Detroit Hockey Now is offering a $10 discount on our yearly subscription price. For the first time, Hockey Now’s affiliate websites are linked together. That means subscribers can read behind-the-paywall stories at all of Hockey Now’s sites. But act fast, because this offering will be expiring soon.

The regular price for a yearly subscription is $39.99. But if you use the discount code of Kevin10 or Bob10, you will receive the $10 discount. That makes it $29.99.

Readers with subscription read ad-free, and they will be eligible for a draw in October for a scale model replica of Joe Louis Arena. This collectible scale model was presented to fans attending the farewell Red Wings game at the Joe as a keepsake. And all you need to do to be eligible to win it is to be an active DHN+ subscriber as of Oct. 31, 2023.

But wait, there’s more. We’ll be continuing to offers prizes to subscribers each month that include autograph Red Wings’ trading cards and other memorabilia and hockey books written by Detroit Hockey Now writers Kevin Allen and Bob Duff. We will announce the details of those drawings at the beginning of each month when we also will be announcing the winner of that month’s prize package.

Finally, we want to thank all of our readers for their devotion to our site. Since this site launched in May of 2021, we’ve had millions upon millions of visitors read our stories. Your patronage is much appreciated.

The post Act Soon: DHN Subscription Offer Expiring – Get Discount & Be Eligible For Prize Draws appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Amongst the offseason additions made by the Detroit Red Wings, it’s probably a fair assessment that the one creating the least amount of buzz was the signing of UFA netminder Alex Lyon. In the long run, though, he may prove to be a vital cog if Detroit is to indeed be ending the club’s seven-year playoff hiatus.

Goaltenders appear to be at a premium in the NHL these days. Quality netminders are an even rarer breed of species.

Consider the 2022-23 Red Wings, for instance. Much of last season, they were suiting up one decent NHL puckstopper in Ville Husso.

The post Why Alex Lyon Could Prove To Be Among Most Valuable Red Wings (+) appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Kubalik only player selected who didn’t reach semifinals

The post Red Wings Kubalik, Seider Are World Tourney All-Star Selections (+) appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

After what felt like an eternity for Red Wings fans, Steve Yzerman brought in a new coach. And to many, the hiring of Derek Lalonde wasn’t all that much of a surprise.

In this edition of 2 Truths and a Lie, DHN looks at head coach Derek Lalonde and what he brings to the organization.

The post Red Wings 2 Truths and a Lie: Derek Lalonde Edition | DHN+ appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

At the Detroit Red Wings’ conclusion of training camp, the perennially-popular arena anthem The Final Countdown came to mind. In that song, the lyrics suggest, “We’re leavin’ together. But still it’s farewell. And maybe we’ll come back . . . who can tell?”

For the Red Wings, Monday is the final cutdown and those words also seem appropriate. This was the day the clubs had be down to a 23-player roster.

They did so by releasing veteran forward Bobby Ryan from his pro tryout and assigning center Joe Veleno to AHL Grand Rapids

You might think this is a stressful time within the confines of the Red Wings dressing room but captain Dylan Larkin insists you’d be dead wrong.

“Today is a good day,” Larkin said. “I think our team’s back together. We haven’t been together throughout much of camp. Just us, just the guys. Not many distractions.

“We had a great practice today, great energy. We had two more before opening night. There’s a lot of excitement in the locker room right now.”

Which Red Wings’ Bubbles Will Be Bursting?

Still, there are some players who were in that room on Monday who everyone knew wouldn’t be there on Tuesday. Call them the bubble boys.

Certainly, there are mitigating factors that could have impacted these decisions. Forwards Adam Erne, Michael Rasmussen and Givani Smith are all battling injury. If any go on IR, it at least temporarily opens another roster spot. Tha isn’t happening, so we can assume that none are seriously hurt.

Let’s analyze the fate of the boys on the bubble – the reasons the Red Wings are keeping them, and what ended up causing some of them to go.

Lucas Raymond

Pros: Arriving with plenty of hype, Lucas Raymond has been delivering the goods. He ended up finishing the preseason as the Red Wings’ top scorer with six points. He’s made an impact, made the team better, which was what coach Jeff Blashill was demanding of Raymond when training camp opened.

