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Red Wings Notes: Helm, Mantha, Howard

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It appears that communication was a key roadblock between Darren Helm and Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill throughout the 2015-16 season. The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan writes that Helm grew frustrated by a lack of understanding when it came to his role on the team. From Helm:

“Sometimes I just didn’t feel like the message was relayed to me clearly,” Helm said. “I didn’t know if I was moving (lines) because I wasn’t playing well or doing things wrong or matchups.

Helm is convinced after talking with Blashill and general manager Ken Holland that things will improve for him during the upcoming season. Helm believes that he will slot in as a third line center and after signing a five-year, $19.25MM deal in July with the Wings, many fans and analysts wonder if Helm will live up to a $3.85MM AAV deal. The biggest knock on Helm is his inability to finish scoring plays. Though his speed and penalty killing prowess is valuable, Helm failed to convert breakaways and excellent scoring chances into goals. For a return on investment, Detroit certainly must hope that Helm will improve upon that and continue to keep the lines of communication open with Blashill.

In other Red Wings news:

  • Top prospect Anthony Mantha believes the time is now to cement his place on the Wings roster. Helene St. James reports that Mantha can “be a force” and is “brimming” with confidence as training camp approaches. Last season, the Red Wings’ 2013 first round pick added some buzz to the power play before being sent back to Grand Rapids to finish the season. For Mantha, he remembers those ten games and uses it as motivation to make the team full time. While the Red Wings roster has a glut of forwards, it’s also been trimmed by injuries to Teemu Pulkkinen, Henrik Zetterberg, and Tomas Jurco. If there’s any time for Mantha to make the roster, this would be a golden opportunity. Zetterberg is expected to return by the start of the season, but Jurco and Pulkkinen are expected to miss some time. For Mantha to stick with the big club, St. James opines that he has to prove himself a top 9 forward instead of jockeying for time on the fourth line. Despite needing youth to step up, Holland will often favor veterans, hence the signing of Steve Ott, to play on a fourth line while the younger players can “over ripen” in the minors.
  • Goaltender Jimmy Howard, who was shopped around the league all summer, plans to give Petr Mrazek a run for his money as the starter reports Ansar Khan.  The 32-year-old netminder lost his starting job to Mrazek two seasons ago, despite a $5.3MM price tag. Now, Howard finds himself on a team as the backup and with a murky future. Howard is expected to be left off the Wings list when it comes time to protect players in the expansion draft next summer. Until then, Howard maintains that he’s happy to still be in Detroit and never wanted to leave. Howard insists that he’ll “push” Mrazek with the intent of making both goaltenders better.

Detroit Red Wings Depth Chart

Five Questions With USA Today’s Kevin Allen

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The USA Today’s Kevin Allen was kind enough to sit down with PHR and survey the hockey landscape as the season is just under a month away from starting. Allen takes a look at early contenders, whether the Red Wings are in as much as trouble as some think, and of course, some insights on Jimmy Vesey.

Allen has written for the USA Today since 1986, and won the Lester Patrick Award in 2013 and the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 2014.  He was also inducted into the USA Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014. Make sure to give Kevin a follow on Twitter @bykevinallen. You can also catch up on Allen’s coverage here.

PHR: Very early predictions: Who do you see as contenders for the upcoming season, barring any unforeseen injuries? 

Allen: The Tampa Bay Lightning are my early pick to win it all. With Steven Stamkos now healthy and not worrying about his future, I foresee him uncorking a monster season. This team has all the necessary ingredients to win it all, and Jonathan Drouin will make the Lightning stronger by having a breakthrough season.  Don’t be surprised if Andrei Vasilevskiy becomes the No. 1 goalie.  That might allow GM Steve Yzerman the opportunity to deal Ben Bishop at the trade deadline to add another piece for his puzzle. I’m also not discounting the Pittsburgh Penguins, although we all know how challenging it is to repeat. Also, the Washington Capitals will be right there again. The Montreal Canadiens, with a healthy Carey Price, and the addition of Andrew Shaw, Alexander Radulov and Shea Weber, will be much improved. Radulov is not Alexander Semin.

