Jeff Blashill

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PHT Morning Skate: Why Gallant was fired; Will Yzerman bring him to Red Wings?

By James O'BrienJan 16, 2020, 9:50 AM EST

Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.

• Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon explains why the team fired Gerard Gallant. The vague “underperforming” explanation cements something, to me: this is a defining decision by McCrimmon. It’s striking how many players said that they loved playing for Gallant, by the way. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

• Gallant developed a friendship with Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman over the years. (Witness that in that glorious main image from Getty Images/Sports Illustrated’s George Tiedemann from 1988.) Things already seemed shaky for Jeff Blashill beyond 2019-20. What happens now that Gallant is available? (Detroit Free-Press)

• Frank Seravalli breaks down a brutal, stunning season for NHL coaches. (TSN)

• Ilya Kovalchuk discusses why things didn’t work with the Kings, and the fit in Montreal. Kovalchuk explains to Eric Engels that he’s “useless” playing 7-10 minutes per night. (Sportsnet)

• Playing in (and winning) a World Series must have been nerve-wracking for Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals. Then again, his thought on suiting up during a Capitals practice was “I hope I don’t die.” Good stuff. (Russian Machine Never Breaks)

• David Perron provides some fascinating insight on how he looks at certain hockey analytics. He also explains some of the stats the Blues emphasize. (The Point)

• More on the Blues: how the team shakes off injuries. (St. Louis Game Time)

• The Lightning are red-hot right now, and critics are wrong: their defense is strong. (Raw Charge)

• Key tactical adjustments make for an improved New York Rangers. (Blue Seat)

• The Blue Jackets aren’t just surviving in net post-Sergei Bobrovsky, they’re thriving. It sets up something unexpected: a potential goalie battle between two netminders who are playing well. (The Hockey News)

• Gus Katsaros does a deep analytics dive on the Devils. (Rotoworld)

• Need a sign that things are odd in 2020? How about this: the Capitals power play is struggling. (Nova Caps)

• Scotty Wazz shares news on TV coverage for “3 Ice,” a 3-on-3 summer league. If it can be anywhere near as cool as a similar basketball league, sign me up. Bonus points if it includes barely-retired players akin to Joe Johnson tearing it up. It’s starting up in June 2021.(Scotty Wazz)

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

Losses pile up for Red Wings as Blashill’s seat gets hotter

By Sean LeahyDec 12, 2019, 12:31 PM EST

1 Comment

It’s pretty wild to think that it’s been a month since the Red Wings last won a game, a 4-3 overtime victory over the Ducks. It’s even wilder to realize that was their third straight win and that streak began by beating the Bruins and Golden Knights.

One month later and Detroit has gone 12 games without a win, five NHL teams have made coaching changes — with differing reasons, of course — and Jeff Blashill remains behind the bench.

The Red Wings are currently approaching the franchise record for consecutive losses (14) set back in 1982 and are five defeats away from tying the NHL record (17) held by the 1974-75 Capitals and 1992-92 Sharks.

“When things go bad, they’re really bad right now,” said Dylan Larkin. “We don’t have an answer for that right now. But we need to find it. It’s not even Christmas yet and this has happened too many times. It’s not acceptable.”

How bad it is? Their goal differential is currently a a league-worst minus-62. The Devils are right behind them at minus-37. They’re ranked 29th in team even strength save percentage at .896, per Natural Stat Trick, with their goaltenders allowing five or more goals in half of their 32 games. The offense is averaging a paltry 2.09 goals per game.

The expectations were low this season, so playoff hockey wasn’t a thought for the team. With a new general manager in Steve Yzerman and a young roster, it was all about development and taking steps forward. Blashill signed a two-year extension in April, but there’s been a lack of progress. There’s a natural replacement on the Red Wings’ bench in Dan Bylsma, but perhaps Yzerman has someone else in mind?

While his future remains unknown, Blashill is trying to focus on the present.

“For me, all I’m doing is what I always do and that’s be solution-based and worry about what we can control,” he said following Tuesday’s defeat. “What we can control right now is learning from this game and make sure we are helping our team get better. Find solutions. Come Thursday and worry just about that. That’s it.”

It’s hard to know Yzerman’s thinking on the situation given he hasn’t spoken publicly about Blashill since last month’s general manager meetings when he said he was “seeing good progress” with the Red Wings and there’s still a “long way to go.” But clearly something’s got to give in Hockeytown.

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.

