When Grand Rapids Griffins forward Elmer Soderblom was building up a heavy supply of shots on goal and frustration from his lack of scoring success, his coach Dan Watson said Soderblom’s shot total meant his offense was eventually going to show up.
With seven points in his last eight games, Soderblom may be entering the productive period that Watson saw coming.
The Central Division-leading Griffins have two home games against the Cleveland Monsters tonight and Saturday. Soderblom is one of the relevent Grand Rapids storylines from the Red Wings fans perspective:
Soderblom is 23 and in the last season of his NHL entry level contract. He will be a restricted free agent this summer and the team will have a decision to make. He still only has four goals and 15 points. But the fact that he was recently playing with first rounder Nate Danielson would suggest they haven’t given up on him.
He still leads the team in shots on goal (84) and his 6-foot-8, 250-plus frame makes him intriguing. He’s never going to be the physical force the Red Wings would like him be, but size is always important no matter how physical the player he is. It wears down opponents to deal with bigger players.
On the positive side: three of his goals have come in the last eight games. He shows 10 points over the past 15 games. That’s close to a 50-point pace.
To say the least, the former Western Hockey League standout has been inconsistent in his production. He had four points in his first 12 games this season, and then had 12 points in 12 games.
Over his last 16 games, he has gone pointless 12 times. But he has also showed three multiple point games, including a two-point effort in this week’s win against the Chicago Wolves.
On the positive side, he does have 21 points in 36 games. He’s also plus-seven.
The main factor for Danielson is that he’s 20, and younger players usually come with inconsistency as a standard feature.
The Griffins, Red Wings organization and their fans have been waiting for the return of Mazur from his injury. This is a player who seemed to have the possibility of playing with the Red Wings this season. He played impressively well alongside Marco Kasper with the Griffins last season. But he has been limited to three Griffins game because of injury.
No return date has been set, but it seems possible that he could be ready before the end of the month.
Injury Update@bkaser1 just announced that Carter Mazur will be starting contact drills next week, return should be a few more weeks.
Amadeus Lombardi return is uncertain could be a few weeks could be a month. #GoGRG #LGRW
— Hockeytown West Podcast (@HockeytownWpod) January 5, 2025
Cossa has surrendered two or fewer goals in 12 of 21 appearances (57.1%). His 2.33 goals-against average and .917 save percentage are primary factors in the Griffins’ success.
At 22, the 6-foot-6 Cossa is still very young by NHL goalie standards. By comparison, Montreal’s recently promoted rookie Jakub Dobes will be 24 in May.
But the Red Wings are certainly pleased with the upward trend of his development.
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Earlier Tuesday, the dates for the seven remaining arbitration-eligible players were revealed. However, one player who won’t need that hearing after all is Kraken winger Kaapo Kakko. The Kraken announced that they’ve reached an agreement on a three-year contract that will pay $4.525M per season after being set to exchange arbitration figures on Wednesday. GM Jason Botterill released the following statement: "Getting a contract done with Kaapo was a top priority this summer. We knew quickly he’d be a big part of our team moving forward. He’s got size, skill and tremendous playmaking ability, and isn’t afraid of going to the net. He fit in immediately with our group, and we’re thrilled to have him under contract." The 24-year-old was the second overall selection back in 2019 by the Rangers and had seemingly been on thin ice in New York for a couple of years. The two sides agreed on a one-year, $2.4M contract last offseason, well before qualifying offers were due to be submitted, avoiding any risk of the Rangers non-tendering him to avoid arbitration rights. The deal seemingly represented a last-chance opportunity for Kakko, and it’s fair to say he didn’t make the most of it. He managed just four goals and 10 assists in 30 games with New York and in December, the Rangers pulled the trigger on a trade, sending him to Seattle for defenseman Will Borgen, a 2025 third-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round selection. The change of scenery seemed to give Kakko a boost. He averaged just under a point per game over his first month with the Kraken, and overall, he picked up 10 goals and 20 assists in 49 outings. Combining his stats with New York, Kakko’s 44 points represented a career high, giving him some leverage heading into contract talks this summer. Considering that Kakko’s career numbers of 71 goals and 90 assists in 379 games is rather pedestrian, Jason Botterill is clearly banking on Kakko’s second-half production being a sign of things to come. He got the bigger role he was hoping for following the swap, logging a little over 17 minutes a night of playing time after averaging just over 13 minutes a night prior to the swap. It’s clear that based on this deal, the Kraken feel that Kakko can be a legitimate top-six forward for them moving forward. Beyond his entry-level contract, this is the longest agreement that Kakko has signed. It’s a pact that buys out his first two UFA-eligible seasons, making those eligible for potential trade protection. It will also allow Kakko to potentially reach the open market at 27 in 2028, putting him in a position to possibly secure a long-term, big-money agreement if he’s able to maintain and build off his strong first half-season with Seattle. With the signing, the Kraken now have a little under $6.5M in cap space, per PuckPedia. They still have one key restricted free agent to sign in defenseman Ryker Evans. He’s not arbitration-eligible but Botterill should have enough flexibility to sign him to a long-term agreement if the sides can work one out. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the signing.
