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3 Way Trade Yields Kyle Calder for Jason Williams

Published
by
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.

Wings 4, Hawks 2

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 22, 2007
in 2006-2007, Blackhawks and Game Reports
. 0 Comments

I watched the game but didn’t take notes so I only have a few comments.

… Dominik Hasek looked great last night, I thought. He made a number of key saves on some dangerous Blackhawk chances and kept the Wings in the game, especially in the first period. He was the victim of a great play by Duncan Keith to Radim Vrbata on the first goal, one that perhaps could have been better-defended by Mathieu Schneider and Niklas Kronwall. On the second goal, the Hawks got a lucky break as the puck bounced off Schneider and hit Hasek, who hadn’t gotten quite set after the puck went off the backboards, as he lost his balance.

… Pavel Datsyuk’s breakaway shorthanded goal in the third period was a thing of beauty, one of those goals that makes you laugh and shake your head in amazement. I had a smile on my face for a good 10 minutes afterward, even though the Hawks scored their second goal 1:29 later. Adrian Aucoin’s nightmare began there.

… It continued when Datsyuk’s pass deflected off his stick a few minutes later on its way to Henrik Zetterberg, who then put it past Nikolai Khabibulin to give the Wings a 3-2 lead at 13:38. The goal came on a delayed Chicago penalty and apparently the deflection off Aucoin’s stick was not enough possession to get a whistle.

… Aucoin’s night as goat of the game culminated in his fanning on a clearing attempt in the final minute with Khabibulin on the bench. Zetterberg picked up the puck and almost apologetically put it in the net to make it 4-2 Wings at 19:22. If it makes you feel any better, Adrian, Datsyuk and Zetterberg have been burning defensemen for two months now. You have a lot of company in that regard.

… Overall, I thought the Wings looked pretty good last night. The Hawks certainly had their moments, but most of that revolved around Martin Havlat and Hasek was generally up to the task. The Wings generated solid pressure on all four lines and played fairly physically. A good win and hopefully one that will give them momentum going into a busy weekend.

Dave at Gorilla Crouch also has a reaction to the game.

… At one point, Ken Daniels brought up the fact that Dominik Hasek will be playing back-to-back games soon. He said he doubted the Wings would start him this Friday and Saturday night, but suggested that they may go with Chris Osgood at home against Edmonton and Hasek on the road in Nashville. I can’t say I’d be in favor of that.  I still don’t like the idea of Dom playing when he isn’t able to go through his full pre-game routine, even if he’s been okay so far and has been cleared. Dom and the training staff know best, obviously, but it makes me uneasy.

GameDay: vs. Chicago (22-28-9, 53 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 21, 2007
in 2006-2007, Blackhawks and GameDay
. 2 Comments

Tonight is the fourth of eight games between these two Central Division teams this season. The Wings lead the series 3-0, with wins November 2nd (2-1), December 14th (3-2), and January 13th (6-3). They’ll face each other once more this month before a game in March and the remaining two games in April.

Since losing to the Wings last month, the Hawks have gone 5-6-4. Their last win came on February 11th in Columbus, and they have lost their last three, with two coming in shootouts, since then. They are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Rangers on the road Sunday and will wrap up a short two-game road trip tonight.

Martin Havlat has been hot lately, having scored 8 goals in his last 10 games, including the lone Chicago goal in their loss to the Rangers. It was his 23rd of the season.

I expect Nikolai Khabibulin to be in net tonight.

The Wings are 10-4-1 since January 14th and have won their last two. Their most recent loss came on February 12th, an embarrassing 6-1 rout by the Flyers which came the night after the Wings dominated the Flames, 7-4. Since the loss, they have beaten Dallas (3-1) and Phoenix (4-1).  The game in Phoenix ended a three-game road trip and tonight’s game begins a two-game homestand in which they will host Edmonton Friday night. Saturday night is an important game in Nashville.

The Wings are one point behind Nashville for the Division lead following the Preds’ 4-1 win over the Coyotes on Monday. The Predators play again on Thursday and have a good chance to beat the struggling Habs. With a game against the Preds coming up on Saturday, the Wings have a great opportunity to pass them with wins tonight and Friday night.

Dominik Hasek should be in net tonight.

The Wings need to continue their dominance of the Hawks tonight for the reason stated above. They aren’t going to be able to pass Nashville for good this weekend, but it’s important that they keep pace with the Preds now or else catching them will be that much more difficult in the end.

