Archive for the 'Chris Chelios' CategoryPage 3 of 5

Chelios: specialist to examine Zetterberg

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 5, 2007
in Chris Chelios, Henrik Zetterberg, Hockey Bloggers and Injuries
. 0 Comments

Abel to Yzerman has the interview. Not time to freak out, but it is maybe a little worrisome. I’m just going go ahead and believe it’s only because the team wants a green light from this guy to go ahead with their plan to play Hank. You know, “He feels great and ready to play, we just thought we’d fly you in to verify that he’ll make it through the playoffs.”

It can’t be a “What?! Your back is hurting again?! Quick, call the specialist and charter a plane!” thing or else Chelios wouldn’t be talking about it. Hank hasn’t been skating around the rink at “100 mph” if his back going to keep him out of the postseason, and if there was a setback in practice, even the “Deep Diggers” so many of us have so little faith in would have had something about it.

The team knows these games mean little and to insert him now would be a fiasco if some donkey who just got his clubs down from the attic decided to practice his golf swing on Zetterberg’s vertibrae. At least let Hank participate in meaningful hockey if he’s going to have to deal with cross-checks to the lower back.

If by this time next week he hasn’t suited up and doesn’t look any closer to doing so, then it’s time to freak out.

Babcock on a reduced role for Chelios

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 17, 2007
in Chris Chelios, Links, Mike Babcock and Quotes
. 0 Comments

In the Globe and Mail (via Snapshots):

“He says, ‘No, I’m not. I’m going to be the fourth guy.’ He doesn’t care what we tell him.

“We play him with the young guy that comes up [or] everybody that’s not going good. In my opinion, he’s part of the coaching staff. That doesn’t mean he agrees with everything we say. He doesn’t, but he’s part of making our team better.”

Sounds like Cheli has taken the role Brett Hull tried to assume when he was here. Good to see.

Ansar Khan’s injury update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 12, 2007
in Chris Chelios, Chris Osgood, Dan Cleary, Danny Markov, Dominik Hasek, Henrik Zetterberg, Injuries, Kris Draper, Links, Mathieu Schneider, Pavel Datsyuk, Robert Lang and Todd Bertuzzi
. 0 Comments

Ansar Khan has an injury update posted on his blog. Summary:

  • Chris Osgood will start instead of Dominik Hasek tomorrow night. Hasek was supposed to start both games, but his thigh injury changed that plan. He will play Wednesday night instead and will do the back-to-back games on March 29th in Nashville and March 30th at home against Dallas.
  • Danny Markov (upper body) is slated to be back Saturday against the Canucks.
  • Johan Franzen (upper body) and Dan Cleary (knee sprain) could return on the 20th in Calgary. If so, they’ll miss the March 17th game in Vancouver.
  • Mike Babcock officially said that Henrik Zetterberg (back inflammation) and Todd Bertuzzi (back) will not play until after the Vancouver/Calgary trip. So, a March 22nd debut for Bertuzzi and return for Zetterberg, at the earliest.
  • Pavel Datsyuk, Kris Draper, Robert Lang, Chris Chelios and Mathieu Schneider did not take part in the optional practice today, but all will play tomorrow night, according to Mike Babcock.

The injury problems the Wings have been going through should put losses like yesterday’s in perspective. Sure, it was bad, but they’re missing some key players and other guys are either playing hurt or just recovering from injuries. And yet, they’ve been winning more often than not. Once everyone’s healthy, they should play better and more complete games.

3/8 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 8, 2007
in Brett Lebda, Chris Chelios, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Mathieu Schneider, Mikael Samuelsson and Tickets
. 11 Comments

… Ted Kulfan reports today that Dominik Hasek could start tomorrow against LA, not that he will. Ansar Khan, on the other hand, says that Mike Babcock expects Dom and Mikael Samuelsson to play.

So, it’s possible that Hasek will be backing up Chris Osgood, but probably not likely. I’m sure the team would like Dom to get a game in before the home-and-home series with Nashville next week.

