8/31 Quick Hits
Here are some quick links to relevant Red Wings articles and posts around the internet on this holiday weekend:
- Next Sunday (September 7), the Red Wings are hosting a Fan Fest. For just $5, fans will be able to play interactive games, take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Joe, act as a play-by-play announcer, and even ask questions to Yzerman, other players and alum. The event will last from 10am until 5pm. In addition, the Wings will be giving out prizes including signed jerseys and other merchandise. I think this is a great opportunity for the team to reach out to its fans (reminds me of the Blackhawks Convention this summer). I don’t know if there’s a limited number of tickets so you may want to buy the tickets in advance at Ticketmaster, JLA box office, or Hockeytown Authentics.
- Don’t buy the rumor that Mats Sundin is visiting Detroit this weekend and touring Joe Louis Arena. Does it look like the Wings have room under the salary cap for this guy? That’d be a no. The same article reports that Darren McCarty notified GM Ken Holland that he will likely sign the two-way contract with the Wings. Chris Chelios is also expected to make a deal when he returns to Detroit before training camp.
- Joe Pelletier at Greatest Hockey Legends, the best resource on the web when it comes to hockey biographies and historical moments, is counting down the greatest photos in hockey history. Coming in at #5 is Gordie Howe’s lying in a hospital bed with a fractured skull replying to fan mail.
- Kevin Allen at USA Today has his preseason picks for the upcoming season. It’s not too much of a surprise to see the Wings in the top spot.
- Abel to Yzerman has a series determining the Wings’ biggest rivals using six key factors. Today in Round #3, Bill looks at the Ducks also known as the Poultry over at A2Y. If I had to pick a team I personally despise the most, it’d be Anaheim. Between Chris Pronger (who I loathe), Brian Burke, the 2007 playoff loss to them, and then Schneider and Bertuzzi signing with them after said loss, there’s not much to like.
Michigan loses to Utah, 25-23
As most of you know, I am currently a student at the University of Michigan. Last year, I made a post after the horrific loss to Appalachian State, which still hurts to this day. Anyways, I knew this was going to be a rough season adjusting to a new coach, the spread offense, and a bunch of new players in key positions. I had just hoped that the season opener would go smoothly. Sadly, that did not happen as the Wolverines lost 25-23. Now I’m not going to talk about the game specifics because you can read any of these great blogs if you want to get their opinions on the action. I just wanted to comment that this loss sucks and then the cab I was using to get back to my apartment because I’m on crutches got in a minor car accident so that was a great finish to the evening.
However, I must admit that my seats aren’t too shabby. Row 20. Section 25. Aisle seat. I was sitting on the 21 yard line. Glorious.
So how did I cheer myself up after the game? I popped in the 2008 Stanley Cup Champs DVD and realized how much I miss hockey! Only 24 more days until the Wings first preseason game!
Chelios plans to return to Blackhawks
According to Chris Chelios, he hopes to return to the Chicago Blackhawks either as a player or team personnel.
“You don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings,” Chelios told the Chicago Tribune. “I found a new home in Detroit, but Chicago is always going to be home. My parents still live here, and I intend on coming back home here some day and spending the rest of my days here, whether it’s as a player or somehow being involved with the Blackhawks.”
Personally, I don’t see Cheli returning to play with the Blackhawks. I know he wants to play longer, but I think he’ll play long enough until his kids, who are very happy in Detroit, have graduated from high school. Once they do, I could definitely see him playing a management role with the Blackhaws, which may allow him to still go back to Detroit frequently enough to check in on his Cheli’s Chili restaurants. But that’s just my guess…
Chelios visited his hometown on Friday to show off the Stanley Cup around town. He made an appearance at the Chicago Cubs game and even sung “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and then went to the South Side and took the Cup to the White Sox game at U.S. Cellular Field.
“We’ll just do a milk run all over the city,” he said. “I know I’m bringing it with the wrong team, but at least I brought it back home.”
Dave @ Gorilla Crouch had hoped to catch Cheli with the Cup this weekend so be sure to stop by his blog tomorrow to see if his plans worked out.
What’s the biggest unknown this upcoming season?
Alright BTJ readers, I want to hear from you on what you think is the biggest unknown or question for the Detroit Red Wings organization this season. This unknown can range any where from ticket sales to the goaltending duo to how Hossa is going to fit into the line-up to the new members of the coaching staff.
George Sipple believes that while the Wings have more legitimate talent than roster spots, there are still numerous questions that need to be answered.
The biggest questions among those projected to make the team are:
• Will forward Tomas Kopecky be ready to play after having surgery on his left knee to repair a torn ACL and MCL?
• Can Jimmy Howard beat out Conklin for the backup job?
• Will forward Johan Franzen build off a breakout 27-goal season, or will his late-season scoring tear prove to be a fluke?