1/14 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 14, 2007
in Blackhawks, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Henrik Zetterberg, Mathieu Schneider and Peter Forsberg
. 2 Comments

… I didn’t catch the game, but the Wings won last night, 6-3 over Chicago on goals from Jason Williams (2), Tomas Holmstrom, Danny Markov, Kris Draper, and Robert Lang. Chris Osgood had 33 saves and looked good apparently, though he allowed two weak goals. They play Montreal on Monday.

… Helene St. James has suggestions for the Wings over the second half of the season:

  • “Win the Division” - She’d like to see the Wings avoid playing San Jose or Anaheim in the first round and this is the surest way to do that.
  • “Play Dominik Hasek Less” - I’ve been saying this for a while now.
  • Play Chris Osgood more - She thinks it’s a good idea for Osgood to get more playing so he can get in a rhythm. I agree.
  • “Improve on special teams” - A no-brainer, though the Wings seem to be doing that with every game.
  • Lastly, “Get Peter Forsberg” - Um, what? I would be shocked if this happened. I don’t even know who the Wings would trade for Forsberg, let alone why they’d go after someone so injury-prone, no matter how good he is when healthy. It’s been a Red Wings fan fantasy for years and may be more likely than ever now, but I still have trouble seeing it happen. Maybe if it were a Williams-and-Lilja trade, but otherwise, I can’t see them disrupting the roster just to get a player who could be gone this summer. Forsberg would fulfill their need for a big, strong forward on paper, but how it’d translate to the ice is a big unknown.

… Henrik Zetterberg was the only other Red Wing named to the Western Conference All-Star team. Mathieu Schneider got snubbed again. I’m glad Dominik Hasek didn’t make it because the last thing the Wings need is for him to pull his groin in a fake game. Congratulations to Hank, though!

GameDay: vs. Chicago (17-21-5, 39 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 13, 2007
in 2006-2007, Blackhawks and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Update (6:35 PM): Looks like Schneider’s out, but Lidstrom’s in, according to Helene St. James. No one has been called up, so unless the Wings are planning on going short a defenseman, Lidstrom must be ready to go. - Matt

Tonight is the third of eight games between these two teams this season. The Wings lead the series 2-0 with wins November 2nd, 2006 (2-1) and December 14, 2006 (3-2). The remainder of the games are spread over the last months of the season, with a game in February and March, and the last two in April.

The last time the Wings played the Hawks, Chicago seemed to be on a bit of an upswing. They were 5-0-3 over their previous eight games and had a good thing going. After their loss to the Wings, they kept some momentum, winning four of their next six games (9-3-3).

Since then, however, they’ve hit a skid, losing six of their last seven. During that stretch, they’ve dropped games to Boston, Columbus, St. Louis, Nashville, Phoenix, and Buffalo. Their lone win came against the Blues on January 2nd, a 4-1 effort they followed up by being shut out 2-0 two days later. In the last four games alone, they’ve been outscored 16-6. It’s not from lack of trying, however, as they managed to put 35 shots on net in their most recent loss, 2-1 to Buffalo.

One reason for their recent misfortune has been the loss of Martin Havlat to injury. Havlat has missed the last three games with a groin pull, though he could be back tonight, according to the AP. The Hawks are 6-12-4 when Havlat is not in the lineup.

The Wings are finally home after a five-game road trip in which they went 2-3-0, winning the last two games, first over Colororado and then over Phoenix. Since beating the Hawks on December 14, they’ve gone 9-4-1, so they’ve had a better month, even with the three-game skid to start the road trip. They are kicking off a three-game homestand tonight and will host the Canadiens and Predators next week before leaving on a road trip to Columbus, Colorado and St. Louis.

Chris Osgood is slated to start tonight. Dominik Hasek will be the backup as Joey MacDonald is in Grand Rapids on a two-week conditioning stint.

The Free Press reports that Nick Lidstrom may sit out tonight after suffering a knee injury at the start of the second period of their win over Phoenix Thursday night. He took an Owen Nolan shoot-in off his left knee and had to be helped off the ice, but he returned to finish the game. Apparently, he’s “feeling a little banged up,” and might miss just the 21st game in his career, most of which were for rest purposes at the end of the season.

Mathieu Schneider (knee sprain) is listed as doubtful for tonight, so the Wings will be short a defenseman if both he and Nick sit out. No one has yet been callled up from Grand Rapids (as of 12:30 PM), though Ken Holland was there scouting last night and told the Freep he’d make a decision after the morning skate.

The Wings have a good opportunity here to take advantage of a struggling team. Given their knack for waking teams up, however, I suspect it won’t be as easy as it should be, especially since it’s their first game back from a long road trip. Still, if they can continue to play like they played Tuesday night in Colorado and Thursday night in Phoenix, they should be able to pull off a win in spite of the Hawks’ efforts, much like they did against the Avs and Coyotes. Unfortunately, I probably won’t catch the game tonight because it’s my last night at home before the semester and watching hockey probably won’t be on the family agenda.

