Sarah Baker Archive at On the Wings

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Guerin to San Jose

Published

on February 27, 2007

. 2 Comments

Update (Matt, 1:55 PM): Hockey’s Future’s recent Sharks NCAA prospects update has a small profile on Barriball, who sounds like a pretty good prospect, though young and inexperienced. Still, I think the Sharks got off a lot easier than the Wings would have had they been intent on getting the Blues to give Guerin up to them. - Matt

Update (1:25PM): Sportsnet reports that the Blues apparently got more than we thought from San Jose. On top of a prospect and a draft pick, the Blues got Ville Niemenen. That may very well have been the difference between San Jose’s offer and Detroit’s — Ken Holland is not willing to give up another roster player. The prospect the Sharks gave up was Jay Barriball, their 7th round pick (203rd overall) in the 2006 entry draft. - Megan

Update (12:29PM): Now that I think of it, the the Blues probably didn’t want to deal Guerin to a divisional rival (as Bill has been reminding us since yesterday) unless the compensation was just too good to pass up. I doubt the Wings would have been willing to give much more than San Jose did and San Jose had the advantage of being a time zone away. - Sarah

Looks like you can scratch Guerin off the list of potential trades for the Wings.

TSN is reporting that Bill Guerin has been traded to the San Jose Sharks. Details are scarce at the moment. Reportedly, San Jose gave up a first round pick and a non-roster player.

If that’s true, it doesn’t seem like the price should have been too high for the Wings (who seem to deal picks without a second thought), but perhaps the Blues were demanding a top prospect whom the Wings braintrust was unwilling to part with.

Zetterberg Out Tomorrow; Hussey Recalled from GR

Published

Sarah Baker

on February 26, 2007

in Griffins, Henrik Zetterberg, Injuries, Matt Hussey and Roster Moves

. 0 Comments

Helene St James reports that Henrik Zetterberg will miss tomorrow’s game due to back spasms. Apparently he hurt himself at practice this morning. MRI results were good and he is expected to return Friday.

Matt Hussey got the call to fill in for Zetter tomorrow. He’s been doing quite well in Grand Rapids of late, with 16 points in his last 14 games. He impresses me more every game. I doubt he’ll get much ice time, but I’m confident he won’t waste it. Hey, if you’re bored, you can check out his new blog on the Griffins website.

3 Way Trade Yields Kyle Calder for Jason Williams

Published

Sarah Baker

on February 26, 2007

in Blackhawks, Flyers, Jason Williams, Kyle Calder and Roster Moves

. 3 Comments

Update (Matt, 27. Feb, 12:03 AM): One last thing tonight: what number will he wear? He can’t have #19, which he had in Philly, nor can he have #16 or #9, both of which he has worn at different points in his career. He wore #25 his first year in Chicago, but I would think that’s also untouchable. Hopefully he won’t go fo #91 or else I’ll be pissed. He’s worn #32 before and could wear it again, even though it seems like a goalie’s number. Steve Thomas wore it during his time in Detroit so it actually might be fitting for Calder to take it. Anyway, it’s all speculation. We’ll find out tomorrow. (thanks to Sarah for doing the detective work on the numbers). - Matt

Update (Matt, 11:48 PM): Here’s what Ken Holland has to say about Calder, via the Freep:

“He chases the puck, he’s a forechecker. Come playoff time, that’s an ingredient you need. He’s not pretty, but he’s a gritty, greasy type of player.”

Sounds good to me. I’m very interested in seeing Calder play and it looks like we’ll get our chance tomorrow night as he’s expected to be in the lineup. - Matt

Update (Sarah, 10:53PM): Just a little more info on Calder for those (like me) who weren’t too familiar with him. He’s a 28-year old forward currently making $2.9 million a season. I spent a little time reading over his stats page on TSN and was pleased to read that he, “Provides his team with a bundle of energy every shift. Has a propensity to step it up in key situations. ” Sounds pretty good to me. Most sources seem to feel that he’s a gritty player (something there has certainly been a major outcry for…). One thing that stood out to me is that the guy hasn’t missed a game due to injury since October of 2005. Durability - there’s something to add to your list of pros. As for cons - well, this season’s stats top that list. +/- has never been stellar (though -31 is far below the norm). Personally I’m feeling pretty good about it at this point. I think once this guy gets on a winning team and starts having some fun, he could start putting up good numbers again. I bet Ken Holland does too. -Sarah

