Hi Everyone

Today I am going to give you my take on how this Season will unfold.

On Paper:

This team looks good.  Mike Modano being the biggest sign(so far) this off season for the Wings will add another high end scorer to the line.  Modano will make a good addition and most likely play on the 3rd line or second as a best case and should also get time on the power play.  The key this year will be to stay healthy, many believe it was that issue that kept the Wings on the bottom half of the Western Conference for more then half the season last year and although they were close to healthy near the end of last season and in the playoffs many believe the strain of struggling all year caught up with them.  Only 3 players played all 82 games last season, and only 8 played more then 70 games which again says stay healthy.

The Injury Bug:

Last season 6 of the Wings key players were sidelined, majority were during the first half of last season.  Franzen, Holmstrom, Kronwall, Filppula, Cleary, and Zetterberg are all key members which hurt the Wings when they were needed most.  Another factor was that Datsyuk and Zetterberg did not live up to the standards giving only 70 pts each all season the highest on the team.  in 08-09 Datsyuk pulled out 98 points Zetterberg did only come out with 73 the same year but was projected to do much better last season.  Again in this year 14 players played 70 or more games which lead the Wings to the finals for the second year against the now rival Pittsburgh Penguins.  Going back further the year Detroit won the Stanley Cup 07-08 Datsyuk and Zetterberg had 97 and 92 points respectively and 6 of the 7 men injured in last season were in the top 10 in 07-08 again pointing that healthy means winning for sure for the Wings top players.

Who is Out and Question Marks:

Brett Lebda, Brad May, and Jason Williams will not be returning this season, all of which however don’t mean much on the score sheet but a presence on the ice.  Kirk Maltby is yet to be signed but still may return if he has not signed by the start of this years training camp.  Maltby has been in the franchise since 1996 being with all 4 of the cup winning teams since 1997-98.  Andreas Lilja’s contract is also up, however he missed 12 months due to concussion issues spanning back to the 08-09 season.  The Wings have offered him a 1.0 Million dollar contract for 1 year which he has yet to decide.

Who is In:

Mike Modano, need i say more? as you may have read in my “Modano Who” article Mike Modano brings a well established forward to the team.  As the old saying goes, there is no I in team, but there is one in Win.  Mike Modano will bring a scoring touch to Detroit and will also revitalize the Wings with a fresh set of eyes.  Who also could forget the re-signing of Niklas Lidstrom who is the heart and soul of Detroit, along with Brian Rafalski the best D pair in the NHL is back!  Jiri Hudler who spent last year in the KHL will also return and he was also a huge part in the cup winning team in 08-09.  On a final note in this section, look for the Wings to go for another scorer for a good price as they may be able to squeeze another drop out and sign a big name to a short term deal.

Goaltending :

The ultimate question of every team.  We know Jimmy Howard will be the starter but can he live up to his own hype that he created last season.  Howard played 63 games with 37 wins, a bit over half of hat he played with a 2.26 GAA, he could be better Howard will have to be better.  Osgood may start this year in the start of the season but look for he and Howard to swap the first 10 games maybe then Howard will most likely get the permanent start for the majority of the year.  Osgood will still coach Howard in his development and if any big question this year it will be goaltending.

Final Summary:

As always I would like to see Detroit win again.  Staying healthy will be the key, with Modano and Hudler back in the mix as well is an established defensive core and forward depth I say Detroit will once again reign atop the Western Conference.  Chicago won’t have as great success as they did last year as the guts of that team have been ripped out, other then that Detroit has little to stand between them and the West again, should Detroit stay healthy look for them to finish in the top 3 if not 1st in the west maybe the entire NHL.  As far as playoffs again depending on health and who they face.  It should be an exciting season and i look forward to blogging for you all again this year.

Thanks for Reading

Can it be so?

Chris Chelios is back with the Wings!…  but not as a player.  Chelios has come to terms with Detroit to be involved with the franchise but as some type of a player development roll.  Ken Holland kept in touch with Chelios after his departure from Detroit and was willing to take Chelios back in some form once Chelios decided his own fate as a player.  This will be another great asset to the already established developing team Detroit has to offer, but with credentials like Chelios why wouldn’t Detroit fans be happy about this.

