While nothing’s been made official yet, Daniel Alfredsson is expected to announce his retirement shortly – perhaps as early as Monday, when the two NHL teams he played for, the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators, meet at Joe Louis Arena – and though he wasn’t their teammate for long, the Wings shared their memories of Alfredsson Saturday morning as they prepared for their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre.
Defenseman Jonathan Ericsson was still somewhat dumbfounded by the thought that he’d been a teammate of two of Sweden’s greatest players in Alfredsson and Nicklas Lidstrom.
“It’s unbelievable,… Ericsson said. “You live in this moment all of the time - I mean, we’re all hockey players - but I think from all of my family and friends back home they think it’s so big. “That’s when you think about it and how big it really is, and how fortunate I am to be where I am.
“The people at home remind me of that all the time.…
Last season, his lone in Detroit after 17 with Ottawa, Alfredsson shared the team scoring lead with 49 points as he opted to sign with the Wings as a free agent in pursuit of the one bauble missing from his hockey resume, a Stanley Cup.
“Daniel is such a class act, he’s a top-notch guy and a true professional,… Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard said. “That’s the one thing he wanted.
“It’s sad we weren’t able to deliver that for him.…
The younger Wings embraced Alfredsson as much for his leadership as for his impressive talents on the ice.
“His presence was definitely known and he had a calm, soothing attitude, so when things weren’t going your way he was there to pick you back up with just little things in the game and show you ways to play,… said center Riley Sheahan, a rookie last season. “He definitely helped me with some good advice.…
Weiss Scores
Center Stephen Weiss registered a goal just 19 seconds into the game Friday during the first of a slated two-game conditioning stint with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League. The Wings are anxious to see how Weiss, who underwent sports hernia surgery last season and has played just one NHL game since, holds up physically tonight as he’s slated to play again for Grand Rapids.
“Yeah, given what’s gone on over last 16 months, it’s baby steps,… Detroit general manager Ken Holland said. “Last night he got through a game, and he feels good enough to get back at it tonight.…
On his last rehab stint with Grand Rapids, Weiss was forced to shut it down due to recurring groin pain.
“It just got really sore to where I was having problems skating again,… Weiss said. “I didn’t want to say anything, but if I went out for the third period I probably would have just got worse and I didn’t want to come back here with a bad groin again.
“That would do me no good.…
That’s why Holland is choosing to take a wait-and-see approach this time around.
“I think when he was down there two weeks ago it wasn’t significant but it was significant enough that he hurt himself and couldn’t play the next game, so we’re back starting all over again,… Holland said. “The other thing that we’re working on is he hasn’t played a lot of hockey the last two years, two-and-a-half years. Last year he played 26 games. The 48-game season he played 17.
“December is on the horizon. That’s part of the reason we want him to go back and test his groin. We’re trying to find ways to get him some games because you need to play games. We’re trying to win games to compete with teams in our division. We can’t be holding tryouts during the season.…
Datsyuk Update
The Wings are also being cautious with the groin injury plaguing center Pavel Datsyuk, who will miss his third straight game tonight in what is his third stint on the sidelines due to the ailment. “He’s day to day,… Holland said. “I don’t think it’s anything significant, but it’s significant enough that he’s not in the lineup.…
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