Monthly Archive for March, 2007Page 3 of 6

Wings re-sign Kopecky

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 19, 2007
in Injuries and Tomas Kopecky
. 1 Comment

Update (5:45 PM): Ansar Khan has his own angle on the story, saying that the team will evaluate Kopecky around the end of the month and decide whether or not he’ll be able to play.

He also has a few more interesting items from practice:

  • Chris Chelios was sent home early to rest, so he won’t be in the lineup tomorrow. It’s a pre-arranged thing, though, so no worries.
  • Johan Franzen (upper body) may return tomorrow, but Dan Cleary (knee sprain) definitely won’t.
  • Dominik Hasek will start tomorrow, but Chris Osgood will be in net Thursday against Columbus.
  • Apparently, Todd Bertuzzi probably would be ready to play Thursday, but the team may hold off until he can get in another practice since they won’t skate on Wednesday. So, it looks like Saturday, after a Friday practice, is the most likely return date for him.

- Matt
Update (4:47 PM): Helene St. James, using the same Babcock quote she used in another piece (which I borrowed below), now suggests in a blog post that Kopecky could be a regular rather than a reserve player when he returns.

I may just be mis-reading her, but if not, I like her first conclusion, that Kopecky will be in the lineup on “rotation,” rather than as a regular feature. I think the team is too deep up front for him to do much else beyond subbing with one of the other young guns. Unless, of course, he tears it up when he gets back - Matt

Update (3:55 PM): Whoops, forgot the link to the Detroit News blip about the signing. Here it is and now it’s also where it should have been. - Matt

According to the Detroit News, the team has re-signed Tomas Kopecky to a two-year contract. No details on the financial terms yet. The team had signed him to a one-year deal in July 2006 and it was due to expire July 1st, making him an unrestricted free agent, but they’re confident enough in his future to bring him back.

Kopecky has been out since he went shoulder-first into the left wing boards on December 14th in Chicago and broke his collar bone. He’s been skating for a while, however, though he still can’t do full-contact drills (unless it’s with Kirk Maltby, he jokingly told Helene St. James.). He hopes to return before the playoffs, which would make an already bad log jam in the forward corps even worse, which isn’t such a problem, really, since it just means more depth.

He’s with the team on their current road trip and has apparently looked good in practice. Babcock will give him a shot at making the roster, as Kopecky is, “a great big guy who can shoot the puck and take the body. That’s a playoff guy for me.” He looked pretty good in the 26 games he’s played this season and his return will give the Wings yet another weapon to use in their fight to get through the postseason.

Abel to Yzerman on first round opponents

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 19, 2007
in Avalanche, Flames, Hockey Bloggers, Playoffs and Stars
. 6 Comments

Update (2:43 PM): James Gunner at 8 Feet points out that the slumping 8th-place Flames may have a rough go of it this week, with a game against the Wings as well as the Predators, while Colorado has it pretty easy, with two games against the free-falling  Edmonton Oilers.

So, the scenario IwoCPO outlined is looking more and more plausible, especially with the Wings’ pretty much powder-puff schedule (with three big exceptions, i.e. a game each with Anaheim, Dallas, and Nashville) to the end of the season.It’s shaping up to be an interesting race for that final spot. - Matt

IwoCPO looks at the standings and proposes that the best first round opponent for the Wings would be the Colorado Avalanche, despite the fact that the Avs are one of the hottest teams in hockey. It’s hard to disagree, because such as series would probably bring out the best in both teams due to the presence of Todd Bertuzzi, and the Wings are their best are a good bit better than the Avs at theirs. So, Iwo hopes the following two things happen:

(1) The Wings need to secure the 1. (b) The Dive need to continue “never seeming to lose anymore.”

I agree. If the Wings are to take 1st place in the Conference, they’ll have to win to do it, which means they’d go into the playoffs hot and not complacent, as they have been in years they’ve had the first seed locked up in March. And if the Avs are going to make it, they don’t have much room at all for losing, as they sit outside the playoffs right now in the 9th spot, four points behind Calgary. Two teams fighting to rise in the standings right to the finish would be a much better matchup than a team already set in a seed just waiting for the other to grab their own.

Now, I don’t like that matchup if the Wings aren’t playing their A-game (in that case, Dallas or Calgary would be better, though still very dangerous), but if both teams are “on,” it would be a great series.

Still, I hate trying to figure out which opponents would be best for the Wings because they’ll all be tough and in every case, the Wings won’t get away with bad play. We can try to propose teams that would seem ideal, but it’s up to the players to elevate their play, not to hope for what seems like an easier matchup.

So all this depends on whether or not they go into the postseason awake. If they end the season lulled into complacency, the question is whether or not they can wake up in time. If not, it won’t matter who they’re playing. But if they actually show up to play, they stand a very good chance, I’m confident of that, even with the more “undesirable” opponents.

Happy Birthday, Vladdy

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 19, 2007
in Links
. 0 Comments

Helene St. James points out that today is Vladimir Konstantinov’s 40th birthday. It sounds like he’s doing well and remains a familar face around the lockerroom. Good to hear an update on him. It’s hard to believe the accident was almost 10 years ago now.

