Archive for the 'Aaron Downey' CategoryPage 3 of 3

Osgood to start vs. St. Louis

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Matt Saler
on November 20, 2007
in Aaron Downey, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek and Matt Ellis
. 0 Comments

Bruce MacLeod reports that Chris Osgood will start in net tomorrow night versus the Blues. Why? To Mike Babcock (and most other people paying attention), it’s simple: “To me, he’s earned the right.” It’s looking more and more like IwoCPO’s right.

Dominik Hasek will start Thursday in Nashville after getting another day of practice with Jim Bedard, the goaltending coach.

Also, it looks like Aaron Downey will sit out after having a strong game Sunday. In practice today, he and Matt Ellis were the extra men on the fourth and second lines, respectively.

And some good news: the team practiced 5-on-3 defense today. As HockeyTownTodd has been pointing out, there seem to be more of those lately, so they might as well be prepared.

Lastly, I apologize for the dearth in posting over the past few days. School tasks have made it difficult to find time to attend to the blog, but I should be able to return to regular posting now. For a while, anyway.

MacLeod: Downey clears waivers

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 9, 2007
in Aaron Downey and Links
. 2 Comments

Update (1:30 PM): Just to clarify, it’s 10 games for Downey, not for the team, according to the CBA (big PDF). - Matt 

Just like last time, he won’t actually go to Grand Rapids, but will stay with the team and allow them some flexibility to make moves in case of an injury too minor to involve the IR. He can be sent down any time in the next 30 days or 10 games without a hitch. (link)

Downey back on waivers?

Published
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Matt Saler
on November 8, 2007
in Aaron Downey and Roster Moves
. 1 Comment

Update (8:37 PM): Just got an email back from mLive’s Ansar Khan. He says it is true and that, more than anything else, it’s to allow the team the room to bring up Jimmy Howard if Dominik Hasek gets hurt again. Hadn’t thought of it that way, but it makes more sense than what I said below doesn’t rule out the scenario I outlined below in the 8:06 update. He suggests the Wings may waive him every month, as long as everyone is healthy, as insurance in case of an injury.

Also, according to him, it’s by noon tomorrow, not noon Saturday, that another team has to claim him. So, evidently I was wrong about that. It’s been a long day… - Matt

Update (8:06 PM): Also, I should explain what I mean by “breathing room” a little better. If, heaven forbid, over the next 30 days or 10 games, one of the team’s top players gets hurt, they’ll probably want to call someone up from Grand Rapids who could fill in better than the four guys on rotation (Downey, Matt Ellis, Dallas Drake, and Tomas Kopecky). Waiving Downey now allows them to do that right away without having to wait two days to clear a spot. - Matt

Update (8:00 PM): I should mention that, if Downey has in fact been waived (still haven’t seen confirmation), he’s available to other teams until noon on Saturday. - Matt

According to Habs Inside/Out, Aaron Downey has been placed on waivers (via Kukla’s). I haven’t been able to find confirmation on that, but if it’s true, it’s not the first time this season. You may remember he was waived back in October in order to allow the Wings room to make roster moves quickly, though they obviously kept him around when he wasn’t claimed. His waived status was good for 30 days or 10 games, which would explain why they’d waive him now, a month later, to give them some breathing room with a 23-man roster.

If the RDS report is true, let’s hope he doesn’t get claimed. If you’re not a believer in Downey, check this out:

11/6 Post-practice Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 6, 2007
in Aaron Downey, Chris Osgood, Dallas Drake, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Jiri Hudler, Matt Ellis and Tomas Kopecky
. 0 Comments

… Bruce MacLeod, Ansar Khan, Helene St. James, and Ted Kulfan all report that Chris Osgood will be the starter tomorrow night against the Predators while Dominik Hasek will make his return from an aggravated hip Friday versus the Blue Jackets.

… MacLeod is the only one of the beat writers to go beyond the goalie story and report on other items of interest from practice. First of all, he reaffirms that Niklas Kronwall won’t be back Wednesday. Good to know (and to be reminded yet again of how injury prone Nik is).

He then suggests that Jiri Hudler could be a healthy scratch tomorrow, given that he’s been working with the first and second lines all week and hasn’t had reps with the fourth line, to which he was supposedly demoted Sunday. MacLeod’s suggestion is given added weight by the fact that Aaron Downey, Dallas Drake, and Matt Ellis have been the first group of forwards to represent the fourth line in drills lately, and that at the expense of Tomas Kopecky.

Assuming MacLeod’s speculation is correct, it looks like Babcock is gearing up for a physical showdown with the Predators by dumping some offense in exchange for toughness. I still think Hudler’s getting the shaft because he’s shown himself capable of playing against physical teams, but it does make sense to put the biggest and grittiest guys in there against a Nashville team that no doubt will be running and gunning for the Wings’ top line.

If Babcock does make these changes, it’ll be one of those rare instances in which the Wings throw down the gauntlet on physicality. I like it, despite the fact that I think it’s grossly unfair to Hudler.

