Author Archive for Brian ListPage 6 of 33

GameDay: @ St Louis (2-8-3, 7 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Brian List
on November 6, 2005
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Tonight’s game is the third of eight games between the Wings and Blues this season. The Wings beat the Blues in the first and second games of the season, 5-1 in JLA and 4-3 in the Savvis Center. In the home opener, Pavel Datsyuk notched a goal and an assist, and Manny Legace had 13 saves on only 14 Blues shots. The following night in St Louis, Jason Williams was the star of the night with three assists, and Legace was solid again with 23 saves on 26 shots.

The Wings have gone on a two-game losing streak, following an impressive nine-game win streak that set NHL records. On Thursday, the Wings lost 4-3 (OT) to Edmonton. And last night, the Wings lost 4-1 to the Coyotes in an undisciplined performance. Chris Chelios was ejected from the game for arguing a cross checking call during the latter part of the first period, and Holmstrom also received a 2 minute unsportsmanlike penalty for arguing an elbowing call in the third. The Wings were beat to loose pucks by the Coyotes, leading to penalties, which led to four power play goals from Phoenix. Says Coach Mike Babcock:

“The bottom line is about discipline. At one point, we spent 16 of 36 minutes in the penalty box. You can’t build any momentum. The guys were prepared to play tonight, but we lost our discipline. I just know we can do a better job with our discipline, that’s something we’re in control of, and we let that (get) in the way of success and that is unacceptable.”

So the Wings enter tonight’s game with their first slump. Says Osgood:

“You knew it was going to come sooner or later. A lot of the games have been close this season. There are a lot of good teams. It wasn’t going to be smooth sailing all season. We just need a win to nip this in the bud.”

Along the lines of ending this mini-slump, the Blues are a great matchup for the Wings. Entering tonight’s game, the Blues are on a seven game losing streak, most recently losing 7-2 to Edmonton on Friday, in Chris Pronger’s return as an Oiler. In that game, they went 0-8 on the power play in front of a home crowd, and allowed 7 goals on 28 shots. Says Blues Coach Mike Kitchen:

“We’re not a very competent team right now. Tonight’s game was the poorest we’ve skated as a team.”

Blues defenseman Eric Brewer also takes an honest view:

“We’re last in the league because we deserve to be last in the league. We just didn’t play well tonight and we need to suck it up and play better hockey.”

Chris Osgood will get the start for the Wings, his first back-to-back of the season. It is likely Reinhard Divis will get the start for the Blues, as Patrick Lalime allowed four goals on 15 shots on Friday and lost his fifth straight.

The Wings went 0-7 on the power play last night, while the Coyotes went 4-9 on the power play. Those are the only special teams stats that matter going into this game.

Shanahan is one assist shy of 600…Jason Woolley missed his sixth game (groin) and is questionable for tonight…Datsyuk is on an eight game point streak…The Blues are 18 points back from the Wings in the Central Division.

Wings 1, Coyotes 4

Published
by
Brian List
on November 5, 2005
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

The Wings showed a lack of discipline and frustration for most of the night, as the Phoenix Coyotes beat them 4-1 in JLA. Osgood made the start for the Wings, opposite former Wing Curtis Joseph. Chris Chelios started the cycle of self destruction through penalties with five minutes left in the first, when he was called for cross checking and took a game misconduct after arguing the call. Coach Mike Babcock was frustrated with his teams’ lack of discipline and how many of the Wings’ penalties came after the Coyotes beat them to loose pucks.

First Period

The Wings opened the game strong, with good chances from Williams and Lidstrom two minutes in, with the Coyotes clearing the zone shortly after. At 2:23, Tomas Holmstrom scored his 100th career goal on a broken play between the circles. On the play, Lilja made a great pass up the middle to a breaking Datsyuk, who fumbled the puck back to a trailing Holmstrom. Scoring his third goal in two games, Tomas took the puck in stride and beat CuJo on a backhander, right side. 1-0 Wings. Assists to Datsyuk and Lilja.

At 2:39, former Wing Boyd Devereaux was called for hooking. The Wings had some good chances on the ensuing power play, with Zetterberg serving as the quarterback, working well behind the net to get the play set up. The Wings failed to convert on the man-advantage, with only one shot on net but a number of great passes. Derek Morris had two blocked shots during the power play in support of CuJo.

