NHL.com’s John McGourty takes a look at some of the Wings’ prospects, incorporating comments by the team’s Assistant GM, Jim Nill. The most interesting part? Nill’s projection of Igor Grigorenko as a possible second-line player, perhaps with Pavel Datsyuk, his 2003 World Championships center. It all depends on Igor’s adjustment to the situation as a whole here: the speed of the game, possible demotion to the minors, etc.
Monthly Archive for July, 2007
Update (9:24 PM): This comment by James Mirtle prompted me to Google Garrett Stafford’s name to find out more about him. The first thing that comes up is his connection with an infamous incident in the AHL three years ago: Alexander Perezhogin’s vicious slash to Stafford’s face.
Anyway, his statistics are solid, and if Mirtle says he’s “not bad either,” it sounds like he’s a good signing for the organization. Good to see the Wings taking care of their AHL affiliate. - Matt
After conflicting reports a week and a half ago, the Wings have announced some minor free agent signings. The most important: Matt Ellis’ two-year extension.
The other signings: forwards Randall Gelech (two years), Carl Corazzini, Mark Cullen, and Mark Hartigan, defensemen Brad Ference and Garrett Stafford, and goalie Adam Berkhoel (one year each).
All of these guys should be Griffins next year, with the exception of Ellis, who has a shot at making the Wings.
Update (7:35 PM): George Malik has a nice breakdown of the schedule here. - Matt
Like the rest of the NHL, the Wings released their schedule for next season today. They’ll open the season on October 3rd at home against the Anaheim Ducks and will finish on April 6, also at home, against Chicago. Some points of interest in between, as pointed out by Ansar Khan:
The Wings will play on Thanksgiving for the first time in recent memory, visiting Nashville on Nov. 22 for an 8 p.m. game. Their final 11 games, and 14 of their last 15, are against Central Division opponents, …. They host St. Louis in their annual New Year’s Eve game.
Two more dates to watch out for: Alexander Ovechkin’s first trip to Detroit, on December 17th and the Hockey Day in Canada game in Toronto on February 9th.
So, start planning your trips to the Joe! I hope to go to more games this season, after only making it to one this past year.
The Rangers fit Shanny in under the cap with a one-year contract worth $2.5 million in base salary, with another $2 million added in if he plays more than 10 games and $800,000 in playoff bonuses, according to TSN. There was never any chance of Brendan returning to Detroit, but it didn’t stop some people from speculating that he’d come back to fill in that “top six forward via free agency” slot. It would have been nice, that’s for sure, but the idea was pure fantasy.
Congratulations to Christy Hammond of Behind the Jersey, who will do internship work for the Wings throughout this coming season. Talk about a dream job!
Sept. 18 — at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Sept. 20 — vs. Minnesota, 7:30
Sept. 21 — vs. Pittsburgh, 7:30
Sept. 22 — at Pittsburgh, 7:30
Sept. 24 — at Tampa Bay, 7:30
Sept. 25 — vs. N.Y. Rangers, 7:30
Sept. 27 — vs. Tampa Bay, 7:30
Sept. 28 — at Toronto, TBA
Sept. 29 — vs. Toronto, 7:30
Training camp is September 14th-17th. It’s looking like the regular season schedule will be released tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that. (thanks Brian)
Christy Hammond at Behind the Jersey has the translation here. Best part: ““If Detroit wants to, I’ll sign a contract for the rest of my career.” Second best part: “I can’t complain over the money I make today.” I’ve never thought Hank would make it tough for Holland to re-sign him, but it’s always reassuring to read comments like that from him as we head into get closer to his contract year.
According to Ansar Khan, Dallas Drake has signed a one-year, $550,000 contract with the team that drafted him in 1989. The signing adds size to the Wings’ forward group, should they choose to use the 6′1″, 195 lbs. grinder type. There’s a chance he could fill in on the 3rd or 4th line, but it’s not unlikely that he’ll be in Grand Rapids to start the season, given the Wings’ youth log-jam.* He’d have to clear waivers to go to the minors, but at this stage in his career, that isn’t much of a concern. In the Khan piece, Holland talks as though Drake will be a Red Wing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that that depends on the training camp performances of guys like Jiri Hudler, Tomas Kopecky, Igor Grigorenko, and Matt Ellis, not to mention Drake himself.
Drake’s a gritty player who plays a rough game, as you might remember from his high hit on Brett Lebda this past season that resulted in a two-game suspension. He’s never been a guy to put up big numbers (he maxed out at 45 points in ‘99-’00 in Phoenix), but he was big on the penalty kill for the Blues last season and would be a likely candidate for a regular spot on the Wings’ PK if he makes the team.
Not a bad signing at all, given the price and the fact that Drake will bring grit and physical play, as well as leadership, whether he suits up in Detroit or in Grand Rapids.
George Malik has a nice round-up post here.
*The Wings now have Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Samuelsson, Filppula, Franzen, Maltby, Draper, Cleary, Hudler, Kopecky, Ellis, Grigorenko, and Drake under contract. That’s 14 forwards, with the first nine (italics) all set regulars. We could see any combination of the other five (bold).
George Malik has a great round-up post with the latest on Igor Grigorenko here. Be sure to check it out, as it’s sort of a mix of good and bad news. Also, you might want to read this interview with Igor if you haven’t already.
Update (4:30 PM): Now it’s official, with the terms, as reported yesterday, confirmed. - Matt
Update (06. Jul, 7:11 AM): Looks like this isn’t official yet, as Hasek has not actually signed the contract. He’s agreed to it, however, and is expected to make it official today, though Holland still sounds somewhat tentative.
Also, if Winter’s comment below is a joke, it’s a bad one, as all media reports on the topic of the negotiations with the Wings’ UFAs (such as this one) had Holland bemoaning the fact that they all were making demands for higher salaries than the team was prepared to pay. That includes Hasek. So, excuse me if I don’t find Winter’s “joke” funny. - Matt
The Detroit News reports that Dominik Hasek has finally signed a contract extension: one-year, with a base salary in the $2 million range, with around another $2 million in playoff-related bonuses. How about this quote by Dom’s agent, Ritch Winter:
“We’ve settled. Dominik wanted to give the team room to have money under the salary cap. Let’s face it, he’s a $5 million-a-year goalie. We all know that. But I managed to talk them down to $2 million. It was a unique negotiation.”
So that’s how it when, eh? The Wings wanted to use up most of their remaining cap space on Dom rather than on filling another need, but Winter, out of the goodness of his heart, managed to dissuade them from that course of action by dragging negotiations out until they agreed to pay less? And here all this time I and everyone else in Hockeytown thought it was the other way around. Thanks for setting the record straight, Mr. Winter. Too bad you couldn’t convince the Wings to agree to these terms before the best options for a top-six forward signed with other teams. Ugh.
Welcome back, Dom, but that whole “I expect a raise” thing was not cool. You should have just taken a contract like last year’s right off the bat and given the team the cap space to go after a solid top-sixer. I’d think that you’d be bigger on winning than on money at this stage of your career.
(thanks Brian)
