- With the Detroit Red Wings season ended, a couple of players have already committed to the upcoming World Championships. Lucas Raymond will suit up for Sweden, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. The 21 year old Raymond scored 17 goals and 45 points in 74 games for the Red Wings, following up his 57-point rookie season. The World Championships are set to take place in Finland and Latvia in May.
- Also heading to the World Championships from the Red Wings is Olli Maatta, Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports. Maatta is a veteran defenseman who scored 23 points in 78 games for the Red Wings. The native of Jyvaskyla, Finland has a chance to perform in his home country and compete for a medal.
Red Wings Rumors
Red Wings Dismiss Ben Simon, Three Other AHL Coaches
While the Red Wings aren’t expected to be making any changes to their NHL coaching staff, they will be shaking things up at the minor league level. Their affiliate in Grand Rapids announced that they will not be renewing the contracts of head coach Ben Simon, assistant coaches Matt Macdonald and Todd Krygier, and goaltending development coach Brian Mahoney-Wilson.
Simon had been with Grand Rapids since 2015 when he joined the team as an assistant before being promoted to the top job in 2018. In his five seasons behind the bench, the Griffins posted a 144-137-38 record but made only one postseason appearance in that stretch, that coming back in 2019.
As for the now-former assistants, Macdonald and Krygier had been working under Simon for five and four years, respectively, while Mahoney-Wilson had been working with Grand Rapids’ goaltenders since the 2016-17 campaign.
This season, Grand Rapids finished last in the Central Division which played a big role in the decision to make a change; Detroit GM Steve Yzerman emphasized in his season-ending press conference on Friday that he felt that a winning environment was crucial for player development. He and Grand Rapids GM Shawn Horcoff will now be tasked with finding the right staff to make that happen.
Detroit Red Wings Reassign Amadeus Lombardi To AHL
In a release Wednesday morning, the Detroit Red Wings announced they have reassigned center Amadeus Lombardi to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins from the OHL’s Flint Firebirds.
Lombardi had an impressive season with the Firebirds after the Red Wings selected him in the fourth round (113th overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The 19-year-old skated in 67 games and led the team in all major offensive categories with 45 goals, 57 assists, and 102 points.
His more supplementary stats also ranked among the team’s leaders, recording a +23 rating, 10 power-play goals, 24 power-play points, two shorthanded goals, five game-winning goals, and 207 shots. Lombardi finished third in the OHL’s scoring race and became the first player in Flint franchise history to reach the 100-point plateau. He also recorded seven points (five goals, two assists) in seven postseason contests.
Lombardi was initially eligible for the 2021 NHL Draft. However, he wasn’t selected after the COVID-related shutdown cost him what would’ve been his first OHL season. After recording 59 points in 67 games with Flint in 2021-22, Detroit selected him as an over-age player.
He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the team in December 2022. The deal will slide to next season after Lombardi didn’t play in any NHL games in 2022-23.
A small but skilled center, Lombardi will likely return to Flint for his third season of junior hockey in 2023-24. While Grand Rapids sits last in their division and is eliminated from playoff contention in the AHL, Lombardi will get his first taste of professional hockey over the team’s two remaining games.
Brian Lashoff To Retire At End Of Season
The Detroit Red Wings will lose a longtime organizational fixture this offseason, at least on the ice. Longtime Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman and captain Brian Lashoff has announced his retirement from professional hockey pending the conclusion of the AHL’s regular season.
Lashoff, 32, has played a remarkable career, even if his NHL experience was limited. He spent all or part of 14 seasons on the Griffins’ blue line, including the last three as the team’s captain, and saw NHL action with Detroit in seven of those 14 seasons. He will be honored at a ceremony before the Griffins’ regular-season home finale against the Rockford IceHogs on Friday, April 14.
Lashoff’s 628 games played are the most among active players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and rank third in league history among one-team players. He was a crucial part of Grand Rapids’ Calder Cup championship teams in both 2013 and 2017, and he served as a captain at the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic, marking his first career all-star nod in his final season. His 2013 performance was especially notable, helping mentor a team that included future NHL fixtures Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Petr Mrazek, Riley Sheahan, Luke Glendening, and Danny DeKeyser.
Lashoff has compiled 132 points (32 goals, 100 assists) and 329 penalty minutes in his 628 regular-season games in a Griffins uniform, with the chance to add a few more over his final two games. He is one of only four defensemen and 12 skaters to record 100 career assists for Grand Rapids, and only two Griffins blueliners have tallied more than his 132 points. Lashoff has also contributed 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 75 playoff games for Grand Rapids, marking the second-most postseason appearances in Griffins history.
The East Greenbush, New York product made his NHL debut with Detroit on January 21, 2013, scoring a goal in the process in a win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Later that season, Lashoff took to the ice in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time on May 4 versus the Anaheim Ducks. Between 2012 to 2020, Lashoff accumulated 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) and 65 penalty minutes in 136 regular-season games and logged another eight games during the postseason.
In a statement, Griffins head coach Ben Simon praised Lashoff:
As an undrafted player, he endeared himself to numerous coaches, teammates, and the fans through his hard-nosed style of play, his infectious work ethic, and impeccable character both on and off the ice. Brian epitomizes what an organization wants from its players. He does things the right way, every day. He gave his best effort every practice, every shift, and every game, leaving it all out there on the ice. Off the ice, he set an example in the locker room every day as to what it meant to be a pro. The character and professionalism he brought to the rink every day were unmatched. The appreciation, pride, respect, and passion he has for the game and this organization is evident through his work ethic, the same – if not more today – since he first walked through the Griffins’ doors.
