Cleary Out (NO!), Fetisov Returns (WHAT?)

By Adam W Parks

Noooooooooo! You gotta be freaking kidding me! I don't want to sound like a baby, but this isn't fair!

This season is unlike anything I can ever remember for the Wings. I mean, seriously, what the Hell man?

It all started with Johan Franzen going down in the third game of the season (torn knee ligament), and then Valtteri Filppula followed (broken wrist). Jason Williams was the next in line (broken fibula), and Niklas Kronwall fell soon after him (sprained knee). Pavel Datsyuk only missed a couple of games with a minor injury, as did Brian Rafalski and Patrick Eaves. Brad May was left behind in Western Canada and missed a few games with a bloody eyeball. A flu bug knocked out Jonathan Ericsson for a while, and Chris Osgood hasn't been right since he got sick (0-2-2 since returning from the flu). Oh, and don't forget that Andreas Lilja (punch-induced concussion) is still woozy and has not played since last winter. At least there hasn't been a Clint Malarchuk-like incident.

And now there is the matter of Dan Cleary's shoulder. Skating in open ice Cleary was belted by Barret Jackman in the neutral zone Wednesday night against the Blues with about five minutes remaining in the game. He left the ice in visible pain and did not return. When I saw the replay from my barstool at Founders Brewery, I thought to myself, "It can't be anything too serious. There's no way he'll be out for a long period of time. Not another one." Sure enough, word came down Thursday that he will miss up to four weeks with a separated shoulder.

Cleary was a top-six forward for the Wings even before they started were ravaged by injuries and illnesses. With the losses of Franzen, Filppula, and Williams, he became a regular on the top line with Henrik Zetterberg and got some time skating with Datsyuk too. His 16 points on the season is tied for third-best with Tomas Holmstrom for the Wings, and three of his seven goals came in the last five games.

“It’s a tough loss seeing (Cleary) go down,'' Kris Draper said. "He’s been playing so good for us, He’s used in all situations. It’s another big loss. The thing is, these injuries aren’t little things. That’s the unfortunate thing. You just got to go out and play with whoever we have and get the job done.’’

Wow, thanks Drapes, I felt even worse after reading that. "He's used in all situations." Guys like that cannot be replaced. Here is coach Mike Babcock's reaction:

"We’ll go with all hands on deck. I thought we played hard last night. We’ve played hard the majority of the time, we had a couple of bad games that way. Just got to keep getting the group to play hard, play for one another, believe in the structure that protects you when you got people not available.''

As stoic as Babcock is, you have to believe he's just banging his head against the locker room wall.

Slava Makes A Comeback

One of the best defenseman to ever play the game, from any country, will lace up the skates once again. That's right, former Soviet Union national team captain and two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Red Wings Viacheslav Fetisov (51) is expected to play for CSKA Moscow on Friday in the Russian-based Continental Hockey League. Man, he looks old in that picture (taken in 2008), but then again he always appeared to be twice his actual age.

Sergei Nemchinov, head coach for CSKA said, "We urgently need one more defender after Denis Kulyash was injured. Fetisov practices constantly and has agreed to help the team. We just need to settle some legal procedures."

Fetisov began his professional career in the mid-1970s with CSKA Moscow and was one of the first Russian players to defect and play in the NHL. He signed with the Devils in 1989 and spent five full seasons in New Jersey before leaving during the 94-95 season for Detroit. As much fun as irony is, that was the season the Devils swept the Wings in the Finals.

Slava played four seasons with the Wings before retiring at the age of 40 in 1998 after the Wings won the back end of two-straight Stanley Cups. Fetisov was a mentor in Detroit, and not just to the younger members of the Russian Five, but to every young defensman, including Nicklas Lidstrom. He and Igor Larionov brought a combination of skills and leadership to the Wings that was incomparable, and their immense impact on the game in North America is unmeasurable.

But it his friendship with former Wings defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov that is most lasting to me when it comes to Slava Fetisov. June 13, 1997, just days after he and Konstantinov carried the Stanley Cup around the ice in at Joe Louis Arena, ending a 42 year championship drought, a limousine carrying the two defensemen and Wings masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov drove onto the median of Woodward Avenue in Birmingham, MI, and crashed into a tree. Fetisov was treated with minor injuries, but his friends Vladdy and Sergei fell into comas and both suffered from major head injuries. The celebration was short-lived and the following season was bittersweet as the Wings won another Cup that was dedicated to the ones who never fully recovered. That is Fetisov on the left and Larionov on the right of Konstantinov in the picture below:






















If the legal matters are settled, Slava will be the only 51-year-old Russian to ever play in a professional game. Another former Red Wing, a guy by the name of Gordie Howe, scored 15 goals and 41 points at the ripe age of 51 while playing an entire season with the Hartford Whalersplayed an entire season. The current Wings could use the services of either right about now.

Peace.