In the West, I like the Chicago Blackhawks because Brian Campbell will make their defense whole again.  The erosion of their depth does, however, concern me. I have the high-scoring Dallas Stars number two because I believe they will deal for a goalie near the trade deadline. Wouldn’t Bishop be a good fit for them?  I have the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks in my next grouping.  The Predators’ have more potential than fans seem to realize. P.K. Subban is a much better fit for coach Peter Laviolette’s attacking offensive system than Weber was.  The Sharks will be the same force they were last May and June.

PHR: Concern seems to be rising about the Detroit Red Wings–everything from contract terms, direction, and what seems to be an aversion to invest in the youth of the team. Do you think that concern is warranted? 

Allen: Yes, only because we simply have no idea how effective their younger players are going to be. The Red Wings are a hard read because there are too many variables. Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist seemed to take a step back last season, and it’s anybody’s guess whether Anthony Mantha will be an impact player. How sharp will Petr Mrazek be this season? The Thomas Vanek signing was a good roll of the dice, and Frans Nielsen will be a quality No. 2 center. But the Red Wings are the league’s mystery team. It wouldn’t be surprising if they missed the playoffs by 10 points, and it wouldn’t be shocking if they were the No. 4  or No. 5 team in the Eastern Conference.

PHR: Who do you feel had the best offseason?

  • New York Rangers: Jeff Gorton improved the team speed with the addition of Michael Grabner. Nathan Gerbe is also quick. He signed skillful Pavel Buchnevich out of the Kontinental Hockey League. They stunned plenty of people by landing Jimmy Vesey and they changed their look by trading finesse center Derick Brassard for bigger and younger center Mika Zibanejad; Defenseman Nick Holden also wasn’t a bad pick-up.
  • Montreal Canadiens: Addressed many problems. They will be more difficult to play against now because of the addition of Andrew Shaw and Shea Weber.  In the long-term, the Canadiens will lose the Subban-for-Weber trade. But in the short term, Weber is the perfect fit for this team.
  • Arizona Coyotes: Young GM John Chayka added Alex Goligoski, Jamie McGinn, Radim Vrbata and a few prime prospects. I like the addition of Lawson Crouse and Jakob Chychrun.

PHR: How will Jiri Hudler fit in with Dallas? Do you see a season closer to 2014-15 or 2015-16? 

Allen: It’s a nifty pick-up by GM Jim Nill who knows Hudler well from their days together in Detroit. This merely adds to the team’s already strong offense. He still has magic in his hands. He should be a 55 to 60-point guy.

PHR: After all the hoopla with Jimmy Vesey, how do you see him fitting in with the Rangers?

Allen: He may play on a line with his buddy Kevin Hayes.  Obviously, there are several examples of major college free agents not panning out. But scouts believe Vesey will be a quality NHL scorer.  Depending upon whether he receives power play time, he might be a 20-goal guy this season.

Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: Carlo, Fasching, Mantha, Matheson

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Pro Hockey Rumors continues our series profiling this year’s crop of rookies, now moving on to the Atlantic Division and four more first-year players who could make a splash this season. You can see the first posts covering the Metro Division here and here.

Brandon Carlo (Boston) – Even though Boston has an aging roster and failed to qualify for the postseason in either of the last two seasons, the Bruins surprisingly might not be integrating any rookie talent to the roster to start the 2016-17 campaign. The team does have some quality young talent coming down the pipeline but most of those prospects are probably a year away and Boston wouldn’t appear to have much room on their roster for a first-year player. But if one of the kids does give the Bruins a reason to carry a rookie this year it may well be defenseman Brandon Carlo.

Carlo was chosen by Boston in the second-round of the 2015 entry draft with the 37th overall selection on the heels of a 25-point campaign with TriCity of the WHL. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 203 pounds, Carlo certainly has NHL size. He currently projects as a smooth skating, defense-first blue liner with enough tools to project as an above-average offensive contributor if he develops further.

The incomparable Zdeno Chara still anchors the Bruins defense corps but is 39-years-old and has seen his best years are in the rear-view mirror. Torey Krug is probably the club’s #2 defenseman – if not #1 – and Adam McQuaid is solid enough. But outside of those three players, the Bruins currently have Kevan Miller, John-Michael Liles and Colin Miller in the top-six on their depth chart. Assuming Carlo shows well at training camp, he could easily force his way onto the roster ahead of any one of the latter three names.

