As expected, Mikko Koivu named captain. We’ll call it a lesson in, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’

Although I asked Jacques, in hindsight, would you have kept Koivu captain considering how well the team was going in October and November. Lemaire said, “What would that do if we kept him? Won’t change nothing. Same guys, same players in the room.”

On Koivu, Lemaire said, “Even though last month we took the ‘C’ and gave it to Johnny (Kim Johnsson), Mikko kept playing as hard as he could, so it shows what type of guy that he is.”

No official word yet on Marian Gaborik, although I talked to Gaborik via phone this morning for a little bit and I do expect a decision today. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s made. He told me to call him back at 5 or 6 after he talked to the team, but I think we all know where this is going, and that’s Vail, Colorado.

Maybe I’ll get to drive up the mountain when we’re in Denver Sunday. Imagine how happy Gaborik will be to see that I’m the first one waiting for him in post-op.

Great town Vail. The Panthers’ owner, Alan Cohen, owns a home in Beaver Creek, so the Panthers used to always train in Vail for part of training camp. You should have seen the suite I always got at the Marriott there. OK, I digress.

Onward.

Defenseman Marek Zidlicky didn’t practice for a second straight day because of illness. The Wild doesn’t have an extra defenseman right now, so if he can’t play tomorrow against Detroit, it’ll have to call somebody up. Assistant GM Tom Lynn says he’s working on that, and Zidlicky’s questionable (updated).

Lemaire on the Red Wings: “San Jose and Detroit probably the two top teams. Another team in the East that really plays well is Boston, and you know what, we’ve all got to play them this week. And then Philly … to rest (he was being sarcastic obviously.

“You look at [Detroit’s] lines, they have four lines that can score. That’s why they won the Cup last year and that’s why they’re one of the top teams this year. They’re great on defense, and they’ve got power on offense. So when you’re on the other side of the fence, you say, ‘Check. You’ve got to check well.’”

Asked if he hoped the Wings got frostbite in the outdoor game, Lemaire said, “And more than that. That won’t stop them.”

Asked if he’d wear a Toe Blake hat like Wings coach Mike Babcock did in the outdoor game: “No, my Russian hat. That’s what I’d wear.”

Lemaire’s nephew, Manny Fernandez, and cohort Tim Thomas were named co-stars of the month for December.

Fernandez posted a 5-1-0 record with a 1.58 goals-against average, .946 save percentage and one shutout in six starts, while Thomas won all seven of his starts with a 2.40 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and one shutout. Their efforts helped the Bruins conclude the month with a 28-5-4 record, their best start to a season since 1929-30 (32-4-1).

That’s it for now. I will update you after I talk to Gaborik or the team makes an announcement.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 at 11:17 am and is filed under Practice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.