More on McCarty

The Grand Rapids Press reports this morning that McCarty has received a two-way (as predicted) offer from the Red Wings to return this upcoming season, which he is confident he will soon sign.

"We're just trying to work out some intricacies," he said. "I think there's some collective bargaining things in there that we're trying to get clarification on, but I'd say it's 99 percent that I'll be back in the organization."

The two-way contract means McCarty may return in 08-09 for a second stint Grand Rapids, much to the delight of the Griffins and their fans many of whom remember watching his home-debut hat trick this past season. Earlier in the week there were reports that McCarty's agent was looking elsewhere in hopes that the 36 year old free agent could perhaps garner a one-way contract from a team looking to add his brand of veteran grit. McCarty himself had stated many times that he would much rather have a one-way contract that would seal his season in the NHL, which received mixed reactions from Wings faithful - sure people love D-Mac, but is he necessarily still NHL material, especially given the sacrifices the Wings will already have to make to stay under the cap ceiling? Luckily for us, it looks as though we won't have to worry, as when asked about returning to GR McCarty responded:

"Who knows, I'll probably be down here for a bit. I love playing in Grand Rapids. If the call for me is to put my Griffins jersey back on, I'm all for it."

One of the things that impressed me the most this past season was D-Mac's attitude about playing wherever he found himself - which is probably one of the major reasons he made it as far as he did at all. Needless to say, Wings fans should once again be impressed with Holland & Co., persuading McCarty to stay under terms that suit the team's needs, keeping a fan-favorite under contract in a manner that clearly has the team's best interests at heart.

Last season McCarty posted a rather unremarkable 1 G 1 A in 17 playoff games (1 A in his three regular season outings) - but as he's shown, the scoresheet isn't necessarily where he proves his worth on the ice. Personally I look forward to seeing McCarty wherever he ends up and am glad to have him back in the fold especially in this manner. Hats off to the organization again for another good move - that is, assuming he does in fact sign, and we haven't jumped the gun!

ATT <3s NHL

Inexplicably (but totally cool!) AT&T has decided that 2.5 million Oakland and Wayne County editions of the new AT&T Real Yellow Pages directory will feature the Detroit Red Wings on the cover. The shot of the team on the ice post-Cup victory, says the president of AT&T, is featured because, "It is our goal to keep our customers connected, but nothing connects communities like a championship team and we applaud the Wings for their accomplishment."

Cheesy, for sure, but it's certainly sort of neat to pick up the Yellow Pages and see the boys - and this time of year, it's the little things.

In honor of the recognition (or in recognition of the honor?) Wings grinder Darren McCarty was at Hockeytown Authentics signing autographs. Having missed him in Taylor and being in the area to begin with, I decided to stop by:

D-Mac, decked out in full support of Detroit and the Tigers (who would be playing across the street two hours from the end of the signing) - seemed like he was having a good time.

Freshly D-Mac-signed hat and the event-causing mini-phonebook.

Hockeytown Cafe was bustling (I proceeded to eat a panini - A+!) with the pre-Tigers game crowd, but McCarty - who looked like he was enjoying himself as much as someone writing their name for two hours straight could be, and who was very friendly - drew a fair amount of attention as well. The best thing about the event was that it was completely free, making it pretty irresistible after seeing prices charged at some other venues. The slight downside was that, compared to some other signings, the Cafe had only its own merchendise to work with, and thus your options for things to buy and get signed were a bit limited (they did, however, have the new red version of the Wings Locker Room hat - classy) - but most people (including me) had their own anyway. And hey, there was always the phone books!

