Red Wings Notes: Blashill, Nielsen, Abdelkader, Green
Though the Detroit Red Wings have struggled this season, the Detroit News’ Gregg Krupa doesn’t believe the blame all belongs at the feet of bench boss Jeff Blashill. In danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, Krupa notes a multitude of reasons for the team’s fall: lack of star power, an aging core, a useless power play, and needing to collect at least 65% of the the points they have available to them in the their next 42 games.
From Krupa:
In the first 40 games, they garnered slightly less than half the points. Amid the maelstrom, Blashill, 43, grapples in his second season with destructive trends dragging down the franchise. Players who won Stanley Cups are largely gone.
Prized free agents have decide to play with other teams. Misjudgments on personnel have hampered “the rebuild on the fly.” A roster with a good supply of support players lacks top stars.Blashill is not to blame. But he should be gauged by whether players improve and play up to their potential.
And, at about the halfway point of the season, those are big issues of concern. Unless there is a marked improvement in the Red Wings performance by April, there is likely to be a harsh review of Blashill’s first two seasons.
Fairly or unfairly, someone will pay for the Wings’ struggles. While the majority of fans and national analysts will point to the team general manager Ken Holland constructed, it will most likely be the end of Blashill’s tenure in Detroit if someone has to go.
In other Red Wings news:
- It took a season with a new team for Frans Nielsen to earn his first All-Star game appearance. Nielsen was overjoyed with the news, telling MLive’s Ansar Khan that “it’s something to be proud of.” There are a handful of Red Wings having better seasons, namely Anthony Mantha, but Khan reports that it’s a multitude of factors that go into the selection process, not just scoring.
- The Red Wings will receive two crucial players back into their lineup as both Justin Abdelkader and Mike Green are set to return against the Blackhawks tonight. If anything the return of the duo can certainly inject some more talent into an anemic power play, that is failing at historical levels. Though both will be limited to shorter shifts, it’s certainly a step in the right direction for a team beleaguered by injury.
Most Man-Games Missed At Midway Point
While the headlines follow teams missing multiple major contributors to injury – case in point the resilient 2016-17 Montreal Canadiens, whose injury issues have been well-documented – there’s an argument to be made that losing a greater amount of depth players is in fact more detrimental to a team’s success, even if it doesn’t garner as much attention. ESPN’s Matthew Coller examined the amount of ice time, in man-game minutes, lost this season due to injury and the resulting success or failure of the most injured and most healthy teams. Despite the story line, the Canadiens only rank tenth right now in missed minutes, perhaps providing some explanation to how they have maintained their winning ways despite being banged up. Other teams have not been so lucky.
Of the five most injured teams in the first half of 2016-17, four have drastically underachieved, even though you might not suspect that they have had such bad injury struggles. At the top of the list is the Detroit Red Wings, whose historic playoff streak is in extreme jeopardy as they sit in the basement of the Atlantic Division through 40 games. Two of their season’s biggest bright spots have also been two of their largest injury concerns, as 11 games were missed by leading scorer Thomas Vanek, signed to a one-year “show me” deal this summer, and resurgent goalie Jimmy Howard is on the shelf for the second time already and expected to be out until February. Add in a long, ongoing absence of Darren Helm and off-and-on issues with defenseman Brendan Smith among other injuries, and the Red Wings lead the league with 3,122 minutes missed. Few have pointed to injuries as the main reason for Detroit’s dismal showing, but there’s evidence to express that it may be the primary influence. Backing up the claim are the struggles of the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, and Winnipeg Jets as well, all of whom have suffered noteworthy injuries, but also an excess of depth injuries as well. These four teams are all performing below what was expected of them in 2016-17, and injuries may be the prime source of blame. Only the Edmonton Oilers have bucked the trend, as they have been able to survive numerous serious injuries to their defenseman and are having their best season in recent memory with the second most man-games missed in the entire league.
Aside from the Washington Capitals (who have been impossibly healthy with just 10 games and about 170 minutes missed) and San Jose Sharks at #1 and #2, two teams who seemingly have not had issues with major injuries in recent years, a lack of man-games missed can certainly make a case as a vital ingredient to the success of overachieving teams this season. Rounding out the top five are the Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Carolina Hurricanes, all of whom have lost less than 1,000 minutes to injury and all of whom are surely big surprises thus far in 2016-17. No one could have expected the Blue Jackets to hold the NHL’s best record at this point, nobody guessed that the Senators would be contenders in the Atlantic, and many picked the Hurricanes to be the worst team in the league. Even though Ottawa has seen Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone all miss time and Carolina just got Jordan Staal and Elias Lindholm back from injury, the overall roster-wide health is what has kept these teams afloat. All three rosters could easily be exposed by a string of long-term injuries, but they have been able to make it this far without encountering such loss and it has boosted them to the positions they are currently in.
