The Captain Returns - NHL19 - Detroit Red Wings

[SeattleBattleCat]

Central Scouting
Presents:
The Top 10 Prospects
for the
2021 NHL Draft
19th June 2021

Here are the final top 10 rookie prospects for the 2021 NHL Draft:

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7


#8


#9


#10


At # 14, Jaylon Legace is Enticing – Med Elite Defenseman
I have my eye on this guy….


Coming in @ #46 is Stanislav Ponikarovsky – Med Franchise Potential
The Red Wings already have Viktor Chistov coming through the ranks beginning next season, so this guy isn’t really on our radar. He is going to be huge for some lucky team in the 2nd round though.

[SeattleBattleCat]

The 2021 NHL Awards Night
Wednesday 21st June 2021

& the Winners Are…

Spoiler

Players Awards:

























Congratulations to Kirby Dach for his Calder Memorial Award (Rookie of the Year)! This kid has a bright future ahead of him at the Red Wings.

Presidents Trophy:

Stanley Cup:

2021 NHL Draft Lottery Result:

Spoiler

The Detroit Red Wings take pick no.1!
In an absolute coup, the Detroit Red Wings have won this season’s Draft Lottery with Colorado’s 1st Round Pick.
The Avalanche, who finished 29th from 31 teams in the NHL this season, we now know fool-hardedly dealt away their 1st round pick to Detroit at the beginning of the season to receive Alex Killorn & two 3rd round picks.
The Wings also acquired the Ottawa Senators 1st round pick later in the season for goalie prospect Dmitri Semin, which also advanced a number of spots up to 10th.
Steve Yzerman was quoted saying – “Hey, they offered this to us. This is great for our organisation, I feel sorry for the Av’s, even given our rough past. Toward the end of the season I thought we might have had a shot at securing maybe the 3rd overall with theirs, however now that we have come out with number 1, its quite unbelievable.”
This is the 1st number 1 pick for the Detroit Red Wings since 1986 when they selected Joe Murphy.
With the 1st pick, the Red Wings have the choice of any top prospect they like. Central Scouting’s released their final list yesterday, with Swedish Left Wing Prospect Fredrik Larsson topping the list. It is believed the Red Wings had been in discussions with number 3 prospect on the list, Defenseman prospect Kimmo Laatikainen, however now that the dust has settled & the Red Wings have the top choice, anything could happen.
“We have a big decision to make in 2 nights time, we were keen on defense, though now how can you pass up these big scoring talents in Larsson & Matheson that are available? It’s a big deal & a choice we will not take lightly.” Said Yzerman.

Here's a reminder of that deal made during Free Agency last year:



Above: The Scene at the Detroit Red Wings Front Office when pick #1 was read out:

Player Retirements:

Spoiler

The following players have hung up their skates:






Scottie Upshall calls it a day:
Scottie joined us at the beginning of the 2020/21 season as a free agent. He's made the call to retire, we wish him all the best for the future.

Up Next:

2021 NHL Player Entry Draft

[SeattleBattleCat]

Quote: Originally Posted by m1a2lt

WAIT WAIT WAIT!!!! I've got a question... Who the hell is Ken Holland? Going to make me sick to my stomach but : Yzerman was the soul of your franchise. But, as we say in StL...Don't care if they went east, still hate them!

Ken’s just some guy who’s name used to be on my door. Lol

Agree with you 100% on Yzerman, that’s why every Red Wings fan wants him at the helm.

You’re softening up to the Red Wings charm, I can tell

[SeattleBattleCat]

2021 NHL Player Entry Draft
23rd June 2021

The Result:
The Red Wings went into this year’s draft with another 11 draft picks & possibly walked out with some of the best new generational talent on offer.

Trade News:

Quote:

Red Wings trade D-men Bigras, Green & Edler during big 1st Round Yzerman makes space, acquires picks. Green heads back to Washington, Edler to Nashville & Bigras to Dallas 23rd June 2021

Detroit Selects:
Round 1, Pick 1 - LW Fredrick Larsson - 100% Med Elite

Quote:

Detroit Red Wings select Fredrik Larsson at no.1 Talented prospect led all others in Central Scouting rankings after breakout year with Frölunda Indians 23rd June 2021

Round 1, Pick 10 - D Jaylon Legace - 100% Med Elite


Round 1, Pick 23 - RW Guy Castonguay - 100% Low Elite


Round 2, Pick 44 - D Aleksander Petrov - 100% Med Top4D


Round 3, Pick 70 - C Darren Henrich - 100% Med Elite


Round 4, Pick 95 - D Walter Stanton - 100% Low Top4D


Round 4, Pick 112 - LW Boris Sbruev - 100% Med Top6F


Round 5, Pick 141 - LW Luis Schauer - 100% Low Elite


Round 6, Pick 172 - Parker McLaren - 100% Low Elite


Round 6, Pick 178 - C Donavan Delmas - 100% Med Bottom6F


Round 7, Pick 209 - G Curtis Gardiner - 75% Med Fringe Starter





All the trades on Draft Day:
Ther were a number of movers & Shakers during this years draft, none more so than Montreal who were trading picks in & out like they were baseball cards





