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| 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.
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| 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).
