Update (11:47PM): $8 million ($4 mil/yr), same as Bert’s deal. (via Snapshots) -Sarah
It’s a two-year deal, but the amount was not announced. We’ll be seeing a lot of ole’ Robert.
Archive for the 'Robert Lang' Category
Via the Freep: “I’ve contacted Petr Svoboda, and told him we will not be offering a contract to Robert Lang.” - Ken Holland.
… Bruce MacLeod has graded the Wings individual performances for the playoffs and posted the results on his blog. MacLeod is an astute observer of the game and his grades reflect that. Not much to disagree with there.
… MacLeod also was the first (that I saw) to post Chris Chelios’ comments on why he skipped the post-series handshake. Basically, he was overcome with emotion and couldn’t think straight for the final 20 or so seconds of the game, as he knew the team was going to be eliminated on the brink of going to the Finals for what could have been his last time. I totally understand Cheli’s excuse and I think Teemu Selanne’s comments (where he derisively said it just showed Chelios’ true character) were way out of line. George Malik has more from Chelios.
… Ansar Khan writes on Dominik Hasek, saying he’s a “good bet to return,” noting that he’s wanted back by the organization from the front office to the players and that he wants to be back himself. Mike Babcock, apparently, will look to convince him to stay.
Personally, I don’t have any problem with Hasek coming back, except for those nagging concerns over his health in the back of my mind. Of course, they handled him so well this season that it was just about a non-issue. Still, that doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily be as fortunate on another go-around. If Dom is capable of repeating his performance, it’d be great: bring him back. It wouldn’t be any different (except that he’ll be older) than this past season and it worked out fine. It’s just that it’s another roll of the dice.
That said, I wouldn’t be opposed to the team trying the open market or just going with Chris Osgood, with Jimmy Howard doing “enhanced backup” (I made that up) duties. Maybe Jimmy’s not ready for that, though.
All things considered, since Dom’s about the most economic option and provides the best bang for the buck when healthy, I’d be fine with them going with him again if they decide pursuing someone like JS Giguere isn’t worth it.
… Khan goes on to say that Todd Bertuzzi wants to stick around (see his comments here at Red Wings Corner). I’d probably like him to. I think a full season would do wonders for the guy. We definitely never saw what he can really do. I seriously doubt he’ll ever be back to his peak, but I know he can be more effective than he was and giving him a real role on the team would be a great way to get him going again.
… Khan also thinks Mathieu Schneider will resign re-sign. I hope so! Losing him was probably the single biggest reason the Wings won’t be playing hockey Monday night. He’s huge for this team and I hope they can find a way to work out a deal. Last time his contract was up, things didn’t go so smoothly, but I’m pretty confident they will this time around.
… Khan finishes with the unsurprising comment that and that Robert Lang is definitely gone. What is surprising, to me, anyway, is his assertion that Kyle Calder won’t be back either. I guess it’s not such a big surprise given his awful performance in the playoffs, but unless it was due to something other than an injury, I thought his regular season performance was enough to earn him a spot. I guess we’ll hear more about that soon.
Thank you for validating everything I’ve been thinking for this entire series. Khan has a great little piece on his blog today (of which I am not the only fan) highlighting the Wings’ struggles against the Flames and providing a number of helpful suggestions. Let’s just hope he sent Mike Babcock a copy.
Suggestion #1:
He should insert Jiri Hudler back in the lineup. Hudler played with a lot of energy in the first two games.
Jiri played so well in the first two games, only to be dropped with the return of Todd Bertuzzi. Now Bert has earned his keep, but there’s no reason Hudler shouldn’t be out there in place of one of our underachievers. I’ve been hoping Huds would get the call over Samuelsson.
Suggestion#2:
Or he might take out Samuelsson, who has just one assist in 10 playoff games the last two years. If he leaves Samuelsson in, he should at least stop playing him on the point on the power play. It isn’t working. Brett Lebda would be a better option.
Every time I bring up the idea of scratching Samuelsson, somebody says “Oh, but he’s playing the point on the power play.” Here we go again. Babcock is a great coach, but what is his obsession with putting forwards on the PP point?! Now, Samuelsson is no Jason Williams - he’s not a total liability there. But he’s not producing either. It just is not working. Oh, and if I had a dollar for every time I’ve told somebody that Lebs would be a better choice than Sammy for the PP point in the last two weeks, I’d be watching the next game from The Joe instead of my living room. Brett is a great skater and he’s got tons of offensive ability. He’s practically a forward anyway with the way he’s always wheeling around in the offensive zone. Babs should be all over this.
Another thing that I’ve had a hard time understanding is the fact that, despite being one of our hardest working players, Filppula can not manage to get decent ice time - instead it continues to go to guys who are simply wasting it. The thing that really gets me is that Babs admits that he should be playing him more.