WNBA players sent a message to the league with T-shirts they wore ahead of the All-Star Game on Saturday night, but the ratings for the game did not exactly strengthen their stance. Prior to the All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., Caitlin Clark and other players warmed up in shirts that said “Pay us what you owe us” across the front. The message had to do with the current state of collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the WNBA and WNBA Player’s Association. Unfortunately for the players, the television ratings for the game were not very good. Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reported on Tuesday that the WNBA All-Star Game drew 2.19 million viewers on ABC, which was down roughly 36% from a year ago. Last year’s game featured the WNBA All-Stars against the Team USA squad that was preparing to compete in the Summer Olympics in Paris. The dip in ratings is likely another example of the type of impact Clark has had on the WNBA. Although she was a team captain for this year’s All-Star Game, Clark did not play due to a groin injury. Clark played in last year’s game for the All-Star side, as she did not make the Team USA Olympic roster. Many fans were outraged that she was snubbed from the Olympic team, which added an element of intrigue to the All-Star Game. There is no way of knowing for certain whether more fans would have watched the All-Star Game on Saturday night had Clark played. It is a safe guess, however, especially when you look at some recent trends for the league.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Moon just made headlines during a recent appearance on "Up Adams," where he gave his take on one of the NFL’s most debated questions. When asked which star quarterback will win a Super Bowl first, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen or Joe Burrow, Moon without any hesitation went with Jackson. “We have Josh Allen, MVP, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, they wrecked the league last year… Which one of those three do you think has the best shot to get one this year?” Kay Adams asked. Moon responded, “I think Lamar.” Moon’s reasoning for this take was not due to stats or accolades, because both have great numbers and awards, rather Moon was focused on the surrounding cast around Jackson. While he was complimentary of Allen and the team around him, he emphasized that the Ravens had a strong secondary, incredible running back and solid wideouts that could allow them to be a serious threat to win it all. It is easy to see why Moon made his opinion clear and without hesitation. Jackson is one of the top quarterbacks in the league, with four Pro Bowl nods, three All-Pro selections and two MVP awards. He is the best dual-threat quarterback in the world, and now with an incredible roster around him, Jackson has become much scarier. However, pressure is mounting on the superstar QB, and Moon did make the case for Allen to also potentially win first. “Josh Allen, they’ll be right there too. I think it depends on who plays who in the playoffs … You have to go through playing both Kansas City and Baltimore if you’re Buffalo, and same thing if you’re the Ravens, you gotta play both of those to get to the Super Bowl … But if you only have to play one of them, that would be great.” Allen is also regarded as one of the league’s best QBs too, and Moon's argument has a lot of merit to it. Both Buffalo and Baltimore are flooded with talented pieces that are hungry to make that Super Bowl run. It could come down to matchups come playoff time. If one squad has an easier route to the AFC Championship game, then it might be the one who ultimately comes out on top. As for Burrow, Moon did not mention him in the conversation, but clearly it was not meant to be a slight on him as a player. Rather, for obvious reasons, it seems that Moon might have Baltimore and Buffalo as overall rosters in a higher tier from Cincinnati. Ultimately however, time will tell who breaks first. But if Moon is correct, Jackson might finally be able to silence his critics, and make his mark on NFL history.
On Saturday night, Kelsey Plum was part of Team Collier's 151-131 win over Team Clark in the WNBA All-Star Game, scoring 16 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three assists. Following the game, the Los Angeles Sparks star was asked about WNBA All-Stars wearing shirts before the game that read, "Pay Us What You Owe Us." Specifically, Plum was asked about how that idea came together. "The T-shirt — just a united front," she said. "That was determined this morning, that we had a meeting for. Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that." Plum said it with a chuckle. However, she was sitting next to New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, who rolled her eyes and said, "Didn't really need to be mentioned" before laughing. It was awkward, especially because Caitlin Clark, as well as all of the members of Team Clark, wore the shirts. If Clark didn't wear the shirt, you could understand some backlash. But she did. It should also be noted that Team Collier featured the president of the WNBA Players Association, Nneka Ogwumike, as well as the first vice president, Plum, and two vice presidents, Napheesa Collier and Brenna Stewart. It makes sense if they took on greater leadership roles in a statement like this against the league. Whether Plum likes it or not, the reason the WNBA has any sort of leverage heading into these negotiations with the league is Clark. She would do well to remember that the next time she wants to take an unnecessary shot at Clark, who is responsible for the greatest surge in fan attention the WNBA has ever seen.