Patrik Nemeth has witnessed first hand what a turnover looks like

He decided he’d like to be a catalyst for one with the Detroit Red Wings.

When the Colorado Avalanche acquired Nemeth from the Dallas Stars during the 2017-18 NHL season, the Avs were coming off an NHL-worst 48-point campaign.

Last season, Nemeth’s final one with the Avs before joining the Wings in the summer as an unrestricted free agent, Colorado reached the Stanley Cup quarter-finals. There’s plenty of buzz about the Avs being legitimate Western Conference champions this season.

“It was just trying to build a different mindset,” Nemeth, 27, explained to Detroitredwings.com. “Once you get the feeling that you are actually winning some games, you’ve got some confidence in the group. I think that’s when you’re starting to believe that things can happen.”

In his brief time with the Wings, based on what he’s seen and heard from new GM Steve Yzerman, Nemeth is certain changing the mental make up of the team is a big part of the strategy Yzerman is deploying in Detroit.

“Steve coming in, he’s wanting to switch some things,” Nemeth said. “It’s more the direction of where he wants the team to go. I don’t know how it was here before. When you talk to him, what he tells you that he wants to see from everyone, I think that’s really appealing, what he tries to say.

“With him and (coach) Jeff (Blashill), what they’re trying to do is have that mindset switched, so you’re expecting to win. That’s something that you have to change in order to turn this thing around. That’s what I think is appealing. It’s interesting. It’s a fun thing to be part of.

“I just think it’s a team that really wants to do the right thing.”

Captain Talks No Captain
Henrik Zetterberg, the most recent captain of the Detroit Red Wings, thinks that all the consternation about the club’s decision to do a second season without a captain is much ado about nothing.

“I think we all know who’s going to be the captain when they announce it and when we move the C to the next guy,” Zetterberg said, clearly referring to Dylan Larkin. “In the same way, it’s not a bad thing to wait a little bit. He’s going to be captain for a long time.
“Obviously, it’s ownership’s decision, Steve Yzerman’s decision, and we all go with it.”

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