Red Wings Slumping, Looking for Answers

It’s very early in the season, but it’s clear the Detroit Red Wings are struggling. In a five-game winless streak the Wings have looked listless, slow and disorganized at times, with an anemic power play. They’re sitting in 12th place in the West, with a 5-4-1 record.

And the Red Wings power play, led by perennial All-Stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, is slogging along at a 14.3 percent clip , which ranks 21st in the league.

Coach Mike Babcock is understandably not pleased and quite concerned. He’s put them through intense practices to sharpen things up, and has even moved Datsyuk and Zetterberg to different lines. Datsyuk is at a minus-5, with Zetterberg at a minus-4 so far.

“They’re not going to be together,” "Babcock told the Detroit News. “I just played Pav and Z together nine straight games. Through that time, we haven’t done enough, so I’m not playing them together.

“We need more people going. Maybe they can help them get going. They have to help themselves as well. We have to change some things up and see if we can’t do a better job.”

Former player and current television analyst Jeremy Roenick also is wondering out loud what’s wrong with the Wings.

“…Now it just seems that the Red Wings’ puck movement is off and their positioning is off,” Roenick writes in his blog on NHL.com. “I think coach Mike Babcock needs to sit the team down and really go over their systems, go over what has made the Detroit Red Wings so good for so long, and get back to the basics with the team, because when things start going downhill, it’s very difficult to turn them around both mentally and physically.

“Even in saying all that, people need to understand that I still think the Red Wings will have a good season, that they will make the playoffs. This is a dynasty team that can still do it, but they need to nip this in the bud right now….”

Wings Off to Fast, if Quiet Start

It’s time to introduce the Detroit Red Wings.

Remember them?

They’ve been Detroit’s forgotten team, lost in the giddiness of the Tigers playing in the American League Championship Series and the Lions cruising to a 5-1 start.

But the Red Wings, very quietly, have been on a torrid streak of their own, starting the N.H.L. season 4-0. One of the keys to the Wings’ fast start is the play of newcomer defenseman Ian White, who is plus-4 with a pair of goals and an assist.

White signed with the Wings for two years and $5.75 million in the offseason and was expected to fill the void left by the retirement of Brian Rafalski. White has played for the Maple Leafs, Sharks, Flames and Hurricanes since entering the N.H.L. in 2005.

White told the Detroit News he’s feeling good with the Wings so far, a team that plays his style of hockey.

“They pride themselves on hanging on to the puck and making plays,” White said. “They don’t have a whole lot of that dump and chase and have good puck possession. I feel that works good for me.”

White has been paired with team captain Nicklas Lidstrom and they seem to have found chemistry quickly.

“It’s been special, obviously he’s one of the best of all-time,” White told the Detroit News. “To get an opportunity to play with him, alongside him, and just watch the way he plays out there is amazing.”

The Wings have also gotten fast starts from Jiri Hudler, Jakub Kindl, Johan Franzen, Valterri Filppula. Hudler and Franzen are a plus-4, with two goals and two assists each. Filppula has a goal and two assists.

Kindl, a defenseman, has become a bigger part of the Wings lineup and is a plus-6.

Another strength, so far, for the Wings has been the steady goaltending of Jimmy Howard. He’s put up a 1.63 goals against average, good for fifth in the N.H.L.

Jagr Eyes N.H.L. Return

Jaromir Jagr’s exit from the N.H.L. was strange and largely unexplained when he left the Rangers in 2008 and signed a contract with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Kontinental Hockey League. But now it seems that was not his final exit after all.

The 39-year-old Jagr, following a strong season for Omsk, confirmed to ESPN.com that he is exploring a return and has spoken with Detroit and Montreal.

“First we’d have to see if it can happen,” Jagr told ESPN.com. “But if it happened, it would be very exciting. It also would be a nice challenge. There would be some people who think I’m not good enough.”

Jagr’s agent, former N.H.L. player Petr Svoboda said he has talked to several teams, including Detroit.

“There’s quite a few teams that have interest,” Svoboda said. “Jaromir feels he’s N.H.L.-ready again. I believe this might happen.”

Detroit General Manager Ken Holland confirmed the Wings’ interest. Detroit has the benefit of salary cap room after the retirement of defenseman Brian Rafalski and might have more if 41-year-old defenseman Niklas Lidstrom also retires. His decision is expected within a week so the Wings can make prepare for the July 1 opening of the free agent signing period.

Jagr is not currently under contract with Omsk and talk about his possible return to North American peaked during the world championships, where Jagr led the Czech Republic to the semifinals. He scored three goals in a game against the United States.

His departure from New York was one of the stranger twists in his career, which included stints with the Penguins and Capitals. Rangers General Manager Glen Sather insisted talks with Jagr never even got as far as money. Jagr seemed to be seeking some other kind of assurances he did not receive.

Jagr has played 17 seasons in the N.H.L., has scored 646 goals, 1,599 points. He is ninth on the league’s all-time points list and is 12th in goals scored.

Lidstrom Chooses One More Year With Wings

The Detroit Red Wings have received the news they were hoping for, that their captain and All-Star defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom will be returning for a 20th season.

Lidstrom, 41, followed the same post-season period of evaluation as has become custom the past few years. He took time to talk with his family, to ponder if it’s time to retire and move back to Sweden, to examine his desire to play and the state of his health.

The answers to all questions keep coming back in the Red Wings’ favor, so Lidstrom is back for another year. Lidstrom and the Wings announced Monday he will be signing a one-year contract, worth $6.2 million. It’s the same amount that he played for last season.

“At this stage in my career, I have to be motivated,” Lidstrom said, during a Monday teleconference with the media. “I have to be having fun. That’s why I am taking it year by year, to be sure I am motivated, and that I am playing at a high level.

“You have to be ready for a long season, and to be ready to play well, too.”

Lidstrom has been the Red Wings’ defensive anchor for two decades, his legacy cemented by four Stanley Cups, six Norris trophies as the N.H.L.’s best defenseman and 11 All-Star Game appearances. He’s a candidate for this year’s Norris trophy, which will be awarded on June 22 in a ceremony in Las Vegas. Zdeno Chara of the Bruins and Shea Weber of the Predators are the other finalists.

Lidstrom, nicknamed “The Perfect Human” by his Red Wings teammates because of his work ethic, gentlemanly demeanor and commitment to keeping his body in prime playing condition, is arguably the team’s core. His level of play has remained high and dependable. This was the first season in which Lidstrom finished with a negative plus-minus, at minus-2.

Lidstrom has been keeping busy while making his decision, doing things such as paddle surfing on the Detroit River with pals Chris Chelios and Kid Rock.

The Red Wings have remained in perennial contention for the Stanley Cup, and Lidstrom said he needed to know that the team would remain committed to winning. So he discussed the team’s future with General Manager Ken Holland before he made his decision.

“I did have those questions for Kenny,” Lidstrom said. I’ve never had any doubt in my mind that Kenny is trying to do everything he can to put a good product on the ice, and Mr. and Mrs. Ilitch, as well.”

Lidstrom said the retirement of his defensive partner, Brian Rafalski, came as a surprise. It also made Lidstrom’s return even more important to the team.

“Obviously, if we had lost both, it probably would have been devastating,” Holland said on the teleconference. “I just can’t imagine the Red Wings without Nick Lidstrom. “I always say that the day he announces his retirement, I will be in an adjacent room, announcing mine.”