Update (Matt, 10:14 PM): Okay, the more I read about Calder, the better I feel about him. The general concensus seems to be that he’s a good player who’s just having a bad year. And if he’s a grittier player than Williams with a strong work ethic and good hands, I’m thinking he’ll fill the Wings’ need pretty well. Of course, we’ll have to see how he actually gels with the team, but I’m optimistic. - Matt

Update (Matt, 10:05 PM): Here’s James Mirtle’s take, plus the tidbit that the Wings are rumored to be close to getting Bill Guerin. I still find that hard to believe, but I could be wrong. Can the price have gone down that much? - Matt

Update (Matt, 10:00 PM): First of all, I’m unsure about how I feel about this deal. I know very little about Calder except that his stats are probably deflated from having been on a bad team, as Sarah pointed out below. I’m not sure what we gain by the trade, but perhaps Calder will be jumpstarted by a change in scenery. We’ll just have to see.

It’s a little hard to believe that Williams is no longer a Red Wing. It had to be awkward tonight when he got the call in Chicago. It will be strange if he’s on the ice tomorrow night for the Hawks, that’s for sure.

No comment from the Wings yet, but Jason Williams had a parting shot that struck me as a little odd, via the TSN article:

“I’m happy to be going to a team that wants me and I’m looking forward to helping the Blackhawks.”

From that I’ll assume he means he was Mike Babcock’s boy, not the front office’s. Interesting. Well, good luck in Chicago, Jason. - Matt

I’d be surprised now if anything else happens for the Wings on the trade front.

Paul Kukla is reporting a three way deal between the Blackhawks, the Flyers and the Red Wings

Apparently Chicago dealt Lasse Kukkonen and a third round pick to Philadelphia for Kyle Calder. Then Chicago traded Calder to the Wings in exchange for Jason Williams.

Hey, now we don’t have to worry about Babs putting Willy on the point anymore! That alone makes the trade worth it in my eyes (sorry Jason…).

TSN says Calder has 9 goals and 12 assists in 59 games with a +/- of -31

I was a little stunned by the -31 at first but then I remembered he’s been playing for the bottom-feeding Flyers. I expect that will improve playing with the defensive-minded Wings. We’ll see how he does in Willy’s spot on the 2nd line. Hopefully he’ll provide the offensive spark we’ve been looking for.

Schooled by Sharks, Wings lose 9-4

Published

Sarah Baker

on January 5, 2007

in 2006-2007, Game Reports and Sharks

. 6 Comments

Well, since Matt is sicker than a dog, I’ll go ahead and throw out my own reaction to last night’s game. At least then I can pretend watching it wasn’t a complete waste of my time.

I just have to start by saying that this was one of the most painful games (well, regular season at least…) I’ve seen in the past few years. Of course a 9-4 loss is gonna sting, no matter what,especially when it’s a west coast game and every minute spent watching is a minute of sacrificed sleep. What made it even worse was that it started with such promise. The Sharks came out strong for the first few minutes, but the Wings weathered the storm and seemed to be in control. They continued to build the illusion by scoring three goals in under ten minutes and chasing Evgeni Nabokov from the net. The game seemed to be going perfectly, the Wings were full of confidence. The Sharks’ lone goal at 14:24 in the first seemed like little cause for concern at the time.

