Good morning and happy Friday, gang! I’d first like to apologize for the silence here at WIIM this week. Admin (that’s me, your friend Kyle) has been out of the country for some much-needed vacation.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, hey, hockey season is almost here! I wanted to start this off by asking our amazing readers what kind of coverage they would like to see this upcoming season. As you know, the WIIM operation is much more lean these days. It’s tough to produce 82 game recaps with such a small staff and so little capital, so I am looking for ideas to make sure we meet your expectations as an alternative news source for the Detroit Red Wings. I’d really like to hear from you about that, so please if you have anything, drop it in the comments, email me or get in touch on social media. I appreciate you all sticking with us through the ebbs and flows.
Red Wings Rumblings
Defenseman Cam Fowler is being linked to the Red Wings once again. While it’s not an “official” report, more of speculation from The Athletic’s Eric Stephens, the Ducks are assuming a massive rebuild and will likely be looking to offload veteran players. Fowler’s best hockey is behind him and he has this season and next season left on his current deal, which carries a cap hit of $6.5 million. If the Wings are going to dabble here, I’d hope they don’t pay much. Hell, I’d argue that Anaheim should be sweetening the deal for Detroit if they want to get rid of him so bad. My proposal is a later-round draft pick and Justin Holl for Cam Fowler.
HSJ’s column on the latest regarding Raymond and Seider’s contract negotiation really doesn’t tell us anything we don’t already know. Camp starts soon, they’re not signed, that’s not ideal, etc. She mentions that Berggren (also needs a new contract) missing the start of camp would be more consequential than the other two, because Raymond and Seider have their roles set on the team. I guess (?) but I think if you were to ask literally any Red Wings fan whether they would want Raymond/Seider at camp over Berggren, the answer would be unanimous. HSJ did mention that short-term deals are possible, but not ideal because the value of these players will only be going up as they hit their prime. That is absolutely true — the focus needs to be maximum term deals.
Bunch of Former Red Wings Sign PTOs
Matt Luff and Madison Bowey have signed PTO contracts with the Panthers and Rangers. They join Jakub Vrana, Sam Gagner, Adam Erne, Kailer Yamamoto, and Michael Hutchinson as former Wings who have signed similar contracts.
Wrapping this up, don’t forget that the prospect games kick off tomorrow night at Centre ICE in Traverse City. You can find all the roster information here, as well as how to stream the games. It’ll be Detroit vs. Dallas Saturday night at 6 PM ET.