“He probably wonders why the coach doesn’t get him on the ice more and the coach wonders that himself,” said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. “My son told me after Game 1 that I didn’t play Fil enough.” (via USA Today)
Even his kids know it! Is Babcock aware of the fact that he’s the coach and he’s actually allowed to make these changes himself? If he thinks he deserves more time, why doesn’t he give it to him?
Suggestion #3:
Valtteri Filppula needs to play more. I’d also try to find a way to work him in on the struggling power play.
Power play time? Now there’s an idea. That would give Fil more playing time AND change up our miserable power play. No, I think that would make too much sense…
Despite Babcock’s stubbornness regarding lines, he has done more this year than last and for that I am most greatful.
Coach Mike Babcock’s reluctance to change his lineup or even his line combinations proved costly in last year’s first-round loss to Edmonton. He made a good move by replacing Kyle Calder and Mikael Samuelsson on the second line with Todd Bertuzzi and Johan Franzen.
Darn right, Ansar. I just want to know what took him so long. I think everybody and their brother knew that Todd needed to be on that second line with Lang the day he returned to the ice. Sometimes I think Babcock is just a little too reluctant to make changes. It scares me. When you’re afraid to make changes, then sometimes you don’t do it until it’s too late. Hopefully that won’t be the case in this series.
Oh, and for anyone who didn’t think Babcock was completely insane for putting Lang out for the last faceoff of game 3 (I’m sure there is no such person, but you never know):
Robert Lang has won only 17 of 54 face-offs.
For those of you without calculators, that’s about a 31% win percentage. That means he loses them 69% of the time! I bet every time the opposing center sees that he’s facing off against Lang, he throws a little party in his head. “Freebie faceoff win! Coach will think I’m good at those! Yay!”
Suggestion #4:
Maybe Franzen should start taking the draws for that line. It couldn’t be much worse.
Sure it could, Lang has actually made an improvement from his game 1 faceoff win percentage - a whopping 20%.
Basically, I think Babs has made some unfortunate decisions up to this point. Maybe he’s overcomplicating things. To put it simply, the players who are playing the best should be playing the most. Makes sense to me. If someone’s not cutting it, they should be replaced, whether it be on the PP, in the faceoff circle, or on the lineup completely.
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.
Update (10:43 PM): Just a clarification on my last update: Holmstrom’s last shift ended around the 14 minute mark of the third period. I apologize for wording it so ambiguously before. Thanks to Justin for pointing that out.
Also, Ansar Khan informed me via email that neither Robert Lang nor Tomas Holmstrom practiced today. Mike Babcock told him there were no injuries during the game against the Hawks, however. - Matt
Update (6:35 PM): I just remembered something I’d meant to mention earlier: Tomas Holmstrom left the game around the 14 minute mark and didn’t return, as pointed out by the FSN crew, who had noticed he wasn’t on the bench.
I haven’t seen anything indicating he has an injury, so it may have just been a case of Mike Babcock resting his top line, as neither Pavel Datsyuk nor Valtteri Filppula took any shifts from about 16:00 on, after they had helped kill of a penalty with Danny Markov and Nicklas Lidstrom. (via the shift chart) - Matt
So, I got home on the Detroit side of the state last night (for “Spring Break”) at around 2:30 AM after watching the game in Holland, thanks to terrible weather until around Lansing. Then I slept about four hours longer than I meant to, and now I’m way behind the eightball on the day. So, some links to people more on top of things than me, with a little commentary:
… The Wings won last night, 6-2 over Chicago. I watched the game but don’t have a heck of a lot to say about it, except that it’s nice to see the Wings can produce offense without Henrik Zetterberg in the lineup. However, as Dave at Gorilla Crouch has pointed out today, the Blackhawks aren’t exactly a Grade “A” opponent, so the jury’s still out.
For a reaction to the game from someone who was there, see Steph’s report at No Pun Intended.
… Jason Williams scored twice on his former team, prompting Mike Babcock to give the quote of the year:
“It’s good to see him score, too. What the heck.”
(via. Abel to Yzerman)
… It looks like the Wings having taken such a vested interest in rejuvenating the second line has awakened Robert Lang, who had four-point night and was as involved in the offense as he’s been all season. The Free Press wins the award for most lame headline today, with their story on the game: “Lang time coming: Center leads Wings past Hawks.”
… Nicklas Lidstrom scored his 200th career goal (finally) in the third period, and Christy Hammond of Behind the Jersey was there to cheer him for it.
… The FSN crew made a big deal out of the fact that Jiri Hudler came out for warmups wearing his red helmet last night. Apparently, he was thrown off by the fact that the Wings usually wear red at home, but were wearing white so that the Hawks could use their black jerseys. Ansar Khan reports that Robert Lang finally told him, after the whole team had a good laugh. Jiri scored a nice breakaway goal later in the game, making that the most memorable thing he did last night, rather than than the helmet thing.