Chelios was drafted in 1981 by Montreal,  Hey I wasn’t even born yet but Chelios was a great player.  He spent his career in Montreal(83-90), Chicago(90-99), then finally Detroit(99-2009) and the brief stand in Atlanta(2009-2010).In the 2009-2010 Season, Chelios played much of the season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, only playing 7 games on Atlanta in the NHL.  He spent 10 years on Detroit from 1999-2009.  Chelios has 3 Stanley Cups with 2 teams (Detroit and Montreal) as well as 1651 NHL career games and 948 overall points and over 2800 penalty minutes in his rough grinding career.

Chelios will bring a very good veteran presence to the Detroit head office(not that theres a lack of that)and will no doubt help Detroit’s young players.  Best of luck to Chris Chelios he was a great player and will be a great role model for the young Winger’s and also a great teacher.

Mike Modano is an American born NHL player who has earned his stripes in the NHL ranks over the years.  He was the second American born NHL player to be drafted first overall in the 1988 Entry Draft and has since become one of the best American born players ever.  Modano has also earned several accomplishments.  In 1999 he won the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars, He also has the most points by an American born player.  Currently Modano has 1359 pts in his NHL career with more hopefully on the way with 557 career goals.

These reasons among others is why Detroit wants to sign Modano as a free agent.  Modano can easily average a 25-30 goal season provided he is healthy, Modano only played 59 games last year and had a 30 point season his lowest in his NHL career.  Modano would be an excellent fit for the Red Wings giving them yet another good scoring producer, I don’t know if this will bring them a cup but as always should the Wings stay healthy they will be a force no doubt this coming year.

Thanks for Reading

Speculations have been running wild as the lease agreement with the city of Detroit and the now famed Joe Louis Arena ended.  However the mayor of Detroit as well as the City agreed upon a new lease that will keep Detroit in the Joe.

Joe Louis Arena opened in 1979 after the Wings moved from the famous Detroit Olympia.

Not much more has been said on this other then Detroit has recently contemplated weather to build a new arena or play at the Palace of Auburn Hills which is home to the Detroit Pistons of the NBA.  Only Edmonton has an older arena then Detroit, maybe its time for a change.

Hey Everyone

It has been a while but I’m still here with a quick little update.

As my new Red Wing counter-part and fellow blogger Tom Payment already has said Lidstrom re-signed with the Wings to a 1 year $6.2 million dollar contract which will keep the seasoned veteran in the mix in the D for at least another year.  Lidstrom did some thinking after the Wings Semi-Final bounce by the Sharks and was quoted as saying “I thought this might be it.” but for at least 1 more year the Heart and Soul of the Red Wings will remain.  Health was not a factor in Lidstrom’s final decision, it was more circled around his personal life.

Looking back Niklas Lidstrom has 18 years under his belt and and 4 of them brought fourth Lord Stanley dating back to the Yzerman years of Detroit.  This year although not the greatest still got Lidstrom 49 points but this was his third worst season ever only his 2nd year in the NHL and the 03-04 season were any worse but it would be his 4th if you want to count the shortened season in 94-95, none the less Lidstrom is a human dynamo.

GM Ken Holland is also high on Lidstrom stating he is the best two-way D-Man in the NHL.  Lidstrom will more then likely live and die career wise as a Red Wing but he does not plan to go on like his former Wing counter-part Chris Chelios who is playing at 48 years of age.

Lidstrom would like to end his career on a high note and finish with a 5th Cup it would put the exclamation mark on the end of a historic NHL career to say the least.  Mike Babcock has said that next year if everyone stays healthy look for Detroit to be knocking at the door once again as they will not be giving up and don’t plan to disappear into the night they will still be a force for many years to come.

Hi Everyone

So finally it ends Game 5 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals sees the end of the Wings for this season.  All in all i see tiredness catching up with the Wings, but overall no one can say the Wings didn’t try.  At some points in the season it seemed they would not even make the post season being as low as 13th in the West prior to the Olympics.

