DETROIT (AP) - Pavel Datsyuk is back with the Detroit Red Wings, spurning the chance to go home to play in Russia. Datsyuk signed a two-year contract on Monday that will pay him $3.9 million US per season. "We're obviously very happy that we got Pavel back," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "He's a talented young player that had a very good year for us two years ago, and we're hoping for more of the same. With the new rules, I think skilled players like Pavel are really going to be helped."
The restricted free agent, his agent and the Red Wings had been negotiating since before the NHL lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season.
The 27-year-old Russian signed a contract earlier this month with Avangard Omsk of the Russian SuperLeague. That deal was matched by Moscow Dynamo, another SuperLeague team that Datsyuk played with during the lockout.
Those moves created doubts that Datsyuk would return to Detroit this season.
He had a breakthrough season in 2003-04, finishing tied for the team lead with 30 goals and totalling 68 points.
Datsyuk was a standout during the past two regular seasons and lacklustre in the post-season, like most of his teammates. He didn't score a goal in the 2003 or 2004 playoffs and had just six assists.
Datsyuk is the final major piece of the puzzle Holland had to get into place under the league's new $39 million salary cap - about half of what Detroit has spent in the past.
Holland re-signed another restricted free agent, forward Henrik Zetterberg earlier this month and brought back veteran centre Steve Yzerman. Almost a month ago, Holland said he was not close to re-signing Datsyuk or Zetterberg, who was also a restricted free agent.
Team Roster No Name Position Age HT WT Born 24 Chelios, Chris Defense 43 6.1 190 Chicago, Illinois 73 Cleary, Dan Left wing 26 6.0 203 Carbonear, New Foundland 13 Datsyuk, Pavel Center 27 5.11 185 Sverdlovsk, Russia 15 Delmore, Andy Defense 28 6.1 200 LaSalle, Ontario 33 Draper, Kris Center 34 5.10 190 Toronto, Ontario 2 Fischer, Jiri Defense 25 6.5 235 Horovice, Czech Republic 39 Franzen, Johan Center 25 6.0 210 Vetlanda, Sweden 96 Holmstrom, Tomas Left wing 32 6.0 200 Pieta, Sweden 35 Howard, Jim Goalie 21 6.1 204 Ogdensburg, New York 55 Kronwall, Niklas Defense 24 6.0 195 Stockholm, Sweden 20 Lang, Robert Center 34 6.3 217 Telpice, Czech Republic 41 Lebda, Brett Defense 23 5.10 195 Buffalo Grove, Illinois 34 Legace, Manny Goalie 32 5.9 162 Toronto, Ontario 5 Lidstrom, Nicklas Defense 35 6.2 190 Vasteras, Sweden 3 Lilja, Andreas Defense 30 6.4 222 Stockholm, Sweden 31 MacDonald, Joey Goalie 25 6.1 198 Pictou, Nova Scotia 18 Maltby, Kirk Right wing 33 6.0 190 Guelph, Ontario 44 Mowers, Mark Center 31 5.11 190 Whitesboro, New York 71 Murray, Rem Left wing 32 6.2 195 Stratford, Ontario 30 Osgood, Chris Goalie 32 5.10 178 Peace River, Alberta 4 Rivers, Jamie Defense 30 6.0 190 Ottawa, Ontario 37 Samuelsson, Mikael Right wing 28 6.1 205 Mariefred, Sweden 23 Schneider, Mathieu Defense 36 6.0 197 New York, New York 14 Shanahan, Brendan Right wing 36 6.3 220 Mimico, Ontario 72 Sloan, Blake Right wing 30 5.10 200 Park Ridge, Illinois 29 Williams, Jason Center 25 5.11 185 London, Ontario 19 Yzerman, Steve Center 40 5.11 185 Cranbook, British Columbia 40 Zetterberg, Henrik Left wing 24 6.0 190 Njurunda, Sweden
DETROIT - General Manager Ken Holland today announced that the Detroit Red Wings have re-signed forward Henrik Zetterberg to a four-year contract.
In keeping with club policy, additional terms of the contract were not available.
Zetterberg returns for his fourth year in the NHL. Last season, Zetterberg led the Swedish Elite League in scoring, tallying 50 points in 50 games for Timra (19-31--50).
