from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,
Derek Lalonde wanted to make sure the Detroit Red Wings appreciated just how much they accomplished.
He addressed them minutes after they were eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday in the regular-season finale. They won their game against the Montreal Canadiens, 5-4 in a shootout, but the Washington Capitals also won their game and have the tiebreaker on Detroit. It was a bittersweet way to finish — win, but lose.
Lalonde related what he told players: "Be proud of their effort. Leave this rink with their head up. Positive narrative about the group. All year long, especially down the stretch, they played for each other. It was all about the team. We take seven of our last eight points the way we did. We won 14 games trailing in the third period.
"This stings, but they did move this proud organization forward from where it’s been, and we have to keep pushing forward."
from Max Bultman of The Athletic,
...perhaps the toughest reality of this seasons ending is that the page now turns to what comes next. Because while the Red Wings can credibly point out, as coach Derek Lalonde routinely reminds reporters, that they surpassed expectations by getting to this point (I picked Detroit for 88 points this preseason), the expectations are only going up. And the next step forward will be even tougher.
As Larkin no doubt knew when talking about his group, there will be faces gone from the locker room next season. We wont know precisely who for a matter of weeks, if not months, but some key players have expiring contracts.
Kane, the midseason addition who gave Detroit a star factor it hasnt had in years, is set to become a free agent. Perron, who scored the tying goal Tuesday and whose leadership has had a substantial impact on the Red Wings on the whole, is too. So is Shayne Gostisbehere, who put up six points in Detroits last three games to (almost surely) finish as a top-15 scoring NHL defenseman. And Christian Fischer, whose emergence next to Michael Rasmussen and Andrew Copp helped Detroit find a true bottom-six identity line. And Daniel Sprong, who gave Detroit a down-lineup scorer who could make something out of nothing.
The salary cap will make it nearly impossible for them to bring back everyone and even if it didnt, they really cant anyway. Because while this team made real progress, it still came up short in the end due to some real flaws.
While Detroits final late-season games showed tremendous resolve, they only needed to fight so hard because the Red Wings gave up four or more goals in each of their last four games a problem that they may have outscored in these instances, but that reared its head all season. They will have to improve their defense, which will likely mean subtraction beyond simple attrition. They will likely need to take a long look at addressing their goaltending, too.
more ($)
from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com,
What went wrong
Severe slump: The turning point came Feb. 29-March 14, when Detroit lost seven straight games in regulation. The Red Wings had built an eight-point cushion in the playoff race by going 16-4-2 from Jan. 2-Feb. 27. Just like that, it was gone. It didnt help that captain Dylan Larkin, their No. 1 center, missed eight games with a lower-body injury from March 6-19.
Team defense: The Red Wings rank 24th in goals against per game (3.33), 26th in shots against per game (32.4) and 28th in 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage (46.3). Too often they started poorly and had to come from behind. When they were streaking in January and February, they were doing it with hot shooting, hot goaltending and special teams. Eventually, it caught up to them.
Goaltending: Ville Husso entered the season as the No. 1, but he played only 19 games due to injuries and went 9-5-2 with a 3.55 goals-against average and .892 save percentage. James Reimer, the No. 2, went 11-8-2 with a 3.11 GAA and .904 save percentage. Alex Lyon started out as the No. 3, but he ended up the No. 1 for much of the season and played an NHL career-high 44 games. Hot for a while, he cooled off and finished 21-18-5 with a 3.05 GAA and .904 save percentage. The Red Wings are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for 25th in 5-on-5 save percentage (.907).
more on Detroit's season
I dont want to say too much right now about specific players, theres time to do that.
But there is no guarantee that they will improve next year on points or standings. Its a tough haul and this is one of the toughest Divisions, and the East has no dogs for easy points like the West did in San Jose and Chicago who barely collected .300.
Larkin really wanted it for the team and fanbase, and seemed to carry the weight on his shoulders and did so in lead-by-example fashion. But he cant keep the opponent from notching 4 goals per game. Thats got to be up to his teammates, coaches and the management team that puts together the roster.
Regardless, a frustrating and fun team to watch who for the first time in years I felt was never out of a game.
