Red Wings Corner

One more move

2010-03-03T21:04:00.002-05:00

The Wings also made a trade with the Calgary Flames prior to the deadline.
Detroit sent defenseman Andy Delmore to the Flames for forward Riley Armstrong.
Armstrong, who has played two games in the NHL, has 19 points this season with the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League.
Delmore has spent all season in Grand Rapids. In 54 games his has five goals and 15 assists.

Wings moves

2010-03-03T15:08:00.002-05:00

The Wings made one minor move prior to the trade deadline, getting Jordan Owens from the New York Rangers in exchange for Kris Newbury.
Detroit signed Newbury this past summer. He played four games with the Wings and had one goal. In 52 games with Grand Rapids, Newbury had 11 goals and 22 assists, along with a team-high 144 penalty minutes.
Owens has spent his entire career in the minors.

Punching out

2010-02-15T21:21:00.002-05:00

To you from failing hands we throw the torch ...

Yah, that's a bit much unless you happen to be wearing a Montreal Canadiens sweater. Just a note to let anyone who stops in here know that I'm moving on to another assignment. I'm the online editor for The Macomb Daily as of now, which means a day shift ... and that means more family time ... and that means I'm happy.

Chuck Pleiness, who has been on the Red Wings beat with me since I started, is taking over this blog and that's a trade for the betterment of RedWingsCorner.

And thank you to everyone who participated in this blog and over on Twitter. I had the time of my life with this, thanks to you.

Bruce MacLeod

Leino traded

2010-02-06T12:08:00.004-05:00

The Red Wings traded forward Ville Leino to Philadelphia today for a fifth-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen.

Leino obviously wasn't a favorite of Coach Mike Babcock and quickly became one of Detroit fans' least favorite Wings.

Tollefsen is actually a few months younger than Leino. He's a physical defenseman who Wings fans probably best remember from his seasons in Columbus.

Tollefsen, who's from Norway, could/should challenge Derek Meech and Brett Lebda for a role on the third defense pairing at some point.

Tollefsen has a one-way $600,000 contract that expires this summer. Lebda's cap hit is $650,000 and Meech's is $483,333. Lebda will be unrestricted this summer. Meech and Tollefsen will be restricted free agents.

Williams returns

2010-01-29T14:17:00.002-05:00

Jason Williams will be back in the Red Wings' lineup tonight. To make room on the roster, Detroit sent down Justin Abdelkader ... the one Red Wing who didn't have to clear waivers to be assigned.

Also, Brad Stuart is healthy enough to stay in the lineup for tonight's game.

Kronwall returning Tuesday

2010-01-25T14:11:00.002-05:00

Niklas Kronwall (knee) will be back in the lineup, Tuesday, when the Red Wings host Phoenix. Kronwall, who hasn't played since Nov. 21, is slated to partner with Brad Stuart. Derek Meech is likely going to be scratched.

Other news from today's practice ...

-- Dan Cleary will skate with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in an attempt to get the top line going. Todd Bertuzzi will be with Valtteri Filppula and Drew Miller.

-- Andreas Lilja has gone 13 days without concussion symptoms meaning that he's closer to returning to the lineup.

-- Johan Franzen said that he's hoping to get in a couple of games before the Olympic break. The Red Wings have 10 games left before the break.

-- Jason Williams said that he might return from a broken leg as early as Friday.

McCollum recalled by GR

2010-01-21T17:37:00.001-05:00

Goalie Thomas McCollum, in whom the Red Wings invested a first-round draft pick, was recalled by Grand Rapids today after an 18-day stint with Toledo of the ECHL. TO make room, Jordan Pearce was sent to the Walleye.

Here's the Griffins' press release ...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday exchanged goaltenders with ECHL Toledo, welcoming back Thomas McCollum and returning Jordan Pearce to the Walleye.

McCollum, 20, was reassigned to Toledo by the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 2 and has since earned a 2-1-0 record with a 4.48 goals against average and a 0.864 save percentage through four games. Prior to his reassignment, the Cambria, N.Y., native appeared in 18 games with the Griffins, posting a 7-7-0 record with a 3.42 GAA and a 0.877 save percentage.

McCollum will be available for action on Friday when the Griffins host the Toronto Marlies at 7 p.m.

Pearce, 23, shows an 8-8-1 record with a 3.52 GAA and a 0.892 save percentage in 18 games with Toledo this season. Since joining the Griffins on Jan. 2, he posted a 1-2-0 record with a 3.82 GAA and a 0.875 save percentage in five games.

Pearce will be available to make his return to the Toledo net on Friday when the Walleye host the Elmira Jackals at 7 p.m.

Lightning default on Palace loan

2010-01-20T19:26:00.000-05:00

At the same time that the Detroit Pistons are being shopped to potential owners, Palace Sports and Entertainment Inc. is hoping to avoid owning a second professional sports franchise, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Palace Sports and Entertainment sold the Lightning, the team's lease agreement with Hillsborough County (Fla.) and 5 1/2 acres of land adjacent to the St. Pete Times Forum in August 2007, to an ownership group headed by Hollywood producer Oren Koules and former NHL player Len Barrie, who is a resort developer in British Columbia.

The new ownership, however, was financed by a loan from Palace Sports and Entertainment, a loan which is in default.

According to sources in the front offices of the Pistons and Lightning, the NHL is helping to find a new ownership arrangement so that possession of the hockey team will not rebound back to Auburn Hills.

A call to the NHL offices late Wednesday was not returned.

The Palace source said that traditional financing is being sought so that the Pistons will be paid in full for the sale of the Lightning. That source also said that the NHL is setting a Feb. 15 deadline for finding new ownership.

The Lightning source, however, said that Tampa Bay ownership denies that it is working under a deadline.

Restructuring the Lightning ownership group with the addition of new capital is a possibility and one that the current Tampa Bay ownership would prefer. But the source said that: "The most likely scenario is a new owner. The League wants to expedite it."

When Bill Davidson died March 13, ownership of Palace Sports and Entertainment transferred to his wife, Karen Davidson. She put the family vacation home in Colorado up for sale at a list price of $47 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Sources at the Palace said that Mrs. Davidson is also looking for a buyer for Palace Sports and Entertainment, which includes the Pistons, the Palace of Auburn Hills and the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston.

Among the potential owners approaches, according to a Palace source, was the Ilitch family, owners of the Detroit Red Wings. The Ilitches didn't enter negotiations for the Pistons. Had they bought the basketball team, they would have been in the untenable situation of also owning a mortgage on the Tampa Bay Lightning, an NHL rival.

Palace Sports and Entertainment bought the Lightning and the team's home, the St. Pete Times Forum, from then-owner Art Williams on March 3, 1999, subsequently operating the Lightning for eight seasons. During the Palace ownership of the NHL team, the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004.

Ericsson returns

2010-01-14T11:23:00.002-05:00

Jonathan Ericsson will be back in the Red Wings' lineup against Carolina tonight. Ericsson has been shelved since since Dec. 14 with a knee injury. To make room on the roster, Doug Janik was returned to Grand Rapids. Janik was in Detroit on an emergency recall.

"(Ericsson) has been practicing for a while," said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. "If he wasn't ready to go, he wouldn't be in the lineup."

On Janik, Babcock said: "He was fantastic for us. he did everything we asked."

Rafalski out, Kindl in

2009-12-23T19:00:00.002-05:00

Jakub Kindl will play tonight for the Red Wings, replacing Brian Rafalski, who's out with the flu.

Rafalski a maybe for tonight

2009-12-23T11:34:00.002-05:00

UPDATE: So much for no backup plan. The Red Wings recalled Jakub Kindl from Grand Rapids this afternoon. He should be ready to go tonight if Brian Rafalski (flu) can't play ... which looks more likely now that the team has made the Kindl call-up.

---

Defenseman Brian Rafalski has the flu and is a maybe for tonight's game against Chicago. The Red Wings aren't calling anyone up from Grand Rapids, so if Rafalski can't go tonight, they'll be short one defenseman.

"We're hoping he's going to go," said coach Mike Babcock.

Wings will double shift center

2009-12-23T10:32:00.003-05:00

UPDATE: Coach Mike Babcock said that he'll double shift one of his three centers, Datsyuk, Helm, Abdelkader, or double shift wing Kris Draper tonight. Ritola won't play the middle although he was there in the morning skate.

---

It looks like Mattias Ritola will play center tonight. (Unless Babcock decides to double-shift one of his three other centers.) Ritola, who hasn't played in the middle since he was a kid, is centering the fourth line at the morning skate with Kirk Maltby and Brad May on his wings. Valtteri Filppula is practicing and is on schedule to return to the lineup Saturday.

This morning's lines ...

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Draper-Helm-Eaves
Leino-Abdelkader-Miller
May-Ritola-Maltby
Filppula

Lidstrom-Lilja
Lebda-Stuart
Meech-Janik

Brian Rafalski is not on the ice this morning. I assume is a minor thing and he'll be in the lineup tonight, otherwise they would have put Lidstrom's new partner with him in the practice. Lilja is a placeholder for Rafalski.

Fil taking part in drills

2009-12-22T11:35:00.004-05:00

UPDATE: Filppula said that he's not playing in Wednesday's game against Chicago, but is scheduled to return to the lineup Dec. 26, if he doesn't have any setbacks. Mattias Ritola hasn't played center since his days of youth hockey, so the line combinations for Wednesday are still up in the air.

"I've got one more day to figure that out," said coach Mike Babcock.

Also of note ... Jimmy Howard gets the start in net, Wednesday.

---

At the Red Wings' practice and Valtteri Filppula is taking part in all drills, centering the fourth line. Mattias Ritola, who was just brought up from Grand Rapids, is working in on the fourth line with wingers Kirk Maltby and Brad May.

Here are the lines they're working out of ...

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Draper-Helm-Eaves
Leino-Abdelkader-Miller
May-Filppula-Maltby (Ritola working in)

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Lebda-Stuart
Meech-Janik
Lilja

Howard
Osgood

The defensemen are rotating partners.

Newbury assigned to GR

2009-12-21T10:27:00.004-05:00

Forward Kris Newbury has been assigned to Grand Rapids. Perhaps Valtteri Filppula is ready to return.

UPDATE: Now we know the reason ... Red Wings recall Mattias Ritola from Grand Rapids. Ritola was drafted by the Wings in 2005. He has played two NHL games, both in 2007-08. Ritola has 14 points in 31 games with the Griffins this season.

The list grows

2009-12-18T13:01:00.000-05:00

Henrik Zetterberg is out a minimum of two weeks with a slight shoulder separation thanks to Mattias Ohlund's check in Thursday night's win over Tampa Bay.

That brings the number of sidelined Red Wings to eight. Coach Mike Babcock said after the game that Valtteri Filppula might be the closest to returning.

Ericsson out indefinitely

2009-12-15T16:20:00.002-05:00

Jonathan Ericsson has a "significant bone bruise" but no ligament damage. Out indefinitely, according to the Red Wings.

UPDATE:The Red Wings are bringing up defenseman Doug Janik from Grand Rapids for his second call-up of the season.

Vice president and assistant general manager Jim Nill aid that Ericsson is likely out at least two weeks.

Initial tests showed no ligament damage, but a final determination can't be made until the bruise subsides. More ligament tests will be done.

"We're not going to know until the bruising goes away," said Nill.

Ericsson knee to be checked Tuesday

2009-12-14T22:17:00.001-05:00

Coach Mike Babcock said after tonight's game that Jonathan Ericsson's knee will be checked tomorrow.

"We're hopeful," said Babcock. "We'll see what happens. It didn't look very good on TV."

Ericsson left the game after being checked by Shane Doan with five minutes left in the first period. The hit caused Ericsson's left knee to buckle backwards.

Also, Babcock said that he's "pretty sure" that Jimmy Howard will start in net again, Thursday night.

Cleary out 4 weeks with separated shoulder

2009-12-10T12:10:00.004-05:00

The Red Wings have lost another top-6 forward. With five minutes left in Wednesday night's loss to St. Louis, Dan Cleary collided with Barret Jackman and left the ice in pain.

Today we find out that pain was a separated shoulder, which will keep Cleary out of the lineup for four weeks.

Ville Leino, who has been a healthy scratch the past two games, will be back in the lineup for Friday's game against Anaheim.

Also of note, Jimmy Howard will start in net, Friday.

This is hockey

2009-12-08T12:15:00.002-05:00

Islanders' Brendan Witt gets nailed by a Yukon this morning in Philadelphia on his way to the morning skate. Witt gets up, announces that he's a hockey player and everything's ok.

Top that football.

TSN story

Laraque gets five games for Kronwall hit

2009-11-23T20:01:00.002-05:00

According to NHL.com.

Should have been longer IMHO, more than five and up to 10. I never understood why a player is held responsible for his stick, but nothing else. I don't care if it was accidental, you don't carry yourself that way on the ice because it could easily lead to such an injury.