Around 5:55, the Coyotes set up camp in the Wings’ zone for over a minute, but it mostly was scrums along the boards. At 8:30, UM grad Mike Comrie was called for a trip on Samuelsson. The best chance of the power play came when Zetterberg passed from the right side across to Lidstrom on the left as he broke in on Cujo, but Nick couldn’t handle the pass and the Coyotes cleared the zone. As the power play ended, Nagy broke in one-on-one on Ozzie, but mishandled the puck and was unable to get a shot off.

At 12:41, Devereaux shot in on Ozzie from the right circle, and Paul Mara created trouble in the crease by driving after the loose puck and checking Yzerman into Osgood, who was able to freeze the puck. A short time later, the Wings had a golden opportunity in on CuJo, with a tic-tac-toe play from Holmstrom, across to Lidstrom, and back door to Zetterberg, who was pressured enough by a Coyote defenseman to cause him to fan on the puck, with the net wide open.

At 15:13, Lija was called for tripping on Sjostrom, and at 15:59 Chris Chelios picked up a 2 minute penalty for cross checking Saprykin in the face. Cheli argued the call, and received a 2 minute unsportsmanlike, followed by a 10 minute misconduct, and a 10 minute game misconduct. That’s booted from the game, with 24 minutes of penalties on one play.

The Coyotes had a 5-on-3 opportunity, and converted off a Paul Mara point shot, and Mike Leclerc backhand on the rebound. Ozzie had no chance on the play, out of position on the initial shot. 1-1 tie. The period ended with the Wings killing off the second power play courtesy of Chelios, and shots were 12-10 Phoenix as the teams went to the locker rooms.

Second Period

The Coyotes continued their momentum from the end of the first period, and pressured the Wings early, drawing a Jamie Rivers tripping penalty at 2:16. The Wings held the Coyotes to two power play shots, and went back on their heels for the next four minutes. At 7:37, Rivers was called again, this time for hooking Devereaux. On a night with Chelios ejected, the Wings are already down to 5 defensemen. And with Rivers in penalty trouble, it put a lot of pressure on the remaining 4 Wings defensemen (Schneider, Lidstrom, Lilja, Fischer).

At 8:22, the Coyotes scored another power play goal off a Michalek point shot which was redirected by Lilja. On the play, Lilja lost his stick for some time, but Daniel Cleary handed him his. How ironic is it that Lilja takes that very stick, goes in front of Ozzie, and ends up redirecting the Phoenix shot enough to trick his own goaltender? 2-1 Phoenix. The Wings had only given up 2 power play goals in one game one other time this season.

At 9:50, the Coyotes were hounding the Wings in their zone, courtesy of the Doan/Devereaux/Saprykin line. The Wings only had two shots up to this point of the period. At 11:55, Nagy was called for hooking, and the Wings had a good power play opportunity with shots from Lang, Datsyuk, and Lidstrom.

At 17:26, Fischer was called for hooking behidn the Wings’ net as he failed to pick up a loose puck. The story of the game: the Wings not picking up loose pucks and getting called for penalties as the Coyotes gain possession. At this point, shots are 23-17 Coyotes, with 12 of their shots on the power play for 2 goals. At 18:59, Nagy hit the goalpost on a shot between the circles, as he picked up the loose puck from trailing the play.

At 19:15, Mike Johnson scored top corner on a bad angle blast from the far right side. He beat Ozzie, who was out of position from the previous shot. 3-1 Phoenix. The Wings, who came in as the league leaders on the penalty kill, have given up 3 power play goals for the first time this season. It is only the second time they have trailed after two periods. Shots in the period were 16-8 Coyotes, to make 28-18 total after two periods.

Third Period

The Wings started out the period with some early pressure from Pavel and Henrik, but reverted to their frustrated play when Holmstrom was caught for elbowing at 2:48, with an extra 2 minutes tacked on for arguing the call. It was a relatively uneventful 4 minute penalty kill, the Wings managing to hold the Coyotes without a shot. A minute after the penalty expired, the Coyotes were called for two many men on the ice at 7:41. Shortly after, Ricci was called for delay of game when he cleared the puck over the glass. On the 5-on-3, the Wings nearly scored when Shanahan dug for the puck in the crease. While the puck ended up squirting across the goal line, further review showed Shanny kicking the puck and the goal was voided. Still 3-1 Phoenix. Shanahan later admitted to kicking it in.

