What Your Team Is Thankful For: Detroit Red Wings
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Detroit Red Wings.
What are the Red Wings most thankful for?
Very little has gone right for Detroit this season as the team finds itself dead last in the league, four points out of 30th place and nine points out of 29th place, suggesting the team is likely to land another significant lottery in June. And while none of that is worthy of being thankful for, Detroit’s general manager Steve Yzerman, is eager to complete the team’s rebuild and likely has no qualms about seeing this franchise at the bottom in hopes of completely rebuilding the franchise up. It has plenty of complementary pieces and several players who could be stars, but a picking up a franchise player in a stacked draft might be the most valuable piece to this franchise.
Who are the Red Wings most thankful for?
Mantha missed eight games with a knee injury, returning today, but continues to be the team’s leading scorer with 12 goals and 23 points this season, which puts him on pace for almost a goal per game. After posting 48 points for the past two seasons, Mantha looks ready for a potential breakout season if he can remain healthy. He is third on the team among forwards in TOI, averaging 18:54 and looks to have taken his game to another level this year.
Considering that Dylan Larkin has seen a slight decline in his play so far, the team should be thankful that Mantha continues to improve season after season.
What would the Red Wings be even more thankful for?
Defense.
Detroit has struggled defensively this season with injuries as the team has been without several of their veteran blueliners for chunks of the season already. Other than Filip Hronek, the defense has looked to be in serious trouble. Danny DeKeyser has missed all but eight games so far this season. Trevor Daley has missed 20 games, Mike Green has missed eight games and isn’t the same player he once was, while Jonathan Ericsson has been waived and used just eight times this season. Even Dennis Cholowski has failed to live up to expectations this year and has been sent to the AHL as well.
The team needs the defense to get healthy and more importantly, they need some of their young blueliners to take that next step and provide some defense to give the team a chance.
What should be on the Red Wings’ Holiday Wish List?
Goaltending.
The teams goaltending has hit some hard times. The star of the team is Jonathan Bernier, who is boasting a 3.34 GAA and a .890 save percentage in 20 appearances. And yes, that’s the best of the bunch. 35-year-old Jimmy Howard, who is currently out with a strained groin, is struggling even worse with a 3.94 GAA and a .887 save percentage in just eight appearances. The team did add Eric Comrie to the team in a trade with Arizona. However, so far there hasn’t been any indication that he’s the answer in two appearances, although it’s still early.
Unfortunately, the team may not find the answer during the holidays. They may be more likely to fix that problem by making a big splash in the free agent market this summer when some interesting names might be available, including Washington’s Braden Holtby, Jacob Markstrom, Robin Lehner amongst others.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor Transactions: 12/14/19
Even with just two games being played on Friday night, the hockey world was still in a mad scramble with the news that New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall had been a late scratch for their game against the Colorado Avalanche. As Hall watch continues today, 28 teams, including the Devils, take the ice. Each of those teams, plus the three with a day off, wouldn’t mind adding the former MVP, but will have to balance their pursuit with day-to-day roster maintenance as well. You can keep up with those smaller moves here, as you wait for the big deal to potentially drop:
- The Ottawa Senators have announced that they have recalled defenseman Andreas Englund from AHL Belleville. Englund, 23, is one of a number of Senators defensemen who have dealt with injury issues this season, limiting him to just 11 AHL games thus far. Englund would be making his NHL debut this season if he draws into the Ottawa lineup tonight, but the 2014 second-rounder has skated in at least one NHL game in each of his first three seasons in North America. With that said, the big blue liner has played in just nine games total with Ottawa hopes to find a more regular role with the club this season.
- After a stellar NHL debut, allowing five goals on 72 shots in starts against the Avalanche and Senators, Cayden Primeau has been returned to the AHL by the Montreal Canadiens. Following tonight’s game, the Canadiens will have a two-day break and then embark on a four-game road trip through Western Canada that does not feature any back-to-back games, before finally hitting the holiday break. It is not a schedule that is likely to yield much opportunity for Carey Price‘s backup, so the Habs have made the best move for Primeau’s development by sending him back the Laval Rocket, where he can get some playing time. Charlie Lindgren has been recalled in his place, marking his first return to the NHL this season. Once thought to be the long-term backup solution in Montreal, Lindgren has made just one appearance for the team since March 2018 and has failed to impress in the AHL during that span.
- The Minnesota Wild sent Gerald Mayhew to AHL Iowa yesterday, as Eric Staal made his return to the lineup, but have quickly recalled the young forward this morning. This could mean that the Wild have lingering injury concerns with Staal or another forward, although no such indication has been made. Mayhew has been a near point-per-game scorer in the AHL this year and has added two goals in six games with Minnesota. The 26-year-old seems ready for a full-time gig with the Wild and the team as of late has seemed willing to keep him around.
