FanHouse DarrenMcCarty

The Grand Rapids Press' Michael Zuidema reports that 46-year-old Detroit Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios will play two games for the Grand Rapids Griffins this weekend as he seeks to return to game shape after recovering from a broken leg suffered during the pre-season on September 30th. Under the Section 13 of the collective bargaining agreement, he does not have to clear waivers to play in GR for a conditioning stint.

It will be Chelios' first ever appearance in the AHL and, aside from an stretch during the Lockout over which he played in the UHL, it will be his first stint in a league below the NHL since 1983, his last year at the University of Wisconsin. He will join the Griffins in their home matchups with the Toronto Marlies (Friday) and Hamilton Bulldogs (Saturday).

Chelios has not bee completely idle since the injury, having done off-ice workouts from the start and begun on-ice workouts some time ago. He participated in his first full practice with the team yesterday. Given his workout history, it's doubtful his return to game shape will take long.

According to Zuidema, Chelios will likely return to Detroit after the game against Hamilton and may be acitivated in time to appear in the December 10th home game against the Calgary Flames. For that to happen, though, the Wings will have to jump through some cap hoops since they are right up against it. Darren McCarty will be the likely odd man out, though if I read the inpenetrable legalese of the CBA correctly, he'll have to clear waivers again. He was already sent down for a game after the last time he cleared. That shouldn't be much of a problem, though, since he's currently out with a groin injury (not on the IR as far as I know).

I'll be at the game Saturday with my wife. We're definitely looking forward to seeing Chelios on the blueline there, though not to the Hannah Montana Night part.

Update (1:25 PM): In a followup post on his blog, Bruce MacLeod points out that Helm's stay in Detroit won't last long. He may only be with the team for one game. Dan Cleary is expected to return as soon as Friday and once he's back, Helm would be relegated to the luxury box. The team would rather he see the ice in Grand Rapids than from the rafters in Joe Louis, so he'll likely head back down I-96 when Cleary suits up next.

Ken Holland explained the rationale behind the call-up to MacLed: "We need energy." The team is about to enter a stretch in which they will play three games in four nights and this follows a Western Canada road trip. - Matt Saler

The Macomb Daily's Bruce MacLeod reports that the Red Wings have sent forward Darren McCarty down to their AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins in order to clear up roster space for young gun call-up Darren Helm. Helm has already arrived in Detroit and took part in the morning skate. He'll begin his second stint with the team this season tonight against Montreal. McCarty will play tonight in Grand Rapids against the Manchester Monarchs.

McCarty has one goal and 25 penalty minutes (all fighting majors) through 13 games. He was waived last week by the Wings, ostensibly to allow for quick movement in case of a sudden need to call up goalie Jimmy Howard. He was otherwise expected to stay with the team, but the recent injury to Tomas Holmstrom (back) evidently caused the front office to rethink that strategy.

With Holmstrom out at least another weel and Dan Cleary still getting back into shape after sitting out with an eye infection, a need has developed for a player who can contribute more than McCarty can at this stage in his career. Despite the presence of the more promising offensive talent Ville Leino in GR, the team has opted for Helm to be that guy.

Helm has 5 goals and 18 points through 16 games with Grand Rapids this season and has taken just two penalties. He showed himself to be a quite capable NHL player during the Wings' Cup run and would have been a lock for the team had the squad not been so deep.

According to MacLeod, he skated with Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula on the third line today. If that line translates to the game tonight, his skating ability and strength along the boards will make it just a bit more dangerous.

The Detroit Red Wings have waived forward Darren McCarty. It was the second time this season McCarty has been placed on the wire and, assuming he is not claimed by noon tomorrow, the result will be the same: he will remain in Detroit rather than head down I96 to Grand Rapids.

As they did last year with Aaron Downey, the team is taking advantage of the rule that allows a player that clears waivers to be sent down any time over a 10-game or 30-day period following their waiving. With that flexibility, the Wings will be able to call up Jimmy Howard at short notice in case of an injury to either Ty Conklin or Chris Osgood. They currently do not have the cap space to allow for such a move if the prospective injury does not allow for placement on the long-term injury list.

McCarty is filling Downey's slot on the team in more ways than one. The fan-favorite has three fighting majors in ten games, a high average for a Red Wing, and has provided a physical presence on the fourth line while averaging 5:05 a game. He did Downey one better last week, scoring a goal against Pittsburgh in the Wings' 7-6 overtime loss.

Given that the Wings have stud young guns like Justin Abdelkader (14GP, 8G), Ville Leino (12GP, 12A) and Darren Helm (12GP, 11A) in Grand Rapids, the Wings' commitment to their old warrior Darren McCarty cannot be doubted. He may be on the waiver wire today, but he'll only see the inside of Van Andel Arena this season if there's an emergency in net.

Today's must read on deadline day comes from the Detroit Free Press, where George Sipple is taking a hard and unflinching look at Darren McCarty's life and comeback attempt with the Red Wings.

