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Thomas Vanek

Red Wings Notes: Injuries, Sproul, Mantha

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The injury bug has certainly bitten Detroit hard as Darren Helm is the latest Red Wing to take a turn on the injury carousel. He joins Andreas Athanasiou, Thomas Vanek, and Niklas Kronwall as wounded Wings, but Vanek is expected to be back for Sunday’s game. The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James reports that Helm is expected out 6-8 weeks, but general manager Ken Holland said that no surgery will be required. Athanasiou will be out for another two weeks at a minimum while Kronwall is game to game with a bad knee. St. James writes that the Red Wings will be calling up a forward later this evening to take Helm’s place. Detroit just sent Tyler Bertuzzi back to Grand Rapids, but he could be back quicker than expected.

  • Speaking of younger Red Wings, the Detroit News’ John Niyo pens a column about the emergence of youth in the shadow of injury and how they might just be exactly what Detroit needs. Niyo looks at Ryan Sproul who stepped up in the place of Kronwall and to the joy of a Red Wings fan base clamoring for an injection of youth, looks to be closer to regular play. From Niyo:

And it’s a big reason, though hardly the only one, why Sproul needs to stay right where he is. Not just in Detroit, but also in the lineup, which is sort of what Blashill promised earlier in the day. Sproul hadn’t played in seven games, the last five because veteran Niklas Kronwall was back on the ice. But with Kronwall resting that chronic bad knee again Tuesday — he didn’t look good in the 5-0 loss at Montreal on Sunday — Sproul was given another chance. At the morning skate, Blashill stuck to his pat answer about how long it’d last, saying Sproul’s job was to make sure he was “ready to jump through the window.”

Sproul had a goal and an assist in the Red Wings 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay, but it was his work on the power play that opened eyes. Sproul is known for his booming slapshot, and it was featured in both goals, one that found its way into the net. The other led to a rebound that was dished to Henrik Zetterberg from another young Wing, Anthony Mantha. Mantha has stood tall in his call up, being a net-front presence on the power play, which led directly to the goal that tied the game. There have been questions as to why Mantha hasn’t been allowed to snipe goals like he has in the AHL, but Detroit wants consistency and a two-way game out of him. As injuries pile up, however, the Wings may be better off letting Mantha play the game that’s brought him success since he played juniors: shoot the puck often. The goal scoring problem that has plagued the Red Wings for several seasons may just be solved.

Niyo argues that as Detroit sits seventh in the Atlantic and is on pace for 82 points (which would certainly be way off of a playoff spot), letting the kids play may be in the Red Wings’ best interest.

Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Maple Leafs, Panthers

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After a crushing 5-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday evening, Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill made some changes both on the roster and the ice. The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James writes that Blashill made the decision to move Luke Glendening up to the second line during practice, and that Niklas Kronwall, who has taken maintenance days since his knee injury during practices, will sit against Tampa Bay tomorrow. Further, Petr Mrazek will be back in after Jimmy Howard was shelled–though it was hardly his fault. The Red Wings defense has been porous and since Thomas Vanek’s injury, unable to generate scoring chances much less score goals. From Blashill:

“We’ve got to get to the other nets better. We’ve got to get more forecheck pressure, and we’ve got to win more puck battles. He does all those things. It frees you up on the wing, a little bit, to be able to get in on the forecheck, win puck battles, get to the net, and allow some more space for Nielsen and Larkin, potentially. It’s something we’re looking at.”

Glendening seems a curious choice to move up, but it fits the narrative of “toughness” and “grit” that Detroit continues to use as its guiding principle this season. Whether it translates into goals is an entirely different matter.

In other division news:

  • Michael Traikos of the National Post reports that the Maple Leafs players have followed the rules and adhered to Lou Lamoriello’s rules of short hair and clean shaven faces. Matt Martin says that his agent first brought up to him before he was signed, and Martin obliged, cutting his long blonde hair down to a modest offering. Though it may seem outdated, Traikos writes that Lamoriello indicated that his teams, not individuals win championships and having a “unified appearance” is one way to buy into that. Players have certainly bought in. Netminder Frederik Andersen says that it’s part of building a culture and that the “rich history” of Toronto begs the need for unity in order to win. Traikos adds that with a young team like the Leafs, anything to build culture is welcomed and can lead to better results down the road–even something as simple as shorter hair and no facial hair.
  • The Sun-Sentinel’s Craig Davis reports on newly acquired Panther Seth Griffith’s journey to Miami.  Griffith was snagged off the waiver wire from the Toronto Maple Leafs, who in turn, took Griffith from the Boston Bruins in October via the waiver wire. writes that Griffith should have ample opportunity to prove his worth with the Panthers as roster spots are aplenty.

