Hearing #RedWings and David Perron are closing in on a deal. #LGRW@DailyFaceoff
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 13, 2022
David Perron, Dominik Kubalik signing 2-year deals with Detroit
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) July 13, 2022
UPDATE: The #RedWings today signed left wing David Perron to a 2-year contract. pic.twitter.com/brYHXpMS6M
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 13, 2022
Hearing Ben Chiarot and DET closing in
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 13, 2022
Ben Chiarot 4x$4.75M in DET
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 13, 2022
Red Wings finalizing 1 year, $2.25 mil deal with Olli Maatta.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 13, 2022
5 years $5.625 for Copp in Detroit.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 13, 2022
It came as no surprise when Steve Yzerman announced, within days of his team's season ending, that head coach Jeff Blashill would not return. You couldn’t fault Blashill for the results the past few years.
After inheriting a 24 year playoff streak, and a roster seriously on the decline, the talent he had to work with was far from playoff material. His work molded a handful of prospects into productive NHLers. While those players began to take the next step, it looked like the team was about to turn the metaphorical corner toward playoff qualification.
Then the wheels fell off. A handful of injures, covid cases, and a player who couldn’t be bothered to be there when his teammates played in Canada, all took their toll. The goaltending that bailed out the defense nearly every night the first two months of the year started showing some growing pains. Ultimately, the team lacked the depth to compensate for any of this. And the compete level suffered. Too many games down the stretch saw the Wings getting out-shot 20-5 midway through the second period. And while they may have only been down a goal or two, the hole was dug. While it was promising to see that they could be competitive with a full roster, it was obvious that the roster needs a few more bodies to take the next step. What was more obvious, however, was their compete. Things were snowballing. One goal would lead to three, and the double-digit games started adding up.
So when Blashill was relieved of his duties, it was a surprise to no-one. The team needed a new voice. Someone who gets the most out of their players. Someone who can hold the players accountable. Someone who can deploy a quality defense. And someone who will still be able to nurture the young players on the club, as well as the next wave in the pipeline.
Having the coaching decision made quickly, gave the team early access to the coaching market. One that began to settle as the Stanley Cup Playoffs continued to unfold. And for a team that didn’t qualify, that’s the best-case scenario.
So let’s shift our focus. Another non-playoff club, the San Jose Sharks, waited until June 30 to relieve Bob Boughner and his staff of their duties. By this point, eight teams have officially filled coaching positions. Another, the Edmonton Oilers, removed the ‘interim’ tag from Jay Woodcroft. And a 10th team, the Winnipeg Jets, were to announce Rick Bowness as their new coach. The Sharks became the 11th team this offseason that will be naming a new coach, just as everyone else had filled their vacancies.
Why the sudden change?
A few things could be at play here. Either something really bad, the kind of thing that gets people “canceled” these days, happened amongst the staff. Someone that the organization really likes became a possibility. Or they just waited too long to make the decision. One thing is out of your control, one thing is unexpected, and the last is 100% on management.
To me, I don’t see anyone earth shattering that suddenly hit the market, save for Tampa assistant coach Jeff Halpern. We obviously don’t know what happened behind closed doors, but it seems to me that this is a team that just waited way too long to announce their new direction, and as a result, missed out on all the great candidates on the market.
Granted, the Sharks are a team that likely won’t be competitive for a while. They have a handful of really terrible contracts that they won’t be able to move. No real prospect pipeline, since they shipped it away for Erik Karlsson. And really only two stars of note. Not the most attractive situation for any coach, which makes this decision all the more baffling. This is the kind of thing that should really piss-off ownership. Unless it was something outside the team’s control.
Steve Yzerman was deliberate, made his decision quickly, and got a solid candidate in Derek Lalonde. The Sharks management is looking questionable at best. And at this point, there is no guarantee they will end up with a better coach. The difference in management styles is stark here. It’s not like the Sharks were a playoff team who failed to show up. They didn’t even make it. If I’m the owner, I don’t like the decision. Not to mention, it being by interim GM Joe Will.
