DONE DEAL: Red Wings have Completed the deal of Czech goal…

On Monday, the Detroit Red Wings announced they have signed forward Jakub Rychlovský to a two-year, entry-level contract.

Rychlovský played all of 2023-24 with Bílí Tygři Liberec in the Czech Extraliga in Czechia. In 51 games, the 22-year-old tallied a league-high 26 goals, 46 points and a plus-8 rating. He became the youngest player to lead the Czech pro league in scoring.

Rychlovský ranked second on the club with nine power-play goals and first with a 19.6 shooting percentage. He also finished first with three short-handed goals and five game-winning goals.

The-five-foot-ten goal scorer added seven points (five goals, two assists) in nine playoff games for Liberec. Rychlovský had five points (four goals, one assist) in 10 playoff games in 2022.

Overall, Rychlovský has racked up 80 points (39 goals, 41 assists) in 190 games for Liberec since the start of the 2019-20 season.

On the international stage, the Vrchlabi native has suited up for Czechia on a few occasions. Most recently, he represented Czechia at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, recording one assist in five games. He also skated at the 2019 World Junior A Challenge and 2019 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

Rychlovský signed with Detroit as an undrafted free agent.

The Red Wings missed the playoffs for the eighth straight season in 2023-24. After adding Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane, among others, the Wings started off hot and looked like a lock for a postseason berth out of the Eastern Conference.

But a seven-game losing streak in March followed by a mediocre 5-3-2 finish to the season put them on the bubble. And despite a miraculous comeback win in their final game, Detroit fell just short, as the Washington Capitals used a tiebreaker to sneak into the final wild-card spot. Washington was swept by the New York Rangers in the first round.

We might be one step closer to learning the identity of a revamped NHL franchise.

According to a report from KSL.com Ryan Miller, Uyte LLC filed applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for trademarks for eight wordmarks and logos related to NHL Utah, the team that recently relocated from Arizona. Each trademark features the name “Utah Hockey Club.”

Uyte LLC is the same group that filed applications for 20 potential teams that were featured in Smith Entertainment Group’s survey, which went public last month.

All eight logos have the name “Utah” in them, with the colors in some of them being baby blue, black, and white.

On Friday, Sportslogo.net reported that one of the logos featured in a trademark application was found in NHL.com’s logo files.

It is becoming clear that the franchise–formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes–might use the name “Utah Hockey Club” as a placeholder until the team settles on a final nickname. It is looking like a similar situation that the Washington Commanders went through in 2020, when the team ditched its longtime nickname, the Redskins. For two seasons, the franchise was known as the Washington Football Team.

Reports state the team is working through the fan votes before SEG sends the name to a creative studio to create a logo and build the team’s brand and identity.

Even without a permanent nickname and an arena that is not considered hockey-friendly, the hype train has not stopped rising for the “new” team. Owner Ryan Smith has been out in the public eye, driving interest in the team. Fans from around the Salt Lake City arena arrived in droves to Vivint Arena in late April for a “Welcome the Team” event, showing support for the new ticket in town.