Lucas. Raymond. pic.twitter.com/7fN5sUzNnu

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 5, 2021

Cons: There just don’t seem to be any that suggest sending Raymond down at this moment is the best option. At Monday’s practice, he was skating with Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi on the top line. “Right away I knew he was a special player,” Larkin said of Raymond. “He thinks the game, has great hands and can skate. He always looked like a good player. Then I saw him on the ice in training camp and he’s a smart player. I think he thinks at a different level.”

Joe Veleno

Pros: Veleno has sigificantly upped his strength level. Weighing in at 206 pounds, he’s certainly ready to compete physically at the NHL level. Veleno is also displaying a level of defensive responsibility that will make him a useful NHLer.

Cons: The same questions being asked today about Veleno, hockey people were asking about him three years ago when he was selected by Detroit in the NHL entry draft. Can he produce enough offense to be a top-six or top-nine NHL forward? The team needs to find this out. “That’s a huge part of the decision, even beyond my call,” Blashill admitted.

It's been a nice game for Joe Veleno, who broke the 2-2 tie at 15:28 of the third. Gustav Lindstrom and Moritz Seider assisted. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/8JivvioMxI

— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 8, 2021

That’s why he’s probably better served going to Grand Rapids. He’ll play top-six minutes in the AHL. “Two things can happen if Joe were to get sent down,” Blashill said earlier Monday. “One, he may be in a role that’s higher than he is here, which hopefully would maximize his development. And two, it gives us more organizational depth, because he is a guy who can get sent down without exposing to waivers.”

Carter Rowney

Pros: Rowney is an experienced NHL forward with 223 games on his resume. He played a regular bottom-six role wih the 2016-17 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. He’s an expert penalty killer and he’s accustomed to filling a lesser role. “There’s a learned process of understanding how to maximize 10 minutes a night, how to be a positive factor in those,” Blashill said. “Young guys sometimes haven’t been in that spot, and they struggle with it.”

Cons: Rowney is 32. He missed all but 19 games last season after undergoing season-ending sugery for a torn meniscus in his left knee. Rowney also didn’t score a goal last season.

Givani Smith

Pros: At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, Smith brings a size to the Red Wings forward group that is seriously lacking. He can also play game with a mean streak. He scares people. Those are other elements he provides that aren’t readily prevalent anywhere else on the roser.

Cons: In the preseason, Smith hasn’t been playing the game the way he needs to in order to be an effective NHLer. “Givani’s got to do what can separate him,” Blashill explained. “He’s got to make sure he does a great job of getting the puck out of our end so he’s not playing tons of D-zone coverage.

“Then he’s got to get the puck deep when he gets in the neutral zone. He’s got to forecheck hard and then when he gets it in the offensive zone, he’s either got to take it to the net or give it to somebody who can get it to the net, and then win all those net-front battles.” Perhaps it’s the injury that’s finally caused his exit from the lineup that’s been impacting Smith’s performance. Regardless, Smith must clear waivers to be assiged to GR. Players of his ilk are back in vogue in the NHL. There’s a real chance some team would put a claim in for him.

The post The Final Cutdown – Raymond Makes Red Wings; Veleno To GR appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Is Joe gonna go? Has Lucas’ luck run out? What about Bob? Has he done enough to garner a Detroir Red Wings contract?

All NHL teams must be down to their 23-player roster for the 2021-22 regular season by Monday. The Red Wings are facing some difficult choices at the forward position as the unkindest cut of all looms for some.

Can the Wings find a home with the big club for center Joe Veleno? Is there really a world, as Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill is claiming, where veteran Bobby Ryan and teenager Lucas Raymond both are making the team?

First of all, let’s look at what appears to be set in stone.

Alex Nedeljkovic and Thomas Greiss will be the goalies. Blashill has also been making it abundantly clear that he’s keeping eight defensemen – Danny DeKeyser, Filip Hronek, Nick Leddy, Moritz Seider, Marc Staal, Jordan Oesterle, Troy Stecher and Gustav Lindstrom.

