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Edmonton Oil Kings Eliminated From 2022 Memorial Cup

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With the round-robin set to close tomorrow at the 2022 Memorial Cup, one team already knows its fate. The WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings are out of the top Canadian junior tournament, dropping their third game of the round-robin 4-2 against the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs.

The host Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL will play their league champion, the Shawinigan Cataractes, tomorrow. The winner of that game will advance directly to the 2022 Memorial Cup Final on June 29, while the loser will face Hamilton in the semi-final on Monday.

Edmonton bows out of the tournament without a regulation win. Their two points in the standings came courtesy of a 4-3 overtime win against Saint John.

It’s a shocking exit for the WHL champion, who terrorized the league with a 50-14-4 record during the regular season. But their offense was stricken heavily when it was announced that leading scorer Dylan Guenther, a 2021 first-round selection of the Arizona Coyotes, would miss the tournament due to injury. Still, the squad had a strong core with NHL prospects Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings) in goal, Kaiden Guhle (Montreal Canadiens) and Luke Prokop (Nashville Predators) on defense, and Jake Neighbours (St. Louis Blues) and Justin Sourdif (Florida Panthers) rounding out an all-star lineup. The team’s depth was nothing to scoff at either, with multiple other NHL prospects and WHL veterans playing big roles.

The WHL’s streak of Memorial Cup losses, which dates back now to 2014 with the Oil Kings, will continue.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Victor Brattstrom

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7:32 pm: CapFriendly reports that Brattstrom’s one-year extension is for the league-minimum $750,000. As the deal is two-way in nature, Brattstrom will be paid a minors salary of $75,000.

8:41 am: The Detroit Red Wings are keeping one of their depth goaltenders around for another year, signing Victor Brattstrom to a one-year contract extension. The Swedish netminder split time between the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toledo Walleye this season, after making the transition to North America. Brattstrom would have been an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this summer.

Originally a sixth-round pick of the Red Wings in 2018, Brattstrom is an interesting case. He was already 21 by the time he was finally picked, and at that point had not even reached the highest level in Sweden. In fact, he had just 15 games of experience at the Allsvenskan level (second-tier) and though they had gone well, the pick was always more about his frame–6’4″–and projected upside.

Now four years later, Brattstrom’s results haven’t really improved. He did play one season in the SHL for Timra IK but was shelled, going 5-14 with an .898 save percentage and losing the relegation game. In 2020-21, after signing his entry-level deal with the Red Wings, he played in Finland, where he had a middling 18-12-7 record and .903 save percentage in 38 appearances.

This year, he couldn’t crack the .900 mark even at the ECHL level, and yet the Red Wings obviously believe in him enough to give him another contract. It will interesting to follow the 25-year-old netminder this season and see if the Detroit front office has found a project, or if he’s nothing more than minor league depth.

Moritz Seider Wins The 2022 Calder Trophy

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On Tuesday, the final five NHL awards are being handed out.  The second award of the night was the Calder Memorial Trophy, handed out to the NHL’s top rookie.  Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider took home the trophy after a stellar first season.  Maple Leafs winger Michael Bunting and Ducks center Trevor Zegras were the other two finalists.

The 21-year-old was the sixth-overall pick by Detroit back in 2019 and spent his post-draft season with AHL Grand Rapids before playing in Sweden last season.  The extra seasoning certainly was beneficial as he led all rookie defensemen with 50 points (seven goals and 43 assists), the third-highest point output from a rookie rearguard in the last 30 years.  Seider also led all rookies (including forwards) in assists and power play points while logging more than 23 minutes a game to lead all Detroit defensemen, a franchise record for all rookies.

As a result, the vote wasn’t particularly close.  Of the 195 PHWA members to cast a ballot, Seider was ranked first on 170 of them while he was the only player to appear in the top three on every ballot.  That helped Seider become the first Detroit rookie to win the award since goaltender Roger Crozier back in the 1964-65 season.

The full results of the voting can be found here.

Red Wings Sign Jussi Olkinuora

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The Red Wings have added some goaltending depth to their system as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that Detroit has signed netminder Jussi Olkinuora to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal will pay him $750K in the NHL, $375K in the minors, and contains a guarantee of $425K.

The 31-year-old spent some time in Winnipeg’s system earlier in his career after signing with them as an undrafted free agent back in 2013 after an impressive couple of years at the University of Denver.  However, things didn’t go well in the minors for Olkinuora as he posted a 3.79 GAA with a save percentage of just .879 in 21 appearances, resulting in the Jets non-tendering him in 2015 and him eventually heading back overseas in 2016.

