RED WINGS ROSTER PROJECTIONS (MBN, ASP, FINNIE?) & ATLANTIC PREVIEW – Winged Wheel Podcast – Oct. 5
[Music] Welcome to the Wing Wheel Podcast, the number one source for news, analysis, and discussion on the Detroit Red Wings, the NHL, and all things hockey. Here are your hosts, Ryan Hannah, Brad Krisco, and Evan Lopsinger. [Music] Which one of us right now is the most like pessimistic? I think it’s Evan at the moment because any point we have any kind of optimism, Evan’s always like, “Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m not predicting anything different.” Fair? I would think so. You’ll have to find out next week on our Red Wings season preview. Evan, that’s three days away. next week. Okay. So, that said, you are our most pessimistic right now. Some some might have those margins as thinner than than you might think, but still, you’re you’re in the lead. Are you hyped for this season based on what we saw from the kids in the preseason? Cuz right now, this is probably the most pumped up I’ve seen the Red Wings fan base at this point in the preseason in years. Year years. Am I pumped for the season? You’ll find out very shortly, but I am all in on Finsanity in the youth movement. If this can get Evan to believe I don’t don’t say that in anything. This is the same guy who has a newfound appreciation for for jerseys. I don’t know, man. The energy going into this season is it’s off. In a good way. Maybe in a good way. Yeah, cuz it’s never been good before. No, this isn’t even the Red Wing season preview episode. This is just, you know, roster projections Atlantic Division preview. And by now, we’re talking about, you know, on a good year, maybe one rookie and whether he’ll make it and when he’ll make it and probably not on the opening night roster, but later on like Casper or whatever. And that was a good year. And this year we have three. And that is even less than the four that it otherwise would be had Danielson been healthy at this point. It’s uncharted territory. We’re 10 and a half years into the show. I think by my count this is our 11th preseason. Oh god. And it’s very it’s very much like I don’t know what to do with my hands. Like this is I’ve never been this genuinely optimistic. And I I’m not even saying not to spoil next week slash3 days from now in reality’s episode. I don’t even think that this is going to mean the Red Wings are going to be like a 100 plus point team. It’s fun right now though. It’s yeah, exciting probably is the best word because, you know, Evan’s probably the most pessimistic in this group. I can’t say I’m all that far behind. Yeah, you’re you’re the razor thin margin for sure. I am I am more his side than your side. And while my overall projections for the season aren’t great, there are silver linings that could absolutely make this season worthwhile no matter what. and having three rookies, even for some of these guys who might just get, you know, an early season try out, just, you know, call it a prolonged preeason and then ultimately end up in Grand Rapids, that’s still valuable. That’s still exciting. That still helps the team long term. And that’s ignoring the obvious fact of they were good enough to even be in the conversation at this point in time. If you had told me any one of Finny, ASP or MBN was going to be on the opening night roster or possible, I would have been content. Like I would have been like, “Yeah, they need to get someone in there.” To say they’re still this late in the process is fantastic. Like they’re not guaranteed to make opening night roster. We don’t know how the roster shakedown’s going to happen tomorrow, but it sure looked like that was their opening night roster yesterday against Toronto. And to clarify, Brad was making the point there. MBN is the only one whose contract is eligible for that roster slide. So his, you know, early season try out if it ends at that would be a limited amount of games, but other than that, yeah, it’s still might not be for the entire season. But your your entire point stands and it’s like the the narrative has changed from the start of training camp to the end of training camp and then from the start of the preseason till now. And I don’t want to imply that the preseason is a short period of time. It is incredibly long and it is we’ve all aged 10 years every single preseason. But still like that’s just a a handful of games and even I my own opinion has changed on these guys drastically and it’s been deserved from them. We’re going to jump into that. Let’s kick things off, folks. Welcome to the Wing Wheel Podcast. Here to talk to you about all things Detroit Red Wings hockey, the youth wave, the world of the NHL, and lots more. I’m one of your hosts, Ryan Hannah. I’m Brad Krisco, and I’m Evan. This episode of the Wing Wheel podcast is presented by Greenlight Lending. Red Lights are meant for lighting the lamp at the rink, not your home ownership goals. Head to go greenlightlanding.com today for creative mortgage solutions with flexible closing cost options. Licensed only in Michigan, NMLS 267-6683, an equal housing opportunity lender, proud sponsor of the Winged Wheel podcast. On this episode of the show, as you’ve been able to put together, we’re going to be talking about Red Wings roster projections. The preseason is over. We’ll see where the lineup is going to sit at the Monday 5:00 p.m. Eastern deadline. And then again, when we’re closer to opening night, we’re going to get into our Atlantic Division preview and whatever else before we jump into overtime. Very quickly, Winding Wheel Podcast Night at the LCA is Saturday, November 15th. That’s the Detroit vers Buffalo game. If you get tickets through our Winding Wheel podcast night at the LCA portal, you get not only access to the game in special Winding Wheel podcast seating sections, you also get access to the pregame live recording of the Wind Wheel podcast at Little Caesar’s Arena featuring us the host, Ken Daniels, lead announcer for the Detroit Red Wings, and other special guests, including Rob Ray, which is a fun new addition to the roster, and a couple other Red Wings themed special guests from the designers of the Centennial logo and Jersey, which is going to be a lot of fun. So, we’re mixing things up for you guys. You also get a special Detroit Red Wings and Winged Wheel Podcasted Throw Blanket. It is Centennial themed with the Red Wings Centennial logo and our 10th anniversary logo. Pregame, you know, meet and greet merch, giveaways, prizes, all that and lots more. And every ticket bought represents a donation to the Jamie Daniels Foundation. So again, Windville Podcast night at the LCA. Go to windvillepodcast.com/redwings or go to the link in the description. Michael Branzagard. Let’s start with him. Leading scorer for the Detroit Red Wings. Tied with Larkin on goals. Leading the Red Wings in points for the preseason. Played a ton of games in there, mind you. But how much more could you have expected or prayed for if you were MBN? Really? like what a phenomenal performance from him this preseason where he was coming in and we said his game is an NHL game and we can’t wait till he’s ready and then he showed us he’s doing all those things at an NHL level already on top of his physical play and his off puck play which is an underappreciated thing cuz I can tell you NHL coaches you know fond over that stuff. They see the skill and the shot and everything else that everybody sees, but that off puck play, the physicality, the backtracking, the whatever you want to call it, he’s excellent at that. Hence why he’s getting an opportunity. And that would apply to Finny as well because it gives a coach more confidence to put a guy in the roster that he’s maybe not sure of. You know, we always talk about this guy’s a liability or this guy’s not a liability. That’s a lot of the stuff you’re looking at. And not that MBN’s game is super refined, but for Rory Zatnne’s career is pretty damn refined. And then you factor in all the intangibles to go with the tangibles, man. Like it’s a phrase that’s been beat to death on this podcast and around Red Wings media. You don’t make the team as a rookie unless you kick the door in. Yenne kicked the door in. He what didn’t he wasn’t he tied for the lead in the entire NHL preseason scoring? Yeah. Like what more could he do to make this team? And again, everything we’re saying is with the asterisk of we don’t know for sure he’s on the team yet. And we don’t know he’s going to play two games. Could play five, could play nine, could play 40. Things change, slumps happen. Nobody’s development path is the same. As it stands right now, I don’t think the Red Wings have a choice. He has to be on the opening night roster. the players, every player in that room has a BS meter, and we’ve talked about that before, too, where they can see what’s going on around them. You can say MBN knows he should be on that team, and that’s true. He probably thinks that. But guys like Patrick Kane, Dylan Lurin, Lucas Raymond, they’re acutely aware of what’s been going on in practice, training camp, preseason, they’re watching what he’s doing compared to the likes of uh not to pick on the guys Baragan, Rasmason, Comper, he has done far more. He has far outperformed them. He has been a consistently better player. If he does not make the team, that sends a bad message not just to MBN, the entire roster. You always have the blanket to fall back on of we just believe this is better for his development. And there’s some truth to that. There genuinely is some truth to that in certain circumstances. I don’t think that applies to MBN right now. I think you have to give him a look. We talked about how his game was very pro ready. He showed it. He showed it in his brief stint in Grand Rapids last year. He showed it in training camp. He showed it in the preseason. you have to at least give him some run. You can make the same arguments for ASP and Finine and we’ll talk about them, but I think right now of the three of them, NBN has the strongest case because it’s not just the eye test, the numbers back it up. I I’m glad you stipulated that of any of them who would have that kind of unequivocal, yeah, he deserves it. And if you’re sending him down, it has nothing to do with him as an NHL player. And it’s more you just want to, you know, buy time to make roster moves or or have him work on other things. Like he gets that label in my mind more so than the other two. And then Danielson as well who’s injured so he’s not in the conversation right now, but he’ll come up later. MBN to me has, for all the reasons you stated, shown that he belongs on this roster. And it’s not like his his scoring talent is coming off these unsustainable highlight reel plays. Like Evan put it really well the past few episodes. He finds the soft areas. He his release is not just at a pro level. It’s among the best on the team or on the ice at any point across both teams when he’s out there. He’s able to contribute something that the Red Wings desperately need, which is scoring, but he’s not doing it with the the kind of think of like Cole Cfield when he broke into the league or, you know, a really slight small player, someone with a big question mark around them where you’re like, “Eh, even though you’ve done well in the preseason, we have big concerns cuz your size or your skating or whatever.” You’re right, Brad. All other parts of his game are already ready. like he plays the nasty game that not just the Red Wings want, but the NHL warrants. He is following in the footsteps of what Casper has done. And we’ve looked at Casper and we’ve said, “Wow, we want more of this on the team.” And he brings the offense. So, he could be the answer for the, you know, topline left wing. Maybe he could be the answer for for depth scoring. He’s an answer to expand proficiency on the power play. He checks every box. MBN to me is you’d have to have a pretty good reason to send him down. And even then, it can’t be for too long before you’d have to see him. He’s on my opening night roster, though, no matter what. Yeah, he scores in a way that’s sustainable, right? It’s it’s not these like run hots that, you know, bottom six guys of past have gone