The parade of former Detroit Red Wings accepting tryouts in NHL training camps continued Friday when three more accepted PTO agreements.

Defenseman Madison Bowey’s PTO is with the New York Rangers, while Sam Gagner is heading to the Carolina Hurricanes and Kailer Yamamato is with Utah.

Yamamoto came to Detroit in the Klim Kostin trade with the Oilers, but he never played for the Red Wings. The Red Wings chose to buy him out. He played for the Kraken last season. The Red Wings still have a final season of a $533,000 salary cap hit for Yamamoto’s buyout still on their books.

Previously, former Detroit players Gustav Lindstrom and Mark Pysyk signed PTOs with Anaheim and Adam Erne joined the New York Rangers on a tryout agreement.

Prospect Games Streamed Live

The 2024 NHL Prospect Games vs. Dallas today (6 p.m.) and Sunday (2:30 p.m.) will be carried live on DetroitRedWings.com and on the team’s social media platforms (Facebook, YouTube). Both games will feature play-by-play commentary provided by Detroit radio voice Ken Kal and Grand Rapids Griffins play-by-play voice Bob Kaser.

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

Taro Hirose is joining the Red Bull team in Munich for the 2024-25 season. He has played with either Detroit or Grand Rapids for the past five years.

Former Detroit management team member Jim Nill is bringing another strong Dallas crop of prospects to Traverse City for a two-game series against Detroit.

Paywall story: Bob Duff ranks the Red Wings’ worst first round picks through the years. Detroit has had some duds. If you haven’t purchased a yearly subscription, you can order one here.

Red Wings Offseason

Detroit prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka hoped to play Skelleftea’s Champions League game Saturday, but did not suit up. He is still not recovered from his injury. He hopes to play next week when Swedish Hockey League play starts up.

Sandin-Pellikka will miss this week’s games (CHL) with the injury setback. He’s been categorized as ”day to day” so there should be some hope he can get healthy for the start of SHL regular season next week. https://t.co/Jo46SokF9C

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) September 10, 2024

Hockey Now Network

Chicago: The Chicago Sports Network announced that former Detroit assistant coach Tony Granato and Chris Chelios’ daughter, Caley, will join Pat Boyle to form the studio group for Blackhawks’ games.

Colorado: Artturi Lehkonen will not be a full participant when Colorado training camp opens in less than a week. Colorado Avalanche.

New Jersey: James Nichols reviews four possible replacements for defenseman Luke Hughes who will be out six to eight weeks with an injury. New Jersey Devils.

Philadelphia: The Flyers have hired former player Wayne Simmonds as a community relations ambassador. Philadelphia Flyers.

The post The Daily: More ex-Red Wings Take PTOs; Worst Detroit Draft Picks appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Three former Detroit Red Wings who have failed to find work for the 2024-25 season have at least secured what amounts to an NHL job interview.

Matt Luff signed a PTO withe Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, while defensemen Gustav Lindstrom and Mark Pysyk secured the same pro tryout agreement with the Anaheim Ducks.

Luff, 27, has played 106 NHL games, including 19 for the Red Wings in 2022-23. The Red Wings appreciated his 6-foot-2 size and work ethic. When he was down the Grand Rapids Griffins, he was also an impact player. In 54 games for the Griffins over two years, he shows 18 goals and 43 points.

The only negative about Luff is he is unlucky when it comes to injuries. But he has the tools to be an effective bottom six forward with enough skill to chip in goals now and then.

Lindstrom is only 25, and played for the Ducks last season. Maybe the Ducks are waiting to see how their defense looks at the end of training camp.

Pysyk, 32, hasn’t played in the NHL since 2021-22. He was on Detroit’s roster with a signed contract, but never actually played for the team because of an Achilles injury. Last season, he played 37 AHL games.

Players sign PTO agreements with the hope of persuading the team to sign them. But they also just want to play preseason games to remind every team in the league they are available and ready to play.

The Red Wings have one noteworthy PTO player: Michigan native Austin Watson, 32, a hard-nosed, 240-pound left wing who played for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. He has played for three NHL teams (Nashville, Ottawa and Tampa Bay)

The post Three Former Red Wings Accept Invites to NHL Camps appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The Jakub Vrana return to Washington, even on a PTO, makes perfect sense from his perspective. He put up noteworthy offensive numbers and displayed a dynamic presence before the Capitals traded him to Detroit.