It’s definitely a good day to watch hockey, between Hockey Day in Canada, and Sidney and the Pens on NBC this afternoon. Be sure to tune in, especially since the NHL’s current scheduling system won’t allow the six Canadian teams to play each other next year.

GameDay: @ Chicago (12-12-5, 29 Pts) 8:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 14, 2006
in 2006-2007, Blackhawks and GameDay
. 2 Comments

Update (4:17 PM): Looks like Kronwall won’t be in the lineup tonight, though Babs continues to tease us (via the Freep):

“I think he’ll play the next game,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said after the morning skate at United Center in Chicago. “They’re just giving him one more day.”

Let’s hope that’s true cause I’d really like to see him back in the lineup and I don’t think I can handle hearing any more about how he’s so very close to being able to play… -Sarah

Tonight is the second of eight games between these two teams this season. The Wings won the first meeting 2-1 on November 2nd, off goals from Robert Lang and Henrik Zetterberg.

The Hawks have gone 8-3-5 since they lost to the Wings and have earned at least a point in every game back to their 2-1 win over the Stars on November 29th. This run of success started when they switched coaches from Trent Yawney to Denis Savard on the 27th. They have won their last two, including a 3-2 win over the Blues in their latest game.

On Sunday, the Hawks signed free agent forward Peter Bondra in a bid to increase their offense. They already have a great goalscorer in Martin Havlat and when Michael Handzus returns, they’ll be a bit of an offensive force to be reckoned with.

The new coach, Savard, was an old teammate of Chris Chelios’ and Cheli had this to say about him in the News today:

“Denis was a gambler as a player, and knowing him, he’s letting the forwards over there take some chances and letting them use their skill. They’re winning games and playing good hockey.”

Honestly, that’s good to hear. I’m no fan of the Hawks, but they’ve been too bad for too long, and I’m willing to accept a change in fortunes for them.

The Wings had a three-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday with an underwhelming performance at home versus the Ottawa Senators. After a dominating first period, the Wings fell apart and the Sens were able to steal a win.

Tonight’s game kicks off a three-game road trip for the Wings, who will travel to New Jersey (Saturday) and Columbus (Monday) before returning home for another game against the Blue Jackets on the 20th.

Johan Franzen is slated to return to the ice tonight after sitting out nine games with a concussion and knee sprain. It will definitely be good to have him back.

Niklas Kronwall may or may not be back in the lineup tonight, the papers say. I’m guessing not. That means Derek Meech will get another game’s worth of NHL experience.

If Kronwall is healthy, though, Meech may just be sent down because otherwise he’d be a scratch, even with Danny Markov still out. The Wings would have six healthy defensemen and wouldn’t have much reason to keep him in town when he could be playing in Grand Rapids. So, the AHL transaction page could be a good indicator of Kronwall’s condition.

The Wings need to rebound from Tuesday night’s embarrassing loss. The Hawks are hot right now and won’t be pushovers but if the Wings play like they did in the first period of the Sens game, they should be able to overwhelm Chicago. Still, they could just run into another suddenly-hot goalie in Nikolai Khabibulin and fall into the same hole they did against Ottawa.

So much for that option: Hawks sign Bondra

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 10, 2006
in Blackhawks and Peter Bondra
. 0 Comments

The Chicago Blackhawks have signed Peter Bondra, one of the few remaining free agents worth pursuing. Bondra is a player we’ve hoped the Wings would pick up at some point rather than trade away their future for a scorer later in the season. Now, that option is gone.

Link

GameDay: @ Chicago (4-8-0, 8 Pts) 8:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 2, 2006
in 2006-2007, Blackhawks and GameDay
. 2 Comments

Update (10:13 AM): As reader jz was kind enough to point out, Havlat has an ankle injury, not a knee injury and it happened in the 7th game. Dumb mistakes brought on by writing quick a game preview at 5:30 in the morning before work. Sorry about that.

I also neglected to mention another key injury for the Hawks, that of Michal Handzus, who tore his ACL in the 8th game (I think I know now where my mistake on Havlat’s injury came from…), and will be out for the season.

Also, be sure to check out The Hockey Recap’s great game report on the Wings for last night. That site gets better just about every day, and this super-boxscore is my favorite feature. - Matt

Tonight is the first of eight games between the Wings and the ‘Hawks this season. The Wings won the 2005-2006 season series 7-1, with the only loss coming on March 31, 2006 (2-3 OT). The Wings’ wins came Octobter 27th and 29th (5-2, 4-2), November 1st (4-1), December 12th (3-2 OT), March 11th and 12th (6-4, 5-3), and April 13th (7-3).