on that just came out of nowhere. He, you know, he finds, like I said, the soft areas of the ice. Hold on. That came awfully close to Adam Ernie slander. I know. I was there was another a few others. I mean, a few dozen others that I was thinking of as well that could fit that that criteria, but yeah, he finds his soft spots and his release is just the pass comes to him and it’s off his stick instantly. Like that’s a great way to score. And the other night he would was the recipient of a cross ice pass on the goal line and he buried like how many offer we should add. Yeah. From Yeah. Fair. Fair. Rightfully fair. How many years of h one decade we’ve seen how many players come through the Red Wings organization that just can’t even finish like easy goals. So the fact that now we’re on to the Philip Zadena slander Evan. Oh yeah. I’m telling you he’s a new man. He’s reinvigorated. Zadena looked like MBN until they had to shoot the puck which is shocking. That’s never how I thought that would end. But he he’s doing it in a pro style and NHL style way of scoring. Not a lot like you’re not going to see a lot of guys scoring off the rush unless they’re the elite elite superstars in this league. Those are playoff style goals that he scores and that’s what the Red Wings desperately need. Like he’s not doing anything fancy. He’s just playing a simple game and he has elite finishing tools. We should state now that the the Red Wings announced today that both Eric Gustoson and Justin Hall were placed on waiverss. So, as of right now, they’re on waivers. We’ll find out tomorrow who cleared. The expectation is that at least Justin Hall will. Eric Gustin, I think, has a chance to be claimed. We’ll get to that later. But that does make things interesting and that does inspire a lot of hope for all three of these Red Wings rookies who are healthy to make the opening night roster. But it’s not a guarantee. We’ll get into those details after we we talk about each individual player. But that’s that’s MBN right there. Well, I think that point you made and bringing up Paul and Gustin is the perfect transition to the next guy we should talk about, which is Axel Sandine Pelica because I think Red Wings fans all knew there was a chance one or two defenseman were going to go on waiverss because it’s a numbers game. Everybody knows math. Everybody can count to eight except for like two of us in this room. And it was it felt like an inevitability, but I think the names in everybody’s head for that the whole time was Hamik and Hall. If it was going to be one, it was going to be one of those two. And if it was going to be two, it was going to be those two. I’m not going to lie, I was a little surprised Gustoson was one of them. But, and again, you know, this is where, you know, Pepe Sylvia and here we go with the pins. If Axel Sandee Pelico was going to play any role on the Red Wings, whose role from last year would it be? Eric Gustiffson bottom pair power play two. Again, we don’t know till tomorrow. Man, that move strikes me as they’re planning on putting ASP on the opening night roster. I’ll tell you what move struck me that he was making the opening night roster when he shook off three Toronto Maple Leafs in his own zone. Like, they weren’t even there last night. I was like when I saw that I was like I’m good. I’m good. I’ve made that’s my decision. You made Mickey chuckle. Yeah. He made you you make Mickey chuckle the way Pavle Datsuk used to make Mickey chuckle. You done good. ASP has absolutely acquitted himself not only as one of the 23 best Red Wings on this roster right now. But as a what top four defenseman, does that mean he’s perfect and he’s already playing at the level of a top four defenseman? No. And that’s why I think there is a side to this where he could be sent down and I would see the reasoning his his elusiveness and his the way he thinks the game and sees the ice and his offensive IQ and his abilities that way. I can’t say enough good things about them. His defensive game or more so I think maybe just like cleaning up the mistakes and the the you know risk takingaking and better assessing that that is something where it’s very prototypical. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. that we’d rather tame a lion than paint stripes on a a kitty cat or however that goes. Nailed it. Stripes. Absolutely nailed it. Leaving that in. That’s a very normal thing to send a talented young defenseman to the AHL for. I’ve never made Evan laugh like that in my life. I was I was like, what are we painting? Like it’s a normal thing to send a player like him to the AHL4 just for a brief period just to kind of get a handle on that and that like Edmonson did the same thing. Joe Hansen to some degree like these guys all spend some time in the AHL to some degree just to learn what it means to have the puck on your stick and and have that risk assessment and make sure that you’re not burning your team. That would be the justification for sending him down. But even then, to me, it you can’t justify it being for too long because he’s that good compared to his peers. So there’s again, and you did a good job of laying it out because there’s two ways to look at this. What’s best for his development? And is he one of the six best defenseman in the organization at this moment in time? Let’s start on that side because I think that’s the simplest conversation based on what we’ve seen. Red and white game, training camp, preseason. Is he one of the best six defenseman in the organization today? Yes. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, yes. Absolutely. Thousand%. What’s best for his development? I could be talked into either. Mhm. He should dominate the AHL. He he is immediately one of the most skilled, if not the most skilled defenseman in that league. The second his feet touch AHL ice. He’d be power play one. He’d probably be playing 20 to 25 minutes a game. There is nothing wrong with that. That is a fantastic development path, especially for his first year in North America. However, he is the type of player who plays better with good players. Everyone, I know what a stupid statement that is, but like I think people understand what that means. There are some guys that you can, and that’s why Finn is doing well. There are guys you can throw out with Larkin and Raymond and they’re going to play worse than they would in their third or fourth line role because they have no idea how to read and react to playmaking that quickly. They can’t keep up with that pace. They can’t do it. And then they just look like a fish out of water and they struggle and they just can’t play off other guys. Sandine Pelica, you throw him out with the high skill players, he didn’t look like he missed a step. He could snap that puck around. He could run an ozone cycle when he’s running that blue line. He knows where his guys need to be and because they’re that high level players, they’re going to be there and he can make the play. Like watching him run the ozone. Even on power play too with obviously not Lark and Raymond Kane, but still a not terrible unit, he looks so smooth. It looks so effortless. It looked like inside the ozone blue line, he wasn’t making any mistakes. I don’t think he even was really pushing his offensive limit in the preseason. Not to say he was riding the break, but he was kind of riding the break. Like, we’ve seen him do stuff in other levels that he didn’t really try in preseason because, you know, high risk, high reward, and is this the time to piss off your coach, right? He didn’t want to do it. Understandably so. But then the question with him is, we always expected him to look like that in the Ozone. I don’t think anybody watching, listening, evaluating went, “Oh, wow. I can’t believe this is happening.” You can correct me if I’m wrong. I didn’t see that many obvious mistakes in the D zone or on in transition with him throughout the preseason either. So, if the question is can he handle the defensive responsibilities in the NHL, you know, I’m not saying he was Moider, but he sure as hell didn’t look any worse than Eric Gustin in those spots. I don’t think like I don’t think he was flawless, but I think your Reed is right. like he was doing things at an exceptionally high level. I land in the same spot. I can be talked into him either way in terms of what’s best for his next steps. Ultimately, where I think I land is that ASP has shown himself to be so talented and and his development just within a short like what two week time frame here has has gone so well that he deserves the opportunity to see if he can continue that development and have it not be detrimental to him long term at the NHL level. It’s a very rare thing and it’s a very hard thing to do, but I think he’s shown enough to say, “Hey, let’s give him a shot and see how this goes.” And if it it starts to go poorly and he’s getting, you know, banged up out there and he’s things are compounding and he can’t hang physically or or, you know, keep up with the grind of the season, then you always have the option of sending him down as Brad said and said, “Hey, go be the guy in Grand Rapids.” But to me, he’s earned the so-called exceptional status, let’s say, for for the purpose of a a rookie defenseman for the Red Wings to to come in and see if he can do it at the NHL level. You’re right. He’s not the same as Moider or Simon Edmonson, but like he’s his own player and and the way he’s done this, I think, has has given him at least the opportunity for a run here. And there’s one one thing I really want to clarify because I’m sure even me just saying this a guy a high skill offensive player who comes with risk like Sandine Pelica being thrust into the NHL too early and Chilowski is probably the poster boy for this of you’re worried they’re going to coach the creative out of him. I don’t have that fear with Mlullen. saw what he did with Johansson and Casper last year. If this was Loner Blastill, I’d probably be pounding the table pretty hard right now to send ASP to Grand Rapids cuz I wouldn’t want that creative element out of his game. I think Mlullen’s pretty savvy in recognizing guys strengths and weaknesses and putting them in a position to succeed without changing fundamentally who they are. Now, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need some refining around the edges, like I said, with when to take a risk, when to not, D’s own awareness, all that stuff, but we’ve talked ever since he was drafted that when he first gets to the NHL, what’s his role probably going to be? Sheltered bottom pair with power play two. Who played a sheltered pair of power player two last year? Gustoson. Who did they just wave? Gustoson. If there’s a way to develop him quote unquote slowly in the NHL, there it is. And again, if he plays 5, 10, 15, 20 games, and then it’s like, you know what, this isn’t going great for him, let’s get him back to Grand Rapids, finish out the year there. But then he has in his mind that entire time what NHL pace is, what NHL physicality is. Yeah. He’s got that information in his brain forever. So, as he’s playing in the NHL, he’s got more information to work with. So, as it sits today, and I would not have expected myself to say this 3 weeks ago, as it sits today, he’s on my opening night roster. I’m at least giving him the chance to see what he can do. I would bet he ends up in Grand Rapids at some point this year just because that’s the nature of this position. That’s the nature of this league, especially for his type of player. But he’s earned the chance. You got to give him a run. Again, for the BS detector I was talking about with NBN, I am sure players in this room were chuckling to themselves much like Mick with some of the things he was doing out there. Well, I don’t think the amount the Red Wings were playing ASP on the power play in the preseason and penalty kill for what it’s worth. Yeah. Gave me, you know, right then and there like, all right, they’re seriously considering this and that they’re conseriously considering him in this scenario. And he looked great. So yeah, I think the biggest test will be what happens when you play real regular season games. When you play teams, actual NHL lineups, you know, when a monster team like Vegas comes into town and they’re like, they got this skilled young kid on the third line of their defensive core. When he’s out on the ice, you go and blow him up. You make his life a living hell. Teach him what it means to be in the NHL. That’s when we’ll, you know, he’s going to have, he’s earned his right, in my opinion, to be on the Red Wings. The next step is to stay, and that’s going to be a bigger test. I like you guys, he’s one of the the top six in my mind. I’m just very curious what they see as his optimal development path. Is it playing 15 minutes a night in Detroit? Is it playing 25 minutes a night in Grand Rapids? I mean, you can I’m not sure there’s a correct answer that they may have their own ideas and talk to Dan Watson and see what he thinks as well, but either way, I think it’s going to be very exciting if ASP does make this team. Well, to quote Mike Tyson, everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth. I think with ASP this year, the Red Wings have a plan until Tom Wilson dumps the puck in his corner. See how See how he hangs. We we introed into ASP by talking about Hall and Gustoson being waved. So again, the expectation is that they’ll clear. Gustoson may get picked up. He could be an interesting project for teams who think that they need a, you know, power play two quarterback or a depth guy who’s cheap and experienced. I could honestly see it. Let’s say they both clear. Well, it’s important to note that that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to be sent down to Grand Rapids. It just gives Detroit the option if they clear that means they then don’t have to go through waiverss to be sent down for the next either 30 days cumulatively that they’re on an NHL roster or 10 cumulative games played in the NHL. So they could clear and then be sent down and then called back up for for games and be sent back down. They have a window there where essentially they’re buying themselves flexibility with those guys. So, it could be that by the Monday 5:00 p.m. Eastern roster deadline, the kids are on there, including ASP. And then Detroit decides for the home opener that, yeah, we’re going to bring back Gerson for this one. And it could mean I saw him in his last home opener. That couldn’t be much worse. Don’t Don’t test fate, Evan. The the vibes are high right now to the point where you’re hyped. Don’t Don’t make that come crashing down even harder. Those things can happen still. So that’s why we’re we’re putting the caveats in there because nothing is a guarantee. And Todd Mlen said himself like there’s things that are going to happen potentially on Monday that don’t necessarily inform what’s going to happen Thursday. So these are all just strong indicators but not guarantees. But yeah, all three of us are sitting here like ASP surprised everyone and everything they threw at him, he passed the test and often with flying colors. Let’s give him some more run. See what happens against, you know, actual pro NHL competition. EMTT Finny, who had such a strong start and not a bad finish, but definitely wasn’t the story of the preseason by the end. Where are you on the seventh round pick? It’s again a lot of the same things we said about ASP. Is he one of the 12 best forwards? Is this what’s best for his development? His is a little more cloudy because could you make the argument Barr over him, JVR over him? cuz as it sits right now, those look like the two opening night healthy scratches. Again, time for things to change. But he didn’t look bad in the last couple games, but he definitely didn’t look like the force he was earlier in the preseason. He doesn’t look out of place on that line. And so, the thing biggest thing he’s got going for him is, well, they don’t really have anybody else who’s definitely going to play there, so may as well be him. and that’s playing in his favor. And again, I think if the kids earned it, he’s been great. Give him some run. If he’s got to go back, he’s got to go back. Again, I’m probably less bullish on him than I am the other two right now just because of they seem to pick up steam as the preseason went on. He seemed to kind of I don’t want to say drop because I didn’t think he dropped, but he leveled out. And I I see value in him on the first line. I could see value in him on the fourth line. Ultimately, you know, Mlullen still has to make the decisions and Eisen still has to make the decisions. We got to get to the playoffs. What’s that team look like? I think as it stands right now, Finn’s on the team. Yeah, the it’s not uninspired. I want to make that clear. I fully agree with you. like he was the original and I still think one of the biggest stories in terms of being standouts for these Red Wings rookies or hopeful rookies and yeah, I think he’s one of the 23 best right now. I think he deserves to be there and I think the same thing as ASP, he deserves to be given the run just to see how it sticks. Now, if it’s, you know, for a little bit on the first line and then all motor, but the the skill isn’t there every game and then you have to move him to the fourth line and then that doesn’t necessarily stick. I wouldn’t mind seeing him be given the opportunity just as like the occasional healthy to see if just like you can ease him into staying into the lineup and then you decide to move him to Grand Rapids if you have to. And maybe moving down to the fourth line or up and down the lineup helps alleviate, you know, injuries that happen down the road or or shaking up other lines. Regardless, he’s he’s shown enough, I think, to prove that he can be one of the better, if not the best options for any one of those questions you have with the roster right now, including first line left wing. What did Mlen say? He runs on nitro like that. That’s he is the kind of motor guy who a lot of teams have lines like this where you have talented players like Lurin and Raymond and then you have that energy guy who’s doing the opposite of being an anchor. Is he at their talent level? No. But he he brings an element to the game that helps enhance what they can be doing on the ice. Maybe he’s great for games 1 through 12 and then by game 35 you’re like, “Yeah, this kid is gassed and the NHL season is is harder and faster and tougher and longer than any other season of hockey that he’s played.” And that’s when he sent him down. Those are all normal things and I would say probably even likely. We saw it with, you know, Soder Blum in the past as an easy example. But yeah, I I think EMTT Finny deserves the look. Just one, it’s fun, and two, like he’s been the only reasonable answer, I think, for a lot of these questions. Yeah, with Finny, for me, it’s, you know, he ultimately controls a lot of his own destiny, but like you guys said, a lot of it is the question of who. Well, if it’s not him, who? So, he obviously is filling a a need for the Red Wings. I think the ultimate question there is will he produce like being on the the left wing top line like there is a lot of expectation on Raymond and Larkin and whoever plays on that line with them. So you know he you can be an energy guy all you want but if if that line’s not producing that’s going to be a quick way for him to cycle out with JVR. Maybe M&B gets a look in there. Baragan comes up. Like I that position is by no means locked. But what he does have going for him is he’s got the intangibles. He’s got the that speed. You know, he can he can go hound pucks on lower lines. And then, you know, if they want him to go be a guy and dominate in the AHL, that’s totally fine, too. Like, for me, there’s no real bad outcome for EMTT Finny going into this season. either he’s on the opening night roster, which I think he’s at least deserved a look, he’s been electric for most of the preseason, and then you figure out what you got with him. You know, if he plays a handful of games and the grind of the NHL season is just too much, too soon, fine by me. Go down to Grand Rapids, learn the pro game there. Like, no, no issues with that. and then coming into next season, you you know for sure he’s going to be an absolute firecracker to make that lineup and stay there. And also, if MBN or Finny are on this team and they’re not doing well come late October, November, whenever it is, there’s the natural swap to get Danielson up. Mhm. Right. You know, I I think the bigger point here also is I think this is the last year the Red Wings can miss the playoffs and have any grace from the fan base. Listen, if they run back essentially the same team as last year with horizontal moves with JVR in, Terasenko out, and the Red Wings miss, that’s way worse than having three rookies make this team and and miss. Yeah. Right. Yeah, exactly. I think no matter how this season shook out, there’s going to be enough of the fan base and enough people in the building that if they miss, heads aren’t going to roll. I think this is the last season we can say that cuz if they miss this year, that’s 10 years. NBN, Danielson, Finny, ASP getting a lot of run. Good good development for the long-term future of the team. Exciting for fans. Exciting for fans. If the Red Wings lose their opener, you know, 5-3 to Montreal, but ASP has two assists, MBN Infinity have a goal, is anybody gonna really feel that upset at the end of that night? Probably not. It’s one game in the regular season, but lot and it’s a loss, but there’s a lot of reason to be excited there. And you got to think, you know, we talked about those guys. Maser, Plant, Buchikov, Buinder, Lombardi, Lombardi, they’re still coming. and Carter Bear. You’re going to have five guy five rookies make the make the team next year and expect to make the playoffs. No. Yeah. Jesse Keithkin and even like three guys getting a lot of run this year goes a long way to being a lot more comfortable putting more in next year. And if again Finny plays 20 games, it goes off the shelf. Danielson comes in and finishes out the season. Now that’s two guys who got good run in the NHL that you’re a little more comfortable with going into next season. And then they have again this season you can quote unquote right off but then they are way better positioned for the following season to make a legitimate run and go into the offseason and go into the season saying this is playoffs or bust then you go balls to the wall in free agency trades whatever you need to do to build around these guys cut the dead weight whatever I just there’s too many reasons right now to to have these guys on the team versus not. And again, in a culture of winning, what’s earned is given. You can’t tell me NBA and Finny earned two of the top 12 forwards in this organization right now. You can’t tell me ASP isn’t one of the top six defenseman. That could change by November. But as of today, if you want to make the playoffs this year, you want to have long-term sustained success, it’s in the best interest of the organization to at least try. Do you want to win or do you want to be a retirement home? Really? Well, and that’s the the final point here that I think we’ll we’ll speak to before the quick break is that there’s no option for the retirement home. there was no option for the guys collecting a check and and you know playing a season that they know will be fruitless by the time midappril comes around. the fact that all of these kids have come in and either have stolen roster spots or you know in the case of Danielson and Maser for example they’re like yeah well if we were a bit healthier we would have had your roster spot and Wender and Bu and Bam also with his injury and Lombardi is not far off and then you mentioned Brad Keithkin but like Bear these veterans on this team as Brad talked about at the start they know they know their jobs are on the line there are very few players on this team who are Oh yeah, I’m extremely comfortable that I’m not going to get traded or waved or not resigned or whatever else. There are so many guys who are effectively on notice here even if it isn’t a contract year, even if they they, you know, were perfectly fine last season because they know there are better, more talented, younger, faster, cheaper options that have more