Wings' Babcock, Holland meet to discuss trade deadline

Knowing that no one is ever too old to enjoy a snow day, the Detroit Red Wings took a partial one, calling off practice in favor of soccer and spirits.

Before this afternoon found players kicking a soccer ball around the hallways of Joe Louis Arena, coach Mike Babcock - a bit for the worse for an indulgent Sunday - met with general manager Ken Holland to discuss the state of the team leading up to the March 2 trade deadline. At 67 points, the Red Wings are only one point out of first place in their division, prompting one veteran to figure it'll be a quiet month.

"We're healthy," Henrik Zetterberg said. "I don't expect us to do much. We look way better this year when the deadline comes than we did last year."

Babcock wouldn't reveal details of his discussion with Holland, only that "we talked for a long time. He knows what I want. You always have a wish list of what you need to try to improve your team. Sometimes, it's reasonable what you have and, sometimes, it's not reasonable."

It's a safe bet a right-shot defenseman came up, because that's been a conversation since last summer. As Niklas Kronwall put it, the Wings "have done pretty good with what we have. It'd be nice to have maybe one guy that's a righty, but we haven't had that in a few years."

The Red Wings could use another defenseman who produces, too, but such a creature would cost them an established young player or a blue-chip prospect and a high-round draft pick. The Wings have to decide how good their Stanley Cup-contending chances are, and whether they can be improved at a reasonable price.

The Wings were scheduled to practice off-site because the ice at the Joe was covered in carpets in preparation for the evening's Toast of Hockeytown event, but as the snow piled up Sunday afternoon, that idea was nixed. "I needed two practices, I didn't need three," Babcock said. Asked if he had specifics in mind, Babcock said, yes, but asked to elaborate, he said, "no. Good question, though."

His tongue loosened on the subject of how he spent Super Bowl Sunday - besides, as a professed fan of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady - elated in the end. "Unbelievable hot wings I made," Babcock said. "My Greek ribs were out of this world, by the way, too. Ate real bad, had a few beers, too. It was a great day and the right team won."

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.