With roughly a minute left on the 5-on-3, the Wings had more pressure on CuJo, and drew a Ballard slashing call with 9 seconds left in the Ricci call. The Wings failed to convert, even with many shots on net and good passing.

At 15:54, Saprykin was called for tripping, and Williams and Lidstrom had some decent chances on net. At 18:30, Samuelsson was called for slashing, and Mike Comrie eventually got an empty net goal at 19:47. 4-1 Phoenix. Shots 37-29, Wings. That’s right, 19-1 Wings for shots in the third. The Wings went 0-7 on the power play, with 16 shots. The next game is tomorrow night at 7:00 pm in the Savvis Center against the struggling St Louis Blues, who have lost 7 straight. Osgood will make the start on the back-to-back.

Notes

Tonight was the first time the Wings have allowed 3 (*correction 4, Comrie’s empty netter was on the power play) power play goals in a game, and the second time they have trailed after two periods…The Phoenix power play entered the game 14th in the NHL at 18.6%…familiar faces on the Phoenix side included Assistant Coach Barry Smith, Curtis Joseph, Boyd Devereaux, and Mike Comrie…Shanahan is one assist away from 600….Mike Ricci wears #40 in honor of Pat Tillman, former Arizona Cardinals safety who was killed in Afghanistan…The Wings had 3 of a possible 6 points on the home stand.

GameDay: vs. Phoenix (6-8-1, 13 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Brian List
on November 5, 2005
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Tonight’s game is the second of four games between the Wings and Coyotes this season. The Wings beat the Coyotes 2-0 on October 15 in Phoenix, with goals from Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Manny Legace recorded his first shutout of the season, the seventh of his career, and Brett Hull made the headlines by announcing his retirement at a press conference before the game.

The Wings were on a nine-game win streak before losing 4-3 (OT) to Edmonton on Thursday. Tomas Holmstrom had two goals and Jason Williams one, but a Raffi Torres goal 1:51 into overtime ended the Wings’ hopes for getting an NHL record 26 points in the first 14 games. They settled for tying the 1994-1995 Penguins’ previous record of 25 points. The Wings are in charge of the Central Division, leading Nashville 25-18 in points. The Wings are tied with the Ottawa Senators with the most goals for and least goals against: 58 for and 28 against.

The Coyotes are coming off a big 4-0 win against the LA Kings Thursday night. Before the game on Tuesday, Coach Wayne Gretzky put the Coyotes through a grueling practice that included 45 minutes of all out skating. Curtis Joseph recorded his second shutout of the season, and the Coyotes got off to a good start in November. The Coyotes will be without Petr Nedved, who hyperextended his left elbow last week in the Coyotes’ 5-3 loss to the Stars.

Chris Osgood will get the start for the Wings, in place of the injured Manny Legace. The Joe Louis Arena crowd may get the chance to welcome back Curtis Joesph, if he makes the start. Manny Legace is day-to-day with a sprained knee, thanks to a careless Matthew Barnaby, who fell into the goaltender during the Wings’ 4-1 win over the Blackhawks on Tuesday.

The Wings carry in the best power play in the league, with a 28.5% efficiency. The man advantage could be key tonight, as the Coyotes are an abysmal 79% on the penalty kill (24th in the league). Also impressive is that the Wings lead the NHL in penalty killing at 91.4% (7 goals in 82). Several Wings are cracking the points leader board, with Jason Williams (18), Datsyuk (17), and Zetterberg (15) all in the top 30. Don’t be surprised to see success from Brendan Shanahan or Steve Yzerman, as Shanny has 69 points in 62 games against the Phoenix/Winnipeg franchise, Yzerman 65 in 57 games.

GameDay: @ Columbus (2-5-0, 4 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Brian List
on October 22, 2005
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

Columbus Blue Jackets, Back-to-Back: Game 1

Tonight is the first of eight games the Wings will play against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the first game of a double-header (@Columbus on Monday). Detroit won the season series 4-2-0 in ‘03-’04. In the last meeting, the Blue Jackets won 4-1 in a meaningless game on April 3, 2004.

