Examining Detroit as a destination for NHL players

 

By Dave Waddell –

With the frenzy of activity usually associated with the NHL trade deadline, it was interesting to read the ESPN article listing the cities players most commonly have included in their contracts as destinations they refuse to go to.

Craig Custance, a native Michigander and MSU graduate, polled 10 player agents to find out what cities their clients most commonly requested to be on the list of no-trade destinations in their contracts.

Topping the list of unloved cities was Edmonton. The Alberta capital was followed by Winnipeg and Buffalo, while Toronto and Ottawa were deadlocked at the bottom of the unloved five.

While much of the list is predictable, it was a real blow to the ego of Torontonians to see the center of the hockey universe rejected. Worse, how could the fourth largest city in North America be on the list while a bankrupted, crumbling Detroit be viewed as a more desirable destination for NHLers?

For Wings players past and present, it really isn’t a surprise.

“I think the area is really is really underrated as a community,” said former Wings’ defenseman Larry Murphy.

“Players came here because of the chance to win and the Wings were willing to spend. I think the more telling thing is how many players stay in the area after they retire.”

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Murphy, a Toronto native, is just an example, as is Chicagoan Chris Chelios.

Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Chris Osgood and Darren McCarty are more recent examples of retired players settling in Detroit.

Older examples include Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Alex Delvecchio.

Aside from the natural draws of having a chance to win, Wings’ players have lauded the quality of life they’re able to enjoy in the area.

Unlike in Canadian cities, where players seemingly can never escape the suffocating passion of their fans and media, Wings’ players have admitted they seem to have found a city with the right balance of passion and privacy.

“Players like Detroit because its an Original Six franchise with a lot of history and a passionate fan base, but you can get away from the game,” said former Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart, who left the Wings because of family child-custody issues that prevented his family from moving to Detroit from California.

One only has to look at the fact that not many significant free agents, unless they’re already playing in Canada, sign with clubs north of the border.

Certainly, the NHL’s richest club (Toronto) could afford to outbid any team for any talent they wanted. Yet the team, through a combination of lack of success and a fish bowl environment, has struggled to draw talent without connections to the Toronto area.

When asked if they felt media and fan interest had gotten so passionate in cities like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal that some players avoided playing in Canada, Wings’ players agreed that was the case in many instances.

“I think the media has a role to play in keeping players accountable,” Stuart said.

“I knew in Detroit if I played bad the night before I’d read about it the papers the next day.  However, you have to have a balance.”

Henrik Zetterberg agrees Detroit offers players such a balance.

“It’s nice here because we can have a life away from the rink,” Zetterberg said.

Zetterberg, whose wife Emma Andersson is a celebrity in her own right back home in Sweden, said Detroit is an oasis of calm from the rock star status they have in Sweden.

However, times have changed for the Wings and they’re no longer at the top of the list of preferred destinations, even though they’re not on the list of the NHL’s pariahs.

With unlimited money no longer a built-in edge, players are looking at different things in assessing where they’ll go.

“Since the beginning of the salary era, players have been basing their decisions on other factors because each team has the same amount of money to spend,” Wings’ general manager Ken Holland said.

“The chance to win is still a huge factor, but things like geography, climate, the city and lifestyle have become more important.”

Another factor Holland said has become more important in team choice is the desire of a player’s spouse.

The Wings experienced exactly that a couple of summers ago when defenseman Ryan Suter chose Minnesota, where his wife had family.

The Wings got another taste of rejection last offseason when they struck out in their hunt for a right-handed shooting defenseman. In some cases, players never even got back to Holland to explore Detroit’s interest because they felt the Wings were no longer a contender.

“That was a shock for us,” admitted senior executive vice president Jimmy Devellano. “That had never happened to us before.”

However, the Wings aren’t expecting a replay of that this summer when it comes to pursuing free agents or making trades.

After two seasons of struggling of barely getting in the playoffs, the Wings are once again viewed as a rising team around the league with plenty of young players in the pipeline.

A new arena will open in 2017, the city of Detroit is picking itself off the matt and the team has plenty of cap space.

The Wings are hoping it all combines to re-establish the team’s place high in the NHL’s hierarchy of preferred destinations.

This article originally appeared in the March 2, 2015 edition of MiHockeyMag.