Many teams have had recent success with top-heavy lineups containing a handful of stars and relative no-names as filler (read: Chicago Blackhawks), and there’s no reason to believe that doesn’t work. However, these injury trends seem to show that missing time as a whole due to injury instead of injuries to individual top players is what can derail a team. A team built with depth in mind can combat the loss of two, three, or four starters, but a top-heavy team can struggle to replace one star, nevertheless multiple full-time contributors. The man-games missed to success correlation is an interesting concept for team builders to follow and understand. It’s a risk-reward scenario, and several teams this season are showing the extremes of success and failure as a function of injury.
Snapshots: Life After Hockey, Fixing Detroit’s Power Play
The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc penned an insightful article about the post-hockey adjustments players make when their careers come to an end. For some, the years of abuse on the body take a toll mentally and physically, while for others, the completion of their career is a shock after a lifetime spent in hockey. Kuc profiled several former Blackhawks including Ben Eager, Daniel Carcillo, and Nick Boynton, all of whom have faced a mixture of different struggles after walking away from the sport. Boynton and Carcillo both faced dark thoughts, a combination of their careers ending and also from the damage inflicted after playing “hard nosed” hockey. Concussions, for all three players, certainly played a role in some of the “darkness” that all three players alluded to. All are involved with hockey after their professional careers–Carcillo and Eager both coaching youth hockey while Boynton is a radio analyst for the Arizona Coyotes. Carcillo also is the founder of Chapter 5, an organization designed to help former players transition into life after hockey.
- The Red Wings, who own the worst power play in hockey, are desperate to try anything–including the idea to give Steve Ott time on the man advantage. MLive’s Ansar Khan writes that the Wings are willing to do whatever it takes to wake their slumbering power play. The Red Wings have not scored a goal on the man advantage since October 19th, a span of 48 opportunities. Ott would replace Riley Sheahan, who has yet to score a goal this season, but the decision to replace the struggling Sheahan with a “grit-first” player in Ott seems counterproductive. Ott, who through 33 games has 4 points (2-2), was not signed for his goal scoring, and has on several occasions this season, taken penalties at inopportune times for Detroit. Ott did say that he realizes he isn’t the “answer.” From Khan:
The reason I would be there is to try to retrieve pucks and get pucks in the hands of players that make plays,” Ott said. “Sacrifice in front of the net, doing anything right now. We need to find ways to generate more momentum.”
Ott worked in with Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Tatar, Anthony Mantha and Niklas Kronwall. The other unit would replace defenseman Brendan Smith with speedy forward Andreas Athanasiou, who would join Gustav Nyquist at the point. Frans Nielsen, Dylan Larkin and Thomas Vanek would play up front. Meanwhile, Prashanth Iyer of Winging It In Motown broke down Detroit’s power play zone entry, and how it appears from a quantitative standpoint.
Atlantic Notes: Erne, Farnham, Mantha
The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes yesterday, putting them just two points behind the Boston Bruins for the final divisional playoff spot with one game at hand. As they welcome in the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night, they’ll have a new face in the lineup. Adam Erne has been recalled by the team, and likely will make his NHL debut against the Jets. The 2nd round pick (33rd overall) has earned his stripes in the AHL this season and last with 47 points in 90 games. After scoring 86 in his final year of junior, the American-born Erne will look to make an impact at the NHL level.
The callup is likely to replace Bryan Boyle, who left last night’s game with a lower-body injury and did not return.
- The Montreal Canadiens have also made a roster move, bringing up tough-guy Bobby Farnham from the AHL for the second half of their current 7-game road trip. Farnham has played in 64 NHL games and has just ten points and 121 penalty minutes.
- Anthony Mantha is finally showing why he was picked 20th overall in 2013. The big winger has extended his current point streak to six games with a goal in the Centennial Classic in Toronto. That makes it seven points over that stretch, and 14 for the season in 22 games. If he can turn into the dominant power-forward he was projected to be for the Red Wings, perhaps it won’t be too long at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
- After Johan Larsson suffered a dislocated wrist in Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins, he has remained in a local hospital nursing the injury. Jourdon LaBarber reports that it’s also an elbow injury for Larsson, who will be out “long term” for the Sabres. He’ll travel back to Buffalo with the team on Monday for further evaluation.
Centennial Classic Notes: New Start Time, Differing Expectations
Frank Seravalli tweets that due to a sun glare in Toronto, the Centennial Classic will be pushed back thirty minutes from its expected 3ET start. Pierre LeBrun adds that concern for the players safety, due to the sun being in their eyes, is the main reason for the 3:30 ET start.