Playing Catch-up

Let's not lie, the summer is, well, (save for a few particular dates) slow in terms of good juicy NHL news. Still, the past few days have brought a bit of interesting news where the Wings are concerned:

• First of all Igor Larionov, who was eligible to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame last year, was elected this year. Larionov helped the Wings win three cups in eight season and gets referred to as the Wayne Gretzky of Russia - making this effectively a no-brainer. "The Professor" gave a quote, when asked about his time with the Wings, that I think really sums up the team, and the team's ideals as a whole - and just why they're as successful as they are:

"To play the style that I was taught to play back in Russia, which was back control, puck-possession and skating, and the creativity that you saw, and more important, to have a coach and an organization that was driving to win the Stanley Cup […] Those eight seasons with the Red Wings, I put in comparison with the eight seasons with the Red Army team and the national team. That was success. That was fun. It was unbelievable support from the fans. It was incredible.”

Congratulations, Igor, and best wishes for the future - it's an honor you completely and totally deserve.

• I didn't make it to the Darren McCarty signing after all, but NPI correspondent Lady did! Here's what she passed along to me:

"McCarty is a super nice relaxed guy. He said that morning he'd been driving all around because his son had a baseball game, but that every day is a good day when you win the cup. I should have paid extra and had him draw a heart around Osgood and write "No one messes with my Ozzie" by it. The Wings are adorable and full of so much amazing bro-love."

She also sent some pictures my way but as they're personal shots that she and her boyfriend are in, I'm disinclined to plaster them all over the internet. Looks like everyone involved was having fun though!

• This is the cutest video I've seen yet of the post-parade celebration at Cheli's - a big chunk of the team singing along to "We are the Champions":

My favorite part is Henrik Zetterberg holding up the mic for Nicklas Lidstrom - the Captain sure has been doing a lot of singing lately, hasn't he?

Finally there are plenty of upcoming events as well - of course the NHL Entry Draft is tomorrow and plenty of our fine blogger friends will be in attendance including Pookie and Schnookie (McCrotch) of Interchangeable Parts, Patty of Penalty Killing, Heather of Top Shelf, and Alix of the Humming Giraffe, so be sure to check out their respective blogs for coverage of the event itself, and stop back here for news of the Wings' draft selections!

D-Mac is back again!

Darren McCarty will be signing autographs at the Taylor Gibraltar Trade Center on Sunday June 15th from 1-3 pm! For those like me who watched him all through this season as he made his way back to the big leagues, this is awesome - except I have Tigers tickets that afternoon for a game that starts at 1 pm, so I'm not sure I'll be able to make it.

I saw Valtteri Filppula and Dan Cleary at Gibraltar last year, although it was at the Mt. Clemens location, and it was a blast. You're ushered through the line fairly quickly, but you get a minute or two to chat (or, in my case, poke fun at Jiri Hudler) with the players. One word of advice though - since this doesn't sound like it's an actual sports card show this time, look for something to get signed (there's a $30 fee per item) in advance, or your only options will likely be a choice between a couple 8x10 glossies - nice quality but not always the picture you might have chosen!

If anyone else happens to make it, be sure to let NPI know all about it (with pictures!)

McCarty Lured me Back.

Last night, some friends and I traversed back up to Grand Rapids to catch the Griffins again, having not had enough of hockey, $1 beer, or Darren McCarty. We were to be disappointed by the final score (4-1 Manitoba, though the Griffins blanked them 1-0 this evening), but certainly not the game itself.

I took longtime friend Nancy to her first hockey game - she cheered for the beer, and for McCarty's fight. (Also note, the scarf I'm wearing was made for me by the wonderful Connie! Thanks so much again!)

The Griffins roster is a little decimated right now as well, considering Kyle Quincey, Jonathan Ericsson, Garrett Stafford, Jimmy Howard, and Mark Hartigan are all playing with the Red Wings right now, but the game was a scrummy, entertaining one.