How unflinching is it? Safe to say, there were more than a few moments while reading it where I had to turn away and wonder how it could have all gone so wrong for such a talented and popular athlete like McCarty.

Late last month, the Free Press had written a story detailing McCarty's return to Detroit. But today's followup deals with the damage McCarty did in the wake of his departure from Calgary, where he left behind an angry wife and some gambling debts.

McCarty's wife, Anna, doesn't pull any punches talking about the way McCarty abandoned her and their 20-month long marriage, even passing along the "Dear John" letter he left behind before heading to Detroit.

McCarty, to his credit, doesn't flinch for a moment when it comes to admitting his shortcomings. He genuinely seems like a guy who wants to simplify his life and get back to doing what he does best. Given Detroit's recent history against physical teams like Anaheim, it's clear McCarty may have a role to play for the remainder of this season. But at 36, one wonders just how much time he's got left on the ice before he'll have to get busy living the rest of his life.

In the end, that may prove to be the far greater challenge.

Previously at FanHouse:
The Ice Sheet: Can Detroit Be Muscled?
Darren McCarty Comeback Tour 2008 ...
Darren McCarty Wants a Comeback

One game after finding their cojones in Denver, the Red Wings promptly lost them again in a 1-0 loss to the Flames in Calgary. The loss dropped Detroit to 1-6-1 in their last eight games.

But the bad news didn't end there, as defensive stalwart Chris Chelios took a puck off his right knee, an injury that will keep him off the ice tonight against Vancouver and adding yet another member of the Wings to the injured list.

After watching last night's game for a few minutes, I couldn't help but come away with the impression that the way to beat the Wings was to simply pound them without mercy -- and to take that pounding right up to the line. A good example came in the second period, when Dion Phaneuf ran Tomas Kopecky down behind the Calgary goal. With Kopecky down on the ice and sliding, Phaneuf finished his check and ran Kopecky face first into the boards.

Once I got a look at Kopecky when once he got back to the Detroit bench, his face looked like he'd been in a bar fight. Yet, near as I can tell, nobody came close to holding Phaneuf accountable for his transgression. Something tells me that Detroit GM Ken Holland probably agrees, given the news that Darren McCarty is slated to rejoin the Wings sometime next week.

Back in early January, Darren McCarty, known for his bright red goatee and massive gambling debts, made a bit of news when he announced his intentions to make a NHL comeback.

Few people took it seriously, nothing that McCarty didn't score a single point in 32 games with the Flames last season. The prior two seasons? Just 24 points in 110 games.

Yet, with the Wings mired in a losing streak and in need of some beef up front, Darren McCarty's recent AHL hat trick must be tweaking a few ears in the front office of the Red Wings. As our own J.P. puts it, "McCarty's totally making it back to the NHL, with Detroit playing like such dogs. "

Newly re-employed Hollywood writers couldn't have dreamed up this plot. Playing before his largest Michigan home crowd in nearly four years and making his Griffins debut at Van Andel Arena, Darren McCarty tallied a hat trick and added an assist to power Grand Rapids to a 6-3 win over the Lake Erie Monsters on Friday.

The immensely popular former Red Wing scored 5:53 into the first period, 2:17 into the second and 2:45 into the third to ignite the throng of 10,062 and provide one of the most memorable and magical nights in the Griffins' 12-year history. He capped off his four-point evening - the first of his 16-year career - with a helper on Grand Rapids' final goal.

With five points in four AHL contests, and a renewed focus on hockey, we may yet see McCarty back in a Red Wings sweater. Before you think it a pipe dream, remember the Wings have only three forwards that are taller than 6'0". As the Ducks showed last season, size and grit are important during a long playoff run, and the Wings certainly will need some more help in that regard.

Darren McCarty, the 35-year old former Red Wing "Grind Liner" and part-time rock star, isn't ready to give up the lifestyle of a pro hockey player just yet.

Just when you figured McCarty had vanished into the night, the goateed one is making a comeback with the Flint Generals of the International Hockey League (formerly the United Hockey League).

"I want to play for sure," he told The News. "I'd like to give it a shot and catch on with somebody and play. I think I can still play. I still think I can bring something to the team --- that intangible stuff, leadership, a spark.

"I'm willing to start at the bottom and work my way up, prove myself. I still think there's gas in the tank."

I'm guessing McCarty's motives are mainly financial, given that he went into bankruptcy (thanks to some gambling debts) and got divorced.

What else does McCarty bring other than 'intangibles', now that he is clearly well past his prime?

Last season, McCarty didn't score a single point in 32 games with the Flames. The prior two seasons? Just 24 points in 110 games. There certainly isn't much tangible, other than nasty-looking facial hair.

I understand McCarty's popularity and why people will pull for him to succeed, but I'd be hard-pressed to find an NHL club that could really use somebody to does a whole lot of nothing. McCarty doesn't really fight a lot, or that effectively, and his lone positive attribute appears to be laying the occasional hit. I'd be shocked if McCarty played another NHL game, but stranger things have happened ...