- A swap has been made in Nashville, as CapFriendly reports that the Predators have sent Daniel Carr down to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals and have called up Colin Blackwell. Carr, the reigning AHL MVP, has been unstoppable in the minors again this year. However, he has been held to just one point in eleven games with Nashville, even with frequent opportunities to play up in the lineup. Carr is in that “AAAA” nexus right now, and until the Predators decide where he fits, they will keep him in Milwaukee. Blackwell comes in as another dynamic AHL scorer, but one that has not had as much NHL opportunity and thus no chance to disappoint. Nashville seems willing to take a chance on that upside as they continue to play below expectations.
- Joseph Blandisi continues to move between the NHL and AHL. This time, he’s on his way back up to Pittsburgh as the team announced they’ve recalled him from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis, suggesting that Evgeni Malkin may not yet be ready to return. If Blandisi suits up tonight, it will be his fourth game in as many days between the two levels.
- The Detroit Red Wings announced they have assigned defenseman Dylan McIlrath to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL to make room for forward Anthony Mantha, who the team has activated off of injured reserve. The 6-foot-5 McIlrath has played in 16 games for Detroit, having accrued no points and 23 penalty minutes for the team.
- The Anaheim Ducks announced they have assigned forward Sam Carrick to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. Carrick scored one assist in two games with the Ducks, but provides a key veteran presence in San Diego where he has 10 goals and 16 points in 18 games.
Injury Notes: Mantha, Little, Rantanen
The Detroit Red Wings will be without Anthony Mantha for a “couple of weeks” according to head coach Jeff Blashill. The power forward will not require surgery however, a good sign for his eventual return to the team and continued development this season.
Mantha, 25, is off to the best start of his NHL career this season with 23 points in 25 games and looks like he will be a mainstay at the top of the Detroit lineup for a long time. The 6’5″ winger now has an impressive 80 goals in 242 career NHL games after taking a few years to get his feet under him as a professional.
- There is still no real timeline for the return of Bryan Little to the Winnipeg Jets lineup as he continues to recover from the perforated eardrum that put him in a hospital earlier this month. Little took a puck to the head on November 5th and head coach Paul Maurice explained to reporters including Mitchell Clinton of NHL.com today that his veteran forward is still in “that healing phase.”
- Mikko Rantanen was back at practice with the Colorado Avalanche today without a non-contact sweater, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to return quite yet. The big winger will sit out tomorrow’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, but could be back on the ice Friday. Rantanen had 12 points in his first nine games before suffering a gruesome lower-body injury.
Atlantic Notes: Yandle, Mantha, Johansson, Brannstrom
Any doubt that Florida Panthers fans may have had that defenseman Keith Yandle‘s iron man streak could be over after the veteran took a puck to his mouth and lost nine teeth in the process (video here), were relieved this morning. NHL Network’s Ryan Whitney reports that Yandle had dental surgery this morning and is expected to play tonight to keep his streak alive.
Yandle, who currently leads all active NHL players with 820 consecutive games played, took the puck to his face in the first period Saturday, missed the second period, and returned to play during the third period. The 33-year-old Yandle is only 10 games shy of catching Andrew Cogliano, whose streak stopped in 2017 at 830 games and is in fourth place. Doug Jarvis holds the iron man record at 964 games played.
- NHL.com’s Dave Hogg reports that the Detroit Red Wings will be without forward Anthony Mantha for at least a week with a lower-body injury. It’s a tough injury to swallow for a team with the worst record in the NHL with just 17 points this season. Mantha has been one of the few bright spots this season as the 25-year-old has 12 goals and 23 points in 25 games, which has him on target for career highs. Mantha scored 25 goals last season.
- The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that forward Marcus Johansson will miss games today against Florida and Monday versus Tampa Bay with an upper-body injury. Head coach Ralph Krueger said he hopes to get Johansson back early next week. The 29-year-old has four goals and 10 points in 17 games this season, but remains on injured reserve. The team will have to make a move to activate him.
- The Ottawa Senators should be getting back one of their young talents sooner than later as defenseman Erik Brannstrom is close to returning. The 20-year-old has been out with an undisclosed injury for the past three games, but could still be out another week, according to head coach D.J. Smith. “He’s close,” said Smith. “We just didn’t want to put him through that practice today so he’s going to stay home and he’ll practice with us when we get back. He’s probably within a week.” Brannstrom has two assists in 19 games.
