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Free Agent Focus: Detroit Red Wings

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of Detroit’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agent: F Dylan Larkin — After a great start in his rookie year, there were a lot of questions after he struggled in his sophomore campaign when he put up just 32 points. However, the 21-year-old center brushed away any doubts this year, putting up 16 goals and a team-leading 63 points. With a team full of veterans, the Red Wings must begin to depend more and more on Larkin, who is developing into the franchise player they need to center one of their top lines. Add in a recent appearance at the IIHF World Championships where he helped Team USA win a bronze medal and he’s the key to Detroit’s rebuild.

Now coming off his entry-level deal, Larkin is in line for a significant raise from the $1.43MM deal he’s been on for the past three years. Not arbitration eligible, however, the negotiations might get ugly like the one that Andreas Athanasiou dealt with last year, especially with multiple quality players who will be restricted free agents this summer.

Other RFA’s: F Athanasiou, F Tyler Bertuzzi, F Martin Frk, F Matej Machovsky, F Anthony Mantha, F Zach Nastasiuk, F Matt Puempel, D Daniel Renouf.

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: D Mike Green — On a positive note, the team doesn’t have any pressing unrestricted free agents. While Green is quite an offensive defenseman, he’s also 32 years old and not necessarily in the team’s long-term plans. The team’s original plan was to trade the veteran blueliner to a playoff contender at the trade deadline and had hoped that he would provide the team with a big haul of picks and/or prospects. Instead, Green got hurt and missed the two weeks prior to the trade deadline and weren’t able to move Green.

While there has been some talk of bringing him back on a short-term deal, he might be able to get a bigger deal elsewhere, but considering defense is one of the team’s biggest weaknesses and not a lot of defensive prospects there to take his place, a reunion is certainly possible.

Other UFA’s: F David Booth, G Jared Coreau, F Turner Elson, F Matt Lorito, G Tom McCollum, F Ben Street, F Eric Tangradi.

Projected Cap Space: With all the bloated veteran contracts the Red Wings have on the books, cap space is something the team has had little of over the past few years. The team did get the contracts of Green, Tomas Tatar, and Petr Mrazek off the books to free up a little room, but they will likely need all of that to re-sign Larkin, Athanasiou, Mantha and Bertuzzi. While general manager Ken Holland says he doesn’t intend to sign any major free agents to long-term deals this summer, he did say he would look at players with shorter term deals, but in the end, the team hopes to bring in some of their youth to fill in the gaps this year.

East Notes: Pittsburgh’s Fourth Line, Hall, Canadiens, Red Wings

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The Penguins are expected to try to add some offense to their fourth line this summer, notes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Getting some scoring from their bottom trio was an important key to their successful Stanley Cup runs the past two years but that was an area of concern this past postseason.  With that in mind, GM Jim Rutherford will be looking to put together a more balanced fourth line that can chip in with a goal here and there.  If they re-sign pending RFA Riley Sheahan, he’ll likely be part of that unit while youngsters Zach Aston-Reese and Daniel Sprong could be options as well.  If they look to the open market for a veteran to take a spot, Mackey suggests that Tampa Bay UFA winger Chris Kunitz could make some sense; prior to joining the Lightning last summer, the 38-year-old had spent nine seasons in Pittsburgh.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • Still with Pittsburgh, with the Friday deadline to sign 2016 CHL draft pick fast approaching, the Penguins are expected to relinquish the rights to defenseman Connor Hall, reports Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Hall was a third-rounder that year (77th overall) but he has battled considerable injury problems that have limited him to just 64 games (less than one full season) since being drafted.  The 20-year-old posted 11 assists and 78 penalty minutes in 47 games with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL in 2017-18 and will look to catch on with another organization.
  • Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin acknowledged to NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger that the team is leaning towards keeping the third-overall selection unless they are blown away by a trade offer. Assuming that Rasmus Dahlin and Andrei Svechnikov go first and second to Buffalo and Carolina as expected, the Canadiens will likely choose from wingers Filip Zadina and Brady Tkachuk.  Bergevin also stated that the team is not ready to write off using Jonathan Drouin at center next season.  Drouin, who played down the middle in junior but was a winger with Tampa Bay, struggled considerably at the beginning of the year but appears to have made enough progress in the eyes of management to get a second chance.
  • The Red Wings are open to moving their sixth-overall selection in the draft, reports Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required). GM Ken Holland admitted that trading up doesn’t make a lot of sense for them but sliding down a few spots would certainly be a possibility for them.  Custance adds that Holland has had preliminary meetings with the agents for pending RFA wingers Andreas Athanasiou and Anthony Mantha plus pending UFA defenseman Mike Green.

