The Detroit Red Wings sent 10 players to the 2014 Sochi Olympics. That’s 10 guys who won’t be getting a break to rest and repair the wear and tear of a tough schedule if you want to take the glass-half-empty view of things.
As for the guys not headed to Russia, they’re happy to take a load off for a couple weeks as Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News writes.
“It’s very important, especially the way things are going with a few guys who are injured, or not 100 percent, guys can use this time to get back to full recovery,” said Darren Helm, who is headed to Hawaii, with his girlfriend. “It’s going to be good to get some sun, and nice positive, refreshing time off. The guys at the Olympics are going to stay in game mode, which is good, too.”
Unfortunately for the Red Wings, some of the guys who are most banged up are in Sochi. Pavel Datsyuk is still bothered by a lower-body injury, Henrik Zetterberg has had trouble staying healthy as have Daniel Alfredsson and Jonathan Ericsson.
At the very least some of the team gets some sun and fun. The Wings have 24 games left to play to secure a playoff spot once the Olympic break is over.