Olkinuora has spent the last three seasons in the KHL and is coming off a pair of strong seasons with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.  This past season, he had a 2.45 GAA along with a .917 SV% in 36 games, numbers that were actually a small step back from the year before.  However, his performance helped earn him a spot on Finland’s entries into their Olympic and World Championship teams.  It was at the recently-completed Worlds that Olkinuora really shined as he posted a 1.11 GAA and a .948 SV%, resulting in him being named as the tournament MVP.

There are certainly some openings in Detroit’s system for goaltenders next season.  Backup goalie Thomas Greiss and third-stringer Calvin Pickard are both pending unrestricted free agents and neither appear to be likely to return.  The fate of Magnus Hellberg, a late-season signing, is also in question as he’s also a pending UFA.  Olkinuora could be ticketed to start at AHL Grand Rapids alongside top prospect Sebastian Cossa although, if they believe his recent showing in Russia is a sign of things to come, he could get a chance to battle for a shot at being Alex Nedeljkovic’s backup as well.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Elmer Soderblom

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7:38 pm: CapFriendly has announced the terms of the deal, which carries a cap hit of $878,333:

2022-23: $750,000 base + $92,500 signing bonus + $82,500 performance bonus
2023-24: $775,000 base + $92,500 signing bonus + $57,500 performance bonus
2024-25: $832,500 base + $92,500 signing bonus

The contract carries a minor salary of $70,000 in all three seasons.

1:12 pm: The Detroit Red Wings have signed another interesting Swedish prospect, this time inking Elmer Soderblom to a three-year entry-level contract. The sixth-round pick is coming off a breakout season with Frolunda of the SHL.

It’s hard to focus on anything other than the size of Soderblom, given his 6’8″ frame. The massive forward is finally starting to find his way offensively though, leading to a very interesting package of size and skill. In 52 games this season he registered 21 goals, good enough to tie him for seventh in league scoring. If he can continue the same development trajectory, the Red Wings might have found a late-round steal that can actually contribute to their lineup down the road.

They certainly would have gotten a good look. Soderblom has played with top prospect Simon Edvinsson on Frolunda going back to their junior days, meaning the Red Wings have seen his progression first hand while watching their prized draft pick recently. Signing him now will get him into the organization, and since his contract has expired in Sweden, it could actually mean he’ll be joining the Grand Rapids Griffins next season.

Even if he goes back for another year, the 20-year-old Soderblom is a player to watch for Detroit fans and one that has a massive ceiling if he can continue to marry size and skill as he did this year. His entry-level deal will kick in no matter where he plays, making him an RFA in the summer of 2025.

Red Wings Have Jim Hiller On Coaching Radar

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Entering this season, the second-longest tenured coach in the league behind future Hall-of-Famer Jon Cooper was Detroit Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill. After just one playoff appearance (in his first year as coach), though, the rebuilding squad finally decided to move on as they try and begin their rise back toward contention. That makes the 48-year-old Blashill an experienced option on the open market, as he’s been in coaching roles since 1998 and coaching professionally since joining the Detroit organization in 2011. While he doesn’t have the shiniest resume, some of that can be attributed to the poor roster he was given in Detroit.

  • After getting fired by the New York Islanders today, Jim Hiller is on the radar of the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings (among other clubs) for their head coaching vacancies, reports ESPN’s Kevin Weekes. It would be a return to the Red Wings organization for Hiller, who got his first NHL job there as an assistant in 2014-15 after five seasons as the head coach of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. He’s been with the Islanders since 2019-20 and has overseen their two back-to-back runs to the Eastern Conference Final in 2020 and 2021.

Former Red Wings Defenseman Larry Hillman Passes Away

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Not the household name of some of his Stanley Cup teammates, Hillman made a long career for himself, spanning 22 seasons, as a reliable, shutdown defenseman for his teams. The defenseman began his career in 1954-55 with the Detroit Red Wings as a teenager, a team that would go on to win the Stanley Cup. After parts of three seasons with Detroit, Hillman was claimed on waivers by the Boston Bruins, where he would play parts of three more seasons before again being claimed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hillman would spend the next eight seasons in Toronto, helping the team to four Stanley Cups.