Eastern Notes: Backstrom, Bjork, Vinik, Mantha

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While considered to be a game-time decision, the news doesn’t look good for the Washington Capitals who have been without Nicklas Backstrom for the past two games with a hand injury. The center did participate in the morning skate for the first time since being injured during Game 5 of the Capitals second playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

However, while he did skate with the team, NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that Backstrom did not participate in line rushes or work with the power play unit during practice, suggesting that he will miss likely his third-straight game today against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reports that he didn’t take too many shots during practice, but considers it an encouraging sign that he could be ready in the near future.

While the team has been without Backstrom for the past two games, it hasn’t had a major effect on the team. The team knocked off Pittsburgh in Game 6 against the Penguins and then followed that up with a Game 1 win of the Eastern Conference Finals Friday.

  • The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) writes that Boston Bruins rookie Anders Bjork needs to regain his top prospect status after an injury-plagued season this year. Considered to be one of the Bruins’ top rookies entering the 2017-18 season, the speedy Bjork won a spot out of training camp on the team’s first line, matched with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, but suffered a concussion on Nov. 11 via a hit from Toronto’s Matt Martin and never was able to full recover. After sitting out for three week, Bjork struggled upon returning to the lineup and began to find himself as the team’s healthy scratch before eventually being assigned to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. A labral tear in his left shoulder on Jan. 30 put an end to his season. Now that Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen and Ryan Donato have passed him on the depth chart, the rookie must come back and show that he belongs in the Bruins rotation as well next year.
  • Sports Illustrated’s Alex Pruitt interviews Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik about the step-by-step process of buying the franchise and how he turned the struggling franchise around, ranging from why he chose Tampa Bay, to the hiring of Steve Yzerman, to the delicate free agent negotiations with Steven Stamkos.
  • While handing out big free agent contracts with no-trade clauses didn’t stop, the Detroit Red Wings did begin drafting for the future back in 2013. The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James looks back and breaks down the team’s entire draft in which the franchise began to restock their barren farm system, starting with first-round pick Anthony Mantha, who looks to be on his way to being a core player with the potential to put up 30 goals.

Red Wings Notes: Howard, Larkin, Holland

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MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard is slated to return for Saturday’s contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Howard was shelved with a lower body injury but Detroit’s bye week was a fortuitous opportunity for the veteran net minder to recover. Howard told DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji that he’ll be ready for tomorrow’s game. In his last six starts, Howard has been 4-2 with a .952 save percentage, and a main reason the Red Wings have seen their fortunes trend up. Though they’re still out of the playoff hunt (and will stay that way most likely), Howard has been excellent for a team short on defense and elite talent.

  • Khan takes questions in a mailbag next, indicating that he doesn’t expect any hitches as they did when Andreas Athanasiou held out as an RFA. Khan continues, writing that the Red Wings have $10MM  with Mike Green and Petr Mrazek set to be free agents. With the cap rising as well, Khan doesn’t foresee any issues getting the important younger players, namely Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Athanasiou. Martin Frk and Tyler Bertuzzi are both in their final year of a contract but will come at a lower price than the aforementioned three.
  • In another question, Khan writes that Henrik Zetterberg might have one season left before a new captain will have to be named. He sees Justin Abdelkader being the next Red Wing to wear the C while Larkin a future captain as well. Larkin was an alternate captain while playing in the World Juniors last May, but it wouldn’t be crazy to think that Larkin could be the next in line. Steve Yzerman was named captain at the ripe old age of 21, which just happens to be Larkin’s current age.
  • The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James has a mailbag of her own, and gives her thoughts on the future of general manager Ken Holland. She believes he will still be around, either in the GM chair or as an adviser. She also believes that Larkin will be the first of the three young building blocks (Larkin-Mantha-Athanasiou) to be re-signed by Detroit.

