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Zetterberg enjoyed his family's summer of Love |
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After a summer of change, Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg is excited to be a father for the first time. He and his wife Emma recently welcomed their son Love into the family.
“It was pretty cool,” Zetterberg said. “First of all, we spent most of the summer in Detroit. It was the first time we did that. We really enjoyed it.
“Obviously we were a little nervous when it got a little closer but everything went well. Both Love and Emma are doing well.”
Their son’s name caught a lot of people by surprise but Zetterberg explained that it comes from an old Swedish tradition.
“We knew if it was going to be a boy that Love was going to be the name early on,” Zetterberg said. “It's an old Swedish name and kind of getting popular again.
“I understand the confusion if you see the spelling in an American way, but you pronounce it Luhv over here and in Swedish it's Loo-veh.”
Excited by their summer of Love, Zetterberg seems equally intrigued to begin the fall without coach Mike Babcock, who left the Wings after eight seasons to take over the helm of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“Obviously I want to thank Mike for the time he had here but I think both him and us probably decided it was time,” said Zetterberg, who wasn’t surprised to see Babcock depart Detroit.
“Not really. I kind of figured that out; that he was moving on, and obviously the media attention all along was big.”
Like most, he thinks that new coach’s Jeff Blashill’s history within the organization will make for a smooth and easy adjustment.
“He's been coaching probably more than half of the guys in here so I think it will be an easy transition,” Zetterberg said. “Obviously he coached under Mike, too, and he's been in the Red Wings system for a while so I don't think it will that big a difference for us.
“I think he has a lot of knowledge. Obviously when he was here last time he was really fresh. I think the time he spent in Grand Rapids was really good. He did a tremendous job down there with the kids and you’ve been seeing the product of him, when you see players like Gus (Nyquist) and (Tomas) Tatar and (Riley) Sheahan and (Luke) Glendening, there’s so many guys that went through playing for him and won the Calder Cup with him, so we’re excited and just want to get it going.”
Zetterberg is of the belief that the change will do the Wings good.
“There’s a lot of guys in here who’ve been through the same stuff for many years,” Zetterberg said. “I think now with the new additions of (defenseman Mike) Green and (center Brad) Richards, and the new coach, it’s given us a little fresh start.
“Obviously it’s going to be a different voice behind the bench and sometimes you need that.”
Zetterberg is also certain that after a summer of regular workouts, the offensive game that eluded him last season – he scored just two goals in his last 29 regular-season games and went scoreless in the playoffs for the first time in his NHL career – will return to form.
The Detroit captain underwent back surgery in early 2014 and was still rehabbing from the surgery last summer, preventing him from following his normal off-season exercise regimen.
“I could go harder this summer, not so much rehab as it was last summer, so I'm excited,” explained Zetterberg, 34. “I had a good summer working out and hopefully it will translate on the ice.”
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