… Ted Kulfan also reports that playoff ticket prices will remain just as out of reach for Joe Fan as they were last year:

Regular-season prices from $22-$85 will rise to $63-$144 in the first round, $72-$153 in the second, $99-$270 in the Western Conference finals and $135-$450 in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Oh well. What would watching the playoffs be like without Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond’s commentary, anyway?

He says that the team has not announced a sale date to the public yet.

…  In Helene St. James’ Wings Corner daily, Mathieu Schneider and Chris Chelios address the final standings question. Chris Chelios believes that finishing first is important because it secures home-ice advantage,

“I think the biggest thing is if you ever get to a seventh game you’d much rather play at home. I’ve seen that before with Colorado when we blew them out.”

Chris Osgood told Ansar Khan much the same thing, but went on to say that playing well down the stretch is more important than where the team finishes,

“We’re trying to get our guys healthy and be playing well the last month of the season. To worry about what where we finish and who we play, we’ll figure that out when we get there.”

Mathieu Schneider agrees, as he told St. James,

“We’ve said all along, and I’ve come to believe this: We just want to get better as a team …

…. “Where we end up in the standings, we may not have control over that, but we just want to become a better and better playoff team. I think we’ve done that. We’re competing every night. In hard-fought games, we seem to rise to the occasion.”

After the Wings were eliminated in the first round by #8 Edmonton last year, I felt that it might be better for the team to finish in the middle of the pack. I thought that fighting for a playoff spot rather than coasting to the finish would be beneficial, because they’ve run into so many teams that were playing their best hockey down the stretch that their complacency couldn’t overcome it. As this season has gone on, however, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by this team’s tenacity and think that finishing 1st wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

However, that’s only because of the tight race with Nashville.  The Predators are making things difficult for the Wings and that’s something new. In previous years, they had the division and the conference virtually in the bag by this point in the season. This year, they’re fourth with four weeks left.

I agree with Chelios that home ice is desirable, but I’m more with Osgood and Schneider on this one. The team needs to focus on playing well, getting healthy, and not becoming complacent or comfortable. If they do that, home ice will be an added benefit, not an excuse.

Home ice will help the team if they had to fight for it and they are already playing well, and even then it’s not the guarantee it used to be. Any team the Wings face is going to be tough, whether they’re playing at home or on the road. That’s why maintaining a top level of play to the end of the regular season is so important.

… Lastly, Ted Kulfan points out that Brett Lebda will not be suspended for his slash on Scott Nichol, which broke a bone in the latter’s hand. Nichol basically said he wanted Lebda suspended after the game, but the League obviously decided it was not a bad enough incident, Nichol’s testimony to the contrary.

I didn’t see the play, so I can only offer my uninformed opinion on it: a malicious slash does seem to be against Lebda’s character so I’m inclined to believe it was accidental.

3/1 Late Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 1, 2007
in Brett Lebda, Chris Chelios, Henrik Zetterberg, Lines, Todd Bertuzzi and Tomas Kopecky
. 0 Comments

Sorry about taking all day to post something. It’s pretty much the first chance I’ve had, as my computer has been giving me problems. Just a few interesting tidbits:

… Todd Bertuzzi had his first full practice with the team today, which apparently surprised Mike Babcock, who had told him, “You don’t have to impress us today. You impressed us already, that’s why you’re here and let’s just get you back.” Still, this doesn’t mean he’s going to be coming back any sooner.

The obvious topic choice for the media after the practice was Bertuzzi’s attack on Steve Moore. Understandably, it’s not his favorite topic (I wonder if the Freep picture captures his face as he faced those questions) and he tried to deflect the conversation away from it:

“The only people who talk about and discuss it is usually media and all that. You know, I gotta respect that you guys have a job to do and I understand it.”

Chris Chelios provided some input as well, obviously siding with his new teammate:

“For the most part, all hockey players are good guys. What happens on the ice doesn’t carry on off the ice. I can’t wait to see him play for us.”