Atlantic Notes: Hoffman, Kane, Red Wings Rebuild

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While a lot of talk about the Ottawa Senators currently revolves around defenseman Erik Karlsson, who will become a free agent in 2019 and expects top dollar, the Hockey News’ Lyle Richardson writes that a deal isn’t likely to happen any time soon as general manager Pierre Dorion still has hope that he can eventually work out an extension when the two parties can begin negotiating next July.

However, Richardson instead suggests the team might focus on moving some other pieces this season, especially pointing a finger at center Mike Hoffman. The 28-year-old will have two years remaining at 5.19MM AAV after this season, which increases his value. While his numbers are a little down (he’s only scored once in his last nine games), Hoffman is still in line for a solid 20-goal season as he currently has nine goals and 13 assists in 30 games. On top of that, he has put up 20 goals in each of his last three seasons.

Besides that, players such as Cody Ceci and Jean-Gabriel Pageau are other trade options, according to Richardson, but considering they are 23 and 25, respectively, the team may want to keep their youth if the goal is to rebuild the team. Bobby Ryan, Dion Phaneuf and Derick Brassard are also trade possibilities, but even less likely as all three have modified no-trade clauses and because of their high salaries, are unlikely to be going anywhere.

  • In the same article, Richardson writes the Buffalo Sabres are not likely to trade forward Evander Kane before the upcoming holiday trade freeze (Dec. 19 to 26). It’s more likely the team will make a move after that as they are still trying to raise his pricetag. The 26-year-old looks to be having a career year as he already has 31 points this season in 33 contests, nearly a point a game, along with 14 goals. Richardson writes that several teams are likely to bid on Kane, including the San Jose Sharks, the St. Louis Blues, the Anaheim Ducks and the Calgary Flames, although few of them are good fits.
  • Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) compares the Toronto Maple Leafs roster and to the rebuilding plan of the Detroit Red Wings, pointing out where Detroit stands when it comes to building a franchise like the Maple Leafs. Custance writes that the obvious missing piece on the Red Wings is the lack of a superstar like Auston Matthews, but there some of the other pieces are present on the Red Wings roster. He compares Mitch Marner to that of Anthony Mantha, William Nylander to that of Dylan Larkin and Nazem Kadri to that of prospect Michael Rasussen and keeps going. Among many conclusions, Custance points out the lack of a superstar as well as the team’s need to grab a franchise-changing defenseman and goaltender, but feels Detroit might not be that far away if luck rolls their way.

Vegas’ Fleury Expected To Return Tuesday

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The Vegas Golden Knights have won three straight and are getting great play from backup goaltender Malcolm Subban, but Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp tweets that the team’s starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will return to the ice on Tuesday when Vegas hosts the Carolina Hurricanes.

Fleury has been out since Oct. 13 with a concussion after taking a knee from Detroit’s Anthony Mantha, which started a flurry of goaltending injuries and forced the team to go five goalies deep for quite a while. Subban took over after Fleury’s injury, but went down not long after with a lower-body injury. That forced the team to call up both their AHL goalies in Oscar Dansk and Maxime Lagace. Both also fared well, but Dansk went down and the team was forced to call up 2017 seventh-round pick Dylan Ferguson from his junior team on an emergency basis. Since then Subban has returned and played well as the team waited for Fleury to return.