Thomas Vanek Placed On LTIR, Tyler Bertuzzi Called Up From AHL

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Seeking an answer to their recent struggles, the Detroit Red Wings have recalled Tyler Bertuzzi from the AHL. Thomas Vanek has been moved to long-term injured reserve to make room, retroactive to October 25th. Vanek suffered a lower-body injury almost two-weeks ago and though originally listed just as day-to-day, has obviously suffered some sort of setback.

Bertuzzi, 21, was the Red Wings’ second-round pick in 2013 and has been playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins this season. The feisty winger has four points in nine games and will be making his NHL debut whenever he figures into the lineup. The nephew of infamous former NHLer Todd Bertuzzi, Tyler is not quite as big or as skilled as his uncle but has the same mean streak in his game; he recorded 133 penalty minutes for the Griffins last season.

The Red Wings have lost five straight games after starting the season 6-2-0 and find themselves plummeting down the standings. Having scored only nine goals during that span, they obviously miss Vanek’s offensive production. Amazingly, the Austrian winger still ranks third on the team in scoring despite missing the last six games.

Snapshots: Vrbata, Detroit Injuries, Beleskey, Flyers

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Arizona right winger Radim Vrbata holds a unique distinction among the 719 players to suit up in the NHL this season, writes Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated.  Vrbata is the lone player in the league to be in his third stint with the same organization.  Vrbata played with the Coyotes in 2007-08, then was traded back there again in 2009, staying until 2014.  After a two year stint with Vancouver, he returned to the desert, signing a one year, incentive-laden deal with Arizona this summer.

When he had signed with the Canucks, Vrbata admitted that he never really wanted to leave the Coyotes and had stayed in touch with plenty of players and staffers over the past two seasons with the hope of returning down the road.  The 35 year old enjoyed the familiarity that only Arizona could provide, from the market to the coach (Dave Tippett), to even his linemate in Martin Hanzal.

That comfort level appears to have been quite helpful for Vrbata in his third stint with the team.  After following up a 63 point effort two years ago with arguably the worst season of his career in 2015-16, he’s off to a strong start with Arizona this season with four goals and six assists through his first nine games and is currently skating on their top line.

[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart]

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Red Wings right winger Thomas Vanek is expected to miss the next 2-3 weeks with a hip strain, GM Ken Holland told MLive’s Ansar Khan. Holland remains hopeful that defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who has yet to play this season with a knee injury, will be able to return to the lineup in the next week or so.  Meanwhile right winger Tomas Jurco, who is still recovering from offseason back surgery, is likely to be cleared for contact sometime next week.  Holland anticipates Jurco would need another 7-10 days beyond that to get into game shape.
  • Bruins left winger Matt Beleskey is set to be a healthy scratch tonight against Tampa Bay, notes CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty. Beleskey is off to a tough start this season with no points and a -7 rating in nine games.  Prospect Sean Kuraly will make his NHL debut in Beleskey’s spot on Boston’s third line.
  • The Flyers have sent center Scott Laughton to their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley on a conditioning assignment, the team announced. The 22 year old suffered a lower body injury back in training camp and is currently on long-term injury reserve.  He’s eligible to be activated on Saturday but it would appear that he’ll get into a couple of games in the minors before joining Philadelphia’s active roster.  Still with Philly, defenseman Andrew MacDonald is expected to miss at least the next week with a lower body injury, the club announced (Twitter link).

Atlantic Division Snapshots: Anderson, Deslauriers, Conacher, Vanek

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As noted earlier this week, Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson is going through a tough stretch in his personal life with the recent news of his wife’s cancer diagnosis. At his wife’s insistence, Anderson has returned from a brief leave of absence and will be pressed right back into service tonight between the pipes for the Senators, who are in Edmonton to play the red hot Oilers. Bruce Garrioch confirmed via Twitter that Anderson will get the start tonight as Ottawa attempts to snap the Oilers five-game winning streak.

