Wings sign Thomas

In order to provide some much needed depth among the forwards, the Wings signed free agent Steve Thomas, 40, formerly of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, to a 1 year, $1 million contract today. Wings GM Ken Holland said

"Given the injury to Henrik Zetterberg and the importance of maintaining our position in the standings, we felt it was important to add a veteran forward. Steve is a talented forward, he knows what it takes to win and he has great character. "He should fit in very well with our team both on the ice and in the dressing room. We're very please to have him as a Red Wing.''

I would say this is a good deal, though Thomas is a little old. That said, his desire for a Cup will hopefully keep him motivated and on the top of his game. He should be able to cover for at least the offensive side of what we're missing without Henrik. I'm not so sure about the defensive side, however. We'll see about that. I wish we he was a center, though, because that's the position we are really lacking in, especially now that Zata's out. He has 13 regular season overtime goals, an NHL record, which could come in handy sometime down the road. The biggest upside to all this is that it means The Captain won't have to play back-to-back games and won't have to play as much overrall. It takes a lot of weight of Stevie's shoulders, getting a veteran like Thomas. If you didn't already know, his nickname is "Stumpy." I don't know why yet but I'm sure we'll all hear about it. Thomas should be available for Saturday's home game against the Preds if immigration problems do not keep him out of the country.