Holiday Wish List for the Detroit Red Wings in 2014-15

The holidays are a great time of the year, and we learned how much the Detroit Red Wings enjoyed the season last year on HBO's 24/7 series. This year the team is a lot better off than it was last year, but there are still some things the organization would place on a holiday wish list.

Although the team's hot start could be described as the holidays coming early, here is a fun holiday wish list for the Red Wings.

A Signed Mike Babcock Contract in Ken Holland's Stocking

Bill Wippert/Getty Images

The best holiday gift general manager Ken Holland could receive this year would be a signed contract from bench boss Mike Babcock. The Red Wings' head coach is slated to become a coaching UFA this season, and there is a chance that multiple teams would show interest in hiring him.

While that may be the case, Holland would jump for joy if he received a signed contract in his stocking, as would team owner Mike Ilitch. If Babcock signs before the holidays, not only will he become a very rich man, but he also will become one of Little Caesars' newest owners in the process.

A Clean Bill of Health for Top Forwards

Graig Abel/Getty Images

Injuries and the Detroit Red Wings seem to go together like lamb and tuna fish, or spaghetti and meatballs, if that analogy works better. All Big Daddy humor aside, the team hasn't had luck with its top starts staying healthy over the last few seasons.

Earlier this year it was Pavel Datsyuk, then it was Justin Abdelkader and now it is Johan Franzen and Stephen Weiss. The team has played well this season, but injuries to the top stars could derail Detroit's plans to make a deep run in the playoffs.

The season is still relatively young, but Babcock and Holland probably hope Santa can leave some of Michael Jordan's secret stuff at Joe Louis Arena next week.

Some Shootout Tutorial Videos for Jimmy Howard

Dave Reginek/Getty Images

Jimmy Howard has been a solid goaltender for the Red Wings this season in practically every situation... except one-on-one attempts. Howard has been extremely bad, and Kevin Allen of USA Today believes he has a case of the "yips."

"

In Howard’s case, he is a high-performing goalie who mysteriously can’t stop opponents in a shootout. He owns a reasonable .677 shootout percentage during his career, but this season he has given up 11 goals in 15 shots in losing six consecutive shootouts. His .267 save percentage in shootouts ranks last out of 57 goalies who have been in shootouts this season.

"

His numbers are downright awful, and for that reason it would be great if some shootout tutorial videos could be sent to 19 Steve Yzerman Drive, Detroit, MI 48226, c/o Mr. James Howard. He has had some success in the past, but maybe it is time to resort to drastic measures.

A Copy of NHL 15 and an Xbox One/PS4 for Xavier Ouellet and Daniel Cleary

EA Sports released NHL 15 this season, and although it lacks a ton of new features and some old ones, the presentation is pretty spectacular. It looks and sounds like a real NBC game on TV, albeit with some quirks with the commentary. 

This season Xavier Ouellet and Daniel Cleary are the only members of the Detroit Red Wings' roster to appear in single-digit games, so a nice item for the wish list would include a copy of the game and a next-gen console of their choosing. 

Hey, EA Sports' slogan is "it's in the game," so if Ouellet and Cleary aren't getting playing time, now is a good time to practice their digital game so they can school their teammates when the team has down time.

Target Set for Henrik Zetterberg

Dave Reginek/Getty Images

Empty nets are no match for Zetterberg.

The Red Wings can't be greedy because there are a ton of boys, girls and NHL general managers asking for presents from Santa, but one thing that would be worth putting on the list would be a target set for Henrik Zetterberg.

I bought a set for my brother before the start of the season, and the R.O.I. has been great. Last season he looked like a graduate from the Ryan Callahan School of Shooting, aka missing the net all the time, but this year he is sniping jars of peanut butter off the top shelf.

I mention all of this, because Zetterberg has a lowly shooting percentage of 4.90, and that is pretty low. Zetterberg is a career 10.4 percent shooter, and his current mark is the lowest of his career since the 2012-13 lockout-shortened campaign.

Either way, Zetterberg has a problem scoring goals, so maybe some targets could help. That, or he should hit up Alex Ovechkin for some sweet nesting dolls.

Stats via NHL.com.