Mikael Samuelsson came to the Wings to add inexpensive depth to the forward position. He was the early season "feel-good" story for Red Wings fans.

The discarded, discounted, free agent.

The 145th pick (5th round) of the San Jose Sharks in the 1998 draft. He didn't actually make it to the league until the 2000-20001 season (not unusual for NHL players). He played for the Sharks, Rangers, Penguins, and Panthers.

He is a Swede, of which the Wings have a total of seven. Ken Holland (GM) saw Samuelsson playing in Europe, and asked the guys on the team (Wings) if they knew him. Zetterberg stepped in and said he was a great player, and a great guy. When asked if they would want him on the team, Zetterberg again stepped in and said "He can play on my line."

Holland took the advice, and signed Samuelsson to a 1 year, $537,500, contract, which is less than some minor league players end up making if they're expected eventually to contribute to the "big" club.

In his previous 4 NHL seasons, Samuelsson recorded total combined stats of:

19 goals, 30 assists, +/- of -11, 3 PPG, and 4 GWG, in 188 games.

(PPG = Power Play Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goals)

In his one season with the Wings his stats are (so far):

21 goals, 17 assists, +/- of +20, 6 PPG and 3 GWG, in 59 games.

Now that is an impressive jump in stats.

And according to news sources, Ken Holland has rewarded Samuelsson with a 3 year deal worth $3.6 million, not a "huge" contract, but decent considering current salary cap restrictions in the league.

Like I said, a "feel-good" story for Red Wings fans.


I just noticed the Detroit News Article says there are only five Swedes on the Wings... I count seven.

Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall, Nicklas Lidstrom, Andreas Lilja, Mikael Samuelsson, Tomas Holmstrom, and Henrik Zetterberg; all of whom play regular minutes.

However, the Wings did send five Swedes to the Olympics, maybe that's where they got their signals crossed.

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So how come we keep losing shoot-outs?

I think we're 2 and 3 in shootouts.

To be honest, I think goaltending doesn't help. I like both our goalies, but they both make me nervous in breakaway situations.

Also, the Wings have been in very few shootouts compared to a lot of other teams. They were, I think, the last team in league to be in a shootout. So they also don't have as much experience.

But never fear, there are no shootouts in the playoffs.

Legace was 6 shutouts, 2sd in the league.

I'll agree Legace has had a good season. He had a great start to the season, and he's been OK lately.

But he's also had some stretches that have been pretty frustrating to watch as a fan. No, I understand that playing Goalie for the Wings is like being the QB of the Lions, and respect whoever gives it a shot (except maybe Ken Wregget)... but neither of our goalies strikes me as a guy who can get it done all on their own. They're solid, decent goalies. But they can't will a win out of a game.

And yes, Manny is 2nd is shutouts, but check out how many fewer shots he's faced than the other leaders... the Wings are a good enough defensive team, that if we had a "marquee" goalie, they'd be posting record numbers.

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Whenever we have a "will a win" goalie the defense goes slack and we expect the goalie to save us, doesn't always translate to wins. I think we play a better team game if we protect our goal.