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Red Wings clean out lockers, reflect on season and future

MiHockey Staff
Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey
Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey

 

By @StefanKubus –

DETROIT – The Red Wings took Monday to clear out their lockers for the season at Joe Louis Arena on Monday afternoon earlier than the team had hoped.

Waterford native Dylan Larkin said it was an awe-inspiring moment to play in the playoffs, but quickly realized how difficult it is to have success in those games.

“It was an early exit, it’s tough especially first playoffs, first season, you’re excited about the playoffs,” Larkin said. “You’re happy just to get there and you don’t realize it as a rookie that it’s hard, it’s not easy playing in those games. You’ve gotta win four to move on and we didn’t do that, so it is a little bit disappointing and a little bit sad that the season came to an end.

“I just think the intensity, the emotion that goes in during those games is unbelievable,” Larkin said of the difference between playoff games and regular-season games.

Veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall said it was unusual and baffling to see the team under-perform as much as it did.

“Usually you have some guys with down years and others picking up the slack so-to-speak, but for whatever reason there were a lot of us that just weren’t up to par where we needed to be,” Kronwall said. “Why that is, it’ll take some time to analyze that.”

On a personal note, Kronwall added that having his knee scoped during the season should hopefully set him up for a strong off-season and regular season next year.

“I sure hope so, but I think it’s too early to say, but glad we had it done. We know what’s going on and let’s find a way to solve it and move along.”

Jimmy Howard started Games 1 and 2 against Tampa Bay before Petr Mrazek took over the rest of the way, admitting his game wasn’t where it needed to be.

“In playoffs, you’ve got to find ways to make more saves than the guy at the other end and I wasn’t able to do that,” Howard said.

Howard added that he would be OK if he were traded away, stating that he would be disappointed considering he has spent his entire career in Detroit, but that trades are part of the business.

Veteran forward Brad Richards said after having been to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past two seasons, you realize how spoiled you were when you get knocked out of the first round. He said he needs time off before deciding what his future holds. But seeing close friends Martin St. Louis and now Vincent Lecavalier retire from the game, Richards, who turns 36 on May 2, said that made him realize the inevitability that he’s aging.

“I’m gonna go get away, relax for a bit. Three teams in three years, a lot of hockey, so I think mentally I just need to go recharge the batteries. “He’s a close friend, Marty last year, guys I started my career with are retiring and it’s probably gonna creep into my mind in the next month a little bit, too, in what I want to do. I’m not there yet where I want to say I’m retiring, but I need to get away and see how I feel mentally and where I’m at. But it’s a young man’s game now. It’s hard to start a family, all that stuff and put in the time and effort it takes to stay in shape against some of these young guys. You do have to make sure you’re 100-percent all-in mentally. The off-season is so big at this age.”

Richards added that the season was ultimately a disappointment, but that he enjoyed his time in the Motor City.

“It’s an honor to play for this organization, it’s one of the Original Six great traditions… As far as playing for the Wings, wearing the jersey, all that stuff has been an honor, but obviously the season didn’t go the way I wanted to or the team wanted to.”

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said his team is not in a rebuild, and that he’s hoping that some of the young talent will emerge as elite NHL players.

“In the last couple years, we traded second-round picks, and we’ve gone to draft not having a lot of draft picks,” Holland said. “You need stars. My feeling is, we’ve got some really good young players. Some are on the team here – Dylan Larkin, Petr Mrazek, those two probably come to mind, they’re 19 and 23 years of age. I don’t know where they’re going with their careers, but they’re young players and they are important to this franchise, as are some other players. We have to draft, we have to develop. I’m not in a rebuild. As I look around the NHL, there are teams last night playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs that haven’t won a playoff series in 20 or 23 years. It’s a hard league.”

Head coach Jeff Blashill echoed Holland’s thoughts, saying with aging veterans, the talent needs to step up.

“Ultimately, let’s just look up front, some of our young guys have to become that elite, go-to player that Pav and Z have been here for a long, long time,” Blashill said. “That means you have to put the team on your shoulders every night. That means you have to produce while still playing great defense, that means that the other team is gunning for you, that means you’re seeing the best opponents have every night and it’s extremely hard to do. We’ve talked about that within this organization for a few years and that’s going to have to continue. Who is that gonna be? I can’t answer that.”