Hockeyville USA on NBCSN: Red Wings’ youth movement continues

By Sean LeahySep 26, 2019, 9:32 AM EDT

1 Comment

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season begins with Thursday night’s Kraft Hockeyville USA matchup between the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues from Calumet, Mich. Coverage begins at 7p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

The transition of the Detroit Red Wings from a veteran-laden team to one full of youth is still an on-going process, but there’s clear core for the future that new general manager and franchise legend Steve Yzerman will be able to build around.

Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou, and Tyler Bertuzzi are the established leaders of that young core, but there’s more coming. Along with the likes of Michael Rasmussen, Moritz Seider, Filip Hronek, and Dennis Cholowski, two players hoping to make the NHL roster this season are a pair of 2018 first-rounders in Joe Veleno and Filip Zadina.

The 19-year-old Veleno put up 42 goals and 104 points in his final year in junior with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Drummondville Voltigeurs. Ideally, he’ll eventually slot in as the second line center to strengthen the team’s spine down the middle. That may not be an option now with Valtteri Filppula and Frans Nielsen on the roster, but that’s the end game here.

Veleno may start his professional career in the American Hockey League, but whether he’s playing in Grand Rapids or up with the NHL club, he’s been told what he needs to do in order to become a regular.

[RED WINGS-BLUES COVERAGE BEGINS AT 7PM ET ON NBCSN]

“My biggest message to him is become a great two-way center,” said Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill earlier in training camp. “It’s hard to be a pure point guy. You look at his points in junior, they were good, they weren’t astronomical, and so to think that all of a sudden you come here and go astronomical in points would be misleading.

“I told him the quickest way to the NHL is to earn trust. If you earn trust from the coach, you get out there way quicker. So be great defensively, transport the puck up the ice like he does and the produce offense. You have to do both if you want to be in the top two line center role.”

Unlike Veleno, Zadina, 19, has had a taste of the NHL. After spending majority of the season in the AHL where he scored 16 times and recorded 35 points, the Red Wings called him up following the February trade deadline, impressed with his game. He played nine games, averaging 15:23 of ice time, scoring once and handing out two assists.

Motivated to stick with the NHL roster to start this season, Zadina was asked during training camp where his confidence level was at entering the year. “I can’t tell you. I’ll show you on the ice,” the winger replied. Through four games he has three assists. Prior to camp, he posted seven goals and eight points in four games at the NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City, Mich.

The transition to pro hockey last season helped Zadina. That experience goes a long way and while he could begin the season in the AHL like Veleno, the opportunity to make the NHL roster out of camp is a realistic one.

“The game is going to be a little bit slower for me this year because I know what it’s going to be like,” Zadina said. “It’s about the space (on the ice), but it’s about patience. If you get the puck, you have to skate. Be smart, and a good skater, and the game will be easier.”

The Red Wings love his shot, but would like to see him find more opportunities in front of goal. That will come as he develops physically and adjusts to the NHL game.

“I think to get to the big numbers in goals, you got to get right around that net,” said Blashill. “You got to pick up what you’d term dirty goals. It’s something we’ve talked to him about and it’s something he’s continuing to work on.”

Brendan Burke (play-by-play) and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will call the action live from Calumet Colosseum. In addition, Liam McHugh (host) and Jeremy Roenick(analyst) will also be on-site to provide studio coverage and updates throughout the game.

MORE:
• ProHockeyTalk’s 2019 NHL free agency tracker
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.

Previewing the 2019-20 Detroit Red Wings

By Adam GretzSep 18, 2019, 11:13 AM EDT

7 Comments

(The 2019-20 NHL season is almost here so it’s time to look at all 31 teams. We’ll be breaking down strengths and weaknesses, looking at whether teams are better or worse this season and more!)

For more 2019-20 PHT season previews, click here.

Better or worse: This best hope the Red Wings have for significant improvement is some rapid development from a young player or two (Filip Zadina, Evgeny Svechnikov, Michael Rasmussen) and continued progress from players like Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, and Anthony Mantha. Even if all of that works out perfectly there are still significant question marks around the roster. They may not be worse, but they may not be significantly better, either.

Strengths: Not to be overly bleak about this team’s chances, but there are not a ton of strengths here. Larkin has become an outstanding player and even though it seems like he has been around forever, he is still only 23 years old. He is probably just now hitting his prime years and is coming off of a great year. Beyond him, the Red Wings have a ton of draft picks at their disposal, some intriguing young players coming through the farm system, and they hired one of the top general managers in the league (Steve Yzerman) to help try and turn this thing around. Long-term, that provides some hope. Short-term, things still look rough.