Red Wings Won’t Risk Sending Gustav Lindstrom Down

There’s absolutely no chance that the Red Wings will consider sending Lindstrom down in order to make room for an extra forward. He must clear waivers to be assigned to the AHL and there’s a real chance that he wouldn’t.

On top of that, Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman opted to protect Lindstrom over one-time first-round pick Dennis Cholowski for the NHL expansion draft. That spoke volumes about what the organization is thinking about Lindstrom’s upside. They weren’t giving him away for free then. They aren’t about to risk giving him away for free now.

At forward, you can write these guys down in pen – Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Adam Erne, Robbie Fabbri, Sam Gagner, Vladislav Namestnikov, Michael Rasmussen, Pius Suter, Filip Zadina and Mitchell Stephens. That’s 10 of 13 forward spots spoken for, and five players still fighting for three available spots.

Injury didn’t provide Jonatan Beggren enough time to display his wares, so he’ll be Grand Rapids bounds. If you think Riley Barber, Taro Hirose or Kyle Criscuolo are making the team, we’ll put you in touch with FloridaHockeyNow compatriot George Richards. He can hook you up with some Sunshine State swampland.

The five bubble boys battling for those three spots are Veleno, Ryan, Raymond, Givani Smith and Carter Rowney. A case can be made for each finding a spot in the final 23. Just as easily, a case against them can also be presented.

Let’s do that.

Lucas Raymond

Keep Him: Raymond has delivered offense, displayed an ability to play with and without the puck and a hockey IQ wise beyond his 19 years. “He’s done a good job of offensively having some deception but also taking what’s given, and I think defensively he’s done a good job of making reads in a lot of different situations,” Blashill said.

Ship Him: As a teenager, Raymond still has much to learn. Will there be time for teaching moments during an NHL season compacted by an Olympic break? Blashill started the preason citing the need for Raymond to be a presence in every game. His start was great but Raymond’s last two games were nothing to write home about.

Joe Veleno

Keep Him: Veleno has developed physically over three years as a pro and appears to have the requisite strength to handle the NHL. Veleno’s game is also growing stronger with each preseason outing. “I thought I’ve done a pretty good job of being responsible in my own end, somewhat creating some offense with my linemates,” Veleno said. Veleno can play a two-way game. He didn’t shoot his bolt early and burn out. That’s a common mistake young players are making when seeking to impress.

Joe Veleno had all the juice on that shot. pic.twitter.com/mEGJFi9kNY

— NHL (@NHL) October 8, 2021

Ship Him: Are the Red Wings better serving Veleno’s future by skating him as a bottom-six NHL forward, or as the No. 1 center in Grand Rapids? Like Raymond, he can go down without clearing waivers. Like it or not, that’s going to be factoring into the decision process.

Givani Smith

Keep Him: At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, Smith brings size and physical presence, two qualities the Red Wings are desperately needing. “He’s a big body,” Blashill said. “He’s tough, he’s physical. We don’t have lots of that.” As well, the Wngs musbe risking Smith on waivers to go to GR. He’s the type of player who just might get claimed.

Waive Him: Smith isn’t delivering his advertised goods. “Some of the physical toughness hasn’t shown yet,” Blashill said. “Can he be a little bit better? Yeah.”

Carter Rowney

Keep Him: Rowney has logged a lot of PK time. Detroit needs players to void the forward void left in PK ice time by the departures of Luke Glendening, Darren Helm and Frans Nielsen. He’s a vet who won a Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh. “Carter seems to be a real smart hockey player,” Blashill said.

Waive Him: Rowney is on a one-way deal. It’s unlikely that a team would be claiming him on waivers.

Bobby Ryan

Sign Him: Early in the preseason, with the loss of Jakub Vrana to shoulder surgery, the notion that Ryan would garner a contract with the Red Wings from his PTO seemed a no-brainer. He was a strong performer in his first couple of preseason appearances.