Washington Hockey Now’s Nathan Moser called the Vrana PTO a “good move” by first-year GM Chris Patrick. Moser believes Vrana’s skill set fit wells with Washington’s revamped offensive group.

“The Capitals are getting a player who was fast when he was there the first time,” Moser wrote.  “His speed was built for the current NHL game. It is one of his best attributes, and one of the big reasons why he was crucial to the Stanley Cup-winning team in 2018. During that championship postseason run, Vrana scored three goals and (added) five assists for eight points in 23 games.”

But Vrana is far from a lock to get a contract. Much has happened since the Capitals traded him to Detroit. The Red Wings were quick to move on from him after he went through the NHL / NHL Players Assistance Program. He scored 12 goals in 41 games over two seasons. He is 28. It’s hard to know what his floor or ceiling really are.

“If things go well,” Moser writes,  “Maybe he is in the lineup for the Capitals or he starts 2024-25 off in the AHL with the Hershey Bears. There are multiple ways this could play out. When camp arrives, fans can see how he gels in with the rest of the team and then go from there.”

Red Wings in Case You Missed It

Red Wings prospects Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (Norway) and Marco Kasper (Austria) will be participating Aug. 29-Sept. 1 in Olympic qualifying tournaments. Bob Duff has the details in his Red Wings notebook.

Detroit’s annual NHL Prospect tournament has been reduced to a two-game series against the Dallas Stars prospects in Traverse City. The games will be Sept. 14 (6 p.m.) and Sept. 15 (2:30) at Centre Ice Arena.

Former NHLer Chris Pronger talked recently about Steve Yzerman‘s role in a torn ACL he suffered 23 years ago.

Red Wings Offseason

Red Wings prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov had a slick shootout goal in a KHL preseason game.

In Dmitri Buchelnikov’s(2nd round’22) preseason debut he didn’t pick up any points. (He had a couple 3rd assists) but he had this awesome shootout move. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/sW8zhoAOLh

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) August 15, 2024

Hockey Now Network

Boston: Andrew Fantuccio writes about what the NHL Network got right and got wrong in rating David Pastrnak against all other wingers. Boston Bruins.

Colorado: The Avalanche hired long-time league office employee Andrew Wilson as an assistant general manager. Colorado Avalanche.

Philadelphia: Sam Carchidi looks at how Matvei Michkov and his teammates stack up against opponents. Philadelphia Flyers.

San Jose: Sheng Peng offers an insightful behind-the-paywall story about why Joe Pavelski was such a strong leader during his NHL career. You can read Peng’s story by taking advantage of our limited time offer of a yearly subscription for only $10. You can read paywall stories on any Hockey Now website. Plus, you can navigate without adds. To subscribe, click here. San Jose Sharks. 

The post The Daily: Why Caps Gave Vrana a PTO; Buchelnikov Update appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Former Red Wings forward Adam Erne, a $2.1 million player for the past two seasons, agreed to attend the Edmonton Oilers training camp on a PTO.

The Red Wings didn’t re-sign him after four seasons with the team. General manager Steve Yzerman waived him last February, and he played nine games with the Grand Rapids Griffins before being recalled..

“They’re all tough (decisions),” Coach Derek Lalonde said when Erne was waived. “It’s just the reality. Thankfully we’re finally getting to that depth. It’s probably more a credit to (Jonatan) Berggren in that technically it’s probably that spot and Berggren just played his way into it.”

He had 18 points in 61 games for the Red Wings, plus five assists for the Griffins. Erne never had more than 11 goals or 20 points in a season for Detroit.

Erne earned his keep as one of the team’s most consistent hitters. Over four seasons in Detroit, he totaled 545 hits. Over the past two seasons, he posted 321 hits.  His 161 last season ranked second on the Red Wings to Moritz Seider‘s 207.

Erne is the last player from last season’s Detroit roster to land either a contract or a tryout.

The Oilers are slightly over the cap ceiling ($390,000), meaning they would need to find cap space if they want to sign Erne. That could come from a long-term injury or moving out another player. Erne’s selling points to the Oilers are his penalty killing and physical play.

The Red Wings just seemed to outgrow Erne last season.

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