Weaknesses: They lack proven impact players, they lack depth at forward and defense, they were 22nd in goals scored a year ago, 27th in goals against, 19th on the power play, 27th on the penalty kill, and 23rd in team save percentage and a lot of the same players responsible for that performance are still there. In other words, there are weaknesses everywhere.

[MORE: Three questions | Blashill under pressure? | X-factor]

Coach Hot Seat Rating (1-10, 10 being red hot): This is an interesting one because the Red Wings have missed the playoffs three years in a row under Jeff Blashill, and while that is not necessarily his fault there are not many NHL coaches that get an opportunity to miss the playoffs four years in a row. Add in a new general manager that might want to go in his own direction and it would not be unreasonable to conclude that his seat is still warm. But he did sign a two-year contract extension after the 2018-19 season, so there is that aspect in play as well. We will put it at a 7 out of 10 for Blashill.

Three Most Fascinating Players: Larkin, Zadina and Athanasiou are three players worth keeping an eye.

Larkin simply because he is the team’s best player and is kind of fun to watch because of his speed. He had a monster year for the Red Wings in 2018-19 and really took a big step toward becoming a player they can count on and build around long-term.

Zadina is the prospect that can really move things along in a meaningful away in the Red Wings’ rebuild. He was regarded as one of the best pure goal scorers in his draft class (maybe even the best) and they were lucky to have a chance to pick him at No. 6 overall. He had a brief cup of coffee at the NHL level a year ago, scoring one goal in nine games. He is still only 19 years old so you don’t want to set the bar too high for him this season, but he is probably the most intriguing prospect with the highest upside in the organization.

When it comes to Athanasiou the intrigue here is simply whether or not he can be a 30-goal scorer again, or if he regresses back to the 15-20 goal player he was before that. He had always looked like a solid player but was one of the few bright spots on the team a year ago.

Playoffs or lottery: The Red Wings have been one of the NHL’s worst teams over the past three years and unless a bunch of young players emerge and become immediate stars, or if the goalies steal a bunch of games, it is hard to see a path for this roster to end their current playoff drought. This is a lottery team.

MORE:
• Dylan Larkin on captaincy, getting Red Wings back to playoffs
• ProHockeyTalk’s 2019 NHL free agency tracker
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Where will Blashill figure in Yzerman’s long-term plans?

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By Scott BilleckAug 11, 2019, 12:19 PM EDT

5 Comments

Each day in the month of August we’ll be examining a different NHL team — from looking back at last season to discussing a player under pressure to identifying X-factors to asking questions about the future. Today we look at the Detroit Red Wings.

When Steve Yzerman took over the reins of the Detroit Red Wings this past spring, he backed head coach Jeff Blashill, who had just received a two-year contract extension from the soon-to-be outgoing Ken Holland.

There was a sound reason for the new deal. Blashill, despite only seeing the playoffs once in the four years he’s been the team’s bench boss, was handed a bag of old parts and ones that were still being developed and told to make something good out of it.

That kind of ask takes time and Blashill has been given it. Known for his ability to develop younger players, something Yzerman alluded to when he gave his inherited head coach that vote of confidence, Blashill appears to be the right guy to at least get Detroit predominant pieces to the next level.

[MORE: 2018-19 season review | Three questions | X-factor]

But Yzerman know has his eyes squarely on the man leading the troops from ice-level. And contracts for coachings mean very little. Blashill’s leash will be as long as Yzerman permits it to be.

Yzerman knows how to build a winner. He did so as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2010-2018. And he knows what a good head coach looks like, whether it’s Jon Cooper in Tampa or Scotty Bowman, the GOAT and the man who Yzerman won his three Stanley Cups under as a player.

Blashill faces the pressures of any coach in a rebuild. There has to be tangible progress seen on the ice. The young core needs to get better and move into leading roles.

But Blashill also faces the pressure of not being Yzerman’s hand-picked bench boss. He could very well earn that title, of course. But he could also fall victim to the realities of a new GM coming in and wanting his fingerprints everywhere.

Despite their record last year, Detroit made tangible progress with those young players. Four of their under-25 forwards had career years in the goal department and there’s another wave of young talent to come.

Blashill is doing something right with the tools he’s been given, and apart from that young talent, there’s not much else there. Detroit finished the season strong with seven wins in its final 10 games.

MORE:
• ProHockeyTalk’s 2019 NHL free agency tracker
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck