I have a hard time seeing Sakic trading a young defenseman signed long term for two 30 year old rentals. They probably would want Bertuzzi (can't see Yzerman doing a straight swap on that), Fabbri (Wings would have to add more unless an extension is worked out). Zadina might interest them but he's not exactly being much of a scoring winger right now. I could see them wanting Namestnikov back but not for Girard. Maybe for a mid round pick and someone (maybe Ryan Murray) just to make the salary cap work.
- dcz28

Yeah it was just pointed out to me that the Avs wanted to clear cap space for the future. 2 rentals would do that for a win-now team that needs cap space next year. However, just recently it was pointed out to me that they want a shut-down D+ to replace Girard. Probably more of a Chiriot or Giordano type of player and a scoring forward.

Wings and 4 other teams have scouts in SJ watching Barracuda (E. Kane?????) and Sharks games.

The Red Wings are the only club with sufficient cap space to take on Kane’s $7 million annual average value. That doesn’t mean they have any interest in him.

Wings and 4 other teams have scouts in SJ watching Barracuda (E. Kane?????) and Sharks games.

The Red Wings are the only club with sufficient cap space to take on Kane’s $7 million annual average value. That doesn’t mean they have any interest in him.
- HenryHockey

The only player i can see the Wings have interest in SJ is Hertl. He is still within the age group Yzerman is looking for. He is a UFA to be so maybe the deal would be bigger and involve someone else playing in the AHL. Only problem is the Sharks are in the playoff race so i doubt they are looking to move Hertl right now.

Can't see Yzerman wanting any part of Kane unless it is to eat some salary for a trade and getting a prospect/pick for doing so. It would need to be a hell of a prospect and/or great pick(s) to eat salary for that term of contract. Eat half of the Kane contract for Eklund maybe

The only player i can see the Wings have interest in SJ is Hertl. He is still within the age group Yzerman is looking for. He is a UFA to be so maybe the deal would be bigger and involve someone else playing in the AHL. Only problem is the Sharks are in the playoff race so i doubt they are looking to move Hertl right now.

Can't see Yzerman wanting any part of Kane unless it is to eat some salary for a trade and getting a prospect/pick for doing so. It would need to be a hell of a prospect and/or great pick(s) to eat salary for that term of contract. Eat half of the Kane contract for Eklund maybe
- dcz28

Yeah, I wanted Eklund instesd of Eddy. But I think Stevie will have a winner in Eddy. Eddy looks very, very good so far!

The only player i can see the Wings have interest in SJ is Hertl. He is still within the age group Yzerman is looking for. He is a UFA to be so maybe the deal would be bigger and involve someone else playing in the AHL. Only problem is the Sharks are in the playoff race so i doubt they are looking to move Hertl right now.

Can't see Yzerman wanting any part of Kane unless it is to eat some salary for a trade and getting a prospect/pick for doing so. It would need to be a hell of a prospect and/or great pick(s) to eat salary for that term of contract. Eat half of the Kane contract for Eklund maybe
- dcz28

Ya know, maybe Kane and all his salary + a very good prospect for a 2nd or a 3rd might be the only way SJ rids themselves of Evander (raising) Kane! Really not a Yzerman type though.

Ya know, maybe Kane and all his salary + a very good prospect for a 2nd or a 3rd might be the only way SJ rids themselves of Evander (raising) Kane! Really not a Yzerman type though.

- HenryHockey

Sharks can either eat salary and pay a team prospects/picks to get rid of him now or wait until off-season and buy him out. I doubt anyone would take him without the Sharks eating salary or giving something for a team to take him...then again GMs do stupid things every year so who knows.