Anderson has won four of his five starts this season despite a GAA approaching three and a S% just above 90%. Now in his 14th NHL season, Anderson has won 217 career games and has twice finished fourth in Vezina voting. During the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, Anderson led the league in GAA (1.69) and S% (94.1%).

With Andrew Hammond now on IR the Senators desperately need Anderson, though it would be understandable if the veteran netminder’s focus is somewhat divided. It’s likely most everyone outside of Edmonton is going to be an Ottawa Senators and Craig Anderson fan tonight.

More from the NHL’s Atlantic Division:

  • Physical winger Nicolas Deslauriers of the Buffalo Sabres left Saturday’s win over Florida after a collision along the boards in the game’s final minute, writes Amy Moritz of The Buffalo News. Later, Mike Harrington, also of the Buffalo News, revealed on Twitter that Deslauriers has a knee injury and will be out of the lineup for “weeks.” To replace the four-year veteran in the lineup, at least for the time being, the Sabres have recalled winger Nicholas Baptiste from Rochester of the AHL, once again courtesy of Harrington. Baptiste has already appeared in two games this season for Buffalo – the first NHL action of his career – and scored his first career NHL goal on October 20th.
  • Cory Conacher, who was recalled on Friday to take the place of the injured Nikita Kucherov, has been returned to Syracuse of the AHL, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. Conacher played 13:26 last night for the Lightning but didn’t register a point and recorded a -1 plus-minus rating. Smith suggests the reassignment of Conacher could mean that Kucherov or perhaps even Ryan Callahan is ready to return to the lineup for tonight’s contest against the New York Rangers. As Smith also notes, it would be fitting for Callahan, who has yet to play this season following hip surgery this summer, to make his 2016-17 debut against his former team. It’s also possible head coach Jon Cooper will simply dress seven defensemen; a tactic he utilized on many occasions last season.
  •  Originally listed as day-to-day due to a lower-body-injury, it now appears as if Detroit forward Thomas Vanek has been downgraded to week-to-week and is expected to miss the next few games, according to Ansar Khan of MLive.com. Vanek is off to a good start in his first year in Detroit, scoring four goals and eight points in his first seven contests. Detroit was considered a fringe playoff team at best coming into the season but the Austrian winger has helped the Wings to a 6 – 3- 0 start and a second place standing in the Atlantic. His extended absence is certainly bad news for a Wings club that has overachieved to this point.

Red Wings Notes: Vanek, Howard, Pulkkinen

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The Detroit Red Wings are off to a great 6-2-0 record this season, and part of it has been the exceptional play from Thomas Vanek. The Austrian winger has scored eight points in seven games this season, but missed the Wings last game against the Blues with a lower-body injury.  He’s not at the morning skate again today, according to Ansar Khan of MLive.com and won’t play again tonight.

Vanek signed a one-year, $2.6MM deal with the Red Wings this summer, a huge bargain if he could get back to the ~60 point player he was once a lock to be. The former forty-goal man has been on a steady decline in recent years, and has big question marks defensively.

  • Jimmy Howard will start tonight, his third of the season. After Petr Mrazek took the job last season, Howard has been fighting to prove that he is capable of starting at this level still, in order to entice another team to go after him.  The 32-year old has been heavily rumored to be on the market, but since he comes with such a big price tag Detroit might ultimately have to keep him as the backup. Howard is owed almost $5.3MM annually for the next three seasons.
  • Former Red Wing Teemu Pulkkinen has been waived again, this time by the Minnesota Wild. The AHL sniper can’t seem to find his footing in the NHL, and will likely be claimed by a team once again. He had one goal in his eight-game stint with Minnesota that was filled with concern about his foot speed at the NHL level. While his shot is incredibly strong, he often couldn’t keep up with the level of play.
  • Tomas Jurco was back skating today at practice, according to Khan. While the young forward hasn’t played this season, he’s set to make his return from a back injury in mid-November.