- Pension Plan Puppets managing editor Scott Wheeler writes how the Maple Leafs’ expectations are much different than they were three years ago when they played Detroit in the Winter Classic. Calling the team three years ago one in “flux,” Wheeler takes a long look at the changes made in what has been a transition toward building a champion. He notes that while the Leafs are sitting tenth in the Eastern Conference, the tone of the season feels “decidedly different” than the former, where they were competing for a playoff spot during the 2013-14 season. Besides the new faces, younger talent, and having Mike Babcock running the team, the Centennial Classic strikes a chord of change–one that signals a team on the rise versus a team, just three seasons ago, trending down with no hope in sight.
- On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Leafs’ opponents in Detroit are trying to figure out just what they really are. The Hockey News’ Matt Larkin reports that the Red Wings believe their chances to make the playoffs are there because of parity. But Larkin paints a more honest picture of the team than those within are willing to admit. The Red Wings power play is a nightmare, Larkin writes, and is a major reason the Wings are just 16-16-4. He adds that Detroit is the second oldest team in the league, saddled with an aging core, and unable to build around star Dylan Larkin because they lack “can’t-miss” talent in the minors. The main issue, however, is that the organization is hard wired to make the playoffs, a quarter century tradition that may impede the ability to rebuild properly. From Larkin:
Whether it’s a good thing for this team to keep wheezing its way to low-seed playoff berths doesn’t matter to the guys wearing the winged wheel crests. They’ll keep fighting until reality finally sets in. They believe the league’s unprecedented parity will help them triumph.
- Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com writes about Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, who says the Red Wings are not only trying to extend the streak, but to win the Stanley Cup. Though some may bristle in the face of Detroit’s struggles, Cotsonika writes that the players “do not want to go quietly” and have no interest in being part of a rebuild. Cotsonika also included a story about the mixing of Leafs old and new, and how interacting with those from the Leafs’ storied past serves as inspiration for the new generation.
Snapshots: Pronger, Liljegren, Leafs Alumni
The St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks will play in the Winter Classic this Monday, meaning the weekend is designed around events like the Alumni game. With so many greats (including Wayne Gretzky and Martin Brodeur) suiting up for the Blues, former captain Chris Pronger took over their Twitter page to answer some fan questions.
On best and worst players to play against:
Worst player to play against was always the short ones. Favorite was Keith Tkachuk – I always owned him.
Who had the hardest check in the league:
Pound-for-pound, Dallas Drake probably hit the hardest. Scott Stevens in open ice. Rob Blake with his butt checks.
There are a dozen other amusing answers, as Pronger signed off each tweet with #loveforluca, a campaign that will donate $200 for every goal the Blues score towards a 7-year old’s battle with leukemia. It also has a GoFundMe page that is looking to raise $100,000 for the child’s medical expenses.
- According to Swedish newspaper Kvallsposten, Timothy Liljegren, the expected #2 overall pick in this summer’s draft, may soon be on the move to a new team. After missing time with an illness recently, the paper reports that he didn’t play at all yesterday against Karlskrona. The rumored landing spot is Timra, a team in the lower level Allsvenskan. Basically, this would be like a youngster on a bad NHL team going to the AHL to try and win a Calder Cup. Liljegren would get more icetime and responsibility for Timra.
- In Toronto, the Maple Leafs took to the ice to practice at BMO Field today in preparation for their Centennial Classic tomorrow against the Red Wings. When they got back into the dressing room, they were shocked to find out that they’d be sharing it with the alumni roster for today’s game. With Mitch Marner seated beside Doug Gilmour, Auston Matthews beside Wendel Clark and Morgan Rielly sidled up beside Borje Salming, it was a symbolic passing of the torch from the old legends to the new. Marner, a Toronto native, couldn’t contain his excitement, and took a stick around the room for an autograph session. The alumni game starts at 11am.
Snapshots: Bickell, Alumni, Finland
Bryan Bickell opened up to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun Times and other reporters tonight for the first time since his announcement that he has multiple sclerosis, a disease that attacks the nervous system and can cause a wide array of debilitating symptoms. For anyone, the diagnosis would be life-shattering, but for Bickell it came at least as an explanation.
Before I was, like, frustrated in my game and things. But you’re relieved, knowing how I was feeling. Something wasn’t right. … The circumstances kind of suck, but to have it known — knowing you can move on is the biggest thing.
Bickell is determined to get back to the NHL, despite having to undergo intravenous drug treatments monthly. He’s obviously no where near returning, but is taking it one step at a time.
It’s going to take steps. It’s not a sprint, it’s going to be a marathon, and it’s going to take some time to get things right, ideally, to get me back on the ice. That’s what I’m hoping for. … It could be a month, it could be a couple months to get back on the ice.