Bobby Ryan on the power play + a nice feed from Lucas Raymond. pic.twitter.com/3cZtTQms2a

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 5, 2021

Release Him: Lately, though, it hasn’t seemed that Ryan’s play is as inspiring. Has he done enough to warrant signing a contract and keeping him around for another year? That’s going to be a tough call for the Red Wings.

Red Wings Injuries A Factor

Both Rasmussen and Smith are missing time this week due to undisclosed ailments. Are they going to be good to go by Wednesday’s opener against Tampa Bay? If not and both end up going on IR, it could be a problem solver for the Red Wings in the short term. There might be no need to burst the bubble of any of the bubble boys.

The post Red Wings Cutdown Day – Who Will Stay And Who Will Go? appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The answer to the question from Detroit Red Wings forward Filip Zadina was as brutally honest and it must be frightenly blunt in the eyes of Red Wings fans.

Expected goals is a category the analytics crowd embraces lovingly. In the case of forward Jakub Vrana, it’s fair to say that the Red Wings were expecting a lot of goals from him this season. After all, he scored eight times in his first 11 games with the team.

Jakub Vrana is the first @DetroitRedWings player to score four goals in a game since Anthony Mantha, who he was traded for on April 12. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/kVcCjUOzmm

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 23, 2021

Shoulder surgery last month assures that Vrana won’t be contributing any goals for the next four months. So how are the Wings planning on filling this offensive void?

That’s the question Zadina was pondering. His answer wasn’t exactly reassuring.

“I guess we’ll see during the season,” said Zadina, whose answer was giving off a ‘your guess is as good as mine’ vibe. “Obviously it’s a huge loss. Having Jakub here, it was great. He’s an offensive player, he’s a goal scorer for sure.

“We just gotta figure it out and do it on our own and wait for him until he comes and then he will help us playing good hockey.”

Here’s five methods through which the Wings can set out to figuring out this dilemma.

Zadina Taking Another Step Forward

The answer that would’ve proven to be music to everyone’s ears would be Zadina saying that he expects to put away many more goals than the six he registered in 49 games last season.

The way that can happen is twofold. Firstly, Zadina needs to be using his teammates more effectively as an offensive weapon. Secondly, he must be more of a presence in the goal-scoring locales.

“Ultimately with Z, the two areas that we worked with him to be effective is to become more of a give-and-go player and then . . . the net front and slot,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said of Zadina. “When he’s been effective, if you look at it statistically over the years, that’s where he’s scored from. That’s where everybody scores from and that’s where he’s got the majority of his shots from.

Filip Zadina (@zadina_filip) natáhnul, zamířil a vyslal nechytatelnou švihovku do šibenice! pic.twitter.com/rztMLSCW3g

— NHL Česko (@NHLcz) October 3, 2021

“When he’s not as effective, he’s on the outside too much. And you can’t get to that area a lot of times just by beating people yourself. You have to give and go. We’ve put an emphasis on that. Hopefully he can excel at that.”

Over 86 NHL games, Zadina is showing 15 goals. Even were he to get 15 this season, that would prove satisfying.

Red Wings Power Play Keeps On Clicking

Quick, draw a finish line. The Red Wings are the NHL’s No. 1 power-play unit. Entering Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Wings are clicking at a 40% (8-for-20) success rate with the man advantage.

True, it’s only preseason but this a team that rated 30th overall (11.4%) in the league on the power play a year ago. No, they won’t keep scoring at that rate. But even a jump into 18% range, which would still leave them in the bottom third of the league, would add another 20+ goals to the team’s output.

Certainly, the addition of defenseman, an expert at zone entries, has helped their cause. The players are also embracing the philosophies of assistant coach Alex Tanguay, the club’s new power-play guru.

“We just got a new energy on our team, a new coach for power play,” Filip Zadina said. “He told us what we should do and we are listening and trying to do the things he wants. I think it’s going in the right direction right now.”

Community Projecting

Zadina isn’t the only one among Detroit’s top-six forwards who could help by taking a step forward in the lamp-lighting department.