He may be a good guy off the ice, but he’s not going to be able to throw off the stigma from what he did. I just hope The Incident doesn’t become central to his time here or else it’s going to be difficult for him to be effective.

Also in the Khan blog post from which the Chelios quote came:

… The lines will remain the same as they were on Tuesday

Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Filppula
Calder-Lang-Franzen
Hudler-Draper-Maltby
Ellis-Hussey-Langfeld

… Brett Lebda did not practice today due to the flu. That may put his status in question for tomorrow night’s game against the Hawks. In the event that he sits out, Andreas Lilja will get another game in the lineup despite Chris Chelios’ return.

… Apparently, Tomas Kopecky also had a full practice today, though the Wings are still decided whether or not he’ll be returning this season. Khan says it seems unlikely, which makes sense both because of the seriousness of his injury and the mere fact that the roster is now packed with guys who will get the ice-time that might otherwise have gone to Kopecky.

… George Sipple elaborates on the interesting story that Owen Nolan chose not to come to Detroit on Deadline Day. Apparently, his wife is pregnant and he does not want to move at this time, which is entirely understandable.
… Lastly, Henrik Zetterberg was the NHL’s #1 Star for February.

2/9 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 9, 2007
in Blues, Chris Chelios, Henrik Zetterberg, Hockey Media, Joey MacDonald, Leafs, Manny Legace, Mark Messier, Peter Forsberg, Selke, Todd Bertuzzi and Trade Rumors
. 2 Comments

Update (10. Feb, 12:45 AM): Over at KK, Chuck Gormley has some more on the Forsberg situation. He believes that if Forsberg decides to ask for a trade to one of a list of teams, his preferences, “would probably be, in order, Detroit (Lidstrom), Vancouver (Naslund), Anaheim and San Jose.”

I’ve heard the Forsberg-Naslund connection talked up a lot (i.e., they’re childhood friends and used to hope to play together again for their hometeam, MoDo - which they did during the lockout), but not one with Lidstrom so much (it must be from their time together on national teams as they’ve never played together professionally). Interesting that Nick may be a bigger pull than Naslund, thought it could be more because of the Wings’ chances than anything else. If it’s true. - Matt

Update (2:50 PM): ESPN’s Scott Burnside has a take on the Mark Messier GM story that’s similar to my reaction, though his commentary is quite a bit less inflammatory than my knee-jerk rhetoric. - Matt

… The Wings were shut out for the first time in 176 games last night as the Blues beat them 1-0 in St. Louis. It looks as though they had another slow start to the game and never really recovered, despite strong goaltending by Joey MacDonald. Joey gave them a chance to win by stopping everything except for a freak goal that went in off Chris Chelios.

For Blues fans, the bad news is that Manny Legace was hurt during the second period in a collision with Thomas Holmstrom.

The Wings play Calgary at home next, on Sunday at 6:00 PM ET.

Since I did not see the game and cannot provide a first-hand account, I suggest going to Gorilla Crouch, where Dave will probaby publish one soon, and No Pun Intended, where Steph already has.

… Unfortunately for the Wings, the Predators did not lose last night. They beat the Leafs in a penalty-filled affair in Nashville and are again in the lead by three points. They can go up by five with a win over the Kings on Saturday.

…. Ted Kulfan suggests that Henrik Zetterberg could be in the running for the Selke Trophy this year. I agree, and thought the same thing last year. It’s the young stars in the East that get all the attention, and though they obviously deserve a lot, I’m with Wayne Gretzky in saying Zetterberg is flying under many people’s radar.

… Kulfan and George Sipple of the Free Press both mention the rumor that the Wings are interested in Todd Bertuzzi. I’ll be frank: I would be absolutely appalled if they do end up going that route. You know may recall my opposition toward acquiring Peter Forsberg due to the uncertainty about his health. Well, I’d take Foppa any day over Bertuzzi, ankle problems and all (even more so now that he’s found some kind of workable solution). Ugh. There is no reason to bring Todd and his baggage into the lockerroom. Please Kenny, no Bertuzzi.

