Category Archive for ‘Matt Ellis’ at On the Wings

Archive for the 'Matt Ellis' Category

Kings claim Ellis

Published

Matt Saler

on February 21, 2008

in Kings, Matt Ellis and Roster Moves

. 3 Comments

Update (3:19 PM): The official site has more, including quotes from Babcock and Ellis’ former teammates, here.

Also, IwoCPO suggests this is evidence that Ken Holland is up to something. - Matt

Ryan Doherty reports that the LA Kings claimed Matt Ellis off the waivers today.

Rarely do the Wings make personnel moves that deserve overt criticism, but this is one such instance. Yesterday, I attempted to keep a positive outlook on the move, assuming Ellis would clear waivers and would be able to return to Grand Rapids. The risk of his being claimed seemed small. I should have known better.

I have to wonder what the Wings were thinking by not taking another strategy to get Ellis to Grand Rapids. Say a two-week conditioning stint. It worked for Meech and certainly would have been justifiable for Ellis given the fact that he’s cracked the lineup just four times over the past 19 games.

Ellis was a real asset to this organization, much more so than Hartigan, and I’m sorry to see him go. The guy built a reputation as one of the hardest-working players in the system and the reward he gets is being cast off. If the Wings did this as a favor to help him get to a team that could use him more, that’s nice, I suppose. You still hate to see the guy have to uproot his young family and move 3/4 the way across the country.

Good luck with LA, Matt.

St. James: Osgood to start versus Phoenix

Published

Matt Saler

on November 30, 2007

in Aaron Downey, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Links, Matt Ellis and Tomas Kopecky

. 0 Comments

Helene St. James reports that Chris Osgood will get his fourth straight start Saturday night against the Coyotes.

Personally, I’d like to see Dominik Hasek get a chance to get on track, but this gels with Bruce MacLeod’s report of earlier this week in which he reported that Dom would start either Saturday or Tuesday. Hopefully Babcock will stick with that plan, as Hasek needs some reps, even if Osgood is tearing it up.

Also, Kirk Maltby (back) did not skate today, so he will not dress tomorrow. Matt Ellis, having been cleared to play, will return to the lineup and will give the team some added defensive security. He practiced on the fourth line with Aaron Downey and Tomas Kopecky.

11/27 Injury Update

Published

Matt Saler

on November 28, 2007

in Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper, Matt Ellis and Tomas Kopecky

. 2 Comments

Update (4:40 PM): It looks like the Wings’ site is ramping up the news updates, even on off days. Nice to see. DetroitRedWings.com’s Bob Roose has more on Draper’s knee injury, including a better description of what happened and on the effect the injury will have on the roster make-up.

Also, a response to this piece by Ryan Dixon of The Hockey News, in which he berates Andreas Lilja for fighting Dion Phaneuf after the latter’s high hit on Jiri Hudler last night. Regardless of the cleanliness of the hit (a somewhat debatable point given the fact that Phaneuf left his feet and used his elbow), Lilja was perfectly within his rights to challenge the Flames defenseman. Like George Malik points out, Phaneuf did not have to accept the challenge and could have easily skated away. Few would have questioned his toughness.

Dixon betrays his true motivations for criticizing Lilja here:

Would the thinking go: “Well, I could give my team a lift by laying somebody out, but is that worth our worst defenseman getting more ice time while I sit in the box for five minutes?”

Dixon’s all wound up because Phaneuf is touted as a star in the League, whereas is Lilja a no-name player who had the gall to challenge him and take him off the ice, away from prospective fans, for a whole five minutes. Mr. Dixon, it’s part of the game and Lilja earned points with his own fanbase for the fight. It’s not all about Phaneuf. It’s too bad for the Flames that it happened in the last 7 minutes, but, again, Phaneuf didn’t have to fight. - Matt

Update (3:22 PM): Red Wings TV has added three post-practice interviews:

- Matt
… Bruce MacLeod reports that Kris Draper will be out 10-14 days with a knee sprain. That’s a big hit to the team’s defensive capablities, especially going into the game against the NHL points leader Vincent Lecavalier and Tampa Bay tomorrow night. It’s not the end of the world by any means, given the defensive talent on the roster, but the third line won’t be as effective at shutting the other team down.

… Tomas Kopecky has been cleared to play.

… It looks like the earliest Matt Ellis will be back is Tuesday night in Montreal.

… Kirk Maltby did not practice today and the reason given is a shoulder injury. MacLeod does not know his status for the Tampa Bay game. If he’s not able to go, the team will carry 7 defensemen or call up a forward from Grand Rapids in order to fill in the empty roster spot. Personally, I hope Derek Meech gets to see some ice time, if Maltby needs a night off. The last thing the Griffins need is to lose a forward, however temporarily.

