approach with Hronek.
- The championship game seems all but set as the Blackhawks pasted Carolina 9-2 this evening. The Red Wings beat the Rangers 4-1, creating a championship contest between Chicago and Columbus. St. Louis’ Tage Thompson leads all players with six points in the tournament (2-4) while DeBrincat leads all scorers with three goals.
- Thompson’s teammate, Klim Kostin, has turned a lot of heads during the camp, and has shown that the shoulder injury that caused him to drop a bit in the draft has done nothing to limit his dangerous scoring ability. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas writes that Blues GM Doug Armstrong cautions patience, but even he seems ready to see what Kostin can do during training camp with the big club.
The Latest On Andreas Athanasiou
It’s not a lot, but there were some mild updates on the Andreas Athanasiou situation in Detroit.
Detroit News beat writer Ted Kulfan reports that while there is little more to report about Athanasiou’s status with the Red Wings, time is running out for both sides to figure out how to get something done.
Kulfan writes today that though he has overtures to play in the KHL, Athanasiou’s reluctance to sign indicates a glimmer of hope that he re-ups with Detroit. Kulfan indicates that not only are they still apart in negotiations, but the Wings are tight to the Cap, even before even re-signing Athanasiou. From Kulfan’s standpoint, the Wings are setting the bar for the slew of young free agents expected to see raises next season, namely Dylan Larkin, and Anthony Mantha.
Winging it in Motown ‘s John Curran takes another look, indicating that the recent silence from both sides could be a good sign for the Red Wings when it comes to the speedster returning. Curran, like Kulfan, shows both sides of the argument–writing that Athanasiou could easily be a 20-goal scorer for a Red Wings squad starving for consistent scorers. Conversely, he could be another in a long line of Red Wings players inked to lucrative deals who fail to live up to their new pay.
The Athletic’s Craig Custance notes that there is an “undercurrent of belief” in some NHL circles that Athanasiou is seeking a trade out of Detroit. What the Red Wings could fetch remains to be seen, but unless it netted something significant, it wouldn’t go over well with a fanbase that appears ready to storm Holland’s office with pitchforks and torches.
Regardless, Holland hasn’t helped his standing with his decision making lately, and many wonder if this will be his final year in Hockeytown. The Athanasiou saga hasn’t helped matters, either. On one hand, he believes the playoffs are the end goal for a team who wasn’t close last season. On the other, the roster has seen little change while Holland is struggling to sign one of the team’s better goal scorers. It certainly doesn’t help the perception that Holland’s over-spending for players during the 2016 offseason (and before that) has cost the Wings now and into the future.
As the season nears, it remains to be seen whether either side budges, or if Athanasiou calls Detroit’s bluff and heads over to Russia.
Witkowski To Focus on Defense
After reaching terms to a new six year, $33MM contract yesterday, Vancover Canucks’ forward Bo Horvat is now labeled as a “foundational” piece of the team. But many question how good can the 22-year-old center get. After all, the young star had a solid season a year ago, putting up 20 goals and 32 assists. But how much farther can he take his game?
Mike Halford of The Athletic (subscription required) interviewed his former coach Willie Dejardins about what the potential future of Horvat is, who says that one of Horvat’s top qualities is that being average just isn’t good enough. The veteran coach writes that when he was first drafted, the big knock on him was his lack of skating skills. However, he has been working on those skills for the last few years, including instruction from power-skating expert Kathy McIlvaine. The results were evident when he found himself competing with St. Louis’ speedster Vladimir Tarasenko in the fastest skating event in the All-Star game this past January.
“The speed of his game – when he first came in, he wasn’t a great skater,” Desjardins explained. “And somehow along the line he changed that, and that doesn’t happen very often at that level, or to that degree. That shows a high commitment level.”
Desjardins also points out in the article that Horvat’s greatest gift is his defense, although the metrics don’t show that yet. What he does say is that Horvat’s will to become a great player will push him up among the top centers of the Pacific Division where he will find himself playing against top talent like Connor McDavid and Ryan Kesler daily.
- Consider Pittsburgh prospect Teddy Blueger as a potential candidate for that third-line center spot. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette writes that Blueger has worked hard at his skating in the last few years in hopes of breaking into the Pittsburgh Penguins front lines. Although the Penguins could trade for a veteran at any time, Blueger, has the ability to break into that lineup. Having scored 108 points in for years at Minnesota State University – Mankato, putting him in the top 10 all-time in the school’s history, he will have quite a challenge to win a job with the Penguins this year. He will have to compete with veteran Carter Rowney, Jay McClement, Jean-Sebastien Dea and Greg McKegg for that spot.
- MLive’s Ansar Khan breaks down Luke Witkowski, who signed this offseason to a two-year deal worth $750K per year. The 27-year-old defenseman played sporadically for the past three years with the Tampa Bay Lightning and now, according to Khan, plan to move him to right wing. Khan writes that unless the team suffers numerous defensive injuries, that Witkowski will not play defense this year. Instead, he will compete with prospect Tyler Bertuzzi for the fourth-line wing spot opposite Riley Sheahan and Luke Glendening and would be a perfect fit as the team’s 13th skater if Bertuzzi makes the team.
