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SOCHI, Russia -- The Detroit Red Wings dont expect Henrik Zetterberg to play again during the regular season. Nike Air Max 90 Femme Pas Cher . Zetterberg had back surgery Friday in New York to remove a fragmented disk. "I dont anticipate hell be ready to play in any games of the regular season," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland told The Associated Press on Saturday. "Im hopeful that we can play our way into the playoffs and that hell be back, but thats down the road." The Red Wings and Swedish Olympic hockey team captain played once at the Sochi Games before pulling out because of the injury. Holland is hopeful Zetterbergs back injury does not prematurely end his career. "Im told it has nothing to do with his career," Holland said. "But the surgery is something that needed to be done and hell be as good as new." Detroit, which is aiming to earn a spot in a 23rd consecutive NHL post-season, is competing for one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The team announced Friday that Zetterbergs status would be evaluated again in eight weeks, a timetable that likely ruled him out for a return before the regular season ends on April 13. The playoffs begin April 16. "Were using the eight-week period, but it could be six or seven or it could be longer," Holland said. "In December, when Z was having some issues and we shut him down, we were aware there was a fragment in there. We were hopeful he could get through the season. "Unfortunately, the fragment lodged itself in a nerve." Zetterberg is expected to stay in New York until he is cleared to return to Detroit in perhaps a few days. "Hes up and about, hes walking," Holland said. "He just has to take it easy for a while." With 24 games left, it will be hard for Red Wings to compete for a spot in the playoffs without Zetterberg. He has 16 goals and 32 assists -- both team highs -- in 45 games this season. He missed most of December because of his back injury. "Its going to be a tight race just like last year to end and we need all the bodies we can get," said Red Wings and Sweden defenceman Jonathan Ericsson, who will face Canada in the Olympic gold-medal game on Sunday in Russia. "Hank has been our best player all year." Nike Air Max 2013 Pas Cher . Agent Mike McCartney confirmed via Twitter on Sunday that Mendenhall had decided to end his playing career after six NFL seasons, all but one of them with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nike Free 5.0 v4 Femme .Y. - Henrik Lundqvist wasnt happy going into Game 6 against Montreal. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When Todd Richards took over the woeful Columbus Blue Jackets in January after the firing of coach Scott Arniel, he was also interviewing for the job. "Todd had a three-month interview," Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson said. "He passed it with flying colours." The Blue Jackets announced Monday that they were removing the word "interim" from Richards job title and had offered him a two-year contract to continue what he started in an upbeat second half of the 2011-12 season. Richards led Columbus for the final 41 games after being elevated from assistant coach, going 18-21-2. He had hesitated when the interim job was first offered to him. "It did seem at that stage an overwhelming task," he said. But after the Blue Jackets turned things around a bit, he is now enthused and optimistic about the franchises future. Columbus still finished with the NHLs worst record at 29-46-7. "I dont think there was a lot of trust built up in our players from one to another," he said of the awful 11-25-5 record under Arniel. "We started to build up that trust. We started to play more as a group, started to play more as a team. Thats why Im excited. Despite losing guys to trade or injuries -- we had kind of a makeshift group -- we had some young guys and a lot of guys up from the American (Hockey) League and we were finding ways to compete and win games." Richards went 77-71-16 in two seasons in Minnesota before being fired last year. He then joined Columbus as an assistant. The Blue Jackets played their best hockey at the end of the season, going 16-14-1 in their final 31 games, with wins in seven of their last 11. The club was just 9-6-2 with a lead after two periods under Arniel but was 14-0-0 when ahead going into the third period under Richards. Howson and senior adviser of hockey operations Craig Patrick spoke directly or indirectly with about 10 people interested in the job affter the season. Basket Nike Air Max 95 Pas Cher. "We looked at available head-coaching candidates and those we thought might become available, and we kept coming back to Todd as the right person to lead our team," Howson said. "He took over our team under very difficult circumstances and then we kept losing players, either through injury or by trade -- and our team kept getting better." Patrick said Richards held up under intense scrutiny. "Todd has developed into an excellent NHL coach," he said. "I watched him closely on the bench, in practice, on the ice, off the ice, on the road, in the locker room and with his staff and I was very, very impressed with the way he handled all aspects of that." Richards served as an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks in 2008-09, helping the club capture the Presidents Trophy with an NHL-best 53-18-11 record. He faces a daunting task with a team that could be facing a transitional period. Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash has requested a trade and the club will try to meet that demand. Howson declined to discuss whether he was still shopping Nash. "We are going to do everything we can to improve our team. Thats our goal in the off-season," he said. "Im not going to comment on specific players or speculation but were going to move every possible stone to try to get better next year." Forward R.J. Umberger said the retention of Richards adds a significant bit of continuity to a franchise that is badly in need of it. "Its good that we are going into training camp with a sense of knowing what to expect and him knowing what to expect out of us. Its not a new coach, where wed have to start fresh," he said. "Were ahead of the game from where we would have been if a new coach came in. The only thing positive out of last season is we kind of got that out of the way last year and now were ready to roll with Todd as our building block." wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