In 2003-04, he appeared in 61 games setting new career highs in assists (28) and plus/minus (+15). In 2002-03, Zetterberg was the runner-up for the NHL's Calder Trophy (Barret Jackman, St. Louis) as the league's best rookie when he scored 22 goals and 22 assists for 44 points.
DETROIT - Detroit Red Wings Assistant General Manager Jim Nill today announced that the club has signed goaltender Jimmy Howard to a three-year entry level contract. In keeping with club policy, additional terms of the contract are not available.
"Howard had an outstanding collegiate career," said Nill. "We expect him to come into camp battling for the No. 3 position. He's a strong prospect and we look forward to having him in our organization for many years."
Howard (21, 6-0, 220) was drafted by Detroit in the second round (64th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He played the last three seasons for the University of Maine where he appeared in 82 career games, posting a 1.84 goals against average and a .931 save percentage along with a school record 15 shutouts en route to a 47-23-10 record.
"Naturally I am disappointed that Jimmy will not be back with our team this season, but I am also very proud of Jim and excited for his future with Detroit," said Maine head coach Tim Whitehead.
"I have been dreaming of playing in the National Hockey League all of my life, and to get one step closer to that goal is special," said Howard. "I really enjoyed my three years at Maine. Playing in front of the greatest fans in college hockey is something that I will never forget. It has been a priviledge to wear the Maine sweater. I wish all my teammates the best this season."
Last season Howard played in 39 games with a 1.97 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. He posted six shutouts on the season, including four against Hockey East opponents, giving him a conference record nine career shutouts.
He was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week four times and Hockey East Goalie of the Month in January. Following the season he earned Hockey East Honorable Mention honors.
DETROIT -- Forward Jason Williams today accepted his one year qualifying offer from the Red Wings.
In keeping with club policy, additional terms of the contracts are not available.
Williams signed as a free agent with Detroit in September of 2000 and has logged time with both the Red Wings and their AHL affiliates over the past four years.
He appeared in a career-high 49 NHL contests in 2003-04 and has totaled 95 career NHL games, scoring 17 goals and 15 assists for 32 points.
The London, Ontario native has 14 playoff games to his credit, including nine during the Wings 2002 Stanley Cup Championship.
In 2004-05, Williams led Assat Pori in scoring and finished 11th in the Finnish League with 43 points in 43 games (26-17--43).
DETROIT -- The Red Wings added a seventh member to their blueline after inking defenseman Andy Delmore to a one-year contract on Tuesday. In keeping with club policy, additional terms of the contracts are not available.
Delmore (28, 6-1, 200) has seven seasons of NHL experience, totaling 276 games, 43 goals and 58 assists for 101 points and 103 penalty minutes.
The LaSalle, Ontario native entered the NHL as an undrafted free agent with Philadelphia in 1998-99. He spent three seasons with the Flyers followed by two years in Nashville and one season in Buffalo.
Delmore notched 14 points in 66 games for the Flyers in the 2000-01 regular season, but it would be the Stanley Cup Playoffs where he etched himself into hockey's record books. A hat trick against the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 7, 2000, made him the first rookie defenseman in NHL history to record two multi-goal games in the same playoff year.
Delmore spent the 2004-05 season in Germany where he tallied seven goals and 26 assists for 23 points in 50 games for Adler-Mannheim.
25 éves svéd, 2004-ben 3. körös pickünk volt, a svéd ligában és válogatottban is játszott. Azt mondják róla, hogy jó two-way, jól passzol, a scoutok szerint megérett az NHL-re. Meglátjuk.
1:48 PM EDT, 08/01/2005 Red Wings and Yzerman plan to speak Monday about one-year contract offer
DETROIT (AP) - Steve Yzerman is expected to speak to Detroit Red Wings officials on Monday about the one-year contract the club has offered the longtime captain to return for his 22nd season.
The Red Wings wanted to know by this past weekend whether the 40-year-old Yzerman planned to accept the offer, but both sides agreed to talk on Monday after having trouble getting in touch Sunday.
Yzerman helped the Red Wings win three Stanley Cup titles and become one of the NHL's top teams over the past decade.
In his last game before the lockout, he had to be helped off the ice after being struck in the face by a puck during the 2004 playoffs. Yzerman suffered broken bones near his eye.
