Red Wings Andreas Anthmacain the Minors Until He Can Score Again

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Detroit Red Wings have veterans who are non performing to expectations, and prospects in the minors who are trending in the right direction.

But don't expect to see the latter pushing out the sometime in the immediate future. Ultimately, that is non what is all-time for the franchise'south rebuild.

The Wings take struggled to score outside their height line of Dylan Larkin with Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha. For the most part, the other lines accept been inert. It took the addition of Robby Fabbri to make the second line a threat - it scored twice in Sabbatum's 4-3 shootout loss to the Sharks at SAP Middle.

Valtteri Filppula, also 35, has nine points after 22 games, and his ineffectiveness in his ain zone is reflected in his minus-13 rating.

• Adam Erne, acquired by general manager Steve Yzerman in August, had no points and was minus-7 subsequently 17 games.

Justin Abdelkader is sidelined by injury, but he had 3 assists in 16 games before getting hurt.

Mantha, Bertuzzi and Larkin have carried the Wings offensively (entering the Sharks game, they had a combined 57 points and were the only forwards in double digits in points), but the production bug from the remainder of the lines aren't likely to spell opportunity for a prospect with the Grand Rapids Griffins, for adept reason.

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"Nosotros're trying to do everything possible to put our prospects in the all-time position to succeed long term," Red Wings jitney Jeff Blashill said. "Certainly if Steve thinks one of those guys in the minors is all-time-served beingness up here, and so they'd be up here. He used the word to me once — 'thriving' — it's a hard league to thrive in until you're ready to thrive. In terms of prospects, that'southward totally dependent on what's best for their long-term development."

Evgeny Svechnikov, the team's first-round pick in 2015, was with the Wings earlier this season. He had a adept military camp but he missed all of last flavor because of a knee injury.

Filip Zadina, the 6th overall pick in 2019, produced v goals and five assists in 10 games between Oct. 25 and Nov. xv in the AHL, and that'southward where the Wings want him to continue to thrive afterwards a mediocre showing during exhibition season.

"Filip Zadina has had a hard get," Blashill said. "Information technology hasn't been like shooting fish in a barrel. What happens when you go through those trials is, confidence gets lost. And confidence is a huge thing in this globe. Anybody that has had their conviction shook, tin adjure to that. And information technology'due south reality.

"Do we want to put a guy similar that in position to come up up here, get his conviction shook past non succeeding? No, we want him to be overconfident when they come here. He's had a nice become here the final little fleck from what I empathize, only that's a little bit. Permit'southward keep going over and over and over again.

"I don't see him every day. What I would say is, boy, I've got lots of religion in Steve Yzerman knowing when a thespian is set to come up and thrive in this league or non. Certainly from a coach's perspective, everyone that can come upward hither and help the states — we want to win. Coaches think curt term, managers generally retrieve long term, as they should."

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Blashill doesn't have many options with his lines. Does he ship a message and scratch a veteran at some point? He said he had planned to scratch a veteran in the season opener merely then Andreas Athanasiou was bothered by an injury from training camp and unable to play.

"With a veteran, if their performance isn't to the level that we need it to be at, then they will sit," Blashill said. "There was a player on our squad who was out on Game i who didn't cease up being out on Game 1 considering AA was hurt. But he was out and he knew he was out. And he was a guy that's been around here for a while."

He did not name the player, but Abdelkader fits the description. He had half-dozen goals in 71 games last season.

Yzerman has said every player is under evaluation, and he waived veteran defenseman Jonathan Ericsson in Oct. He since has been called support to outset injuries.

"We've saturday another guys at different times," Blashill said. "Manifestly Jonny went to the minors. Some of information technology you guys don't know — they come up off injury but they're healthy and nosotros decide to stay with some of the younger players. Information technology just depends."

Asked near Nielsen, Blashill said he "is trying hard."

Nielsen hasn't been on the ability play this flavor, and his wingers have been quiet, too. He has played with Erne, Taro Hirose (all of his five points were on the power play) and recent acquisition Brendan Perlini (no points though nine games).

It'southward a tough stretch for Nielsen, who is signed through 2021-22 at a cap hit of $5.25 million.

"I've never really experienced this," he said. "But I'1000 trying hard just to play my game and not focus on information technology at all. I think it'southward easy to lose conviction. For me, it's of import to play my game and hopefully something goes off my leg or something and goes in and you can look for something to build on like that."

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more than on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.

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Source: https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2019/11/17/detroit-red-wings-stick-struggling-vets-keep-prospects-minors/4213423002/

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