The Wings are 7-1-0, leading the Central Division with 14 points over Nashville (12), who is still unbeaten at 6-0. The Wings are on a four-game win streak, including a 3-2 win over the Mighty Ducks last night. The Wings are unbeaten on the road so far this season (3-0-0), while the Jackets are 1-1-0 at home.

The Blue Jackets are 2-5-0, tied for last in the Central Division (with Chicago) and league with just 4 points. They are coming off a 4-1 victory over San Jose last night, where Adam Foote scored his first goal as a Blue Jacket.

After the away-away double-header against the Blue Jackets, the Wings will play an unprecedented three game series against Chicago (home-away-home). That gives the Wings five straight divisional games and a chance to put even more ground between them and the last place Blackhawks and Blue Jackets.

The Wings are 27% (14/52) on the power play this season, including 3/8 last night, and 92% (44/48) on the penalty kill. The Blue Jackets are 11% (5/47) on the power play, and 87% (47/54) on the penalty kill.

Manny Legace, who leads the league with 7 wins, will get the start for the Wings. The career backup has been working on keeping his endurance up as a starter this season, which will be important as he makes his second start in as many nights:

“(I’ve been) running, lifting…I don’t think I’ve ever lifted as much as I did when I came to camp. I couldn’t even bench 185 two years ago, and I benched 200 pounds 18 times this year. My wind feels great out there. Two years ago, coming out of games I would have been dragging.”

Since Marc Denis (2-3-0) made the start for the Blue Jackets last night, it is possible we will see Pascal Leclaire in net for Columbus.

The Wings will get a boost on special teams when Kris Draper returns tonight, after suffering a bruised retina when he took a puck to the eye in the Wings’ 3-2 (OT) win over the Sharks on Monday. Look for the Wings to take advantage of the power play tonight, and get up on the Jackets early. It could only take two goals to win it, as the Jackets have only 15 goals-for this season, compared to the Wings’ 30. The Wings 17 goals-against is among the lowest in the league, a testament to the solid defensive core and great play as of yet by Manny Legace.

Wings 5, Kings 2

Published
by
Brian List
on October 14, 2005
in Uncategorized
. 4 Comments

The Wings beat the Kings 5-2 in the Staples Center, in the first of four games between the clubs this season. It was the Wings’ seventh straight win over the Kings, including their season sweep of LA last season. Manny Legace got the start for the Wings and made 26 saves on 28 shots, improving his season statistics to 4-1, .900 save percentage, with a 2.41 GAA. Steve Yzerman played in his first game since April 23, 2004, after recovering from a preseason groin injury. Jason Woolley also made his debut, fresh off of getting signed to replace the injured Kronwall. Ex-Wing Pat Verbeek was in for Mickey Redmond as color commentator, due to Redmond’s limited travel because of celiac disease.

Ist Period

The Wings got an early powerplay 46 seconds in, after Mathieu Garon was caught with a delay-of-game penalty for clearing the puck over the glass. The Wings managed just one shot on net during the man advantage, on a point shot from Jason Williams. Just as Avery got out of the box, after serving Garon’s penalty, the Wings had a good stand in the LA zone. Andreas Lilja, Daniel Cleary, and Nicklas Lidstrom all took shots wide of the net, but the Wings showed good skating and persistence. Cleary in particular.

At 13:53 remaining, Kirk Maltby prevented an Alexander Frolov breakaway with good backchecking. Frolov was dangerous all night, getting a number of near-breakaways and keeping the Wings defense on their heels.

At 12:30, the Kings got a 2-on-1 with Luc Robitaille and Mike Cammalleri, with Luc taking a snap shot from the right side and Legace making the save.

At 11:41, Frolov, had a chance on a break on a long pass up center, but shot wide. For all the chances Frolov got tonight, he only notched one shot on goal. I’d definitely be worried about this kid if he gets an accurate shot.

The Wings got another try on the PP off a Norstrom interference call at 7:51, and the Wings put up a good power play with decent passing in the Kings’ zone. As the power play expired, Zetterberg made a bad crossing pass, and the puck was cleared after the few minutes of sustained pressure by the Wings.