Atlantic Notes: Vanek, O’Reilly, Ristolainen, Byron, Czarnik

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While he was quickly cast aside in recent years by Montreal and Minnesota, winger Thomas Vanek is still full of confidence and motivation heading into the season, writes MLive’s Ansar Khan.  After the Wild bought him out in June, Detroit quickly snapped him up, signing him to a one year, $2.6MM deal.  Vanek noted a big reason for signing with the Red Wings was their belief that he can fill a key role with the team:

“The way they described my game and how they see my fit here, it’s something I wanted to hear because I still feel I can score 20-plus goals.”

Vanek is expected to start the season alongside speedy center Darren Helm although the opposite winger has yet to be determined.  Head coach Jeff Blashill also stated that Vanek should play on the top power play unit, where he will be expected to get to the front of the net instead of playing on the perimeter as much as he has in recent years.

[Related: Red Wings Depth Chart]

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Sabres center Ryan O’Reilly left Wednesday’s preseason game – his first since returning from the World Cup of Hockey – with back and midsection spasms, notes John Vogl of the Buffalo News. However, the injury doesn’t appear to be series with head coach Dan Bylsma classifying it as a day-to-day issue.  The team already is missing right winger Kyle Okposo plus blueliners Zach Bogosian and Dmitry Kulikov with various bumps and bruises, although none are believed to be too serious.
  • Bylsma also expects the team to reach an agreement with a contract with RFA defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen before the start of the season next week. The 21 year old is in camp with the team and is taking part in practices (unlike the other restricted free agents around the league) but has not yet suited up in the preseason.
  • Canadiens left winger Paul Byron is battling pneumonia, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie.  He’s expected to miss at least a few days which at least puts his availability for the beginning of the season into question.  Byron had a career high 11 goals with Montreal last season, earning himself a three year contract in the process.
  • Boston center prospect Austin Czarnik has made a significant impression in training camp which has allowed head coach Claude Julien to experiment with an all centers second line comprised of Ryan Spooner, David Krejci, and David Backes, notes CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty. However, Julien suggested that the team may yet experiment with Czarnik on the wing which would force one of the other centers (likely Backes or Spooner) back to the third line.

Injury Notes: Monahan, Seguin, Kronwall

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When Sean Monahan had to pull out of the World Cup with a back injury, many Flames fans clutched their hearts and hoped for the best. Indeed, with Johnny Gaudreau still without a contract, a Monahan injury could have spelled the end for the Flames before the season even started.

After returning to the ice a few days ago however, Monahan skated without the dreaded no-contact jersey today, according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet. A full participant in practice, Monahan should be ready for the start of the regular season. With a Gaudreau contract sounding at least a bit closer to a reality, perhaps Flames fans have nothing (or at least less) to worry about.

  • Another World Cup deserter, Tyler Seguin, will ramp up his skating workload today, according to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. Seguin suffered a hairline fracture in his foot just before the tournament began, but has never been expected to miss the start of the regular season. Lindy Ruff stands by that, telling Heika that he assumes Seguin will be ready for opening night.
  • Niklas Kronwall, one of the injured Red Wings was on the ice for the first time today during his rehab of a knee injury. While Kronwall isn’t expected to take part in any preseason games, Ansar Khan of MLive reports that head coach Jeff Blashill thinks he has a chance at opening night in Tampa Bay next Thursday. Tomas Tatar, Frans Nielsen and Thomas Vanek all re-joined in practice today as well, the trio coming off the silver medal winning Team Europe.

Detroit Notes: Vanek, Howard, Ouellet, Kronwall

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In an interview with Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, Red Wings forward Thomas Vanek acknowledged that Minnesota (where he spent the last two seasons) “just wasn’t a good fit”.

Vanek joined Detroit in July on a one year, $2.6MM deal after he was bought out by the Wild the month before.  Last season with Minnesota, Vanek put up respectable second line numbers with 18 goals and 23 assists in 74 games.  However, given that they were paying him $6.5MM last season (both salary and cap hit), the Wild were expecting much better bang for their buck in the form of top line production and opted to pay him $5MM over the next two years to not play for them.