Red Wings Hope To Sign Elmer Soderblom This Summer

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  • The Red Wings are hoping to work out an entry-level contract this offseason with prospect Elmer Soderblom, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. The hulking winger stands 6’8 and weighs 249 pounds and is coming off a good season in the SHL that saw him put up 21 goals in 52 games with Frolunda of the SHL.  His deal in Sweden is now up so assuming the 2019 sixth-rounder does sign, he’ll almost certainly play in North America next season instead of being loaned back overseas like Detroit did with prospect blueliner Albert Johansson this season.

Minor Transactions 5/26/22

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With the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs now in full gear and one team already through to the Conference Finals, most AHL teams’ seasons are over and some have already begun chipping away at their offseason work. We’ll keep track of that AHL news here.

  • The Grand Rapids Griffins, the affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, announced today that they re-signed forward Dominik Shine to a two-year AHL contract. Shine, an undrafted player and Detroit native, has played in six seasons for the Griffins. After a successful career at Northern Michigan University, Shine turned pro and got into eight regular-season games for the Griffins in 2017-18, the year the team went on to win the Calder Cup. From that point, Shine became a regular in Grand Rapids and produced modestly. This past season Shine had his best offensive output, posting 17 goals and 32 points in 71 games, to go along with a career-high 141 penalty minutes.
  • The Hershey Bears announced two signings today, the first being of forward Bear Hughes on an AHL deal for the 2022-23 season. Hughes, 20, was the Capitals’ fifth-round choice at the 2020 draft. Hughes is coming off a productive season for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL, where he posted 67 points in 64 games, which led his team. The Post Falls, Idaho native will continue his development in Hershey hoping that his WHL production will translate to professional success and eventually an NHL contract.
  • The other signing the Bears announced today was of defenseman Benton Maass, also to an AHL deal covering 2022-23. Maass, 23, was a Washington Capitals sixth-rounder at the 2017 draft and has spent the past five seasons in the NCAA. He spent four years manning the blueline of the University of New Hampshire before spending a final season at Minnesota State University, where he played with Hobey Baker winner Dryden McKay and forward Nathan Smith, who now plays for the Arizona Coyotes.

Dylan Larkin Changes Representation

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One of the biggest items on Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman’s checklist this offseason is a potential contract extension with captain Dylan Larkin. The 25-year-old center is signed through 2022-23 and would become an unrestricted free agent next offseason if a deal isn’t reached. It seemed as though Yzerman and the Red Wings front office would be negotiating that extension with KO Sports, but last night Max Bultman of The Athletic reported that Larkin has changed representation. He’s now with CAA, represented by Matt Williams and NHL super-agent Pat Brisson.

It appears as though that was a very unexpected decision, given the statement that Kurt Overhardt, CEO of KO Sports, released to Bultman today:

From a relationship standpoint, Dylan Larkin worked primarily with my business partner, Joe Oliver. Throughout the past 11 years, Joe has thoughtfully guided Dylan through countless matters both on and off the ice. There was never a single issue raised between Dylan and Joe for the entirety of their professional relationship and Joe was completely blindsided by this decision. For the past several months, Joe had been working directly with Dylan in preparation to negotiate his contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings. 

As with all of our clients, our work on behalf of Dylan was at the highest standard in all situations. We are very disappointed in his decision and the timing. 

Obviously, the interest of the agents is to remain with a client through what should be a massive negotiation, and Overhardt’s statement should be taken with a grain of salt. But it does confirm for Red Wings fans that Larkin is ready to negotiate this offseason–or at least was with his previous representation.

While KO Sports is no small outfit, moving to CAA takes Larkin right to the top. Brisson has more than $1B in negotiated active contracts according to PuckPedia, including clients like John Tavares, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Anze Kopitar, all players with an average annual value of at least $10MM. For what it’s worth (which may be nothing), Brisson currently has just one client with the Red Wings–Jared McIsaac–and none with Yzerman’s former outfit in Tampa Bay.

Larkin is coming off quite the platform year to start negotiating. Reinvigorated by his young, up-and-coming teammates, the speedy forward scored 31 goals and 69 points in 71 games. His overall production is similar to CAA client Matt Duchene through the early part of his career; Duchene ended up signing a seven-year, $56MM contract with the Nashville Predators when he hit the open market in 2019. He did negotiate a multi-year deal with the Red Wings for Anthony Mantha in 2020.

Players signed through 2022-23 are eligible for extensions on July 13, when free agency opens this year.

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