motional leadership and intrigue

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There s underappreciated skill, needed emotional leadership and intrigue among the Detroit Red Wings newcomers.

Frans Nielsen, Steve Ott and Thomas Vanek will debut in a Wings uniform this autumn, after being signed July 1 in an effort to address various needs. Former Wings goaltender and current TV analyst Chris Osgood spoke about the three this week, in an exclusive interview with the Free Press as part of his induction into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

“Frans Nielsen is a good player,” Osgood said. “He s underrated. He played in Long Island, so you don t hear a lot about him. He is a complete player; he is one of those guys you re going to watch for a while and you re going to be real impressed. Red Wings fans will say, ‘Wow, this guy is a really Petr Mrazek Jersey, really good NHL player.’”

That evaluation echoes what Wings scout Mark Howe told the Free Press earlier this summer http://www.detredwingsjersey.com/kyle-quincey-jersey-c-27.html, when he said Nielsen “is just a good, all around player http://www.detredwingsjersey.com/alexei-marchenko-jersey-c-25.html, willing to do whatever the coach asks of him. You rarely see him have a bad game.”

Nielsen, 32, was signed for six years and 31.5 million, as part of the effort to ameliorate Pavel Datsyuk’s departure.

Ott http://www.detredwingsjersey.com/xavier-ouellet-jersey-c-26.html, 34, was signed for one year and 800,000. He s a good penalty killer and face off guy and brings a gritty element to a team that doesn t have much of it.

“Ott is going to be a leader in the locker room,” Osgood said. “He s going to have that element of emotion and leadership in the locker room and on the ice. “

At one year and 2.6 million, Vanek, 32, could be the deal of the summer or a dud. He s a two time 40 goal scorer and regular 20 goal scorer who is 6 feet 2 and 214 pounds and shoots right handed but he has bounced around in recent seasons and, most recently, was bought out by Minnesota.

“Vanek is intriguing for me,” Osgood said. “He s a big kid and, when he s on his game, he can score some goals. It s a matter of getting him on his game on a regular basis. That will be Jeff Blashill s challenge.

“If you get a motivated Vanek, he is going to help the power play and he s going to score 25 goals or more. To me, he s the wild card. If he has a good year this year and provides enough offense for them and helps their power play, then they ll be in good shape.”