Red Wings Mid-Week Review: Filppula and Svechnikov Move On

Octopus Thrower

Valtteri Filppula has officially moved on from the Detroit Red Wings. The 37-year-old forward signed with Genève-Servette HC, seeing his second stint with Detroit come to an end. Filppula was another of the veterans who didn’t fit into the long term plans as younger players begin to rise to the NHL level. His playing time dwindled during the season which seemingly had the writing on the wall.

Meanwhile, Evgeny Svechnikov signed with the Manitoba Moose, the AHL affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets. Svechnikov was another one of Detroit’s former first round picks that ended up elsewhere, joining 2016 first round pick Dennis Cholowski as another high pick finding employment with other organization–though Cholowski was selected by Seattle instead of signed.

Svechnikov, along with Cholowski, was a hopeful of the fanbase to turn the corner and showcase the skillset that always seemed to have a higher potential. But similar to Cholowski, the opportunities to be a serious piece of the roster never seemed to materialize.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens as they both are in new surroundings.

Red Wings Training Camp Dates Approach

Believe it or not, training camp is just less than a month away which will give way to “what ifs” and more time to see just what the 2021-22 team will look like.

Top of the list will still be seeing the deal that defenseman Filip Hronek signs, as he and Givani Smith are the only two Red Wings still not inked to a deal. Next will be seeing which players stand out at center–a topic Alex tackled yesterday. I would love to see Joe Veleno start right away with the Red Wings which could be possible with his versatility as either a wing or center. With Frans Nielsen no longer on the roster, Veleno seems a surer bet to be with the team.

One other topic will be the naming of alternate captains since the veterans who wore them have left the organization. It’s hard to not look at the naming of those players as a sign of things to come–do they go with a veteran, say Nick Leddy or Danny DeKeyser. The former certainly has a lot of experience when it comes to winning–which would be excellent for a growing team. DeKeyser is now the longest tenured Red Wing on the roster, which could be a reason to sew the A on. Marc Staal is also a logical choice, someone brought back that the Red Wings brass absolutely loves having on the roster.

Tyler Bertuzzi seems like the likeliest of the younger players. As a member of the core, it seems a logical choice to join captain Dylan Larkin as one of the visible leaders on the ice.

It will be interesting to see who they settle on, amongst the other story lines that promise to make training camp even more exciting than usual.

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