Abel to Yzerman
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Jimmy D: “We’d Be Happy With A Top Ten Pick”
by IwoCPO on 11/05/09 at 06:57 AM ET
Comments (116)
Well, he didn’t say exactly that. But pretty damned close. You’re gonna love this one.
“We’re going to have to fight just to make the playoffs and it’s going to be a grind,” said senior vice president Jim Devellanno, the first person owner Mike Ilitch hired when he bought the team in 1982. “To get home-ice advantage would be a miracle. A miracle.”
A miracle, he says. A miracle.
Home ice throughout? Or home ice off the hop, via a division title or the four seed? Because if it’s either of the latter than Devellanno’s even further gone than suspected.
Jimmy D doesn’t stop there. He says a playoff berth is in jeopardy, etc, etc. Same stuff we read a few weeks ago. Only this time Tick Tock’s having none of it.
Red Wings general manager Ken Holland disagreed, insisting the roster is still talented enough to win a ninth-straight Central Division title and 13th in 16 seasons.
“Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk are two of the best players in the world and they’re in the prime of their careers,” Holland said. “Our top four defensemen rank among the best in the league and Chris Osgood has shown what he can do in goal.
“Who’s going to run away with our division? Chicago? We got off to a bad start and the Blackhawks are only two points ahead of us, and there’s still a lot of hockey left to play.”
It’s time to muzzle the old man. Malik beat me to this by like 13 hours. More from him here.
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I’m angered that I’ll miss the LB and watching the game tonight as I’ll be stuck downtown in Trial Practice. Such is life I suppose, but I always enjoy DET - SJS games. As long as we raise our game to combat their offensive firepower I’ll be happy.
Also good to keep in mind: When “mediocre” Ozzie beats “elite superstar” Nabokov it will be a $1.5m cap hit triumphing over $5.375m.
Posted by CaptNorris5 from The Winged Wheel, stuck in Chicago on 11/05/09 at 03:22 PM ET
Kramer has my vote.
Posted by stonehands-78 from the beginning ... a WingsFan, on 11/05/09 at 02:17 PM ET
Kramer is great but, is a little too innocent. Yada, yada, yada.
Oh, Joel Miller, you’ve just found the marble in the oatmeal. You’re a lucky, lucky, lucky little boy. ‘Cause you know why? You get to drink from… the FIRE HOOOOOSE!
Posted by monkey from here to Timbuktu on 11/05/09 at 03:30 PM ET
Oh, Joel Miller, you’ve just found the marble in the oatmeal. You’re a lucky, lucky, lucky little boy. ‘Cause you know why? You get to drink from… the FIRE HOOOOOSE!
Posted by monkey from Gary’s World, setting fire to McCrimmon on 11/05/09 at 03:30 PM ET
Posted by Animal Drew from A Nightmare on Helm Street on 11/05/09 at 03:36 PM ET
I come for the Red wing talk, stay for the UHF references. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m off to teach poodles how to fly
Posted by rock & rye from Cartersville, Ga on 11/05/09 at 03:43 PM ET
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 11/05/09 at 02:36 PM ET
At this point, there must be 19 on the (set) FIRE (to) MCCRIMMON bandwagon…
Posted by mrfluffy from Long Beach on 11/05/09 at 03:44 PM ET
From David Pollak’s SJS blog at the San Jose Mercury News:
Rob Blake won’t be in the lineup tonight because of an upper body injury. And Derek Joslin has been called up from Worcester.
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Quest for 12 on 11/05/09 at 03:45 PM ET
On a decidely sad note, Mass murder at Fort Hood, TX, God Bless our men and women in uniform, and their families.
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Quest for 12 on 11/05/09 at 04:01 PM ET
I come for the Red wing talk, stay for the UHF references. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m off to teach poodles how to fly
If nobody comes down here and buys a car in the next hour, I’m gonna club this baby seal. That’s right! I’m gonna club this seal to make a better deal. You know I’ll do it, too, cause I’m crazy.
Posted by monkey from here to Timbuktu on 11/05/09 at 05:43 PM ET
Sorry if it was already covered ... is Rob Blake playing today? I just read he’s got a sling on from something last night but haven’t seen him scratched.