Key injuries also put the Wings on hold early on with key players such as Johan Franzen and Justin Williams among others going down at different points of the season as well as a lack of scoring by Zetterberg and even Datsyuk at some points.  The Wings would pull through later in the Season being 8-1-1 in the last 10 games of the season and going 16-3-2 after the Olympics.

The Wings would make the playoffs and bounce Phoenix in the 1st round in 7 games but the mighty Sharks would then bounce the Wings in 5 games.  Jimmy Howard now has a bright future in the NHL and will take the Wings into next season and beyond.

Many questions are being asked about the Wings future, with the possibility to Niklas Lidstrom’s retirement to changes to the team itself the landscape in Hockey Town as to every team in the NHL is subject to changes eventually.  Are changes coming to Detroit or should changes come?  Detroit now has to look ahead to next year with the possibility of loosing Niklas Lidstrom, another question is IF Lidstrom does retire who should now be captain? My top 3 would be Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk, or Henrik Zetterberg, Thomas Holmstrom would also be a worth candidate but we shall see how things go.

Any way now that Detroit’s season is over I will still be back with updates and blogging during the summer I hope you have all liked my blogs this season and i hope to be back next year.

Thanks for Reading

Hi Everyone

So the Wings faced elimination Thursday night trying to put the past 3 games behind them, after dropping all 3 by a 1 goal differential 4-3 all 3 times.  We head into Detroit where the Wings backs are against the wall.

The first 5 minutes of period 1 were quiet not to much going on then suddenly Bertuzzi would open with a big powerplay goal from Franzen and Zetterberg then after that The Mule Johan Franzen woke up and ignited literally, Franzen would score at 7:50 of the first and net 2 more in under 4 minutes.  With 2 goals after 8 playoff games in 4 minutes Franzen would go up to 5 goals on these playoffs.  Filpulla would also net one more for Detroit at 18:50 giving the Wings a 5-0 lead after 1 period of play.  Only 3 penalties were called 2 against Detroit and one against San Jose which gave Detroit the first Bertuzzi goal.  Howard would make 11 saves in the first keeping the shutout.

Period 2 would start to see tempers flare on both sides.  Rafalski would score on the power play at 3:05 making the game 6-0 in favor of Detroit at 19:11 San Jose would finally score there first making it 6-1 by Heatley but would they be able to catch Detroit’s amazing offence.  This period would see 6 penalties 3 by each team Howard was 14-15 on shots allowing that 1 goal.

The 3rd period would see 17 penalties handed out mostly against San Jose and 3 game misconducts.  Franzen would net yet one more giving him 4 goals on the night and 6 points over all being in on all but the Filpulla goal in the second.  Bertuzzi would have 5 points on the night as well.  This is a good omen for the Wings with an awesome line now producing, I don’t know though if they can sustain that pressure again but if they can the Wings could make a super comeback and win 4 straight.  We will have to see tonight what happens.

Hi Everyone

Sorry i was not able to get on to write for the last couple games but I wont fail my fellow Winged followers.

Both of the last 2 games have been a 4-3 heartbreak for the Wings, last game was horrible for a Wings fan.  Jimmy let in a couple bad shots after being up 3-1 and once again the power play killed Detroit in Game 3 as Joe Pavelski netted 2 power play goals.  What is going on with the Wings?  They cant get a break after knocking off Phoenix, is the travel to much for them, they should be used to it after playing in the Western Conference for so long time will once again tell.

Game 4 will be in Detroit and its do or die as the Sharks have a 3-0 strangle hold.  Joe Pavelski MUST be contained in order to win and Jimmy Howard must be better and the Wings veterans need to shut down San Jose’s stars.

Game 4 is our last chance guys! Dont let us down!

Hi Everyone

Detroit went into the Shark Tank (HP Pavilion) on Thursday and wanted to topple the highest remaining seed in these playoffs.  With the stats all on the Wings side who could argue as Detroit was 3-0-1 through the season against the Sharks, and being 2-1 in playoff series against them and out scoring them 64-36 over those 3 series.

