Cleary signs five year extension
Just before the start of the Wings-Blackhawks game, Dan Cleary signed a five year extension to keep him with the team through 2013. The deal is worth $14 million and will result in a yearly cap hit of $2.8 million. The contract also included a no-trade clause during his first three and a half years of the contract. In that fourth year, the no-trade clause will expire just before the trade deadline.
After the game, he told beat reporter Bruce MacLeod the following:
Ever since I came to Detroit a few years ago, it’s been a good fit I think for both sides. This is one of the proudest days I’ve ever had other than being married or having a child. I’m really happy about it and really thankful as well…
Think about testing the market? — I really never (did). I always felt inside that it would get done. What else can you say? For me being a Red Wing is truly amazing.
It’s great to see that he is that happy to be staying long-term. Now we just need to get him back on the ice and playing.
Bruce also had an unedited transcript of quotes from GM Ken Holland last night about the signing. Here’s an excerpt:
Heading into this summer, he was a key guy. We talked about if you don’t get him signed, how do you replace him. He’s playing 17-18 minutes a night. He’s killing penalties, he’s on the power play. He does a lot of things for us. How do you replace him?
If you look at players who have 40 points in 58 games, they’re getting salaries in the mid-threes ($3 million).
Basically, the trade-off is “I like it here. I want to be here. I’ll take less money, but in return I want to know I’m signing to be here.” I think the no-trade for me is about knowing he’s mature, he’s committed … so I don’t have a problem with the no-trade.
Personally, I like the signing. I like that we spent less than $3 million/year on him like we had hoped for. I like that we have a gritty forward like that who works hard for five more seasons. And I like that Kenny got it done before the playoffs and postseason so there isn’t so much unknown this summer.
Like Holland said, who would we go to to replace that type of player? And how much would that cost us on the open market? As we saw in the playoffs last year, we need gritty players and Cleary had a great postseason with some really clutch performances so you won’t hear any complaining from me about the signing.
BTJ is now on Facebook
Apparently, you can make Facebook pages now allowing individuals to become “fans” of music groups, companies, non-profits, etc. After seeing Billfer at Detroit Tigers Weblog make a Facebook page for his blog, I decided to follow his act and create one for BTJ.
So if you have an account with Facebook and would like to be a fan of BTJ, just follow this link and click on the button that says something like become a fan.
Wing defeat Predators, 4-3
The first two periods of tonight’s game were by far the most enjoyable hockey I’ve seen since the Wings started losing a lot in early February. Okay so I really only saw the second period, but from what I heard both periods were great. Plus, the game was sold out and the crowd was noticeably louder, which is always great to hear.
How great is it now that Nicklas Lidstrom is back? Even a rusty Lidstrom makes such a different. Lids got two assists. BTJ favorite Niklas Kronwall earned two assists.
Johan Franzen was named first star of the game after scoring twice tonight.
Defenseman Brad Stuart scored his first goal since joining the Red Wings at the trade deadline and he received a nice round of applause from the crowd when Budd Lynch announced that it was his first goal in the winged wheel.
The third period was definitely not anything to write home about as the team allowed three goals within the last ten minutes of the period.
Dominik Hasek made 20 saves on 23 shots. He was in character tonight between getting a delay of game penalty and then trying to get to the puck behind the net and then getting “hit” upon which we saw a lovely embellishment from the crazy Czech. And while that craziness can sometimes drive you mad, it is when Dom is in his element that he truly shines. That’s the attitude we want in the playoffs. It’s crazy, but it works.
Wings win second straight game
The Detroit Red Wings have finally decided that it’s cool to win again as they defeated the St. Louis Blues last night, 4-1 (click the link for my game recap). It was their second straight victory, the first of which since winning their first three games in February (and then consequently losing the rest except for one against Colorado).
I thought it was an enjoyable game, particularly with the hostility that seemed to crop up towards the end of the game. We even got to see Brian Rafalski wrestle Jeff Woywitka to the ground with less than a minute left. Woywitka had hit Tomas Kopecky, who wasn’t by the puck, at center ice. Rafalski apparently did not like what he saw and decided to do something about it. I found it quite entertaining to watch Rafalski go at it. I mean, it’s Rafalski!
