In Red Wings Land

Detroit Red Wings’ Jeff Blashill: Time to play prospects over veterans | Freep

This article came up in yesterday’s Quick Hits’ comments, but for those who missed it during your busy weekend, here is what all the fuss is about:

HSJ: Is there a minimum number of prospects that you need to integrate on the team for the sake of rebuilding?

JB: I don’t know that there is a number. I think one of the big keys is that when you are a playoff team on an annual basis, the right move is that when a young player and a veteran player are tied, the tie goes to the veteran. When you are a team that hasn’t made the playoffs for two years and a young player and a veteran player are tied, I think now the tie should go to the young player. And I say that because we need different results, and part of having different results is improving internally, and that can come with new guys being in spots.

That’s just part of Blashill’s answer and he explains more of his thought process in the article, but it’s certainly refreshing to read the above portion of the quote and it makes me excited for the Red Wings season to get here.

Around the League

Improved or not: How all 31 NHL teams stack up | ESPN

Just skip ahead to Summer 2019

Detroit Red Wings

The Wings brought back Mike Green (two years, $5.375) and Thomas Vanek (one year, $3M and hilariously a no-trade clause for one of the NHL’s most recently traveled players), and signed goalie Jonathan Bernier (three years, $3M AAV). But this is clearly a franchise waiting on its next wave of talent ... perhaps in the lottery.

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