Detroit signs Smith to two-year, $5.5 million extension

By Mike HalfordJun 30, 2015, 3:54 PM EDT
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The Red Wings have reached an agreement with RFA blueliner Brendan Smith, signing him to a two-year, $5.5 million deal with a $2.75M average annual cap hit.

Smith, 26, was Detroit’s first-round pick at the 2007 draft and appeared in a career-high 76 games last year.

Despite that games played total, it wasn’t an incredibly successful campaign; Smith’s numbers took a dip (in points and minutes per game, specifically) and former head coach Mike Babcock made him a healthy scratch for Game 1 of the club’s opening-round series against Tampa Bay.

Still, Smith figures to be a fairly key cog of Detroit’s defense moving forward.

He’s scored himself a pretty decent raise — up from the $1.26M he was making annually on his old deal — and should be firmly planted in the top-six group alongside Niklas Kronwall, Kyle Quincey, Jonathan Ericsson, Jakub Kindl and Danny DeKeyser next season.

Babcock won’t discuss future yet, but sees challenges ahead for Wings

By Ryan DadounApr 29, 2015, 11:10 PM EDT
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Are the Detroit Red Wings a team moving up courtesy of a young core led by Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist, Riley Sheahan, Danny DeKeyser, and Petr Mrazek? Or are they a fading dynasty having already lost former leaders like Nicklas Lidstrom and on the brink of watching the two stars they have left head off into the sunset?

“Who’s going to replace Pav?” head coach Mike Babcock asked, per NHL.com’s Аrpon Basu. One of the best two-way forwards in the game, Pavel Datsyuk will turn 37 in July. Henrik Zetterberg will celebrate his 35th birthday in October.

“Our team is not as good as it was,” Babcock also noted, according to Postmedia News’ Michael Traikos.

That’s hard to dispute. Detroit has only won a single playoff series in its last four campaigns after reaching the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years in 2008-09. They won it all in 2008. Once Zetterberg and Datsyuk are gone or even just less effective, will the Red Wings start missing the playoffs entirely? Do they have anyone on their roster capable of filling that massive void?

Certainly the future isn’t all fire and brimstone for Detroit. The players mentioned off the bat have proven to be solid contributors and with their help, Detroit both made the playoffs and gave Tampa Bay a run for its money in the first round. The fact that the Red Wings came within a hair of advancing can’t be just brushed under the rug.

That being said, Babcock has raised legitimate points, and it will only add fuel to the speculation that the highly regarded coach will walk as a free agent this summer. Babcock didn’t confirm anything tonight, but Edmonton, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Toronto, and likely others would certainly be eager to sign him if he’s available.

Kronwall ‘extremely disappointed’ with Game 7 suspension

By Mike HalfordApr 29, 2015, 1:17 PM EDT
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Niklas Kronwall met with reporters on Wednesday, making his first comments since being suspended for Game 7 of the Tampa Bay series for a charge on Bolts forward Nikita Kucherov:

One guy not interested in talking about the Kronwall suspension was Detroit head coach Mike Babcock, who’d only say “I think if I talk about Game 7, then I won’t get fined.”

As for tonight, Kronwall won’t be the only veteran d-man out of the lineup. Marek Zidlicky has been sidelined by a concussion, forcing Detroit to ice a six-man defensive unit comprised of:

Jonathan Ericsson — Alexey Marchenko
Danny DeKeyser — Kyle Quincey
Brendan Smith — Jakub Kindl

Replacing veterans Kronwall and Zidlicky will be tough. The pair combined to play over 41 minutes in Monday’s Game 6 loss in Detroit.

Not just Kronwall — Zidlicky (concussion) also expected to miss Game 7

By Jason BroughApr 29, 2015, 12:07 PM EDT
23 Comments

As if playing without Nicklas Kronwall wasn’t going to be enough of a challenge, it appears the Detroit Red Wings will also be without Marek Zidlicky for Game 7 of their series with the Lightning tonight in Tampa Bay.

Zidlicky reportedly suffered a concussion in Game 6. He did not skate this morning. (Update: Zidlicky is confirmed out, per coach Mike Babcock.)

With two veteran defensemen missing — one suspended, the other hurt — Detroit’s defense is expected to look like this:

Jonathan Ericsson — Alexey Marchenko
Danny DeKeyser — Kyle Quincey
Brendan Smith — Jakub Kindl

Neither Marchenko nor Kindl dressed for Game 6, in which Kronwall logged 24:16 and Zidlicky 17:22. In fact, Kindl has yet to appear in the postseason; he last played April 11 in Carolina.

Related: Can Mrazek steal Game 7 for Red Wings?

Quincey (ankle) cleared to practice, can delay surgery

By Mike HalfordFeb 25, 2015, 1:57 PM EDT
7 Comments

Detroit got some good news on the Kyle Quincey front today, as the club announced the veteran defenseman has been cleared to practice and is able to delay surgery on his injured ankle until the offseason.

More, from MLive:

Quincey, who’s been dealing with bone chips in his ankle since August, saw another specialist on Tuesday. He apparently can delay surgery until the off-season.

Quincey has missed the past three games after leaving practice Friday after only a few minutes due to pain. He’s been taking anti-inflammatory medication. Surgery would have sidelined him for approximately six weeks.

“It started in about August and acted up a few times in the preseason but is kind of an ongoing thing,” Quincey said. “We knew we needed surgery back in October but it was hopeful we could get through the rest of the year. That’s still the plan.”

The 29-year-old rearguard has been a solid contributor for the Red Wings this season, scoring 13 points in 52 games while averaging 19:33 TOI per night. Last month, head coach Mike Babcock was full of praise for Quincey and defensive partner Danny DeKeyser, saying the two combined to make Detroit’s best pairing.