At 4:56, Jiri Fischer was caught on an interference call, after roughing up a King with a check to the head away from the puck, a definite no-no in the new NHL. The Wings had a good penalty kill, and kept the Kings shotless on the man advantage.

At 2:15 remaining, Brendan Shanahan scored his third goal of the season on a tip-in off a pretty cross ice pass from Jason Williams (6th assist of the season). Robert Lang was also charging the net, and was able to distract the Kings defense enough to keep Shanny open. 1-0 Wings. Shots in the period were 6-5 Kings, which is low because 19 shots were blocked/missed by both clubs. It was a wide open period, with 3 power plays and a lot of good skating and cross ice passing.

Yzerman was the 1st intermission guest on FSN, and expressed his concern that if too many power plays were called in the new NHL, it would slow the game down against the league’s best wishes. He also said his knees feels better than they have in three years, with only some slight discomfort.

2nd Period

Just under a minute into the 2nd, Fischer was caught after moving in on offense, and the Kings got a 2-on-1, to no result. The Kings controlled the pace early. At 16:56 remaining, the Sean Avery scored on a breakaway off a long, 3-line pass from Derek Armstrong. 1-1 tie. The Lang/Shanahan/Williams line played well, creating a number of chances and keeping the Wings in the game as the Kings kept their pressure.

At the midpoint of the period, it was like a LA power play, with Cammalleri nearly scoring off a wrist shot. A few minutes later, it was again like a LA power play, with sustained pressure in the Wings’ zone. Pavel Datsyuk did some good work in the corner, digging the puck out between the skates of a King and clearing the zone.

At 6:26, Yzerman was called for hooking, but the Kings’ PP woes continued as they failed to get a shot on net. At 4:03, Lang made a good pass to a breaking Yzerman, who was pulled down as he shot wide of Garon.

At 2:42, Conroy was caught on a high-sticking call along the boards, but the Wings were unable to generate any pressure and the period ended at 1-1, shots in the period 11-8 Kings.

Third Period

At 15:01, Fischer was called for holding on a pin along the boards, another interference call that Jiri should learn is going to be called every time in the new NHL. At 14:31, Maltby scored his 20th career short handed goal, stealing an errant Kings pass in the neutral zone. Maltby broke in alone on Garon, and made a pretty shot, beating Garon high on the blocker side to make it 2-1 Wings.

At 14:44, Draper was called for hooking on Visnovsky. It was a cheap call, as Visnovsky just lost his own footing with Draper in pursuit. This gave the Kings 43 seconds of a 5-on-3. Zetterberg, Lidstrom, and Chelios were solid on the 5-on-3, and limited the Kings to just two shots.

At 10:45, Maltby was called for a high stick, but Zetterberg and Draper did a good job on the penalty kill, as the Kings pushed to tie the game up.

At 5:45, Roenick scored when Dustin Brown shot the puck on a sprawling Legace, and the puck glanced off of Legace’s pads and redirected off of JR’s skate into the net. 2-2 tie. But, just a minute later, Johan Franzen scored his first career NHL goal off a left circle shot over Garon’s glove. Assisted by Clearly and Samuelsson. 3-2 Wings.

With three minutes left, Schneider was called for interference as he crushed Dustin Brown with a check. It was a retaliation play, and showed a lack of discipline on Schneider’s part. On the back end of the LA power play, Garon was pulled to make it a 6-on-4 advantage. With 48 seconds remaining, Zetterberg scored an empty net goal to put the Wings up 4-2. The Kings would pull Garon again, only to have Jiri Fischer score another empty netter and make it 5-2 Wings. Final. Shots in the period were 11-8 Kings, 28-21 total for the Kings in the game.

Trivia

This season marks Yzerman’s 22nd season, but 23rd officially, as the NHL is counting the missed season from the lockout in players’ season totals…Robert Lang was drafted by the Kings and played for them 1992-1996…Mike Leggo was one of the refs tonight, and has a bad history with the Wings…King Jeremy Roenick suffered his 10th concussion during the preseason…Chelios played in his 1,400th career game…Samuelsson ended his four-game goal scoring streak, but still has a streak of six straight games with a point (he assisted on the Franzen game winner)…Jason Williams has six assists this season…the Wings haven’t lost to the Kings in LA since October 12, 2002…

UPDATE (Matt):

These are from just the first period and so may be incomplete. However, Babcock seems to keep his lines pretty consistent, unlike Bowman, so these are pretty much it.

