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Jeff Blashill

Atlantic Notes: Larkin, Point, Brassard, Condon

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The Detroit Red Wings pulled off a big overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Friday, but suffered an even bigger loss when star center Dylan Larkin had to leave the game in overtime while trying to chase Mitch Marner. He was doubled over and appeared to hurt his rib cage.

Fox Sports John Keating reports that coach Jeff Blashill said that Larkin will miss one to two weeks with a strained oblique muscle, although the team is hoping he will only miss one week. He has already been ruled out for tonight’s game against Ottawa. Andreas Athanasiou is expected to replace Larkin at center on that line.

Larkin has been a key player for the struggling Red Wings. He is having a career-year as he already has 22 goals, just one shy of his career-high and is close to being a point-per game player.

  • In a mailbag article, The Athletic’s Joe Smith writes that Tampa Bay Lightning soon-to-be restricted free agent Brayden Point has made it quite clear that he wants to remain in Tampa Bay for a long time and the scribe suggests that the team might be best offering a five-year deal which might be the perfect compromise between a bridge deal and an eight-year pact. Both sides have agreed to put off contract talks until the summer. With 30 points goals and 65 points already in 51 games, the 22-year-old should receive quite a bump in pay when signing his new deal.
  • Even though the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to get their new acquisitions Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann into their game Friday by giving them a police escort from the airport to the game, the Florida Panthers didn’t do the same thing. The Panthers, who acquired Derick Brassard, Riley Sheahan, three draft picks and future cap room from Pittsburgh earlier in the day Friday, opted to go without the pair Friday and are expected to have the two in the lineup Saturday against Vegas, according to Sun Sentinel’s Wells Dusenbury “I didn’t find out [about the trade] until about 11 [am],” Boughner said. “We were planning on having a different lineup in there tonight and so we built the lineup with what we had and unfortunately [Brassard and Sheahan] couldn’t get in for the game.”
  • The Ottawa Senators continue to be without goaltender Mike Condon, who the team placed on waivers on Oct. 31 who had and still is trying to come back from a hip injury, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. The veteran goaltender cleared waivers, but has appeared in just one game for the Belleville Senators in all that time. Condon has recently started skating and working out in Ottawa, but there remains no timetable for his return. The hope is that he can make a return to the ice for Belleville March. The team acquired goaltender Anders Nilsson to be their backup goaltender on Jan. 2, who has fared well in eight appearances for Ottawa with a .922 save percentage, meaning that Condon will have a tough time getting back into the goaltending rotation, barring injury.

Detroit’s Trevor Daley Out Three To Five Weeks With Broken Foot

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The Detroit Red Wings dealt with numerous injuries at the start of the year, especially on defense. In fact, the team was initially forced to start the season with four rookies in their lineup. Those days could be returning for the Red Wings. Already without Mike Green and Danny DeKeyser, head coach Jeff Blashill revealed late Monday that defenseman Trevor Daley will be out for three to five weeks after breaking his foot in a pre-game skate, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free-Press.

“I didn’t think it was a big deal. Then it’s a big deal,” Blashill said after the Red Wings’ 4-3 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers.

The loss of Daley doesn’t help a team that is already missing quite a bit of veteran talent. Green has been out with a foot/ankle injury since Dec. 14, while DeKeyser has been out since Dec. 4 with a hand injury. Blashill said both players remain “weeks away.” While the 35-year-old Daley has seen his playing time drop this season, averaging just 18:59 on the ice, he remained a steady player on the ice. However, the team has really struggled with Green out of the lineup. The team is 13-8-2 with Green in the lineup and just 2-11-5 without him. The team will have to rely on some of their rookies more. While the team has gotten solid play from Dennis Cholowski and Filip Hronek this season, both have had their ups and downs all season, especially on the defensive end.

“Our record is reflective,” Blashill said. “When those guys have been out, we haven’t won enough games. Now what has to happen is guys that are here have to play great hockey. I’ve said that before — the amount that you miss guys depends on the level of which the players you have available play. We’ve got guys that I think have some better hockey in them that have to play great hockey. We have some young players in the lineup, they have to play great. We have some older players in the lineup, they have to play great.”

Blashill added that the team is unlikely to add a defenseman on Tuesday despite having a game on Wednesday against Calgary. Detroit has struggled in December, finishing 2018 with a 1-6-3 record in their last 10 games.

 

Mike Green Out Three To Five Weeks

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The Detroit Red Wings are falling out of the playoff race in the Atlantic Division, and will now be without one of their best defensemen for quite some time. Mike Green will be out three to five weeks with a lower-body injury according to head coach Jeff Blashill, who spoke with reporters including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia today. Filip Hronek has been recalled to fill Green’s spot on the roster.

