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Per Coach Lalonde, Dylan Larkin (maintenance day) is expected to play tomorrow. Jake Walman (day-to-day) is questionable for tomorrow, more likely to play Wednesday in New York.

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 25, 2023

We know Larkin in nursing some bumps and bruises, Walman is going to be the traveling question mark. While I’m not a fan of the lack of consistency on injury reporting, teams have their own protocols and want to protect players. We’ll know about the team’s lineup when the puck hits the ice, and for now that’s reality. Walman’s availability is probably the difference of the team going 11/7 or 12/6.

Interestingly, Detroit faces a Western Conference team in MN that is behind the Wings in all the listed categories. Power play favors Detroit (21% to 16%), PK (79% to 67%) Faceoffs (50% to 46%), Goals for (3.68 to 3.06) and goals against (3.11 to 3.94). Detroit is 10-6-3 and MN is 5-9-4. The West definitely has some variety in terms of the gauge of in season performance leading to post season appearance. The East is scratch and claw but around the 40 game mark we may see teams hit those rough patches during the doldrums of the season.

Here’s hoping that Detroit comes out and has another game effort similar to New Jersey and Boston. The trip to and from Sweden seems to have incited the formation of how this era of Wings hockey will be defined. The team is finding a personality.

While all this is going on, you can give yourself a headache if you follow the official “releases” day to day. Last week issues with Laine and Gaudreau weren’t a big deal. In the past few days they have come front and center. Calgary is trying to posture a “wait and see” mode as at least 4 players are anywhere from non committal to flat out ready to leave town. Arizona was congratulated on a “year over year” success in transitioning from Bally Sports to their new broadcast. (Oh, but there’s a slight issue with the arena and only about 20 games worth of comparison. In other words, there is no year over year comparison yet). San Jose is yelling at fans, Florida is floating balloons that they can’t afford Patrick Kane and Canada is having some incredibly serious fiscal as well as national security issues. January is right around the corner.

Anyone that follows the league is used to some sort of announcement in January. At this point, it looks like possible delays in a World Cup of Hockey, a stagnant cap but with the blame being shifted to players this time, and you will get percentages and comparisons but not numbers. I.E. - viewership on nights with a crescent moon that turns purple for 17 seconds was up 200% for 13.2 seconds! As ridiculous as it sounds, the metrics are getting that weird.

Here’s what you need to know. Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are being counted on by almost every industry to determine what 2024 is going to look like and there may or may not be some major issues across the board. The Cities of New Mexico, Salt Lake and Atlanta will get mentioned (and have been) to see what the response is like. We may actually be seeing the Arizona debacle come to an end on day. The determination to stay there has seen 4 owners of the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes including the NHL itself and is a financial drain that will not get better. Reports of ESPN selling off at least a part of the station were yanked off of youtube in bizarre fashion, but post Thanksgiving football was aired on Amazon.

Be very grateful. Having any cap space at all right now is a blessing. There are rumors that Nylander’s signing hinges in part on the dreams of a McDavid to Toronto move similar to the current Leafs Captain. If Edmonton loses McDavid in any form, it’s not likely to be looked on as a well spent tenure for an incredible player. For Detroit, it’s about the team. That is what Yzerman is building and what we’re starting to see emerge. Debrincat has 12 goals in 19 games, that’s fairly exciting. Raymond is coming on and has 8, Larkin has 7. A reader whose opinions I consider highly (there are several of you!) told me we know that Larkin and Debrincat can hit 30 IF healthy. Both have also shown the ability to drop off. The numbers are fluid and so is the lineup. Let’s see what tomorrow brings as Motown faces the “State of Hockey”.

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