McCarty on Versus

2009-11-23T14:19:00.001-05:00

Darren McCarty debuts on Versus tonight at 7. Wings at Preds. I really hope this turns into a long-term gig. I'm a big McCarty fan.

Maltby back

2009-11-20T13:40:00.002-05:00

Kirk Maltby is back in the lineup tonight after missing a week with the flu. Brad May will be scratched.

Larsson sent back to GR

2009-11-19T16:47:00.001-05:00

Chris Osgood must be feeling fine. Goalie Daniel Larsson was sent back to Grand Rapids after spending the past week backing up Jimmy Howard. Osgood is slated to start in net Friday against Florida.

To make room for Larsson, the Griffins sent defenseman Sebastien Piche to Toledo of the ECHL.

The Detroit Red Wings on Thursday assigned goaltender Daniel Larsson to the Grand Rapids Griffins and reassigned defenseman Sebastien Piche (pee-SHAY) from the Griffins to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.

Wednesday's morning skate

2009-11-18T10:36:00.003-05:00

Lines for tonight's game against Dallas ..

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary
Draper-Helm-Eaves
May-Abdelkader-Miller (Maltby working in)

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Ericsson-Lebda
Lilja-Meech (scratches)

Howard
Larsson
Osgood (scratched)

Toys For Tots at JLA

2009-11-17T23:54:00.002-05:00

Here's a great cause ... the Red Wings are collecting toys at Wednesday's game for Toys For Tots. If you are coming to the game, please consider bringing a contribution.

Here's the team's press release ...

Detroit, MI… The Detroit Red Wings are teaming up with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve to help thousands of underprivileged children in Southeastern Michigan have a brighter holiday season with the “Toys For Tots” toy collection Wednesday, November 18 at Joe Louis Arena. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. game.

Fans attending the Wings game are asked to bring new, unwrapped toys (please no stuffed animals) to collection bins at Joe Louis Arena. The toys will then be distributed to needy children in Southeastern Michigan. The toy collection continues Friday, November 20 when the Wings face off against the Florida Panthers.

Goalie rotation

2009-11-17T12:16:00.000-05:00

Jimmy Howard will start in net Wednesday against Dallas with Chris Osgood coming off a bout with the flu. Osgood will start Friday and Howard will go Saturday. Coach Mike Babcock said of Howard's Saturday start that Howard is playing well.

Still no Ozzie

2009-11-14T12:51:00.000-05:00

Chris Osgood and Kirk Maltby are out for tonight's game against Anaheim with the flu. Both missed Thursday's game as well. Daniel Larsson will back up Howard. Maltby skated this morning.

Larsson called up; Ozzie not playing

2009-11-12T15:51:00.002-05:00

Chris Osgood has the flu. Jimmy Howard starts in net tonight against Vancouver, his second start in two nights. Daniel Larsson has been called up from Grand Rapids to back up Howard.

2009-11-11T14:19:00.000-05:00

The Red Wings added a forward today, claiming Drew Miller off waivers from Tampa Bay. Here's the Red Wings' press release ...

Detroit... The Detroit Red Wings announced today that the club has claimed forward Drew Miller off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 14 games with Tampa Bay this season he registered no points and two PIM.

Miller, 25, was originally a sixth round pick (186th overall) of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He played in parts of three seasons with the Ducks before joining Tampa Bay for the 2008-09 season. In 67 career NHL games he has registered 15 points (6-9-15) and 25 PIM. He also appeared in 16 postseason games for Anaheim from 2006-2009.

Miller played three seasons at Michigan State University before joining the NHL. In 2005-06, he was named Michigan State’s Most Valuable Player and was selected as the CCHA’s best defensive forward. Drew’s older brother, Ryan, is the current starting goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres, while his cousins Kip, Kevin and Kelly have also played in the NHL. Kevin played with the Red Wings from 1990-91 to 1991-92 and again in 2003-04.

2009-11-10T18:04:00.002-05:00

DETROIT – Brad Stuart has been here before.

As a 20-year-old rookie in San Jose, Stuart and Gary Suter were the Sharks’ top-unit defensemen on the power play. After Suter left, Stuart was the No. 1 blue-liner in San Jose with the man-advantage, leading the team in 2003-04 with 3:52 of power-play ice time power game.

In Boston, in Los Angeles as recently as 2006-07, Stuart, who was the third overall draft pick in 1998, has been a power-play regular.

With Jason Williams out with a broken leg, Stuart will likely be back in the power-play rotation when the Red Wings take the ice in Columbus tomorrow (7 p.m., FSN).

Williams, a right-handed shooting forward who plays the point with the man-advantage, and Niklas Kronwall have been the Red Wings’ second blue-line combo. Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski are on the top unit.

Williams has been one of the Red Wings' top power-play performers. He has been on the ice for 9.5 goals scored per 60 minutes of power-play ice time -- a figure that is tops among Detroit defensemen. The team averages 7.2 goals per 60 minutes of power-play time.

“We all know (Stuart) has got a great shot and he sees the ice real well,” said Kronwall. “He’ll fit in just perfect.”

Coach Mike Babcock said that Lidstrom, Rafalski and Kronwall will be rotated on the power play now, but that Stuart will be the next option when one of those three can’t man the blue line.

“He’s got the real hard shot,” said Babcock of Stuart. “He’s always played on the power play prior to coming here. We’ve just used him way more on the penalty-kill role and the physical-matchup role. We like him getting his minutes that way. But obviously when things change, things change. You’ve got to adjust.”

In 2005-06 with San Jose, Stuart averaged 4:57 of power-play time per game. That same season, he had a career high of seven power-play goals – one of four campaigns with at least five power-play goals for Stuart.

But Stuart’s role in Detroit has been quite different. He’s on the top penalty-kill unit and used as a physical, shut-down defenseman.

Last winter, Stuart was sixth among Detroit defensemen in power-play time per game, trailing forward Mikael Samuelsson and Derek Meech. This season, Stuart has averaged just 27 seconds of power-play ice time per game.

“Earlier in my career, sure, if I wasn’t playing the power play, I would have gotten more upset, let it affect me,” said Stuart. “But I’ve gotten to the point now where as long as I feel like I’m contributing and an important part of the team, I’ll do whatever they need me to do.”

And until Williams’ broken leg heals, there is a need on the power play.

“Certainly it’s fun playing the power play, but I’ve put my focus on other parts of my game getting better,” said Stuart. “I’ve really taken pride in killing penalties and just playing strong, physical defense. But any time you get a chance to be on the power play and get some time out there is nice. I’ve just accepted that that’s not what they need me to do here, so it’s not a big deal.”

May debating visor

2009-11-10T17:52:00.000-05:00

Do as I see.

Last Saturday, Brad May played his first game as a professional wearing a visor. Injured when an errant stick from Williams pushed into his right eye while he was sitting on the bench, May felt the need for ocular protection.

But in both of Detroit’s practices since he debuted his visor, May has skated without one.

After Tuesday’s practice, May was good-natured, but superstitious. He hasn’t decided whether he wants to keep wearing the visor or not.

“I hope you’ll forgive me, but I don’t want to talk about it,” said May. “The more I talk about it … it’s like not wearing a mouth guard, when you talk about it, that’s when you’re going to take one in the mouth.”

McCarty hired as Versus color analyst

2009-11-10T13:37:00.002-05:00

Former Red Wing Darren McCarty is the newest color analyst for Versus. His first game will be Nov. 23, Red Wings at Nashville.

"His looks are definitely more for radio than for television," joked long-time friend Kris Draper. "I think he's going to do a good job. He's very passionate towards the game. This is a great opportunity. I'm sure over the next couple of weeks he's going to work and make sure that he's prepared to do it and do well at it."

But calling the Red Wings in his first game?

"He better not rip any of us," joked Draper. "If I find out, we'll be talking. He better be a homer."

Even-strength effectiveness

2009-11-10T00:41:00.003-05:00

Red Wings' goals for and against per 60 minutes of ice time ...

(Forwards ranked by GF/60; defensemen by GA/60)

FORWARDS
Eaves 4.5-2.3
Helm 3.7-3.2
Zetterberg 3.0-2.7
Holmstrom 2.8-1.8
Datsyuk 2.7-1.5
Draper 2.4-2.4
Maltby 2.3-0.6
Abdelkader 2.3-2.8
Team 2.3-2.7
Bertuzzi 2.1-3.6
Cleary 2.1-4.2
May 1.9-3.8
Filppula 1.7-4.3
Franzen 1.4-1.4
Leino 1.1-2.5
Williams 1.0-2.5

DEFENSEMEN
Lidstrom 2.9-1.1
Kronwall 1.2-1.4
Stuart 1.5-2.4
Team 2.3-2.7
Rafalski 2.6-3.1
Meech 1.2-3.6
Lebda 3.5-5.0
Ericsson 3.6-5.3

Nice time for a lift from Helm and Eaves. They're on the ice for a few too many goals against, but at least they're creating more offense for us than for them. Helm and Eaves have been on the ice for five of the Wings' last 11 even-strength goals scored.
That line that fared so well in the preseason -- Filppula, Williams and Leino -- was a disaster in the regular season. The Wings didn't score with them on the ice. Williams was on the ice for three goals for in more than three full games of ice time ... a 0.95 goals per game average.
Lidstrom has been remarkable. Detroit has outscored opponents 13-5 with him on the ice.
Stuart and Kronwall are starting to show some signs of offensive life to go with their good defensive starts. Stuart has been on the ice for five goals scored in the past five games after starting the season with just two goals for in the first 10 games. Kronwall has been on the ice for three goals scored in the past five games.
Ericsson and Lebda haven't stopped the defensive bleeding. Ericsson has been on the ice for three goals against in the past four games; Lebda for four.
And I haven't been a Maltby fan since the lockout, but I have to point out that the Wings have outscored opponents, 4-1, with him on the ice in 104:56. That's more than five full periods with just one goal allowed. He'll have to keep that defensive pace up because the offense has dried up. Maltby has been on the ice for just one goal scored in the past nine games after starting the season with three in the first six games.

Power-play effectiveness

2009-11-10T00:08:00.002-05:00

Red Wings' goals for per 60 minutes of of power-play ice time ...

FORWARDS
Franzen 10.0
Cleary 9.7
Zetterberg 8.4
Filppula 8.0
Bertuzzi 7.2
Team 7.2
Holmstrom 6.4
Datsyuk 6.2
Leino 3.1

DEFENSEMEN
Williams 9.5
Stuart 8.7
Kronwall 8.1
Team 7.2
Lidstrom 6.4
Rafalski 5.3

Williams' loss will be felt on the power play. I don't care how you want to twist these effectiveness ratings and say that so-and-so is only on the ice against inferior players (which I don't buy) ... Williams has been on the ice for as many power-play goals as Lidstrom (seven) in 21 less minutes of ice time. We'll see if the second unit's production drops.
Leino has been ineffective on the PP and hasn't been on the ice for a goal scored since Game 1. The first unit of Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Holmstrom has been on the ice for three of the last four PP goals.

Short-handed effectiveness

2009-11-09T23:48:00.002-05:00

Red Wings' goals against per 60 minutes of short-handed ice time ...

FORWARDS
Abdelkader 0.0
Franzen 0.0
Helm 3.3
Datsyuk 4.0
Eaves 4.7
Maltby 5.1
Cleary 6.5
Zetterberg 9.2
Team 9.3
Draper 14.4
Filppula 20.5

DEFENSEMEN
Rafalski 0.0
Lebda 0.0
Lidstrom 4.6
Team 9.3
Kronwall 10.2
Stuart 11.4
Ericsson 13.7

Lidstrom is having a wonderful start to his season. Maltby and Helm were finally scored upon on the PK, but the Wings have a 1-1 score short-handed with Malts on the ice in his 11:43 of ice time. Helm has been out for 18:16 and has only seen one goal against.

May back in lineup Saturday

2009-11-05T22:37:00.000-05:00

Brad May has been cleared to return to Wings' lineup for Saturday's game in Toronto. He'll wear a visor for first time since juniors.

May caught Jason Williams' stick in the eye while sitting on the bench during a game in Calgary, Oct. 31.

Red Wings recall Janik

2009-11-03T15:22:00.000-05:00

The Red Wings brought up defenseman Doug Janik from Grand Rapids.

The Griffins' press release ....

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday recalled defenseman Doug Janik from the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Janik, 29, leads all Griffins defensemen and is tied for second overall on the club with six points (1-5—6) in 10 games. He also paces Grand Rapids with a plus-four rating and ranks third with 15 penalty minutes.

A ninth-year pro, Janik has appeared in 161 NHL games for Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Montreal, totaling 16 points (3-13—16) and 123 PIM. Last season, he registered one assist in 13 games with the Stars before going scoreless in two games with the Canadiens following a Feb. 26 trade. The majority of Janik’s NHL experience came with the Lightning from 2006-08, when he accumulated 15 points (3-12—15) over 136 games.