Green’s inclusion on the 2018-19 Red Wings may have come as a surprise to some altogether, given that he was set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. Detroit was unable to trade him at last year’s deadline given his health concerns, but re-signed him to a two-year, $10.75MM contract just before free agency began in July. That deal also includes a full no-trade clause until February of 2020, meaning the Red Wings will be connected to Green for at least another year. Obviously that’s not a bad thing when the team is playing well and competing for a playoff spot, but with him on the sidelines there is reason to think that may not happen.

The 33-year old Green is still a very effective puck-mover, and leads the Detroit defense corps in both scoring and time on ice. With 16 points he actually stands fifth on the entire team despite having played only 23 games, and his almost 22-minutes a night puts him just ahead of Dylan Larkin for the team lead. Modern possession statistics and more traditional measures like +/- both love Green’s work this season, and it’s obvious to see why when watching him compete on a nightly basis. Losing that kind of impact from the blue line could cripple the Detroit attack, putting them in a tough spot to stand up in a hyper-competitive Atlantic division.

What the loss does do for the Red Wings is give even more opportunity for them to experiment with younger options like Hronek and Dennis Cholowski. The pair of young defensemen will be relied upon heavily moving forward, and can show exactly what they’re capable of now that Green is out of the lineup.

Filip Zadina Will Go To World Juniors, Michael Rasmussen Will Not

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The Detroit Red Wings have made some decisions on which of their young players they’ll allow to play in the upcoming World Junior Championship. Michael Rasmussen, who has been playing in the NHL this season will not leave the Red Wings to join Canada according to Dhiren Mahiban, who spoke with head coach Jeff Blashill. Filip Zadina though, who has spent the season playing in the AHL, will be released to join the Czech Republic for the tournament. Zadina isn’t expected to leave the Grand Rapids Griffins until just before the tournament, but Blashill told Max Bultman of The Athletic that he’s excited for the young forward’s opportunity:

I think it’s great for him. … I think he can go to play for Czech and be the man, and I think there’s nothing like the confidence that you get when you produce offensively and you have the ability to control the game.

Zadina, 19, was the sixth overall pick in June’s draft despite being rumored to be in contention for the top three picks at one point. His fall is Detroit’s gain, snapping him up to immediately inject some high-end scoring talent into their prospect system. The team was eventually allowed to send him to the AHL instead of back to the QMJHL where he played last season, and Zadina has excelled with 15 points in his first 23 games as a North American professional. That success should carry over to the World Juniors, where he was already a dominant presence last year alongside Martin Necas. Zadina’s seven goals trailed only Kieffer Bellows’ nine for the tournament lead, and this year should be more of the same.

The fact that Rasmussen will not be released to join Team Canada comes as no surprise, given that he is playing regularly for the Red Wings this year. Another high draft pick, ninth overall in 2017, Rasmussen turned heads at training camp and earned a spot despite his still developing offensive game. Things really started to click for the 6’6″ center in the WHL playoffs last season, where he scored an incredible 33 points in 14 games for the Tri-City Americans. Though he has just nine points in 26 games for the Red Wings this year, the development he’s receiving by being around the team on a daily basis is clearly worth more to the organization than a few weeks at a junior tournament.

Canada meanwhile has plenty of options down the middle already, likely adding another reason to the decision to keep Rasmussen in Detroit. There is no guarantee that he would even play a big role on the team, something that Zadina is assured of. In fact, another Detroit prospect Joe Veleno might actually get an increased role given Rasmussen’s absence, as part of a center group that also includes Cody Glass, Gabe Vilardi, Barrett Hayton and Ty Dellandrea among others.

Danny DeKeyser Out Four To Six Weeks

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Stop reading if you’ve heard this one before. The Detroit Red Wings will be without another key player for more than a month, as head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters today including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that Danny DeKeyser will miss four to six weeks with a hand injury. This comes after just yesterday announcing the same recovery timeline for Anthony Mantha, also out with a hand injury.

DeKeyser, 28, hasn’t quite turned into the star two-way defenseman that some thought he was on track to become after he experienced so much success as a young player, but is still a reliable option for the Red Wings on the blue line. Logging more than 21 minutes of ice time this season, he had seven points in his first 20 games and was on track for his best offensive season in quite some time. Unfortunately, injury limited him to 65 games last season and looks like it will keep him out of the lineup perhaps even longer this year. Six weeks would put DeKeyser on track for a mid-January return, at which point the Red Wings could find themselves out of the race for an Atlantic Division playoff spot.

As they continue to try and move on to the next wave of talent in Detroit, DeKeyser is the one defenseman who is still signed long-term. The team needs him and his $5MM cap hit to stay healthy enough to contribute going forward, especially as the other veteran options start to reach unrestricted free agency. Experience and leadership will be required as young players like Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek and others start to see more and more playing time, and DeKeyser will be the one who is looked at for both. That is of course if the Red Wings decide to keep him through this rebuild, which isn’t necessarily a guarantee.

