droz

Once upon a time Draper was one of, if not the best face-off man in the league, that's not very average.

According to MLive Miller is out and Eaves is in. Also Josh Harding is starting in net for the Wild, first start in 18 months. http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2011/10/red_wings_to_face_minnesota_go.html

McCarty left because the wings bought out his contract after the lockout.

What ufas are out there that score 30+? It would be nice to have a 40 goal scorer are last was hossa

What do you think of him as our backup next year if Osgood retires?

I don't think Babcock is "afraid" to play Osgood in back to backs, Howard is the starter. How many teams will play the backup for consecutive games without an injury or horrible play by the starter?

I will agree with you that Howard needs to play the puck more, and he is starting to this season. Seems like he just doesn't have the confidence to come out of the crease like Ozzy has, hopefully it's something he will improve on over the season. Watching Ozzy play and seeing how he does it should help him, he didn't get to do that much last year.

They should hire Ken Hitchcock, I think he could really help the team finally become playoff contenders.

He had a really good game last night against Colorado. He played 17 minutes and made a great break up that 2 on 1. Does any one know where you can find average time on ice stats? Salei played a little under 20 minutes, just behind Lidstrom and Kronwall, just wondering if he is averaging more ice time than Stuart and Rafalski.

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings, as expected, waived forward Mattias Ritola on Monday. He has until noon Tuesday to clear. If he is not claimed, he will be assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins. Ritola, who played the past three seasons in Grand Rapids, did not show enough in training camp and the preseason to beat out a veteran for a roster spot. He had no goals, one assist and a minus-2 rating in five exhibition games. “I think he had some games where he played pretty well,’’ Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. “There’s areas of his game we want him to get more into, the scoring areas. He’s doing a better job, but not where we want him to be.’’ The club hopes Ritola, 23, clears and spends another season developing with the Griffins. But given his contract (three years at $517,000 per season, two-way in 2010-11), a team strapped for depth might take a chance and claim him. Ritola was Detroit’s fourth-round pick in 2005 (103rd overall). The Red Wings must trim one more forward. Veteran Kirk Maltby appears most likely to be placed on waivers Tuesday and assigned to the Griffins if he clears. Defenseman Doug Janik and goaltender Joey MacDonald were waived Monday and will report to Grand Rapids if they clear. Defenseman Derek Meech likely will be waived Tuesday. The 23-man roster must be set by 3 p.m. Wednesday. MILive

Former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Andreas Lilja is still looking for a job, after the San Jose Sharks announced today that they will not offer him a contract. Lilja, 35, had been in Sharks camp on a tryout. "Andreas had a very competitive camp and played well for us but we also have several young defenseman who played well," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said in a release. "They have put in their time in the organization and we feel that they have earned and deserve an opportunity to compete for a spot on this team." Lilja is in a bind because his work visa expires on Sunday. [/url]The Red Wings offered him a one-year contract for $1 million earlier this summer, but he turned it down, believing he could get a two-year deal worth more money from another club. His chances of returning to the Red Wings ended when the club signed Ruslan Salei to a one-year deal on Aug. 9. MILive

That link doesn't work.

I didn't see many of the Griffins games, but he had 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points in 73 games. http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=skaters&subType=6&season_id=30&leagueId=4&lastActive=&singleSeason=&confId=0

http://www.freep.com/article/20100212/SPORTS05/2120395/1354/