Four years of OtW

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 19, 2007
in Blog
. 3 Comments

Four years ago today, I started this blog under the redundant title, “zata40fan’s Wings Fan Blog.” Before too long, I changed it to the current name and as I got more involved in blogging, the content changed drastically from this first post:

My first post…… Things are going well with the Wings, they won last night (beat the Pens 5-1) and have won 5 in a row. They’re still #1 in the West but 2 points behind Ottawa still. Zata didn’t get a point last night, neither did Hully or Pavel. Luc finally scored and Feds had 2.

Wordpress tells me that we have 1,607 posts, 977 of which have not been categorized yet (I’m trying to get to that - maybe this summer), and 1,446 comments. Hard to believe.

I want to think everyone who has participated in writing over the last four years, from Brian and Christy to Megan and Sarah, as well as all who have been regular commenters. It’s that participation that keeps me blogging on days I might rather not. The same goes for all the bloggers who have linked to our posts: thanks guys! I still get pumped when we get a link to content at OtW.

As an aspiring historian, I know a fanblog isn’t the most objective way of recording history, but the purpose of this blog remains the same: I want myself and others to have a record of this team that goes beyond dry AP and newspaper reports so that in 10 years when the Wings are almost completely different, we can look back over the years with a firmer foundation than our memories (and not have to get through a newspaper archive paywall to do it).

Who knows much longer we’ll be doing this? I certainly don’t have any plans to stop! I look forward to blogging the Wings for a long time to come.

3/18 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 18, 2007
in Canucks, Jordin Tootoo, Notes, Stars and Todd Bertuzzi
. 11 Comments

… The Wings blew their Division/Conference/League lead last night when they lost 4-1 to Vancouver while Nashville and Jordin Tootoo were beating up Dallas to win 3-2.

I missed the first period, which I see was penalty-ridden, but I got to see the second and third periods and it didn’t seem much better. I haven’t got much more to say, except that they need to stay out of the box better than that. When they’re getting bench minor penalties for having six players not just on the ice, but in the zone playing, something’s wrong. They were obviously not on top of the mental game.

Anyway, if you didn’t read the liveblog from last night, read it now.

… I had a reason to mention Tootoo above and the reason is this:

For that disgusting example of disrespect, Tootoo was given a roughing penalty while Robidas was called for charging. Did I mention that Robidas had to be carted off the ice on a stretcher? No? Oh. Well, he did. How, exactly, does that work?

Now, Barry Trotz obviously isn’t going to throw his own player under the bus, but his defense of Tootoo sickens me:

“Toots obviously hit their top player, and the current response in hockey is someone has got to get over there and defend your honor. Robidas was really charging at Toots, and he just reacted. I give him a lot of credit – he kept his gloves on.”

“The current response in hockey”? That’s how it’s always been, Trotz. Robidas was going in to defend Modano, which is exactly what he should have done.

I’m not convinced Robidas was technically charging, but all Tootoo had to do was sidestep it or absorb it (Robidas wasn’t going that fast). If he had a chance to swing, he had a chance to step aside instead. I don’t know what condition Robidas is in, but had Tootoo had a chance to drop his glove, Robidas might have been seriously injured. Oh, and Tootoo would probably have a broken hand, so I guess Trotz is right to give him credit for that.

Robidas obviously has a concussion, but it doesn’t seem like the League is looking at a suspension. If there isn’t some kind of disciplinary action, the League is going to look incredibly stupid. That kind of stuff has no place in the game, whether it’s Tootoo or anyone else doing it. The kid’s had a red-letter week, that’s for sure.

… Apparently, this is the week that Todd Bertuzzi will return to the ice. He’s had a number of pain-free practices and should be good to go Thursday or Saturday. I’m definitely looking forward to it. I want to see what he’ll do for us in the Winged Wheel.

Todd Bertuzzi on WDFN

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 17, 2007
in Hockey Bloggers, Links and Todd Bertuzzi
. 0 Comments

Dave of Gorilla Crouch has a recap of the WDFN interview with Todd Bertuzzi, something to which I have not yet been able to listen.

Babcock on a reduced role for Chelios

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 17, 2007
in Chris Chelios, Links, Mike Babcock and Quotes
. 0 Comments

In the Globe and Mail (via Snapshots):

“He says, ‘No, I’m not. I’m going to be the fourth guy.’ He doesn’t care what we tell him.

“We play him with the young guy that comes up [or] everybody that’s not going good. In my opinion, he’s part of the coaching staff. That doesn’t mean he agrees with everything we say. He doesn’t, but he’s part of making our team better.”

Sounds like Cheli has taken the role Brett Hull tried to assume when he was here. Good to see.

GameDay: @ Vancouver (42-23-6, 90 Pts) 10:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 17, 2007
in 2006-2007, Canucks and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Update (4:06 PM): Be sure to check out the liveblogging going on over at Kukla-dom during the game tonight, with Paul, Alanah, and IwoCPO all taking part.  Alanah has the pre-game section going now. - Matt

Tonight is the fourth and final game between these two teams this season. The Canucks lead the series 2-1, with wins October 5th in the opener (3-1) and November 22nd (4-3 OT). The Wings won the November 14th meeting 3-2.