… It looks like Chris Osgood will get another start, as Dominik Hasek will not be able to return tomorrow against the Avalanche, according to Ansar Khan. The Wings, needless to say, are taking every precaution with Dom and will not be rushing him back. Khan also says that Chris Chelios will be a game-time decision tomorrow.
… The Free Press reports that Mikael Samuelsson skated yesterday, though not with the team. He’ll still take some time to get back into game-shape so don’t expect to see him too soon.
… Lastly, non-Wings related: James Mirtle has been blogging about the Cam Janssen elbow on Tomas Kaberle last night, a vicious hit which knocked Kaberle unconscious and out of the game. Janssen has been suspended for three games, a verdict with which I wholly agree, as those kinds of hits should have no place in the game. However, it’d be nice if the League were more consistent in dealing out such penalties for those types of hits. A shoulder to the head is about as bad as an elbow, NHL.
The Windsor Star’s Dave Waddell has a piece out today discussing the Forsberg situation. Nothing very new, though he touches on something only brought up by Ansar Khan yesterday: the possible trading of Robert Lang. Waddell and Khan both suggest the Rangers are interested, in which case I have to ask, who would we get in return? (via. Snapshots)
Update (2:30 PM): … Ansar Khan writes on the Peter Forsberg situation and has a few interesting tidbits, particularly the possibility that the Wings might look to trade away Robert Lang for a winger on top of making a push for Forsberg. - Matt
… Henrik Zetterberg has been named the “First Star of the Week” by the NHL.
… Also Zetterberg-related: see also Dave’s response to the Freep’s Michael Rosenberg column advising Wings fans to maintain proper “perspective.” Rosenberg believes the jury’s still out on Zetterberg, and Dave is right to point out that he’s way off base there.
… Ottawa Senator’s goalie Ray Emery is only getting suspended for three games after this vicious slash last night.
… Ladislav Nagy is now a Dallas Star. So much for this rumor.
Ansar Khan reports the following:
… Chris Osgood broke a finger on his right hand during warmups last night and played through it. Apparently, it’s not serious, but it could keep him out of the action for a while.
… Fortunately, both Joey MacDonald and Dominik Hasek, who were down with the flu, are expected to dress tomorrow for the Colorado game. Megan points out that if MacDonald, Hasek, and Osgood end up not being capable of playing tomorrow, the best goalie the Wings have available is Stefan Liv, who will have played two games in a row after tonight (Jimmy Howard is out with an ankle injury). Not a good situation, though I’m sure Dom and Joey will be able to suit up, since they did practice today.
… Kris Draper, Valtteri Filppula and Robert Lang are also expected to be ready to go tomorrow after practicing today. Khan, though, is right to say that Matt Ellis and Matt Hussey should keep their cell phones on because they very well may have to drive out to Detroit tomorrow before the game.
… Apparently, Mathieu Schneider feels “great” and could possibly return tomorrow. Khan says that he’s more likely to sit out one more and return Tuesday, but says Chris Chelios hurt his shoulder in practice and if he can’t go, the Wings might insert Schneider earlier than planned. Chelios finished practice, though, and should play tomorrow.
… Mikael Samuelsson hopes to begin skating in a week, but there’s no further news about when he’ll be back in the lineup.
Via Ansar Khan:
… Mikael Samuelsson’s right foot was broken Saturday night in Denver when he blocked a shot during the third period (I assume, based on the shift chart). It’s the first I’ve heard of it and apparently, the Wings themselves didn’t know until he had an X-ray taken today. The Wings will be without Mikael’s services for at least two weeks, Khan says, but have called up Josh Langfeld to fill in for now. It can’t be a very serious break if it took them this long to find out there was one and if the recovery time is so short.
… It looks like the inflammation and pain in Henrik Zetterberg’s wrist has subsided enough for him to forego another cortisone shot. The rest has done him a lot of good, apparently, and that’s great news for the Wings.
… Mathieu Schneider practiced today but will miss at least two more games. That puts his return at Tuesday night in Long Island, at the earliest. The Wings could use him back, but it won’t do them any good to rush it so I’m glad they’re taking their time.
… Neither Robert Lang nor Kris Draper practiced today due to the flu and Khan suggests that the Wings may call someone else up to cover for them in the game tomorrow night. I’ll keep an eye on the AHL transaction page in case they do.
… Lastly, as reported earlier this week, Niklas Kronwall will play tomorrow night, but will have a cage protecting his face, and could wear it as long as 2 months. He has a whopping 25 stiches in the cut across his nose from Marek Svatos’ skate and may want to consider wearing the visor a little lower once he drops the cage.
