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September 13, 2005
Wings back in TC after 1-year absenceByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - The preliminaries are out of the way. It's time to officially get back to work today for the Detroit Red Wings, who open five days of training camp at Centre ICE in Traverse City. Not that winger Brendan Shanahan didn't enjoy or find enough ways to occupy his time when there was no NHL season in 2004-05. "I definitely missed the game and I was sorry to see it taken away from us," Shanahan said outside the arena after Monday's physicals. "In a lot of ways, though, I had a great year. "Since I was 15 years old I've never been able to spend Christmas, Halloween or Thanksgiving (with friends and family). This was the first time I was able to enjoy a Super Bowl." That family also got a little bigger since the last time Shanahan played in a game in 2003-04, his 16th season in the NHL and his eighth with the Red Wings. "My wife and I had a baby in October," said the 36-year-old Shanahan, who now has three children. "So it was nice to be present for that and go to all the hospital visits and be there for the birth and not worry about running back and forth to the rink or jumping on a plane to get back in time. "In a lot of ways we missed the game, but we did our best to take advantage of the time off." Two Detroit veterans - captain Steve Yzerman and defenseman Chris Chelios - were not at Centre ICE on Monday morning, but were expected to arrive later. "Chelios and Yzerman will be here (Monday night) because of personal reasons," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "But everybody's here. I just talked to the doctors and they're pretty pleased with the health of everybody." Chelios, 43, is now the oldest player in the league after 44-year-old Mark Messier announced his retirement on Monday. "That's OK, Chelios is going to keep playing until he's 65," Detroit goalie Manny Legace said. Some Red Wings played overseas or in other leagues during the NHL lockout. One of those was not Legace, even though he did flirt with the idea. "I didn't do much," said Legace, who has spent much of his career with Detroit as its No. 2 goaltender. "I just hung out in Detroit. I went to Russia for about a month, but I came back. I didn't like it so I quit." Other Red Wings, like center Kris Draper and wing Kirk Maltby, played for Team Canada at the World Championships. Still, international competition isn't the same as NHL, even in training camp. "It's nice to be in familiar surroundings again," Maltby said. "I'm looking forward to the first on-ice practice (Tuesday). It's good to be back." "It feels good," Draper added. "I think everyone is real excited about it. We weren't able to do something everyone is passionate about and loves doing." And now that the physicals are out of the way, it's time to get back to playing the games. "So far, so good," Shanahan said when asked if he passed his physical on Monday. "When you get older, you worry more about the hearing and seeing physical then the (exercise) bike and the physical examination. "Everything's a go." Detroit forward Tomas Holmstrom agreed, in a more succinct way. Asked how he felt about returning to hockey after a season away, Holmstrom said "good" as he signed autographs for about the 20 or so fans standing behind a barricade on the east side of the building. And what did Holmstrom miss the most after a season away? "The guys," he said, strolling toward a vehicle taking the team back to the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa.
Clearing the Record
To clarify the original headline that ran with this story, the Detroit Red Wings returned to Traverse City after a one-year absence. The 2004-05 season was canceled due to the NHL lockout.
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The Associated Press
