DETROIT – Mickey Redmond worked the March 10th Red Wings-Panthers game. Little Did he know it would be his last for quite some time.
“I’ve been doing lots of mechanic work, lots of yard work,” Mickey Redmond said of his time in quarantine. “Just things getting cleaned up should have been done 15 years ago.”
Redmond is clearly keeping busy at his Metro Detroit home he shares with his wife. But he said he misses the game so much. He hopes the NHL can find a way to finish the regular season and host the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“I don’t care if its four venues and all the teams are there, or a 16-team playoff, or 24-team playoff,” he said. “We want the game back in any shape or form, given the safety of everyone involved.”
Redmond said it’s important that the regular season is completed for draft purposes and standings, although nothing would have changed for the Red Wings with their final remaining schedule.
He said he knows there hasn’t been much to celebrate in Hockeytown for a few years, but in Steve Yzerman he trusts.
“He keeps things close to the vest as you know,” he said. “Yzerman is very methodical in what he does. He did a great job in Tampa. He doesn’t have Stamkos as he did there, but with Mantha, Larkin, Bertuzzi, and Hronek, he has potential for players to be high-end players here.”
Redmond is known for his broadcasting career. He and Ken Daniels are the longest currently serving television duo calling NHL games. But, in his prime, Redmond was a sniper. He scored 52 goals in the 1972-73 season. So I asked, which Red Wings reminds him of himself?
“I would say Mantha,” Redmond said. “Mantha had 81 goals in 81 games in junior, he can score. I wish I were 6’4”, 6’5.” He’s great kid and he knows how to find back of the net.”
One of my favorite Mickey stories is when he brought a beer to join me live on TV at Red Wings Training camp. So I asked, what’s his favorite beer?
“I have Celiac disease, so I need gluten-free beer,” he said. “If I have one, it’s Redbridge. If you can’t have the beer we used to have back in the day, it’s OK.”
Redmond thinks the NHL could return in July without fans.