In Red Wings Land

Longtime Red Wings Reporter Discusses Rebuild, Blashill, and Memories – THW

“To me, it says a lot the [Yzerman] has kept endorsing [Blashill], and what it says more than anything, probably, is that I know Steve would not have kept him if he didn’t think he was doing a good job with the young players,” St. James said. “That’s ultimately what the focus is.”

…

“In 2002, I went to the Czech Republic when [the team] had the Cup there, and leaving one of Dominik Hasek’s functions, I was driving with Jiri Slegr and his wife in their Mercedes,” she said. “Jiri was driving, and I was in the back seat, and the Stanley Cup was strapped in next to me, with a seat belt. That was just a really cool experience, seeing them, being invited into their homes, and seeing what a superstar Dominik Hasek was in his home country.”

It’s interesting to do an interview with a beat writer to lead with their wealth of experience and not really ask any questions about how they cover the team.  Helene gives a lot of answers from an analytical perspective that aren’t really surprising given her writing and the whole thing generally feels like an ad for her book.

But I’m also decently biased against the Wings’ beat crew so take my opinion with a grain of salt. If nothing else that Czech Republic story is cool.

Around the League

THREE THINGS WE LEARNED IN WEEK 6 OF THE 2021-22 NHL SEASON – THN

Amazingly, during this stretch, the Oilers were able to change all four lines and somehow failed to score in this sequence. Holding Edmonton off the scoresheet with two defenders stuck on the ice for almost five minutes should warrant a sympathy point for the Hawks.

I watched that shift, as it happened not too long after the Wings lost to the Coyotes.  It was a good way to feel better about having watched my team lose to the Coyotes.  Although Edmonton didn’t score and only rang one shot off the post it was a lot of fun to watch how they cycled.  It wasn’t one of those boring long cycles that we often see against Detroit.

NHL Power Rankings: Hurricanes, Maple Leafs starting to separate from rest of pack – CBS

I’ve touched on this in recent weeks, but the future looks pretty bright in Detroit at the moment. Winger Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider lead all rookies in points. It’s still early, but those two might provide a decent foundation for Steve Yzerman to build upon.

Detroit fell five spots and I’m starting to worry about their ability to compete for the cup this season.