The defenseman has a full no-trade clause currently, but that will reduce to just a 10-team clause on January 1, 2021. Even before that date the team could potentially approach him with a deal, given that he’s likely one of the only high-salary players on the team with any real value. For now though, he’ll have to work hard to get through his rehab and get back on the ice.

Anthony Mantha Out Four To Six Weeks

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Not much has gone right for the Detroit Red Wings this season, but at least Anthony Mantha had developed into a legitimate top line option for the team. Unfortunately, that development will be put on hold for the time being, as head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters today that Mantha will be out four to six weeks with a hand injury. The big forward will undergo surgery today according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

Mantha injured the hand while fighting with Patrik Nemeth of the Colorado Avalanche, in a game that hearkened back to the old Detroit-Colorado rivalry of the past. A suspension of Tyler Bertuzzi also came out of the game, though his two-game ban is nothing compared to the loss of Mantha for more than a month. The 24-year old has 14 points in 27 games this season and has used his 6’5″ frame to create room for himself and his linemates on a regular basis.

The Red Wings lost the game as well and have dropped to seventh place in the Atlantic Division, a stone’s throw away from the bottom of the Eastern Conference. While the team wasn’t expected to compete for the Stanley Cup this season, plenty of hope grew out of the early performances from some of their young core forwards. Mantha, Bertuzzi, Andreas Athanasiou, Dylan Larkin, and Michael Rasmussen have all looked like they can be parts of the next wave of Red Wings success, and with others like Joe Veleno and Filip Zadina on the way there was plenty of reason to be excited for the future.

That excitement should still exist, though this outcome is far from ideal. While the team wants Mantha to get involved physically and defend his teammates, losing a big chunk of a developmental season could have tough consequences. The team will have to hope he can jump right back into the action once he returns in the New Year.

Atlantic Notes: Bergeron, Helm, Marner, Price

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The Boston Bruins already have plenty of injury concerns this season, especially on the defensive end. However, it may have gotten worse as the Bruins announced in an injury breakdown, that they have sent Patrice Bergeron back to Boston to be re-evaluated for his upper-body injury by team doctors with two games left on their road trip. That means that Bergeron is out for Saturday’s game against Arizona, although considering their next game won’t be until Wednesday, he could return to the team before then.

The team also reported that defenseman John Moore, already listed as day-to-day, has also left with Bergeron for Boston to get his lower-body injury looked at by doctors. The release also notes that Zdeno Chara, who was listed as out for four to six weeks, will not be re-evaluated for another four weeks.

While many were already aware of the defensive injuries, however the loss of Bergeron would be another devastating blow. The 33-year-old was driven into the boards on Friday on a hit from Dallas’ Radek Faksa. Bergeron has nine goals and 26 points in 19 games this season and anchors one of the top lines in the NHL.

  • The Detroit Red Wings may be without a forward as well as Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James reports that Darren Helm, who left the first period of today’s game against New Jersey after taking a hard hit from Travis Zajac, could be out for a while. Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill said that he had no timetable for his injury, but the 31-year-old winger was holding his right wrist after it had taken the brunt of his fall to the ice.
  • Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun writes that with the way that Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner has been playing lately, he is likely to fetch a huge price when he hits restricted free agency at the end of the year. The 21-year-old Marner, who has 26 points in the first 20 games is currently on a trajectory to hit 106 points this season and become the franchise’s first 100-point winger. That could cost the team that has carefully weighed each players’ salary carefully before signing John Tavares this summer. With holdout William Nylander asking for big numbers on his next contract, Marner could complicate things for Toronto as well as he might be the best young winger outside of Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen and Boston’s David Pastrnak.
  • Montreal Canadiens Carey Price’s numbers may not be particularly impressive as he owns a 2.99 GAA and a .899 save percentage. However, after an impressive performance against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, The Athletic’s Paul Campbell (subscription required) analyzes the 31-year-old’s play and notes that Price is starting to adapt to a combination of his aging skills and the improved shootings skills of younger forwards. The scribe breaks down his play Thursday, writing that if Price can continue to play like that, then the Canadiens have a chance to fare well this season.

 

Snapshots: Three Stars, Betting, Rasmussen

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The NHL has decided on their Three Stars for the most recent week of hockey, and leading the way is someone who is no stranger to individual accolades. Sidney Crosby is the first star, after recording seven points in three games including two highlight reel efforts against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. Crosby continues to shine as he enters the back half of his career, and is well on his way to another point-per-game campaign.

The other two spots go to young Western Conference stars, with Mark Scheifele and Mikko Rantanen garnering second and third star respectively. Scheifele has developed into one of the very best two-way centers in the entire league, and will lead the Winnipeg Jets into action in Finland this week. Rantanen meanwhile is part of the hottest line in hockey for the Colorado Avalanche, and currently leads the league in points with 21 through his first 12 games.

  • The NHL has announced a partnership with MGM Resorts to enter the world of sports betting, giving the organization use of their official branding and trademarks. Commissioner Gary Bettman spoke very positively about the development as he announced it, and also explained that player tracking systems will be ready to implement next season. The league expects the partnership to first and foremost help with fan engagement, though it also will provide a new revenue stream.
  • Though it had been expected, head coach Jeff Blashill of the Detroit Red Wings confirmed that Michael Rasmussen will remain with the team for the time being. Rasmussen has currently played nine games in the NHL this season, meaning his next test will burn the first year of his entry-level contract. Blashill spoke highly of his young rookie, and explained that he’ll be moved back to center as they deal with injuries to some of their other options.

Red Wings Will Not Be Quick To Make Major Changes

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The Detroit Red Wings are off to a 1-5-2 start in 2018-19, the worst record in the NHL. They have yet to win one game in regulation, but already have two losses of four or more goals. The team is among the worst in the league in goals for and goals against, with rookie forward Christoffer Ehn as the only player on the roster sporting a positive rating. There is simply little to like about Detroit so far this season.

Despite all of this, The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan says not to expect any major changes, at least not yet. In fact, Kulfan actually encourages the team to hold on to head coach Jeff Blashill, who many expected to be the first to go if things went south this year. Kulfan points out that Blashill is in the final year of his contract and almost certainly not returning next season, but assistant and expected replacement Dan Bylsma is unlikely to have any better luck with this current roster and may as well get a fresh start with a refurbished lineup in 2019-20. Kulfan’s suggestion seems to be one that the Red Wings have seemingly already adopted; Bylsma has long been expected to take over for Blashill, who has been on the hot seat for some time, but no move has been made. A tough start to a season expected to be spent in the basement of the league is not going to change their plan so easily.

Kulfan implies that the team’s best plan of action, and the one they will most likely follow, is to first get healthy, evaluate their roster once it more closely resembles their off-season estimation, and then only after that begin to consider trading away pieces ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline. The Red Wings have little incentive not to test the market value of their impending free agents – Gustav Nyquist, Thomas Vanek, Jimmy Howard, and Niklas Kronwall – as well as others like Luke Glendening, Trevor Daley, or Jonathan Ericsson, but the team can afford to be patient with those decisions this season. In terms of their more prized younger players, don’t be surprised to see Detroit hold off on trading any of those such players, unless they are blown away by an offer such at the Tomas Tatar trade last year.

It could be a quiet season in Detroit and will almost certainly be a disappointing one. However, if the franchise is going to get back on track any time soon, avoiding any more mistakes is the first step. Patience and well-thought out roster decisions are a necessity this season.

Atlantic Notes: Blashill, Bruins, Andersen, Deslauriers

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While Detroit’s rough start to the season has led to some early speculation that a coaching change could soon be on the horizon, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press suggests that it’s an unlikely scenario at this point.  While they’ve allowed five goals per game, they’ve also been bombarded with injuries on the back end thus far.  Through six games, the only blueliners to suit up in each contest are rookies Filip Hronek and Libor Sulak and it’s hard to have success with their back end in the shape that it’s in.  St. James adds that management’s lower expectations heading into the season should also buy Jeff Blashill a longer leash to work with.  However, it should still be noted that Blashill is in the final year of his contract and the Red Wings added veteran bench boss Dan Bylsma to their staff this summer so if they want to make a move, they have an in-house option already in place.

More from the Atlantic:

  • While they have no plans to sign Lee Stempniak, the Bruins are looking to add a veteran forward, preferably a center, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported in the latest edition of Insider Trading (video link). He added that young wingers Anders Bjork and Danton Heinen could be dangled as a potential return although he was quick to indicate that they aren’t being shopped.  Boston lost center Riley Nash to Columbus in free agency this summer and have shifted David Backes down the middle to replace him.
  • Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen provided an update to reporters, including Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star, regarding the knee issue that kept him out of Monday’s game. It’s not an actual injury that he’s dealing with but rather some excess swelling.  Andersen left practice early today and when asked about his availability for Thursday night, he was non-committal.  Toronto is currently carrying three goaltenders (the third being Eamon McAdam on recall from the ECHL) under emergency conditions but those will only last until Wednesday as there is a 48-hour limit.  At that time, the Leafs will either have to make a roster move to create a roster spot for McAdam or send him back down.
  • Montreal winger Nicolas Deslauriers participated in practice today for the first time since sustaining facial fractures in a preseason fight last month, notes Matt Cudzinowski of the Canadiens’ team website.  While he’ll need a few more skates before being game ready, it appears that they will soon once again be facing a roster crunch up front with the team already carrying 14 forwards on their active roster.  He’s coming off a season that saw him post ten goals in 58 games while leading the Canadiens in hits with 238.

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