Morning Notes: Three Stars, Leighton, Morrissey
The NHL has released their Three Stars for the first week of the season, and New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad leads the way. Zibanejad leads the NHL with eight points through his first two games, including a hat-trick on the weekend against the Ottawa Senators. The Rangers are off to a fast 2-0 start in a season that they hope will end in a playoff run for the young squad, and Zibanejad will be a huge part of that process.
Anthony Mantha and Auston Matthews take home the other two spots after scoring five goals each in their first week. Mantha did it in just two games, including a four-goal performance last night against the Dallas Stars. The 25-year old winger is looking to build off his career-high 25 goals a year ago, which he recorded in just 67 games. Matthews meanwhile continues his October dominance, scoring in each of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ first three contests. The 22-year old center now has 30 goals in 35 career games in the month of October.
- Michael Leighton has decided to hang up his pads after a long professional career, announcing his retirement through Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required). The veteran goaltender played for 21 different teams over an 18-year career, suiting up 111 times in the NHL regular season. Perhaps most notably though was his appearance for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 playoffs, where he started 13 games and recorded a .916 save percentage. The Flyers would lose in the Stanley Cup Final to the Chicago Blackhawks, with Patrick Kane scoring his classic Cup-winning goal in overtime of game six against Leighton.
- Josh Morrissey returned to practice for the Winnipeg Jets today, and his presence will be welcomed wholeheartedly whenever he’s able to suit up for a game. The Jets defense has been ravaged by everything from free agency, to injury and even potential retirement, leaving Morrissey as the most important blueliner on the team. The team is back in action tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, before returning home for a game on Thursday night.
Atlantic Notes: Kapanen, Johnsson, Ristolainen, Krejci
While the Toronto Maple Leafs know what to expect when it comes to the future contract for Mitch Marner, it isn’t as straight forward for their other two key restricted free agents in Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. Some of the reason for that is that young forwards with little experience who post an impressive season, often don’t get rewarded when they hit restricted free agency and that could easily be the case for the Maple Leafs, according to The Athletic’s Ian Tulloch (subscription required).
Kapanen, who hits restricted free agency for the first time, had an impressive season last year as he put up 20 goals and 44 points as a full-time player. However, before that, he had played a combined 55 games (and tallying just 10 points) over three separate seasons. Johnsson posted very similar numbers as he tallied 20 goals and 43 points in 73 games last season, but has played just 82 games in two years.
There are a number of comparables, however, including Ondrej Kase, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Phillip Danault, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou, Teuvo Teravainen and Andre Burakovsky. All of them opted to sign a bridge deal with the hopes to prove to their respective teams that they can score like that consistently, suggesting that each of them may make anywhere from $2.7MM to $3.3MM AAV if they follow suit.
Of course, the problem could come down to offer sheets as both players would likely be prime candidates to sign offer sheets with other teams that could be closer to $4MM with a less risky compensation (just a second-round pick) which could cause quite a bit of havoc to Toronto’s salary cap situation.
- Despite multiple rumors that the Buffalo Sabres are considering dealing defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who has never been able to take that next step and become a star defenseman like the team thought would happen when he joined the franchise six years ago, TSN’s Darren Dreger (while appearing on WGR 550) said he doesn’t believe that the Sabres will entertain the notion of trading him. Dreger said he doesn’t believe it’s a move the team feels is critical, but general manager Jason Botterill is still open to listening to offers. Of course, one fear of moving him is that Ristolainen could take that next step wherever he gets traded to, which the Sabres would prefer to avoid.
- NHL.com’s Eric Russo writes that the Boston Bruins have been without center David Krejci for the past few days as the center has been out with an illness. He missed Thursday’s scrimmage and skipped practice on Saturday although head coach Bruce Cassidy said he hopes to have Krejci back on Sunday. “Precautionary,” said Cassidy. “I suspect we’ll see him tomorrow. That is the plan. If he’s not out tomorrow, now there’s a little bit of worry there. But right now, I believe he’ll be practicing tomorrow.”
Anthony Mantha Suspended At World Championship
The IIHF Disciplinary Panel has decided that Team Canada forward Anthony Mantha will miss the upcoming quarter-final game at the World Championship. Mantha has been suspended for one game thanks to a check to the head of Colin White in yesterday’s Canada-USA game. Mantha was given a two-minute minor and ten minute misconduct for the incident during the game.
Mantha has been a revelation for Canada head coach Alain Vigneault, and is currently tied for the tournament lead in goals with seven. The Detroit Red Wings forward easily leads Canada with 12 points through seven games, making his absence from a do-or-die game all that more important. The Swiss team went 4-3 through the preliminary round, but have more than enough firepower to upset a team like Canada.