Janik will be available to make his Red Wings debut – and become the 105th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL – tonight when the Boston Bruins visit Joe Louis Arena at 7 p.m. The game will be televised live on Versus.

Power plays created

2009-10-27T18:10:00.005-04:00

Drawing penalties is an art. Here are the Red Wings' totals for power-plays created and power-plays given entering tonight's game in Vancouver ...

FORWARDS PPC-PPG Net
Zetterberg 6-1 +5
Filppula 4-0 +4
Datsyuk 4-1, +3
Leino 4-1 +3
Williams 3-1 +2
Draper 2-1 +1
Bertuzzi 1-1 0
Cleary 0-1 -1
Holmstrom 3-4 -1
Abdelkader 1-2 -1
Franzen 0-2 -2
Maltby 2-6 -4

DEFENSEMEN PPC-PPG Net
Stuart 4-2 +2
Kronwall 5-5 0
Lidstrom 1-1 0
Rafalski 1-1 0
Lebda 1-2 -1
Ericsson 0-1 -1
Meech 0-1 -1

Pretty impressive for Stuart to be a plus-2. The nature of the game is that forwards will be more plus-oriented and defensemen will be more minus-oriented. Add in Stuart's heavy hitting style and kudos for creating four Red Wing power plays while giving away just two.
Zetterberg is his usual dominant self in this stat with six power-plays created, including four in the past three games.

Even-strength effectiveness

2009-10-26T23:50:00.002-04:00

Red Wings' goals for and against per 60 minutes of ice time ...

FORWARDS GF-GA (ranked by GF)
May, 4.0-8.1
Maltby, 3.0-1.0
Abdelkader, 3.0-4.0
Zetterberg, 2.8-3.76
Helm, 2.5-3.7
Draper, 2.4-1.6
Cleary, 2.1-3.7
Team, 2.0-3.2
Holmstrom, 1.9-2.5
Datsyuk, 1.8-2.4
Eaves, 1.8-3.5
Bertuzzi, 1.6-3.8
Filppula, 1.5-3.0
Franzen, 1.4-1.4
Leino, 1.0-2.6
Williams, 0.5-3.1

DEFENSEMEN, GF-GA (ranked by GA)
Lidstrom, 2.4-1.6
Stuart, 0.8-1.9
Kronwall, 0.8-2.1
Rafalski, 2.3-2.3
Team, 2.0-3.2
Meech, 1.8-5.4
Ericsson, 3.5-6.5
Lebda, 4.3-7.7

Just a nightmare start for the Wings' third defense pairing. Ericsson was on the ice for four of the five even-strength goals this week; Ledba three. That's 13 even-strength goals against that Ericsson has been on the ice for. Unacceptable. Lebda's rate per 60 minutes is even higher. On the plus side, the Wings can score very well with the third pair on the ice -- Ericsson has been on for 7 goals for, Lebda 5, while Stuart and Kronwall have been on the ice for just 2 apiece -- but it all adds up to the Wings being outscored 13-7 with Ericsson on the ice and 9-5 with Lebda.
Williams has had a good PP start, but horrible ES start. The Wings have been outscored 6-1 with him on the ice and 5-2 with Leino on the ice. The Filppula line was out there for 3 goals against last week and no goals for. The line has looked good, but not produced.
Forget about Helm and Abdelkader and even May's good start offensively. They have to hold down opponents' scoring and they're not. Draper is getting that job done.
So far, even strength has been awful for the Red Wings, who can't score with their second defense pairing on the ice and can't stop opponents from scoring with their third pairing on the ice.

Power-play effectiveness

2009-10-26T23:38:00.002-04:00

Red Wings' power-play goals scored per 60 minutes of ice time ...

FORWARDS
Cleary, 11.9
Franzen, 10.0
Zetterberg, 9.5
Bertuzzi, 8.4
Team, 8.1
Filppula, 6.8
Holmstrom, 6.4
Datsyuk, 6.1
Leino, 4.1

DEFENSEMEN
Stuart, 16.8
Kronwall, 9.9
Williams, 9.5
Team, 8.1
Lidstrom, 6.9
Rafalski, 6.0

The top unit -- Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Lidstrom and Rafalski -- were on the ice for the only power-play goal scored this week. That's good to see because those five, or at least the four not named Zetterberg, have started slowly. And although the Red Wings' power play has outscored its opposition's, 10-8, Detroit has had more opportunity. So per 60 minutes, Detroit is scoring 8.1 power-play goals, but allowing 9.0.

Short-handed effectiveness

2009-10-26T23:19:00.002-04:00

The Red Wings' short-handed goals against per 60 minutes of ice time ...

FORWARDS
Helm, 0.0
Maltby, 0.0
Abdelkader, 0.0
Zetterberg, 4.4
Datsyuk, 7.1
Eaves, 8.6
Team, 9.0
Draper, 10.7
Cleary, 11.4
Filppula 17.5

DEFENSEMEN
Rafalski, 0.0
Lidstrom, 2.4
Team, 9.0
Kronwall, 9.4
Stuart, 12.7
Ericsson, 12.8

Helm and Abdelkader have combined for just 8:17 of short-handed ice time.
The nightmarish PK start continues for Ericsson, Stuart and Filppula. They started last week at the bottom of this stat and the three of them (plus Cleary) were on the ice for the lone PK goal allowed last week.
Lidstrom on the other hand ... 1 PK goal allowed in 24:57 of ice time. That's a great GA average for even strength. Zetterberg is off to a great start too with 1 GA in 13:36. Maltby hasn't been on the ice for a GA in 9:26 of ice time.

Griffins add Rissmiller

2009-10-22T12:29:00.002-04:00

The Grand Rapids Griffins have added another forward from another organization. One day after getting Michael Nylander from the Capitals on a two-week conditioning stint, the Griffins have added Patrick Rissmiller from the Rangers organization.

Neither forward is part of the Red Wings organization.

Rissmiller's assigment to GR is different than Nylander's in that Rissmiller could remain with the Griffins all season. The 30-year-old's pro career includes 182 NHL games and 354 AHL games. Last season, Rismiller played in 2 games with the Rangers and 64 with Hartford.

The Griffins are off to a slow start this season and with their home opener Friday, it's good for them to bolster their roster. But is this a bad sign for the Wings' system depth?

Here's the Griffins' press release ...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday acquired left wing Patrick Rissmiller (RIHS-mihl-uhr) on reassignment by the New York Rangers from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.

Rissmiller, 30, has appeared in 182 NHL games with the Rangers and San Jose since 2003, totaling 45 points (18-27—45) and 60 penalty minutes. After playing two full seasons (2006-08) with the Sharks, racking up 15 goals and 39 points in 158 games, he signed with New York in July 2008 and spent the majority of the 2008-09 campaign in Hartford, contributing an AHL career-high 54 points (14-40—54) in 64 games while also going scoreless in two contests with the Rangers.

The 6-4, 215-pound Rissmiller, who notched two assists in six games with the Wolf Pack this season, has skated in 354 games with Hartford and Cleveland during his AHL career, contributing 237 points (78-159—237) and 202 PIM.

“Patrick’s a player that we’ve known pretty well over the years from being in Cleveland,” said Griffins general manager Bob McNamara. “We like his size, he can play center and wing, and he’s put up good numbers in the AHL. We think he’ll be a good fit for us.”

Rissmiller will practice with the Griffins at 10 a.m. Friday and be available to play at 7 p.m. when they host their home opener against the Abbotsford Heat.

Nylander to do conditioning stint with Griffins

2009-10-21T15:38:00.003-04:00

Is the Red Wings organization a Swede magnet? Michael Nylander of the Washington Capitals will do a two-week conditioning stint with the Grand Rapids Griffins,

The Caps told the Griffins that Nylander needed playing time and they did not want to send him to Hershey and take up ice time from their prospects. He has a no-move clause and Grand Rapids was one of the places he agreed to go to on assignment.

With a 1-4-0-0 start, I'm sure that the injection of talent was appealing for the Griffins, who open their home schedule, Friday.

The Griffins' press release ...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Washington Capitals on Wednesday assigned center Michael Nylander (NEE-lan-duhr) to the Grand Rapids Griffins for a two-week conditioning stint.

Nylander, 37, has appeared in 920 NHL games for Washington, the New York Rangers, Boston, Chicago, Tampa Bay, Calgary and Hartford during his 19-year career, totaling 679 points (209-470—679) and 468 penalty minutes. The Stockholm, Sweden, native has yet to play this season after totaling 33 points (9-24—33) and 32 PIM in 72 games with the Capitals last season.

Nylander is expected to practice with the Griffins at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Van Andel Arena and be in the lineup on Friday when they host their home opener against the Abbotsford Heat at 7 p.m.

Hit parade

2009-10-21T09:56:00.006-04:00

I don't know if you've ever looked at the stat sheets that the NHL has produced for every game since the lockout, but they're full of good stuff. One stat that's fascinating is hits. Not only do they keep who doles out the hits, but they also note who received the hit. Hitter and hittee. Is that English?

A lot of the plays on the game reports aren't tracked. Hits are. But being hit isn't.

So here are the hits taken totals for the Red Wings this season.

HITS TAKEN

FORWARDS
Filppula 21
Cleary 21
Abdelkader 15
Leino 11
Datsyuk 11
Holmstrom 10
Maltby 9
Zetterberg 8
Franzen 6
Eaves 3
Bertuzzi 3
Helm 3
Draper 2
Williams 2

DEFENSEMEN
Stuart 16
Rafalski 14
Ericsson 12
Kronwall 9
Lidstrom 7
Lebda 6
Meech 1

This is why I love tracking these numbers. I thought from watching the Wings the past four years that this stat would be called the Cleary index. I swear that Cleary puts himself in prone positions more than anyone in the league to make a play, always reaching, leaning. That's a good thing for the team, but a bad thing for his health.

Well, I was surprised that Filppula has been as much of a hit taker as Cleary so far, but the Finn has taken the same number (21) as Cleary.

I would theorize that young players take more hits than old players. Also, styles would dictate how often a player gets hit ... in other words, Cleary will get hit more than Lidstrom regardless of age. And one other theory I have is that tough guys won't get hit as often as their teammates.

As for youth, Abdelkader gets hit a ton. He's taken 15 hits, but that's 16 hits per 60 minutes of ice time. Filppula has taken 21 hits, but that's 10 hits per 60 minutes of ice time. But another youngster, Helm, has taken just 3 hits which is 4.9 hits per 60 minutes.

As for toughness, May has had 29:44 of ice time ... and he still hasn't taken a hit. Bertuzzi has taken just 1.6 hits per 60 minutes of ice time.

Here's a list of individual hits taken, given, total hits and differential ...

FORWARDS, Hits Taken-Hits Given-Total Hits (Diff)
May 0-13-13 (+13)
Draper 2-9-11 (+7)
Bertuzzi 3-9-12 (+6)
Helm 3-8-11 (+5)
Franzen 6-11-17 (+5)
Williams 2-6-8 (+4)
Abdelkader 15-17-32 (+2)
Eaves 3-4-7 (+1)
Maltby 9-9-18 (0)
Zetterberg 8-5-13 (-3)
Holmstrom 10-6-16 (-4)
Datsyuk 11-5-16 (-6)
Cleary 21-12-33 (-9)
Leino 11-2-13 (-9)
Filppula 21-5-26 (-16)

DEFENSEMEN, Hits Taken-Hits Given-Total Hits (Diff)
Stuart 16-25-41 (+9)
Kronwall 9-15-24 (+6)
Meech 1-4-5 (+3)
Lidstrom 7-5-12 (-2)
Ericsson 12-9-21 (-3)
Lebda 6-1-7 (-5)
Rafalski 14-4-18 (-10)

And remember, it's not always better to give than to receive hits. Giving a hit can hurt just as much as getting hit. May has given 13 hits and taken none, but don't think that his body has fewer bruises than Leino who has given 2 and taken 11.

Power plays created and given

2009-10-20T10:29:00.003-04:00

After tracking this stat for a decade, I'm still not settled on a name. But there is a consistency and obvious value in players who draw penalties. So, for the time being, let's call the ability to draw a penalty a "power play created" and when a player is whistled for a penalty that leads to a man-advantage a "power play given". PPC and PPG.

FORWARDS, PPC-PPG Net
Zetterberg, 4-0 +4
Filppula, 3-0 +3
Leino, 3-1 +2
Williams, 3-1 +2
Datsyuk, 2-1 +1
Draper, 2-1 +1
Bertuzzi, 1-1 0
Abdelkader, 1-2 -1
Cleary, 0-1 -1
Holmstrom, 1-2 -1
Franzen, 0-2 -2
Maltby 0-6 -6

DEFENSEMEN, PPC-PPG Net
Kronwall, 5-4 +1
Stuart, 3-2 +1
Ledba, 1-0 +1
Lidstrom, 1-1 0
Meech, 0-1 -1
Ericsson, 0-1 -1
Rafalski, 0-1 -1

Team, 3-1 +2

The first thing that jumps out is that the Filppula line is a penalty time bomb for the opposition. Filppula, Williams and Leino have created a total of nine Red Wings power plays in seven games. And should they have Kronwall and Stuart on the blue line with them, that total jumps to 17 power plays created in seven games.

