2010-2011 Player Profiles: Henrik Zetterberg...

Hey, kids, guess what? Hockey's almost here. That means it's time for me to get back into this whole blogging thing that I've neglected during the off-season. Since I lack the creativity to come up with a new gimmick, I decided to continue the Player Profiles series I did last year leading up to the season. I'll be taking a look at a different player (almost) every day between now and when hockey starts. By my count, there are 2 days until the Wings open the regular season. Get excited. Today's subject:

Henrik Zetterberg

2009-2010 Regular Season: 74 GP, 23-47-70, +/- 12, 26 PIM

2010 Playoffs: 12 GP, 7-8-15, +/- 11, 6 PIM

Season Highlight: The third period hat trick he scored against Anaheim in November.

Season Lowlight: Ruining part of my vacation when he was injured in December.

Like most of the team, Z had a bit of an off-year last season. His points were down, and he admitted to being mentally and physically tired. He got hurt during training camp and missed most of the pre-season and it seemed like he never quite got up to speed. Then he became a victim of the ridiculous December injury spree that resulted in half of the Wings' roster being filled by Griffins. By the time the playoffs rolled around, he was his usual dominant self and ended up posting the highest +/- of any NHL player despite only playing 12 games. Over the summer, he gave Wings fans everywhere an early Christmas gift by making everyone at his wedding dress up in ridiculous old-fashioned bathing suits.

One of the first things I noticed at training camp was the fact that Zetterberg looked like he was already in a groove out on the ice. Marriage must be treating him well, because he looked good out there right from day one. He's looked good throughout the pre-season as well. Having the extra long off-season and being reunited with fellow Eurotwin Datsyuk seem to have rejuvenated him. I think we're going to see a good season out of Z this year.

What he needs to do to make me smile: Keep doing that Eurotwin thing on the top line.