Post by Jazz on Jun 5, 2004 5:03:39 GMT -5
RED WINGS OFFER LEWIS NEW CONTRACT[/u][/color]
June 4, 2004
BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
DETROIT FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
www.freep.com/sports/redwings/wings4_20040604.htm
The Red Wings want coach Dave Lewis back. Now they have to work out a deal.
General manager Ken Holland met with Lewis on Thursday and told him the Wings were offering him another contract. Lewis asked Holland to talk to his agent, and Holland did. They plan to talk again today.
"Good news," Lewis said. "I'm very excited to be in this position again. I feel very excited about the team and the opportunity."
As for associate coach Barry Smith and assistant coach Joe Kocur, Holland said, "I haven't really gotten into them. Obviously, Dave's the head coach. He's the first priority. . . . If and when we get him done, we'll work on his staff."
Kocur and Smith could not be reached for comment. They are expected to return.
The Wings earned 110 points last season, then won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top regular-season team with 109 points this season. But they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by Anaheim last year, then lost to Calgary in six games in the second round this year.
"Obviously, we've had two wonderful regular seasons and very disappointing playoffs," Holland said. "He's obviously learning on the job. He'd never been a head coach before we hired him."
Holland pointed out that Lewis had made moves to help the Wings win their first-round series with Nashville this year.
"I think he's a better coach today than he was a year ago," Holland said. "I think with another year of experience he'll be even better. I think he's done a good job, and we have to assess where we can get better as a team."
The Wings were eliminated May 3. Why did they take so long to decide they wanted Lewis back?
Holland said he wanted to meet with all the players, and that took weeks. He had a number of conversations with owners Mike and Marian Ilitch, but he wasn't able to meet with them to go over the whole picture until this week.
Center Kris Draper was glad to hear the Wings wanted Lewis back.
"He's a great man," Draper said. "The one thing he wants to do is win a Stanley Cup as a head coach, after winning three as an assistant.
"You kind of realize how fine the line is between winning and losing."
The Mighty Ducks came within a game of winning the Stanley Cup last year, and the Flames are in the Cup finals this year.
"Everything is in place for us to win," Draper said.
NOTEBOOK: Holland has been working on a contract for Draper. "I'm optimistic we'll get something done, hopefully in the next couple of weeks," Draper said. Holland hasn't been negotiating with defenseman Mathieu Schneider, however. Draper and Schneider can become unrestricted free agents July 1. . . .
As for other potential unrestricted free agents, Holland confirmed he had told defenseman Chris Chelios the Wings wanted him back. He confirmed he had spoken to Rick Curran, forward Brendan Shanahan's agent, but declined to comment further. He said he had not talked to forward Brett Hull yet. . . .
Holland said center Pavel Datsyuk had minor knee surgery. He is expected to recover quickly.
June 4, 2004
BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
DETROIT FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
www.freep.com/sports/redwings/wings4_20040604.htm
The Red Wings want coach Dave Lewis back. Now they have to work out a deal.
General manager Ken Holland met with Lewis on Thursday and told him the Wings were offering him another contract. Lewis asked Holland to talk to his agent, and Holland did. They plan to talk again today.
"Good news," Lewis said. "I'm very excited to be in this position again. I feel very excited about the team and the opportunity."
As for associate coach Barry Smith and assistant coach Joe Kocur, Holland said, "I haven't really gotten into them. Obviously, Dave's the head coach. He's the first priority. . . . If and when we get him done, we'll work on his staff."
Kocur and Smith could not be reached for comment. They are expected to return.
The Wings earned 110 points last season, then won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top regular-season team with 109 points this season. But they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by Anaheim last year, then lost to Calgary in six games in the second round this year.
"Obviously, we've had two wonderful regular seasons and very disappointing playoffs," Holland said. "He's obviously learning on the job. He'd never been a head coach before we hired him."
Holland pointed out that Lewis had made moves to help the Wings win their first-round series with Nashville this year.
"I think he's a better coach today than he was a year ago," Holland said. "I think with another year of experience he'll be even better. I think he's done a good job, and we have to assess where we can get better as a team."
The Wings were eliminated May 3. Why did they take so long to decide they wanted Lewis back?
Holland said he wanted to meet with all the players, and that took weeks. He had a number of conversations with owners Mike and Marian Ilitch, but he wasn't able to meet with them to go over the whole picture until this week.
Center Kris Draper was glad to hear the Wings wanted Lewis back.
"He's a great man," Draper said. "The one thing he wants to do is win a Stanley Cup as a head coach, after winning three as an assistant.
"You kind of realize how fine the line is between winning and losing."
The Mighty Ducks came within a game of winning the Stanley Cup last year, and the Flames are in the Cup finals this year.
"Everything is in place for us to win," Draper said.
NOTEBOOK: Holland has been working on a contract for Draper. "I'm optimistic we'll get something done, hopefully in the next couple of weeks," Draper said. Holland hasn't been negotiating with defenseman Mathieu Schneider, however. Draper and Schneider can become unrestricted free agents July 1. . . .
As for other potential unrestricted free agents, Holland confirmed he had told defenseman Chris Chelios the Wings wanted him back. He confirmed he had spoken to Rick Curran, forward Brendan Shanahan's agent, but declined to comment further. He said he had not talked to forward Brett Hull yet. . . .
Holland said center Pavel Datsyuk had minor knee surgery. He is expected to recover quickly.