Despite his tenure in Minnesota not ending on the best of terms, Vanek doesn’t regret signing with them two summers ago:

“It’s always easy to look back and I say I should have done this or that. I knew going into it that it wasn’t going to be easy but I didn’t care. I wanted the challenge. I wanted to see if it could work. It’s a place that’s close to my heart. The only championship I’ve ever was in my college days there and to win another one there would have been awesome. It just didn’t work out.”

Vanek is hopeful that a return to the Eastern Conference (where he spent the first nine years of his career with the Sabres, Islanders, and Canadiens) will help him.  He is expected to battle for a middle six spot with the Red Wings so the pressure to perform like a top line player won’t be there now as it has been for most of his career.

[Related: Red Wings Depth Chart]

Also out of Detroit:

  • Goaltender Jimmy Howard is “definitely not disappointed” to be back with the Red Wings this season, despite losing his starting job to Petr Mrazek, writes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. The team looked into trading him in the offseason but obviously weren’t able to find a suitable trade.  One element that likely complicates matters is Howard’s contract, which has three years with a cap hit just shy of $5.3MM remaining.  That’s a steep price tag for someone that has been relegated to a #2 role so instead, Howard will look push Mrazek for playing time to start the season.
  • After spending the bulk of the last three seasons in the minors (going back and forth to the NHL and back 17 times over that span), defenseman Xavier Ouellet is heading into training camp with a firm grip on a roster spot, St. James wrote in a separate column. Detroit’s second round pick (48th overall) in 2011, Ouellet no longer has waiver exemption and would likely be claimed if they tried to send him down which gives him a sense of security he has yet to have since joining the team.  However, with just 30 games of NHL experience (and just five last season), Ouellet will still have some work to do if he wants to become a regular in the lineup and not just a seventh blueliner.
  • Defenseman Niklas Kronwall is aiming to be ready to start the regular season but isn’t sure how much action he’ll be able to get in the preseason, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. Kronwall withdrew from the World Cup late last month citing lingering knee problems.  He led all Detroit players in ice time per game in 2015-16, logging 22 minutes of action per night and will once again be counted on to play major minutes this season.

Red Wings Notes: Shootouts, Kronwall, Zetterberg, Smith

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MLive’s Ansar Khan answers a number of Red Wings questions from readers as the regular season inches closer. Khan begins by analyzing the Red Wings’ dismal shootout record over the past four seasons (13-29), a record that included shootout wizard Pavel Datsyuk. With the Magic Man and Brad Richards gone, Khan figures that Frans Nielsen, Thomas Vanek and Gustav Nyquist will be the ones to step up and score the timely goals. Nielsen is a sparkling 52.6% in his career during shootouts while Vanek and Nyquist are 48.4% and 33% lifetime respectively. Khan adds Tomas Tatar and Andreas Athanasiou as other possible options for the shootout. Other topics Khan covers:

  • When asked about the future of Swedish stalwarts Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall, Khan predicts that both have a couple seasons left in them. Further, Khan writes, he doubts the two would retire early, causing the Wings salary cap recapture penalties. Khan throws out a couple figures should both retire early: Kronwall at a tune of $2.125MM for two seasons and Zetterberg’s figure would near $3MM for four straight seasons. Khan believes the LTIR is a more likely scenario should both players truly hang up their skates for injury purposes.
  • Khan also touches on Little Caesars Arena, reporting that the sight lines will be good for fans while the slope of the stands will make it feel as if they are over the ice, pumping up the noise level. As for the fate of the Joe Louis Arena, Khan cites an article stating that the Joe will be demolished and most likely replaced by a residential high rise.
  • Ryan Kennedy of the Hockey News writes all about Detroit’s 2016 second round Givani Smith, who quoting Wayne Simmonds, calls Smith a “tank.” Simmonds goes on:

“He skates well, he shoots well, he thinks the game the right way. Detroit got a great pick there in the second round. He’s sure of himself but not cocky. That’s good for a young kid.”

Though his days in Detroit may still be down the road, Smith has earned a reputation as a tough forward who isn’t afraid to drop the gloves when he’s not scoring goals. With Guelph last season, Smith had 42 points in 65 games (23-19). Kennedy writes that the 18-year-old winger believes he can be a top six or bottom six forward, depending on what the Red Wings need.

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