The second period, however, revealed that concern would have been much too mild an emotion for what was to come - we should have been panicking. The team just completely fell apart, giving up 4 goals before the period mercifully ended. At this point, I would have thought it was obvious that we needed a change - I’m not saying Dom was playing bad (though he obviously wasn’t stellar) - but sometimes it gives the team a spark. I mean, look at San Jose, they pulled Nabokov and it settled them right down. Maybe that wasn’t the only reason they turned their game around, but I bet it played a part. Babcock, for whatever reason, chose to leave Dom in net. Still, I wasn’t too worried because dismal as it seemed, the game was bearing a striking resemblance to a recent win over Columbus. Okay, I thought, we’ll just come back out and score 4 more in the third, no problem…

So apparently there was one slight problem - the Wings could not stay out of the penalty box for the life of them. The unanswered goals began to pile up, burying the Wings in a towering mountain of shame. I began to wonder, how many goals does Hasek have to give up before Babs will put in Osgood? 6…not yet? 7…is Babs watching the game? 8…finally! Now that we’ve pretty much lost all opportunity to win the game… Well, at least we got the last laugh. That’s right, Brett Lebda finally scored a goal for us in the closing minutes of the third. There’s your answer San Jose! You score 9 and we’ll shoot one right back at ya! Take that! Okay, well they weren’t exactly shaking in their boots, but at least it made the scoring gap seem ever-so-slightly smaller…

The only consolation I can take from this game is that maybe it served as a learning experience, a wake-up call, a warning that no lead is safe - that we could turn into the Detroit Lions at any second… Really it’s a bright neon flashing sign explaining to the team what we’ve been concerned about all along - they have to play for 60 minutes! A whole hockey game! I know it sounds crazy, but winning one period does not win us the game. Hopefully the Wings have seen the light and they’ll find the answers to the predicament that has plagued them all season.

Then again, we might just blame this game on another case of west coast syndrome - it’s just another case of jet lag. I will admit that this has given me the last push I needed to hop into the “move Detroit to the eastern conference” boat. I’m all for it. I hate west coast games, and the fewer the better. Have you noticed that all our first round ousters are at the hands of west coast teams? Edmonton, Anaheim, LA. You’ll notice we made it to the second round when we played Nashville in the first…only to be knocked out by Calgary, another team far outside our time zone.

Broken hand sidelines Markov

Published

Sarah Baker

on December 6, 2006

in Andreas Lilja, Danny Markov and Injuries

. 3 Comments

Helene St James reports that Danny Markov will be out of the Wings lineup for at least three weeks with a broken right hand. He took a puck to the hand early in the third period of last night’s game. The Wings will need to call someone up at least until Kronwall comes back from his groin injury (maybe Saturday?). Kyle Quincey would normally be the top call-up on defense, but he’s still working his way back from a concussion and I’m not sure he’d be ready to go yet. (Though he did play in a charity sled-hockey game last night…) The most likely options are Derek Meech and Jonathan Ericsson. Both have had outstanding seasons thus far. Meech has been a workhorse for Grand Rapids, logging plenty of minutes and playing solid defense. The Wings could potentially opt to go with veteran Dan Smith, but they seem to like giving the youngsters a shot at the NHL when opportunities arise, so that’s what I’d expect.

St James also points out that this means the whiny Lilja will probably get the playing time he’s been begging for, paired with his old partner, Nicklas Lidstrom.

Williams Update

Published

Sarah Baker

on November 29, 2006

in Injuries and Jason Williams

. 0 Comments

Looks like Helene St James may have been a bit over-optimistic earlier when she told us that Jason Williams might return Friday. She now has an update on the injured forward’s status:

“I don’t think I’ll be playing Friday for sure,” Williams said. “Saturday, we’ll see how I feel.”

That means the Wings will have to call someone up for Friday’s game if they don’t want to be short a forward. Many have suggested we need an enforcer, a la Brad Norton. He’s nursing a back injury right now though, so if they want to go that route, they’d have to call up Darryl Bootland. Another likely option would be Josh Langfeld. Ken Holland is supposed to be in Grand Rapids tonight, so I guess we’ll see who catches his eye.

Kronwall gets 5-year extension

Published

Sarah Baker

on November 23, 2006

in Niklas Kronwall and Roster Moves

. 2 Comments

Well, the Wings may not be getting any closer to an agreement with Pavel Datsyuk, but they just locked up one of their many potential free agents. TSN reports that Niklas Kronwall has agreed to a 5-year, $15 million dollar contract extension. He would have been a restricted free agent this summer.