• With a long-term contract in place, will Filppula take the next step offensively and contribute 20-25 goals?
I think the biggest unknown will be if the Wings can convince Hossa to stay on past one season while still fitting Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen under the cap. To do this, the organization needs to show him why they are the classiest team when it comes to treating their players right and show him how perfectly he fits within the team structure.
Leave a comment and tell us what you think the Wings biggest unknown is and why.
Vote Lidstrom at The Ace of Sports
Three days ago, I mentioned on BTJ that I wrote a bit on why Steve Yzerman should be voted the Detroit’s Best Athlete of the Decade. Well, I wasn’t going to admit it until Yzerman “lost” but I truly believe Nicklas Lidstrom has been the best athlete in Detroit since 1998. Unfortunately, Dave @ Gorilla Crouch was quicker than me in responding to Ace’s email so I ended up writing about Yzerman.
Anyways, Round #2 of the poll has begun and Nicklas Lidstrom has been faced up against Magglio Ordonez, outfielder for the Detroit Tigers. Now Maggs is most certainly my Tiger and I love the guy, but there is absolutely no way he is a better athlete than Lidstrom over the past decade.
Lidstrom has three Stanley Cup titles to his name (not including the ‘97 win), six Norris Trophies, and a multitude of other impressive stats. So go head over to The Ace of Sports and vote Lidstrom!
Wings lose more personnel this summer
According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, the Wings have lost yet another staff member this offseason. While the Wings were able to hang on to all of their key players and even boost their roster with the presence of Marian Hossa (who looks great in the Winged Wheel by the way), they have struggled to retain their personnel talent this summer. The absence of Scotty Bowman is bad enough, but the Wings have now lost two members of the coaching staff, a scout, and the assistant equipment manager. Man. Sure, it’s great to see these guys get promotions for their hard work, but did they all have to leave at once?
The biggest losses have come from the staff. Associate coach Todd McLellan was hired as head coach of the San Jose Sharks and took video coach Jay Woodcroft with him as an assistant coach.
Consultant and former coach Scotty Bowman became an advisor for the Chicago Blackhawks and will spend more time with his son, Stan, an assistant general manager.
Pro scout and former NHL head coach Bob McCammon retired, and assistant equipment manager Chris Scoppetto left to become head equipment manager of the Florida Panthers.
“You’ve had success, and other people want your people,” general manager Ken Holland said. “We had good people. I’m disappointed that we’ve lost them, but in every case they’ve got a bigger role, a bigger paycheck.”
If the Wings season ends up being more like this year’s Tigers (which has been a huge disappointment after all of the preseason hype) than repeating as champs (or at least going far in the postseason), I think the reason may lie in the loss of key personnel and not necessarily the players on the ice. However, I believe in the wisdom of Ken Holland and Mike Babcock so I’m sure the replacements are well-qualified and will hopefully be great fits with the organization.
8/18 Quick Links
The Ace of Sports, a Detroit sports blog, is running a poll to determine the best Detroit athlete of the past decade. Each of the four Detroit sports teams have two representatives and fans are encouraged to vote for their choice for each team. The four winners will then move on to determine the overall best Detroit athlete. I contributed to the Red Wings portion of the blog and you can read my spiel for Steve Yzerman here. Yzerman is currently ahead of Nicklas Lidstrom with 62% of the votes.
Bill @ Abel to Yzerman has moved onto Round #2 of his Detroit rivals series. Today’s discussion? The St. Louis Blues. As usual, the entire post is a great read but here’s an excerpt of my favorite part:
And that’s where the fun started. 1996: The Captain picks up the puck at center ice after Gretzky bobbles it, glides up the boards a few strides then blasts one by Jon Casey and straight into history. 1997: The Captain again, with a speech for the ages; reminding the Wings that losing to the Blues, of all teams, would have been a defeat they’d remember the rest of their lives. 1998: Chris Pronger takes a puck to the heart, a scary moment, but thankfully one that didn’t define Pronger’s career. His dirty play, illiteracy, shady departure from Edmonton and his overall status as a frigging idiot did that. 2002: more Pronger and more Yzerman. This was classic Pronger. Takes a run at Yzerman, but is so immobile and lumbering that 19 turns it around on him, literally. Pronger leaps, wrecks his knee, stays on the ice long enough to take the slashing penalty that led to a Shanahan PPG, then limps down the tunnel. See ya Sasquatch.
Earl Sleek over at Battle for California decided to use Bill’s rivalry idea and discuss the Wings-Ducks rivalry, which has certainly grown over the years. It really skyrocketed for me after they acquired Chris Pronger. Outside of Patrick Roy and Claude Lemieux, I hate Pronger the most so naturally whatever team he’s on, I develop an immediate dislike towards. Between that, the WCF loss to them, and the stealing of Mathieu Schneider and Todd Bertuzzi (which actually worked out really well for us so thanks!), the Ducks have become a thorn in our side. Plus, GM Brian Burke is evil. Period.