While obviously this is a setback for Mantha, the Red Wings coaching staff has to be pleased with his tournament so far. The big winger has shown he can continue to produce with top players while also setting the tone physically. Mantha is expected to be a mainstay on Detroit’s top line again next season, and provides a perfect physical complement to Dylan Larkin‘s speed.
Atlantic Notes: Marner, Red Wings, Montour
The Maple Leafs haven’t hidden the fact that getting winger Mitch Marner re-signed before he reaches restricted free agency in July is their top priority. To that end, Sportsnet’s John Shannon reports (Twitter link) that GM Kyle Dubas met with Marner’s agent Darren Ferris yesterday but Dubas isn’t willing to comment publicly on the state of negotiations. Marner had a career-high 94 points in 2018-19 to lead Toronto in points for the second straight season. As a result, he has himself in great shape to land a huge raise on the $925K he received on his entry-level deal. Teammates John Tavares and Auston Matthews will each be earning at least $11MM in 2019-20 and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ferris pushing for a salary around that amount for Marner as well.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- While Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou had breakout years, Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News posits that the pair could make the most sense as trade candidates to land an impact defenseman. Detroit’s prospect depth is up front but most of their young players aren’t going to yield a top-four blueliner in a trade at this point. Mantha and Athanasiou are also set to become restricted free agents in 2020 and will be in line for significant raises at that time. New GM Steve Yzerman showed with Tampa Bay that he can be aggressive on the trade market and this would be one way to put a stamp on his team rather quickly.
- Sabres defenseman Brandon Montour will miss the remainder of the World Championships due to a lower-body injury, Hockey Canada announced. The injury was sustained on Monday in their victory over Slovakia. There’s no timetable for how long he’ll miss beyond these next two weeks. Canada has one roster spot remaining and it’s all but a given now that they will use it on another blueliner.
Hockey Canada Announces 2019 IIHF World Championship Roster
The 2019 IIHF World Championship will begin next month, and Hockey Canada has finally announced their roster for the tournament. 22 players were named to the group (that could be increased to 25), including many that have represented the team at international events in the past. The full roster is as follows:
G MacKenzie Blackwood
G Matt Murray
G Carter Hart
D Thomas Chabot
D Brandon Montour
D Troy Stecher
D Damon Severson
D Shea Theodore
D Darnell Nurse
D Dante Fabbro
F Jon Marchessault
F Anthony Cirelli
F Mark Stone
F Tyler Bertuzzi
F Anthony Mantha
F Sam Reinhart
F Mathieu Joseph
F John Tavares
F Kyle Turris
F Dylan Strome
F Adam Henrique
F Sean Couturier
Eastern Notes: Vanek, Bruins, Hickey, Ennis
It’s been a quiet year for Thomas Vanek who was signed to a one-year deal by Detroit to provide some veteran scoring while the team waits for its young talent to develop. However Vanek, who has scored 20 goals in 11 of his last 13 seasons in the NHL, hasn’t really done much of that. Despite scoring the lone goal in Detroit’s 2-1 loss to Florida on Saturday, Vanek has just five goals and is on a pace to score a career-low 14 goals this year.
Granted, the winger is 34 years old now and is averaging just 13:24 minutes per game, a career-low as well. However, with recent injuries to players like Mike Green, Anthony Mantha and most recently Andreas Athanasiou, Vanek needs to get going and he says he’s losing sleep over his dropping numbers, according to MLive’s Ansar Khan.
“It’s been a frustrating year,” Vanek said. “Even tonight, I felt good and should’ve had two, should’ve had three, and I walked away with one. It’s frustrating. I’m losing sleep over it, but at the same time, I got to stay positive and keep getting to the net, and hopefully it will turn quick.”
- The Boston Bruins announced that while Jake Debrusk, Kevan Miller and Zdeno Chara would all be out for today’s game against Carolina, head coach Bruce Cassidy said that all three could be back immediately after the Christmas break on Thursday when they play New Jersey. Debrusk hasn’t played since Dec. 6, while Miller has been out since Nov. 26. Chara has been out the longest since Nov. 14. If all three come back, the Bruins might be as close to fully heathy as they ever have been.
- Newsday’s Aaron Gross writes that New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey, who has been out for a week with a concussion, participated in the team’s optional morning skate. He also skated on Friday and hasn’t suffered any setbacks in his recovery. There is no timeline yet for his return, but the team hopes it will be soon.
- While the Toronto Maple Leafs have already recalled forward Trevor Moore, the youngster could find himself with the team for quite a bit longer than a simple cup of coffee after Saturday night’s injury to Tyler Ennis. Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported late last night that Ennis broke his ankle on a shot from Morgan Rielly in the second period. Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said “he’ll be out a while.” Ennis was having a impressive season in a bottom-line role as he already had seven goals and 11 points in 33 games.