Zetterberg heading the forwards list isn't surprising. He and Datsyuk been a power-play magnet for years. I've found over the years that forwards draw penalties in two ways ... either they're very dangerous offensively or big-time pests.

Maltby has hurt the Wings the most in penalties. A decade ago, he and Holmstrom were big penalty drawers. Not so much any more. Of late, Maltby doesn't draw many penalties, so when he gives away six power plays in seven games, that's a big liability. Add to that Maltby had been whistled for three offensive-zone penalties ... the rest of the team combined has three offensive-zone penalties. Coaches hate to see a penalty given when the opposition is three zones away from your net.

Stat packs

2009-10-19T14:11:00.003-04:00

Since I haven't been getting to cover the Red Wings on the road this season (management choice, not mine), and actually the home games are hit-and-miss as well, I've got to come up with a way to contribute to (Red Wings) society.

So, I'm going to try to post some statistics regularly.

On Mondays, I'll put up the goals for and against by individual ice time. On Tuesdays, I'll post the power-plays created stat. I've got a couple of others up my sleeve and I'm still figuring out whether to do them weekly or make Wednesdays a rotating stat day.

We'll see how it goes.

Even-strength effectiveness

2009-10-19T13:23:00.003-04:00

The Red Wings' goals for and against per 60 minutes of ice time ...

FORWARDS, GF-GA (ranked by GF)
Maltby, 4.3-1.4
Helm, 4.1-6.1
May, 4.0-8.1
Abdelkader, 3.5-4.7
Zetterberg, 2.9-4.1
Eaves, 2.3-4.6
Draper, 2.2-2.2
TEAM, 2.2-3.1
Cleary, 2.0-3.9
Filppula, 1.9-1.9
Holmstrom, 1.7-2.5
Datsyuk, 1.6-2.4
Franzen, 1.4-1.4
Bertuzzi, 1.4-3.4
Leino, 1.3-2.0
Williams, 0.7-2.0

DEFENSEMEN, GF-GA (ranked by GA)
Lidstrom, 3.1-1.5
Rafalski, 2.4-1.9
Stuart, 0.9-2.4
Kronwall, 0.5-2.6
TEAM, 2.2-3.1
Meech, 1.8-5.4
Ericsson, 4.0-5.9
Lebda, 5.4-8.1

Yes, I do believe that the forwards list is upside down. That's the best possible explanation. Frankly, I find it hard to believe the other reasoning ... that the Wings have scored more with Maltby, May and Helm on the ice (a lot more) than they have with Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Cleary and Franzen.
OK, so obviously seven games is a small data base. But kudos to the fourth liners for their offensive contributions. In the past, the Wings' fourth line has been good when it doesn't score and the opponents don't score and bad when it doesn't score and the opponents do score. There was never really a we-score option. This season, they've scored and that's been a big boost. And Maltby's production has been the best among Detroit forwards thus far with the Wings outscoring opponents, 3-1, with him on the ice. Abdelkader, May, Helm and Eaves have been on the ice for goals scored, but also on for too many goals against.
Datsyuk's line obviously needs to pick up the offense. And the third line, Filppula's line, that was so good in preseason has stumbled early. Williams has been on the ice for just one even-strength goal scored in 90:6 of ice time ... that's more than a game and a half.
On defense, Lidstrom is off to a better start than he was last season, much more like he played the previous three post-lockout campaigns.
Kronwall and Stuart have been offensive black holes. You think Williams has had a slow start, the Wings have scored just one goal in 115:12 of Kronwall's even-strength time ... nearly two full games.
It's nice to see Ericsson and Lebda so active offensively, but the defensive cost has been way too high. Ericsson has been on the ice for more than half of Detroit's 17 even-strength goals allowed (nine). Lebda has played just 44:37 of even-strength time, but has been on the ice for six of the 17 team goals allowed. No wonder he's been on the bench.

Power-play effectiveness

2009-10-19T13:16:00.002-04:00

The Red Wings' goals for per 60 minutes of ice time ...

FORWARDS
Cleary, 16.3
Bertuzzi, 11.5
Zetterberg, 11.0
Filppula, 10.8
TEAM, 10.0
Franzen, 10.0
Holmstrom, 6.6
Datsyuk, 6.1
Leino, 5.3

DEFENSEMEN
Stuart, 17.0
Williams, 14.1
Kronwall, 14.1
TEAM, 10.0
Lidstrom, 7.5
Rafalski, 6.0

Nine power-play goals as a team and Cleary's been on the ice for seven of those. Keep throwing Dan over the boards, please. I was wrong about Leino, so far. I thought he would be a better power-play option than Bertuzzi, but big Bert has been more effective so far.
You can toss out Stuart's number because it's one goal for in just 3:32 of ice time. Williams' effectiveness is interesting. Samuelsson was very effective the past two seasons as well. I'm not a big believer in forwards on the power-play point, but I'm changing my mind on that one. The number of short-handed goals allowed is usually so small that the drawback of having a forward defending doesn't become much of a negative. And Kronwall gets a big share of the credit for Williams' effectiveness so far. The pair has worked well together on the PP.

Short-handed effectiveness

2009-10-19T12:54:00.002-04:00

The Red Wings' goals against per 60 minutes of ice time ...

FORWARDS
Maltby, 0.0
Franzen, 0.0
Zetterberg 5.2
Cleary, 9.3
TEAM, 9.8
Eaves, 10.7
Datsyuk, 10.8
Draper, 13.0
Filppula, 17.3

DEFENSEMEN
Rafalski, 0.0
Lidstrom, 3.1
TEAM, 9.8
Kronwall, 11.6
Ericsson, 13.1
Stuart, 13.1

Filppula has been problematic on the penalty-kill, being on the ice for five of the Wings' seven goals allowed. In more ice time, Stuart has been on the ice for six PPGA and Ericsson for four.
On the positive, Lidstrom is having a tremendous PK start to the season with one goal against in 19:18.

Franzen has successful surgery

2009-10-16T15:44:00.000-04:00

From the Wings' PR staff ...

Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen today underwent successful surgery to repair the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his left knee. The procedure was performed by Dr. William Clancy in Birmingham, AL.

The injury occurred during the Wings’ 3-2 victory over Chicago on October 8, in which Franzen scored the game-winning goal. He is expected to be out of the lineup a minimum of four months from the date of the injury.

Franzen out at least four months

2009-10-09T15:54:00.002-04:00

This just in from the Red Wings' PR staff ... Johan Franzen suffered a torn ACL in his left knee and is expected to be out at least four months. It happened in last night's win over Chicago.

Obviously horrible news. Franzen can't be replaced in the lineup. Scoring from Ville Leino and Valtteri Filppula becomes more important. Justin Abdelkader could get a call-up. Perhaps Patrick Eaves finally cracks the lineup.

Franzen's absence leaves these holes ... first-line winger, first-PP unit winger, PK forward, net-front, physical forward. No one player in the system is going to do all or even most of those things.

The Wings are decidedly worse team today than yesterday.

Thoughts on Game 3 (3-2 win over Chicago)

2009-10-09T00:30:00.003-04:00

-- That was Chris Osgood's best regular-season game in a while. Mike Babcock told Ozzie after the game that he thought the goalie didn't have a game this good in the first half of last season.

-- Did you see the defensive play by Todd Bertuzzi? Leading 2-1 with 3:18 left in the second period, the puck goes over to Radek Smolenak at the side of the net for a slam dunk. But as soon as the puck reaches the fourth-line winger, Bertuzzi's stick is there, sweeping it out of harm's way. Great defensive play.

-- I loved how Ville Leino created a power play in the second period by picking Brian Campbell's pocket. The Wings went up 3-1 on the ensuing power play. I'm not sure why Leino isn't getting power-play time right now. I like him on the second unit better than Bertuzzi. Dan Cleary is there to take the net-front. Zetterberg is the do-all center. Leino would be a nice sniper on that unit. When Bertuzzi was taken off that unit for one shift on the third power play, Babcock put Valtteri Filppula on the ice. I like Leino better than Fil there too.

-- Speaking of power-play units, the first unit finally scored when Franzen tipped in that puck. First PP goal this season they've been on the ice for.

-- On the flip side, did you know that Brad Stuart has been on the ice for all five power play goals that Detroit has allowed? Draper and Filppula and Ericsson have been on the ice for three. Lidstrom has yet to see a power-play goal against.

-- Way to go Brad May. Just like Brendan Shanahan did in 1996, May dropped the gloves in his first game. I like how May fights. He doesn't measure and hold and pick a spot. He throws bombs. Then May stands at the Chicago bench at the end of the first period and tells someone to keep his head up. Priceless. When Kirk Maltby was creamed by Cam Barker on a great check, May came across and challenged him.

Don't think those actions don't help keep the flies off (as Babcock calls it). I get the feeling that every year there's an in-house debate on filling this role. I'm guessing here, but I see Babcock as someone who wants May or Downey or Norton on the roster and Ken Holland as someone who can do without that role being filled.

-- Jonathan Ericsson didn't look good when he was felled by Duncan Keith's power-play shot. I hope he's not out of the lineup with a leg or foot injury.

-- Despite the win, I'm not seeing a change from the first two games as far as controlling play. Too many good scoring opportunities for Chicago. Too many shots allowed by Detroit. It was a good win, but I'm still not seeing Red Wings hockey. I know that no one liked to see a 40-20 advantage in shots on goal and a close game or Detroit loss. But I'd rather see that than trading blows like this. It doesn't bode well for the long term.

Chelios signs with AHL Wolves

2009-10-08T16:38:00.002-04:00

Chris Chelios is back in Chicago. This time with the AHL's Wolves. The 47-year-old signed to play for the team, set to debut Monday.

Here's the Sportsnet story.

The Wolves earlier signed former Red Wings goalie Manny Legace.

Chelios was a tremendous leader in the Red Wings locker room. His value on the ice diminished in the past two seasons. He was amazing for a 45- and 46-year-old, but he was a weak spot for Detroit. One scout that I sat beside in the press box during the 2008 playoffs told me that he hoped that the Red Wings would play Chelios against his team. The Wings didn't and won that series.

"If you’re playing, you’re a lot more attractive (to an NHL team)," said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. "He wants to be in the NHL, but Chicago gives him an opportunity in a town he knows real well that gets him going and gets him playing. ... So when someone gets an injury, and they’re going to happen ... it’s an Olympic year, condensed schedule ... Cheli’s a guy who knows how to play, knows how to help your locker room. To me he’ll be a perfect fit for someone.’’

Helm on ice for morning skate

2009-10-08T10:42:00.002-04:00

He's not playing tonight, but it's a good sign that Darren Helm is on the ice this morning and taking part in non-contact drills. Helm has been sidelined since training camp with a strained joint at the collar bone/shoulder.

Here are the lines from the morning skate ...

Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Franzen
Bertuzzi-Zetterberg-Cleary
Leino-Filppula-Williams
Eaves-Draper-Maltby
May
Helm

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Ericsson-Meech
Lebda

Osgood (starting)
Howard

May signed, Abdelkader to GR

2009-10-08T10:33:00.003-04:00

The Red Wings signed Brad May to a two-way, one-year contract worth $500,000. May was brought to Detroit on a professional tryout, playing two exhibition games. The 37-year-old veteran winger has played in 1,001 career regular-season NHL games.

Forward Justin Abdelkader was assigned to Grand Rapids, making room for May.

Vice president/general manager Ken Holland said that May will be in the lineup either tonight or Saturday night. The club is waiting on his work visa (May is Canadian) paperwork to clear.

"He’s been in the league about 15 plus years, it’s not any secret what he brings to a team," said Holland. "He obviously brings a dimension of physicality. He has no problem dropping the gloves. He’s a vocal leader on the bench."

"It was pretty interesting," said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. "We had May in exhibition for a couple of games and no one gets hacked or whacked. When we don’t have him, we get run. We don’t have a team that twists off helmets at stoppages. You get tired of seeing it all the time. It’s just nice when you get someone to look after that stuff."

The question mark on May, who had no contract offers from an NHL team in the summer, was his speed and conditioning.

"Our question was was he able to keep up," said Holland. "In the two exhibition games, we were comfortable that his foot speed was able to keep up. The other thing is his conditioning. We spoke with everyone in Grand Rapids (where May had a tryout) and they were satisfied with his conditioning."

Helm skates

2009-10-07T15:50:00.000-04:00

Injured forward Darren Helm skated on his own during today’s practice at Joe Louis Arena. Helm as been inactive since training camp after he strained the joint that connects his right shoulder to his collar bone when he tripped over a stick and went head first into the boards. Helm hasn’t taken part in any contact drills since.