runway right behind them and they are not far away. And it feels like a big wave came all at once, which is rich to say because the Red Wings got, you know, Raymond and Cider and Edson and Casper all within, you know, it felt bang bang bang relatively speaking, but these guys are all within like a year or two. And so this should either light a fire and get guys going who can get going. And those who can’t hang, they will be pruned. I think like I I think you’re right, both of you, that this is kind of an inflection point and you’re going to start to see roster moves where the dead weight’s going to be shipped out. Not because ah it’s just more efficient cap or they didn’t really fit the culture in the room. Like no, because there are better options that are going to help put more points on the board for the Red Wings right now. While you were talking, I was trying to count how many forwards on this team I would consider comfortable in their spot, like that they’re not at risk of getting sent down or waved at any point this season. And I came up with seven. Five. I had obviously Lark and Raymond, Kane, Casper to Brinkit set. I would think because of contracts, rules they play, yada yada yada. I think Cop and Appleton are safe. Everybody else can be cut tomorrow, traded, waved, whatever. And the Red Wings will not be worse off for it because of who they can replace them with. Obviously, they’re not replacing five of them. So, that goes without saying, but I think that’s it. I think everybody beyond those seven right now is probably in their chair realizing they are very expendable. And I’m not saying that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be in the top 12, but they sure as hell can’t be comfortable about it. Yeah. They they don’t think that there’s an easy contract coming at the end of this one. If it’s one year away, two years away, three years away. All right, we’re going to take a quick break and when we’re back, we’re going to continue the roster projection conversation back after this. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Welcome back. Let’s get to the actual details of this. The roster projection as you will have noted over the past, you know, little while here, various players have been sent down or reassigned. Carter Bear back to the WHL. You know, Danielson and Buham are injured non- roster. Lombardi down to the AHL. Mer down to the AHL. There’s things have been pruned down to the point where over the last two preseason games against Toronto, the Red Wings had, you know, a 25man roster essentially. And so there were only two cuts that needed to be made. We talked all this. We didn’t even mention the the manner in which Detroit won. The comeback OT winner 65 against Toronto at home to end the preseason. Exhibition games don’t matter, but that one did. That one felt good cuz one, the Leafs have had the Red Wings number for the entirety of this rebuild. The Red Wings beat them on Thursday and then and that was the Leaf’s full roster. Saturday, let’s be honest, that was the Marley’s. Mhm. You know how Santa comes but once a year. That’s Nick Robertson in the preseason against the Red Wings. You won’t hear from the guy for the rest of the season, but in the preseason against Detroit, he turns into prime Sydney Crosby. That was a hell of a comeback though, even against cuz like again, I’m not worried about it. It’s preseason. Shake things off. John Gibson was awful that game. Like I don’t want to pin that being a close game on him, but I’m pinning that being a close game on him cuz three of those five were very stoppable. very stoppable. Good to get it out of the system now, so I’m not worried about it. But then, yeah, 53 late to come back. Oh, and that Johansson clapper. Just the ping. That’s It’s our Eric Carlson, man. That’s We don’t need You keep making that joke on Albert Johansson when the actual we have Eric Carlson at home. Axel Sandine Pelican was the one who gave him that pass. I don’t know. Albert Johansson was the one who wound up and sent it home to me. Eric Carlson’s a playmaker, my guy. Just can’t please us. No, he can’t. No, we we do not. We have two Carlson’s at home and he’s still asking to trade for Eric Carlson. If two Carlson’s is great, three Carlson’s MBN with two goals, ASP with two primary assists, Johansson with the tying goal, and and yeah, Larkin with the the OT winner. He had two goals that game as well. That was fun. Anyways, so the Red Wings have to make two cuts technically, even with Hall and Gustoson on waiverss. They haven’t technically done it yet by the Monday deadline. And again, Mlullen himself stated, and we’re telling you right now, what happens on Monday doesn’t guarantee what you’re going to see for Thursday. But for the sake of it, let’s project what we think the Red Wings official 23man roster is going to be after preseason training camp. Everything now is all said and done. So, easier to say, I guess, who is out and who stays in. I mean, not to overthink it for all the things we just talked about and you factor that in with Hall and Gustoson being the ones put on waiverss, I think it’s them. If you wave JVR and Bergrren, who as it stood yesterday were the projected opening night scratches, either of them is getting claimed. They seem to like what they’ve seen from Hamik. I’ve been getting those vibes from preseason. Not that they think he’s a world beater, but I think they Yeah, they liked him better than Hall and Gustoson, which is perfectly justifiable. I think they’re like, “We’ve had our run with Hall. We’re not going to get anything different. Let’s see what him can give us.” For how big Hall is, you would hope you get a physical or a nasty element. you don’t. So, like I’m not even at this point accepting that reasoning for keeping him around. For how big and strong he is, he’s a soft defenseman and that’s just killer in two ways. At least with Hamik, you do get a little bit of snarl. Not a lot, but a little bit. You don’t get any snarl with ASP, but you get what’s that word? Talent. So, again, and you put it together and again, someone correct me if I’m wrong. I don’t remember the Red Wings ever putting out a lineup like that in their last preseason game. That very much had the vibe of this is our opening night roster and we’re warming them up. This is the tuneup. This is we’re going to work out the final kinks and we’re going to scrape our way through X, Y, and Z to get everything set so that when we get to opening night, everything feels right. We hypothesized how they could line up a few things on the roster that make the most sense. A lot of those things they were doing Saturday night and I got to tell you, they looked good. Like I was toying with the idea of maybe you don’t put Joe Hansen with Edmonson. Maybe you put him on the third pair with whoever. I didn’t know who that was at the time. Just to see if he could anchor the pair. Did not think that was going to be Axel Sandine Pelica, but it looked good. Jacob Bernard Docker did not set the world on fire, but did not look out of place next to Edmonson on that second pair. That feels like a lineup that they could trot out on opening night. Same with the forwards. Finn’s been playing with Lurin and Raymond most of the preseason. It’s actually interesting and I think the most interesting part about this hypothetical, they pulled him off that line partway through the preseason and then put him back, which means they didn’t like the look of the roster. in a different construction. Which leads me to believe again, remember we talked about it’s not the how, it’s the when and where. Yesterday was the when and they put him back where on the first line. The MBN, who was it? MBN was with Cop and Coner. Yep. That line was clicking. That line was a pain in the ass to play against. We were talking about a shutdown line and how they might be limited offensively, but they could be. Man, I don’t hate that as your pain in the ass prick line to play against. Might be a bit too much of an ask for MBN, but I like the thought process there. And he doesn’t strike me as a type of rookie who is going to, you know, shell up and get nervous in that role. And we saw it. They scored. They cop I have my concerns about confer, but that was a nice pass. Cop and MBN can put up some numbers. That’s a third line that could check, defend, and maybe actually produce some offense. And then all of a sudden, because of that shakeup, your fourth line’s not a black hole. Mhm. Like I don’t know who they’re going to trot out there, but Appleton and Soder Blum in a fourth line role can definitely hang with other teams fourth lines. No problem. Right. I don’t love Rasmmanson in the middle. As a matter of fact, I hate Rasmmanson in the middle. But if it’s on the fourth line with them, I think that’s perfectly acceptable. I like poor soda blum. Yeah, I know. And then as guys get cold with that construction, there are ways you can mix in JVR or bear grin into almost any of those lines except for maybe the second line. And it makes sense. You can plug holes as issues arise. I don’t know. I I really get the vibe. I think that’s the opening night lineup. And I think Barren, JVR, and Hamik are the extras. Well, we saw two the two philosophies that teams go through when they do their final preseason game. Although it, you know, it’s been 100 days of preseason. Somebody’s got to sit at some point. But the Leafs sat everybody rest up. We got a long 82 game season. Soon to be 84. Still only 82 for me, but 84 for the players. Or you suit everybody up. And this is essentially our final roster. You saw both those play out last night. So, for me, what you see is what you get. And I think that’s going to be the Red Wings opening night lineup. And I don’t think it’s just last night cuz over the years, the Red Wings, they have the tradition. Their last two games of the preseason forever and ever and ever have been a home and home with the Leafs. It’s great. It’s fun. It’s awesome. But every year, one of those two games, they dress pretty close to a full lineup. Usually the home game, and the other game is basically the Griffins, much like the Leafs did the last two games. At home, they they sent out their A squad. On the road, they sent out their B squad. I think it’s very telling that a majority of the A squad played both games. And with that being the roster construction for the final one, again, we don’t have a crystal ball. We can’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but that’s as good of an indication, I think, as we can possibly pull from anything preseason related. Well, who else other than Hall and Gustoson who would be the cuts? Well, it wouldn’t be like maybe they maybe they’re fed up with Barren and that’s just the end of that. Maybe they do decide Finny and ASP are better off in Grand Rapids. Those could be the two cuts. But again, in the culture of winning and earning what you’ve got and etc., etc. The thing I respect so deeply about Todd Mlullen is he is a no guy. He will not screw around. If a rookie is not ready, he’s not ready. If a rookie has earned it, I’m going to give you the chance. History tells us that when guys look like they’re ready to go, Mlullen will play them. When Mlullen got there, he looked at Casper and Johansson, went, “They’re doing what with those guys?” Nah, I’m gonna play him. Resounding success on both fronts. There is no good reason to think Mlullen won’t have that same attitude with at least two, if not all three of these guys. So, to state it plainly here, what we’re discussing is a lineup roughly as follows. You might want to mix and match differently, but Finny, Lark, and Raymond on the top line, De Brinka, Casper, Kane, they’re glued together. Cop, Confer, MBN, and then, you know, Soderblum, Rasmusen, Appleton. Maybe you sub out JVR or Bearrin for Soderblam, what have you. defense, Sherro Cider, and then Edinson, Bernard Docker, Johansson, ASP with Hamik as your seventh and then obviously Talbot and Gibson in that and that is your 23man roster. Again, the scratches being, you know, the two forwards as of right now, call it JVR and Barren. As JVR gets up to speed, maybe he subs out for Silver Blum and then Hamnik