Boston’s assistant general manager, Scott Bradley, spoke highly of Carlo earlier this summer when discussing some of the club’s prospects including; Carlo, Jakub Zboril and Jeremy Lauzon.

“Obviously [you had to like] what Carlo did when he was brought in [to Providence] at the end. It just bodes well for what we have coming this year. Zboril and Lauzon are probably going back to junior, but Carlo is going to get a long look.”

Bradley’s comments certainly suggest Carlo has a leg up on his fellow top defense prospects coming into camp.

Hudson Fasching (Buffalo) – Last season, Buffalo broke camp with two supremely talented rookies, Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, in their opening night lineup. The duo would combine to score 47 goals and 98 points in 160 games for the Sabres. Hudson Fasching is unlikely to have that same type of impact in Buffalo this season but should earn a regular role and has the potential to provide some offense from the team’s bottom-six.

Fasching made his Buffalo debut last season, appearing in seven contests and netting his first career NHL goal. He signed his ELC with Buffalo after wrapping up his junior season at the University of Minnesota, where he scored 20 goals in 37 games for the Golden Gophers. Fasching also saw action in 10 games during the 2016 IIHF World Championship and tallied two assists playing for Team USA.

At 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds, Fasching has the size necessary to excel in a power forward role. Whether or not he can score enough to eventually fill a top-six scoring role with the Sabres is the question. But with talented players like Eichel, Reinhart, Ryan O’Reilly and Kyle Okposo around him, Fasching could produce points if he can develop chemistry with some combination of the aforementioned skaters.

Anthony Mantha (Detroit) – The development of Mantha could be key to Detroit’s ability to keep its 25-season playoff appearance streak in tact. Like Boston, Detroit’s core is aging with half of the 18 skaters expected to see regular ice time either turning or already at least 30-years-old during the 2016-17 season. Mantha has the skill and talent to join Dylan Larkin as future foundation pieces for Detroit.

Mantha got his first taste of NHL action last season, racking up two goals and three points in 10 games while averaging 11:42 of ice time per contest. He has also accumulated extensive pro experience playing for Detroit’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids. In 122 games with the Griffins, Mantha recorded 36 goals and 88 points. His experience playing for Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill, both with Detroit and Grand Rapids, should benefit the big winger as he attempts to make the roster for the 2016-17 campaign.

The 6-foot-5, 214 pound Mantha is said to be an excellent skater with a terrific shot and release. Detroit is known for being patient with their prospects and allowing them to develop at a slow pace in the minor leagues. It’s possible Mantha will start the year in Grand Rapids but could position himself as one of the first players promoted in the event of an injury on the big club. If he does get his shot at some point with the Wings, Mantha could surprise some people.

Michael Matheson (Florida) – The Panthers boast a solid defense corps with plenty of options to flesh out the six man group. Keith Yandle, Aaron Ekblad, Alex Petrovic and Jason Demers comprise a skilled group of top-four blue liners while currently Mark Pysyk and Jakub Kindl are listed as the third pair on the team’s depth chart. Additionally, the team can also call on veteran Steven Kampfer to provide further depth.

There doesn’t seem to be room for a rookie to earn a spot but injuries are an unfortunate reality in hockey and Michael Matheson would likely be the first player Florida goes to if one of their regulars goes down. Matheson got into three games with the Panthers last year, going scoreless and averaging 17:32 of ice time. He’s also appeared in 59 AHL games over the last two seasons and recorded eight goals and 22 points during that time.

The former Boston College Eagle was the Panthers first-round pick, 23rd overall, in the 2012 draft. He’s known as an excellent skater and puck-handler with offensive instincts. With the NHL evolving into a speed and transition gme, Matheson would seem well-suited to one day play a regular role in the league. If things fall just right, that day could come as soon as this season.

Red Wings Notes: Green, de Haas, Trade Targets

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MLive’s Ansar Khan had a write up on the impact that Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green could have on the power play this season. Khan points out that while the Red Wing power play was ranked 13th in the league, it was still anemic during long stretches of the season. Khan speculates that Green could be placed on the first power play unit after Niklas Kronwall struggled with knee issues and consistency during the season. Green’s skating, puck handling, and play making ability could be the difference for a team trying anything to generate offense during the man advantage.

