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Datsyuk camp: No decision on future has been made

April 10, 2016, 8:12 PM ET [50 Comments]
Bob Duff
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
According to published reports out of Detroit, center Pavel Datsyuk’s departure from the Detroit Red Wings to return to his native Russia at season’s end is a decision he’s already reached.

According to Dan Millstein, Datsyuk’s agent, that isn’t the case.

That doesn’t mean Datsyuk isn’t going to go back to Russia and that his Red Wings days will be done at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It does mean that he hasn’t made up his mind yet and all the plans for Datsyuk going-away celebrations being made by Red Wings fans could simply prove to be a case of premature evacuation.

Asked there was still a chance that Datsyuk will be a Red Wing for the 2016-17 NHL season, Millstein answered, “Of course.

“Never say never,” Millstein said. “Anything is possible.”

Datsyuk and Millstein will sit down with the Red Wings’ brain trust when the season concludes. A year ago, he went into a similar meeting with going to back to Russia on his mind and ended up returning to honor the second year of a three-year deal he signed with the Wings in 2014 that annual pays Datsyuk $7.5 million.

“Out of the respect for (Red Wings owners) the Ilitch family, for (Detroit general manager) Ken Holland, Pavel is going to have a meeting as expected,” Millstein said.

“While Pavel made his wishes public, there still has to be a conversation with the team as well. They had this meeting that took place a year ago as well.

“Up until he sits down with them, it’s not a done deal.”

Datsyuk has always suggested he would like to end his playing days playing in his native Russia but if he leaves Detroit it won’t be for hockey reasons.

“It’s more of a family thing,” Millstein said. “He’s always said that at some point he would return back to Russia.

“He’s got a 13-year-old daughter (from his first marriage). He misses her a lot. They only see each other briefly in the summer months. So basically the bottom line is that’s what Pavel wants to do, that’s what he wishes to do.

“It’s nothing new. He’s been basically torn since 2012 and contemplating returning back to his homeland.”

Datsyuk understands that by leaving he will put a $7.5 million hit on Detroit’s salary cap and Millstein indicated that this is another factor weighing heavily on his mind as he seeks to make a choice about his future direction.

“The Wings gave him a chance and the team has been extremely loyal to him,” Millstein said. “That’s why he’s been a Red Wing and only played for the Red Wings here in the NHL. When he had this major surgery (on his ankle) back in June, the Ilitches were on the phone waiting for the news.

“Pavel is a stand-up guy. He is a great guy. He is a great human being. He’s not going to run. He would absolutely not run away.

“He will do whatever is necessary and he will work closely with the team.”

Millstein also sought to make it abundantly clear that this is not a ploy on their part to gain a contract extension from the Red Wings.

“He is absolutely not looking to get an (contract) extension,” Millstein said. “If Pavel wants an extension, it would be given to him. The Wings are overall a very loyal organization. They take care of their players and Pavel knows it.

“There is no way we would ever go to the media or do things along those lines to get another extension.”

Mantha Down
As the Wings prepared for their first-round playoff series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, expected to open Wednesday at Amalie Arena, the club returned forward Anthony Mantha to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The Wings don’t see the logic in keeping Mantha with the big club to play on the fourth line or sit in the press box, and quite frankly, Mantha wasn’t able to deliver the goods in his first stint as an NHLer.

The Wings prefer to have veteran Joakim Andersson as an extra forward, someone who can win faceoffs and kill penalties, two areas where Mantha can’t help the team.

“He's not playing to start the series,” Holland said of Mantha. “We want to get him playing. We just felt, he's 21, he's a young player, he's got to go play. If we need him at least he'll be playing (in Grand Rapids). Mantha is best served and we're best served if he's playing.

“Andersson is a pro, has been around pro hockey six or seven years. He's been playing. (Tomas) Jurco is available.”

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