The single Griffins goal was scored by the newly acquired Francis Lemieux, formerly a Hamilton Bulldog, who's looked excellent in all thre games I've seen him in this season (two with the Griffins; one with the Bulldogs). McCarty looked good again as well - he hasn't regained as much speed as would be nice, but then again he never was the fastest skater on the ice, either. He didn't score, but he did fight (which I hear he repeated this evening as well):



During the pre-game I was standing next to a little girl with a sign that said "Darren, it's my birthday, give me a hug." She didn't get her hug, but McCarty smiled at the sign (it took him a serious excess of time to read it, and he looked perplexed at first - I wonder about his reading comprehension skills) and tossed her a puck. It seems he's been going out of his way to interact with the fans, which is only making his comeback bid more endearing to everyone involved. As of today, the Red Wings have offered him a contract for the remainder of the season

I was hoping to see Cory Schneider in net, but Drew MacIntyre started instead (the announcers tried may times to convince us to cheer "Druuuuuuuuuuu" - at first I thought they were teaching us the "you suck!" goalie jeer, but nope...who knows) instead, and the only other player I recognized was Jason Jaffray. I don't know much about the Moose, but I will say that the moose antlers on the numbers on the backs of their jerseys are one of my favorite design quirks ever.

For more pictures, including lots of McCarty, check out this gallery - here's to hoping the Griffins' 1-0 victory over the Moose will transfer to the Red Wings as they take on the Canucks this evening.

What is this, high school?

Other teams spread their crazy drama across a season. The Red Wings held off until they could dump it all on us at once. Here are some notes from the past week:

Captain Nick Lidstrom will be out 3 weeks after that knee injury.

Worse than we thought, but hopefully manageable. Still, with an injury list currently consisting of a good chunk of the team - and the top three blueliners - these few weeks might be quite a challenge. The Wings have called up (given that Jonathan Ericsson (given that Niklas Kronwall is getting close, but will still not be ready to play on Friday), who I've seen many times in Grand Rapids and have been very impressed with - but he's certainly got some big shoes to fill.

The Sergei Fedorov rumors persist.

Here's an interview with him - from what I read printed he sounded like the same old Fedorov the majority of the city is still bitter at, with his comments about wanting to come back for the success he once had here, but actually watching the interview you almost feel bad for the guy. He's evasive, awkward, and clearly doesn't want to talk about Detroit - or just doesn't have anything to say. His dad, on the other hand, is damn sure of what he wants to happen - and just as hilarious as ever:

"My son is definitely going to leave Columbus, there are no doubts. [...] I don’t see any sense to waste any time there. [...] My personal opinion: it was a big mistake for the Red Wings to part ways with Sergei. Since then the club hasn’t proven anything to anyone, and didn’t win anything."

Oh, Viktor... (I also got a laugh out of "obviously tired Datsyuk" and the suggestion of Fedorov replacing him on the top line.)

Seeing what Fedorov used to be able to do, it's sort of sad to think about him fading out at the end of his career, wasting away on a team he's clearly not able to help - but at the same time do I want him back? Not really. Even if he were what he used to be, it would be hard for him to feel very welcome around these parts.

Former Griffins captain Matt Ellis was picked up off waivers by the Los Angeles Kings.

A really unfortunate loss, in some ways, as Ellis was well-liked among teammates and fans alike, and no slouch, either. He had a great work ethic and did manage to contribute some this year, but the team decided he wasn't fitting in to their plans:

“He was in a situation where I wasn’t using him,” coach Mike Babcock said. “He’ll go to LA and try to win a job there. If he’s a fit for them then that’s all the power to him. The bottom line is that he just wasn’t fitting in on a regular basis and getting into the lineup.”

Hopefully this will be a good experience for Ellis, and he'll succeed out in LA. We wish you luck, Matty - Connie (who weirdly enough just sent me a text informing me that she saw the news), Kms2, you guys had best take good care of him.

Darren McCarty is probably coming back.

He'll have the feel good story of the year clinched if he manages to make it all the way back to the big leagues - and I hope he does. I was skeptical at the beginning, but after seeing his performance in Grand Rapids I would welcome him back so long as it continues when he lands back with the Red Wings. The fanbase will love it, and he really does look like he can be an asset - a sentiment Mike Babcock agrees with:

“We’re going to sign him,” Babcock said. “What we’re going to do is give him the opportunity to continue to get in shape in Grand Rapids.

Personally, I wish he still had the facial hair he did in that photograph.

