40#1Fan

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=242175&amp...s=topStory_main The threat of retirement is not standing in the way of NHL teams taking a hard run at free agent forward Mats Sundin. Sources tell TSN as many as four teams have tablde offers for the 37 year old, including one undisclosed team that has offered a whopping $10 million per year on a multi-year contract. Sundin, who remains in Sweden is said to considering all of his options, but has yet to decided whether or not he play next season.

Stuart's glad to be back! http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...BLOG09/80701044

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/06/de...ngs_rookie.html June 25, DetroitRedWings.com: Defenseman Derek Meech has been named the 2007-08 Detroit Red Wings Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association (DSBA). Meech, 24, appeared in 32 regular-season games, finishing with three assists and averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time per game. A versatile player, he also appeared in several games at forward last season. He recorded his first NHL point with an assist on February 18 against Colorado. "It's a tremendous honor to be selected as the DSBA Rookie of the Year," Meech said. "I'm very happy to be a part of both the Red Wings' organization and the city of Detroit, and I'm thrilled to be joining the exclusive company of past winners of the award. I'm really looking forward to getting back on the ice next season to defend our Stanley Cup championship." Meech was Detroit's seventh round pick (229th overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He had previously played for the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League. The DSBA Rookie of the Year Award originated following the 1948-49 season. Previous winners of the award include current Red Wings Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall and Jiri Hudler. Meech may not have made a Zetterberg-like impact in his rookie season, but it speaks volumes for his talent that Wings GM Ken Holland has suggested that it's essential for Meech to get regular playing time. His speedy skating, pinpoint passing, and rock-solid defensive game are simply too impressive to leave on the bench. The Macomb Daily's Bruce MacLeod wonders, however, whether Darren Helm would have won the award based upon his playoff performance.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20...y_for_spor.html Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom had surgery Wednesday morning in Philadelphia to repair a sports hernia, general manager Ken Holland said. The club anticipates Holmstrom will need about six weeks to recover and has plenty of time to get ready for the start of training camp on Sept. 20. Holmstrom missed 13 of the last 14 regular season games with the injury, which he said bothered him throughout the playoffs.

Sixth floor balcony overlooking Jefferson. My sister works in the 150 Jefferson Office Building (Madden Building). We watched the last parade in the parking structure, but this year we are moving on up! My sister says there are already folks at Hart Plaza and some of the parking structures are limiting parking to monthly parking only! Feed the Mule tee shirt is on and ready for a very enjoyable day!

You are in my prayers. I wish you a good recovery. Keep us updated on your progress.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic.../805290367/1004 PITTSBURGH -- The Wings lost out on the sweepstakes for one of agent J.P. Barry's Swedish clients. But while Fabian Brunnstrom is signed, sealed and delivered to Dallas, there's a chance Mats Sundin could end up in Detroit. Sundin, who was in Pittsburgh to accept the NHL's Mark Messier Leadership Award, didn't shed much light on his future plans when he met with the media Wednesday afternoon. But according to a league source, the Wings and the Montreal Canadiens are among the teams that will pursue the 37-year-old center if he opts to leave Toronto. He's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. The Wings will have room under the salary cap to make a significant splash in free agency, at least for next season. The team will look to lock up Henrik Zetterberg to a long-term deal beginning July 1, but he's still locked in for one more year at a cap-friendly salary of $2.65 million. "It's all speculation," Sundin said Tuesday. "I think the biggest decision for me, that I have right now, is to make sure that I feel that I'm physically and mentally ready to train for another season to continue my career. And I think, No. 1, is to see what's going to happen with the Toronto Maple Leafs. And after that, I think we'll go from there. "But, obviously, what's going to happen in Toronto is it's going to be very interesting. And it's going to affect my decision in the future." The Leafs' current front-office upheaval, with no full-time general manager and no coach at the moment, may have an impact on Sundin's decision. The 17-year NHL veteran -- Sundin has been Toronto's captain for a decade -- is expected to meet with interim GM Cliff Fletcher next week. "I haven't made a decision about next year," Sundin said. "But I do think I have a lot of different options in terms of -- I have a lot of options I can explore. And I think I still remain that I want to end my career as a Toronto Maple Leafs. Saying that, though, the way the situation is right now, I don't have everything in my control, either. There's got to be a mutual agreement there. And as I said, I don't have any at this point, I don't have anything I can say about what's going to happen next year. "For me to come back to Toronto, Toronto has got to show they really want me to come back, too. So we'll see what happens."

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20...lay_outdoo.html Reports out of Chicago, confirmed by TSN, indicate the Red Wings will play the Blackhawks in an outdoor game in Chicago in January, either at Wrigley Field or Soldier Field. But Wings general manager Ken Holland told me it's not official. "It's not a done deal, but it's a possibility,'' Holland said. "We have some interest, but there's a bunch of hoops to jump through. A lot of things needs to fall into place.'' The Wings are reluctant to play on Jan. 1 because they would be unable to host their traditional New Year's Eve game at Joe Louis Arena. He's also concerned that if the Wings play an outdoor game on the road it could affect their ability to host a future outdoor game, if in fact they decide they would like to host an outdoor game.

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/ General manager Ken Holland said this morning that Johan Franzen has been cleared by doctors to work on his conditioning. Franzen missed Games 2 and 3 with headaches -- something that he had been playing with for at least a week. Franzen is now allowed to work on the bicycle. Holland said that Franzen won't be skating on his own until Friday at the earliest.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/ For Dallas, coach Dave Tippett said right wing Jere Lehtinen (knee) will sit out for the second straight game. Brendan Morrow (elbow, shoulder) and Mike Modano (head) didn't skate but Tippett said they should be fine to play. Forward Stu Barnes (concussion-like symptoms) and defenseman Mark Fistric (flu) won't play.

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/ Johan Franzen won't play in Game 4 of the Western Conference final. When he returns to the ice is still unknown. THe NHL's leading goal-scorer in the playoffs had tests, Monday, because of concussion-like symptoms ... headaches. General manager Ken Holland said that the tests found nothing that needed treatment. But Franzen's headaches persist, so he'll have to rest until they subside. He's not able to work on conditioning (bike, etc) right now.

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/ Jiri Lehtinen is questionable for tonight's game -- a game-time decision. Steve Ott skated on the top line along with Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow at the morning skate. Brad Richards wasn't on the ice this morning. I'll update after coach Dave Tippett's press conference. Ribeiro said that he wasn't surprised that there were no suspensions from the stick-swinging incident at the end of Game 2. The Stars' top scorer said that Chris Osgood's butt-end was worse than his action. Ribeiro said that if he was suspended for one game, he would have expected Osgood to be suspended for two games.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...BLOG09/80508071 General manager Ken Holland has been informed by unrestricted free agent Fabian Brunnstrom that he has not selected the Wings. The Wings wooed Brunnstrom last week as he toured also Dallas and Montreal, his three finalists. “I got a letter from Brunnstrom,” Holland just told me. “He said it was a hard decision to make, he just ultimately made a decision to go in another direction. I don’t really know anything more.” Brunnstrom opted, in the end, to go with Dallas

Wings' Filppula OK to play tonight http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic.../805080477/1361 Red Wings center Valtteri Filppula, who missed two days of practice this week with a leg injury, will play tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. At his Thursday morning press conference, coach Mike Babcock confirmed Filppula will be in the lineup against the Dallas Stars. Filppula, averaging better than 15 minutes a game thus far in the playoffs, fell awkwardly late in Game 4 of the conference semifinals against Colorado. He then was held out of the Wings' first two practices this week as a precaution, before returning to the ice Wednesday. "I skated yesterday and it felt good, and I skated again today and it felt good again, so I'm ready," said Filppula, who along with Pavel Datsyuk led the Wings in scoring (one goal, four assists) against Dallas in the regular season. "There shouldn't be any (concerns). It should be fine now. "We kind of took it easy just to be sure. But I was pretty confident that I was going to play today."