The Canucks opened March with a bang, winning their first five games this month. Since then, however, they are 1-1-1, with a regulation loss to the Ducks on the 11th and an overtime loss to the Wild two nights later. They rebounded with a 3-2 OT win over St. Louis on Thursday. The win kept them one point ahead of the Wild, who also won that night, in the race for the Northwest Division title.

The Sedin brothers Daniel (31G, 69Pts) and Henrik (57A, 67 Pts) lead the team in scoring. They combined for four points in the Canucks’ win over the Blues Thursday night, with both notching primary assists on each other’s goals.

Roberto Luongo, who should be in net tonight, is second in the league in wins with 40.

The Wings are 5-1-1 in March thus far, with their only losses coming a week apart on afternoon games: first, 4-3 in OT against Colorado, and then 6-3 to Boston. They’ve followed up both losses with a pair of wins, including a total of three over Nashville in two weeks. The first came on the 6th in Detroit, a 4-3 SO decision. The next two came on back-to-back nights, with the Wings winning 5-2 first in Nashville and then 4-2 in Detroit. That latest win put the Wings a point ahead of the Predators for the Central Division lead as well as the Conference and League leads.

Pavel Datsyuk (55A, 76 Pts) and Henrik Zetterberg (31G, 68 Pts) lead the team in scoring. Datsyuk has scored a point in nine straight games (2G, 15 Pts), and Zetterberg was on a 7-game streak with 16 points over that span, including 9 goals before he took a cross-check to the back in the February 24th Nashville game. He hasn’t played since.

Dominik Hasek will be in net for the Wings tonight.

According to the Free Press, Valtteri Filppula will be in the lineup tonight. Apparently, Danny Markov is also a possibility as he thinks he’s ready, but Babcock is “unsure.” Neither Johan Franzen (upper body) or Dan Cleary (knee) will return until at least Tuesday.

The Wings had a great week, beating the Predators twice like they did, and now they need to continue it. The Canucks are in the playoffs, not on the edge like the Bruins or Avalanche were, so they won’t necessarily play with that desperate edge. Still, they’re in a battle for the Division title and could still fall far enough to be the 8th seed rather than the 3rd seed, so they’ll have motivation. The Wings haven’t been to Western Canada since November, when a three-game road trip was kicked off with a win over Vancouver, so hopefully they’ll earn a similar result tonight.

Babcock on the playoffs

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 16, 2007
in Hockey Bloggers, Links, Mike Babcock and Playoffs
. 2 Comments

Dave at Gorilla Crouch links to an AP article that has a great Mike Babcock quote on the team’s playoff situation:

“Is there a team we want to play in the first round?’ No. They’re all too good. In the Western Conference last year, the top four seeds lost in the first round. Well, the West is even closer than it was last year.”

Way to put things in perspective, Babs. I’m glad the team has that attitude going in.

Dave has some more interesting links, so check out his post.

Bootland on Tootoo

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 16, 2007
in Darryl Bootland, Jordin Tootoo, Quotes and Video
. 10 Comments

Via the Free Press:

“He asked me to go, so I was ready to go,” Bootland said. “He was just trying to suck me in, and it worked out. Just happy they didn’t capitalize on the power play.” Bootland said Tootoo didn’t come near him the rest of the game. “It’s pretty frustrating,” Bootland said. “He comes in (Wednesday) and throws a sucker punch right off the hop — I thought it was. Usually, most guys have the respect that if you’re going to ask a guy to go, you’ll get ready and go.”

I know there are those people who would say Bootland is just whining, but he has a very good point. There’s such a thing as proper etiquette and Tootoo didn’t follow it. Now, Bootland probably should have known better, as one of Tootoo’s few redeeming qualities is his ability to goad players into taking penalties. Still, it’s not to Jordin’s credit that he proposed a fight and then backed down.

For an example of proper etiquette, see the video below:

That’s how fighting is different than leveling players as they touch up an icing.

As for the comment about Tootoo not coming near him for the rest of the game, I’m not surprised. Bootland only played one more shift after that so unless Tootoo buzzed the bench, he wasn’t going to be around. Had Darryl played more than a minute and a half, I’m sure the two would have found each other and maybe the results would have been different.

It’s doubtful that Bootland will get another chance at him until next season, since he should be back in Grand Rapids before the last game with the Preds, which will take place on March 29th in Nashville. Of course, he’ll have to make the Wings’ NHL roster if he wants another shot at Tootoo, as he is still only in the AHL, despite the fact that legions of fans around the League hold his brief stint with the Wings in ‘03-’04 against him like he’s an NHL regular. Why he’s such a special object of hate, I don’t know, since most fans who aren’t up to speed on the AHL have rarely seen him play (whereas Tootoo has been pissing people off for his play in both leagues for three seasons). I’d say he has a pretty good chance of making it, though.