at defense. And so that includes all three of the healthy rookies that we’re talking about right now making the opening night roster. Anyone differ on that for their own personal projections? No, but I’m just laughing about how the Red Wings wave Gustin and Hall, get everybody fired up, and then they send assign Finny and ASP to Grand Rapids. People are going to The internet’s going to be a scary place in Red Wings uh land if that happens. They have to know, okay, we’ve gone this far. Just for the sake of the fans not burning the LCA to the ground, we have to dress at least two of them just for a handful of games here. Just for a handful of games. Like it’s like Steve, I know we were going to send them down. Like, you got to at least give me the home and opener at this point. You gota It was happier in the Red Wings Twitter sphere today than I’ve seen it in a long time. And that was in the face of like the Tigers win last night and you know like there’s a lot else to be looking forward to right now as a Detroit sports fan. So for any of that being the Red Wings when they haven’t played one second of regular season hockey in this upcoming season that’s impressive and yeah I think you got to ride that for a little bit. We’ll see how it actually shakes out. I think the the Monday roster and the Thursday roster as Mlullen himself said are not guaranteed to be the same. But from if you take a spectrum from MBN all the way down to Finny, those guys have have earned at least a look if not more. Red Wings roster projection. We’ll chat again Wednesday to see how things actually worked out. But for now, let’s jump into that. That was going to be a long episode. Our Atlantic division preview. the last of our division previews and kind of a funny one because our next episode is our Red Wings season preview. So, it’s going to be lighter on the Red Wings than anyone else. But, let’s go through the Atlantic division and we’ll use last year’s standings and and see where things are going to work out in what is what feels like the Thunderdome in my mind. We’ll start with last year’s worst team in the Atlantic, the Boston Bruins. 76 points. Does Boston rebound at all this year? What do you make of them? Gotta think a proper training camp in preseason. Jeremy Swayman will be better this year. As of now, Charlie Makavoy and Hampus Lindholm are healthy and should be playing a full season and David Posternox. David Pernack. I’m struggling to think of another good forward on this team though, which is obviously an oversimplification, but they got a lot of Elas Lindholm might be the worst contract in the NHL. Morgan Geeky I like a lot, but they’re still that big. Is that repeatable? Pavlzaka is okay. Got a lot of really good fourthlininers. A lot. So much so that they’re playing them on two and a half lines. I don’t like What I’m seeing from the Bruins here, I think they will at least pointswise be better than they were last year just because of the Lindholm Hampus Lindholm up. Let me specify Charlie Makavoy and Jeremy Swayman theoretical comebacks, but I I still don’t like them in this division at all. I there yeah it’s a bleak look for Boston right now for a an organization that you know had all the success that they well not all the success but they had a culture of you know being contenders this team is long gone from that and you can thank the management for getting them in that hole. I just they’ve got elite players at the extremely key positions, but then it’s a hole everywhere else in the lineup. Their like big addition this year was Victor Arvson, who was essentially a healthy scratch for Edmonton. That’s not going to move the needle. So, to me, this is a throwaway season for them. I think they’re going to try and tank. We’ll see how bad it actually gets. Could they actually tank properly? probably not. Judging by the way that they navigate their asset management, yeah, they’re gonna it’s going to be a rough year for Boston in my opinion. Boston’s just like Dallas in that they’ve got their elite firstline forward, their elite number one defenseman, and their theoretically elite starting goalie. It’s just Dallas has really good players behind that. Yeah. And Boston doesn’t. Yeah, that’s a thing. Fully also believe in the swiming resurgence. the every other year factor and the fact that he actually has a training camp and no distractions and Pastor Knack and Makavoy, those guys are going to elevate you, but I I’m with you guys. I don’t see Boston being elevated to much more than that kind of bottomish tier that the the space Detroit has kind of occupied for the last little while here. It’s Boston. Every year, I bet on their downfall, they seem to prove us wrong. So, who knows? They might find something that that sticks. They are a team that still could be better than the sum of their parts, but they’ve lost quite a few parts here. The Buffalo Sabres, who a lot of models really like, which feels, don’t they? Every year may Yeah, I guess so. Nobody’s ever questioned if the Sabres have good players. Nobody has ever looked at Buffalo and went, “Wow, what a sad sack collection of players.” Everybody’s aware of the scientific fact that this team is just cursed with some sort of witch doctor voodoo. And despite Tae Thompson, Rasmus Dolene and a bunch of other players on that team being sick as hell, they’re still going to suck. No Peter, they did add Kessler Ring and Don. They I mean they lost Bernard Docker, so many many say that is going to be a devastating loss. But does Buffalo finally put together the pieces that they have or is it is this a year where they’re going to also Man, I am so sick of trying to predict Schroinger’s hockey team. They’re like the inverse of the Glory years Boston Bruins. It’s like they should be good. Everyone says they are and then they’re bad. Yeah, that actually is. They are the inverse Bruins. Like their defensive core in theory could be it could or should be one of the best in the league. It’s actually on paper like nasty. Like you’ve got Dene and Kessle Ring is a massively underrated defenseman. I don’t think people know how good he is. And then you’ve got Owen Power and Bowen Byum. That’s your top four. That is sick. Yeah. And then you got Matias Samuelson and whoever else they’ve got on the bottom pair. But that’s a bottom pair. Like how is this team defensively struggles? Oh, wait. I know. As of right now, Alex Lion’s their starting goalie Pekalukin is hurt. That’s what I’ve heard. Yes. So, and he wasn’t even good last year. Georgia is their third string. So, you know, they’ve got problems in the way. They’ve got reinforcements. Tough scene. Okay. For obvious reasons, we’re not going to dwell too much on the Red Wings. We’ll give you a quick topic overview, but the full Red Wing season preview is next episode, but the Red Wings are next up on the list. What’s the focus for Detroit coming into this season based on the movements they had on their roster and what they would need to change where they have to land? The most oversimplified response I can give based on how the last two seasons have gone, they have to win the season series against Montreal and Ottawa. They’re in the playoffs the last two years if they don’t lose key games to those two teams. And who are the two teams that got the wild card last year? Ottawa and Montreal. Sure. Theoretically Buffalo or Boston can make that interesting. Boston can’t. Great point. Montreal and Ottawa are the targets. As much as Florida’s dealing with injuries, Toronto lost Marner and Tampa is another year older. I don’t think anybody is thinking they’re falling into the top three. So, the target is squarely on Montreal and Ottawa. Now, that is the end of the list of the teams who didn’t make it out of the Atlantic. Moving on is going to be what makes it interesting. So, up next, we have the Montreal Canadians. They added Dobson, they added Bul Duke. A lot of movement on that team as they try to capitalize on what is an upward path for them. But where do you see do you see Montreal taking another step here? Are they going to kind of solidify the the big step that they took last season? I think they’re fascinating because by a lot of metrics, by the eye test, by whatever you want to go by, Montreal overachieved last year. They were probably not a playoff caliber team, but they got the right shooting percentage. They got the save percentage. They not that they went on a PDO bender for a full season, but bit of those vibes to them. So, you would expect regression, but they did a good job of beefing up to mitigate that. They got Dobson. They got Demodov coming over now. They got Bul Duke. Like sure I expect what happened with the group of players from last year to not replicate itself, but if their regression is call it 78 standing points, did the moves they make make up those seven eight points? Probably. So I expect a very similar year from Montreal that they had last year. You know what I respect and envy the most about Montreal? They address their issues and they’re not afraid to take the risks. like they were a god-awful five-on-ive hockey team last year. So, what do they do? They trade their two first round picks and go get Noah Dobson to try and shore it up. You know, they’ve got a rookie in Demidov who could play in the NHL. Let’s do it. Let’s put him in there and see what what he does. I am extremely envious of the way they run their operation. And there’s a reason why everyone is super excited to see what this Montreal Canadian team can do because they’re a a super young team who got a taste of the playoffs, a little bit of confidence, and they went out and added to their team in the right spots with the at this point the right players. So, you know, another full year of a slightly more mature team who’s gotten some playoff experience, you know, can Marty St. we now sort of mold this into a playoff regular team. It’ll be super interesting. I’m extremely bullish on the Canadians. My brain says regression. My brain says this is a team that’s going to be the kind of model of yes, they have a lot of great pieces and everything is going in the right direction by and large, but can they count on all the same factors and run hots that they had last year? I don’t know. Oh, and so I I kind of wonder if they don’t step back into like the high8s points-wise. But yeah, in general, I think they’re making a lot of the right moves. I it would have to be, you know, Dobson really doesn’t fit or some kind of key injury to to Suzuki or something devastating to the organization or goalending falling apart for them. But they they have the right pieces in place in my mind to continue to to solidify it. So, I don’t know that I can bet against them too much. The Ottawa Senators are next up the order to get to the other half of teams that Brad said Detroit has to do better against. And I wonder if they haven’t I mean 97 points. Are they a shoe in as much as a shoein can be if you’re not one of the top teams in the Atlantic right now? No, but they’re probably the favorites out of that group. I don’t think Ottawa is so far ahead of Montreal and Detroit and the Rangers and Columbus and all these teams that are going to be nipping at their heels this year. Ottawa’s fascinating to me in that I really like their right now relative to where they were a couple years ago, but it feels like they’ve peaked like they’re they don’t really have anything on the come up in their organization. Mark’s a great goalie, but he’s is what he is. I think Sanderson might have another level. That’s probably where they’re putting most of their this is how we improve chips. They made some moves in the offseason, but nothing dramatic that says that definitely made the team better. Kachchuck is what he is. Stut is what he is. Giru is obviously a vet, but he is what he is. Dylan Cousins feels like he is what he is at this point. Same with Pinto and so on and so forth. So, I think for this specific season out of this group of teams, yeah, I think I like them the most. I think they’re the favorite. I just think they’re going to be stuck in this spot for the next five years. Like, unless they make a really bold trade or for agent signing because, you