It’s amazing how much of an impact Niklas Kronwall and Brian Rafalski have on this team. To see them both back now, it’s quite impressive at how much quicker the puck moves and how those two can get the puck to the net creating better scoring opportunities for the forwards. Now I can’t wait to see Nicklas Lidstrom return on Sunday.
I usually don’t like to talk about what goes on at work because I want to make sure my work stays separate from my blog, but I figure that this is fair game and shouldn’t cause any problems. I actually had the chance to briefly talk with the Blues assistant coach Brad Shaw on our way to the press box before the game. Apparently, the Blues have a unique system where one of the assistant coaches sits in the press box. For example, Shaw was in the press box for the first period and then was down on the bench during the second and third periods. I believe Ray Bennett, the other assistant coach, was going to be up in the press box for the remaining two periods. Crazy, huh?
Then, I had the opportunity to chat with the Blues radio play-by-play announcer Chris Kerber, who was very pleasant to talk to. He is one of the loudest announcers I have heard this season (the visiting radio booth is right next to where I sit in the press box) and he does so because he likes getting feedback from the fans sitting below him. They actually have a microphone taped to the wall to pick up crowd noise. So when he said something like “the Blues are bound to score off one of these bounces” and a fan yelled back, “no they aren’t”, the microphone picked up that exchange and it apparently adds more to the call of the game.
Just thought those were two interesting tidbits I would share with you all since I thought they were more of the public knowledge type of information.
Lidstrom & Rafalski to return this week
Defenseman Brian Rafalski should actually return to tomorrow’s game against St. Louis, which is some great news. Hopefully with the addition of Rafalski to a defensive corp that has been strengthened by Niklas Kronwall’s return and the arrival of Brad Stuart, the Wings can start clicking once again and return to the world of winning.
What’s even more encouraging is that both Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios participated in practice, but neither played during the battle drills at practice. Lidstrom is expected to be ready for Sunday’s home game while Chelios is still listed day-to-day.
“I felt a little sluggish out there,” Lidstrom said. “Haven’t skated for two weeks; skated a little bit yesterday and felt okay. I’m hoping it’s going to improve and get better in the next few days here so I can play, hopefully this weekend.”
Chelios said he had a setback the last time he skated.
“I’m not playing tomorrow for sure,” Chelios said. “I skated and it’s getting better but I won’t be playing tomorrow and it’s just a day-to-day thing.”
Surprisingly, Jonathan Ericsson will remain in the lineup until Lidstrom or Chelios returns, which means that Brett Lebda or Andreas Lilja will be named a healthy scratch (my money would be on Lebda).
Now that Hasek is healthy, we will see him get some more starts as he gears up for the playoff action next month. He will start his third straight game tomorrow at home.
Brett Favre retires after 17 seasons
I know I don’t talk too much football and usually when I do it’s restricted to Lions football, but I’ve been a lifelong Brett Favre fan so I wanted to make a post in honor of him announcing his retirement after 17 great seasons.
When I was a little girl, I remembered cheering on Steve Young and the 49ers, Brett Favre and the Packers, and of course the hometown Lions. Aside from his first season in the league, the rest of his career was spent with the Green Bay Packers. Similar to Steve Yzerman, Favre was the one player who stretched his playing time over the 90s and into the millenium. Like Yzerman, he played through his fair share of injuries. He even struggled with personal problems off of the field. But that’s why we loved him, he seemed human and then would go out on the field and play an amazing game despite the fact his father had just passed away the day before.
ESPN.com writer Wright Thompson wrote an online article about what he’ll miss the most:
I’ll miss the picks. I’ll miss them even more than the touchdowns, though he holds the all-time records for both. For it was in failure that we saw how much Favre wanted to win. He wanted to win so badly he was willing to lose. Not just lose. He was willing to be the goat for a shot at being the hero. So many quarterbacks are poor timid souls who’ve known neither victory nor defeat. Game managers. Not our man. He knew defeat 288 times. There is something poetic about his last pass as a professional ending up in an interception.
I’ll miss the pills, and the drinking, and the stories about rehab. Favre wasn’t perfect. None of us are. But in his imperfections lay his humanity. He was capable of failure like any of us, and therefore his successes seemed even more amazing. He was real, in a league that often seems anything but.
Brett, here’s to a happy retirement!