Undrafted, Lashoff made his pro debut with the Griffins in 2008-09 at 18 after signing with Detroit as a free agent at the beginning of the season. Seven hundred sixty-seven professional games later, Lashoff retires with an immeasurable impact made on Detroit’s minor-league affiliate.
Lower-Body Injury For Dylan Larkin
- The Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that center Dylan Larkin is dealing with a lower-body injury, keeping him out of the lineup tonight against Carolina. The captain is averaging a point per game for the first time, collecting 32 goals and 47 assists in 79 games. His absence created the emergency conditions to bring up Danny O’Regan earlier today although they opted to play seven defensemen instead.
Simon Edvinsson Returned To AHL
After playing nine games with the Detroit Red Wings, Simon Edvinsson returns to the minor leagues. By sending him down now, the team will avoid burning the first year of his entry-level contract. In his place, the team has recalled Danny O’Regan under emergency conditions.
Edvinsson, 20, is in his first year of North American hockey, spending most of the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins. In 51 AHL contests, the 2021 sixth-overall pick recorded 27 points, and generally showed off the top-pairing potential many have tabbed him with.
In nine games with Detroit, the young defender managed to score two goals but was caught behind the speed of the NHL at times, resulting in six minor penalties. He has plenty of time to adjust to that transition as he prepares to battle for a full-time spot next fall.
The Red Wings’ season has not gone according to plan, as they find themselves seventh in the Atlantic Division, well out of a playoff spot. It appeared at times like they were turning a corner on the rebuild, but ended up selling some key pieces at the deadline.
Now, after giving Edvinsson and other young players like Marco Kasper a taste of the NHL, they’ll try to position themselves as a playoff contender for 2023-24.
Grand Rapids Griffins Sign Jérémie Biakabutuka
- The minor league affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, Grand Rapids Griffins, has also joined the fray of signing CHL products, announcing the signing of defenseman Jérémie Biakabutuka to an amateur tryout agreement. Biakabutuka has spent the last five seasons in the QMJHL, split between the Val-d’Or Foreurs, Rimouski Océanic, and the Charlottetown Islanders. In 266 career games in major junior, Biakabutuka scored a total of 40 goals and 78 assists.
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Detroit Red Wings Recall Taro Hirose On Emergency Basis
The Detroit Red Wings have recalled forward Taro Hirose from their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, on an emergency basis.
Hirose last played in the NHL on March 28th, when he skated in just under eight minutes of ice time in a 7-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that Hirose skated in Adam Erne’s spot as head coach Derek Lalonde’s third-line left winger next to Joe Veleno and Alex Chiasson since Erne was not at the morning skate.
The 26-year-old has been an up-and-down reserve player for the Red Wings since the 2018-19 season, when he scored seven points in his first 10 NHL games after signing his entry-level contract.
Before that point, Hirose tore the Big 10 apart at Michigan State University, especially in his third season in East Lansing. Hirose finished with 116 points in 106 games as a Spartan, but his most impressive achievements came in his final year there. In 2018-19 Hirose scored 15 goals and 50 points in 36 games. His performance that year led to him being named Big 10 Player of the Year, a First-Team All-American, and a Hobey Baker Award finalist.
While Hirose hasn’t managed to find NHL success yet in his career, he has translated his impressive NCAA production to the AHL level. Hirose leads AHL Grand Rapids with 56 points in 69 games this season and has 164 points in 192 career AHL games.
So, with two games remaining in their season, Detroit has decided to reward Hirose for his leading AHL contributions with an NHL call-up and the chance to skate on the third line for Detroit’s game tonight against the Dallas Stars.
Of note are the AHL implications of this move, which impact the affiliates of two franchises: the Montreal Canadiens and Cleveland Monsters. The two AHL teams are currently in a dogfight for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, with the Belleville Senators in the mix as well. The Rocket currently occupy the fifth and final spot in the standings with 70 points, but they have just three remaining games while Cleveland has four.
The Rocket will play the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins tonight, a team that just recently got one of their better players reassigned back to them from an NHL recall. Meanwhile, the Monsters play the Griffins tonight, and with Hirose recalled Grand Rapids will be without their leading scorer for that game.
That’s a major break for the Monsters, meaning an (admittedly small) added benefit to this transaction is that it could help throw a wrench into the AHL playoff hopes of one of the Red Wings’ division rivals.
Red Wings To Limit Edvinsson's Games Played To Not Burn First Year Of Contract
- Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde confirmed to reporters including Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen that defenseman Simon Edvinsson will only play in two of Detroit’s final four games this season. That will cap him at nine games, meaning that he will not burn the first year of his entry-level deal which will still have three years remaining on it next season. Edvinsson’s first taste of NHL action has gone relatively well as the 20-year-old has two goals in his first seven appearances while averaging a little under 17 minutes per game.
Marco Kasper Likely Out For Season
The Detroit Red Wings received some disappointing news on Wednesday regarding one of their young prospects. According to head coach Derek Lalonde, forward Marco Kasper is unlikely to play for the remainder of the season due to a lower-body injury.
The news is a setback for Kasper, who was hoping to finish the season strong during his first NHL call-up. It also represents a missed opportunity for the Red Wings to evaluate one of their prospects at the NHL level, albeit for a short time.
Kasper, still just 18, was selected by the Red Wings as the eighth overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. The Austrian-born forward had been playing with Rögle BK of the SHL this season before coming to North America, where he tallied eight goals and 15 assists in 53 games of league play. Kasper played 14:59 in his NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs last Sunday before leaving the game late.
Detroit is not yet mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but as they’re able to finish the season with a maximum of 89 points, their playoff hopes are essentially zero. Kasper will now try to gain some stability and comfortability with the Red Wings during training camp in a handful of months, hoping to contend for a roster spot in 2023-24.