know, we sit here as Red Wings fans and Montreal fans can sit there and say the same thing and they look at their young players, their rookies, their prospect system and go, we see where our improvement is coming from. I don’t see that with Ottawa. And again, great players, but yeah, I don’t know. And people seem to think someone suggested Brady Kachchuck could be a Darkhorse Heart candidate this year. Well, he’s going to have to have more than 55 points or whatever he had last year. I Well, I love Brady Kachchuck as a hockey player. like the ability around the net, the playmaking, the in-your-face like I am just gonna be an absolute a-hole 247. I respect that at a fundamental level. Heart candidate I like my maybe he’s going to get a 100 extra points. My whole thing for the last year has been at least since nations he is the most overrated player in the league by a mile. He’s a really damn good player. But like, sorry, I just had to get that off my chest because holy crap. I just I heard that and I’m like, I need to talk about this because what the hell? Long horizons. I see what you’re saying, Brad, in terms of Ottawa not necessarily falling off a cliff, but maybe not having as as bright of a future as Montreal potentially could if everything goes their way. I think I agree with you on that. In the immediate term though, I think they have everything they need to to repeat what they did last year. Granted, that might not come so easy if the Atlantic is a tougher division top to bottom. There will be fewer free points, that kind of thing. And they they’ll have to rely on Mark to be the allmark that he often can be, but isn’t always guaranteed to be in my mind. I don’t know. I wonder if they’re going to get that much consistency all season. Again, that’s just guesswork from me, though. Like I I think he’s he’s done enough to be one of the shining examples of why they’ll succeed. Yeah, Sanderson is if you ever had any doubts, Sanderson is absolutely a guy. They have every reason to be as thrilled with Sanderson as they are. Same about Stutzla. The only knock against Schutz is the diving, which drives me absolutely up. But they should be able to do what they did last year. Is it going to be to the tune of 96 97 points? Maybe. I I they could be one of the divisional seeds, but I could also very well see them being, you know, the second wild card. But if Ottawa doesn’t make the playoffs, I would be surprised. Yeah, the goalending would have to go in the tank or there would have to be some huge injury cuz the thing is I think top to bottom the Atlantic’s better, but I think there’s more points to be had because I I think the Leafs and Panthers are going to give up more points than they gave away to other teams in the division last year. Half the Panthers and the half the Lightning are dead from the preseason. They all killed each other. I know. Oh my god. I wish I was watching that game. And only the Tampa Bay players will face any suspension. Oh, that’s right. They don’t have any any relatives in the Yeah. So, I could see a reality the Senators actually gain points by winning taking maybe a few more from those teams. It’s just Yeah. Like things I like about Ottawa, even though they don’t have any, you know, youth movement injecting into their lineup, I think Jake Sanderson could absolutely be one of the best defenseman in the league. I think there’s still more to Brady Kachchuck. I still think there’s more to Tim Stutla. You know, they they brought in Jordan Spence, which I thought was a bit of a cheeky move to shore up the bottom parts of their their defensive core. They’ve got now a full season of Dylan Cousins, right? That trade happened mid last year. Yeah. They brought in Fabian Zetterland who fit in really well with them. And they’ve just got a great older core. They got Claude. Like they they’ve got David Pon there. like they’ve got some guys who’ve been around in the league with some young guys who are now stepping into the limelight to, you know, into their prime. I I like Ottawa, but I agree like I don’t see the path to being a true contender. And you always can bet on guys like Shane Pinto as well. [Laughter] Yeah, that’s deserved. the defending champs, the Florida Panthers, who you know, no Bararkov, Matthew Kachchuck, it looks like he’s going to stay out as long as he can until he can return and then play in the Olympics. Like between the game last night and the injury, all bite, no Barov was right there. Oh, Brad, my my kudigas for this episode was the you can always bet on Shane Pinto. That’s up to you, too. What do you think the Panthers are going to do? They brought everyone back. They solidified Marshand in the roster. You know, the the defense stayed as it is. Ekblad survived in an assassination attempt last night, but other than that, him and Forsling up there, like even missing Barkov, I don’t know that you can count Florida to be out of it too much. Maybe this is going to be where they start to to feel a grind of playing that much hockey for the last three years, though. What are the Panthers going to do? They’re going to finish with 101 points, get the third divisional seed, find a way to circumvent the cap, and then go all the way to the cup final. Like, we we know the script. I don’t know how they’re going to circumvent the cap, but they’re going to do it. Barkov and Kachchuck are coming back when they come back, and they’re going to piss off everybody along the way in more ways than one. I mean, they’re the Panthers, man. Like for years and years and years, my whole line in the preseason episodes was I’m picking Tampa until I have a reason to not pick Tampa. I still have the same mentality. It’s just replace Tampa with Florida. Yeah. Like losing Barov hurts. Not playing with Matthew Kachchuck absolutely hurts. But you still have all those other winning pieces. You have other guys who are going to ascend and embrace. Jeff Petri is going to be a Norris finalist this year. And Petri is going to put in a good word because they’re going to need, you know, center depth. And so they’re going to say, “Hey, go trade for JT Confer.” They’re going to bring him in, which we’re all going to celebrate, but then JT Conference is going to go put up 60 points. Going to win a Sulki. Yeah. Something stupid like that. You know, Paul Maurice has the winning culture there. As Brad said, the way John Cooper did, and I mean, still does largely in in Tampa Bay and other of those many dynasties have had in the NHL. Losing your two best players or two of your best players absolutely will make you worse. But it might be that annoying thing that gives two of their best players a rest come next playoffs. So yeah, Florida will fall off maybe, but for how long? Yeah, who knows? And then moving up the order here, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the other side of the battle of Florida dowsed in blood. Do they make a resurgence to the top next playoffs? Remains to be seen, but do they stay in that upper echelon of the Atlantic Division for now? Yeah, they’re still good. They’re still good. They’re they’re a little older, but they’re still good. That’s my deep dive on the Tampa Bay Lightning after all these years. Pretty good. All the players who you looked at Tampa and you were like, “Wow, they have, you know, Point and Hegel and Cuchov and Vaselki and Gensel and Sell.” They have all those guys still like certain things move around the margins. They lost Perix, you know, so sucks, but by and large that team is still going to be a team to beat in the Atlantic. It’s almost a boring. Oh, John Cooper also like very quietly extended I think it was in Tampa Bay. So, good for him. They’ll be all right. The Toronto Maple Leafs. I’m sure this will be a calm, fun, controversial free season for them in which everybody has a good time and they surely win a couple playoff rounds. Yeah. In the month of September, local and national media were still talking about everyone’s thoughts and feelings about Mitch Mner leaving. If Rory lives in the the minds of American golf fans, then Mitch Martner lives in the minds of Toronto Maple Leaf media. Like, it’s just you broke up. Move on. It is insane. I cannot believe that they still talk about it. This team to me, like, they lost Mitch Martner. They lost one of the best, most talented wingers in the league. If you think that counts in in playoffs or not, that is a whole different conversation in terms of what they can do in the regular season. They did not replace him in the aggregate, let alone in one player. They got worse on that front. It’s still a team that should be one of the the top teams in the Atlantic division and the East, but you don’t get better losing Mitch Marner. I like the Roy ad. I I thought that was a a clever little thing that they were able to walk away with something from that whole ordeal, but Well, that was basically like a bribe being paid. It pretty much was more ransom being paid. Yeah. Yeah. You know, Roy and Melli and and Dakota Joshua and like they’re basically going to have to unlock something that was already within the team when Mner was still there if they’re going to do anything different this year. That said, the regular season is not the question for for the Toronto Maples is what they’re going to do in the the postseason. But that’s also another team where yeah, some more points, not a ton, but some more points may come off them and be spread across the division potentially. That’s how I feel, too. Like, are they a better team? No. But are they a I don’t want to say more rounded team because you kind of took a superstar off so that naturally has to make you more rounded because the talent has been dispersed on one side. Like I don’t know. The Leafs are still a really good team. This might be the best defensive team they’ve put out in God knows how long. Yeah, they’re still going to be really really good. All right, Atlantic Division standings predictions. And this one’s this one’s tricky because we’re we’re going to do our Red Wings full season preview and we obviously kept the Red Wings one light for this episode, but where are you at on how you think the Atlantic is going to shake out as of right now? What would your top to bottom? What would your predicted order be? Put May first. Fine. Yeah, you say top to bottom. Top to bottom. Top to bottom. All right. I go a lot of different ways. Flip a coin here. I am going to go Tampa. Okay. Wins the division. I think it’ll take the Leafs a month or two to kind of get their rhythm and their flow in a new dynamic. That being said, I’m going to go with the Leafs, too. I think they’re going to be right there neck and neck with Tampa. The Leafs elite regular season team, Marner or not. Florida three. I think Bararkov and Kachchuck being out obviously is going to be a factor. And honestly, I think they’re just going to take it easy. And honestly, like 50% of that roster is going to be suspended for a good chunk of the season. So there’s some standing points there, which actually kind of makes me think I should put Toronto ahead of Tampa for the same reasons, but I won’t change that now. Four, I really hate to do it. I’m going to go Ottawa, okay? Cuz my disdain for the Ottawa Senators is uh public knowledge. But again, they didn’t do anything and nobody around them did anything enough to make me think at least for this season, anybody is going to pass Ottawa. And if anybody’s going to jump into the top three in the division, I think it’s going to be Ottawa. I think if Toronto or Florida are vulnerable, the Senators are the most prime to capitalize on that because goalie. Fifth, I am going to go the Detroit Red Wings. As pessimistic as I am, I am still optimistic in a lot of fronts. I do think a full season of John Gibson makes a difference and I do think the youth movement really can give the team an energy boost because we’ve seen way too many lols from this team throughout the season. So, I think a little more youth and a proper goalie tandem should mitigate those ls. Like that’s that’s my entire thinking on bumping them ahead of Montreal is I feel like there might actually be some consistency here. And if they don’t have those December and March