Red Wings Trades in Detail:
Detroit Acquires ARI Rd3 Pick 70 from Washington in exchange for D Mike Green
Detroit acquires NAS Rd2 Pick 44 from Nashville in exchange for D Alex Edler & NYI Rd3 Pick 69
Detroit acquires DAL Rd5 Pick 152 from Dallas in exchange for D Christopher Bigras
Montreal acquires DAL Rd5 Pick 152 from Detroit in exchange for NYR Rd 6 Pick 172 & future MON 2022 7th Round Pick

The Top 10 NHL Draftees in 2021:
Pick #1 – Detroit Red Wings

Pick #2 – Florida Panthers

Pick #3 – Las Vegas Golden Knights

Pick #4 – New Jersey Devils

Pick #5 – Montreal Canadiens

Pick #6 – Los Angeles Kings

Pick #7 – New York Islanders

Pick #8 – Arizona Coyotes

Pick #9 – Buffalo Sabres

Pick #10 – Detroit Red Wings


This Guy is gonna be big someday soon – Pick #46 Stanislav Ponikarovsky (Med Franchise Goalie):


NHL Draft Wrap Up:
Without any doubt, this was an absolute cracking draft for the Detroit Red Wings. Not only did we select the number 1 forward on offer, Fredrik Larsson, we then selected (medium) elite defensive prospect, Jaylon Legace at number 10. It didn’t stop there, we then picked up Guy Castonguay (Low Elite) at pick 23, then Aleksander Petrov (Med Top6F) in the 2nd Round, plus Darren Henrich, another potential (Medium) Elite in the 3rd Round.
This was an odd, but exceptional year. We were a rebuilding team that placed 2nd at the end of the season, took part in the playoffs (albeit very briefly) & still walked away with the 1st pick in the draft on top of another 2 other 1st round picks, this will set us up for the foreseeable future.
The biggest change that this draft brings to the lineup next season, is the small clean out in the defensive ranks, with Green, Edler & Bigras all traded out. With the addition of Weber at last season’s trade deadline, there were 4 defensemen (Green, Edler, Weber & Ericsson) over the age of 35 – something had to give. Green & Edler both carried some small trade value, so we put them on the block & managed to move them on. With players such as Foote, Cholowski, McIsaac & Hicketts all pressing for a top 6 spot along with Weber & Muzzin included, I believe we will be quite okay.
Unless the wheels completely fall off our next upcoming season, I don’t think we will have another draft that even comes close to the value the Red Wings gained today.
(In all honesty, I pulled away from selecting another 2 medium Elite forward’s, 2 medium elite defensemen, plus the Medium Franchise Goalie that were dotted throughout the draft & within my grasp - it was an extremely rich draft, the best I’ve ever come across. It would have been too easy to select these players, I think I got a very good deal out of this one & now have a good mix of high to medium talented prospects that comes close to matching what some of the other teams within this franchise mode have upcoming.)
* I probably should note, the real name of the Frölunda Indians player pictured is Andreas Johnson, however as he has the same number as Larsson does in the game I couldn’t resist using the pic – thanks Andreas!

[SeattleBattleCat]

Re-Sign Phase
25th - 30th June

Players Released
C Nikolai Zikov - Unsigned Prospect
C Nikita Alexandrov - Unsigned Prospect
D Victor Hadfield - Unsigned Prospect
C Christopher Ehn - RFA Released
G Kaden Fulcher - RFA Released
G Marek Mazanec - Released
G Harri Sateri - Released
C Tomas Nosek - Did not wish to extend
RW Tom Kuhnhackl - Did not wish to extend
D Brian Lashoff – Did not wish to extend

Released 7 players at the completion of their contracts, plus 3 unsigned prospects that had not reached closed enough to their potential to consider awarding an entry level contract.
The only player that we released that was on the full time Red Wings roster was Tom Kuhnhackl, who just simply wanted to move on.