… Apparently, Chris Osgood will start again tomorrow night. It’ll be his third start in a row. Dominik Hasek is slated to start either Saturday or Tuesday. Babcock says the strategy is to play Osgood more in the first half in order to rest Dom for the second half and the playoffs. Okay, I can believe that, but tell me Dom wouldn’t be starting more often if he were tearing it up like Osgood has been.

Khan: Osgood to start versus Calgary

Published

Matt Saler

on November 26, 2007

in Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Matt Ellis and Tomas Kopecky

. 0 Comments

Update (4:10 PM): Bruce MacLeod has more on the situation. Basically, Osgood is getting the team points, while Hasek is not. So, the “backup” gets the start while the “starter” sits. - Matt

Ansar Khan reports that Chris Osgood will get a second consecutive start Tuesday night versus the Flames. Something’s obviously going on behind the scenes here. Sure, Ozzie’s earned it, but Hasek is still nominally the starter and you’d think he’d be in net again after a strong showing Thursday night.

Khan also says that Matt Ellis did not skate today, as his headaches continue. Sounds like it could be a concussion, though Babcock professes to know nothing about it. Tomas Kopecky (shoulder) skated, but mostly by himself.

Kopecky update

Published

Matt Saler

on November 21, 2007

in Aaron Downey, Injuries, Links, Matt Ellis and Tomas Kopecky

. 2 Comments

Bruce MacLeod reports that the initial diagnosis on Tomas Kopecky’s injury is that it’s muscular and will require only a short rest. That’s just a preliminary take, however, so it could turn out to be worse than that. In the meantime, Matt Ellis or Aaron Downey will be able to step in.

More on the Wings’ 3-0 win over St. Louis tomorrow.

Osgood to start vs. St. Louis

Published

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.

11/6 Post-practice Update

Published

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

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.

Wings call up Grigorenko

Published

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.

10/17 Notes

Published

Matt Saler

on October 17, 2007

in Jiri Hudler, Kris Draper, Leafs and Matt Ellis

. 0 Comments

Sorry for the lack of posting this week. I’ve been otherwise occupied and haven’t been able to put a post together. I missed the game Monday night, but based on what I’ve read about it, that was probably good for my blood pressure. I know the officiating has been wildly inconsistent, so I don’t what the Wings have to do to stop getting called, but they have to find some way to keep the penalties to a minimum as they prepare to face the Sharks tomorrow. It’s going to be interesting.

Anyway, a few odds and ends:

… The Wings have mentioned to Kris Draper’s agent that they’re looking at extending his contract 2 or 3 years, though no actual talks have begun quite yet. Drapes is 36 now, so that timeframe works pretty well, especially given the longevity of other Red Wings. He still brings a lot to the team and is invaluable in the lockerroom. He’s certainly making a case for another contract with the start he’s had!

… The Detroit News reports that Matt Ellis could surpass Jiri Hudler in the depth chart. Apparently, Babcock has been less-than-impressed with Jiri and Ellis has stood out enough to warrant the speculation. The problem with that is Ellis isn’t a replacement for Hudler. He does not have the same offensive upside and wouldn’t necessarily be able to fill the void Hudler is expected to fill in the scoring. I would think that the Wings’ goal would be to get Jiri going, not to demote him. Ellis has looked strong out there and has helped make the fourth line tough to play against, but I don’t see him moving up on the depth chart at Hudler’s expense.

… In that same News article, Ted Kulfan mentions that the November $9 tickets will go on sale Saturday at 10:00 AM. Remember, you can only get them at the JLA box office.

… The League is looking at a revolutionary idea: heated skate blades. The heat reduces the friction between the blade and the ice and will increase gliding speed and make it easier to start skating. The most obvious benefit of these skates would be the reduction in fatigue, which would mean players would have more energy later in games and would be able to play longer shifts.

I’m not really sure I like this idea much. Changes in blade design? Yes. Changes in skate weight? Good. Innovation in arena cooling? Great. Little gadgets attached to skates boosting skating ability? Not a big fan. What’ll be next? HUDs in visors?

For now, only a few players will be given the skates for use in practice. If they work out, they’ll apparently begin to be used in actual games.

… The Detroit News site has been redesigned. It looks pretty good. Their Wings Blog now has permalinks, but still doesn’t have an RSS feed.

… If you’re in to graphs and numbers, check out this excellent post by James Mirtle on NHL attendence.

… Over at Gorilla Crouch, Dave projects the final Central Division standings.

… Finally, some consolation for those of us who are fed up with Andreas Lilja.