Forward units
Maltby-Draper-Yzerman
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Cleary-Franzen-Samuelsson
Williams-Lang-Shanahan
Shanahan-Lang-Zetterberg

Defensive pairings
Lidstrom-Chelios
Lidstrom-Lilja
Chelios-Woolley
Schneider-Fischer
Lilja-Woolley

PP Units
Shanahan-Lang-Samuelsson-Lidstrom-Schneider
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom-Lidstrom-Schneider
Maltby-Draper-Yzerman-Williams-Woolley
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom-Williams-Woolley

PK Units
Chelios-Lang-Zetterberg-Lidstrom
Samuelsson-Chelios-Lidstrom-Zetterberg
Maltby-Lilja-Cleary-Chelios
Lidstrom-Cleary-Franzen-Chelios
Franzen-Williams-Shanahan-Lidstrom

Wings extinguish Flames, 6-3

Published
by
Brian List
on October 10, 2005
in 2005-2006, Flames, Game Reports and The Team
. 3 Comments

The Detroit Red Wings started the season with three wins after defeating the Calgary Flames, 6-3. Penalty trouble for the Flames helped the Wings get to a quick 3-0 lead by the end of the first period. The Flames had seven penalties in the first period alone, while the Wings had none. Nicklas Lidstrom, Brendan Shanahan, and Mikael Samuelsson all got a goal on the power play within the first 20 minutes of the game. The Wings outshot the Flames, 22-4, in the first period.

“You have to take advantage of your opportunities out there,” Lidstrom said. “You can put a team away or get ahead big when you get a lot of power plays.”

Henrik Zetterberg notched a goal and three assists in yesterday’s game. Pavel Datsyuk scored during a power play in the third period. “It wasn’t even close tonight,” Flames captain Jarome Iginla said. “You didn’t see any complaining from our side (about the penalties). We deserved them.”

Robert Lang scored his third goal of the season (one in each game thus far) towards the end of the second period. Goalie Miikka Kiprusoff was pulled after the second period. He was replaced by Philippe Sauve. Detroit’s goaltender, Manny Legace, made 21 saves in Sunday’s game. “We had a great start, we talked about that before the game, coming out and playing real strong,” Lidstrom said. “Our power play was working for us.”

Head coach Mike Babcock was pleased with the team’s performance. “We managed the puck and we were on top of their team more than they were on top of us, and we went to the net,” Babcock said. “We didn’t just play in the soft areas. We got involved in the game.”

Calgary’s Roman Hamrlik had a goal and an assist in the game. Rhett Warrener and Chuck Kobasew both scored a goal. Warrener’s shot was accidently tipped in by Kris Draper of the Wings.

Darren McCarty returned to the Joe, but as a member of the opposing squad. Even so, McCarty entered the ice to a sound of applause and cheering. “It was weird coming out and having to go right instead of left,” McCarty said. “It was great out there. I saw a lot of signs and shirts (greeting McCarty).” He also said that Sunday just flew by and thought Detroit has a strong team.

“It went quick, it was like a wedding day. It just blew by.” McCarty said. “They (the Wings) have a good team over there. We were in the box a lot. They played a good game. They were definitely on.”

In the first period, McCarty leveled Kirk Maltby, a former linemate. “I’m not mad at him or anything,” Maltby said. “He’s an aggressive player and he plays hard. That’s what I would expect.”

With yesterday’s goal, Lidstrom passed Ted Lindsay to become the sixth all-time scorer for the Detroit Red Wings with 729 points.

Wings Sign Matt Ellis, Jimmy Howard

Published
by
Brian List
on August 24, 2005
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

The Wings have signed prospects Matt Ellis and Jimmy Howard, as talks continue to progress with Griffin goaltender Joey MacDonald. Matt Ellis, 23, recently had a breakout season with 18 goals and 23 assists in 79 games with the Griffins. The center has yet to make an appearance with the Wings, but has moved up the depth chart over the past few years.