The Blackhawks have been struggling since losing their top scorer Martin Havlat in the team’s 8th game. They’ve lost four since then and have gone six straight games without a point. They are coming off a short road trip to the East Coast, where they lost to the Islanders and the Flyers.

Besides losing Havlat to a knee injury, the Hawks have lost starting goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin to a broken finger. Khabibulin was finally starting to live up to his reputation this season before being injured on October 21st. Brian Boucher, who has been covering for him, is an awful 0-6 with a 4.04 GAA, though that’s likely due to the defense more than anything else.

The Wings are coming off a 3-2 win over the Flames last night and will be looking to extend their win-streak to five. After tonight’s game, the Wings will be done with travel for a little while as they have a three-game homestand from Saturday until next Friday night.

The Freep lists Andreas Lilja and Mathieu Schneider as doubtful tonight, meaning Chris Chelios will be playing, despite the fact that it’s the second of a back-to-back games.

The News says Chris Osgood will be in net for the Wings, which would mean Joey MacDonald will be on the bench rather than Dominik Hasek.

This is a good chance for the Wings to keep the momentum going. A win against a struggling team like the Hawks may not mean much but it will help the team build confidence going into games with tougher opponents. It’s a great chance to work on the special teams, which continue to be very sub par.

Unfortunately, I will be unable to watch the game tonight because I have a test tomorrow and need to study after classes and work. So, no full game report. Sorry!

Wings 7, Blackhawks 3

Published
by
Brian List
on April 14, 2006
in 2005-2006, Blackhawks and Game Reports
. 9 Comments

From some passive watching of the game tonight, looking up at the tv when Ken and Mick got excited, here are some brief notes. The Wings dominated Chicago tonight. Shanahan got his 17th career hat trick, bringing his goal total to 39 this season, and the Wings got their NHL record 11th straight road win. Zetterberg added two goals, to make for 38 goals on the season. Lidstrom had a goal and three assists. Holmstrom tallied the other goal. The Wings led in shots 40-31. Khabibulin allowed 5 goals on 17 shots, and was pulled in the second.

The Wings dressed only 16 skaters tonight. Datsyuk, Yzerman, Schneider, and Williams all sat out. Manny was in net.

The Chicago crowd wasn’t very into the game, and didn’t even bother booing Chelios. Also, Don MacLean added an assist on one of Shanahan’s goals, his second point in as many games. He centered it out in front, and Shanny picked up the loose puck for the goal.

There were many scary moments. Draper took a puck to the foot and went to the locker room before returning later in the game. Chelios also took a beating. Dan Cleary was caught with his head down and elbowed in the head by Tuomo Ruutu, who was given a game misconduct for “kneeing” on the play. Cleary caught a bit of a knee, but what really got him was the elbow to his nose/forehead. He was very slow to get up, and appeared dizzy on the bench. Thankfully, he returned after missing a few shifts. Not such great luck for Jason Woolley, who left during the second with an undisclosed injury.

Kronwall had a physical game, and the game got really chippy near the end with some roughing calls and scrums after the whistle.

Playoff Update:

Since Vancouver lost tonight and is out of the playoff run, the Wings will play either Edmonton or Colorado. Edmonton has one game left, against Colorado at home on Monday, and 93 points. Colorado has two games left, both on the road, and 94 points. Edmonton must beat Colorado and hope the Avs lose their game in Vancouver in regulation, as Colorado would win the tie-breaker in the standings with more wins than Edmonton.

GameDay: @ Chicago (24-31-13, 61 Pts) 8:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 13, 2006
in 2005-2006, Blackhawks, Blog and GameDay
. 1 Comment

No preview for today’s game since I overslept (yes, 5:30 AM is oversleeping. It is today anyway.) and won’t have time later today. Not like a preview is needed since we’ve seen the Hawks seven other times already. Also, a game summary may or may not happen. It depends. Sorry.

Update (2:54 PM): Ansar Khan reports:

The Red Wings will dress only 18 players (16 skaters, two goalies) tonight in Chicago.Steve Yzerman didn’t make the Chicago-St. Louis trip because of a “lower-body injury” (don’t panic, it’s nothing serious, if you know what I mean). Jason Williams also isn’t playing because of a “lower-body injury,” while Robert Lang (upper body injury), Pavel Datsyuk (lower body) and Mathieu Schneider (groin) remain out.

Good grief, coach. The League can’t be too thrilled with the sudden rash of mysterious injuries on their best team.