While the Wings are still early in the rebuild, and in Steve Yzerman’s tenure, I’ve yet to find a decision that you could really question like this. It’s nonsensical to me that they could be so laid back, and wait so long before a change. Now they have no coach heading into free agency, so the team just kicked the can down the road another year. Sure, it’s the GM that ultimately signs the players, but coaches have a lot of influence as to whether or not they will fit their style.
A big swing and a miss by the interim GM in San Jose, and things like this reassure me that Yzerman is one of the best.
UPDATE 2022/07/05 - it appears Mike Grier has been named GM in San Jose. He will begin his tenure with a challenging coaching hire, with the carousel of candidates mostly settled. This is far from an attractive position, with the club hamstrung with cap issues for the foreseeable future.
There is one interesting connection here though... Mike Grier and Tampa Bay assistant coach Jeff Halpern played together with the Washington Capitals from 2002-04. Could Halpern take this opportunity to move into a head coaching role?
In what was a fun game to watch, the Red Wings lost again to the Minnesota Wild, 6-5 in a shootout.
The Wings once held a 4-2 lead in this game, and their ability to protect leads is clearly non-existent. Lucas Raymond and Jakub Vrana both had two goals. Nick Leddy had the playmaker with 3 assists, and Joe Veleno added two of his own. Offensively is was a solid night. Nick Leddy looked particularly impressive on his assists, with a beautiful spin move on Ryan Hartman to set up Lucas Ramond's first goal on the night.
Alex Nedeljkovic looked much better, and was clearly the better goalie in this one. That's not saying much though. The Wild goaltending has been relatively atrocious this season, and for a team with aspirations for contention in the postseason, if they don't find a goalie before the trade deadline, they could be in real trouble. Unless Cam Talbot of Kaapo Kahkonen go on a serious run, neither is currently capable of backstopping a team to the Cup.
Back to the Wings, the defense hasn't been there the past few weeks. I mean, it hasn't been there most of the season, but it's been worse recently. A third straight game surrendering five-plus goals, is clearly an issue. After his minus-six performance against Arizona, Gustav Lindstrom sat this one out, but he was far from the only issue in that game. Jordan Oesterle and Nick Leddy were both minus-four against the Coyotes, and both bounced back in some regard in this game. Leddy with the aforementioned playmaker, and Oesterle with the game-tying goal with just under three minutes remaining against the Wild to send it to overtime. Troy Stecher pulled into the lineup in Lindstrom's place, and was minus-one. At some point, I would expect Olli Juolevi to see game action, and I expected him to pull into the lineup in Oesterle's place against the Wild, but with bounce-back efforts from Leddy and Oesterle it's increasingly unclear when Juolevi will make his debut in the winged wheel.
The line of Veleno, Vrana, and Zadina was making noise every time on the ice. Filip Zadina made a really good inside-out play on Matt Dumba to get behind the Wild net, where he eventually found Oesterle for the tying goal. Zadina got hammered at the Arizona blue line late in the game Tuesday when he was trying to carry the puck deep. I thought at the time, that he may never be that kind of "inside" player. This was a perimeter play, but a darn good one. Zadina strikes me two different ways offensively. One, he can't carry the puck through traffic. That's ok, very few players can. But when he gets the puck in traffic, he has a phenomenal shot, and he's clearly had some bad puck luck there this year. On this play however, he showcases the other side of his offensive ability, where he can make a move on the perimeter, and look for an open teammate. I do think there's something to the statement that he's more of a perimeter guy, but I still think there's more to his game when he gets the puck on his stick in the slot. That shot is just far too good.
While the VVZ line was good, there were a few names that I didn't really notice. Captain Dylan Larkin and linemate Tyler Bertuzzi were held pointless on the night, a rarity when this team scores five goals.
Robby Fabbri was also quiet before leaving injured in the second period. The team believes he has a torn ACL, which would end his season. Word is, this is NOT the same knee in which he had previously torn his ACL.
Overall, the defense needs to be better. It will be interesting to see how they cope with the loss of Fabbri. The team has no real scoring options in Grand Rapids, aside from Jonatan Berggren, and it would be mildly surprising to see him brought up before he is truly dominating at that level, as the team has said in the past. Coupled with the impending trade deadline, which could see a small handful of guys leaving the club, the next couple weeks figures to be interesting.
