Detroit Red Wings

Biggest surprises of the season so far

7 Oct 2009

While the 2009-10 NHL season isn’t even a week old, there are already a few surprises. Here’s why you should (and shouldn’t) be worried about your favorite team’s slow start.

Roberto Luongo and the Canucks are 0-3

The Canucks captain has a 4.55 GAA in three appearances this season as Vancouver has been outscored 13-6 in losses to Calgary, Colorado, and Columbus.

Why you should be concerned: If the Canucks continue their slow start, it will be tough for them to rebound in the middle of the season when they have a 14-game road trip from late January to mid-March. Another reason to be concerned: Andrew Raycroft is the backup.

Why you shouldn’t be concerned: Luongo has historically been a slow starter. The pressure is huge for Luongo to perform well this season so he can be the starter for Team Canada at the Olympics in Vancouver. Once he settles down, look for him to return to his old self.

Are the Maple Leafs truculent enough?

With huge expectations going into this season after Brian Burke re-tooled the team’s blueline and added toughness up front, the Leafs are now 0-2-1 with huge question marks in goal.

Why you should be concerned: The Leafs still don’t have scoring power and they’re going to rely too heavily on Phil Kessel, who hasn’t completely proven himself as a top offensive power. Also, Vesa Toskala is still inconsistent and rookie Jonas Gustavsson can’t be relied on to carry the entire load this season in his first year playing in North America. Not to mention Luke Schenn looks to be having a serious sophomore slump so far.

Why you shouldn’t be concerned: It’s only a matter of time before the revamped team starts to click. And Kessel’s return in November from shoulder surgery should give the Leafs a much-needed spark. Hopefully by then it won’t be too late.

Stanley Cup Final hangover in Detroit?

The Red Wings started 0-2 in Sweden with two losses to the Blues. Goaltenders Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard split the losses for a team with an aging defense and missing offensive pieces.

Why you should be concerned: The departures of Marian Hossa, Jiri Hudler, and Mikael Samuelsson are being felt. Both Osgood and Howard have save percentages below 85 percent and Nicklas Lidstrom has been kept off the scoresheet so far. And when Kirk Maltby and Dan Cleary are tied for the team lead in points, there’s probably reason for concern.

Why you shouldn’t be concerned: They’re the Red Wings.

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Tags: Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks

Red Wings hope former players can fill gaps

Written by Alex Carrollin NHL

21 Aug 2009

nhl_g_bertuzzi_195 The departures of Marian Hossa, Jiri Hudler, Mikael Samuelsson, and Tomas Kopecky this summer were undoubtedly major blows to the Detroit Red Wings’ chances of returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year, but the team is hoping that former players who have re-signed in Hockeytown can help fill those gaps.

The team signed free agent center Jason Williams, who split last season between Atlanta and Columbus and heated up with the Blue Jackets, registering 29 points in 39 games. Williams spent five seasons with Detroit and their farm teams from 2001-02 to 2005-06. Meanwhile, the Wings brought back Todd Bertuzzi — at $1.5 million for one year — after he played 8 regular season games and 16 playoff games for Detroit in 2006-07. The 34-year-old has registered more than 60 points just once since 2002-03.

Winging It In Motown points out that if Bertuzzi can stay healthy, he could help alleviate some of the missing offense from Hudler.

The key to this signing is if Big Bert can remain healthy. If he does, this deal will be a nice Band-Aid to get the Wings through this season before there’s a little more room and flexibility under the cap due to some expiring contracts. Bertuzzi provides the team with some much-needed grit (and even nastiness to the dismay of some) and will at least offset Hudler’s offensive output.

Fortunately for the Red Wings, these players are not expected to completely take over the roles of the departed skilled players, as Justin Abdelkader and Ville Leino are more than ready to spend the entire year in the NHL. Head coach Mike Babcock said last season that Leino was the most skilled player he ever had to cut after training camp. But with salary cap issues out of the way for now, those two youngsters should be a lock to see time on the top two lines.

While it will be hard to match the output of the departed players, he talented youngsters and experienced veterans should be able to at least minimize the losses of Hossa, Hudler, Samuelsson, and Kopecky next season.

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Tags: Detroit Red Wings, Jason Williams, Todd Bertuzzi

Will Jiri Hudler return to Detroit?

Written by Alex Carrollin NHL

10 Jul 2009

jiri_hudler When impending RFA Jiri Hudler was given a qualifying offer by Detroit, many assumed his signing would just be a formality, and he would make around $2-2.5 million per year as opposed to his $1.15 million salary last season.

On July 5, Hudler filed for salary arbitration, which did not allow any other team to sign him to an offer sheet while he negotiated a new contract with the Wings.

But then news came out of Russia that the 25-year-old Hudler had signed a two-year contract with Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League worth around $3 to $4 million, tax-free, per year.

Hudler told the Czech hockey website hokej.cz the Russian offer was too good to ignore.

“In Detroit there wasn’t place for me and I didn’t want to go to another club. So I didn’t ask for a trade,” Hudler said. “Then came Dynamo with their offer. I started thinking about it and decided to go to Russia. It was tough but this is not a question of life or death. It is only hockey.”

But because Hudler had filed for arbitration, the NHL is contesting that Hudler’s rights still belonged to Detroit, thus negating his KHL contract. And as it turns out, USA Hockey might be the key to resolving this issue.

In order for Hudler’s move to be approved, he would need to obtain an International Transfer Card (ITC), which would be signed by him, his new team’s federation (Russia), and his old team’s federation (USA Hockey).

When all those signatures are in place the IIHF puts a stamp on the ITC as final approval.

“During the process, USA Hockey would ask the NHL whether they approve the transfer,” Szemberg said. “If the NHL says no, USA Hockey will most probably not sign and the ITC would be incomplete — no IIHF approval.”

If the KHL disputes the NHL’s refusal to sign Hudler’s ITC, then an investigation will follow.

So, does filing for arbitration automatically mean Hudler has a contract with Detroit? Since the inception of the KHL, issues like this have never been resolved, let alone peacefully. Even if it is ruled that he is a Red Wing, with no transfer agreement in place, it will be hard to stop Hudler from heading to Russia.

Whatever happens, this won’t be good news for the already tumultuous relationship between the NHL and Russia.

Photo: Leon Halip/US Presswire

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Tags: Detroit Red Wings, Jiri Hudler