Red Wings Rumblings
MBN Shows Off
Detroit’s 2024 first-round pick, forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, is starting preseason exhibition with a bang over in Sweden. MBN had a huge two-goal game this weekend that showed just how much skill and offensive upside he has. Here’s the highlight reel, courtesy of LGRWProspects on Twitter/X:
MBN is set to join the Red Wings for training camp next month, what’s not entirely clear is where he will go after that. It’s expected that he will return to the SHL, but there’s a chance he stays in North America. If he keeps showing off his skill like this, it’s going to be a tough decision to make for both MBN and the Red Wings.
Sergei Mnatsakanov, a former massage therapist for the Wings, suffered serious injuries in that infamous June 1997 limousine crash that injured Slava Fetisov and ended Vladimir Konstantinov’s hockey career.
That’s right, everyone’s favorite RSN is sticking around for at least another year. Good news for all of those (everyone) who enjoys watching the Bally Sports Detroit Red Wings crew. But keep in mind that if you’re an Xfinity customer, you’ll likely be paying more to get Bally on your TV. Xfinity bumped Bally into a higher tier after they struck a deal earlier this summer. So kind of a good news-bad news situation, I suppose.
NHL News
Yaroslav Askarov’s time in Nashville is up. The top goaltending prospect was traded to San Jose along with a 3rd round pick (2025) and forward Nolan Burke in exchange for forward David Edstrom, a 1st round pick (2025) and goaltender Magnus Chrona. According to reports, teams who were interested in Askarov were Colorado, Montreal, New Jersey, Utah, and the team that got him.
Friedman’s 32 Thoughts didn’t have anything Red Wings related (no surprise), but buried in all of the ordinary focus on stuff that no one really cares about, there were some notes on the next CBA (both sides have not come to the table yet) and expansion rules. That would signal that the NHL is likely going to continue to grow in terms of markets. No word on how many teams the NHL could have one day, but Friedman mentioned 34 or 36 teams, though I am not sure those numbers are realistic or not.