Wings continue to lose games
Last night, the Detroit Red Wings lost to San Jose, 3-2, in their ninth loss in ten games. February was a rough month to say the least for Red Wings fans as the team went 4-8-2.
IwoCPO @ Abel to Yzerman sums up what has happened over the last 29 days:
The MSM didn’t even mention Detroit anymore because it was so clearly the Wings and everyone else. Oh, well, there was the occasional, “they need some adversity.”
I think…no, I’m positive…that we’ve met the adversity quota, thanks. Kronwall started it, because he’s Kronwall. Broken clavicle the night before this throw-up-in-your-mouth of a month began, and then the wackiness just kept on comin’. Buckets took a puck to the puss on 9 February, Rafalski’s groin gave out in Nashville three days later. Lidstrom went down the following week, Chelios four days after that, and Hasek’s hip flares because he’s 74 and that’s what happens.
And next thing you know, conference leads started to dwindle, third-period leads disappeared, secondary scoring became a secondary priority, Osgood gets yanked twice in a row, then benched. And the losses piled up. The bellows began from the restless natives. “The deadline will save us,” they yelled. But the deadline didn’t, nor should it have. Tick Tock got us a top 4 defenseman and nature slowly healed some–not all, but some–wounds.
When we got our first four straight losses since Mike Babcock has been the Wings’ head coach, it was cause for concern but just a bump along the road. Then the injuries and losses continued to pile up and the concern quickly grew.
Eric McErlain has also noted the recent downfall for the Wings last month:
February was a miserable month for the Wings, no doubt about it. As the AP pointed out in its game notes from last night, back on February 5, the Wings were 17 points on top of Dallas in the Western Conference. After last night, that lead is down to just four points, and the Stars are all of a sudden looking more potent offensively after the addition of center Brad Richards.
Meanwhile, the Wings were limited to importing journeyman defenseman Brad Stuart from Los Angeles. They’re going to need him, as three of the team’s top defensemen, Nik Lidstrom, Chris Chelios and Brian Rafalski, are on the shelf, with Chelios proclaiming just the other day that he wasn’t “even close” to coming back.
While the news isn’t all bad for the Wings — both Dom Hasek and Nik Kronwall returned from their own stays on the injured list last night — you can forgive the folks in Detroit for feeling like the sky is falling.
So how in the world did this losing streak happen after playing such a strong first half of the season?
Well, obviously the injury epidemic has played a huge role in this. You can’t expect a team to win every game with injuries to the likes of Dominik Hasek, Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall, Brian Rafalski, Dan Cleary, and Chris Chelios. The Wings roster has consisted of a good chunk of Grand Rapids Griffins players so imagine where the team would be in the standings had only one or two players gotten the injury bug.
I’ve got a spreadsheet in front of me with the ice time of all the Detroit defenders over the past 10 games, and it’s rather unbelievable. Rookie Derek Meech, for instance, played 27:19 last night against Edmonton. Brett Lebda led the group with 27:41.
Another rookie, Jonathan Ericsson, was playing key minutes on the power play and Kyle Quincey the penalty kill, with Garret Stafford picking up just five minutes ice time total.
Other than Lilja and Lebda, the Detroit blueline hadn’t had more than a handful of games of experience in the NHL prior to this season.
The Wings are struggling to score on even strength. According to Bruce MacLeod, the Wings have not scored on even strength in seven of the last eleven games. That’s ridiculous.
Personally, I think the team heavily relies on its defensive core and with key players missing, the team is struggling to get in sync and maybe the current injuries are too great to overcome. Maybe we won’t see any improvement until some more players return. While our lead in the league and conference is quickly shrinking, Detroit still has a 18 point lead in the Central Division. While this could certainly change as 14 of our last 15 games are against the Central and we only have a 7-9-2 record against our division, our strong first half of the season allows the team to get its act together and find some sort of chemistry in the midst of all these injuries before the start of the playoffs.
Wings acquire Stuart at deadline
On Tuesday just before the trade deadline at 3pm, the Detroit Red Wings agreed to a trade with the LA Kings. The Wings received 28 year old Brad Stuart and gave up two draft picks, a second rounder this year and a fourth round pick in 2009.