The 33-year-old veteran and face of the franchise was cleared to return to practice on Wednesday. Some thought Fleury intended to return on Dec. 14, when the Golden Knights will host the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, he will make his return two days earlier. He has only played four games for the expansion franchise, posting a 3-1 record and a 2.48 GAA.

 

East Notes: Red Wings, Sabres, Capitals

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The Athletic’s Prashanth Iyer hands out some quarterly grades (subscription needed) for the Red Wings and there were some surprises for Iyer in the first 20+ games. Iyer lists Jonathan Ericsson and Luke Glendening as a couple players who earned better marks for improved play while youngsters Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha both received As for their strong, team leading performances thus far. Iyer points out that Detroit has seen some modest improvement from last season, but it’s in the special teams where they’ve seen jumps, which has certainly helped their bubble-team playoff hopes. He does point out, however, that the 5v5 play will need to improve, or the Wings will be on the outside looking in for the second consecutive season.

  • Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen writes that despite tanking and acquiring a star in Jack Eichel, the Sabres blueprint of suffering through lean years to get top talent hasn’t worked as they planned. Now, as they sink to the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the losing appears to be taking its toll on not only the fanbase, but players both on the current roster and those who went to playoff-ready teams. Boylen points out that for every success story in Toronto, Pittsburgh or Chicago, there are the Edmonton and Colorado cautionary tales that reveal a circle of hell that revolves around missing the playoffs and drafting high only to see little in return. Buffalo seems to be trapped, once again eyeing a top pick in 2018 with an 82% chance of not even getting that top pick. Worse, it’s shedding that “culture of losing” which has ensnared Sabres present and past. Changing the front office and coaching staff hasn’t changed much, and though it will take time, the Sabres are mired in a negative cycle that is challenging to escape.
  • Are the Capitals next to see a decline in play? ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski listed a number of reasons why dark days may be ahead for Washington, who has come oh-so-close to turning that corner in capturing a Stanley Cup. And yet, it’s always found a way to be stopped–be it the always vexing Pittsburgh Penguins or a key injury at the most inopportune time, the Caps could never find a way to maneuver around that last hurdle to secure as much as a Cup Final appearance. Wyshynski writes that optimism remains in the organization but they’re certainly inching closer to that “iceberg” that could ultimately sink the Caps once and for all.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Detroit Red Wings

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will look at what teams are thankful for as the season nears the quarter point of completion. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We take a look at what’s gone well in the first month and what could improve as the season rolls on. 

What are the Red Wings most thankful for? 

Recovering from an early six game slide. When the Red Wings started 4-1, early doom-and-gloom prognosticators wondered if Detroit would buck trends and surprise with a stronger 2017-18. Then came six straight losses, rumors of head coach Jeff Blashill’s job security, and concerns that it would be a long and painful season. They righted the ship, stringing some wins together and now sit even at 8-8-2. Disaster was averted, but there are signs that significant struggles wait ahead.

Who are the Red Wings most thankful for? 

Dylan Larkin, and Anthony Mantha. Both young players are key to any type of rebuilding plan Detroit has. They haven’t disappointed. Larkin has looked more comfortable centering a line, while Mantha has been every bit of the goal scoring presence Detroit envisioned when they drafted him. It cannot be understated how important it is that in order for the Red Wings to return to prominence, the younger players must deliver. Larkin and Mantha’s strong play in the first month has been crucial to the present and future success of the team.

What would the Red Wings be even more thankful for? 

A young, top pairing defenseman. About 75% of the league wants one of these, too, but the Red Wings have been searching, unsuccessfully, for this since

Nicklas Lidstrom’s retirement. Despite the strong play of their goaltenders and the younger players, the defense has been shaky. Niklas Kronwall has been better, Nick Jensen has been steady and Mike Green has been a boon offensively. But they can’t rely on them for the long term when it comes to top pairing minutes. Green will most likely be shipped

Nov 9, 2017; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Detroit Red Wings defenseman <a rel=

out to fetch draft picks or a younger impact player, and Kronwall’s knee is a liability. Trevor Daley, brought in to help the offense, has been a strong skater but only has one point in 18 games. The Red Wings, simply put, need help on the blue line. At some point, the goaltending will come back to earth, putting more pressure on a defensive corps that is average.