Players Re-Signed

D Callan Foote - 22yrs 80ovr Med Elite - Signed 3 yr contract - $2.525m per year.
D Dennis Cholowski - 23yrs 79ovr Med Top4D - Signed 3yr Contract @ $2.85M per year.
D Jake Chelios - 30yrs 71ovr Exact AHL Top2D - Signed 1 year 2way Contract @ $0.750M
RW Garnet Hathaway - 29yrs 76ovr Exact Bottom6F - Signed 1 year 2way Contract @ $0.8M
C Axel Holmstrom - 24yrs 75ovr Med Bottom6F - Signed RFA Contract, 1 year @ $0.905M
LW Givani Smith - 23yrs 76ovr Med Top9F - Signed RFA Contract, 1 year @ $0.905M
D Gustav Lindstrom - 22yrs 74ovr Med Top6D - Signed RFA Contract, 1 year @ $0.905M
G Marcus Hogberg - 26yrs Med Fringe Starter - Signed 1yr 2way Contract @ $0.825M

Foote & Cholowski have been signed to their 1st contracts outside of their entry level. Aside from Foote & Cholowski, other players to watch above who may get a shot on the Wings roster may be Givani Smith & Gustav Lindstrom pending how they develop throughout next season.

RFA qualified Tenders:
There are no outstanding RFA tenders, all that were qualified during the week have re-signed with the team.
These players were Holmstrom, Smith & Lindstrom.

Entry Level Contracts Offered:
G Viktor Chistov - 20yrs 74ovr Med Franchise Goalie - Signed 3year Entry Level Contract @ $0.925M per year
LW Fredrick Larsson - 18yrs ???ovr Med Elite - Signed 3year Entry Level Contract @ $0.925M per year
D Amrit Shaw - 19yrs 76ovr Low Elite - Signed 3year Entry Level Contract @ $0.925M per year
D Jaylon Legace - 18yrs ???ovr Med Elite - Signed 3year Entry Level Contract @ $0.925M per year
RW Cole Stewart - 20yrs 73ovr Med Bottom6F - Signed 3year Entry Level Contract @ $0.85M per year
C Logan Stafford - 20yrs 72ovr Low Top9F - Signed 3year Entry Level Contract @ $0.825M per year

With a number of players released and a great pool of talent coming up, this years re-sign phase saw 6 rookies given entry level contracts.
I generally reserve these decisions until the Free Agency Period begins, however 3 of the above players were on the verge to going to free agency (Chistov, Stewart & Stafford) & the other 3 players are of exceptional talent (Larsson, Shaw & Legace).

Free Agency Period up next

[SeattleBattleCat]

NHL Free Agency 2021
1ST July - 31st August 2021

Top Free Agents available in 2021:
Skaters:





Goalies:

Detroit Red Wings – Free Agency Period Highlights
FA Signings & News Releases from 1st July – 31st August:

1st July:

Quote:

Red Wings in talks with Trouba Wings join 5 other teams in the hunt for Defenseman’s services 1st July 2021,

5th July:
Detroit Signs D Jacob Trouba 27yrs 84ovr Exact Top4D - to 2 year contract @ $5.8M per year.
Trouba wanted 5 years @ $4.975M however we countered with a 2 year deal @ $5.8M, which was just under what he was earning at Winnipeg & he took us up on our offer over everyone else. We have the space in the cap for the next 2 seasons, plus this addition really strengthens our top 4 defense.

Quote:

Jacob Trouba signs for 2 years with Red Wings Stanley Cup winning defenseman signs with new team for 2years valued at $5.8M per year 5th July 2021

15th July:

Quote:

New York Rangers sign Vasilevskiy Rangers stun all in the league with elite goaltender’s signing. Lundqvist likely to go to back up role in final year of contract 15th July 2021,

Wrap up:
With signing 6 Rookies to contracts during the re-sign week & our objective of signing a key defenseman complete within days of the start of the free agency period, we didn’t have much else to do – extremely quiet year.
The Wings will likely need to sign another minor league goalie to cover for player assignments to the NHL, which we will look into during or after pre-season.
We also have a medium elite defenseman, Zachery Spezza who we drafted in 2020 that I am on the fence with giving him an entry level contract (which would bring the tally to 7 rookie signings)

