At the start of the season, the Detroit Red Wings weren’t quite sure exactly what they had in captain Henrik Zetterberg.
He was coming off a terrible finish to the 2015-16 NHL season in which he scored one goal in Detroit’s last 24 games. A knee injury during summer off-ice conditioning kept Zetterberg out of the World Cup of Hockey and made the man who had been pegged to captain Sweden in that tournament a late arrival to Red Wings training camp.
Even Zetterberg had questions.
“We talked about it last year, that I had a terrible ending of the season,… Zetterberg said. “It was something that I wanted to change for this year and so far it’s been OK.…
OK? How about splendid. Zetterberg has played all 63 games this season and leads the Wings with 51 points. He is second on the team with a plus-11 rating and heads into Tuesday’s game at Toronto against the Maple Leafs riding a six-game point streak.
Even Detroit coach Jeff Blashill frankly admitted that he didn’t know what to expect from the old man in the C as they entered the season.
“I was very prepared to diminish his ice time if his play diminished, but he’s demanded I play him even more,… Blashill said of Zetterberg, at 36 the oldest player on Detroit’s roster.
“His will and determination, competitiveness I talked about, whatever it is that’s in his makeup, is as good as I’ve been around. Certainly, it’s outstanding and that’s why he gets and earns the minutes that he gets.
“You want him on the ice, he finds a way to win puck battles, he finds a way to keep it on his stick. He’s got great poise under pressure.
“He’s probably one of the best competitors I’ve ever been around in my life. His competitive desire is unreal. It’s not an outward competitiveness where he’s real emotional. It’s just his ability to grind, his ability to - I believe we’ll make the playoffs because of Henrik Zetterberg, if you want to know the truth. He’s one of the best, I’ll call it, competitors I think that’s in the game. He’s got great hockey smarts, he’s got great strength on the puck but what separates him from everybody else is his competitiveness and his approach every single day.…
Zetterberg gives much of the credit for his strong season to recent linemates Anthony Mantha and Gus Nyquist, with Tomas Tatar recently filling Nyquist’s spot while the latter sat out a six-game NHL suspension.
“I think the young kids I have along with me makes me younger and quicker,… Zetterberg said. “I think that’s probably been one of the reasons so far. Playing with Mantha and Nyquist and Tatar, I thought we’ve had good chemistry for awhile, so that helps.…
Blashill agreed with that assessment.
“I think they’ve been our best line on a nightly basis,… Blashill said. “There’s no question about it. Whichever guys have played with him have played very well and been productive. To me, he’s playing at a high, high level. I think throughout his career he could have had more points if he cheated. He doesn’t cheat, he’s one of the best two-way center men that’s been in the league in the last 20 years.…
Sometimes, Zetterberg admits, it’s difficult to fathom that he’s been a Red Wing since 2002.
“It doesn’t feel like it is 14 years,… Zetterberg said. “But as I said, too, the league gets younger and you play with quicker players. That helps a little slower player out. I guess you have experience but you need help. And I’ve got that this year.… Time sure flies when you’re having fun and Zetterberg won’t dispute that fact of life.
“It goes fast,… Zetterberg said. “Me and Kronner (Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall) have talked about it a little bit this year. You’ve got to make sure you enjoy it through the good and bad times. We have a pretty good situation. We’re lucky to be in the same club for this long and playing for this organization.
“Even though it’s been a tough year point wise for our team, we still have to find the positive side of it and try to get better.…
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