“I asked him today if he was lifting like he was if he felt as strong as in the past and he said, ‘No’ … and that’s the answer right there,” said Babcock.
Helm won’t play in Thursday’s game against Chicago.

Time change

2009-10-07T15:46:00.001-04:00

The Red Wings found acclimating themselves to the time difference in Europe was more difficult on the trip to Sweden than on the trip home.

“Going to Sweden was a lot harder than coming back here,” said defenseman Derek Meech. “It was late then when you get there, you have to stay up. Everyone was pretty tired. I guess the key is to sleep on the plane as much as you can.”

Going to Sweden including leaving after a Sunday night preseason game and arriving in Stockholm around lunchtime the next day.

“Going there, it took a while to adjust to the time change,” said forward Justin Abdelkader. “It’s harder to sleep at night. I found myself getting up at 3 or 4 at night and being wide awake. You could feel it the first couple of days you were there.”

Three days after returning from Europe, however, the Red Wings were practicing at Joe Louis Arena showing no ill effects of the trip.

"I thought it would be a lot worse than it has been,” said Leino. “I feel pretty good right now.”

Williams meshes with Finnish linemates

2009-10-07T15:45:00.000-04:00

Jason Williams knew how to get his linemates’ attention. In training camp at Traverse City, the Detroit Red Wings’ forward shouted out a few words that didn’t mean a thing to most of his teammates.

But he got the attention of his two Finnish linemates, Ville Leino and Valtteri Filppula.

“He knows the swear words,” said a smiling Leino.

Williams, Leino and Filppula have been the Red Wings’ third line this season. They hail from towns named London (Ont.), Savonlinna and Vantaa, respectively. Two Finns and a Canadian.

Williams, the Canadian, spent the NHL lockout season of 2004-05 playing in Finland’s top professional league as a 24-year-old trying to get more confidence in his game. His experience at Assat Pori was counter-intuitive to what most hockey fans would expect.

North Americans perfected the dump-and-chase style of hockey. Europeans blended their soccer instincts with hockey and developed a puck-possession style.

Williams, however, came from a distinct puck-possession team in the Red Wings and had to learn to dump-and-chase with his Finnish club, one that was weak and finished 10th in the 13-team SM-Liiga.

“The team that I played on wasn’t a great team, so we had to sit back and trap a lot, try to capitalize on the other team’s mistakes,” said Williams. “Here, it’s more puck possession, hold onto it, makes plays.”

Being one of just three non-Finns in a locker room that included 31 players through the season turned out to be a rewarding experience for Williams. He finished fourth in Finland in goals that winter, then used that confidence to produce his first 20-goal NHL season the following year.

“I find that Finnish hockey is a very similar style to the North American style, which was what I was looking for,” said Williams. “There’s hitting, it’s physical and the odd fight every now and then. There’s still not as much fighting as in North American. But they’re very similar in style to us. It’s the closest to a North American style as anywhere.”

Now in his second tour of duty with the Red Wings, Williams finds himself entrenched on a forward line with the only two Finns to ever play in the Detroit organization.

“They’ve been our best line for two games,” said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. “Fil (Filppula) is a good two-way center, can play both sides of the puck. Leino and Williams have the ability to score. Williams can really skate.”

Communication is a key. Planning who’s going to be where, which player has what tendencies.

Leino and Filppula speak only English on the ice or around Williams off the ice. “It’s easier for everyone,” is Filppula’s explanation.

“It takes a few games to get used to each other, knowing where each other are going to be,” said Williams. “But that’s communication. You talk to each other on the bench, in the dressing room. The more you can talk about it and familiarize yourself with where you’re going to be, then you don’t have to think about those things. You just do it. It makes things so much easier.”

Things like that can get lost in translation.

Other things don’t.

“I can swear in Finnish,” said Williams who then joked, “so when those guys mess up out there, I can yell at them in their own language.”

Meech looks like only change

2009-10-07T11:16:00.002-04:00

The Red Wings are on the ice now prepping for Thursday's home opener (I'm not going to call it a North American home opener ... just can't) and it looks like the only lineup change will be Derek Meech in for Brett Lebda on the blue line. Patrick Eaves is practicing as the 13th forward.

Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Franzen
Bertuzzi-Zetterberg-Cleary
Leino-Filppula-Williams
Draper-Abdelkader-Maltby (Eaves working in)

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Ericsson-Meech (Lebda working in)

Osgood
Howard

Nothing changes as far as line combinations either. Scratching Lebda is understandable after his slow start. He had an especially difficult Game 1 in terms of turnovers and being caught taking chances. Hopefully his start to this season won't be as slow as his start to last season was. The Brett Lebda in the final quarter of last season is the one that the Red Wings need now.

Also, Darren Helm is on the ice, skating on his own. He's not taking part in drills. The forward is still recovering from a training camp injury to the joint between his right shoulder and collar bone.

Pearce to Toledo

2009-10-06T18:33:00.001-04:00

To make room for Daniel Larsson, the Grand Rapids Griffins sent netminder Jordan Pearce to Toledo. Walleye ... I wonder why.

The Griffins' press release ...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday reassigned Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Jordan Pearce to the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL.

Pearce, 22, backed up Thomas McCollum during the Griffins’ season-opening 3-1 win in Peoria on Saturday. Upon the completion of stellar career at Notre Dame last spring, the Anchorage, Alaska, native made his American Hockey League debut in Grand Rapids’ 2008-09 regular season finale at Peoria on April 11, 2009, stopping 33 shots in the team’s 5-2 loss.

Yzerman retirement ceremony re-aired

2009-10-06T10:48:00.001-04:00

Red Wings DVR alert for tomorrow ... FOX Sports Detroit will re-air the Yzerman banner raising ceremony Wednesday from 8:30-10 p.m.

Red Wings' exhibition game today online

2009-09-30T10:35:00.002-04:00

You can watch the Red Wings' final exhibition game at 1 p.m. today against Färjestad BK in Karlstad, Sweden, on nhl.com. The league web site will run a live stream of the game.

Detroit prospect Dick Axelsson (Detroit’s 2nd round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft) plays for Färjestad BK. Hat Trick Dick. Great nickname.

Forsberg won't fit ... no kidding

2009-09-29T10:42:00.001-04:00

A report in aftonbladet.se today says that the Red Wings have no interest in signing Peter Forsberg, who apparently is looking to make a comback. Detroit general manager Ken Holland told the Swedish news organization that "we have full team and no room in the salary cap." No kidding.

The aftonbladet report

Aftonbladet reports that Zetterberg feels better

2009-09-29T00:08:00.002-04:00

Good news out of Sweden Monday ... aftonbladet.se says that Henrik Zetterberg tested his sore groin in practice and feels better, perhaps good enough to play in Wednesday's exhibition.

Zetterberg also said that he pretty certain that he'll be playing in the season-opener.

By the way, I'm reading way too many Swedish online news sources.

The aftonbladet report.

Here's a partial translation ...

After training on Monday he gave a positive response.

"I dared to take in pretty much on the ice and it felt much better now than it did last Saturday," said Zetterberg.

He thinks he can play on Wednesday and he says there is much to whether he will play this weekend.

"Of course, it is about how the groin will react after training on Tuesday. But as I feel now I'm playing Friday and Saturday in all cases," said Zetterberg.

Ryno goes back to Sweden

2009-09-28T23:45:00.004-04:00

Honest. You can't make this up.

After leaving the Grand Rapids Griffins in midseason in 2007-08, Johan Ryno returned to North America this fall to give it one more shot. After attending training camp and playing through the preseason, Ryno is now back in Sweden ... which has to pretty much end his chances with the Red Wings.

The 23-year-old, 6-foot-5 forward was Detroit's sixth choice (137th overall) in the 2005 draft.

Here's the report from aftonbladet.se.

Roughly translated, it means that Ryno is on loan from the Red Wings to AIK. Here's some of the translation ...

Ryno returns to Sweden

Johan Ryno, 23, chose to be on loan from the Detroit Red Wings - again.

He continued the season in the AIK.

"Johan knows that he is some way to go to the NHL," said agent Peter Wallen.

"He can play on Wednesday if he goes into the team," says Peter Wallen.

Ryno belonged to Detroit in three years, but chose not to play a full season with Detroit or farms team Grand Rapids. He has requested to be loaned to Sweden and now has two seasons in succession belonged to AIK.

Former Wing Legace released by Atlanta

2009-09-28T22:13:00.003-04:00

Manny Legace's 2006 playoffs with the Red Wings might be the final post-season games of his career.

Story on Atlanta cutting Legace

The 2002 Stanley Cup champ was Mike Babcock's top netminder when the coach came to Detroit.

Red Wings' roster down to 23 active

2009-09-27T20:02:00.004-04:00

The Red Wings now have 23 active players and three on injured reserve after assigning seven players to Grand Rapids and releasing Brad May, who had to be released before he could sign a PTO (professional tryout) with the Griffins. Look for that to happen soon.

Johan Ryno, Mattias Ritola, Andy Delmore, Francis Pare, Logan Pyett, Jakub Kindl and Evan McGrath were all shipped to Grand Rapids after Sunday's preseason win over Pittsburgh. In addition, Darren Helm (shoulder) and Cory Emmerton (sore upper body) were placed on short-term injured reserve. Andreas Lilja is on long-term injured reserve.

That means that there were no roster surprises to open the season. Patrick Eaves and Justin Abdelkader are on the team, two of the 13 forwards. Derek Meech is one of seven active defensemen. Chris Osgood, Jimmy Howard and Daniel Larsson are the goalies.

FORWARDS
Zetterberg
Datsyuk
Filppula
Franzen
Leino
Cleary
Abdelkader
Williams
Draper
Holmstrom
Maltby
Bertuzzi
Eaves

DEFENSEMEN
Kronwall
Meech
Stuart
Ericsson
Lebda
Rafalski
Lidstrom

GOALIES
Osgood
Howard
Larsson

Dandenault released by Sharks

2009-09-27T18:40:00.001-04:00

It was just five years ago that Mathieu Dandenault was a Red Wing. The San Jose Sharks have released the 33-year-old who was in camp with them on a professional tryout. Will the swingman (D/F) find a way back in the league?

Tatar signs three-year deal

2009-09-25T22:42:00.001-04:00

Tomas Tatar obviously turned some heads this month. The 18-year-old Slovak, who was drafted in the second round in June, was signed by the Red Wings to a three-year entry-level contract, today. That's an unusual move for an organization that likes to bring its prospects along slowly.

Tatar will start in Grand Rapids. He could have either returned to Slovakia to play professionally there, or played for Plymouth of the Ontario Hockey League. The Red Wings wouldn't have needed to sign him to a contract if he went for either of the latter options.

The people I spoke with in Traverse City named Tatar first when listing who was impressive in the Red Wings' prospects camp earlier this month. At times, he needed instruction during drills, but when the scrimmages started at main camp, Tatar showed signs of being a special 18-year-old.

Here's the team's press release ...

The Detroit Red Wings announced today that the club has signed forward Tomas Tatar to a three-year entry level deal. In accordance with team policy, additional terms of the deal were not disclosed. The team also announced that goaltender Jordan Pearce has been assigned to Detroit’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Tatar, 18, was Detroit’s second pick (second round, 60th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The Ilava, Slovakia native appeared in two games for the Red Wings during the 2009 preseason.

Pearce, 22, was signed by Detroit to a two-year entry level deal on April 10, 2009. With the cut, Detroit’s active training camp roster stands at 38 players.

Tatar to Griffins; Cloutier released

2009-09-24T16:48:00.003-04:00

UPDATE: Also, goalie Dan Cloutier was released. He was in Detroit on a professional tryout.

---

Tomas Tatar, the Red Wings' second-round pick this June, will be playing in the American Hockey League this fall instead of the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League. Tatar was one of seven sent by Detroit to Grand Rapids today ... Travis Ehrhardt, Sergei Kolosov, Sebastien Piche, Jamie Tardif, Francis Lemieux and John Vigilante were the others.

Tatar, 18, could still wind up in juniors if he doesn't play more than nine professional games this season.

The Wings' roster is now at 39 players.

Here's the press release from the Griffins ...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Thursday sent seven players to the Grand Rapids Griffins, their American Hockey League affiliate. The Wings assigned defensemen Travis Ehrhardt, Sergei Kolosov and Sebastien Piche, along with forwards Jamie Tardif and Tomas Tatar. Additionally, forwards Francis Lemieux and John Vigilante were released from their tryouts with Detroit and have joined the Griffins on AHL contracts.

Kolosov, Tardif and Lemieux all played for the Griffins last season, while Ehrhardt and Vigilante previously signed with Detroit and Grand Rapids, respectively.

Piche, 21, earned second-team all-star honors in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season, when his 23 goals and 72 points in 62 games for Rimouski led all league defensemen. He signed with the Red Wings as a free agent in March.