Yzerman, an unrestricted free agent, has a franchise-record 70 playoff goals and 181 points with Detroit. He has 1,721 regular-season points, trailing only Marcel Dionne, Ron Francis, Gordie Howe, Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky in NHL history.
DETROIT - Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland and Assistant GM Jim Nill selected defenseman Jakub Kindl with their first round selection (19th overall) in today's National Hockey League Entry Draft. Born in Sumperk, Czech Republic, Kindl (6-3, 199) played this past season for Kitchener of the Ontario Hockey League where he tallied three goals and 11 assists for 14 points and 92 PIM in 62 games.
The No. 19 pick was the highest by Detroit since the Wings selected Martin Lapointe with the 10th overall pick in 1991.
With their second-round pick (42nd overall) the Red Wings selected Muskegon, Michigan-native Justin Abdelkader (6-1, 195). Abdelkader spent last season with Cedar Rapids of the USHL where he tallied 27 goals and 25 assists for 52 points, was a plus-20 and had 86 PIM in 60 games. He was named "Mr. Hockey 2004" by the Michigan High School Hockey Coaches Association following his HS career in which he led Muskegon Mona Shores to the Division 2 Finals.
Abdelkader is slated to play for the Michigan State University Spartans this fall.
The Wings selected a pair of Swedish Juniors in the third and fourth rounds. Christofer Lofberg (C, 6-3, 189) of Djurgarden was Detroit's 80th overall pick and Mattias Ritola (F, 6-0, 192) of Leksand was the club's 103rd overall choice.
The Wings complete 2005 NHL Draft Roster is below.
ROUND # NAME POS TEAM 1 19 Jakub Kindl D Kitchener (OHL) 2 42 Justin Abdelkader LW Cedar Rapids (USH) 3 80 Christofer Lofberg C Djurgarden (Swedish Jr.) 4 103 Mattias Ritola F Leksand (Swedish Jr.) 5 132 Darren Helm F Medicine Hat (WHL) 5 139 Johan Ryno F Kumla (Swedish Jr.) 5 151 Jeff May D Prince Albert (WHL) 6 175 Juho Mielonen D Ilves (Finnish Jr.) 7 214 Bretton Stamler D Seattle (WHL)
DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland today announced that forward Brendan Shanahan has exercised his option on a one-year contract for the 2005-06 season.
Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This will be Shanahan's ninth season with Detroit and 17th in the National Hockey League.
Shanahan, 36, is a 6'-3", 220 lbs. native of Mimico, Ontario who shoots right. He was originally acquired by Detroit from the Hartford Whalers October 9, 1996 along with Brian Glynn in exchange for Keith Primeau, Paul Coffey and a first round pick in the 1997 Entry Draft (Nikos Tselios).
DETROIT (AP) - The Detroit Red Wings placed defenseman Derian Hatcher and forwards Darren McCarty and Ray Whitney on waivers Monday, effectively cutting ties with the three high-profile veterans.
If the trio go unclaimed, the Red Wings have the option of buying out their contracts and making them unrestricted free agents.
"They've been a big, big part of our franchise," Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill said. "This is just a part of doing business right now with the new CBA."
The NHL's new collective bargaining agreement features a $39 million salary cap, and teams were granted a six-day window on Saturday to shed cumbersome contracts. The 33-year-old Hatcher, a former Dallas Stars captain, signed with Detroit as a free agent before the 2003-04 season. Considered at the time to be one of the best all-around defensemen in the league, the big, bruising Hatcher had little impact with his hometown team, tearing a knee ligament in the third game and missing the majority of that season.
Whitney, 33, also signed as a free agent with the Wings during 2003. He had 24 goals and 52 assists the season before with Columbus, and the Red Wings hoped he could fill the void created when Sergei Fedorov signed with Anaheim. With Detroit in 2003-04, Whitney managed 14 goals and 29 assists.
McCarty, who has spent his entire 11-year career with Detroit, is a fan favorite whose style of play embodies the blue-collar spirit of the city. The 33-year-old McCarty won three Stanley Cups with the Wings and scored the series-winning goal against Philadelphia in 1997.
"He's a hardworking, roll-up-your-sleeves kind of guy," Nill said. "He's really what the city's all about. He came every night to play hard. He was a big part of our success."