8/14 Quick Links
This is my least favorite time of the NHL offseason. A majority of the Wings moves have been made and the remaining ones tend to come closer to training camp, which is still just under a month away. The football season is gearing up so more media coverage tends to go in that direction. Not to mention the 2008 Beijing Olympics drawing the media’s attention right now. It has now been over two months since a game.
I spent the past 10 weeks as a PR intern for an agency in downtown Chicago, which was fantastic, but I didn’t spend the summer working at the Joe so I haven’t been at the arena for work since June 9th. After a long and wonderful season working there, it feels like I’ve been gone for forever. And now I’m finally back home and was eagerly looking forward to returning to the Joe for another great season, but I had a minor knee dislocation last week, sprained my LCL, and may have torn my lateral meniscus so I’m on “bedrest” for the next two weeks and sadly must delay my return to the rink until I heal up. I’m getting antsy and just can’t wait for hockey to return.
Despite this time of the season, there still is some relevant Wings coverage out there so I’m going to touch on these items (including some items I missed over the past couple of weeks).
Aaron Downey close to signing with Wings
According to a report in the Detroit Free Press (hat tip to Kukla’s Korner), Aaron Downey is close to re-signing with the Detroit Red Wings. It is a two-way contract (as GM Ken Holland said it would be earlier this summer) for this upcoming season. He would make $100,000 with the Griffins and $575,000 with the Wings.
The NHL Players Association web site no longer lists Downey as unsigned. The web site lists Downey as a Wing with compensation of $575,000 for the 2008-08 season.
I spoke to Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill shortly before noon and he said “we’re very close” to signing Downey to a one-year, two-way contract.
I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll say this again. Yzerman is my favorite all-time player. Kronwall is my favorite current player. Downey is my favorite player to talk to (and the easiest to talk to). He is a great guy - down to earth and fun to talk to. His attitude was a great fit for the locker room and I’m happy to see him returning for another season even if he is in GR for a lot of the time.
Wings forward lines?
Dave @ Gorilla Crouch has his take on possible lines that Mike Babcock will use this upcoming season. You can read his blog post to view his reasoning, but these are the two top lines he envisions on the ice this year.
Filppula-Datsyuk-Hossa
Franzen-Zetterberg-Cleary
I find it hard not to get giddy thinking of the impact Marian Hossa will have on the roster. And how sweet do our top two lines look?
NHL Division Rankings
Adam Proteau at The Hockey News ranks the six NHL divisions and the Central Division comes in at number four.
4. Central. I know, I know, the presence of the Red Wings alone makes the Central a division to reckon with. The burgeoning Blackhawks and never-say-die Predators also help in that regard – and the fact that more than half of Detroit’s regular season losses came at the hands of teams in their division is a fact that’s nothing to sneeze at, either.
The Blue Jackets and Blues are playoff dark horses, but even then, both of those franchises have a handful of young talent to build around. In sum, there could be many more Cups bound for the Central Division and not just to Michigan. Just not for a couple more years.
Spector’s season prediction: Wings win back-to-back title
Spector predicts that the Wings will take home the silver trophy for a second straight season. It will certainly be a challenging season and injuries play a huge role in the success of a team so I wouldn’t say the Wings have got it in the bag, but I do like their chances for a repeat should the key players stay healthy come playoff time. Outside of injuries, the biggest challenge the Wings will face is the loss of Todd McLellan, __, and Scotty Bowman. Bowman’s absence will hurt the most, especially since he left for a division rival.
The defending champion Detroit Red Wings will likely be the consensus pick to become the first club since the 1998 Red Wings to repeat, although that was a considerably different version from the club that won it all this year.
Most experts will point to the Wings keeping their Cup-winning roster practically intact while adding more offensive punch in winger Marian Hossa as the reason they’ll win it in 2009. Some might even be tempted to suggest the Wings could become the first team in over a quarter century to win three consecutive Cups.
Recent winners Anaheim, Carolina and Tampa Bay lost too many key players to free agency, leaving their respective front offices scrambling for affordable replacements that ultimately proved ineffective in bolstering a return to the Final.
Wings sign McCrimmon and McKittrick to staff
The Wings filled out their coaching staff with the signings of Brad McCrimmon and Keith McKittrick. For more details, you can check out my blog post at Winging It In Motown. In keeping with tradition, both of these guys have the “Mc” prefix in their last name. It has done well for the team in the past so I don’t mind continuing this trend.
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