from Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press,
Thank you, Boston Bruins.
Thank you for showing Steve Yzerman the error in his thinking when it comes to playoff potential.
You see, the Detroit Red Wings general manager told us this year that he doesn’t believe in being a buyer at the trade deadline and holding on to his unrestricted free agents unless he has a serious playoff contender on his hands.
You know, like the Bruins, who set NHL records with 65 wins and 135 points — and still were eliminated in the first round.
And who did the Bruins lose to? Glad you asked. They lost at home in overtime of Game 7 to the Florida Panthers. The Panthers, the last time I checked, are an NHL team and not a Jimmy Buffett tribute band. They play in Sunrise, Florida, which sounds a lot more like a retirement community than a hockey hotbed.
And yet these mighty Panthers, who won a measly seven more games that Yzerman’s lowly Wings, and were the “worst” team to make the playoffs, somehow upset the Presidents’ Trophy champions.
continued ($)
from Ansar Khan of Mlive,
The Grand Rapids Griffins will be adding some size, skill and youth to their defense next season with former Detroit Red Wings second-round picks Antti Tuomisto and William Wallinder.
Both signed entry-level contracts in March and are preparing for their first AHL season.
Tuomisto (6-4, 194) has good hands and a strong shot. His right shot brings more value to an organization that has mostly left-shooting defense prospects.
We signed him with the idea of stepping into Grand Rapids next season, Red Wings assistant general manager and Griffins GM Shawn Horcoff said. Anttis a guy whos maybe taken a little bit longer to get over here than some but not in a negative capacity. I just think hes a big kid who was underdeveloped. I think he needed some time.
Tuomisto, selected 35th overall in 2019, the year Moritz Seider was taken sixth overall, spent two seasons at Denver, where he was one of three Red Wings prospects to win the NCAA Championship in 2022 (along with Carter Mazur and Shai Buium).
continued
I don't know this writer. Is he a clown? Did the Panthers win the President's Trophy last year? The Wings area still a thin and mediocre team. Not a recent p.t. winner. There's a difference. This guy's a fool if he thinks these Wings could have won the cup this year
There are two writers mentioned in this article. The one by Carlos is behind a paywall, so we can only see the above. Ansar Kahn is a regular Wing beat writer, based out of Grand Rapids, and a good one. Low key, and during the interviews with Lalonde and players, he doesn't ask inane, stupid questions, like several of the other regular beat writers based in Detroit, who shall remain unnamed. Carlos Monarrez from the Freep, from what I have read in the past is a clown.
I've been reading Khan for a couple decades, I would guess. I'm very familiar with him. But Carlos, whose article was quoted in the post rather than in a comment, seems to have no concept of context or history. That's the shortsighted ridiculousness that many wings fans seem to share just because the team has been bad for a while. The problem is there was probably a mandate to make the playoffs so Kenny sold off years worth of future via questionable drafting and terrible contracts. I believe they're still paying off Kenny's bad contracts. This Carlos person seems to not understand any of that
"I believe they're still paying off Kenny's bad contracts."
This is a poor and outdated excuse at this point.
How about the constant chasing of playoff participation meant the Wings were constantly picking in the bottom half of the draft. Trading away picks and prospects for rentals and vets further limited their prospect pools. The Wings scouting dept failed on most of these picks. Beyond that players that were draft were often traded away.
And of course one of my favorite KH trades: Mattias Janmark and Roope Hintz (yes that #49 pick was Detroit's) for Eric Cole and his 11 games as a Red Wing. And don't even get me started on the whole Stamkos didn't even return a phone call, but the Wings had to clear cap space Chychrun/ Hronek & Cholowski thing.
So while KH bashing has become passe among some here. I've been doing it since 2011 and will happily debate just how much he set back the team. The only thing I will add is that the last two years KH did the right thing and started the rebuild in Feb of 2017 when he traded away Jurco and Brendan Smith (followed by Vanek and Ott in March).
YES, FOLKS THE WINGS REBUILD HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE FEB OF 2017 and if anyone thinks that it will be done by the 2024 playoffs they will be in for a rude awakening. SY got the benefit of the doubt and that rebuild under KH was wiped from existence. SY's drafting bought him more time. But even he knows that fans patience has limits.