What should be on the Red Wings’ Holiday Wish List? 

Looking ahead, and though it’s not what general manager Ken Holland wants, Detroit needs to have another high draft pick. Yes, it’s a crapshoot with the lottery system, as last year’s draft showed with Colorado winning under 30% of their games and getting a fourth overall pick for their performance. But the Red Wings need to get elite talent in order to be competitive again, and picking in the top five is one way to do so. Their wish list should also include some crafty trades to stockpile draft picks. The days of hoodwinking other teams and finding Henrik Zetterbergs and Pavel Datsyuks late in the draft are over. They need enough where they can package picks, trade up, and have a greater chance of grabbing talent in the first and second round.

Evening Snapshots: Red Wings, Mantha, Slumping Blackhawks

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Heading home for a stretch where they play 13 of 15 at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill says there is “zero excuse” for not winning tonight writes MLive’s Ansar Khan. After getting pushed around by Calgary Thursday night, Detroit looks to get back on track against a Columbus team mired in a four game winless streak. The goal for the Red Wings are to return to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus, and this stretch of hockey with games predominantly at home serves as the best chance to get a good jump on it. Currently sitting 8-8-1, impressive forward Anthony Mantha added that the team needs have at least a .750 or .800 mark during the stretch at home.

  • Speaking of Mantha, Khan reports that the goal-scoring forward is developing into a more complete player in his second NHL season. Dogged early in his career for lack of effort, Mantha has risen to the occasion, leading the Red Wings in goals and points through Friday. Blashill says that the 22-year-old is very motivated and is skating harder now than he had previously with the team.
  • The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Hine writes that the Blackhawk faithful are keeping their hopes up that Chicago will turn things around soon. Hine likens the current slump to a “crisis of faith” as they’ve struggled to score goals, registering just 12 goals in the last seven games. The culprit, Hine writes, are the “big money” players not getting on the score sheet regularly. He singles out captain Jonathan Toews (4-6-10), Brandon Saad (6-3-9), Patrick Kane (5-9-14), Duncan Keith (0-8-8), Brent Seabrook (1-4), and Patrick Sharp (2-2) as those players. Kane hasn’t scored in seven games while Saad is goal-less in his last ten games. Head coach Joel Quenneville has been toying with lines, trying to find the right combination to break the scoring drought.

Red Wings Notes: Mantha, Bertuzzi, Blashill

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Anthony Mantha has learned quite a bit writes the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. She writes that his rise in scoring is tied to his work ethic, which included an improvement to his skating and notes that the 23-year-old hasn’t gone more than three games without a goal. Paired with 21-year-old Dylan Larkin often this year, much has been made about how the younger generation needs to take the torch and lead the rebuilding Red Wings into a new era. Mantha has 13 points in 16 games (7-6) while Larkin has 14 points (2-12). Mantha is on pace to become the goal scorer the Red Wings envisioned him to be when they drafted him in 2013.  With both playing well, and having Andreas Athanasiou back, the younger kids are injecting much needed speed and skill into the lineup.

  • St. James continues, reporting that while winger Tyler Bertuzzi is closer to return, a spot in Detroit isn’t as open as it once was. With newly acquired Scott Wilson bringing “grit” and with Detroit winning more than losing recently, it will take some change for him to be re-inserted into the lineup. St. James indicates that Bertuzzi and 2015 first round pick Evgeny Svechnikov are the top candidates to be shuttled to Detroit when changes are needed.
  • As for head coach Jeff Blashill, St. James indicates that a recent winning streak and stronger play, especially on the road, have taken some pressure off of the bench boss. She points out that after they finish up their road trip, Detroit has 13 of its next 15 games at home. Should Detroit play well during that stretch, St. James believes that a playoff berth could be within reach.

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