Potential Red Wings at the 2014 Olympics

With NHL and IIHF coming to a player agreement for the upcoming 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics its time to speculate about which members of the Detroit Red Wings we can expect to see at the tournament.

A rare photo of Babcock smiling.

Team Canada
Mike Babcock - Coach
This has already been confirmed but Detroit's Head Coach Mike Babcock will once again be the Head Coach for Team Canada's Olympic Team. This will be Babcock's 2nd time coaching Team Canada as he coached the Gold Medal winning team in Vancouver. Babcock already has a stellar coaching resume with his Stanley Cup win in 2007-08 and impressive win percentage.

Team Czech Republic
Jakub Kindl - Defenseman
Detroit's lone Czech could expect to see a spot for him on Olympic Roster. Though he's a bottom pairing Defenseman on the Wings, Kindl has shown steady improvement over the last 3 years and recently inked a $2.6 million per year for 4 years deal proving that he is reliable enough for the Red Wings. Kindl recorded 13 points in 41 games last season, 2nd only to New Jersey's Marek Zidlicky (who tallied 19 points) among Czech Defensemen.

Team Russia
Pavel Datsyuk - Centre
This is a no-brainer. Datsyuk has represented the Russian Olympic team 3 times in his career and won a bronze medal with the team in 2002. Additionally he ranked 1st in points among Russian Centres last season tallying 49 points in 47 games. He also earned another Selke Trophy nomination for Best Defensive Forward. Datsyuk should be battling Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin for top spot on the first line.

Edit: It has been confirmed that Datsyuk has been invited to Russia's Olympic Camp.

Team Slovakia
Tomas Tatar - Left Wing
Tomas Tatar's biggest goal for this season will be to finally crack the Red Wing's line up. The talented 23 year old has spent 4 years with the Grand Rapids Griffins. In his 16 NHL games last season he did muster up 7 points and shows promise of being one of Detroit's best prospects. Tatar has represented Slovakia's National team at the World Championship in 2010, and 2012, though he missed the 2013 Championship due to the Calder Cup Run the Grand Rapids Griffins went on. If Tatar can crack the Red Wing's line up and continue his scoring pace, Slovakia will be itching to have him on their Olympic line up.

Team Sweden
With 9 Swedes on the roster the "Tre Kronor" will benefit greatly from the Red Wings Squad. First off here are the "locks" for the Swedish Olympic Team.

Detroit has always been known for its large number of Swedes

Henrik Zetterberg - Centre/Left Wing
Zetterberg lead all Swedish players with 48 points in 46 games last season. He has represented Sweden in the 3 previous Olympics winning gold at the 2006 games. He was also part of the 2006 World Championship Team and has won Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008 to become a member of hockey's Triple Gold Club. With the Sedin Twins likely playing on the top line Zetterberg could be on the 2nd line Centred by Nicklas Backstrom and with fellow Red Wing, Johan Franzen to the right.

Johan Franzen - Right Wing
"The Mule" has represented Team Sweden once at the Olympics in 2010 but he was part of the 2006 World Championship team that took home a Gold Medal. His net large front presence will be a welcomed addition to the relatively small Swedish team. Franzen's regular season play can see stretches that lack inspiration but come play-offs he always turns it on, look for him to do the same for the Olympics as he chases the last piece of hardware to get him to the Triple Gold Club.

Daniel Alfredsson - Right Wing
Another member of the "Triple Gold" Club, Alfredsson has payed on 13 incarnations of Team Sweden dating back to the 1995 World Championships. He has played on the Olympic Roster since 1998 in Nagano, Japan where NHL hockey players were allowed to compete for the first time. Though the 40 year old's game has shown signs of slowing down in recent years expect to see him on the top line with the Sedin Twins.

A young Daniel Alfredsson at the Nagano Olympics.