Earl picks five Ducks players whom Wings fans should dislike the most in this rivalry.
Combined, these five Ducks players made huge contributions in eliminating the Wings in ’95, ’03, ’06, and ’07, and it’s not a huge stretch to think if they hadn’t, Detroit might have won as many as four additional Stanley Cups by now. And really, who wants to live in that alternate reality? (Wings fans are insufferable enough as is.)
There’s still plenty of other reasons for Wings fans to hate the Ducks (I didn’t even mention the yappy mouth of Corey Perry), but I think this fivesome might prove as strong a rivalry argument as any. I’m hopeful that Detroit fans found this post as angering to read as I found it pleasing to write, because you know what that means. They’ll be licking their lips for the next matchup, their chance for postseason revenge.
Islanders create “minor league” promo
The NY Islanders are trying to grab some big league attention in the crowded NYC marketplace. They decided to use a “minor league” ticket promotion to attract Long Island hockey fans. While it may be early to tell if it will work in terms of sales, it certainly has grabbed the attention of the hockey blogosphere.
The Victory Plan is a four-game ticket package that could potentially turn into up to an eight-game package. If the Islanders win one of those games, fans with this package will get a free ticket to a second predetermined game.
I think it’s a solid marketing idea. The Islanders aren’t going to be one of the top NHL teams this upcoming season and attendance has been touchy over the past few seasons. Last season, the Islanders finished last in average attendance. So why not try to generate some interest and at least get more people through the door?
Admittedly, pricing for this package was not released yet so who knows if the package price is above that of what four single game tickets would normally cost.
Thanks to Greg Wyshynski for pointing out this promotion. His thoughts?
Besides, it’s a shrewd businesses move, at least when it comes to the marquee game: The Penguins were 5-3 against a better Islanders team last season. There’s a better chance Ted Nolan attends the company Christmas party than fans getting to see that Ovechkin game for free in December.
I’m all for anything that puts more fans in the seats on Long Island, although given wins may be hard to come by, these 2-for-1 offers are a bit of a gamble.
Team creates Kronwall scholarship
In late July, Niklas Kronwall had his day with the Stanley Cup and shared it with a local hockey school, family, friends, and the arena where he played four seasons at before leaving Sweden. Not only did he do all that, but he then went to the arena where the Jarfalla Hockey Club plays to show off the Cup in front of more than one thousand people. The club then announced the Niklas Kronwall scholarship.
Bouquets of flowers were handed to Niklas as part of a very special presentation, which included the announcement of a Niklas Kronwall scholarship. “Through hard work, humility and great talent, Niklas Kronwall has reached unprecedented heights as a sportsman,” began the proclamation. “In 27 years, Niklas has already won two Swedish league championships, the World Cup, Olympic gold and the Stanley Cup, making him a unique athlete who belongs to a very small circle of Swedish hockey. We in Järfälla Hockey are very proud of the fact that Niklas had his hockey education with us, and see him as a great ambassador for Järfälla, both on and off the ice. We want to honour Niklas by introducing a scholarship in Niklas’s name. It will go to the under-sixteen (year old) player who we feel best meets the many wonderful traits shown by Niklas Kronwall when he was at the same age: diligent work ethic, good sportsmanship both on and off the ice, having played at least five seasons in the Jarfalla Hockey system and showing the potential to continue hockey at an advanced level.” The scholarship pays the recipient 5,000 Swedish Krona, or approximately $800 US.
Congrats to Kronner!
Wings’ best and worst moves this summer
Cory at Canes Country, a great Hurricanes blog, has a new post up where he lists each NHL team’s best and worst moves of the offseason.
Best move: Signing Marian Hossa to a one-year Cup-quest deal was a brilliant move by the Wings’ management. A line of Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Hossa could very well be unstoppable.
Worst move: Getting Ty Conklin was a decent move in my opinion, but passing over Jimmy Howard again has got to have Detroit’s goaltender-of-the-future (for what seems like 10 years running) somewhat frustrated. Still, GM Ken Holland & Co. got Howard to re-sign through 2010-11.
I don’t think any hockey fan would argue with the best move being the signing of Marian Hossa. And with the Wings this year, it’s hard to determine what their worst move was. Personally, I’m quite content with Jimmy Howard getting another year to develop and having a steal of a deal Ty Conklin as the team’s back-up. So if that’s the case, what would be the worst move of the summer in my opinion? Re-signing Andreas Lilja for two more seasons. Now, I do realize that GM Ken Holland has commented that some players may be moved at training camp and has said that Lilja could be trade bait. However if Lilja stays with the team this season, that re-signing would be my pick for the Wings’ worst move this summer.
What do you guys think?