Golden Frog Contest

This has nothing to do with the Detroit Red Wings, but a web service I use regularly, VyprVPN (owned by GoldenFrog.net) is having a contest. VyprVPN is a great VPN service at a reasonable price!
 http://www.goldenfrog.com/vyprvpn 

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.

***

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".

*** 

Let’s Go Red Wings!

Twelve Games In

With yesterdays game against Los Angeles, Detroit is now twelve games, or 25% of the way, into this shortened season. The Red Wings have had a pretty mediocre start to this season, but are currently on a 3 game win streak and as a result sit in 5 place in the Western Conference with a 7-4-1 record. Let's take a look at Detroit's season so far.

Game 1: Detroit @ St. Louis (Loss 6-0) (0-1-0)

Detroit was crushed in their season opener. Not only did they get shut-out they only managed a paltry 14 shots. Rookie sensation Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice for the Blues in his NHL debut. David Backes was a human wrecking ball and exposed the Red Wings' lack of size on their first line of Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Brunner. The best Detroit had to offer in this game was Brunner and Filppula who both recorded 3 shots. Though Detroit was flat in this game props must be given to the Blues who played excellent to open their season.

Game 2: Detroit @ Columbus (Win 4-3 SO) (1-1-0)

With injuries mounting up Detroit called up Defense rookie Brian Lashoff who scored Detroit's first goal of the season with a beautiful slap shot from the point. Johan Franzen weaved through the Blue Jackets and centred the puck to White who one-timed the puck passed Bobrovsky. With a 2-0 lead things were looking up for Detroit after the loss to St. Louis, but then Columbus scored 3 goals in a row -- 2 on the Power Play. Datsyuk would tie the game late in the 3rd period off of a some excellent grinding by Zetterberg who burst through Blue Jacket defenders along the boards and dished the puck to Kronwall who tapped it back to Datsyuk who buried it in the wide open net.

Brunner's "Datsyukian" Shoot-out Winner.

Damien Brunner showed the League his amazing skills paying homage to Pavel Datsyuk using his famous shoot-out move to win the game in the 4th round of the shoot-out.

This game was a nail biter but any way you look at it a win is a win and it looked as if Detroit's top guns were coming together. 

Jordin Tootoo also made his presence felt fighting right off the opening face-off, despite losing the fight his energy was much appreciated and this sort of fighting spirit has been missing from the Wings' lineup in recent years.

Oft-injured D-man Carlo Colaiacovo was injured in this game and has remained sidelined with a shoulder injury as a result of a collision in the 2nd period.

Game 3: Dallas @ Detroit (Loss 2-1) (1-2-0)

Detroit once again looked flat, and failed to convert on 4 power play opportunities in this contest. Perhaps it was a bit ironic that Detroit honoured the recently retired Tomas Holmstrom before this game, who made a career as being an effective "net-front-presence" on the power play. Michael Ryder scored 2 goals for the Stars and Damien Brunner ruined Lehtonen's shut-out with 3.4 seconds left. This was a tough loss as Detroit did manage to get 40 shots but were stoned cold by Kari Lehtonen.

Detroit signed veteran defenseman Kent Huskins to the lineup to cope with the injured Colaiacovo and they called up Gustav Nyquist from the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Game 4: Minnesota @ Detroit (Win 5-3) (2-2-0)

This was a satisfy win for Detroit, especially since the new-look Wild were supposed to be a wrecking crew in the Western Conference this year. Detroit also scored their first power play goal of the season via a Damien Brunner wrist shot. Todd Bertuzzi who recently returned from the flu tipped in a Filppula shot to put up Detroit 2-0. Minnesota would even the game up at 2 but Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk would both add goals to end the 2nd period. Todd Bertuzzi potted his 2nd goal of the game early in the third period to make it 5-2, but Zach Parise would score his second of the game to get to the 5-3 final.

Jordin Tootoo again made his presence felt with a fight in this game as well, making Detroit undefeated when Tootoo fights.

Game 5: Detroit @ Chicago (Loss 2-1 OT) (2-2-1)

Chicago extended it's winning streak to 6 games from Nick Leddy's OT Goal. Johan Franzen would score his first of the season in this game from Brunner and Zetterberg, who now comprise the Wings top line.

Game 6: Dallas @ Detroit (Win 4-1) (3-2-1)

This game was a big win as Detroit redeemed itself against from their earlier game against Dallas. Filppulla would pot his first goal of the season off of a Datsyuk pass to tie the game at 1. Zetterberg would slap in his 2nd goal of the year on the power play off of a Patrick Eaves pass. This was Patrick Eaves first point in quite sometime as he has sat out quite some time with post-concussion syndrome.