We wish Bickell well on his recovery, and hope he makes it back to the NHL sooner than later. Here are some other notes from around the league:
- Outdoor games are becoming something of a regularity in the hockey world, with the Maple Leafs and Red Wings set to square off this Sunday in Toronto, and the World Juniors announcing that Canada and the USA will play outside at next year’s tournament in Buffalo. The AHL is getting in on the action, as the Ontario Reign (the Kings’ affiliate) and the Bakersfield Condors (Oilers) will play an outdoor game on January 7th. The teams will have an alumni game the day before, featuring a long list of NHL greats. Wayne Gretzky, Kevin Lowe, Luc Robitaille, Rob Blake and even Bernie Nicholls will play in the event, making it one not to miss if you live in the San Joaquin Valley.
- Amazingly, Team Finland will have to play in the relegation round at this year’s World Junior Championships, despite winning the tournament last year. It’s the first time in the history of the even that a defending champion will have to fight to stay in the event. With the Swiss team beating Denmark today in a shootout, Finland was guaranteed a last place finish in their group. In a surprising move, the team has fired head coach Jukka Rautakorpi and his three assistants mid-tournament. Jussi Ahokas has taken over the coaching duties.
Red Wings Reassign Bertuzzi And Lashoff To AHL
The Detroit Red Wings will reassign forward Tyler Bertuzzi and defenseman Brian Lashoff to the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, reports MLive.com’s Ansar Khan. Both moves come ahead of tomorrow night’s game against the Ottawa Senators.
Bertuzzi will be in Grand Rapids to get some playing time after coming off of injured reserve. Bertuzzi suffered a high ankle sprain against the Montreal Canadiens in November and hasn’t played since. The young forward is pointless so far in seven games for the Red Wings, but has 3G and 3A in 10 games for Grand Rapids earlier this season.
Lashoff is a more classic reassignment due to poor performance. The big defenseman is pointless in five games for the Red Wings, and languished on the third-pairing averaging less than 13 minutes a night. This isn’t Lashoff’s first stint in Grand Rapids, however. In 18 games this season he’s scored 1G and 2A. Lashoff has struggled to make the big team signing with Detroit as an undrafted free agent in 2008, playing in a full NHL season only once in his career.
Allen’s Latest: US Juniors To Watch, 2017 Predictions
USA Today’s Kevin Allen writes a bit about the five must watch players for the US team as the World Junior Championships kick off today. Those on his watch list include Charlie McAvoy, Luke Kunin, Clayton Keller, Tage Thompson, and Colin White. Allen writes that White is versatile and expected to be a boon for the American squad as a difference maker. Thompson, according to Allen, is a younger version of Blake Wheeler, while Keller is the “gamebreaker” who has the potential to be a dynamic player someday in the NHL. Captain Kunin, according to USA general manager Jim Johannson, is the “engine” of the team. McAvoy is a physical presence, and according to bench boss Bob Motzko, wants to “knock you on your rear end and score a goal on the same shift. He is going to be a guy we lean on heavily in all situations.” The Americans will look to build on their bronze medal finish from last year’s tournament.
- Allen also lists his 10 bold predictions in 2017. Some of the bolder ones include Patrik Laine outscoring Alex Ovechkin this season and that the Blackhawks will pay Artemi Panarin $7MM to remain in Chicago. Allen expects Ralph Krueger to be back in the NHL, and that the Canucks will finally embrace a much needed rebuild. Allen writes:
It’s past time. The Canucks will be first class and ask the Sedin twins how they want the organization to handle their future. They have always loved living in Vancouver. If they wait until the summer, they might be able to trade them both to one team. Maybe the Sedins would be comfortable mentoring a young team.
Finally, Allen believes that Kevin Shattenkirk will head to free agency and be pursued by the Red Wings, Bruins, Rangers, and Lightning. In the same vein, he expects John Tavares to get the “Stamkos treatment” with his impending free agency. Whether it’s a monster contract from the Islanders or a pricier offer from another team, Allen believes it to be one of the main storylines in 2017.
Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Sixth Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?
Here are the results of our redraft so far:
1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
22nd Overall: Andrew Cogliano (Boston Bruins)
23rd Overall: Kris Russell (New Jersey Devils)
24th Overall: Darren Helm (St. Louis Blues)
25th Overall: Cody Franson (Edmonton Oilers)
Now we move forward to the 26th pick, which was held by the Calgary Flames.
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
Back in 2005, the Flames took defenseman Matt Pelech from the Sarnia Sting. Since being drafted, Pelech played a total of 13 games in the NHL, tallying four points (1-3). Of those 13 games, Pelech spent five with the Flames and the other eight with San Jose. During the 2013-14 season, Pelech spent time in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies after playing for both San Jose and its AHL affiliate Worcester. A season later, Pelech recorded 39 games with the Rochester Americans. Last season, Pelech appeared in 49 games for the Schwenningen Wild Wings in the DEL (Germany) and has played the current season with Graz EC in the Austrian league.
With the 26th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Flames select? Cast your vote below! Mobile users, you can vote here!