Tatar, 18, made a strong impression with the Red Wings in training camp after becoming Detroit’s second choice (60th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The left wing played his first pro campaign in Slovakia last season, posting 15 points (7-8—15) in 48 games for Zvolen, and he led Slovakia’s World Junior Championship team with 11 points (7-4—11) in seven outings, helping his country to a surprising fourth-place finish in the tournament.

After completing their training camp at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena on Friday, the Griffins will stage their first Grand Rapids-area practice next Monday, Sept. 28 at 10:30 a.m. at Griff's IceHouse. They’ll have five days of preparation for their season opener next Saturday, Oct. 3 at Peoria, the first of five straight road games to begin the season.

The Griffins will make their Van Andel Arena debut on Friday, Oct. 23 against the Abbotsford Heat at 7 p.m., the start of an unprecedented three-game weekend to open their home schedule. Single-game tickets for all 40 home games are now on sale at all Star Tickets outlets, including the Zone and Meijer stores, or online through griffinshockey.com, while group, full-season and mini-plan ticket packages are available by calling the Griffins at (616) 774-4585.

Lidstrom player of decade

2009-09-24T14:07:00.003-04:00

The Sporting News has named Nicklas Lidstrom its NHL player of the decade. No arguments here. It's interesting that Lidstrom wasn't once named TSN's player of the year during the decade, but that's Lidstrom ... consistently excellent.

The Sporting News story

Also earning recognition for the 2000s (or is that 00s) were the Red Wings as the top franchise, Mike Babcock as top coach and Ken Holland as top executive. J-S Giguere as second-team goalie ... hey, there's got to be something on the list to criticize.

FIRST

F Joe Sakic

F Jaromir Jagr

F Jarome Iginla

D Nicklas Lidstrom

D Scott Niedermayer

G Martin Brodeur

SECOND

F Sidney Crosby

F Vincent Lecavalier

F Alex Ovechkin

D Chris Pronger

D Zdeno Chara

G Jean-Sebastien Giguere

NHL

Athlete of the decade: Nicklas Lidstrom, Red Wings D, over Martin Brodeur, Devils G

Coach of the decade: Mike Babcock, Ducks/Red Wings

Team of the decade: Red Wings

Game of the decade: Game 4, 2000 Eastern Conference semifinals, Flyers 2, Penguins 1 in 5 OTs

All-decade first team: F Joe Sakic, Jaromir Jagr and Jarome Iginla; D Nicklas Lidstrom and Scott Niedermayer; G Martin Brodeur

All-decade second team: F Sidney Crosby, Vincent Lecavalier and Alex Ovechkin; D Chris Pronger and Zdeno Chara; G Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Executive of the decade: Ken Holland, Red Wings GM and executive VP

More on May

2009-09-23T15:41:00.000-04:00

DETROIT – Brad May spent this past summer wondering if he’d ever get a 1,002nd chance.

The veteran of 1,001 regular-season NHL games was without a team, without a training camp, without a contract through July, August and most of September. This morning, however, May was skating at Joe Louis Arena with the Grand Rapids Griffins, brought into town by the Detroit Red Wings on a professional tryout.

If all goes well for the 37-year-old forward, he’ll wind up with a contract and a spot on either the Griffins or Red Wings roster.

May is not going with the Red Wings when they leave for Sweden, Sunday, according to Detroit vice president and general manager Ken Holland, May will not be offered a contract before then.

May can play for Grand Rapids without signing a contract, getting new 25-game PTOs (professional tryouts). But before he can play an NHL regular-season game, May needs a contract.

“I’ve been through a lot of different things, but I’ve never had a summer like this,” said May. “The phone wasn’t ringing off the hook. I wasn’t waking up to messages every day. This happened and it was right. Now it’s work. It’s out of my control. That’s what you have to do as a player, just show everything you have.”

May is a left-handed shooting left wing who broke into the NHL as a 20-year-old with Buffalo back in 1991. May is perhaps most famous for scoring the Adams Division semifinal series clinching goal in overtime against Boston in 1993, a goal made legendary by broadcaster Rick Jeanneret’s “MAY DAY” call.

The 14th overall pick in the 1990 draft (there were just 21 teams in the league then), May was selected the same summer that the Red Wings took Keith Primeau third overall and Slava Kozlov in the third round.

May lasted 1,001 regular-season games by showing third- and fourth-line ability and a top-notch toughness. He has 287 career points and 2,182 career penalty minutes. May has 142 career fighting majors, including seven last season in a year he split between Anaheim and Toronto.

“That’s who and what he is,” said Holland. “He brings a physical element and that’s something we don’t have. Now, he’s 37 and he wants to see what he’s got left and so do we.”

May has average 9:50 of ice time per game since the 1998-99 season. His time was down to less than seven minutes per game over the past two years.

The pinnacle of May’s career was in 2007 when he won the Stanley Cup with Anaheim after being traded from Colorado late in the season.

“First of all, I want to play; I want to make this team,” said May. “The second thing is to be part of this tradition, a winner. I had a great opportunity to win a few years ago and it’s infectious. You want to do it again.”

May learned of the tryout opportunity with the Red Wings on Monday. His family had moved to Toronto from California at the beginning of September – just three days before his 13-year-old son Tyler and 10-year-old daughter Samantha started school.

Having a stable home life was the reason that May didn’t consider playing in Europe this season, cutting his chances to return as a player.

“At this stage, school and family and friends … we made a big enough move back to Toronto,” said May. “It’s unbelievable. We’ve lived in four or five houses in the last three years. My family’s set. Now it’s just cheer Dad on. ... My son loves hockey. They said, ‘Keep going.’ They’re proud of me. Those days that you were beaten up or emotionally drained, that helped.”

So May skated on his own this summer without knowing if he’d have a 20th season as a professional hockey player. He had several discussions with Toronto general manager Brian Burke – May and Burke have been together with three NHL teams – but nothing close to an offer to return to the Maple Leafs as a player, according to May.

Yesterday, May was on the ice at Joe Louis Arena with the Griffins on a day that the Red Wings were given off.

May is working to try to fill the role served by Aaron Downey previously, adding physical toughness to a Red Wings team that consistently is last in the NHL in fighting majors.

More than that, May is working to extend a playing career that has been more than gratifying.

“It’s not about anything else other than I love it,” said May. “I just love it.”

Brad May at JLA

2009-09-23T11:10:00.002-04:00

Brad May ... he of the famous MAYDAY call on Buffalo TV ... is skating with the Grand Rapids Griffins right now at Joe Louis Arena. May was brought in by the Red Wings on a PTO (tryout).

Coetzee signs

2009-09-18T18:32:00.000-04:00

Willie Coetzee obviously made a good impression in training camp. Landon Ferraro's junior teammate was signed to a three-year contract by the Red Wings, today.

The team's press release ...

Detroit, MI... The Detroit Red Wings announced today that the club has signed forward Willie Coetzee to a three-year entry level contract. In accordance with team policy, additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Coetzee, 18, was invited to training camp on an amateur tryout. The Maple Ridge, British Columbia native spent last season playing with fellow Red Wings prospect Landon Ferraro (second round, 2009 NHL Entry Draft) on the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League. He finished the season with 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points in 72 games. He also posted 42 penalty minutes.

Cutdowns

2009-09-14T19:33:00.007-04:00

The lineups for Tuesday's Red/White game were just released. Here are the players who won't be with the club after tonight ...

FORWARDS
Landon Ferraro
Willie Coetzee
Brent Raedeke
Austin Fyten
Stephen Johnston
Mitchell Callahan
Andrej Nestracil

DEFENSEMEN
Brian Lahsoff

GOALIES
Chris Whitley

Whitley and Fyten were released. The other seven were assigned to their junior clubs. Tomas Tatar is the lone junior-eligible who remains.

"He (Tatar) is a good junior kid," said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. "I don’t know if we’re going to play him in junior or the American League. He should probably play in junior and really light it up. He looks like he’s got a real nose for the net."

Tatar said that he will play in North America this season and not return to his native Slovakia.

There are now 36 players on the roster including injured Darren Helm and Andreas Lilja.

Helm out with sprain

2009-09-14T19:19:00.010-04:00

Darren Helm sprained his right acromioclavicular joint (where collar bone connects to shoulder) during a drill at training camp today. The Red Wing center is out 2-4 weeks. He'll be off the ice the next few days. Helm said that he's hopeful that he'll be on the ice for the start of the regular season.

Helm hurt himself when he went head-first into the boards after getting caught up in defenseman Logan Pyett's stick.

"Especially right now, I'm coming here trying to prove that I belong (with the Red Wings) all year ... It's especially frustrating," said Helm. "Hopefully things heal up as quickly as possible."

"I was definitely looking forward to coming in here, playing well, playing some exhibition games, proving that Detroit and everyone else that I belong here," said Helm. "I'll just do what I can to make sure I'm ready."

Two years ago, Helm strained the joint at the other end of his collar bone, the coracoclavicular.

"Hopefully, this won't take as long as the last time did," said Helm.

“It’s disappointing,” said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. “We’re real fortunate it isn’t worse than it is. More opportunity for someone else in exhibition.”

Is Kindl following Ericsson’s footsteps

2009-09-13T15:30:00.002-04:00

TRAVERSE CITY – Jonathan Ericsson is one part defenseman, one part seer. At least that’s how it look early last season to Jakub Kindl.

Ericsson and Kindl were both defensemen with the Grand Rapids Griffins and two of the Detroit Red Wings’ highest regarded prospects. Kindl was coming off a rookie season as a professional that wasn’t very good. Ericsson was coming off his second season as a pro … one during which he was named an American Hockey League all-star.

“You’re going to have the same kind of year I had last year,” Ericsson told Kindl. “I can see that in you.”

Ericsson was prophetic.

Teammates with the Griffins last winter, it was Kindl who played in the AHL all-star game, not Ericsson.

Ericsson’s career by no means went backwards. The big blue-liner got a late-season call-up from the Red Wings and never returned to the minors. He played 19 regular-season games, then 22 more in the playoffs. Ericsson was on the ice in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final and there’s not much more praise that an organization can give than that.

Now at Red Wings’ training camp together, Kindl is hoping to follow Ericsson’s path some more.

Ericsson is slated to be with the Red Wings at the start of the season. Kindl is likely heading to Grand Rapids as the ninth defenseman on the Detroit depth chart.

“I would rather and I think they would rather too that I play 20 minutes in Grand Rapids than be one of eight defensemen in the NHL and hardly play,” said Kindl.

That was the logic used in keeping Ericsson in Grand Rapids for three seasons. That’s likely Kindl’s fate for the better part of this season.

“He knows what it’s all about,” said Ericsson. “It took me a few seasons. I think he would like to follow the same steps that I did. He knows that they will be patient, give him time to be really ready when he gets the call.”

One difference between Kindl and Ericsson is this. Ericsson came to the Red Wings as the final pick of the entire NHL draft. Kindl was the 19th overall selection in the 2005 NHL draft.

That makes Kindl the Red Wings’ highest draft pick in the past 18 years. You have to go back to Martin Lapointe being taken 10th overall in 1991 to find a higher-drafted Red Wing.

“He certainly has a great chance,” said Jiri Fischer, the Red Wings’ director of player development, who was the 25th overall pick in 1998. “In our organization, everybody has to earn the chance, then everybody has to grab the chance. I think he’s on the right path, the way he’s been working and progressing. I’m hoping he’s going to have a good camp and good season as he did last year, as long as he keeps working.”

Kindl has always been an impact offensive defenseman. He generated offense as a youth in his native Czech Republic and in juniors with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League.

His rookie season with Grand Rapids, however, Kindl found that defensive lapses meant something different in the pro game.

“In juniors, you can have a few turnovers and nothing happens,” said Kindl. “In pro, you do that it ends up in your own net.”

That changed in Kindl’s sophomore season.

“He made tremendous progress,” said Fischer. “Confidence wise I think he really established himself in the American Hockey League. For young defensemen, we look for steadiness, no turnovers, leadership. He’s very offensively gifted, very smart.”

Despite his tools and his all-star season, Kindl still hasn’t played in the NHL. That makes him one of six of the 30 first-rounders of 2005 – a draft that produced Sidney Crosby, Carey Price and Anze Kopitar — that hasn’t debuted in the NHL.

Kindl has watched players taken after him, like Andrew Cogliano of Edmonton, Matt Niskanen of Dallas and Marc-Edouard Vlasic of San Jose, all get significant opportunities. One difference, however, between those players and Kindl is that they’re not playing the NHL’s most successful organization.

“There were guys drafted behind me who have had a chance to play in the NHL,” said Kindl. “But none of them were lucky enough to wear a Red Wings uniform. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

The Red Wings signed Kindl for three seasons after this to a one-way contract, just as Ericsson got a one-way deal before last season. And just as Ericsson did at training camp last fall, Kindl skated as Nicklas Lidstrom’s partner during the first day of drills.