Game 7: St. Louis @ Detroit (Win 5-3) (4-2-1)

This win was marred with a blown call by the refs. A match penalty was assessed to David Backes for a "hit-to-the-head" on Kent Huskins. The hit was hard and clean, but it did cause Huskins' head to snap back causing the ref to kick Backes out of the game. On the ensuing power play, Datsyuk scored the go-ahead goal by absolutely sniping the puck past the St. Louis goaltender. With 13 seconds left Henrik Zetterberg would complete his hat-rick with one of the most beautiful empty net goals I have ever seen. Zetterberg finished the game with 3 goals and 2 assists, getting in on each of Detroit's 5 goals.

It was an excellent effort by Detroit's new captain, avenging the season opener loss. Counting on Zetterberg to dig deep when it counts is exactly what the Red Wings need from their captain. 

Game 8: Detroit @ Columbus (Loss 4-2) (4-3-1)

Just as the Red Wings were gaining momentum they shouldered this loss to the Blue Jackets. Jimmy Howard was very critical of his play in this contest calling the 2nd Columbus goal "absolute garbage".

Damien Brunner added his 4th goal of the season, once again in meaningless fashion late in the game with 27 seconds left. It was a beautiful one-timer on a bouncing puck right off the face-off vial a Valtteri Filpulla face-off win. Brunner and Filpulla have both been playing exceptionally well in this shortened season. The Wings are in a new chapter of their franchise and are looking to these guys to be future stars of the team.

Game 9: Calgary @ Detroit (Loss 4-1) (4-4-1)

Once again Detroit put up a disappointing loss. Detroit was clinging to 8th place before this game and playing the Western Conference's worst team this game should have been a good way for Detroit to strengthen their spot in the standings. However they dropped this game and dropped out of the playoff spots. Now its still early and Detroit has a few games in hand over teams ahead of them but they really need to start winning games like these if they want to have a successful season. 

Johan Franzen scored the lone goal for the Wings for his 3rd of the season.

Game 10: Detroit @ St. Louis (Win 5-1) (5-4-1)

The story of this game was Petr Mrazek getting his first NHL start in net and after Detroit's season opener shelling it was clear Detroit was throwing Mrazek into the fire. Mrazek responded excellently stopping 26 of the 27 shots he faced, and he stopped all 23 even strength shots he faced only letting in a lone power-play goal. The Red Wings got a lot out of their 3rd and 4th lines this games with Cleary, Kindl, and Emmerton scoring the first 3 goals. Damien Brunner and Valtteri Filpulla continued their great seasons by also adding goals.

Game 11: Edmonton @ Detroit (Win 3-2) (6-4-1)
On Hockey Day In Canada the 6 other Canadian teams squared off with each other and this left Edmonton as the odd man out as they travelled to the Joe Louis Arena to face the Wings. The offense on both sides of the ice were firing on all cylinders but the goaltenders at each end in Jimmy Howard and Nikolai Khabibulin rose to the challenge and stopped all even strength shots. Detroit's power-play clicked better than the Oilers and they converted twice via Datsyuk and Kronwall goals to out muster Justin Schultz's goal for the Oilers.

Game 12: Los Angeles @ Detroit (Win 3-2) (7-4-1)

Jimmy Howard played another superb game stopping 45 of 47 shots posting a 0.957 SV%. Datsyuk would pot the first goal on the power-play and Damien Brunner would score the second off of a Zetterberg pass to make it 2-0. However, LA would answer with an Anze Kopitar goal late in the first to cut the lead to 1. Jimmy Howard held Detroit in this one until the last minute of play when Alec Martinez backhanded the puck past Howard with 53 seconds left to play tying the game up at 2 a piece.  Despite this late comeback Jonathan Ericsson would spoil the Kings' comeback by slapping the puck past Quick with 5 seconds left in regulation to put the Wings up 3-2.

Henrik Zetterberg's 2 assists in this contest now put him at 13 on the season, good enough for 5th in the league.

***

Detroit's paltry star could be chalked up to either a new look team with no training camp, or a multitude of injuries but the way things have been going as of late it looks like the Wings are starting to shake off some of the rust . They aren't doing horrible but when they do lose they seem to play quite flat.

A Look at the Red Wings Lineup for 2013

Last week a post on NHL.com released the Red Wings' new starting lineup (link).DailyFaceoff.com also adds some thought as to what Detroit's Defense situation could be (link). Here is what the Wings' line-up will look like this season.

Datsyuk and Zetterberg will be re-united.