If so, then there hasn’t been a single player on my fantasy team who has been healthy the entire season so far. And I play in this retarded league where blocks and hits count as much as assists, so Rob Blake is like ‘80’s Gretzky for me. Still I’d rather see him out tonight.
Posted by Triple Deke Tyler from Lansing on 11/05/09 at 12:54 PM ET
Yahoo has the Sharks placing him on IR. I have him on my fantasy team as well, and yep, injury filled start for me so far too.
Posted by stayouttamalibu from Temporarily in Tempe, AZ on 11/05/09 at 05:43 PM ET
Wait, wait, wait, back up- Ken Holland thinks Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are in the prime of their careers. FMAO. He is sooooooo woefully misinformed.
Posted by monkey from here to Timbuktu on 11/05/09 at 06:04 PM ET
FMAO
Dude…you’re not on Pensblog.
Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste Marie on 11/05/09 at 06:13 PM ET
George Malik has a post definitely worth the time to read.
“NHL.com posts three superb articles about Hockey Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman”
And with the following portion, ask yourself if a certain other guy with a “C” on a certain other team can fit the mold made by Stevie Y.
Yzerman discussed the end of his playing career during his conference call, and he made one thing very clear: he doesn’t miss playing, and he knew at the end of the 2005-2006 season that his deteriorating knees could no longer hold up, so he very literally had nothing left in the tank, at least in terms of contributing as he felt was necessary to earn a spot on the Wings’ roster:
November 5, NHL.com: “I don’t feel I had anything left physically,” Yzerman said.Holland, the Red Wings’ GM, also remembers that in Yzerman’s final game, Game 6 of the 2006 Western Conference Quarterfinals in Edmonton, the captain still was one of Detroit’s best players. Yzerman had an assist and three shots on goal in just over 13 minutes in the Red Wings’ 4-3 loss at Rexall Place.
“The last game he ever played, he was an important player for us,” Holland told NHL.com. “Typical Steve. I’m not sure if it was ribs or what, but he had some injury the morning of Game 6 and he didn’t skate. We weren’t sure if he was going to play. He came to the rink, they gave him a painkiller and I think he might have been our best forward.”
Nicklas Lidstrom, who took over as Red Wings’ captain following Yzerman’s retirement, remembers one particular play in that game that showed Yzerman’s will, determination and skill.
“I remember some of the plays he made, and one in particular when he was going around (Chris) Pronger, taking Pronger wide and going around him,” Lidstrom told NHL.com. “Pronger looks like he’s huge compared to Stevie, but even though Stevie was hurt and banged up, the determination really showed. He was just going to go around that D and take the puck to the net and that’s what he did. I had seen him do that numerous times, but in this game, his last game, I saw that determination again. I thought he was one of our best players in that game. He played 13 minutes, but the shifts that he had, you could really tell he wanted to play a strong game.”
When the final buzzer sounded, Yzerman knew in his heart he was done. He said his desire to play remained, but his body wouldn’t let him.
“What it came down to is: Could I contribute enough to this team to help win the Cup?” Yzerman said. “As much as I wanted to continue playing, I knew I couldn’t keep up at this pace anymore. It became a real struggle for me to try to do the things. Particularly my last year, I had a heck of a time to stay healthy to get in the lineup.”
In a sidebar story, Lidstrom also discussed Yzerman’s influence upon his captaincy…“He would step up and say things at the right moment and when it was needed, but the most important thing is he would back it up on the ice,” Lidstrom told NHL.com. “He would lead by example, and I think his determination really showed when the game was on the line. I’m not overly vocal either. I’ll try to say something at the right moment and try to talk in the locker room as well, but what I try to do most importantly is lead by example, lead on the ice.”
Posted by stonehands-78 from the beginning ... a WingsFan, on 11/05/09 at 06:20 PM ET
FMAO
Dude…you’re not on Pensblog.
Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
It is sooooooooooooooooo cold in the D.
Posted by monkey from here to Timbuktu on 11/05/09 at 06:33 PM ET
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This…
...is a picture of Dany Heatley, who is on pace to score. Period.
Posted by CaptainDennisPolonich from Mojitoville on 11/05/09 at 03:02 PM ET
-fixed-
Posted by stonehands-78 from the beginning ... a WingsFan, on 11/05/09 at 03:09 PM ET