Notable Free Agent Signings Around The League:
Arizona Coyotes:
G Tukka Rask Signed 2yr Contract @ $6.565m per year
C Niklas Backstrom Signed 5yr contract @ $7.925m per year
C Joe Thornton Signed 1yr Contract with Arizona @ $2.375m
Carolina Hurricanes:
G Declan Dubnyk Signed 2yr Contract @ $3.575m per year
Colorado Avalanche:
G Philipp Grubauer Signed 2yr Contract with Colorado $1.96m per year
Detroit:
D Jacob Trouba signed 2yr Contract @ $5.8m per year
Edmonton Oilers:
D Niklas Kronwall Signed 1yr Contract @ $2.545m per year
Los Angeles Kings:
LW Sven Baertschi Signed 6yr Contract @ $4.84m per year
Montreal Canadiens:
G Jake Allen Signed 1yr Contract @ $2.91m
G Antti Raanta Signed 1yr Contract @ $2.745m
Minnesota Wild:
G Frederik Anderson Signed 5 yr Contract @ $7.38m per year
LW Jaden Schwartz Signed 6yr Contract @ $9.55m per year
New York Rangers:
LW Brandon Saad Signed 5yr Contract @ $5.26m per year
LW Teuvo Teravainen Signed 4yr Contract @ $5.71m per year
D Niklas Hjalmarsson Signed 1yr Contract @ $4.605m per year
G Andrej Vasilevskiy Signed 7yr Contract @ $9.465m per year
Philadelphia Flyers:
D Dustin Byfuglien Signed 1 yr Contract @ $5.56m
D Adam Larsson Signed 1yr Contract @ $4.995m
Washington Capitals:
D Kevin Shattenkirk Signed 5yr Contract @ $4.77m per year
Winnipeg Jets:
D Jonas Brodin Signed 4yr Contract @ $5.07m per year
D Alec Martinez Signed 1yr Contract @ $4.645m
G Jimmy Howard Signed 2yr Contract @ $1.63m per year

Trades during Free Agency:
Here are the trades that occurred between 1st July - 31st August



Up Next: Training Camp & Pre-Season

[m1a2lt]

Nice haul from the draft!

[SeattleBattleCat]

Red Wings Headlines…

Quote:

Training Camp Commences tomorrow Opportunity for prospects & veterans to show what they can give 12th September 2021 Red Wings players & prospects will hit the ice tomorrow when the annual training camp commences. This season will see a number talented prospects take the opportunity to vie for a regular roster against seasoned hardened players. One prospect in particular looking to make an immediate impact is Detroit’s number 1 pick in this year’s draft, Fredrik Larsson. Larsson is one of at least 3 generational talents that were on offer during the draft held earlier in June & the Red Wings took no time in ensuring they acquired the young skater’s services. Fresh from his breakout season in the SHL with the Frolunda Indians, Larsson will have to adapt his game to the fast pace of American style hockey all but immediately if he is to earn a spot on the roster, something which he believes completely possible. “I am excited to this give this a shot. I know my game & think I know what I need to do to change up to make NHL.” Said Larsson at last night’s dinner event held at a restaurant in The District Detroit. “This is dream come true, I am really excited to play with Mantha, Larkin, Dach & Zadina.” Steve Yzerman was upbeat about his new asset heading into the preseason. “We didn’t count ourselves in with a chance to even get close to obtaining Larsson throughout most of last season. Our scouting group had a couple of short discussions with him, but he and we both knew playing together was a long shot. Then everything lined up & that long shot was suddenly a reality.” “I like his style of play, his ability to score in some of the Indians games I watched on tape is uncanny. We have to look after this kid and make sure he develops in the best way that benefits him & our hockey team. I’d like to think he will get a start on the Wings roster & we will see as this next week progresses & review his performance during the pre-season. If he is not ready & needs some time in the AHL or somewhere like that, then that’s what we’ll do. This is a big change for Fredrik, he leaves behind a family & his other support groups to come here, so we’ll have his back.” Also joining this year’s training camp is the Red Wing’s Number 10 pick in this year’s draft, defenseman Jaylon Legace, who has had a great year with the WHL’s Moosejaw Warriors. “At 18 years of age, Jaylon has a great all-round game, he can push the puck around to create opportunities on offense & he positions himself well in defense to block moves. He could make the roster, however he might learn more this year by sticking another year in the Juniors. We’re going to give this kid every chance during the camp however.” Said Yzerman. The following is the list of skaters who are officially up for roster selection at the commencement of the season: Center: (7) Dylan Larkin Kirby Dach Andreas Athanasiou Michael Rasmussen Joe Veleno (R) Logan Stafford (R) Stelio Mattheos (R) Right Wing: Anthony Mantha Filip Zadina Martin Frk Chris Terry Left Wing: Jeff Skinner Evgeny Svechnikov Tyler Bertuzzi Givani Smith (R) Fredrik Larsson (R) Defense: (10) Shea Weber Jakob Muzzin Jacob Trouba Dennis Cholowski Callan Foote Jared McIsaac (R) Joe Hicketts Brandon Mestre (R) Amrit Shaw (R) Jaylon Legace (R) Goaltender: Ville Husso Johnathan Bernier Viktor Chistov (R) With training camp commencing tomorrow, the pre-season then kicks into action on September 19th when the Red Wings will take on the Florida Panthers.

Quote:

Weber named Alternate Captain Red Wings acknowledge defenseman’s prolific leadership & past with Nashville & Montreal 12th September 2021,

Quote:

Veleno wants roster spot Emerging prospect says he’s ready for NHL 14th September 2021