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/ Update from the Red Wings' Wednesday practice ... Valtteri Filppula is on the ice and skating on the second line with Johan Franzen and Mikael Samuelsson. The lines at practice (Note also the split of Lidstrom and Rafalski on the top two defense pairings) ... Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom Franzen-Filppula-Samulesson Cleary-Draper-Drake Hudler-Helm-McCarty Lidstrom-Stuart Kronwall-Rafalski Lebda-Chelios Meech-Lilja Osgood Hasek Howard

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/ Valtteri Filppula (knee) was not on the ice again today. The Red Wings practiced with the same lines they used yesterday. Although both Filppula and coach Mike Babcock said that the young forward should be ready for Thursday's Game 1, the team is not just plugging in a player to Filppula's spot, instead practicing as though he won't be available. Kirk Maltby is skating on the third line with Dan Cleary being moved up from the third to the second line.

Detroit News: http://info.detnews.com/redesign/blogs/wingsblog/index.cfm? (two posts from practice) Babcock's update on Filppula Babcock just said in his press conference he does expect Filppula to play Thursday in Game Still no Filppula No Valtteri Filppula on the ice for practice Tuesday, but he expects to skate Wednesday and be ready to play in Game 1. The Wings open their Western Conference Final series Thursday against Dallas and Filppula - bothered by a twisted leg - hopes to play. "I'm supposed to skate tomorrow and hopefully it feels good so I can go tomorrow," Filppula said. Filppula was held back from Tuesday's practice for precautionary reasons. If Filppula were to be held back from Game 1 Kirk Maltby (hamstring), who has missed the entire playoffs, likely would re-enter the line up. "I just have to be ready if called upon," Maltby said.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/ Here's the schedule with updated times: Game 1 -- Thursday at Detroit, 7:30 Game 2 -- Saturday at Detroit, 7 p.m. Game 3 -- May 12 at Dallas, 8 p.m. Game 4 -- May 14 at Dallas, 8 p.m. *Game 5 -- May 17 at Detroit, 1:30 p.m. *Game 6 -- May 19 at Dallas, 8 p.m. *Game 7 -- May 21 at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

from MLIVE: http://www.mlive.com/redwings/ Update from Monday's practice: Forward Valtteri Filppula didn't skate because of a twisted leg he sustained in Game 4 vs. Colorado. But he said he feels better and expects to play in Game 1 Thursday. Defenseman Chris Chelios practiced and said he'll be ready to play. He missed the last game with what he called a lower-body injury.

Bruce has further updated his posting: I spoke with Valtteri Filppula. He downplayed his injury, saying that he "just didn't skate today" and that "hopefully" he'll be ready for Game 1. Kirk Maltby, who will be in the lineup if Filppula can't go, said "When called upon, just be ready ... that's my job." Coach Mike Babcock said that Filppula is "just about ready to play."

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/ Thanks to all who caught the Hartigan/Helm mistake. It has been corrected below. Darren Helm centered the fourth line at practice today. Mark Hartigan did not.

Quick update from Colorado's practice: Coach Joel Quenneville said forward Paul Stastny, who hurt his knee in the first period of Game 3 Tuesday, is unlikely to return for the series. Ryan Smyth (foot) didn't skate and is listed as doubtful for Game 4 tomorrow. Peter Forsberg (groin) also didn't skate. Quenneville said he was "getting checked out'' and will hopefully play in Game 4. http://www.mlive.com/redwings/

further update from the Red Wing Corner: That Avs aren't getting any good news as far as their health. Coach Joel Quenneville said after Wednesday's practice that Paul Stastny is "probably unlikely for this series", Ryan Smyth is "doubtful for tomorrow" and Peter Forsberg is "being checked out (medically) as well". Forsberg did not practice today. He did on Monday. Jose Theodore will start in net again for the Avs in Thursday's Game 4.

Ryan Smyth (foot) is definitely out for Colorado. Scott Hannan (foot) and Peter Forsberg (groin) are probable, but Hannan was hobbled walking around the arena. For Detroit, there are no lineup changes. http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20...strom_char.html Pavel Datsyuk missed practice Tuesday because of the flu, but he'll be on the ice today, coach Mike Babcock said. Brad Stuart returned home to San Jose to be with his wife, who was due to deliver today. Kirk Maltby (pulled hamstring) practiced, but said he's not sure if he'll be ready for the opener. Babcock, however, indicated that even if Maltby is ready he might not be inserted into the lineup. So rookie Darren Helm, who's played well the last two games, might remain in the lineup. "I like our lineup, I'm not a big change guy,'' Babcock said