Forwards (LW-C-RW)

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Brunner 

Samuelsson-Filppula-Franzen

Bertuzzi-Helm-Cleary 

Miller-Abdelkader-Tootoo 

Defense

Kronwall-Ericsson

Quincey-Smith

Colaiacovo-White

Kindl

Goalies

Howard

Gustavsson

Forwards

Brunner will debut on the top line

The Wings are reuniting the Euro Twins putting Zetterberg on Datsyuk's wing and adding Swiss sensation Damien Brunner for the first line. Brunner has represented Switzerland at the 2010 IIHF World Championships and has played for EV Zug in the Nationalliga A (the top league in Switzerland) where he tallied 60 pts in 45 games last season. During the NHL Lockout Brunner played on EV Zug with Henrik Zetterberg and Edmonton Oiler's prospect Linus Omark. Brunner lead the Swiss league in scoring with 50 points in 28 games. Brunner has clearly had a lot of success in Switzerland and this has earned him a top spot on the roster with Zetterberg and Datsyuk. It will be interesting to see how Brunner fairs in the NHL. The one thing that might raise eyebrows about this line is the lack of size. Last year Datsyuk struggled a bit until Todd Bertuzzi was placed on his line and using his size gave Datsyuk space to work his magic.

By putting Zetterberg and Datsyuk back together it shows the confidence the Red Wings have placed in Valtteri Filppula. He is centering the 2nd line with Mikael Samuelsson and Johan Franzen on his wings. Filppula had a career best season last year tallying 66 pts in 81 games and during the lockout playing for his old team Jokerit in the SM-Liiga (Finland's top league) scoring 15 pts in 16 games. Filppula did suffer a knee injury but is expected to make the return for the first game. In the off-season Detroit re-acquired Mikael Samuelsson. Despite his age, Samuelsson can be seen as an upgrade over Jiri Hudler who departed to Calgary. Both have hard shots but Samuelsson has the size that Hudler lacks and will be much harder to push around. Franzen has been the Wings most enigmatic player in the last few seasons, and in this shortened season he can't stay off the scoresheet for weeks at a time.

The third line of Bertuzzi, Helm, and Cleary is an interesting one. Bertuzzi and Cleary had some good chemistry last year when they played together and with Helm's speed added to the mix this 3rd line could end up potting a nice amount of goals. Helm has been hampered my injuries recently and currently is Day-to-Day with a groin injury. Helm missed 14 games last year and looked much slower in the playoff series against Nashville. Bertuzzi and Cleary aren't know for their speed and for this line to work having Helm's speed is integral to its success.

Tootoo adds tenacity to this line-up

Detroit's 4th line of Miller, Abdelkader, and Tootoo is reminiscent of the Grind Line of Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, and Darren McCarty who helped the Red Wings win 4 Stanley Cups. Abdelkader and Tootoo are both scrappy guys who are great at aggravating other team's players. Miller is a good hard working guy but word is that his spot will be the revolving door spot if Patrick Eaves gets healthy. Detroit has lacked a true checking line for a few seasons and this line clearly addresses that issue.

The biggest glaring omission from the line-up is the absence of Gustav Nyquist. Nyquist will start the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins but if Brunner can't translate his Swiss League success to the NHL or any injury takes out a top guy, Nyquist will surely be the first to get the call up. The argument for keeping Nyquist in the AHL is that the Red Wings don't want to squander his talent and development on the 3rd or 4th line of the Wings when they can give him quality minutes on the top line of the Griffins.

Defense

All eyes will be on Smith in his rookie season

With the departure of Nicklas Lidstrom and Brad Stuart (and Rafalski the year before that), Detroit's defense looks a bit shaky for the first time in 15 years. Niklas Kronwall is the team's only legit top pairing D-man and he will certainly have to take a step up in his play to be the leader of this D corps. The good thing Detroit has going for it is that Ericsson, Quincey, Smith, Colaiacovo, and White are all quality 2nd line D-men. Hopefully the lack of a true top pairing will be made up for by the depth of this blue-line. Brendan Smith tallied 7 pts in 14 games with the Wings last year and 20 pts in 32 games with the Griffins during the lock-out. At 23 years of age the Wings are really hoping Smith can step up his game over the next few seasons and become a top pairing D-man to play along with Kronwall. Recent acquisition Carlo Colaiacovo hasn't reached the potential that he was thought to possess mostly due to injures. If Carlo continues to have injury trouble this could hurt the depth of this Defense.