Green was the elusive right handed defenseman the Wings were looking for, signed to a three-year, $18MM deal prior to the 2015-16 season. Though the returns were not as high as Detroit would have wished, Green had five power play goals. Perhaps more time on the power play would be a positive for both Detroit and Green.

In other Red Wings news:

  • Dana Wakiji writes that Red Wings prospect James de Haas is now one of the “older” guys as he completed his fifth development camp with Detroit. Wakiji reports that de Haas has one more season in college, and is gunning to make the Grand Rapids Griffins roster once the college season ends. Though he’s taken the “long road” through college to the pros, de Haas feels that the extra work–and longer road–has certainly paid off. De Haas hopes that he will “able to sign and make that jump. Obviously it’s all on me, it’s how I play, so I’m excited to prove to them I’m ready and show them. Just got to keep working and be ready for the opportunity.”
  • Dan Rosen writes that the Red Wings may indeed still be looking at Kevin Shattenkirk. With 16 forwards signed, the Red Wings have some pieces to offer. Though Rosen prefaces it by saying it’s a “small chance” something happens in September to acquire Shattenkirk, he adds that it would take a high end prospect to land him. Rosen throws out Anthony Mantha as a possibility, wondering if Detroit would be willing to move the big forward or proven scorers Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar. Rosen argues that anyone not named Dylan Larkin should be on the table for Shattenkirk.

 

Roster Crunch: Atlantic Division

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Over the past few days, we’ve looked at the final few spots on the roster for both the Pacific and Central divisions. This time, we’ll turn our attention to the East starting with the Atlantic.  This division will be in turmoil over the next few years, with clubs like the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs going through slow, deliberate rebuilds, and perennial contending squads like the Detroit Red Wings finally starting to slow down.

Florida Panthers – While the Panthers have pretty much accomplished everything they set out to do this off-season – improving the blueline with Keith Yandle and Jason Demers, getting a capable replacement for Roberto Luongo in James Reimer, and locking up their young core – they failed in one, big $5.5MM way. Dave Bolland failed his physical and therefor couldn’t be bought out. He’ll try to prove he deserves some playing time this season, but may find himself buried in the AHL to make room for Jared McCann, the prize Florida received when they dealt Erik Gudbranson to the Canucks.

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Are The Red Wings In Hockey Limbo?

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The Hockey News’ Matt Larkin writes an interesting piece on the status of the Detroit Red Wings–a quarter of a century perennial playoff participant who seems to be at a crossroads. There hasn’t been much written about it though there are the obligatory “will the Red Wings finally miss the playoffs” prediction columns every season since Nick Lidstrom retired. And there’s good reason for that.

Since the retirement of Lidstrom, the Red Wings have been stuck in neutral. Though a “tough out” in 2013 and 2015, the Red Wings were bounced quickly in 2014 and 2016. Worse, they haven’t been viewed a legitimate contender since at best, the 2011-2012 NHL season–where they lost in five games to the Nashville Predators in the first round.

Larkin argues that the only person who can answer the question of the Wings’ Limbo status is architect and general manager Ken Holland. The Wings’ GM had a busy summer trading Pavel Datsyuk’s contract and adding several players in Frans Nielsen, Thomas Vanek, and Steve Ott while re-signing Darren Helm, Petr Mrazek, Luke Glendening, Danny DeKeyser, and Drew Miller. But the moves were critiqued, especially the long term deals for players who were hardly setting the world afire on the stat sheet.

Larkin writes that Holland has a point when he says the Red Wings are not scraping the bottom of the barrel. They have a number of young core players, but with Ott, Vanek, and Miller all taking up roster space, it makes the margin of error thin for those young players in Andreas Athanasiou and Anthony Mantha. Larkin also reports that Holland feels that if a few breaks went the Wings way, perhaps they beat the Blackhawks in 2013 or the Lightning in 2015.

But that misses the point. Hockey is a sport that often comes down to luck. Many would argue that the Wings received their share of fortunate bounces during the years they won the Cup.

The point, made by many fans, is that the Red Wings haven’t been in a spot to even challenge for a Cup. Further, there has been a loyalty given to players in the Wings system or past-their-prime veterans that makes Holland feel like it’s 1999 again. In many ways, it appears that the Wings are committed to a “just barely make the playoffs” mentality and then hoping for the best. Several of Holland’s quotes all but support this.

