Listening to Red Wings’ Henrik Zetterberg

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A hockey fix is necessary every so often. The problem is no morning weekday games on our 900 or so TV channels. Not like soccer, where you can watch a game somewhere, anywhere, at any time. (And so what if it might be some lower-division game in Ecuador?)

So the next best hockey-related thing was listening for a few minutes to Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings -- he of the recent 12-year, $72-million deal -- on the NHL’s conference call this morning.

Someone asked Zetterberg what day of the week he prefers to play games.

‘I like the weekends, the afternoon games,’ Zetterberg said. ‘It’s nice to play then. I think the fans enjoy it too.’

Deadline isn’t bad, either.

(This is off-point. But check out this charming photo of the young hockey-playing Zetterberg looking like he’s ready for Christmas.)

He said the usual polite things about the Penguins (‘I’m pretty confident after 82 games they’ll be in a playoff spot’), the pressure of defending in Detroit (‘The bar is really high. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.’)

Zetterberg, on new teammate and former Penguin Marian Hossa: ‘He’s been a tremendous addition for us. He’s one of those guys who can turn anything into a goal.... Hopefully we can find a way to keep him a little longer.’

He revealed the nature of his own character when asked why he signed the deal during the season and didn’t wait to test the open market July 1. Zetterberg made his decision to stay in Detroit a long time ago, saying, ‘I didn’t want to go anywhere else.’

So he told his agent he wanted to stay and to try to get it done. Still, there is the fine art of negotiation, and Zetterberg chuckled as he recalled his desire to stay and telling his agent, ‘You don’t have to tell [Detroit GM] Ken [Holland] that right away.’

-- Lisa Dillman