collapses over the last god knows how many years, they’re in the playoffs two, three years in a row. Like that that’s what it came down to. And I think they can solve that this year and at least get in that conversation. Call it a tie, a hair behind. I got Montreal right there with them. The only difference between Montreal and Detroit to me is I think with bigger roster turnover in Montreal, they might take some feeling out. And I just I struggled to see Montbo repeating what he did last year cuz he was so underappreciated last year. That dude was good. Mhm. He was the main reason they got in the playoffs. And obviously that run hot from Dobbish was a fun story and he was awesome, but that’s even less likely to repeat than Montimbo. I got Buffalo right behind them. Again, I I don’t think Buffalo is going to be any good for no other reason than Buffalo. I think they’re at least good enough that they’re going to keep this interesting. And then yeah, outside of the past, Makavoy, Lindholm, and Swayman, there’s not a lot to like about Boston. So, I’ve got them finishing in the basement again. I may as well get this over with because as usual, we’re we’re fairly similar here. Everything I’ve seen leads me to believe that Tampa Bay will take advantage of some of the other top dogs being hampered in one way or the other. And so, I think Tampa Bay is going to win this division. I don’t think it’s a shoein. And you know, I could see Toronto, yeah, maybe not having Marner is going to make them look a lot different, but I don’t know how many points it’s going to take to win the division. So, I could see Toronto still challenging. So, I have Toronto, like Brad, a bit behind Tampa Bay there. Where I differ is I think Florida’s actually going to take a bigger hit here from having their two most important pieces out in in Kachchuck and Barov for that long. maybe all season for Bararkov. And so I’m going to put Florida fourth and I’m actually going to put Ottawa third. I I wonder if they don’t continue here. Like I look at a team that has a guy like Sanderson and a goalie like Mark and a lot of the consistent pieces like they’ve had. Brady Kachchuck’s health could throw this way in the loop and they could be down with, you know, Montreal, Detroit, Buffalo kind of range. But I’ll say Ottawa gets another run hot here. Finishes with the divisional seed. Florida not far behind in fourth. And then same as you, I’m gonna call it just being a homer because I think there’d be a lot of good arguments to have Detroit behind even Montreal and and Ottawa and everyone else. But I am a big believer in the internal improvement and the youth movement in Detroit and just the energy. And right now there’s plenty of time for pessimism later, but that’s not right now. So I’m gonna have about 30 seconds. So, Detroit’s going to be fifth and believe it or not, I’m going to predict two Atlantic Division Wildcard spots this year. And then Montreal, for the same reasons that Brad said, I think certain things are going to work in their favor, but I wonder about the goalending and I wonder about health. I was going to say Montreal was remarkably healthy last year outside of Doc. Yeah. And I mean, that’s cuz they have their Montreal cigarettes before games. They’re ready to go. They’re loose. They’re stress free. They’re not highrung. They’re they’re ready. Somewhere Sergey Zubov just smiled and then after them. Yeah, Buffalo Buffalo has all the pieces. Buffalo has had all the pieces. The narratives in other teams around the league has kind of drowned out the fact that Buffalo has a lot of star players who are doing kind of the same thing as the Quinn Hughes. Okay, I’m going to remain here for now, but I want to see that this is going to turn around because this is getting frustrating and I don’t think that noise just goes away. So, I don’t know that I believe in Buffalo turning it around and then Boston because, you know, Boston has lost a lot of good players. Before I go, Brad did not indicate how many Atlantic Division teams will make the playoffs and you had Detroit fifth. I want to know how many Atlantic Division teams make the playoffs. How many did I say for the Metro? Four. So, how many do I have for the Atlantic? Seven. One each for the Atlantic and the Metro is what? I got four. I got Detroit missing out by a hair again. Okay. All right. Excellent. Not a whole lot different than you guys. I think overall I think this division will be less have and have not this year. I think there’s going to be a bit of a point redistribution amongst the teams except for Boston. With that being said, I think Tampa with we’ll know tomorrow if Tampa wins this division because if they get a bunch of 10 and 20 game suspensions, they’re going to have to call up a ton of AHL players and this could change it drastically. How did the general manager get suspended out of this? So, as of right now on Sunday evening, I have Tampa winning the division. You know, they still got Vasilki. Somehow Nikita Cucharov continues to be an underrated player in the NHL, can put up heart numbers every single year and still is just ignored by the general public. I I think they win the division pretty handedly. After that, this is where it kind of gets a little bit confusing, but I still think it’ll be Florida. You know, winners win until I see the crown taken off their head. I I think they’ll finish second in this division. and they just not that it matters to them. As long as they’re a divisional seed, they don’t care, but I still like what they got going on there. After that, I’ll put Toronto. Toronto doesn’t get me going like all the other two teams in this division, but they still got Matthews. They still got Knander, who just started a YouTube channel and wears his shirt 50% of the time. Like, this is a good team. Will Knander start a YouTube channel? Yes. change my opinion to trick. It’s in. Toronto’s out. Yeah, he’s Yeah, I’ll leave it at that. I still really like Toronto to make the playoffs. Uh I think the drought continues, so I’ll have them third. After that, I think Ottawa’s still the the best team at fourth there. Like, I like their composition. They’ve got the veterans with the young guys who I still think are have a little bit more in the tank. Like I said earlier, I I could absolutely see them taking one of the divisional seeds from Florida or Toronto. They could surprise a little bit. After that, I have Montreal. I just maybe it’s a hype train and I’m delusional, which is almost certainly true, but they went out and addressed very key needs of their team and and got better. And they’ve got Demidov, they’ve got Hudson for another season. They And I love their team toughness. I love that they’ll put Jackie in the lineup to protect players and he’s not afraid to go anybody in the league. I just really like the culture and what Montreal’s got going on right now. So, I’ll put them fifth. After that, I’ll put Detroit. And we’ve talked at length about them as of right now. You know, injecting rookies into your lineup, that leaves a lot of question marks for me. I felt the same way about Montreal at the start of last year. And now look at where my opinion’s at on them. Detroit could very well be in that same spot by the end of the season, but as of right now, I have them after after Montreal. And then I’ve got Buffalo because like you said, they’ve got all the pieces, but you know who’s making the puzzle? I It’s just a mess there. And then after that, Boston in last. Like they’re just directionless. They’ve got three exceptional pieces, but no actual asset planning behind that. I don’t see how they move out of the bottom of this of this division. What are you talking about? I thought Pastor Knack was going to Detroit for two first and two prospects. Isn’t that good asset management? Be crazy for them to have still missed the playoffs. All right, that is our Atlantic Division preview. There’s obviously more to come and more in depth as we form our full opinions for the Detroit Red season preview. That’s next episode on Wednesday, right before the home opener on Thursday. Oh, and we will be live streaming for the home opener. So, we’re going to be trying to do more of that this year. Stay tuned for that. Usually, we jump to overtime here, but we actually have to cover a couple contracts that came out. Luke Hughes signed a 7-year, $9 million per year contract. And everyone’s new favorite trivia answer for I didn’t know this guy until he earned $9 million. Jackson Lome with the Anaheim Ducks signed an 8-year $9 million AAV contract with Anaheim. Those two guys, if you believe they are comparable to Edmonson or not, is kind of a secondary point to the fact that those are going to be comps for an upcoming Simon Edmonson contract. If they are earning 9 million, you have to know that the ask is going to be at least that or in and around that range for Simon Edmonson. Interesting deals, especially considering what we haven’t really seen translated yet for Luke Hughes and then for Jackson Lome. There are questions of if this wasn’t getting too far ahead in terms of what you’re paying this guy and have you already seen maybe closer to his peak stylistically not necessarily comparable, but man, there were people pushing back at when I said these were Edmonson comparables. I got bad news for you. I think Evson’s better than both of them. So, and especially in the modern NHL, like the big defenseman who can move and move a puck, there’s a premium attached to that. So, I don’t think the Red Wings are getting Edmonson for less than nine. Now, I think you can bank that unless he’s decides as a good person and the goodness of his heart he’s just going to match the Cider deal. Well, what I’ll say is Jackson Lome that that was a 43 point season he had. Simon Edmonson. If he does the same thing, then yeah, you’re going to start to see the the same numbers being asked. The thing I will argue is pretty emphatically Edson is better defensively than both of them. Anaheim fans are pretty enamored. No, I I like Lome. Like I wasn’t like completely shocked to see that contract. I He’s a good player. Obviously, I don’t think Edmonson has is going to put up 40 points just because of the role he plays. I think he could. He I think he has the capability to do it, but defensively I think he’s got the highest ceiling. So, he is not coming in a dollar under 855. I can tell you that for free. It’s going to be Yeah, it’s going to be interesting to see if this is the first one that breaks It should be probably the first one that breaks Detroit’s internal cap that they have set with with Dylan Larkin. No, it’s going to be Kyle Connor. That’s right. Yeah, cuz they’re going to they’re going to trade. Yeah, he’s going to get 14. And then it’s not going to feel weird giving Edmonson 9 and a half. How would you feel as Mason McTavish right now? Like he God, I would be so pissed, right? like the the amount and the term that they gave Lome almost gave you the impression of yeah they believe in this guy and they’re paying him for the long run and they think there’s even more to him and they’re you know they’re cementing his role and I understand that you know McTavish has more competition at his position than Lome does but they grinded McTavish and he got less for less term the whole thing while the McTavish thing was going on Anaheim Ducks fans were Well, Verbique has to do this because he’s got to set a precedent with the rookie because if you pay him now, then you got to pay everybody. Well, he paid him and then he started paying everybody, so maybe he was right. I Yeah, I mean, he signed for six years now, McTavish, so nothing to be done for it. But yeah, those were those were interesting to to see come through. And you’re going to every contract now we’re looking we’re like, is this a a Casper comparable? Is this an Edmonson comparable? So, I think those definitely are. Okay, we are going to take another quick break here and when we’re back, the final segment on this episode of the Wing Wheel podcast. Back after this. [Applause] [Music] This message is brought to you by Green Light Lending. Are you facing financial red lights on your home ownership journey? Don’t have money for a down payment or closing costs? Struggling with your current mortgage payment or other debt obligations? Or maybe you have a complicated situation like credit challenges or self-employment income? At Greenlight Lending, they turn those red lights green with creative mortgage solutions for purchase and refinance loans. Their team crafts personalized plans with flexible closing cost options, competitive broker rates, and innovative loan programs tailored to your needs. Whether it’s finding the right loan or guiding you through the process, they’re here to help you score your home ownership goals. 