Ho, Ho, Hockeytown: A holiday guide to Detroit Red Wings’ past, present and future – Detroit Free Press

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman on challenges of COVID-19 shortened 2021 season. Dec. 22, 2020. Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Red Wings normally relish the Christmas break, coming right around the midpoint of the season, as a chance to relax and reboot. But the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted all sense of normal, and instead the Wings are gearing up to start the 2021 season in mid-January.

When they do, it will have been 10 months since they last took to the ice at Little Caesars Arena. Instead of celebrating New Years Eve by playing a home game, the Wings will mark the last day of 2020 by starting training camp.

The NHL has not scheduled a game on Christmas Day since 1970. The break has allowed for high jinks, hanging at home and hope. In this challenging year, heres a look at the Wings past, present and future.

[ Why Steve Yzerman is excited to watch the Detroit Red Wings play. ]

No Detroit Red Wings player embodied Christmas more so than Tomas Holmstrom, shown here embracing Kirk Maltby, who in turn featured prominently when teammates celebrated Festivus.(Photo: PAUL WARNER, Associated Press)

Time was, the Wings would step into Christmas on a merry note. They cherishedFestivus, the Dec. 23 holiday made famous in one of the all-time classic "Seinfeld" episodes. For the Wings, it was all about "the Airing of Grievances."

Heres a gem from 2009, when Chris Osgood sounded off on Jimmy Howard and Kirk Maltby: I have a grievance against Jimmy for calling me five times a day. It's like I have three kids two daughters and a really old and immature son. He has his own dad, he has a grandpa. I'd like to see him call them more and me less. And Maltby, I mean, his lips are always flapping just non-stop. I wish he'd get a muzzle.

Osgood was in top form again in 2010, when he had a grievance, with, basically, all his teammates. The guys always take my toothpaste and my hair products out of my kit I use on the road. Always. I don't know who or why, but it's annoying.

That, in turn, led to Kris Drapers grievance: Ozzy steals my toothpaste and puts it in his kit. Happens all the time I buy it, he takes it.

Darren Helm took advantage of Festivus 2010 to air grievances against Osgood, Todd Bertuzzi, and especially Kris Draper. Draper delighted in framing Helm and Justin Abdelkader as the characters from the movie Dumb and Dumber (think hairdos Helm as Lloyd Christmas, Abdelkader as Harry Dunne).

Here was Helm at the time: Everybody for always telling me to slow down. Everyone for calling me Dumb and Dumber.' Ozzy for always having different nicknames for me every day. Drapes, same thing. Ozzy and Drapes for always ganging up on me and Abby. Bert's perfect, except he makes me get tape for him, and then he says it's for us' but there is no us. There's just him.

Of course, no player embodies Christmas quite like Tomas Holmstrom. Once teammates found out he was from Pite, Sweden not far from the Arctic Circle they delighted in handing him their wish lists in December, figuring he was practically neighbors with Santa Claus. Holmstrom did dress up as Father Christmas and surprised Nicklas Lidstroms children when they were toddlers.

NO GRIEVANCE: From stealing apples to winning 4 Stanley Cups: Nicklas Lidstrom at50 today

Ilimped a little bit because I was pretending to have been on this long trip, Holmstrom said in 2001. They thought I had come all the way from Sweden with presents for them.

At least Lidstrom repaid the favor: Asked what hed get Holmstrom for Christmas in 2007, Lidstrom replied, an ice scraper, so he doesn't have to use his credit cards when he's scraping his windshield.

That was also the year Pavel Datsyuk shared his Christmas wish: When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to drink a lot on Christmas and be drunk.

Detroit Red Wings selected 18-year-old Swedish winger Lucas Raymond with the No. 4 overall pick in the NHL draft, Oct. 6, 2020.(Photo: Detroit Red Wings)

THE (NEW) CAPTAIN: Yzerman: Red Wings will have captain in 2021 season

Steve Yzerman said this week he was anxious and excited to see the Wings play. Considering hes only 21 months into his tenure as general manager, Yzerman already has put quite an imprint on the team. He signaled that being a veteran wont buy a player leeway (Jonathan Ericsson was put on waivers last season; Justin Abdelkader was bought out in October) and brought in new faces in defensemen Marc Staal, Jon Merrill and Troy Stecher; forwards Bobby Ryan and Vladislav Namestnikov;and goaltender Thomas Greiss.

The Wings wont be contenders, but the additions suggest they will be more competitive than the team that won 17 games last season.

While we wait for the Wings to begin play, theres the World Junior Championship, which starts Christmas Day. The pandemic means there wont be any fans at the event at Edmontons Rogers Arena, but every game will be shown on NHL Network. The highlight of opening day has the U.S. taking on Russia at 9:30 p.m..

The Wings dont have any players on either of those teams, but you should recognize Russias coach its former Wings great and Russian Five pivotIgor Larionov, fondlyknown as The Professor for his cerebral tastes (chess and wine).

The Wings of course, have a bunch of players on the Swedish team, though. Most prominently theres Lucas Raymond, their fourth overall pick in 2020, as well as fellow forwards Theodor Niederbach and Elmer Soderblomand defensemen Albert Johansson and Gustav Berglund. Sweden opens play on Saturday with a game against the Czech Republic, which features Wings goaltending prospect Jan Bednar. The other Wings prospect at the tournament is Finland defenseman Eemil Viro.

HOW SWEDE IT IS:Lucas Raymond on why Steve Yzerman is 'excited to have me'

The tournament ends Jan. 5. To tide you over until the NHL begins Jan. 13, you can read up on the Wings tremendous history in my book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings. Its available in bookstores and online via, among other outlets, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. If you want a personalized copy, please email me at Hstjames@freepress.com.

Moritz Seider playing for Rgle, 2020-21 season(Photo: Andreas Ljunggren, Rogle)

The World Juniors offers an opportunity to get an eyeful of players eligible for the 2021 draft. While the changes made by Yzerman should make the Wings more competitive this season, they still project to finish near the bottom of the standings and, in turn, be in the draft lottery again. Wings assistant general manager Ryan Martin is at the event.

Michigan forward Matthew Beniers (USA) is one of the higher-end prospects at the tournament. Michigan did not, however, release defenseman Owen Power to Hockey Canada. (Because of travel restrictions between the U.S. and Canada, Power would have had to quarantine in Canada for two weeks before the start of Canadas camp.)Forward Aatu Rty, was left off Finlands roster, and Sweden left behind forward William Eklund after he tested positive for COVD-19 and cut defenseman Simon Edvinsson.

MEET MATTHEW BENIERS: He was supposed to play for Harvard. Now he might put Michigan hockey over the top

EURO-BUILD:Prospects Moritz Seider, Jonatan Berggren continue strong play in Sweden

Closer to home, the rebuild looks like it will get a boost from recent draft picks as soon as the autumn. Defenseman Moritz Seider (sixth, 2019) has 12 points in 19 games for Rgle in the Swedish Hockey League; it'sthe 19-year-olds third season in a mens league. Forward Jonatan Berggren (33rd, 2018) has 24 points in 23 games with Skellefte. Raymond has 12 points in 22 games with Frlunda. All project to make the Wings future better and brighter.

"The Big 50: Detroit Red Wings is written by Free Press sports writer Helene St. James, with a forward by goalie Chris Osgood. She explores the living history of the Red Wings, counting down from Nos. 50-1, including greats like Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and more.(Photo: Triumph Books)

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: TheDetroit Red Wings is available fromAmazon,Barnes & Noble andTriumph Books.Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

More:

Ho, Ho, Hockeytown: A holiday guide to Detroit Red Wings' past, present and future - Detroit Free Press