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Goalies Manny Legace, left, and Chris Osgood chat on the ice during an informal Wings practice at Joe Louis Arena.Wings ready post-Datsyuk
They believe team's depth will be the saving grace
Former Red Wing Darren McCarty, front, laughs with Tomas Holmstrom. McCarty will play with Calgary this season.
Lost cause?
Should the Red Wings wait to see if Pavel Datsyuk can be lured away from his Russian team, or use the money to sign someone else now?
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DETROIT -- There is no Pavel Datsyuk, but that doesn't lower the Red Wings' expectations.
The Wings found out Tuesday that Datsyuk will stay in Russia for the rest of the season. Agent Gary Greenstin told Wings general manager Ken Holland that the one-year contract Datsyuk signed with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Superleague has a no-out clause.
"That's the assumption we're operating under," Holland said of Datsyuk's staying in Russia. "We're certainly going to look at all of our options, but we're under the assumption Pavel will not play with us this season."
Numerous Wings began informal workouts Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena and, to a man, seemed somewhat stunned by Datsyuk's signing.
Not having Datsyuk, one of the promising young talents in the game, will make the Wings' task tougher this season.
But they said there is enough remaining talent for the team to be a Stanley Cup contender.
"He's a great young player and he played a big role for us," captain Steve Yzerman said. "... But we'll do what we can. We still should have a pretty strong lineup."
Defenseman Mathieu Schneider agrees.
"There's still a lot of depth on this team," he said. "Many people tend to forget we have Robert Lang. He was injured soon after he came here and played with a broken hand in the playoffs. Kris Draper had a big year for us and increased his confidence offensively. People like Nicklas Lidstrom, the depth we have on defense, the goaltending. We still have a very formidable team."
Given the difficulty in negotiations between Datsyuk and the Wings this summer, many players said they believed there was a chance that Datsyuk would miss part of training camp or maybe even part of the season.
But his decision to remain in Russia was a surprise to them.
"You never know in these things," defenseman Jiri Fischer said. "You never know what a person is thinking. It's a very individual situation.
"For Pavel, this is an opportunity to stay near his home, play close to home, play in his home country. You can't argue with that."
Datsyuk could be the first of several players to remain in Europe rather than return to the NHL before training camps open next week.
With the new $39 million salary cap in the NHL, many European players could earn more at home, particularly in the Russian Superleague. Atlanta's young star, forward Ilya Kovalchuk, reportedly is close to a deal in Russia.
"It's a different way of life there, I can tell you that right now from playing there (during the lockout)," goalie Manny Legace said. "But if you're from there, it's your home, it's something a player has to decide for himself and his family.
"Not having Pavel leaves a big hole on this team, but we have a lot of guys who can fill that hole."
Said defenseman Chris Chelios: "We knew that with the salary cap, we'd be one of the teams that would be most affected.
"Time will tell, but we have some new faces and there are still some pretty good players around here."
Zetterberg update
Talks with restricted free-agent forward Henrik Zetterberg continued Tuesday. Holland and agent Marc Levine resumed negotiations after tabling talks for the holiday weekend.
The sides might have found common ground last week.
The Wings likely are offering Zetterberg a multiyear deal worth $2.5 million to $3 million per season. Zetterberg is considering playing with Timra of the Swedish Elite League if negotiations with the Wings stall.
Ice chips
A limited number of tickets for exhibition games at Joe Louis Arena were scheduled to go on sale at 10 this morning at the box office, Hockeytown Authentics stores and all TicketMaster outlets. Tickets are $44 and $22, and standing-room tickets are $27.
... Tuesday's informal conditioning workout attracted numerous Wings.
Normally, workouts would be at a suburban rink. But with the ice ready downtown, the Wings decided to stay put.
... Forward Tomas Holmstrom played in Sweden during the lockout but would have preferred to be in the NHL.
"I haven't played at home in about eight years, so it was good to get a chance to play in front of family and friends," he said. "But I missed it (the NHL)."
...The Wings' prospects team in Traverse City plays its first game, against the Minnesota Wild prospects, at 7:30 tonight.
You can reach Ted Kulfan at (313) 223-4606 or ted.kulfan@detnews.com.
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