Cossa & Sebrango on the CAN WJC roster:
Sunday afternoon, Hockey Canada has announced the expected roster for the 2022 WJC:

G Brett Brochu (2022 draft eligible)
G Sebastian Cossa (DET)
G Dylan Garand (NYR)

D Owen Power (BUF)
D Donovan Sebrango (DET)

Cossa & Sebrango on the CAN WJC roster:
Sunday afternoon, Hockey Canada has announced the expected roster for the 2022 WJC:

G Brett Brochu (2022 draft eligible)
G Sebastian Cossa (DET)
G Dylan Garand (NYR)

D Owen Power (BUF)
D Donovan Sebrango (DET)
- mcmastermike1968

Team USA
F Red Savage (DET)
F Carter Mazur (DET)

Team Sweden
Simon Edvinsson
Theodor Niederbach

Team Finland
Eemil Viro
Brad Lambert (2022 Red Wing draft pick)

Team USA
F Red Savage (DET)
F Carter Mazur (DET)

Team Sweden
Simon Edvinsson
Theodor Niederbach

Team Finland
Eemil Viro
Brad Lambert (2022 Red Wing draft pick)
- HenryHockey

Lambert is having bad season (Aatu Raty type of season) 2 goals, 6 points in 24 games with a -10 rating. Some draft rankings have already dropped him mid first round and if he doesn't improve, he likely could go late first round or even in the early 2nd round like Raty did.

Lambert is having bad season (Aatu Raty type of season) 2 goals, 6 points in 24 games with a -10 rating. Some draft rankings have already dropped him mid first round and if he doesn't improve, he likely could go late first round or even in the early 2nd round like Raty did.
- dcz28

Did I say it had to be the Wings first pick?

Wings just need draft him so his uncle will come over and coach next year.

Did I say it had to be the Wings first pick?

Wings just need draft him so his uncle will come over and coach next year.
- HenryHockey

Wings re-signed Fabbri for 3 years at a 4 mil average.

Wings re-signed Fabbri for 3 years at a 4 mil average.
- dcz28

Solid signing; Fabbri has become part of the core.

Wings re-signed Fabbri for 3 years at a 4 mil average.
- dcz28

I like it!

Wings re-signed Fabbri for 3 years at a 4 mil average.
- dcz28

This one gets a solid "meh" from me. I think it's probably a wise piece of business by Yzerman but purely on the hockey fundamentals I certainly wouldn't consider it a discount.

IMO Fabbri is not a core piece. On a contending NHL roster he is an offense-first third liner with a good shot but some pretty stark defensive liabilities. Purely on that basis, $4m AAV is probably on the high side. The Red Wings will not be contenders again until players of Fabbri's caliber can't reliably crack the top six anymore.

That being said, the Wings are not yet a contending NHL roster (obviously) and in the meantime they still need guys with some scoring ability who can hack it on something resembling a second line while Yzerman assembles something better, whether that comes from internal improvement (Zadina, Veleno, Berggren, etc.) or trades / free agency. In that sense I think three more years of Fabbri holding down the fort until we finally get enough better players to bump him down the lineup for good is defensible roster management.

Best-case scenario is that as early as next season Fabbri is an expensive third liner, which is fine since he's a better fit for the third line anyway and the Wings will still easily be able to afford him. More likely scenario is that, for better or worse, Fabbri will still be one of our six best scoring forwards for a couple of years yet.

But even for an overpay, $4 million is really not that bad and 3 years only takes Fabbri to age 29, which means he'll probably still be a decent enough middle sixer throughout the entire length of the deal.

I see this deal as a way to provide some offensive stability while rebuilding the forward corps continues. Hopefully three years is enough time to fully complete the handoff to the next generation.

This one gets a solid "meh" from me. I think it's probably a wise piece of business by Yzerman but purely on the hockey fundamentals I certainly wouldn't consider it a discount.

IMO Fabbri is not a core piece. On a contending NHL roster he is an offense-first third liner with a good shot but some pretty stark defensive liabilities. Purely on that basis, $4m AAV is probably on the high side. The Red Wings will not be contenders again until players of Fabbri's caliber can't reliably crack the top six anymore.