Kronwall, who has played just 63 games in the National Hockey League, will make $1.5 million in 07-08, $3 million in 08-09, $3.25 million in 09-10, $3.5 million in 2010-2011, and $3.75 million in 2011-2012, for a salary cap average of $3 million and a free agency value of closer to $3.5 million. Unquestionably, it’s a gamble for both the player and the team based on the length of the term.

Yes, a bit of a gamble given his injury history, however I think it will prove to be a good investment. He hasn’t exactly been astounding offensively this year, but who has on this team? He’s pretty sound defensively, won’t shy away from a hit and he’s only going to get better. With Lang, Datsyuk, Schneider, Markov, Maltby and Holmstrom (to name a few…) all up for free agency this summer, it’s nice to have one less guy to worry about. Now if we could just get him back in the lineup…

Goodbye Kolanos

Published

Sarah Baker

on November 22, 2006

in AHL and Griffins

. 1 Comment

Krys Kolanos appears to be finished with the Griffins (and thus the Wings as well…). According to Joe Conklin of the Grand Rapids Press, Kolanos is not practicing with the team and the Wings seem to be working on trading him. This is unfortunate news, as Kolanos’s play has been one of few bright spots on a struggling Griffins team and he was probably a likely candidate to be called up in the future. His twelve points in 17 games were good enough for second on the team (tied with Langfeld). Without him, the already limited scoring will become practically non-existent. I guess Kolanos couldn’t beat his reputation. Hopefully the Wings can get someone of similar talents in return for him.

Bootland, McGrath and Liv Called up

Published

Sarah Baker

on November 17, 2006

in AHL, Griffins and Roster Moves

. 3 Comments

Update (3:58 PM): Helene St. James confirms the RWC message board postings. The Wings dated the start of Kronwall and Holmstrom’s IR term as being November 10th so they can be activated as soon as tomorrow, while Osgood’s term is dated from 12th, meaning he can come back Monday. She also says none of the call-ups are expected to make it to Calgary in time for the game. Lastly, she believes Liv will back up MacDonald on Saturday, therefore solving the dilemma she articulated last night. - Matt

Update (3:23 PM): The posters at Red Wings Central’s message board say it’s due to injuries, with roster space being cleared by Kronwall, Holmstrom, and Osgood joining Willaims on IR. - Matt

Update (2:25PM): The more I think about it, the more this seems very curious to me. Bootland has been mysteriously scratched for the last few Griffins games and now all of a sudden he’s getting called up to Detroit? And Stefan Liv has clearly been outplayed by Jimmy Howard thusfar in the season. I guess I can see maybe calling him up because they don’t want Howard to ride the bench, but that still doesn’t explain Bootland… -Sarah

Griffinscentral reports that the Wings have called up Forwards Darryl Bootland and Evan McGrath, as well as Goalie Stefan Liv from the AHL. I’m not sure how the Wings made room for these call-ups given that they were already at the roster limit. I would assume that this at least means that Homer and Ozzie have been placed on IR and that Williams won’t play tonight. Even then, they’d still have to clear one more spot. I would think if Kronwall were going to stay out they’d have called up a defenseman. Perhaps someone else is injured?

Where’s Schneider?!

Published

Sarah Baker

on November 9, 2006

in Mathieu Schneider

. 2 Comments

Megan and I were looking at the shift chart from last night’s game and we noticed that Mathieu Schneider did not play for the last nine minutes of the game. Where did he go? According to the play-by-play, this is around the same time that he was hit in the face by the stick of Raffi Torres (which seemed like it ought to have been a penalty despite the stick not necessarily being high…). There have been no reports of Schneider being injured and he appeared to be ok following the play. He did seem quite upset, however, with the way the officiating had been going in the game He’d taken three penalties himself at that point and was demonstrating a level of frustration not commonly seen from him. So perhaps Babcock just elected to keep him out for the rest of the game.