Crazy enough week yet? I can only assume it's not over yet, with the trade deadline looming ever closer.

Macnificent!

I am starting to think the Red Wings may have decided it's not any fun to lead the league by a billion points and have started throwing games to create more of a competition. Fortunately, I don't even care, because:

DARREN McCARTY IS AWESOME.

A big group of friends and I ventured out to Grand Rapids last night to catch his home debut with the Grand Rapids Griffins just because we thought it would be awesome to see him - and to drink $1 Labatt's.

As it turns out, we were in for a surprise. The 35 year old trying to break back into the NHL decided to put on a show, scoring 5:53 into the first period, 2:17 into the second and 2:45 into the third for a hat trick that had the arena louder that I've ever heard it. Along with hats, a whole lot of $1 hot dogs made their way onto the ice, as did, at one point, a shoe. McCarty seemed extremely fit and conditioned, looked good all night long, and was obviously a huge factor in the game. Aside from the hat trick, he also added an assist, to record his first career four point night, and was named the first star of the game. The Griffins as a whole had a spectacular evening, in particular Adam Berkhoel in net and Jamie Tardif with a great first period fight, and they went on to win 6-3 over the Lake Erie Monsters.

I was sad not to see goalie Jimmy Howard or defenseman Kyle Quincey as they're both up with the Wings right now, but the game was absolutely amazing to be at - the team's been making a few moves lately and it was nice to see the new guys, the 10,062 people in the crowd reacted to the game at an NHL-caliber level, and McCarty added a level of excitement that will hopefully only escalate throughout his stay (although expecting him to top yesterday's performance might be asking a lot). Maybe the Wings could use him sooner than they thought.

For more pictures, including just about a billion of McCarty, this link should work.

(PS speaking of former Wings....really, Fedorov? Really?)

Back in Red....dish. (Maybe. Sort of.)

Remember the days of this photo? It might be reality again before too much longer.

Early in the month, former Red Wing Darren McCarty, who last played in the NHL for the Calgary Flames during the 05/06 season, announced his intentions to try to make a comeback, signing with the Flint Generals and playing ten games with them (during which he compiled 3 goals, 2 assists, 30 penalty minutes, 30 shots on goal, was in 2 fights and ended up with a -2 +/-).

I kept meaning to make it to one of the Generals' games against the local Kalamazoo Wings, but life got in the way. He played his last game as a General this past weekend - a game during which he laid down a beating on K-Wings forward Travis Granbois reminiscent of the McCarty of old, and even got himself ejected. About this incident, McCarty says:

"He was chirping me a little bit earlier, trying to get under my skin. There's still a little bit of loony toons inside. I was a bit ornery tonight. He two-handed me. I'm not going to take that. I don't care how big you are. That's not part of the game.

"Maybe I was a little bit aggressive, but I've still got that in me."

Fortunately for me, my chances to see McCarty haven't yet come to an end - this afternoon he signed a 25 pro-game tryout with the Grand Rapids Griffins. McCarty is free to sign with any NHL team during the tryout, but he must do it by February 26th, the trade deadline. As to whether or not he'll make it back to the big show, Ken Holland has the following to say:

"Now we'll make a determination if that's as far as he goes or if he has another level in him. [He has to show] that his speed is up to the pace of the game, and passion and focus."

I don't know how good his chances are, or how he might fit into the Wings roster and help the team out down the home stretch, but regardless of whether or not he does make it, I think this is smart move - the Griffins have struggled lately and could use the veteran presence of McCarty in their locker room (something the Generals commented on as being useful during his brief stint with them) and it looks as though so far he's been able to make a substantial enough contribution to the team around him. Whether or not it's enough to reclaim the role he once had remains to be seen - but I'm still excited to see!

Your first chance to see him, Detroit fans? February 15th against (fittingly) Colorado's affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. I'll be there!

(As for the Wings, they're up against Ilya Bryzgalov and the Phoenix Coyotes tomorrow evening and - happily - Henrik Zetterberg should be back in the lineup. Hope you're ready, Tracy!)