The Detroit Red Wings will welcome Erik Cole and Marek Zidlicky to their first practice with the team on Tuesday morning and clearly, they will be welcoming both of them with open arms.
“We like the people we added,… Detroit GM Ken Holland said. “We like the dimensions that we added to our team. We got bigger and I think we got better.…
Clearly, his players agreed with their manager’s assessment.
“He’s got a really good shot,… Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said of Zidlicky. “He plays in all situations, and from playing against him both in Detroit and with Team Sweden for many years, I know he’s a good player.
“Erik is a veteran guy who has been around for along time, putting up some good numbers. We met him in Dallas here not too long ago. He’s a good player. He will come in with a lot of speed, big size and he will be good with us.…
Zidlicky will provide the Wings with something they’ve been searching for since last summer’s free agent period opened, a right-hand shooting defenseman to work their power play.
“A right-handed shot, we haven’t had that since Rafi (Brian Rafalski) really, powering in from the point on the power play,… Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “So I think that’s something we’ve been looking for and we’re going to be really excited to have him here.
“Playing against him for quite a few years now, he still moves really well, and is really good on the power play. He’s got a really good shot.
“So I think he’s going to fit in perfect.…
At 6-2 and 205 pounds, Cole, an 18-goal scorer for the Stars, gives Detroit a physical presence along the forward line and can fill the void left by the concussion-induced absence of Johan Franzen.
“I’ve played against him a lot of years,… Detroit forward Stephen Weiss said. “He’s a big strong guy who skates as well, really, as anyone in the league from A to B. He’ll fit in really well here.
“He’s got a lot of playoff experience as well. He’s been in the finals I think at least once (twice, actually, with Carolina in 2002 and 2006) and won one, too.
“He’s another really good addition.…
For the Wings players, the best part about all the moves was that the team was able to do both without losing a single player off the current roster.
“I think that’s huge,… Kronwall said. “I think we’ve got a really good thing going.
“We’ve got really good chemistry in the room, so I think that was very important.…
Cole and Zidlicky are slated to make their Detroit debuts Wednesday as the Wings play host to the New York Rangers at Joe Louis Arena.
Injury Updates The Wings hope to get two players back off the shelf in time for Wednesday’s game, but two more were added to sick bay on Monday.
Both forward Darren Helm and rookie defenseman Alexey Marchenko are expected to miss at least a week due to oblique strains.
Meanwhile, Zetterberg is progressing steadily toward a hopeful return Wednesday from the concussion-like symptoms that have kept him out for over a week. He participated in a full practice Monday for the first time since his injury.
“It felt good,… Zetterberg said. “It was fun to be out there again. It’s my first practice since (a week ago) Saturday, so obviously tomorrow is another one and hopefully I’ll be cleared for contact tomorrow and go from there.…
Holland indicated the plan is to monitor Zetterberg’s status right up until game time Wednesday.
“What I was told was that if he had a good day today and a good day tomorrow and he had a good practice on Wednesday morning and there was no setbacks, we then after practice on Wednesday would have a legitimate conversation about possibly Hank playing on Wednesday night,… Holland said.
Defenseman Kyle Quincey (bone chips in ankle) is expected to return to the lineup Wednesday after missing five games.
Buy A Vowel While discussing his new players and some of his current players, Holland got momentarily confused while discussing the many players known simply by the first consonant in their name.
“We’ve got Qs and Xs and Zs now,… Holland laughed.
That would be one Q (Quincey), one X (defenseman Xavier Ouellet, currently with AHL Grand Rapids) and a pair of Zs – Zetterberg and Zidlicky.
Tough To Hear Trade deadline day is busy and stressful for the players, who try not to think about what might happen, though sometimes it simply can’t be avoided.
Early in the day Monday, as rumors of the Wings acquiring captain Dion Phaneuf from the Toronto Maple Leafs emerged, Weiss heard his name mentioned as potentially being one of the Wings going the other way.
“I woke up to that this morning, that I was being floated around a little bit,… Weiss said. “I didn’t end up hearing anything further than that but it’s a stressful few hours this morning.…
Not that he could do anything about it were the talk to be true.
“That’s all part of it,… Weiss said of being a professional athlete. “You just come to the rink and go to work really. If something comes up, something comes up and you deal with it at that time. You just go about your business.…
Still, Weiss was relieved with 3 p.m. rolled around and he was still a Red Wing.
“Yeah, I don’t want to go anywhere,… Weiss said. “This is where I wanted to be a year and a half ago and this is where I want to be going forward.
“I still think I can help this team a lot and certainly didn’t want to go anywhere.…
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