That being said, the Wings are not yet a contending NHL roster (obviously) and in the meantime they still need guys with some scoring ability who can hack it on something resembling a second line while Yzerman assembles something better, whether that comes from internal improvement (Zadina, Veleno, Berggren, etc.) or trades / free agency. In that sense I think three more years of Fabbri holding down the fort until we finally get enough better players to bump him down the lineup for good is defensible roster management.

Best-case scenario is that as early as next season Fabbri is an expensive third liner, which is fine since he's a better fit for the third line anyway and the Wings will still easily be able to afford him. More likely scenario is that, for better or worse, Fabbri will still be one of our six best scoring forwards for a couple of years yet.

But even for an overpay, $4 million is really not that bad and 3 years only takes Fabbri to age 29, which means he'll probably still be a decent enough middle sixer throughout the entire length of the deal.

I see this deal as a way to provide some offensive stability while rebuilding the forward corps continues. Hopefully three years is enough time to fully complete the handoff to the next generation.
- Sven22

Your take is a bit sad...but as usual it is most likely very accurate. Yzerman does not let his emotion get in the way of his managing a roster. Fabbri is not the 2-way player that Stevie covets. He is a placeholder for a 2-way scorer. Fabbri's contract is very tradable barring the inevitable? injury. I like the guy and his scoring skill and hope he stays healthy and keeps producing.

This one gets a solid "meh" from me. I think it's probably a wise piece of business by Yzerman but purely on the hockey fundamentals I certainly wouldn't consider it a discount.

IMO Fabbri is not a core piece. On a contending NHL roster he is an offense-first third liner with a good shot but some pretty stark defensive liabilities. Purely on that basis, $4m AAV is probably on the high side. The Red Wings will not be contenders again until players of Fabbri's caliber can't reliably crack the top six anymore.

That being said, the Wings are not yet a contending NHL roster (obviously) and in the meantime they still need guys with some scoring ability who can hack it on something resembling a second line while Yzerman assembles something better, whether that comes from internal improvement (Zadina, Veleno, Berggren, etc.) or trades / free agency. In that sense I think three more years of Fabbri holding down the fort until we finally get enough better players to bump him down the lineup for good is defensible roster management.

Best-case scenario is that as early as next season Fabbri is an expensive third liner, which is fine since he's a better fit for the third line anyway and the Wings will still easily be able to afford him. More likely scenario is that, for better or worse, Fabbri will still be one of our six best scoring forwards for a couple of years yet.

But even for an overpay, $4 million is really not that bad and 3 years only takes Fabbri to age 29, which means he'll probably still be a decent enough middle sixer throughout the entire length of the deal.

I see this deal as a way to provide some offensive stability while rebuilding the forward corps continues. Hopefully three years is enough time to fully complete the handoff to the next generation.
- Sven22

Well after they sign Hertl and Forsberg he will be on the 3rd line

Your take is a bit sad...but as usual it is most likely very accurate. Yzerman does not let his emotion get in the way of his managing a roster. Fabbri is not the 2-way player that Stevie covets. He is a placeholder for a 2-way scorer. Fabbri's contract is very tradable barring the inevitable? injury. I like the guy and his scoring skill and hope he stays healthy and keeps producing.
- HenryHockey

Yeah no disrespect to Fabbri. I like him a lot as a player and I think he was (and still is, at least for now) the right guy at the right time during a difficult rebuild.

I was curious to see if I wrote anything on the board when the Red Wings acquired him. Here we go:

Very surface level impression:

Fabbri has more upside, even though he's relatively unlikely to reach it. If he can at least get back to being as good as he was before his injury, it's a win for Detroit. But it's also very possible that there's no coming back from something like that.

...