Niklas Kronwall - Defense
Kronwall took a big step up for the Wings last season with the departure of fellow Swede Nicklas Lidstrom. Kronwall, like Zetterberg was a member of the 2006 Olympic and World Championship team, and the 2008 Stanley Cup Winning Red Wing team making him a member of the Triple Gold club. It will be interesting to see what line Kronwall ends up on. He certainly has the talent to be a top pairing Defenseman likely playing with the offensive powerhouse Erik Karlsson, but if the Jonathan Ericsson ends up making the roster the Swedish management could put the Kronwall-Ericsson duo on the 2nd line to help maintain their chemistry and slot Alexander Edler or Oliver Ekman-Larsson  on the top line.

Nik Kronwall collides with Valterri Filppula.

Those four players should be shoe-ins for team Sweden's National team due to their previous experience and consistent NHL play. Here is a look at some of the hopeful Swedish players who are just on the cusp of making the Olympic team.

Jonas Gustavsson - Goalie
Though all but an injury will stop Henrik Lundqvist from being the Starting Goalie, Jonas Gustavsson could potentially be a back-up for Team Sweden. He played one game against Belarus at the 2010 Olympics where he looked pretty shaky letting in 2 goals and posting a 0.895 Save Percentage. Despite his experience on the Olympic team, injuries and the emergence of Victor Fasth could see Gustavsson battling for the 3rd spot with up-and-comers such as Tampa Bay's Anders Lindback and Florida's Jacob Markstrom.

Jonathan Ericsson - Defenseman
Ericsson took a huge step forward in his play last season but Sweden has a number of great Defenseman that have reliable preformed better than Ericsson. However, if Ericsson can continue to improve his game, the fact that he regularly pairs up with Niklas Kronwall could potentially pique interest from Swedish Management.

Probably not the same Tim Roth

Team USA
Jimmy Howard - Goalie
Howard has represented Team USA on the U18 team in 2002 where he helped Team USA take home the Gold. Howard was the starter for team USA in that tournament and I found out that the other Goalie was named Tim Roth.

Like most goaltenders on the Red Wings, critics cite Detroit's brilliant defensive play to inflate their goaltender's stats, but last season with Detroit's new look defense Howard posted his best stats yet. Howard tied 4 other goalies for the most shut-outs last season with 5, and was 3rd among American goalies (with at least 10 starts) with his 0.923 Save Percentage. In the 2010 Olympics, USA sent Tim Thomas (who has been hiding out in a bunker in Colorado since last year), Ryan Miller, and Jonathan Quick.  Due to Thomas' eccentric retirement, and the lack of success of the Buffalo Sabres, Quick is likely the only goalie to cement his return to the National Team. Howard certainly has a strong resume and I think could potentially battle Quick for the starting roll (and at least 1 other non-biased person agrees with me!)

Justin Abdelkader - Left Wing/Centre
Michigan born, Abdelkader is a bit of a long shot but his piano-pulling efforts have earned him top line minutes on the Red Wings with Datsyuk. His tenacity hard-working efforts could make him an attractive option on a checking line with Team USA.

Edit: It has recently been confirmed that Jimmy Howard, Justin Abdelkader, and Danny DeKeyser have been invited to Team USA's Orientation Camp.

Danny DeKeyser - Defenseman
I initially didn't expect that DDK would make Team USA, but a recent report suggests that he has been invited to the Orientation Camp. The former NCAA star signed with the Detroit Red Wings last year and showed potential in his 13 NHL games before a broken thumb sidelined him. America has a number of talented Defenseman so Danny will have his work cut out for him.

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So there you have it, by my count up to 11 members of the Detroit Red Wings could be representing their countries at the Sochi Olympics. Sweden will have heavy representation from the Wings and it will be interesting to see if they play Pavel Datsyuk and the Russian squad.

LGRW!