Oh, and by the way, the Forsberg rumor is heating up slightly, with the story currently being that he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause for three teams only: Detroit, Anaheim, and Montreal.

Kukla’s Korner: Facts on Forsberg

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 7, 2007
in Chris Chelios, Links and Peter Forsberg
. 1 Comment

Flyer’s beat writer Chuck Gormley has an interesting guest-piece on KK worth reading. Most interesting:

  • Forsberg has been a “force” since the Break, having apparently found a solution to his skate problem
  • Chris Chelios has come out saying he’d love to have him on the team.

Hmm. I still think it’s too much of a risk, but, given the above, I must admit I’m warming to the idea slightly. Still, it doesn’t seem very likely to happen, since the asking price would probably be too high for Holland given the possibility that Forsberg would strictly be a rent-a-player looking to return to Philadelphia this summer.

2/4 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 4, 2007
in Brendan Shanahan, Brett Lebda, Chris Chelios, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Jimmy Howard, Jiri Fischer, Mikael Samuelsson, Scott Hartnell and Video
. 2 Comments

… Helene St. James has an interesting piece on Jimmy Howard in today’s edition. Howard, who has been out most of January with an ankle injury, is slated to return Wednesday and will be facing high expectations from management in Detroit. He has a 12-12-1 record when healthy, but the Wings are looking to see how he performs down the stretch as the eight-place Griffins fight for a playoff spot.

St. James touches on an issue that I don’t think has gotten a lot of press here in Detroit: the question of the condition of the team’s goaltending after this season. She writes that the Wings have not ruled out extending Dominik Hasek’s 1-year contract, noting that it depends on his health, his interest in playing, and the team’s performance in the playoffs. However, there’s a good chance Hasek won’t be back next season, and, pending Howard’s performance in the coming months, the Wings may decide he’s ready for the NHL.

Chris Osgood has one year remaining on his contract and would be a good mentor for Howard, so it’s at least possible that the Wings will go with a two-goalie system, with neither goalie having the declared starting job. They would probably like to get a bona fide starter, but given the fact that much of their cap space will be taken up by signing skaters this off-season, that may not be possible.

… Funny story: Chris Chelios badly wanted to fly to Miami to watch his hometown Chicago Bears play the Indianpolis Colts in the Super Bowl, but he didn’t have the nerve to ask Mike Babcock for permission. He considered going through Nick Lidstrom, but decided not to. Considering the Bears haven’t been to the Super Bowl in 21 years (i.e. when Cheli was a Hab), it says a lot that he’s sticking with the team and not looking for special treatment.

So, the team will be watching the game in New York instead and Brendan Shanahan has been invited to watch it with them.

The Freep has the team’s picks for the game here. The concensus seems to be that the Colts will win, though Brett Lebda is pretty confident his hometeam, the Bears, will emerge victorious (whereas Chelios seems pretty fatalistic). Gotta love Hasek’s reason fore picking Indy:

“Colts. I have Colts, so I cheer for them to win. I think Colts by 10. I think their quarterback will be the difference.”

When I first read that, I thought he meant he has horses, but I guess he means he has the Colts in some kind of fantasy league.

… Ansar Khan wrote yesterday that Mikael Samuelsson (broken right foot) is about a week away from returning. He skated through the whole practice yesterday and felt pretty good, though he still has trouble stopping and starting.

… And the video of the day (via Gorilla Crouch):

That warm and fuzzy feeling you’re getting comes from seeing Scott Hartnell get owned (in the crowd). Of course, the focus of the video is the shot in the dark by Moen, which is also heartwarming if you’re a Wings fan.

For old time’s sake, here’s another fight involving Scott Hartnell. It’s one of my favorites.