“Of course my dream was to make it to the NHL,” said Kindl. “It didn’t happen the first year or the second year. Now this is my third year as a pro. Jonathan Ericsson made the team finally after playing three years in Grand Rapids. Hopefully after him, it will be my chance. I have to be patient.”

No contact for Lilja

2009-09-13T13:43:00.002-04:00

Andreas Lilja was at the rink this morning for the first on-ice day of the Red Wings' training camp, but not with skates on. Lilja hasn't been cleared for contact drills. He can skate on his own and work out in the weight room, but can't participate in drills or scrimmages.

Lilja was sidelined with headaches after losing a fight to Shea Weber, Feb. 28.

"I’m going to skate; It’s just that I’m not going to skate with contact," said Lilja. "It’s different now in camp (than working out with teammates in the summer). Everybody’s trying to make spots. They’re running around."

Lilja's status is the biggest piece of the Red Wings' roster puzzle for the start of the season. If Lilja is still on the shelf, then his $1.25 million salary can go to long-term injured reserve and not on the team's salary cap. If Lilja is healthy, however, then the Wings will be tight to the cap even with 22 players on their active roster.

Hudler helps Czechs

2009-09-06T17:16:00.001-04:00

Jiri Hudler netted a hat trick in the Czechs' title-game win over Russia in the Czech Hockey Games.

Link to TSN story on Czech games

Cleary at Team Canada camp

2009-08-24T23:58:00.003-04:00

Red Wing Dan Cleary is skating on a line with Jason Spezza and Patrick Marleau at Team Canada's Olympic training camp in Calgary. Not bad for Cleary, but not the top unit in camp. Sidney Crosby, Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla were together as a unit ... there are three forwards who are going to the Olympics unless they get injured.

Link to Flames' story on line combinations.

Hockeyfest

2009-08-24T16:21:00.001-04:00

The Red Wings' press release ...

TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR THIS WEEKEND’S HOCKEYFEST!

…Captain Nicklas Lidstrom Drops The Puck on Weekend Fun at The Joe …

…Complimentary Tickets Available Tuesday …

Detroit, MI…Red Wings Captain Nicklas Lidstrom will open the Detroit Red Wings Hockeyfest this Friday as Hockeytown prepares for another great season with Detroit’s premiere interactive fan experience. In partnership with Coca-Cola and FOX Sports Detroit, the Red Wings begin two exciting days of HockeyFest 2009 on Friday, August 28, from 3:00 pm -10:00 pm, with a special free session for families experiencing economic hardships. On Saturday, August 29, the doors will be open to the general public from 1:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. for just $20 for adults and $10 for children (10-and-under). Red Wings season ticket holders are welcome free of charge throughout both days, plus an exclusive early session from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm Saturday.

HockeyFest 2009 features appearances by Red Wings players including Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Dan Cleary, Kris Draper andJason Williams , an exclusive Q&A session with Wings players and management, alumni autograph sessions, hockey memorabilia exhibits, photo opportunities with the Zamboni and Al the Octopus and much more! Band favorite Bazooka Charlie will be on hand to fire fans up beginning at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night.

Fans can purchase tickets at DetroitRedWings.com, by calling TicketMaster at (800) 745-3000, and at the Joe Louis Arena Box Office, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy and Hockeytown Cafe.

For Friday’s complimentary admission, provided by Coca-Cola, tickets will be available in-person beginning at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 18 at the Joe Louis Arena Box Office, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy and Hockeytown Cafe.

More on Bertuzzi

2009-08-18T16:48:00.003-04:00

Two years ago, the Red Wings tried to keep Todd Bertuzzi, offering him a one-year contract. Bertuzzi came to Detroit in March 2007 at the trade deadline, played eight regular-season and 16 playoff games before becoming a free agent. Instead of staying in Detroit, Bertuzzi opted for a longer, more lucrative deal in Anaheim (two seasons, $4 million salary-cap hit).

"We liked him enough that we offered him a contract to stay," said Detroit vice president and general manager Ken Holland. "I've talked to a few guys on our team the past couple of weeks. There's been good vibes in the locker room about Todd. He fit in well."

Now Bertuzzi, a 34-year-old left-handed shot who usually plays right wing is back as a Red Wing, signing a one-year contract worth "close to" $1.5 million.

"He brings experience, size, the potential to score some goals," said Holland. "By signing an NHL guy, there's more depth and options available for (coach) Mike Babcock. And if there are injuries, we have more depth up front."

Bertuzzi came into the NHL in 1995 with the New York Islanders -- the franchise that drafted him 23rd overall in 1993. Bertuzzi blossomed after being traded to Vancouver with Bryan McCabe for Trevor Linden.

With the Canucks, Bertuzzi's goal scoring went from 25 in 2000-01, to 36 the next season to 46 in 2002-03 -- a season in which he led the NHL with 25 power-play goals.

Then, however, came back injuries. The season in which Bertuzzi was traded to Detroit for prospect Shawn Matthias and a second-round draft pick (2006-07), the 6-foot-3 Sudbury native got into just 15 regular-season games.

Since the injuries, Bertuzzi has become a consistent second-tier scoring threat. Two seasons ago, Bertuzzi had 14 goals in 68 games with Anaheim. Last winter, the big winger had 15 goals in 66 games with Calgary. (Anaheim bought out his contract half way into the two-year deal.) After averaging 20 minutes per game in his scoring prime, Bertuzzi got 16:27 of ice time with Anaheim and 18:36 with Calgary.

The addition of Bertuzzi gives the Red Wings enough depth at forward to let second-year pro Justin Abdelkader develop in Grand Rapids. Abdelkader can go back and forth between the NHL and AHL without having to clear waivers.

Bertuzzi is one of three forwards on the Wings who wasn't in Detroit last season, joining Patrick Eaves and another former Red Wing, Jason Williams. All three signed as unrestricted free agents.

With that trio and Darren Helm and Ville Leino, both of whom spent the majority of last season in Grand Rapids, the Red Wings have five fresh faces among their 13 forwards.

Detroit's team salary is approximately $57.771 million which is over the league limit of $56.8 million. That figure, however, includes eight defensemen and Holland has said that the team will work with seven healthy blue-liners. Detroit will likely go with a 22-man roster as it did last season, one under the league limit.

Andreas Lilja, who is still experiencing headaches after being injured in a late-season fight in 2008-08, is the unknown factor. If he's not healthy, Lilja's $1.25 million salary could be hidden on long-term injured reserve for a while. If Lilja is healthy, however, a roster move might be made to trim the blue-line number to seven. The Red Wings' other defensemen are Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, Jonathan Ericsson, Brett Lebda and Derek Meech.

Bertuzzi signs with Wings

2009-08-18T14:31:00.003-04:00

Todd Bertuzzi signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings.

With Bertuzzi, 34, in the mix, it looks like Justin Abdelkader will be bound for Grand Rapids and shuttle back and forth to Detroit. Of course, all that depends on who performs well in the preseason.

Bertuzzi gives the Red Wings 13 forwards including Darren Helm. That's the number that vice president/general manager Ken Holland wanted.

That also means that the Red Wings have eight defensemen and will have to make a move when Andreas Lilja is healthy. Lilja is still suffering from headaches and his status heading into the season will be determined later.

Here's the press release ...

RED WINGS SIGN TODD BERTUZZI TO ONE-YEAR DEAL

...Veteran Winger Returns To Detroit For 2009-10 Season…

Detroit... The Detroit Red Wings announced today that the club has signed free agent forward Todd Bertuzzi to a one-year contract. In accordance with team policy, additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Bertuzzi, 34, was originally a first round draft pick (23rd overall) of the New York Islanders in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. The Sudbury, Ontario native spent last season with the Calgary Flames where he posted 44 points (15-29—44) in 66 games. Bertuzzi returns to Detroit for the second time in his career, having played in eight regular season games (2-2—4) and 16 playoff games (3-4—7) for the Red Wings in 2006-07 after he was acquired in a trade with the Florida Panthers. The 13-year NHL veteran has played in 859 career games, scoring 255 goals and adding 369 assists for 624 points. He has also collected 1,221 penalty minutes.

Williams' contract

2009-08-06T14:58:00.002-04:00

According to capgeek.com, Jason Williams will earn $1.5 million for his one-year contract after making $2.2 million last season.

So, that would put the Red Wings over the salary cap with a 23-man roster. With 13 forwards (including Abdelkader and Helm), eight defensemen and two goalies, the Red Wings are at $57.261 million in salary with the cap being $56.8 million. That's $461,000 over the limit.

So, either 22 players will be kept on the roster with someone being moved or Andreas Lilja will start the season on long-term injured reserve.

Williams signing impact on cap

2009-08-06T12:04:00.002-04:00

I don't have the salary number for Jason Williams yet, but it certainly sounds like his signing means that the Red Wings are going to carry 22 players again this season ... and that's a number that vice president and general manager Ken Holland thinks is ideal.

"We'll be a little over the cap heading into training camp," said Holland. "We have the flexibility of a couple of kids who can go up and down to Grand Rapids."

That means Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm. Of those two, Abdelkader is clearly the first to go on the Grand Rapids shuttle based on performance, experience and just plain weariness of waiting for a chance. All those factors favor Helm. Add in that Abdelkader's salary ($850,000 plus $140,000 possible bonuses) is higher than Helm's ($599,444) and Helm isn't going anywhere unless preseason performances change tilt heavily towards Abdelkader.

"I'm a big believer in the American Hockey League," said Holland. "The NHL is a man's league. It's the toughest league in the world. If you're not emotionally and physically ready, you're going to lose your confidence. Some people are ready (for the NHL) at 19 like Sidney Crosby. Some are ready at 21 or 22."

That said, Holland's ideal roster is this ... 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies.

The goalies are set with Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard.

With Abdelkader, Helm, Jason Williams and Tuesday's signee, Patrick Eaves, the Red Wings have 13 forwards. Right now, either the Red Wings are keeping Abdlekader and Helm or adding another forward into the mix (either by signing or someone who's already in the system).

Or there's the option of the Wings going away from the 13-7-2 template short term, keeping just 12 forwards (putting Abdelkader in Grand Rapids) and keeping eight defensemen until a deal can be worked out for one blue-liner.

With eight NHL defensemen, everything hinges on Andreas Lilja's health. The big Swede is still experiencing headaches and might not be able to start the season on the active roster. If that's the case, Lilja and his $1.25 million contract will be off the books and on long-term injured reserve.

If Lilja can play, then either Brett Lebda ($650,000) or Derek Meech ($483,333) might be moved.

"If Lilja's healthy, we're not going to carry eight defensemen," said Holland. "We want to go to camp and have competition for jobs. That's going to be sorted out in training camp. If we get good luck with injuries, I believe we've got the potential of having a team that can contend with any team in our division and compete for the West(ern Conference)."

Williams back in Hockeytown

2009-08-06T11:34:00.002-04:00

Jason Williams is back. The former Red Wing is a current Wing, signing a one-year contract today. The right-handed shooting forward gives Detroit 13 forwards. Williams has played the point on the power play under Coach Mike Babcock and might resume that role with Mikael Samuelsson having left for Vancouver.

"He's somebody we've had before," said Detroit vice president and general manager Ken Holland. "We know the player. We know the person. We lost 90 goals (to free agency) and we're looking to replace some of that. We're hoping Jason can get 15-20 goals. Maybe he can get more."

Of Williams being dealt two years ago at the trade deadline for Kyle Calder, Holland said: "Of course he was disappointed. We didn't trade Jason away because of his character. We tried to get a little grittier, a little more experienced."

Here's the team's press release ...

Detroit... The Detroit Red Wings announced today that the club has signed free agent forward Jason Williams to a one-year contract. In accordance with team policy, additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Williams, 28, was originally signed by Detroit as a free agent on September 18, 2000. In 233 games with the Red Wings between 2000-01 and 2006-07, he posted 49 goals and 67 assists for 116 points. The London, Ontario native enjoyed his best season as a professional with Detroit in 2005-06, finishing with career highs in goals (21), assists (37) and points (58).

Williams played in 80 games last season for the Atlanta Thrashers (41 games played) and the Columbus Blue Jackets (39). He finished the season with 19 goals and 28 assists for 47 points. In 376 career NHL games, Williams has 205 points (85-120—205). He also played 128 games for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the American Hockey League in 2000-01 and 2001-02 under the direction of current Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock.

Wings' cap update

2009-08-04T17:14:00.003-04:00

After the signing of Patrick Eaves, the Red Wings have approximately $55.62 million tied up in 22 players. That leaves $1.18 million left to bring in another forward and leave some wiggle room under the cap.

This 22-man roster includes Justin Abdelkader, Ville Leino and Darren Helm and eight defensemen.

Red Wings sign Eaves

2009-08-04T16:07:00.009-04:00

UPDATE: Eaves' salary is $500,000 ... which makes this a marvelous signing for the Wings. He's just 25 and has a lot of skill. I'm sure Eaves was looking for an opportunity to prove himself, wanted just a one-year minimum deal to get himself a bigger contract next season. For the Wings, they get skill and potential at a price that couldn't be lower.

