The Detroit Red Wings have entered the NHL’s Olympic break with a plan to regroup and prepare for the final stretch of the season. While captain Dylan Larkin and alternate captains Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider head to Milan for Olympic competition, the rest of the team will take time off before returning to practice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center.
“Every team in the League needs an opportunity to rest, which is great for 75 percent of it,” head coach Todd McLellan said earlier this week. “The other 25 percent are the players who are going to the Olympics, and they’re going to have to manage themselves…We’ll encourage them to rest and take care of their bodies. Then when we come back, we’ll have a mini–Training Camp. We’ll review our structure, get them skating and focused again because what we just went through to get to this point is going to happen all over again.”
As of Friday morning, both Detroit (33-19-6; 72 points) and Montreal (32-17-8; 72 points) trailed Tampa Bay by six points in a close Atlantic Division race. Tampa Bay had four games in hand on Detroit, while Montreal had one.
Reflecting on the season so far, Larkin described it as an “unbelievable ride.” He added: “Honestly, it’s been a lot of fun. The commitment and team chemistry…I’ve had probably the most fun I’ve had in my career playing with these guys. You’re not going to win them all, but we’ve shown to ourselves that through adversity we can stick together, and I think that’s brought our team together. I think we can beat anyone. A lot of fun with these guys, and I wish everyone a great break and for us to come back refreshed for a big push.”
McLellan emphasized that rest is important not only for players but also for support staff such as trainers, equipment managers, nutritionists, fitness personnel, sports science experts, and medical teams.
“We’ve put in some hours, but the players are the ones that are getting beat up,” McLellan said. “The training staff, the equipment people, the nutritionists, the fitness people, all of our sports science, the medical team that is at the rink so early and stay so late – they all need a breather too. I hope they go and turn things off, then be able to come back and bring that energy back to the group.”
Detroit has played more regular-season games than any other Atlantic Division team heading into this break.
“With the break and how the schedule gets set, because of that, it becomes even more of a grind than usual,” van Riemsdyk said. “You got to use it to your advantage. Refresh physically and mentally. Be ready to roll for the stretch run because it’s going to be a lot of very hard-fought games, but those are going to be the most fun games of the year to play because you’re playing for the playoffs. Playing those meaningful games down the stretch, there’s nothing like it.”
The Red Wings will play 11 out of their remaining 24 games at Little Caesars Arena before resuming action on February 26 against Ottawa.
“We put ourselves in a real good spot,” McLellan said. “We’ve worked really hard as a team. Every player that’s been in the lineup has given us something on any given night. We’ve set ourselves up to have a good mini–Training Camp coming out of the break, and then we control what happens to our hockey club from thereon. And really, that’s all you can ask for.”
Founded in 1926 as one of hockey’s Original Six franchises https://www.nhl.com/redwings/, Detroit represents Michigan’s largest city while hosting home games downtown https://www.nhl.com/redwings/. The Red Wings have won 11 Stanley Cup championships https://www.nhl.com/redwings/—the most among American-based NHL teams—and maintain their reputation as one of hockey’s most successful organizations https://www.nhl.com/redwings/.