I'll say it for you :P
Vets were garbage and made rookie mistakes that cost team games and important points.
Sprong (on the PP) throws a pass that easily gets intercepted and leads to a Carter SHG for the Pens. Game goes to OT and Detroit loses.
Seider (same game) stands around the net crease while O'Connor takes 6 whacks at a puck on the goalie pads reaching instead of putting a guy on his butt. Seider couldn't find his man in the defensive zone and was facing the goalie while the forward skated untouched towards the net.
Seider (game against Washington) trips over a pass and Ovechkin puts it in with 7.2 seconds left in the period.
Seider (other game against Washington) gets the puck stolen from between his legs along the boards with no on checking him. Connor McMichael puts it in after a shot.
Copp (same game against Washington) losses a face-off and lets the man go to the net unchecked. Even his coach called him out on this one publicly.
Petry (game against Nashville) puck in the corner no pressure fails to clear the zone. Foresberg scores.
The whole team (gameS against the AHL Arizona team) which may explain why they needed Kane during a match against the AHL Blackhawks on Chelios jersey retirement night.
Seider and Walman (game against Dallas) both failed to clear the net on the PK. Both playing areas and wouldn't you know it the forward not cleared had an easy chip on a rebound over the pad (Benn who deserves to be put on his butt every time the Wings play him).
Same game against Dallas (DeBrincat) less than 20 seconds into the period gets easily beat up the ice and lets Marchant be the trailing forward on a 3-2.
Same game Sprong fails to play defense and Lindell sneaks in from the point to tap in a rebound.
Why are you picking on Seider--because he played like garbage this year and kept making rookie mistakes. Aren't there bigger fish: yes Petry, Copp, and Sprong all of which made mistakes--but Seider did it down the stretch and falling over the puck with 7.2 seconds left is why the Wings are not playing in the playoffs.
Team defense: This has not improved much at all. This should be the key item for Yzerman to figure out.
Yep. The elephant in the closet. Team defense was plain horrible. While goal tending was sometimes questionable, the defense hung them out to dry. A major question mark in the off season.🤪
I completely agree. A lot of the critical mistakes were coming from the vets on the team who should know better. Team defense is also a major reason why the goalie numbers weren't great IMO; how many 2 on 1s or muffins into the slot can you reasonably expect any goalie to save in a game?
Some players need to change, but I wonder if SY is considering a coaching shake up too.
Wings have assigned Zach Aston-Reese and Simon Edvinsson to GR.
Want them to get some playoff games in.
Meanwhile, Wings sign Shai Buium to an ELC.
Detroit nominee is Dylan Larkin,
NEW YORK (April 17, 2024) The National Hockey League today announced the 32 team nominees for the 2023-24 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is presented to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.
The nominees were selected by their respective NHL teams. The winner will be chosen by a selection committee consisting of Commissioner Gary Bettman and, for the first time, former winners of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the historic NHL Foundation Player Award.
In determining the winner, the selection committee will consider the criteria of a nominees inspiration, involvement, and impact to positively benefit his community.
The nominee with the most votes will be named the winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and receive a $25,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of his choice. New this year, the winner will also be eligible to elect that his Club receive a grant from the NHL, up to $20,000, to help organize a special activation related to his humanitarian cause.
Does it mean he is staying? Leaving? Means nothing, just a nice gesture?
That's great and what Perron brings in the corners and along the boards is important. But he's lost several steps and is often out of position against quicker forwards. I think it is time to part ways. Great player but Father Time remains undefeated.
That's rediculously awesome.
Apparently nobody told Tortarella that he didn't need to pull his goalie last night.
I'd like to blame Torts but the Wings did this to themselves in March and down the stretch. And it was vets that played like rookies that caused it.
I was watching the games side-by-side and the goals happened at almost the exact same time - certainly within 30 seconds. I know Bally's had the game score in the corner for a lot of the game but that was a solid 1-2 game minutes behind most of the time, too.
Flyers broadcast announced it with about 4:10 left, Oshie scored at 3:00
Ah - so I blame Bally's ;)
Kane talked to Chris Johnston about re-signing.
approx at the 3:35 mark
This is encouraging. I think SY will get it done.
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