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Wings share memories of Mike Ilitch |
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The Detroit Red Wings took the ice Saturday in Columbus with heavy hearts, their first game action since the death Friday of team owner Mike Ilitch at the age of 87.
“It was a very sad day yesterday,” Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “Sad news. Such a great, great owner and a great man.
“The things he had done for his teams, for the Red Wings, for the Tigers, how dedicated he was to his players and also to the player’s families - he really cared about everyone and he will be dearly missed.”
Long before he became coach of the Wings, Ilitch already impacted the life of a young Jeff Blashill via his Little Caesars youth hockey program.
“I can tell you as a young kid growing up, the impact that Mr. Ilitch had on youth hockey in the state of Michigan was unbelievable,” Blashill said. “I was a youth hockey player in the state of Michigan. Little Caesars was the crown jewel of youth hockey for the entirety of my youth and still is in a lot of cases today.
“The impact that he had on hockey in the U.S. and certainly hockey in the state of Michigan to make Michigan one of the best states in hockey, I think is incredible. I think lots has been probably talked about the impact he’s had on the city of Detroit. Obviously back in the 1980s, moving the Little Caesars headquarters downtown all the way through to now where I went on a date with my wife in downtown Detroit in August and Detroit’s hopping.
“There’s other people that have had impact but none larger than Mr. and Mrs. Ilitch. He’ll leave a legacy in this state in so many different areas. When I took the job, I felt like I was going to work for the best ownership in sports. That’s certainly played out to be true.”
That latter fact of life has proven evident for many of the Wings, even if it was often something that took place away from the limelight and beyond the headlines.
“In the summertime after we had won the Cup in ’07-08, I was back taking classes at Michigan State and I was traveling back to Muskegon from East Lansing,” forward Justin Abdelkader recalled. “I got a call from him and he just wanted to congratulate me on being a part of that Stanley Cup championship team. Then he said that it was just as important for me to finish my degree. I’ll never forget that. He said, ‘That’s something no one can ever take away from you and you’ve come so far and put so much work into it.’”
In 2012, when he was forced to leave the Sochi Olympics after suffering a back injury that required surgery, Zetterberg also received a surprise inspirational message from Ilitch.
“After my back surgery, the next day when I woke up he was one of the first who called in to see how I was, how the surgery went,” Zetterberg recalled. “I was in New York at that time. That felt very special.
“That to me was proof that he really cared. He really cared about his players and wanted them to do well.”
On The Ice
The Wings fell to 0-2 on their three-game road trip via a 2-1 loss to the Blue Jackets.
“We had good looks through the game,” Blashill said. “If you look at the game, you did enough stuff to be able to win.”
The trip wraps up Sunday afternoon in Minnesota against the Wild.
“You’ve got to replicate this effort tomorrow and find a way to get those two points,” Blashill said. “I do believe if you have an effort like that, you’re going to find a way to two points.
“We certainly need it tomorrow.”
Kronwall, Nielsen Back
Both defenseman Niklas Kronwall (knee) and center Frans Nielsen (shoulder) were back from sick bay.
“I thought Nielsen and Kronwall both, from what I understand, made it through fine,” Blashill said. “I thought they both looked good. They showed no ill effects of the injuries.
“I thought Kronner skated as well has he had for a while and I thought Nielsen showed no ill effects at all.”
Vanek Uncertain
Two come back and another goes down. Forward Thomas Vanek, who scored Detroit’s lone goal, left for a spell after a Columbus player rolled across his left ankle
Though he was able to return and finish the game, Vanek’s status for Sunday is uncertain.
“It doesn’t feel great but I got to finish the game with it so we’ll see how it feels when I wake up tomorrow,” Vanek said.
Ericsson Done
Don’t expect to see defenseman Jonathan Ericsson in a Detroit uniform again this season.
Ericsson underwent surgery on a fractured wrist and is done for 12 weeks.
“It’s a big loss,” Kronwall said. “He means a lot to this team, a lot more I think than people give him credit for.
“He’s huge on the PK. He’s a match-up guy that goes up against the best every night.”
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