Offer Sheet For Athanasiou Unlikely
- Although contract talks don’t appear to be progressing well between the Red Wings and RFA winger Andreas Athanasiou, MLive’s Ansar Khan cautions that the team would likely match any offer sheet thrown his way. With the current offer sheet compensation, an offer as high as $3.925MM would only see Detroit pick up a second round pick if they declined to match and presumably, they could get that return in a trade without the threat of Athanasiou signing an RFA deal elsewhere. Khan suspects that no team would be willing to go that high on an offer sheet anyway since he has just 101 games of NHL experience under his belt.
Will the Blues and Red Wings Keep Their GM After This Season?
Pierre LeBrun, most recently of The Athletic, wrote yesterday about two potential veteran GMs in their final contract year: St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong and Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland. LeBrun implied that it is unusual for GMs to play out the final year of their deal without an extension if they plan to stay with the team.
The two GMs might have to dust off their resumes, but for two very different reasons. Armstrong has officially helmed the Blues since 2013, but unofficially ran things since 2010. And while Armstrong has led the Blues to six straight playoff appearances, the team has yet to make the Stanley Cup Finals. Pressure is mounting within the franchise as it is now 47 years since the Blues made the Finals. If Armstrong’s contract is not renewed, it will be because the organization feels Armstrong fails to make the final push.
At the other end of the spectrum, Ken Holland is on the hot seat after recent disappoints mar his winning history. Ascending to GM before the 1997-98 season, Holland has led the Red Wings to three Stanley Cup victories and four Finals appearances overall. More importantly, up until last season the Red Wings never failed to qualify for the playoffs. All that changed when the team went 33-36-13 and finished last in its division. To be fair, Holland will not lose his job for one disappointing season, but rather for failing to continually restock the organization after its core stars aged. It is not an easy task to replenish an organization when a team routinely drafts near the bottom, but the Red Wings may want new blood to kickstart a rebuild.
Both these GMs have impeccable pedigree, and neither will be without work for long—if at all. But both teams may want to move in a different direction after failing to accomplish short-terms goals in the past few seasons. Maybe both GMs sign extensions, but the Blues and Red Wings would have reason to move on if they do not.
Early Notes: Parros, Jets, Red Wings
George Parros will the new voice at the top of the Department of Player Safety according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, who reports that current head Stephane Quintal will be staying with the league but taking on different projects. Quintal will help Parros transition into the leadership role, which comes with its fair share of stressors.
Parros was known for his fists during his playing days, and continues what has been a trend for the DoPS; hiring those who played their career right on the edge of the rules. The Princeton grad will be the decision maker on many suspensions and fines next season, something that comes with incredible scrutiny. Friedman also mentions that newly retired Shane Doan has been considered as a replacement for Chris Pronger, who departed the DoPS for the Florida Panthers this offseason.
- The Winnipeg Jets have indeed given extensions to both GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and coach Paul Maurice, both coming with multi-year terms. The pair will be in Winnipeg for the next several years, trying to take a franchise to the playoffs for just the third time in their history (Atlanta included). Cheveldayoff has done strong work in the draft room and getting players under contract, but he’ll have a huge offseason ahead of him next year. 19 players are restricted free agents including most of their forward group, and another five will be unrestricted. It could change the course of the franchise should he not be able to find a way to fit them all in.
- Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) went all-in on the Detroit Red Wings and their ongoing negotiations with Andreas Athanasiou, explaining where each side is and how they’ve come to a point where the KHL is a legitimate option. He mentions how Sam Bennett‘s recent contract could easily be a starting point for the Athanasiou camp, as the Detroit forward outscored his fellow Definitive Hockey client last season. The most interesting part of the whole piece is near the end, when Custance mentions that the Red Wings are in conversations on several trade fronts around the league. GM Ken Holland has admitted that if they’re to get through camp healthy, a move would likely be required to keep the Red Wings cap-compliant.
KHL Looking More Probable For Athanasiou
- There’s “nothing new” on contract talks between the Red Wings and RFA winger Andreas Athanasiou, GM Ken Holland told Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Meanwhile, Athanasiou’s agent Darren Ferris told reporters that the KHL has “moved to more of a probability at this time”. James notes that AK Bars Kazan in the KHL has a one-year offer worth between $2.5MM-$3MM while the Red Wings are coming in at two years at around $1.9MM. It wouldn’t be surprising if Detroit’s PTO deal for P.A. Parenteau from earlier today came about with the uncertainty surrounding Athanasiou’s situation.
P.A. Parenteau Signs PTO With Detroit Red Wings
According to agent Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey, free agent forward P.A. Parenteau has signed a professional tryout with the Detroit Red Wings. He’ll join David Booth in Red Wings camp trying to show that they still deserve an NHL contract.
Parenteau, as Walsh points out, has averaged 17 goals over the past two seasons and has always been a capable offensive player. With 114 goals in 491 games, he can still help a team like Detroit who will be looking for offense, but comes with his share of warts. He’s never been a very capable defensive player and has been criticized in the past for not giving a consistent effort. His best seasons have come on relatively bad teams, when he was given top (or near top) line minutes.
Still, he’s an NHL player that last year brought back a sixth-round pick at the trade deadline. Whatever you think of Parenteau as a fit in Detroit, bringing in an asset to camp is never a bad idea. If he proves he can still score at a reasonable level, allowing him to see some powerplay time through the first half of the season and flipping him at the deadline is a good plan for any rebuilding squad.