On balance I like it. The odds of a bet on Fabbri paying off aren't great, but there's at least a chance, and the cost and risk were very low. That's good asset management IMO. Reclamation projects fail a lot more often than they succeed, but if even one succeeds you've made back your investment and then some.
- Sven22

Even though I don't think Fabbri is a "core" player or a legit all-around top sixer on a contender I think it's fair to say he's easily exceeded my expectations. Also seems like a nice guy. Good for him.

Good luck with your recovery Jeremy. You're really the only blogger on here I enjoy reading. It may be worth checking into what National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) has been doing recently. I know it's part of Walter Reed and only for veterans, but they have made amazing advancements in the treatment of TBI's. Hopefully some of what they are doing makes its way to the civilian world as well.

Because of 20 years of continuous war, the military is realizing just how many brain injuries soldiers are getting, and it's from a lot more than just explosions. Shooting 50 cal rifles, TBI's caused by parachutes deploying after high altitude jumps, being on smaller watercrafts and continuously hitting strong waves, etc. There are so many things' soldiers do that causes what starts out as minor brain injuries, but they all add up. Because of this, much of the leading research and treatments are being developed for veterans, but I would hope many of them are making their way to the civilian world.

We're also seeing life-changing treatments that aren't approved in the US through psychedelics, especially Psilocybin. There are two reputable organizations that are doing amazing work. One is the Heroic Hearts Project (https://www.heroicheartsproject.org/) and another is Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS) ([url]https://vetsolutions.org/). The results VETS are seeing is almost unbelievable.

I realize these are veteran organizations, but in my opinion, that's where the funding and attention has been for the past decade. Those two groups may not work with you directly unless you're a vet, but they may be able to guide you toward alternative treatments that the pharmaceuticals have successfully kept out of the US but are proving to be very beneficial. I hope you are able to find solutions. Take care.

Barzal is on Covid list

Detroit
Forwards
Tyler Bertuzzi - Dylan Larkin - Lucas Raymond
Vladislav Namestnikov - Pius Suter - Robby Fabbri
Adam Erne - Michael Rasmussen - Filip Zadina
Joe Veleno - Carter Rowney - Sam Gagner

Defense
Danny DeKeyser - Moritz Seider
Nick Leddy - Filip Hronek
Jordan Oesterle - Gustav Lindstrom

Goalies
Alex Nedeljkovic
Thomas Greiss

New York
Forwards
Anthony Beauvillier - Brock Nelson - Josh Bailey
Anders Lee - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Kyle Palmieri
Kieffer Bellows - Zach Parise - Oliver Wahlstrom
Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck

Defense
Adam Pelech - Scott Mayfield
Zdeno Chara - Noah Dobson
Andy Greene - Robin Salo
Goalies
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov

LGRW's!!!!

Good to see Ras get on the board last night, he’s been pushing really hard…maybe too hard. The kids turned it up & set up Larkin for his first in 8, and on the PP. Looked like the D played ok….until the last 10min or so.

When I watch the opponents play after they pull their G, I look at it as a PK. And the last 3min were a train-wreck. They’ve got to lock it down in the last part of the 3d. Puck movement by NYI was pretty solid, nothing spectacular, but it made us look more disjointed than normal.

Awesome to be 2 games above .500, despite the often lackluster play. The kids are alright (Raymond, Mo Sides). We just need to string together a more intact game-plan that’s executed well. But that game-plan needs to be one that troubles the opponent. Not sure we’re there, yet.

Not sure about CAR Thursday, I heard the league will release an update today.

Good to see Ras get on the board last night, he’s been pushing really hard…maybe too hard. The kids turned it up & set up Larkin for his first in 8, and on the PP. Looked like the D played ok….until the last 10min or so.

When I watch the opponents play after they pull their G, I look at it as a PK. And the last 3min were a train-wreck. They’ve got to lock it down in the last part of the 3d. Puck movement by NYI was pretty solid, nothing spectacular, but it made us look more disjointed than normal.

Awesome to be 2 games above .500, despite the often lackluster play. The kids are alright (Raymond, Mo Sides). We just need to string together a more intact game-plan that’s executed well. But that game-plan needs to be one that troubles the opponent. Not sure we’re there, yet.