So I seriously doubt SY has learned any kind of lesson at all from the Bruins loss. The Wings simply are not even close to playing in their sandbox yet.
The problem is people look at the time frame and they don't look at the hole that Kenny pushed the wings into. And then fill the hole with dirt and then put concrete on top of it. Then built a slum on top of that.
My point was more that there is still evidence of Kenny's misdoings in the form of buyouts that should remind people of what this team is digging out of rather than that is the reason they're not contending for a Cup, but I didn't spell that out. I should have pointed to the remaining buyouts should be a reminder for people that making the playoffs was far more important than future health of the organization for Kenny's last few years.
The combined buyout penalties for Nielsen & Abdelkader this year were $2.8M or a touch over 3% of the cap. That drops to $1M for the next 3 years.
So technically true, but not a large factor.
I'd say we're still recovering from the hangover of the Holland years. The missed and wasted opportunities that dug the current hole deeper.
Thanks, A would. You get it.
I understand that writers have to come up with something to put in print (or digital), and often there isnt enough new news to write about, so they have to get inventive.
But Carlos apparently was born after 9-11. Yzerman spent years in the 90s with a high flying high scoring Wings team that routinely got bounced early from the playoffs. Even after winning back to back trophies he still saw his team with Hall of Famers not get to the Finals more often than they did.
Apparently Carlos doesnt know that Yzerman also was GM that built the TB team that tied historical win totals in the regular season and were swept in the first round in what is still considered one of the biggest upsets in Stanley Cup history.
My point is that Yzerman didnt learn anything from Bostons loss this year that he already hadnt learned from painful personal experience.
And OBTW, how is this in error? I dont have access to the entire article so I could be missing something, but this statement seems right on the money.
You see, the Detroit Red Wings general manager told us this year that he doesnt believe in being a buyer at the trade deadline and holding on to his unrestricted free agents unless he has a serious playoff contender on his hands.
Just so! Well stated.
I have too much time on my hands!
from Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now,What Does His Detroit Future Hold?
The encouraging news for Pysyk is that his latest rehabilitation has gone well. Sources told Detroit Hockey Now that he is healing nicely.We were told that Pysyk should be medically cleared to play any day now. The expectation is that he will have a normal summer of training.We are also told Pysyk liked his time in Detroit and would like to stay. But thus far there has not been any discussion with general manager Steve Yzerman. The Red Wings still need a right-shot defensemen, but there hasnt been any indication that they want to bring back Pysyk. But Yzermans intentions rarely leak out.Its easy to see why the Red Wings might prefer to explore options beyond Pysyk. They got nothing in return for their investment last season. But Pysyk, if healthy, does have desirable qualities. Plus, there is a shortage of right-shot defenseman in the marketplace. If nothing works out in the free agent marketplace, they could double-back to Pysyk.Heres what we know for sure: Pysyk is only 31. He likely will find an NHL job for next season.
more
Pass. Many RHD that would slot nicely in that 2nd pair available.
I just read or heard three days ago that the LA KIngs have a surplus or RHD. Perhaps Steve should give a call soon to Rob Blake and put out some feelers for potential trades.
UFA's: RHD Matt Dumba, RHD John Klingberg, RHD Damon Severson, RHD Travis Hamonic, RHD Radko Gudas,
why waste the capital for a trade? You have cap space that other teams don't and almost all of those guys would be better waiting to summer of 2024 (when the cap is expected to go up 4.5M due to COVID escrow being wiped) to sign long term deals .
The writer's bio from the Free Press,
Carlos Monarrez has been a sports writer for the Detroit Free Press since 2000. He has covered the Detroit Lions and the NFL since 2006. He has written about and covered every major sports team in Michigan during his career: Michigan football and Michigan basketball, the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball, the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL, the Detroit Pistons of the NBA, and Michigan State football and Michigan State basketball. He also writes columns regularly about all of Michigan's sports teams.
So the lack of apparent thought in his article is probably not related to ignorance but being 100% clickbait instead. I would feel cheated if I paid for that level of quality in sports coverage.
Yeah.
I was certain I must have missed something obvious by not reading the entire article. I still dont get it.
I think it's probably all about pandering to the meat common denominator.
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