Mike Babcock had said survive the first 10 minutes of the game against the Sharks and you are good, well they almost did it… Joe Pavelski or “Little Joe” started the scoring at from Boyle and Demers on the power play, then less then a minute later Heatley would score his first goal of the playoffs followed by a goal by Setoguchi, all 3 goals would come within 89 seconds.  Dan Cleary would score just over a minute later to make it 3-1 and that would be it for the first as far as scoring, San Jose would take 2 minor penalties within the last 9 minutes but the Wings could not convert.

The second period was quiet with scoring Franzen would only score but 8 penalties were called against both teams in total so the Wings would be within one by the end of the second period of play.

Joe Pavelski would score again 50 seconds into the 3rd once again on the power play just a little bit later at 2:57 Rafalski would score from Datsyuk and Franzen that would remain the final 4-3 so as I said this would be a close series expect the same in the following games.  Once again the Wings need to STAY OUT OF THE BOX as 2 goals were scored on the power play both by Pavelski.  Jimmy Howard can also not have another showing as he did giving up 3 goals in 89 seconds, it is not a playoff goalie winning formula.  Overall both goalies did well but Howard must be better.  Game 2 will be in San Jose on Sunday the wings can still bounce back and make a series of this as long as they fix the issues that still plague them.

Thanks for Reading!

Hi Everyone

Who’s your daddy?  That is what Detroit is asking Phoenix after a walk over of a game 7 in Phoenix.

Detroit went into Phoenix needing to win the final game 7 in order to advance, the crowd was rocking in Phoenix and Detroit was against the wall.  The first period saw no scoring, however each team would have 1 penalty but neither would convert but Detroit out played Phoenix with 17-6 shots as the puck spent most of the time in the Phoenix defensive zone.

Period 2 was a much more different story.  9 penalties were called combined for both teams.  The scoring would start on a power play at 2:01 by of course Pavel Datsyuk from Lidstrom and Rafalski, just over a minute and a half later he would net another, his fifth in these playoffs with another making the game 2-0.  PHoenix’s Vernon Fiddler would get his own  putting the Yotes within 1.  Niklas Lidstrom would then net a power play goal and that would be the beginning of the end for Phoenix at 13:52.  Later in  the period several penalties were called which would put the Coyotes on a 4 on 3, Phoenix could not convert on this chance and when the last player, Brad Stuart came out of the box he would race away on a break away making the score 4-1 at the end of the second.

The 3rd and final period of this series saw Detroit truly dominate, Fiddler of Phoenix took 2 minor penalties.  Todd Bertuzzi would score making it 5-1 followed by Lidstrom on the second Fiddler penalty would seal it 6-1 was the final goal.

I would have to agree with the Toronto Sun today as the front of the sports section said “Say Uncle” about that game as Phoenix was schooled.

I will admit Phoenix put up a hell of a fight and up till the final game had the Wings on the ropes, but now we look ahead Detroit must take on the San Jose Sharks number one seeded and after game 6 against Colorado, San Jose looks ready to dance.  This year Detroit was 3-0-1 against the Sharks in the regular season, outscoring them 12-7.  All of these games were within 3 or less which will prove this will be a close and possibly long series, but no one expected Phoenix to go all 7 so don’t be surprised if we see a sweep either.  Zetterberg, Eaves, and Cleary are the top scorers against San Jose with 2 goals for all 3 while Joe Thorton is 3 goals and 4 points against Detroit he may come out of his shell in this series.  Joe Pavelski saw the most points with 8 in the San Jose/Colorado Series while Henrik Zetterberg saw 11 points against Phoenix so this series will be close but also high scoring.  As far as Goaltending Nabakov has  1.76 GAA and Howard has a 2.59 so again look for a close series scoring wise as was Anaheim in last years playoffs.

Overall i expect a good showing, this is when San Jose is known to choke, I will give the Sharks a chance but i see the Wings taking it so ill say Wings in 6.

Thanks for Reading!