Pavel Datsyuk will meet with the media Saturday, at which time he is expected to announce that his days as a Detroit Red Wing are done.
Several NHL sources were saying as such Friday, although Red Wings GM Ken Holland, who was supposed to meet with Datsyuk Friday evening, wasn’t ready to give up the ghost.
“We’ve had some brief conversations,… Holland said of Datsyuk. “I’m anticipating at the very latest he’ll have his decision announced by Monday. That would be on the long end.
“On Tuesday I’m driving to Buffalo (for the NHL entry draft), I want to know what’s going on before I get to Buffalo. Whatever he’s doing (it will be revealed) on Monday at the long end.…
Sheahan Deal Done Red Wings fans have been rightly frustrated by the terms and length of some of the contracts the team has signed players to of late but the deal agreed to by center Riley Sheahan with the team should not be among them.
A two-year pact with an annual salary cap hit of $2.075 million is a sound investment for a responsible player who plays a 200-foot game with a physical element and has scored 27 goals the past two seasons.
“I thought the last 25 games he took a real jump in his performance,… Holland said. “He’s 24 years of age. A lot of times with younger players it’s confidence and starting to understand that you can do some things that maybe you didn’t know you could do when you were younger and I’d like to think that’s what’s going on with Riley.
“He’s gaining some confidence. He’s 6-2, 215, he’s a big man with skill, he’s really heavy on the puck down low and I thought the last 20-25 games he started to take the puck to the net more, he did more with the puck, and as you do things, you gain confidence, your game grows and I thought that’s what happened with Riley the last 20 games and then he had a real good playoff series against Tampa Bay.…
The Wings admit they don’t know what Sheahan’s upside will be but they believe he’s got more room to grow his game.
“That’s what we hope,… Holland said. “As we watched the Datsyuks and Kronwalls and Zetterbergs and Abdelkaders and Helms, you’re never really sure where they’re going to top out.
“That’s sometimes got to play itself out but certainly there’s no doubt he’s a legitimate top nine forward and we’re hoping in the next couple of years he can grow into a bigger role than that.…
Leadership Role The signing of defenseman Brian Lashoff to a new deal with the team might not be earth-shattering news but with so many young defenders in the Detroit system, Lashoff is playing a key role for the team with their AHL farm club in Grand Rapids.
“We like him for depth but we also like him for being a leader, a role model in Grand Rapids, to kind of help some of our younger people understand what you’ve got to do to be a pro,… Holland said. “Lashoff is a good pro and we’re going to come to training camp and we’re not going to be – I don’t know if deep if the right word – but obviously as we go into training camp, (Xavier) Ouellet, (Ryan) Sproul and (Nick) Jensen are waiver players. We’re going to have to make some decisions but we think he’s good depth. We think he can play in the NHL if we needed him to play in the NHL.
“He’s a good penalty killer, he’s a good shot blocker and he’s 25 years old.…
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