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Also, if certain tiers get access to the fantasy hockey pools and other fantasy sports, it’s a lot of fun. So, again, patreon.com/wingedwheelodcast. Maybe more of a brief overtime before the bonus overtime, but let’s get to some questions. Eric Asmus says, “What are the chances Todd looks at the three rookies and knows they’ll be better next year if they get to play this year and this year is a long shot to make the playoffs anyway.” So basically a sack fly on this season or just saying what happens happens, but looking to next season knowing like you were saying Brad earlier in the episode that you give Finny and MBN and ASP and maybe even Danielson the time now that next season they are ready and baked in. I could see Steve Eisermanman having that logic. For a coach, next season is never guaranteed. You make your decisions for this year. And Stannislovski says, “So happy to see Daniellea Bruce on the broadcast last night.” Yes, absolutely thrilled to see Daniela. Pumped to see more of her on the broadcast this season and the news that we’re going to be seeing some of Trevor Thompson on the broadcast after all this season for the Red Wings crew as he’s going to be stepping in from time to time. So, great great news. Very happy that that came together that Trevor is going to be returning in at least some capacity. So, awesome news all around for the Red Wings broadcast. Deal sealing conditional fourth round pick. Great name. Says, “Based on the waiver wire today, is it safe to say that the blue line may be vastly improved already?” This is where my logic brain takes over my the hype in my heart. It could be, but it depends on two things that I’m not sure you can say are certain. One, that ASP sticks and sticks all season long. And I’m not saying is better every game with absolutely no falters, but sticks and and makes a difference for the whole season. And the second thing is that the Bernard Docker experiment also sticks. Bernard Docker has on various teams looked good in moments but just never really put it all together. And this phase of what we’ve seen from him of yeah this actually seems decent. Other teams have said the same thing. I have faith in Bernard Docker as like a you know 456 guy more 56 and four but potentially depending on on the pairs but it’s not a certainty. If both those things go well and Johansson looks to have taken the step that he has and Edmonson is is improving as he has and I’ve said if so many times Evans already seven times that’s why I can’t say for sure that it’s vastly improved but I this is the most hope they’ve had in a long long time. I’ll tell you that much. Hey if it’s a six we hypothesize that’s four first round picks. Neat, huh? Johansson and Sherro being the only exceptions. Look at that. And Johansson was a second round pick. Monetized Legs and Moist Golf Ball says, “Could any of the youngsters who made a good impression on preseason be more valuable as a trade asset now? Should they be used as a trade asset now?” So, let’s not even include only these three or four that we’re talking about, but also the Lombardi or Maser, Buum, or Wintter. Yeah. Yeah. Kind of. I could see it. The problem is the guys that we would think have a lot of trade value don’t. So like if those three are on the team and you look at the entire Red Wings prospect pool, what would be considered a premium trade asset of that group? The goalies, Carter Bear, that might be it. There are other guys will get like attention like teams would obviously like Buchelnikov Plant Kein but like those aren’t guys that teams are going to build big trades around. Those are the guys that would fill out gaps of much bigger trades. Like if you’re trading Trey Augustine a team will give you a very good NHL player for him. A team will not give you a very good NHL player for Dimmitri Buchananikov right now. Is there that big a difference between those two trade value-wise around the league? Yes, absolutely. Yes. One is the best goalie in college hockey. The other is an unknown commodity playing in the KHL who I am extremely high on. Yeah. All right. I’m just, you know, I will say in general, if you believe in this massive wave of players coming into Detroit and you think that there’s more even beyond these three or four that we’re talking about right now, some guys will have to be moved. like it’s just a there’s only so many roster spots and that’s even if you kick out everyone who you think is dead weight you just can’t fit all those guys onto the roster and that’s a good problem to have because if you’re like oh well I wish I could have traded for you know Kyle Connor or whoever you’re like okay well the idea of adding a decent prospect to the first round pick plus that we already packaged is a lot more palatable if that prospect was already being boxed out by you know MBN and Finny and Danielson and whoever Kevin Wolf says, “Maybe excluding the playoff push from season before last. Is this the highest the vibes have been in a real long time? Well, I mean goes without saying, but definitely since the two seven game win streaks, vibes were pretty high. Then pre-season, this is the highest vibes have been in a long time. Year before when the Red Wings had an eight-point cushion in a playoff spot, which and yeah. Yeah. Off season, this is probably it. All right, and then last one here. This is going to be a comment from Cody Stark, but it’s a good analysis. Cody knows his stuff when it comes to goalending. He says, “My analysis of John Gibson, he’s a great competitor. Will do whatever it takes to stop the puck until he freezes it or it goes in. Very athletic and flexible. Controls rebounds well. I don’t like how much he crouches in his shot stance. Makes himself much smaller than needed. Hence why we may see him get beat high more than anywhere else. He also doesn’t use the active hands model well, meaning he keeps his glove and blocker tucked back in his body rather than protrude them out towards the shot. Overall, better than anything we’ve had since Jonathan Bernier. And that last line is all that matters to me. But thank you, Cody. All right, we’re gonna wrap up this episode of the Wind Wheel Podcast. Thank you all so very much for tuning in. Upcoming, we have Wednesday, the Detroit Red Wings season preview episode. Another massive episode of the show. Thursday, the live stream. There’s a ton coming for the Winged Wheel podcast and Detroit Red Wings. Obviously Monday we’ll see at 5 Eastern what the final roster as it’s submitted to the NHL is and then the actual roster on Thursday. Lots on the docket. To all of our Patreon supporters, we cannot thank you enough. patreon.com/wingrealodcast if you want to support the show. And if Patreon is not for you, support us just by subscribing wherever you’re getting the show. Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcast, whatever it may be. Tell a friend, leave a rating, a review, the stars, the thumbs up. All of that really helps us out. 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The Detroit Red Wings preseason is over, and the kids are still here – is this the most optimistic preseason outlook in Winged Wheel Podcast history?
Tune in as we start by discussing Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s Detroit Red Wings & NHL-leading performance, how his game compares to Marco Kasper’s, whether he could be a long-term solution for Todd McLellan next to Dylan Larkin & Lucas Raymond, & his chances of making the team.
Next, what Justin Holl & Erik Gustafsson being waived mean for Axel Sandin Pellikka’s roster chances, how his path compares to Moritz Seider & Simon Edvinsson’s, if he’s destined to be paired with Albert Johansson, & how the Grand Rapids Griffins AHL path could benefit him like it did Nate Danielson & other prospects.
Finally, Emmitt Finnie’s standout preseason & how he took the step past guys like Carter Mazur, Amadeus Lombardi, & Carter Bear, & what his roster chances are in McLellan and Steve Yzerman’s eyes before we give our full Detroit Red Wings Opening Night roster projections.
After that, our Atlantic Division Preview, including Pastrnak’s Boston Bruins, Dahlin’s Buffalo Sabres, Raymond’s Detroit Red Wings, Hutson’s Montreal Canadiens, Tkachuk’s Ottawa Senators, Kucherov’s Tampa Bay Lightning, Barkov’s Florida Panthers, and Matthews’ Toronto Maple Leafs.
We wrap up with a look at Jackson LaCombe & Luke Hughes’ $9 million AAV contracts and what that means for Steve Yzerman as he looks to extend Simon Edvinsson. All of that & lots more before we take your questions and comments in our Overtime segment – enjoy!
Intro & Preseason Hype: 00:00
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard: 6:55
Axel Sandin Pellikka & Holl & Gustafsson Waived: 14:30
Emmitt Finnie: 28:20
Red Wings Roster Projection: 40:10
Atlantic Division Preview: 52:30
Jackson LaCombe & Luke Hughes Contracts: 1:25:00
Overtime: 1:30:00
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23 comments
Fellas we are more back than we have ever been
MBN and ASP making the team is an incredible boost
Ready to be hurt again! LGRW
Oh yeah baby this is the shit Im talking about
ALL THE WAY BACK
Honestly, I was expecting more giddiness from this crew.
They've waited a decade for the tie to not go to the veteran, and today is the day.
Their measured composure is a surprise.
3rd in the division baby! Wooo! LGRW!
Definitely a more talented team rolling 4 lines. Doing backflips, moon walks, and scissor kicks.
Smiles abound! Hope and change fill the air. Gryzlyk and Hamonic both signed for 1 million each as 3rd pair / 7th defensemen… while Gus and Holl will clear 5 million for the season combined. Crazy
Isn’t it always said that, to improve, you have to play with better players?
ASP and MBN looking real good.
Having a coach the front office trusts with our kids is so refreshing. In hindsight it kinda looks like Yzerman was protecting some of the kids from previous coaching staffs.
Play the kids!!! #LGRW
Soderblom, Rasmussen and Appleton- “The Tree Line” – trademark pending
playoffs. i,ll believe it when i see it
Roaster looking primed to add mcdaddy
I like Finne alot but I still believe he's last year's Elmer.
Based on Todds comments he might not even make team.
If he does make team I don't think he sticks and swaps w/ Nate like Elmer/Kasper last year.
ASP is this year's Simon.
MBN this year's Albert.
It's literally the same as last year…. I don't why people acting like it's different.
We still don't have a top line LW or Superstar.
Thank God for Dmtri he looks like Superstar potential.
This was the yzerplan. Sign vets to fill roles until youth takes their spot. This makes the FA want to come play here and now steve can say no, unless you take a discount rather than fa not picking up the phone.
Can i ask for d to be mo with aljo, edvison with asp and whomever as a 3rd pair
they need to make the playoffs this year to make a run at bedard
Maybe Brad can stop arguing percentages of our top picks being a bust now because his reasoning is "probability." This year's motto should be only one thing…"let the kids play"
🐙💪
Notice that yzermans draft picks the last 5 years are like the 2nd or 1st best player in their drafts? The dude and his staff know talent. All of them look good. The issue with yzerman … is he overpass bad veterans and non skilled veterans and every goalie hes brought here has been terrible. Talbot sucks too. Postava should be the backup ro Gibson. Gibson and postava are good. Talbot can't move and gets beat on non screen shots from distance ?