Free Press interviews Mike Babcock
Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press interviewed Wings head coach Mike Babcock about lines for the next season as well as new players defenseman Brian Rafalski and forward Dallas Drake.
An entire line (Kyle Calder, Robert Lang, Todd Bertuzzi) is gone. If the roster stands as it is, does this increase the likelihood you’ll split up Zetterberg and Datsyuk? “The way I see it now, I see Datsyuk and (Tomas Holmstrom) and a left wing, and Z and (Mikael Samuelsson) and a left wing. I have (Dan) Cleary with Filppula and Draper. I see Kopecky between (Kirk) Maltby and Drake. For the left wings, I have (Johan) Franzen and Hudler there — but who is playing where, I don’t know. And Grigorenko — I don’t have him in there, because I don’t know him. But I hear he is a huge talent.”
A comment left by a Free Press reader said: “I almost spit out my coffee when I read the question about the loss of Calder, Lang, and Bertuzzi. The only effect that this will have is to give me one less opportunity to fall asleep or throw something at the TV.”
Would I have liked to have kept Bertuzzi? Yes, for the right price. Am I glad that GM Ken Holland didn’t spend $4 million/year on Bertuzzi like Anaheim did? Heck yes. I am totally fine with Calder and Lang leaving. Hopefully, there should be less times where I yell at the TV in frustration over a knuckle headed play by Lang.
Personally, I believe Grigorenko will earn a roster spot with the Wings otherwise he’ll be heading back to Russia. I’m excited to see what he can do and I just hate that it took this long to get him over hear due in part to his awful car accident and consequential injuries.
What are your impressions of Rafalski? “Rafalski has been a match-up guy, a 55-point guy, a guy who gets the puck going, great skater. That was an important signing. Plus, the guy is from Detroit and wanted to play there. We really, really like Rafalski.”
While I probably would’ve picked Mathieu Schneider over Rafalski in terms of a one or two year contract, I like the signing of the younger Brian Rafalski. His offensive touch should pick up even more when he starts playing here in Detroit (like it did for Schneider), but he’s a solid player who will partner with Nicklas Lidstrom according to Babcock.
How about Drake? “I love him because he plays with unbelievable grit and passion. He’s a fierce forechecker. He’s not going to be happy on the fourth line; he is going to want someone’s job — I love that. He’s a great penalty killer, blocks shots, runs over defensemen. I believe, in life in general, people are put out to pasture too early — the Detroit Red Wings don’t believe in that. Dallas has a lot of hockey left in him. When you talk to him, you get excited because he’s that passionate. He’s going to be great.”
For the price we got Drake at ($500,000), it should be a great deal. We get an experienced veteran who likes to play a gritty game without breaking the bank. I think the line he said about the Wings not believing in putting players out to pasture too early is incredibly true. We tend to have one of the oldest average of age on an NHL roster. Some of our best bargains have come in the older players like Chris Chelios, Mathieu Schneider, and Dominik Hasek.
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