Larkin takes a bullish view,  saying that the Wings have an upside to them. But a prominent voice of Red Wings fans has made a strong point several times this summer–wondering if the financial decisions combined with the insistence on keeping veterans at the expense of younger, hungrier players will doom the team to the very long rebuild Holland loathes. Simply put: what’s the plan and even more terrifying to some fans–what will the result be?

We’ll all see soon.

Red Wings Notes: Mantha, Saarijarvi, Little Caesars Arena

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The 2016-17 training camp is a chance for Anthony Mantha to be this season’s Dylan Larkin writes Helene St. James. The 2013 first round pick has a chance to make the Red Wings roster out of camp, but it will mean greater attentiveness to his defensive game, and also showing the plentiful goal scoring that got him drafted. Mantha was on the fast track to the NHL when a broken leg during the 2014 prospect tournament slowed him, and from there, the highly touted prospect was ripped by some in upper management, and after a bounce back season in 2015-16, looks to once again be back on track to make the team.

But it won’t be easy. The Red Wings are well known for their reluctance to bring on young prospects and there is also a logjam at forward which has been well documented. St. James reports that his maturity will certainly help his case, as his cup of coffee with the team last year showed he wasn’t intimidated by being in the NHL. Still, the 22-year-old winger has his work cut out for him once September comes.

Other Red Wings news:

  • Defenseman Vili Saarijarvi is another player on the Red Wings radar, and he hasn’t disappointed since being drafted by the club in 2015. St. James writes that the third round pick will spend more time seasoning in the OHL because of his shorter stature, and some more defensive polishing. The offensive minded d-man has a booming slapshot and speed–something if developed properly–could anchor the Red Wings blue line for years.
  • A construction milestone was completed on the new Red Wings arena reports the Associated Press. The final piece of structural steel for the roof was placed. The report also states that “Olympia Development of Michigan says the piece of steel, in keeping with tradition, bears the signatures of the project’s ironworkers.” Little Caesars Arena will open for the 2017-18 season.

Red Wings Notes: Pulkkinen, Athanasiou, Mantha, Glendening

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Detroit Red Wings beat writer Ansar Khan answered questions from readers on a range of topics. Here are some of the highlights from Khan’s column:

  • On the chance of  Teemu Pulkkinen seeing more ice time, Khan writes that the AHL scoring machine, aside from being injured, missed a chance to secure a regular roster spot. A constant cry from several fan blogs and even analysts who use advanced metrics argue that Pulkkinen, Anthony Mantha, Tomas Jurco, and Andreas Athanasiou have not been given the proper ice time or chance to succeed. Khan does acknowledge this claim, but argues that it falls on the individual player to “seize” the moment. With the signings of Thomas Vanek, and Steve Ott, it pushes out a number of bubble players. But Khan states that Ott will not be a reason Mantha doesn’t see more ice time.
  • More on Athanasiou and Mantha: Khan predicts that Mantha will begin the season in Grand Rapids while Athanasiou could get the 2013 Gustav Nyquist treatment that saw the dynamic forward bottled up in Grand Rapids until injuries forced his call up. Khan states that burying Athanasiou in Grand Rapids would be a mistake should he show the same speed and offensive prowess he did during the latter half of last season.
  • On Luke Glendening’s new contract: Khan claims that the feedback he has received from fans has been mixed regarding Glendening’s new four-year, $7.2MM deal. Many fans bristled at the long term, and higher dollar amount for Glendening. Carolyn Wilke created a number of graphs that shows the value of players through a number of metrics. Wilke’s quantitative work reveals the irritation that many Wings fans had with the signing. Khan argues that Glendening “brings more to the table than people give him credit for.” While he points out that former coach Mike Babcock, current coach Jeff Blashill, and general manager Ken Holland like his work, the Red Wings are known for their loyalty to certain players.–often to a fault.
  • On trades and Jimmy Vesey: Khan indicates that the Red Wings, like every other organization except Nashville, will certainly be in on pursuing Hobey Baker winner and free agent Jimmy Vesey. Additionally, he says to watch Colorado’s Tyson Barrie as another possible defensive target should the Avalanche make him available via trade.

 

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