Goalies

Gustavsson looks for a fresh start in Motown 

Despite injuries Jimmy Howard managed to post his 3rd straight season with at least 35 wins and posted a 0.920 SV% last season. The big question is whether or not Howard's success was due to the solid Defense corpse lead by Nicklas Lidstrom. However, Howard is in a contract year with a hungry back-up goalie in Jonas Gustavsson sitting behind him Howard should be able to raise his game accordingly.

***

Detroit's Forward Lineup and Goaltending duo looks pretty solid but the big question with this team is how the Defense will fair. Detroit also has a lot of Forward and Goaltending prospects so there are some rumours that Detroit is trying to build its Defense through trades. All in all this line up looks like it can be successful but with the shortened 48 game season anything can happen.

Go Wings Go!

5 Detroit Games I'm Looking Forward to This Season

With the NHL Schedule finally released we can look at what lies ahead for the Red Wings this Season. With the schedule shortened to 48 games teams can not afford to take any nights off; this should make for some high intensity hockey. Unfortunately there will be no Cross-Conference match-ups but none the less there are a bunch of interesting games that you should be sure to clear your schedule for.

5) Saturday January 19: Detroit @ St. Louis

Carlo Colaiacovo will face his old team on January 19th

This lockout was unnecessary and though AHL, CHL, World Juniors, and Spengler Cup games may have scratched that itch for hockey nothing compares to the NHL. Detroit's first game this season they head to St. Louis for a big Divisional game.

4) Saturday February 9: Edmonton @ Detroit

February 9th is dubbed "Hockey Day in Canada" with the other 6 Canadian teams teeing off against each other, Edmonton was the odd-man out. Detroit will host the Edmonton Oilers and their young guns who have been tearing up the AHL.

3) Friday March 22nd & Sunday March 24: Detroit @ Anaheim, Detroit @ Anaheim

To elevate the strain from excessive travel in this shortened season the NHL has added some "Double Header" games. This is Detroit's only Double Header this season and I sure hope the intensity from the first game carries over in to the second. I hope that the NHL will carry on with this system next year because it would be nice to see bad blood boil over in Double Headers such as this.

2) Friday January 25: Minnesota @ Detroit

This is Detroit's 2nd home game of the season and with it they welcome the "New Look" Minnesota Wild to the Joe for this contest. Ryan Suter passed on Detroit's offer so let's see if the Wings can make Suter regret his decision.

1) Tuesday February 19: Detroit @ Nashville

Detroit will want to win to avenge last year's playoff exit

Nashville ended Detroit's season last year by eliminating them from the play-offs. I look forward to this game as a true test to see if the Wings have approved from last years performances. Nashville and Detroit have both lost some key-players but both teams look fairly good with their new rosters.

***

This season will be very interesting as it is a new chapter for the Red Wings as the Lidstrom-Era has ended. Saturday January 19th can't come fast enough!

For the full 2013 Detroit Red Wings Schedule click here!

Go Wings Go! 

Wings Resign Abdelkader, Rumoured to Sign Colaiacovo UPDATE: Colaiacovo signing confirmed.

UPDATE: Its not just rumours now Colaiacovo has been signed by the Red Wings (SOURCE)

Hopefully Adbelkader will see more of this

The Detroit Red Wings have resigned scrappy forward Justin Abdelkader. To a 4 year deal rumoured to be at $1.7mil a season.

The Michigan Native had a career best year last year playing in 81 games and tallying 22 points. It has also been reported that the Red Wings plan on using Abdelkader more as a Centre this year. The move to Centre is probably for the best considering how many Wingers the Red Wings currently have signed.

Combine this with Detroit's early offseason acquisition of Jordin Tootoo it could seem like Detroit is looking to bring back the "Grind Line" . The line of Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty and Kris Draper gained large success as Detroit's shut down line and helped the Wings win multiple Stanley Cups.

If healthy Carlo could be a big help

There have also been some recent rumours surfacing about the acquisition of former St. Louis Blues Defensemen Carlo Colaiacovo. A twitteraccount reported that he had been signed but after further investigating this it looks like Detroit is only in talks with signing Colaicovo.

The 29 year old blue-liner was the #17 overall pick in the 2001 Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played with the Leafs organization and AHL affiliate for 5 years before being traded to the St. Louis Blues.

Colaiacovo has never played a full season in the NHL as he has been bothered with injuries for most of his career. Despite this he has managed to put up 30+ points in 2 of the last 4 years. 

Detroit still lacks a second first line defenseman to play alongside Niklas Kronwall but the addition of Colaiacovo could strengthen the Wing's D corps.

***

I welcome the resigning of Abdelkader and despite his injury troubles of Colaiacovo I would welcome him to Motown if he eventually signs here. However, all of this could be a moot point if the NHL decides to lockout the players (which in all likelihood will happen).