While I was initially quite disappointed that the Stuart trade was all that we did this season (especially after the excitement of last year’s Todd Bertuzzi deal), my outlook was much more positive after giving the trade some thought. All of our currently injured players are supposed to be healthy by the time the playoffs start. We know that the Wings’ lineup worked well together before the injuries started piling up so why trade away someone on a roster that was working before February?
GM Ken Holland tried to find an offensive player by the trade deadline, but the asking prices were too great. We all saw that with the injury bug of late, the team needed depth at defense. Holland made sure to address that problem and traded for Brad Stuart. Yes, we lost two draft picks, but we didn’t lose anyone on the roster or a first round draft pick. Injuries can cause big problems to any team (look at the Senators and the Canucks earlier this season) so part of postseason success is just luck concerning injuries. If we can help safeguard that by adding some depth on defense, all the better.
Here’s some reaction on the trade from around the blogosphere…
Brad Stuart- Traded to Detroit for a 2nd in ‘08 and a 4th in ‘09. Not bad for the 4th best defenseman on the worst defensive team in the league. Brad Stuart will always be overrated by some because he hits big occasionally and has some size, but I think he only improved halfway through the season because Jack Johnson took some of his even-strength minutes. Hopefully the Wings will pair him with Rafalski and allow him to concentrate on hurting opposing forwards. He’ll probably help their 2nd line power play, although I guess they don’t really have a 2nd unit because their 1st unit always scores.
Dave @ Gorilla Crouch:
So Ken Holland deserves credit for filling the one glaring need Detroit had heading into the playoffs: a 4th top-4 d-man. Andreas Lilja filled in quite admirably as a top 4 rearguard during the playoffs last season but this season has proven that he isn’t consistent enough to log the amount of minutes a top 4 d-man plays. He is a perfect fit as a third pairing d-man who can play on the PK. Lilja in fact is a very good PK’er and should suit up for most of the playoff games alongside Chris Chelios.
Brad Stuart should be able to fill two really big needs Detroit has right now: he is a legitimate top 4 d-man and he will be able to play on the point on the second power play unit. He was also one of the top d-men in terms of time on ice on Los Angeles’ PK unit.
Larry Wigge @ NHL.com:
Hey, we know Red Wings fans are used to GM Ken Holland stirring the pot at the deadline and bringing in a big name like Larry Murphy, Chelios or Todd Bertuzzi. Holland isn’t gun shy; just smart. He looked at what it would cost to acquire free-agent-to-be Marian Hossa, but balked at the price that likely would have included up-and-comer Valtteri Filppula and a bunch of prospects and draft choices. Give him credit, Holland knows Stuart is a top-four defenseman – and with Detroit still hoping for another Stanley Cup run, he couldn’t afford to let the deadline pass without making a move as insurance for his defense. Especially after seeing his team go deep into the Western Conference Final without Mathieu Schneider and Kronwall before losing to Anaheim.
“We think Brad’s a perfect No. 4 for us,” Holland told reporters. “He can play a little bit on the second power play, he can kill some penalties. He gives us something we’re lacking. He’s abrasive, he’s 6-2 – you know when you go against some teams that have got some bigger forwards, we can match him up against those forwards.
“He’s a guy we talked a lot about signing last July when he became a free agent.”
Matt @ On the Wings:
This obviously isn’t a bad deal as it did not cost the Wings a roster player or an established prospect. The added depth and experience is a good thing, though going into the post-season with Meech as the 7th man would not have been the end of the world by any means. Personally, I’d rather have seen a scoring forward come this way in a trade rather than a defenseman, but I’m not going to complain too much.
The question now is, who sits when everyone is healthy?
Pete @ yzerman is god:
First things first, I love the Stuart trade, and I also predicted it, give or take a fourth round pick. He’s by far the best value on the market. The guy has first round skill but hasn’t found the handle. If the Wings can do to Stuart what they did to Cleary, he’ll turn into a dominant defenseman. If he does reach his potential, the Wings won’t be able to afford him in 09-10, but at the least they could bring him back next year, in lieu of Lilja.
Basically the Wings kept 1) their roster intact 2) all their prospects and 3) their first rounder in a very deep draft. The only criticism I could make is not snagging at least Mark Recchi, who Atlanta had no reason to hold onto. Huds for Recchi straight up? I don’t know. Doesn’t matter. I like this team, once it gets healthy.