Not only is captain Dylan Larkin bouncing back from a season-ending neck injury, he’ll be looking to rebound from a career-low nine goals in 44 games. He netted 32 goals as recently as 2018-19. Back surgery shut down forward Tyler Bertuzzi after just nine games last season. He scored five times in those nine games and was the author of 21 goals in each of the two previous seasons.

Center Pius Suter was a 14-goal scorer last season as an NHL rookie in Chicago despite almost no special teams work. How much more can he score with a regular turn on the Red Wings power play? Vladislav Namestnikov was a 22-goal scorer in 2017-18. No one is expecting that level of production but counting on him for much more than the eight goals he delivered last season isn’t out of the question.

Bobby Ryan, on a pro tryout, ought to be able to hit double digits in the goal column if he earns a contract. If Robbie Fabbri can stay healthy, he’s capable of scoring into the high teens.

Raymond Keeps Lighting It Up

Perhaps the biggest X-factor in all the scoring equations is rookie forward Lucas Raymond. Is he going to be making the team? If so, will he continue to be a consistent offensive producer during the regular season?

Lucas. Raymond. pic.twitter.com/7fN5sUzNnu

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 5, 2021

Entering Thursday’s game, Raymond was leading the Red Wings in the preseason with 2-4-6 totals from four games. No one can realistically be expecting him to be maintaining that pace. It would amount to a 123-point season. But if Raymond can score more than 10, it will really help fill the Vrana void.

Red Wings Role Players Get Rolling

Last season, Adam Erne ended up finishing with a career-best 11 goals. Off-season addiition Mitchell Stephens has displayed a touch aound the net in camp and during the preseason. Michael Rasmussen should end up closer to the eight he scored in 2018-19 than the three he got last season.

The post Five Ways Red Wings Can Make Up For Lost Vrana Goals appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Looking at the big picture, the penalty-killing performance of the Detroit Red Wings doesn’t paint a pretty picture. They finished 27th in the NHL, successfully killing off infractions at a pedestrian 78.7% rate. Detroit allowed 33 power-play goals, the 13th-most in the league. However, from March 27th onward, a different penalty-killing unit emerged from the…

The post Who Will Fill Red Wings’ Lost PK Minutes? | DHN+ appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

A member of the Detroit Red Wings will soon be an inaugural member of the Seattle Kraken. Protected lists are due at 5 p.m. ET today from 30 NHL teams (the Vegas Golden Knights are exempt) for the July 21 NHL expansion draft that will stock the roster of the incoming Kraken.

Will it be Dennis Cholowski? Evgeny Svechnikov? Vladislav Namestnikov? Danny DeKeyser? Gustav Lindstrom? Troy Stecher?

Whoever it is, the player selected will gain membership in an exclusive club that includes two future Hockey Hall of Famers, a guy who was lost twice, a player who played for three NHL first-year teams, a current member of Congress and Anthony Mantha’s grandfather.

Let’s look back at the players who became ex-Red Wings during previous NHL expansion drafts.

The post A Look Back At Red Wings’ Expansion Draft Losses | DHN+ appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Great hockey teams are built from the goal out. Just look at the two teams currently in the Stanley Cup final. The Montreal Canadiens have Carey Price and the Tampa Bay Lightning have Andrei Vasilevskiy. When it comes to today’s top NHL goaltenders, they are 1 and 1A and we’ll let you decide in which order to rank that entry.

Vasilevskiy used to be Steve Yzerman’s goalie. In fact, Stevie Y drafted him in Tampa Bay. In the Detroit goalie room, there’s also a draft – a harsh, unforgiving wind that rips through the place and serves as a reminder of how barren the Red Wings’ goaltending pipeline is of NHL prospects, not to mention of NHL goalies.

Currently, Detroit has two netminders under contract with NHL playing experience. There’s Thomas Greiss, with 316 appearances under his belt and there’s Kaden Fulcher, with 27 minutes of NHL playing time on his resume.

If you think that depth chart is bleak, then don’t look beyond them. It could be the cause of sleepless nights. It certainly must be for Red Wings GM Yzerman.

The post Red Wings’ Lack Of Goaltending Depth Is Alarming | DHN+ appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.