Schneider out at least two games

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 9, 2007
in Chris Chelios, Hockey Bloggers, Injuries and Mathieu Schneider
. 1 Comment

Ansar Khan reports that Mathieu Schneider will sit out at least the remainder of the road trip with a strained MCL. Apparently, his knee will be looked at again when the team gets back to Detroit on Friday.

To help fill in the gap, Chris Chelios will be rushed back into the lineup after missing six games. He did hook up with the team today in Denver and will play tonight against the Avs.

It’ll be great to have Cheli back in the lineup, but the Wings are going to miss Schneider at both ends of the ice. Their power play will suffer from not having his shot from the point and from being without his strong defensive play, which will make them a little more vulnerable in their own end. Chelios will certainly help with the latter, however.

Khan believes Jason Williams will be back in the lineup tonight, which means Jiri Hudler is a likely candidate to join Josh Langfeld wherever healthy scratches go during road games.

Also, a big congratulations to Christy for her great week. I will admit I was very jealous when I read her latest post, but she certainly deserves recognition for her work on Steve Yzerman Retirement Night. If we bloggers had an awards mechanism, that post would be up for Best of the Year.

01/03 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 3, 2007
in Chris Chelios, Injuries, Notes, Pavel Datsyuk and Steve Yzerman
. 1 Comment

Christy’s coverage of the jersey retirement ceremony is better than anything I could produce so I’ll just say a few things rather than do a comprehensive write-up.

… The new banners for Terry Sawchuk, Sid Abel, Ted Lindsay, Alex Delvecchio and Gordie Howe look great. Nice to see them modernized.

… Scotty Bowman had a funny line about the Wings’ age. He said the team kept signing older players in order to keep Yzerman feeling young, because no matter how old he got, there were always a couple guys on the team that were older.

… Bowman also said Yzerman had the highest pain threshold of any player he ever coached. That’s saying a lot, considering he once coached Mario Lemieux.

… In typical Yzerman fashion, he deflected attention away from himself, even on his night, during his speech. Right from the start, when he talked briefly about his first game in Detroit, he was putting the focus on others. First, it was the fans, who he said made that first game so special.

Then, he thanked the Ducks for participating in the ceremony.

After that, it was his wife and kids, who have waited so patiently for him over the years and are still waiting as he has taken on other responsibilities.

He then thanked the Illitches and the Detroit front office for their patience and willingness to work with him over the years.

Then, he went into overdrive, spending a lot of time thanking and praising Scotty Bowman, who he said had never gotten a proper goodbye after he retired in 2002. Anyone tuning in at this point would have thought they’d stumbled across a ceremony honoring Bowman.

He then thanked his old teammates, especially those who had not been able to be on the Cup teams. He said they were responsible for setting up the Cup runs and deserved thanks even if their names aren’t on it.

On a similar vein, he thanked the players from the previous eras for building Hockeytown and giving it such a rich history.

Finally, he thanked the fans, though he said he didn’t know how. According to The Captain, it was our high expectations that provided him with the inspiration and drive to play as he did and he said we are a huge reason his jersey was being retired. For that, he said he was sincerely grateful.

… During his speech, Yzerman made a comment to the effect that he believes his image as a great leader is greatly overblown. Needless to say, the fans at the Joe let him know what they thought of that and when the crowd had quieted down, one fan spoke for all of us when he yelled, “You’re the best, Stevie,” loud enough for the TV mics to pick up.

… Good to see the Wings put forth a winning effort last night, though it wasn’t a memorable game except for a couple things:

- Homer’s no-look pass to Hank for the game winning goal.

- Some truly awful officiating in the first period. This hurt both sides, though the Ducks were able to get a goal out of it while the Wings weren’t.

… Lastly, Pavel Datsyuk has a groin injury and is likely to miss a few more games. Josh Langfeld filled in for him last night. Chris Chelios will not fly to California with the team because he has to deal with the deadly stabbings of two of his employees at his restaurant downtown. He also has a shin injury which has kept him out of the lineup. Apparently, he’ll fly out when he’s ready.