Not sure about CAR Thursday, I heard the league will release an update today.
- mcmastermike1968

I'm hoping Rasmussen can finally move up to the next level (if there is one for him). Good to see him get a goal tonight. He needs more snarl in his game and be more physical with that huge body of his to be effective. When he sets his mind to it... he can be a good screen in front of the goalie. He's so huge he's hard to move out of the crease (he was good at this in GR). His faceoff % so far this year is 50%... it would be nice if he could bring that up.

I think getting Stecher and Stall back in the lineup will help the defense. Dekeyser needs to be sitting on the bench (and stay there).

Interesting side note... Lucas Raymond has the best faceoff % on the wings at 62.5% .

I'm hoping Rasmussen can finally move up to the next level (if there is one for him). Good to see him get a goal tonight. He needs more snarl in his game and be more physical with that huge body of his to be effective. When he sets his mind to it... he can be a good screen in front of the goalie. He's so huge he's hard to move out of the crease (he was good at this in GR). His faceoff % so far this year is 50%... it would be nice if he could bring that up.

I think getting Stecher and Stall back in the lineup will help the defense. Dekeyser needs to be sitting on the bench (and stay there).

Interesting side note... Lucas Raymond has the best faceoff % on the wings at 62.5% .
- Vladdie_Kon1

Ras got a few licks in on Chara last night, I think he's learning his size can be used to to his benefit. The issue I have is it's taking him SO long to learn to adapt to the NHL. He has the potential to be a solid net-front, physical guy who chips in around 10-15G a year (at best). At this point, I think he's destined to be a 4th line guy who can play up a line. His FOW is impressive, I didn't know he was that high! He's looked ok at the dot when I've been paying attention....he leverages well. But this indicates an underlying issue with the Wings: Not enough NHL development and game-planning to the strength of the team (at least from my POV).

I'm not sold on Staal. He's just "meh" for me. The issue here is that we don't have anyone to replace him; Stecher, (I REALLY like that guy), Lindstrom is down, the kids they've brought in are 4th parings at best (I know there's only 3 D-lines....I used 4th intentionally). Eddy can't come soon enough. Sebrango looks like he's progressing well....there's some hope.

I like the move with Fabbri. Good kid, LOTS of character. Great mentor. High energy level. Never quits. Solid move. By the time we're SCPO contenders, he'll be the grizzled vet, and hopefully many fewer injuries along the way. When we get Vrana back, the top 2 lines will be really potent. But Raymond's a kid that is just slamming the haters every night. Was definitely not tracking his FOW! He's a devil on the ice and the scary thing is that he's still developing! When he hits his stride, we could have a legit super-star (I know its early in his development, but look at what he's done...). I'd think he'll have the traditional sophomore slump, but if we can be healthy, draft well, bring up a kid or 2....things look better each week. Heck, we're sitting 2 games ABOVE .500, who'da thunk it?!?!?!??!?!?!

Ras, to his credit, has improved a lot defensively. If he rounds into being a decent defense-first 3C who can play both special teams units I'd be thrilled with that, honestly.

Anyone wish to trade for Jakob Chychrun?

In his latest “32 Thoughts”, Elliotte Friedman indicated most teams he’s spoken with said trade talks are “quiet”. However, he reported that it sounds like the Arizona Coyotes “are gauging the market on Jakob Chychrun.” Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong declined to comment on the speculation.
Friedman said the asking price is “massive” but it’s not deterring interest in the 23-year-old defenseman. He’s got three more seasons left on his contract with an annual average value of $4.6 million.

I say Leddy (retain half salary) a 2023 unprotected 1st, Caps 2022 2nd, and Albert Johansson for Chychun. Leddy is just a replacement for this year, actually he is the Wings best LD. NOT GIVING THEM EDDY!!!!!!