On the Wings

Update (7:25 PM): … Bob Roose’s article on the Wings’ official site has a great Mike Babcock quote about how Grigorenko will have to earn a spot:

“If someone has a bad game and someone is working their butt off, they’re the first one in – absolutely. Ellis has gone from a guy who played very little to not dressing to playing to playing well to having three or four points and being a plus-four. It’s called a work ethic.”

This is the time for Grigorenko to show that he has the the necessary work ethic. He certainly has the talent, but that’s not all that matters. - Matt

… Bruce MacLeod reports that Igor Grigorenko participated in drills with the fourth line in today’s practice. However, because the majority of practice was spent working on the power play, Igor did not see a lot of ice. It doesn’t look like he’ll play this week after all, because he’ll need time to prove he’s one of the 20 best players with the team, that he’s a “winner.”

… George Malik has a take on Grigorenko from Ken Holland, in he states the obvious: like every Red Wing, he is going to be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. Because of that, Malik says, it’s “premature” to speculate where Grigorenko will end up two weeks from now. Whatever demands Grigorenko appears to be making, the Wings are not just going along, at least according to Holland’s reaction to the accusation.

… Ken Holland told Helene St. James that this is Igor’s last shot, as he does not “anticipate … heading down this path a year from now.” I’m not going to be too heartbroken if Grigorenko blows his last chance at playing in the NHL. If he burns bridges with the Wings, who will, barring a transfer agreement between Russia and the NHL, remain the only team that will have his rights from now until he retires, he’ll be stuck in Europe.