8 Significant Match-ups in Detroit’s 2013-14 Season

The NHL has just released its 2013-14 Schedule. This season marks a new chapter in league history as the divisions have been re-aligned, and perhaps most significantly sends Detroit to the Eastern Conference where they will be in the new Atlantic Division (sadly not the “Flortheast” Division) with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning. Let’s take a look at 8 significant match-ups in Detroit’s 2013-14 season.

8) Wednesday Oct 2, 2013 - Buffalo @ Detroit

Lots have changed, Detroit is finally in a more sensible division (time zone wise) and this game is our first against a new divisional opponent. Sure there will be some pre-season games to see how the new additions of Daniel Alfredsson and Stephen Weiss fit into our lineup, but this is the real thing! Also it’s always fun to see Drew Miller (who might not [but probably will] be a Red Wing come October) play against brother Ryan (who might not be a Sabre come October...)

7) Tuesday Oct 15, 2013 - Columbus @ Detroit

This is our first game against a former Central Division opponent. Sure it’s Columbus, but 'Lumbus has shown all the right signs of turning things around and even battled hard for a playoff spot during the final weeks of last season.

6) Sunday December 1, 2013 - Detroit @ Ottawa

How will Sens fans receive their former Captain?

This game is significant because it will mark former Senators Captain Daniel Alfredsson's return to the Nation's Capital. Alfredsson played 17 seasons in Ottawa and captained the team since 1999. He also leads the franchise in Games Played, Goals, Assists, and Points. His departure from the Senators was shocking; especially since how important he was to the community. It will be interesting to see how Sens fans react to their former Captain coming back.

5) Wednesday January 22, 2014 - Chicago @ Detroit

I blame Boston for this monstrosity...

For many Wings fans, the Blackhawks were Detroit's number 1 rival. With the new re-alignment many hockey fans cited the only downside being that Detroit and Chicago would no longer inhabit the same division. This will be Detroit's first game against their former nemesis. It will also serve as a redemption game as Chicago eliminated Detroit in game 7 of last season's Conference Semi-Finals en route to a Stanley Cup victory. This will be a great test to see how well the Red Wings have improved since last season.

4) Wednesday January 1, 2014 - Toronto @ Detroit

Plus we get to see Pavel in these stylish threads!

The Winter Classic.

What more needs to be said about this match-up? Unfortunately the drama with last season's lockout cancelled this momentous occasion, but luckily the NHL has rescheduled what will be the largest hockey game of all time (with attendance over 100,000 people). The HBO 24/7 series leading up to the event will only hype which what should already be a great game.

3) Saturday February 8, 2014 - Detroit @ Tampa Bay

Plus we get to see Pavel in these stylish threads!

This game is significant only because it is the last Wings game before the NHL goes on vacation to make way for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Detroit should have numerous players representing various countries, but seeing Pavel Datsyuk suit up for the host nation should inspire him to make plenty of those highlight reel plays he is known for. Additionally, despite my anticipation for the Olympics it will be nice to see former Red Wing, Valtteri Filppula on his new squad.

2) Saturday March 22, 2014 & Sunday March 23, 2014 - Detroit @ Minnesota and Minnesota @ Detroit

This is Detroit's only true "Double-Header" match-up. Detroit will have 15 back-to-back games but none are against the same team. The Wings also only have one other match-up where they play the same team twice in a row when they play Florida, but the games are 2 days apart. Personally, I wish hockey had more of these Double-Header match-ups as these games can really turn up the intensity and allow events from one game to spill over into the second. Plus Minnesota is one of the league's up-and-coming teams and I still hold a slight grudge against Ryan Suter for not signing with the Wings two years ago. So seeing Detroit beat up on the Wild two nights in a row could be extremely satisfying.

1) Sunday April 13, 2014 - Detroit @ St. Louis

When the buzzer sounds at the end of this game it will mark another season in the books for the Wings. With any luck Detroit's mighty playoff streak will survive and as the Wings step off the ice in St. Louis they will be gearing up for the "real season".

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Let’s Go Red Wings!