-----

Forward Patrick Eaves, 25, was signed by the Red Wings today to a one-year contract. Eaves was part of the trade this summer that sent defenseman Aaron Ward back to Carolina from Boston. Scheduled to make $1.1 million this season, Eaves was immediately bought out by the Bruins, making him a free agent.

Eaves' Red Wings contract is a one-way deal worth less than $1 million.

"There are a few guys left out there," said Detroit vice president and assistant general manager Jim Nill. "We're just trying to fill in the holes. In the salary-cap era, there's no reason to overpay for someone, even if you like them. If somebody is willing to come in for the money, we'll sign them."

Eaves started his pro career with a bang after being a Hobey Baker finalist at Boston College. He scored 20 goals with Ottawa as a 21-year-old rookie in 2005-06. Since then, however, his offensive production has shrunk. Eaves scored 14 goals in his sophomore season, then five, then six last winter. Eaves' ice time peaked at 12:46 in his third season. Least winter with Carolina, Eaves earned just 11:15 of ice time per game.

"He was looking for an opportunity," said Detroit vice president and general manager Ken Holland. "We've had some success with players coming into here who were looking for an opportunity. Everybody hopes you can get a Dan Cleary, but first things first. He's a player that fits our style. He's got skill. We've got a comfortable environment in our locker room that has been a good fit for other players looking for an opportunity."

Eaves was originally selected in the first round (29th overall) by the Ottawa Senators in the 2003 Entry Draft.

"It's kind of a Dan Cleary story," said Nill. "Starting when careers were on the bubble. He's here to be on our team. He's a guy with the skill set that he can play on any forward line. We hope he can rekindle his scoring touch with us."

Holland said that the Red Wings are looking for another forward to sign.

Delmore signs

2009-07-28T14:03:00.000-04:00

The Red Wings signed 32-year-old defenseman Andy Delmore to a contract today. Delmore went to camp with the Wings a few years back. He has played in Germany the past two seasons and was an AHL regular the two seasons before that.

Prior to the lockout, Delmore -- an offensive blue-liner -- played for Buffalo, Nashville and Philadelphia, totaling 283 NHL games.

This move is for depth. Delmore is bound for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Delmore is a native of LaSalle, Ont., just outside of Windsor.

Here's the press release for the Griffins ...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings, parent club of the Grand Rapids Griffins, on Tuesday signed defenseman Andy Delmore.

Delmore, 32, was the 2005-06 winner of the AHL’s Eddie Shore Award as the league’s best defenseman while playing for Syracuse, whose NHL affiliate Columbus had claimed him on waivers from the Red Wings on Oct. 4, 2005. That season, Delmore was also a member of the Canadian All-Star Team at the 2006 AHL All-Star Classic in Winnipeg, and he earned a spot on the AHL’s First All-Star Team at the conclusion of the campaign.

A native of LaSalle, Ontario, Delmore helped the Philadelphia Phantoms capture the Calder Cup championship during his rookie season in 1997-98. In 335 career AHL games with Fredericton, Philadelphia, Rochester, Syracuse, Springfield and Chicago, he has accumulated 203 points (60-143—203) and 208 penalty minutes.

Prior to playing the last two seasons in Germany with Hamburg, Delmore racked up 101 points (43-58—101) and 105 PIM in 283 NHL contests between Philadelphia, Nashville, Buffalo and Columbus from 1998-06. In 2002-03, he led all NHL defensemen with 14 power play tallies and tied for the league lead among blueliners with 18 goals while skating for the Predators.

Hudler arbitration set for July 30

2009-07-22T19:00:00.001-04:00

Per AP story.

Wings sign McGrath and Oulahen

2009-07-22T18:21:00.002-04:00

The Red Wings re-signed a pair of minor-leaguer forwards, Evan McGrath and Ryan Oulahen to one-year contracts. Both were drafted by the Wings. Neither has proven to be an NHLer yet, but both have advanced their level of play. Both are the kind of person you really hope succeeds.

Here's the press release ...

Detroit… Detroit Red Wings Executive Vice President/General Manager Ken Holland today announced the team has re-signed forwards Evan McGrath and Ryan Oulahen to one-year contracts. In keeping with club policy, additional terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

McGrath, 23, was Detroit’s fourth round pick (128th overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He spent the last three seasons with the Wings American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins, posting a career-high 47 points in 68 games this past season.

Oulahen, 24, completed his fourth season with Grand Rapids in 2008-09, recording a career high 31 points in 73 games. Oulahen was drafted by the Red Wings in the fifth round (164th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

The Red Wings' 2009-10 regular-season sked

2009-07-15T15:34:00.001-04:00

Link to detroitredwings.com

Red Wings' preseason sked

2009-07-10T08:36:00.001-04:00

Wed. Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m., vs. Philadelphia
Fri. Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m., vs. NY Rangers
Sat. Sept. 19, 7 p.m., vs. Buffalo
Mon. Sept. 21, 7 p.m., at NY Rangers
Tues. Sept. 22, TBD, at Philadelphia
Fri. Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m., vs. Toronto
Sat. Sept. 26, 7 p.m., at Toronto
Sun. Sept. 27, 5 p.m., vs. Pittsburgh
Wed. Sept. 30, TBD, at Farjestads BK

The preseason finale is a ramp-up to the season-opener in Stockholm.

Sounds like Hudler's gone

2009-07-08T14:30:00.002-04:00

From Kukla's Korner, here's a translation of a Jiri Hudler interview ...

In Detroit there is wasn’t place for me and I didn’t want to go to another club. So i didn’t ask for a trade. Then came Dynamo with their offer.

I started thinking about it and decided to go to Russia. It was tough but this is not a question of life or death. It is only hockey.

The KHL is good league. I should be one of the key players so it could help me in my career. I don’t think I will close the door to NHL. I am young and there are still 13 years until the end of my career. I want my career to be more colorful.

Sounds like Hudler's set on Russia for the next two seasons.

I was more surprised by Mikael Samuelsson's departure. Marian Hossa was leaving because there was no cap room. Tomas Kopecky was an interchangable part.

Hudler isn't surprising because he wasn't really happy, in my opinion. From being benched for Kopecky in the Western Conference final in 2007 to watching Valtteri Filppula -- who is the same age as Hudler -- get a lucrative long-term contract as a restricted free agent, Hudler knew that he was lower on the Red Wings' pecking order than he wanted to be.

Personally, I thought Hudler would test the waters, but Samuelsson would find a way to stay in Detroit. I think he liked the environment here, but Vancouver came along with a contract that Detroit couldn't touch.

Red Wings sign Janik

2009-07-08T14:19:00.003-04:00

The Red Wings inked another depth player, today, 29-year-old defenseman Doug Janik, who agreed on a one-year, two-way contract.

Of the recent depth signings, Janik has the most impressive resume. Buffalo's second-round draft pick in 1999 (55th overall), Janik has played in 161 NHL regular-season games and was a regular with Tampa Bay in 2006-07 and 2007-08, playing 136 regular-season games combined in those two years.

Janik appeared in 13 games for the Dallas Stars and two games for the Montreal Canadiens in 2008-09.

The Wings are deep on the blue line, but if there are injuries, Janik is positioned to battle prospect Jakub Kindl for the NHL call-up.

Hudler signs Russian deal

2009-07-08T12:23:00.004-04:00

TSN reports that Jiri Hudler has signed a one-year, $2 million contract with Moscow Dynamo of the KHL.

TSN story

I believe that the Red Wings might still be able to sign Hudler and this is is fall-back position. Waiting for word from Ken Holland or Jim Nill on that though.

Hudler, 25, is a restricted free agent who filed for arbitration, Sunday.

If the Dynamo deal is worth $2 million per season over two years, keep in mind that's a lot more than $2 million in NHL salary. The $2 million is likely tax free and free housing and vehicle are often included in Russian deals.

Red Wings sign depth defenseman Ehrhardt

2009-07-07T14:51:00.003-04:00

The Red Wings added more organizational depth today, signing defenseman Travis Ehrhardt to a three-year entry-level contract. Ehrhardt, 20, played in 68 games for the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League in 2008-09. He finished the season with 37 points (9-28—37) and 109 PIM. Ehrhardt also appeared in three games for the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

Ehrhardt was an undrafted free agent and is likely destined for the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins this fall.

Yesterday, the Red Wings signed two forwards who played sparingly for the Toronto Maple Leafs over the past three years, center Kris Newbury and right wing Jeremy Williams. Newbury and Williams are older, 27 and 25 respectively. Both were signed to one-year, two-way contracts. They're both on the cusp of the NHL, good AHL players who can step in where there's a void.

Ehrhardt is more of a long-term development. He's just beginning his first season of professional hockey. Obviously with the depth the Wings have on the blue line, including Jakub Kindl in the AHL, there's not much chance of Ehrhardt seeing time in Detroit this season or next. Thus the three-year entry-level contract.

Red Wings' cap dance

2009-07-06T18:10:00.004-04:00

Ville Leino has signed for a reasonable salary ($800,000 per season), but the Red Wings are going to be doing a cap dance this season just like they did last season.

And that's not a bad thing. It does tie the organization's hands on a lot of moves, but it also means there's a lot of talent here. The Red Wings rarely overpay for players.

Looking at a possible NHL roster, the Red Wings have 11 forwards, 8 defensemen and 2 goalies signed. That roster includes Leino, Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader, Derek Meech, Jonathan Ericsson, Brett Lebda and Andreas Lilja. That roster does not include Jiri Hudler.

That roster has a cap hit of approx. $55.117 million. That leaves $1.683 million of room left under the $56.8 million cap.

With 11 forwards, the Red Wings obviously need two more and they have two slots open with the roster that I'm using.

The problem is that Hudler's salary is going to make the Wings do a cap dance again.

Hudler could be given a salary of $3-4 million by an arbitrator. Even if he signs for $2 million, that puts Detroit over the cap limit.

So, with $1.683 of room, the obvious place to cut salary is on defense, where eight is a luxury.

Add on Hudler at $3 million and a 13th forward like Jeremy Williams at $500,000 (salary guess) and you've got a team payroll of $58.6 million.

So, you've got two options ... hope that the entire league office has dyslexia and reads $58.6 million as $56.8 million ... or cut $1.817 million off the payroll.

Meech might be the first choice to go as far as past contributions, but at $483,333, cutting his salary doesn't lower the payroll much. Lebda is also economical at $650,000. There's the option of long-term injured reserve, but eventually you have to plan on that/those players returning and the problem is just postponed.

Ericsson and his $900,000 salary aren't going anywhere. Lilja makes $1.25 million. And above that, you've got the big four of Lidstrom ($7.45 million), Rafalski ($6 million), Stuart (3.75 million) and Kronwall ($3 million). And you know that the Wings don't want to get rid of any of those four.

Perhaps there will be buyouts at forward. Now we're getting into some real speculation.

What we know now is that Hudler's salary is the one variable. It will complete the salary puzzle, but it's too large for the one open spot. If Hudler is kept, more moves will have to come.

Red Wings sign two depth forwards

2009-07-06T17:36:00.005-04:00

Ken Holland just said that the Red Wings have inked both Kris Newbury (left) and Jeremy Williams (right) to one-year contracts. The two forwards are depth forwards in the Red Wings organization who are slotted for Grand Rapids.

"They're good American League players," said Holland. "We signed them for depth."

Newbury has played games for Toronto in each of the past three seasons, totaling 44 regular-season games over that span. Newbury spent the bulk of those seasons with the AHL's Toronto Marlies. His best campaign was 2005-06 when he tallied 22 goals and 59 points in 74 games and was a plus-13. The 27-year-old was a fifth-round draft pick in 2002.

Williams has been Newbury's teammate with the Marlies. The 25-year-old was a seventh-round draft pick in 2003. Williams played 31 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs over the past four seasons.

Red Wings sign Leino for two years

2009-07-06T15:30:00.002-04:00

Ville Leino signed a two-year, one-way contract with the Red Wings, today, that is for a salary cap hit of $800,000.

Leino was originally signed by the Red Wings in 2008 as a free agent after being second in the Finnish elite league in scoring. Leino had a great preseason with the Red Wings, but was sent to Grand Rapids to help protect other Red Wings from going through waivers. Coach Mike Babcock called it the toughest preseason demotion that he's been a part of.

Leino spent the bulk of last season with Grand Rapids, but got in 13 regular-season games with Detroit. He played seven games in the playoffs with the Red Wings.

With a one-way contract, Leino, 25, increases his likelihood of staying in Detroit this fall.

"We liked him in camp," said Detroit general manager Ken Holland. "He had a real good preseason. He was real good in Grand Rapids up until January, then he lost a little interest. He didn't want to be there. He was great for us in the 12, 13 games he played. He was good for us in the playoffs. He plays our style. He hangs onto the puck. He goes into the hard areas. Obviously we like him if we signed him to a one-way contract."