Tomas Holmstrom’s unlikely journey to 1,000 games

By Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo Sports

Of all the hilarious Tomas Holmstrom stories, the most famous is the one about his number.

In March 1998, late in his second season with the Detroit Red Wings, Holmstrom gave up No. 15 to newly acquired veteran Dmitri Mironov. He switched to No. 96 to honor the year he arrived in the NHL, but coach Scotty Bowman suggested something else.

The details have gotten hazy, and they depend on who you talk to. But the conversation went something like this:

“You should wear 98,” Bowman said.

“What do you mean?” Holmstrom said. “Why?”

“Because that’s the year you’ll be going home.”

You can read the rest of the article here: Tomas Holmstrom’s unlikely journey to 1,000 games

Howe Has Dementia, Of Course Is Fighting Back

By Chris of NightmareOnHelmStreet.com


Mr. Hockey has dementia.

Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe is battling the disease that killed his wife Colleen three years ago, according to a Canadian Press story.

"He's a little bit worse than last year, but pretty close to about the same," son Marty said. "He just loses a little bit more, grasping for words.   "The worst part of this disease is there's nothing you can do about it."

The good news is that it could be much worse.  Hit the jump to hear how he's fighting back:  

"He has what we call mild cognitive impairment," Murray said. "His brain power is not what it used to be. In terms of the prognosis and diagnosis, it's still wide open. He doesn't fall into what I would say is any particular category. He really doesn't seem to fall into the Alzheimer's dementia category because his disease is pretty stable."

You can read the rest of the article here: Howe Has Dementia, Of Course Is Fighting Back

What Has 40 Thumbs and Sucks? Red Wings Lose

The Detroit Red Wings hosted the Calgary Flames tonight hoping to snap their 5 game losing streak.

Poor performance against Columbus earns Red Wings a practice day

By Chuck Pleiness of The Oakland Press

Wings coach Mike Babcock was set to give his team the day off Wednesday, but after their performance on the ice Tuesday in Columbus he changed his mind.

Red Wings going stir crazy amid sparse schedule

The Red Wings have close to a week between games, so what do they do to handle the free time?

Helene St. Janmes of the Detroit Free Press takes a look what they will do with their free time.

Color Ian White happy

By Chuck Pleiness of dailytribune.com:

Defenseman Ian White has turned into quite a bargain for the Detroit Red Wings.

The offseason replacement for Brian Rafalski, White is tied for the team lead in goals (two) and tied for second on the team with three points through four games.

“It’s been pretty much what I expected,” White said. “It’s a lot more fun once you get going and see these guys in action, how good our team is. It’s a lot of fun to be around.

Color Ian White happy

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Red Wings' Mike Commodore finally practices but still has a ways to go

From Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press:

Defenseman Mike Commodore isn’t frustrated about the injured knee that’s keeping him out of the Detroit Red Wings' lineup.

“There’s nothing I can do about it,” he said. “Obviously, I wish I was playing, but I just have to be patient.”

Today, the first-year Wing took another step toward getting into the lineup by practicing for the first time in the regular season.

Commodore said he felt “not bad. Not great but not bad.

You can read the rest of the story here: Red Wings' Mike Commodore finally practices but still has a ways to go

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