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Detroit Red Wings’ New Division Foes: Tampa Bay Lightning

June 19th, 2013 at 9:11 PM
By Frank Vajcner

As the NHL season winds down, we will start looking ahead to next season for the Detroit Red Wings.

Starting today, we will take a look at their new division, which they will officially be in after the Stanley Cup Finals are over.

Up first, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

2013 Record: 18-26-4

Home Arena: Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa, Florida

Playoff Appearances: Six

Most Recent: 2011 (lost to Boston Bruins in seven games in Eastern Conference Finals)

Division Titles: Two (2002-03, 2003-04 Southeast Division)

Conference Titles: One (2003-04)

Stanley Cups: One (2003-04)

PERSONNEL

General Manager: Steve Yzerman

Head Coach: Jon Cooper (replaced Guy Boucher on March 25, 2013)

Notable Players (as of June 19. 2013): C Steven Stamkos ("A"), RW Martin St. Louis ("A"), RW Teddy Purcell, C Vincent Lecavalier ("C"), D Victor Hedman, D Matt Carle, D Sami Salo, G Ben Bishop

AHL Affiliate: Syaracuse Crunch

Notable Prospects: C Tyler Johnson, LW Ondrej Palat, RW Brett Connolly, RW Richard Panik, G Cedrick Desjardins, D Slater Koekkoek (junior)

HISTORY WITH RED WINGS

Overall Series: Red Wings lead 25-5-2. The Wings haven't lost to the Lightning since January 2003.

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Top Ten Detroit Red Wings Moments from 2012-13 Season. No. 3

June 19th, 2013 at 6:51 PM
By Frank Vajcner

We're down to the last three moments from this past season.

As we mentioned numerous times before, the Red Wings got a lot of contributions from their younger players.

But none was bigger than this next moment.

No. 3: Gustav Nyquist scores overtime winner

Date: May 2, 2013

Opponent: Anaheim Ducks

What Happened: The Red Wings were cruising along in Game 2 of their playoff series with the Ducks, as they had built a 4-1 lead 20 seconds into the third period after Johan Franzen scored his second goal of the game.

But the Ducks came storming back to tie the game with 2:44 left in regulation after Bobby Ryan scored. However, Sheldon Souray took a penalty with less than a minute left to give the Wings a power play that carried over into overtime.

During the power play in OT, Gustav Nyquist fired a shot that went wide of Ducks' netminder Jonas Hiller. Daniel Cleary won the battle for the puck in the corner, and dished to Valtteri Filppula.

Filppula then performed a sick toe-drag against Corey Perry before backhanding the puck to Nyquist, who then whipped the puck past Hiller at 1:21 to give the Red Wings a 5-4 victory.

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New Detroit Red Wings Arena Gets Approval from Detroit DDA

June 19th, 2013 at 6:23 PM
By Frank Vajcner

The Detroit Red Wings are getting closer to a new arena.

The City of Detroit's Downtown Development Authority has approved a $650 million plan for a new multi-purpose arena to be built near Interstate 75 and Woodward Avenue.

The DDA would own the arena, while the Ilitch family's Olympia Entertainment will operate and maintain the new arena. Mike and Marian Ilitch are the owners of the Red Wings.

The new arena, which does not have a name, is expected to be open around 2016. It is expected to seat around 18,000 people for hockey games.

No decision has been made on what will happen with Joe Louis Arena, the current home of the Red Wings. They have played at the Joe since 1979.

The Red Wings aren't the only team moving to a new building. The New York Islanders will move from Nassau Colliseum to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in 2015, while the Edmonton Oilers are expected to move from Rexall Place into a new arena in 2016.

Madison Square Gardens, home of the New York Rangers, and Scotiabank Saddledome, home of the Calgary Flames, are the only other arenas that have been in use prior to 1990.

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Detroit Red Wings Farm Report: Grand Rapids Griffins are Calder Cup Champions

June 19th, 2013 at 5:36 PM
By Frank Vajcner

The future looks bright for the Detroit Red Wings.

Their AHL affifliate, the Grand Rapids Griffin, won the AHL's Calder Cup after defeating the Syracuse Crunch 5-2 last night.

Tomas Tatar scored two goals in the game to give him 16 for the AHL playoffs, which earned him the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the playoff MVP.

The Griffins also got goals from Mitch Callahan, Joakim Andersson, and Brennan Evans, who scored the series clinching goal at 9:54 of the third period.

Petr Mrazek stopped 24 of 26 shots to win his 15th postseason game.

It was the first championship for the Griffins in franchise history. They also became the first Red Wings affiliate to win a championship since 1992 when the Adirondack Red Wings won the Calder Cup.

The Griffins also won their first championship under first year head coach Jeff Blashill.

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Pavel Datsyuk Signs Three Year Extension with Detroit Red Wings

June 19th, 2013 at 4:55 PM
By Frank Vajcner

The Magician will be showcasing his magic in Hockeytown for three more years.

Pavel Datsyuk has signed a three-year, $22.5 million contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings (via The Detroit Free Press). The deal keeps him in Detroit through the end of the 2016-17 season.

"We're thrilled," Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland said. "We think Pav is one of the best two-way forwards in the world. To know he is committed to us for four more years is a tremendous relief."

"This gives us peace of mind."

While Datsyuk did not make himself available to the media, he tweeted about the signing yesterday.

There was a lot of speculation that Datsyuk might head back to Russia to play in the KHL after the 2013-14 season, and to be closer to his daughter, Elizabeth.

In addition to Datsyuk, the Wings have Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, and Jimmy Howard all under contract through at least 2017.

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