The Montreal Canadiens may already have a decision looming on one of their young centers, and it could end up shaping a bigger move down the line.
On The Sick Podcast with Tony Marino, Marco D’Amico laid out a scenario where Oliver Kapanen or Michael Hage could become the kind of asset that helps Montreal go shopping for help elsewhere.
“Ideal world, he’s your third-line center of the future. Ideal world. But if the, if the Canadians see throughout the season that maybe it’s not working out with Michael Hage as a, as a true centerman, as an all-situation centerman with Michigan, then perhaps, you know, either Michael or Oliver Kapanen, become that trade chip to allow them some level of security.
Because teams aren’t looking for prospects per se; they’re looking for some level of immediate help. Well, if Kapanen is producing, that would allow them to perhaps go and get that immediate help.
Knowing that maybe if he were to sign long-term, that number would be a little too high to stomach within that context. So there is the possibility.
I still believe that the Canadians have full faith in Michael Hage and respect his decision to go back because he wants to be that drop and play top six center. But if you have Kapanen as your 3C, you’re in business, in my opinion, when it comes to competing.”
Over in Detroit, Simon Edvinsson’s contract situation remains unsettled, and the timing isn’t helping. With the Red Wings still without a general manager, talks on the restricted free agent defenseman have slowed.
In a rough translation of Edvinsson’s interview with Anton Johansson of Aftonbladet, George Malik of The Malik Report noted that the defender said the process has been “a bit messy.”
Edvinsson said he wants to have a deal done before the season, but also acknowledged the clock is ticking.
“Of course you want to sign before that, and it’s getting really tight …Well, then you’ll see what happens. You want to play. It’s been a long summer and now you want to go back to hockey.
Has been a bit messy.”
Edvinsson is set to head to Detroit soon for training camp, and he plans to be there even if a contract still isn’t in place. He said he’ll pay for his own insurance in case anything happens.
Malik also reported that Edvinsson is eligible for an offer sheet and that there had been interest from other teams, though he declined to get into specifics. Even with that uncertainty, he said he loves Detroit and the fans.
In Other News...
Red Wings Next GM Walks Into An Immediate Contract Crisis
The next general manager walking into the Red Wings job is not getting much of a runway. Before there is even time to settle into the office, there is a pile of contract business waiting, starting with defenseman Simon Edvinsson and the need to sort out his next deal while the organization also takes stock of its current hockey operations structure and staff. Add in the broader pressure of keeping the roster moving in the right direction, and the first stretch on the job already looks like a test of timing as much as judgment.
Alex DeBrincats extension situation adds another layer of urgency, because a stalled negotiation around a top winger is the kind of issue that can shape how the rest of the roster is handled. There is also the matter of Dylan Larkin, whose future has become part of the conversation as well, making the incoming GMs first months less about long-term planning in the abstract and more about sorting through a series of decisions that could define the franchises direction quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Remember A Former First Rounder For Far More Than Hockey
Brent Peterson was remembered this week as much for what he meant away from the ice as for his place in Red Wings history. Detroit drafted him in the first round in 1978, and he went on to play parts of four seasons with the club before continuing his NHL career with the Sabres, Canucks and Whalers, building the kind of steady hockey resume that kept him around the game for years.
Peterson later moved into coaching and was working as an assistant with the Predators when his life took a different turn after a Parkinsons diagnosis. He spent the rest of it pushing to help others facing the same disease, and the foundation he launched with his wife became a major part of that effort, a reminder that some of the most lasting legacies in sports have little to do with goals, assists or draft position. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Just Turned Dylan Larkin Into An Offseason Question
The Red Wings made a notable change to the heart of their leadership structure this week by moving Dylan Larkin out of the captaincy, a decision that lands squarely in the middle of an already unsettled offseason. For a franchise that has leaned on Larkin as the face of the room and the standard-bearer on the ice, the announcement adds another layer to a summer defined by transition and uncertainty.
Larkin said he will be at training camp and acknowledged recent conversations with team leadership, but he did not directly address the captaincy switch. The bigger question now is where this goes from here, because the organization has made clear that any further discussion about his future will wait until a new hockey operations leader and general manager are in place, leaving a key piece of Detroits identity hanging as the next front-office regime takes shape. [Read more 🡒]