9/21 Notes

.... The Freep has a nice breakdown of the players the Wings have signed with their salaries here. They also have a list of forwards they see making the team (can't argue with it):

Robert Lang, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Kris Draper, Steve Yzerman, Kirk Maltby, Jason Williams, Brendan Shanahan, Mikael Samuelsson

as well as a list of players that are fighting for spots:

Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula, Rem Murray, Mark Mowers, Jiri Hudler, Matt Ellis, Blake Sloan, Dan LaCouture

Of this group, I'd most like to see Mark Mowers make the team. I still remember that goal he scored last season and I'd like to see more of that from him. Jiri Hudler still seems too small to make it big in the NHL but he does have some considerable skill. I don't know much about the others (Red Wings Central is your best bet for that) but I have heard some good things about Johan Franzen. ... FSN will broadcast the Wings' exhibition game tonight against the Avs at 7:30 ET. Of course, Ken Daniels will call the game and Mickey Redmond will provide his usual color commentary. The game will also be aired on Team 1270. ... I've uploaded a PDF file that lists the games FSN and the local Fox channel will be airing this season so click here for that. It'll also be linked to on the "Schedule" page linked to in the navigation bar at the top of the page. ... Administrative note: We'll start regular game previews and reviews when the season starts. If I'm able to catch any pre-season games, I'll make some comments but I'm not able to make any special effort to watch every minute of every game until October 5th due to school. We'll be fully operational by season's start. ... ESPN's Scott Burnside has a long piece out today about The Captain's return in the face of retirements from such greats as Scott Stevens and Mark Messier:

In announcing their retirements in recent days, both Scott Stevens and Mark Messier, who own a combined nine Stanley Cup rings, said the fact there was nothing left to prove -- no dreams to chase down or points to make -- was a significant factor in deciding that they had had enough. Yzerman might well have come to the same conclusion. Having won three Stanley Cups and a playoff MVP award since 1997, Yzerman is the most prominent athlete in one of the best sports cities in North America. Apart perhaps from the incomparable Gordie Howe, Yzerman is his team's most important player ever.

Like Messier and Stevens, Yzerman has nothing left to prove. He could have retired and faced absolutely no criticism for it after all he's done for this city and for this team. I think many people expected him to and were surprised that he did decide to come back. I, for one, am glad he's coming back and I'm confident it isn't just a farewell tour. The Wings share this confidence apparently:

More important to Yzerman's final decision was the fact Holland and Devellano wanted Yzerman back, not just as some warm fuzzy reminder of past glories, but as a player they consider critical to helping the team back to Cup contention.

Yzerman is playing to take his team to the Cup, not so he can pad his stats or go out with a bang. And with his knee feeling as good as it has in two years as well as the Datsyuk signing, we have good reason to be optimistic again. .... Chris Osgood's return to the team may be a little less exciting than even his (many) critics expected: the Wings' prospective #1 goalie apparently has a small tear in his groin muscle and will be out two to three weeks. With the regular season starting in just two weeks (and 45 minutes or so from now) he'll miss at least the rest of the exhibition season, if not the first couple "real" games. Ozzie has never torn his groin before so this is new territory for him. Osgood doubles as Captain Obvious when he says, "The biggest thing is that I don't hurt it worse because there have been goalies that have missed the whole year with a groin injury." Like a certain formerly-world-class goalie named Dom? The Wings will be in capable hands with Manny Legace starting but after that, they're a tad thin in the goaltending department. So, get well soon, Chris! ... I'm "claiming" this blog on Feedster and they require that I post this link so just ignore it.