10/29 Injury Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 29, 2007
in Aaron Downey, Chris Osgood, Dallas Drake, Derek Meech, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Johan Franzen and Matt Ellis
. 0 Comments

I was wrong in my assessment yesterday: both Ansar Khan and Helene St. James report that Johan Franzen and Dallas Drake will return to the lineup tomorrow night in Edmonton. Their return will come at the expense of Matt Ellis and Aaron Downey, who Babcock told Khan would be scratched. Sucks for those two, but their positions on the team are replacements, so I guess it isn’t really that big a surprise that they’d get pushed out once everyone’s healthy. Apparently, Franzen will center the fourth line with Drake and Tomas Kopecky on the wings.

Neither Niklas Kronwall (groin) nor Dominik Hasek (hip) practiced so they won’t be back tomorrow night.  So, Chris Osgood should get another start, and Derek Meech will get another game under his belt.

Aaron Downey’s value

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 23, 2007
in Aaron Downey, Igor Grigorenko and Links
. 1 Comment

Dave at Gorilla Crouch has a great post on the Igor Grigorenko situation up. In it, he makes a good case for keeping Aaron Downey on the roster over Grigorenko: Downey’s presence will help deter goons like Jordin Tootoo from taking a cheapshot on one of the team’s stars.

As for Igor himself, Dave believes his days as a Red Wing are nearing an end and I can’t disagree. It’s going to take a major turnaround in that kid’s attitude for the team to keep him around beyond Franzen’s return.

10/22 Drake Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 22, 2007
in Aaron Downey, Dallas Drake, Igor Grigorenko, Injuries and Links
. 0 Comments

Helene St. James reports that Dallas Drake will miss at least the next two games with a broken cheekbone. He’ll be checked out again on Friday, but it looks like he’ll be available for the road trip next week. It looks, then, like this will be the week for Igor Grigorenko to find a way into the lineup, probably over Aaron Downey. As soon as Drake returns, there’ll only be one open spot and Matt Ellis has that one pretty well locked down. Personally, I’d rather Downey continue to dress until Drake returns, but that’s just me.

Wings call up Grigorenko

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 22, 2007
in Aaron Downey, Igor Grigorenko, Johan Franzen and Matt Ellis
. 0 Comments

Update (23. Oct, 10:10 AM): Johan Franzen is slated to return in two weeks, so, barring another injury, Grigorenko has until then to impress the Wings enough to stay. - Matt

Update (4:15 PM): Christy Hammond has posted her response to Grigorenko’s promotion here. Is anyone excited about it or are we all in agreement that he doesn’t deserve it? Also, George Malik has another post up on the topic. - Matt

Update (3:30 PM): See George Malik’s take here. He asks a great question: why didn’t the Wings hire a “minder” to help Igor adjust to life in the States? - Matt

Bruce MacLeod reports that the Wings have promoted Igor Grigorenko to Detroit. Apparently, he was unhappy in Grand Rapids and refused to stay beyond the three weeks allowed by his contract with his Russian team. So, rather than putting him in his place for being a punk or letting him go, the team has given him what he wants. This is in spite of the fact that Grigorenko is pointless and minus-1 through five games with the Griffins. It seems he is being given one last chance to show he’s worthwhile.

To make room, Johan Franzen (knee) has been placed on the IR, though he practiced with the team today. Obviously, that buys time for Matt Ellis and Aaron Downey, one of whom will likely suffer demotion because of Grigorenko’s selfishness as soon as Franzen returns.

In his time in Grand Rapids, Grigorenko has done nothing to show he deserves a spot on the team, while over the same span Downey and Ellis have developed quite strong cases. That’s what’s unfair about this whole thing. While others have paid their dues, Grigorenko has assumed he’d get a free ride, and to some extent, the Wings are cooperating.

Of course, Grigorenko could suddenly impress the Red Wings brass and become the standout everyone’s been hoping for, thereby winning everyone over. Perhaps being around his countryman Pavel Datsyukk will help the kid. Part of his troubles in Grand Rapids no doubt stemmed from the lack of another Russian in the lockerroom. That excuse only covers him so far, however, as he’s supposed to be fluent in hockey, whatever his actual linguistic skills, and he still did not perform as expected.

If being around Datsyuk and being in an NHL lockerroom aren’t enough, he’ll continue to be a flop. If that’s the case, he’ll likely be on a plane to Russia before too long because he obviously is not going back to Grand Rapids. The team would be foolish to keep him around on the odd chance that he’d suddenly wake and be a team player, especially when they have guys like Ellis and Downey ready and willing to contribute.

I don’t know what to expect. Grigorenko’s obvious attitude problems lead me to be pessimistic, but part of me wants to remain hopeful that he’ll succeed. I really don’t like that he’s stepping on Ellis and Downey’s toes to get in the Winged Wheel, but all we can do is hope those two continue to demonstrate their value, whatever happens with Grigorenko.