First, he publicly criticized the Red Wings for breaking a promise to recall him from Adirondack. Then he demanded a trade. Finally, he walked out on the A-Wings in January and went home to Calgary. No wonder Wes Walz is surprised to be in Detroit and on the Red Wings' roster. The Wings, who had suspended Walz after he left Adirondack, recalled him Wednesday to add depth at forward for the playoffs.
"I am a little surprised," Walz said Friday. "I went home and I asked for a trade, I wanted a trade for the longest time. I don't know if it was a combination of teams not interested. I think it's a feather in my cap, because I felt like they didn't want to trade me because they felt I could help their team in the long run. "When the team has confidence in you Wee that, it gives me a lot of confidence. I can't wait to get in the lineup so I can show them what I can do." It will be a few days or a week before Walz plays. He hasn't played since January and, while home in Calgary, skated only two or three times a week with a Tier II junior team. Walz said it will take three or four days to get his skating legs back and, obviously, he'll need some time to get in game shape.
But at least he's where he wants to be. Walz, a free agent last summer, has had second and third thoughts about signing with the Wings in the off-season. "I woke up many a morning in Adirondack and wondered if I should have ever signed here because I did have other opportunities to sign with other teams," he said. "But I wanted to go somewhere where they had an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup. The other teams that were interested were rebuilding. Obviously, it's everybody's dream to play in the National League and have a shot at the Stanley Cup." Walz said the Wings, who assigned him to Adirondack at the start of the season, promised to recall him. "That was definitely one of the things I was told," he said. "You look at it, I'm here now. They said I was back and they kept that part of the deal. I am back. But I thought it would happen sooner than it did. It forced me to go home. I didn't want to go home. Obviously, it was one of the things I felt I had to do. It's going to be forgotten in the next few days. It's over with now."