As for Jimmy Howard, the University of Maine goaltender will skip his senior season to join the Griffins. Howard recently posted a 1.92 GAA in 39 games played for the Maine Black Bears. Howard was Detroit’s first choice (64th overall) in the 2003 draft, and has the potential to become a #1 goaltender in the NHL. The Wings had been pressuring Howard to forego his senior year, with the potential of the Griffins needing him this season if MacDonald is called up by the Wings.

Jason Williams and Darryl Bootland Accept Qualifying Offers

Published
by
Brian List
on August 16, 2005
in Uncategorized
. 4 Comments

The Wings have re-signed forwards Jason Williams, 25, and Darryl Bootland, 23, to one-year deals. Terms were not released, but at a 10% increase over their 2004-2005 salaries they would both be at the league minimum of $450,000.

Williams appeared in a career-high 49 games in 2003-2004, adding 6 goals and 7 assists. During the lockout, he led Assat Pori in scoring in the Finnish League with 26 goals and 17 assists in 43 games. Williams always hustles on the ice and can be used at both center and on the wings.

Darryl Bootland played in 22 games during the 2003-2004 season with the Wings. After starting out aggressive and dropping the gloves on numerous occasions, the Wings coaching staff asked him to tone it down and not cost the Wings unnecessary penalty minutes. This is where he later struggled with defining his role on the Wings, and was moved down the list of call-ups.

In other prospect news, former Wings prospect Nathan Robinson signed a one-year deal with the Bruins.

Wings Sign Defenseman Andy Delmore

Published
by
Brian List
on August 16, 2005
in Uncategorized
. 4 Comments

The Wings have signed defenseman Andy Delmore to a one-year, $450,000 contract. The contract is two-way, meaning the Wings could send him down to the Griffins. The 28-year-old Windsor native potentially becomes the Wings’ seventh defenseman, joining Nicklas Lidstrom, Jiri Fischer, Chris Chelios, Jamie Rivers, Niklas Kronwall (unsigned), and Mathieu Schneider. Says Delmore:

“It’s been a dream of mine to play for Detroit. I used to go to every Red Wings game. Having a chance to play there is very exciting for me and my family. Growing up here, it was Detroit, Detroit for me.”

Says GM Ken Holland:

“We’re thrilled because of his experience, skill and mobility. I think he’s a great addition. The style of the new NHL is geared towards skill and Andy has got skill…He’s got to make the club. He understands the possibility he may end up in the minors, but that was a chance he was willing to take.”

Delmore was considering joining the Coyotes, but ultimately chose Detroit for its skill-oriented play and the chance to fulfill a childhood dream of wearing the Winged-Wheel. Delmore had a rough stint in Buffalo last season, but prior to that racked up 34 goals and 72 points in 144 games with the Predators. He is not known for being a physical defenseman, but is regarded as one of the better offensive defensemen in the league. Says Holland:

“He’s not a big, physical, guy but we’ve had a number of defencemen here through the years like that who have played well. I think he’s going to be a real find for us.”

And as for progress with signing Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Kronwall, Holland says “I can’t say we’re close to anything on any front.” Great.

Dave Lewis Hired As Scout

Published
by
Brian List
on August 10, 2005
in Uncategorized
. 3 Comments

In a game of musical chairs that the former Red Wings head coach lost, Dave Lewis has accepted an offer to be an NHL scout for the Wings, after failing to find a coaching position elsewhere. The Wings’ late signing of Mike Babcock compounded the problem of few coaching positions vacant this summer.

It has to be embarrassing to Lewis that former Wings associate coach Barry Smith found a coaching position with the Coyotes, and the former head coach is left as a scout. Or maybe Lewis is that attached to the organization that he can’t leave. He played two seasons with the Wings (86-87, 87-88) and joined the coaching staff in 1987 (after playing six games in the 87-88 season), where he’s remained ever since.

As for Joey Kocur, Mike Krushelnyski is now listed as video technician (which was Kocur’s old position). So either the Wings offered Kocur a position elsewhere, or he declined becoming video guy. Some trivia on Mike Krushelnyski: he played for the Wings in 1994-1995 and was an assistant coach during the 1996-1997 season.