Ken Holland once transitioned the Detroit Red Wings from Steve Yzerman Toronto Maple Leafs T-Shirts Womens , Sergei Fedorov and that generation of greats to the one that followed with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. Now he’s trying to do it again.The veteran general manager knows it won’t be as easy this time, so he’s adding and keeping some older players to bridge the gap. On Sunday , the Red Wings signed 34-year-old winger Thomas Vanek and 29-year-old goaltender Jonathan Bernier and re-signed 32-year-old defenseman Mike Green.Vanek signed a $3 million, one-year deal, Bernier got $3 million per season on a three-year deal and Green will make $5.375 million annually over the next two years as part of a series of transitional deals for the rebuilding Red Wings.”It’s going to take a little bit of time, we have to have some patience,” Holland said. ”I believe we’re headed in the right direction. In the short term, trying to bring in some veteran players obviously to mentor, to role-model the young kids. We need to be competitive. It’s important to develop players if they’re in an environment that’s positive and we go into every game we have a chance to win and we’re trying to obviously juggle having veterans on the roster and moving young players into the roster.”Vanek enjoyed his 48 games with the Red Wings in 2016-17 so much he wanted to return last summer, but they didn’t have the salary-cap space. He’s not the prolific scorer he was a decade ago, but Vanek was in demand after putting up 15 points in 19 regular-season games with the Blue Jackets as a trade-deadline pickup.”We had a few options Toronto Maple Leafs Hoodies Womens , but Detroit, ever since I’ve been there, I loved it,” Vanek said. ”I really liked the whole culture of the organization and the guys were great.”As a right-shot defender who can run a power play, Green would’ve drawn serious interest if he became an unrestricted free agent. He never seriously considered leaving.With the neck injury that cut his season short has healed, he wanted to remain with the Red Wings and help bring along the next generation.”There’s a lot that weighed on my decision to stay,” Green said. ”I think it’s easy sometimes just to go somewhere else, especially with the transition that’s going on there in Detroit, but I feel like I can be useful in the next couple years kind of helping the younger guys develop quicker and speed up that process.”Having better goaltending might not speed up the process, but it’ll make the Red Wings more competitive. They think they’ll get that from Bernier, who was the odd man out in Colorado and will split duties in net with Jimmy Howard.”We’re going to push each other to bring this team back to the playoffs Toronto Maple Leafs Hats Womens ,” Bernier said. ”I didn’t want to be in a position where I played 15, 20 games. I want to come in and have a chance to play as much as possible obviously depending on play. I just thought it was a great opportunity that me and Jimmy can battle for our games.”Holland isn’t worried about clogging the roster up for young players. Sixth overall pick Filip Zadina should be able to play right away up front, and the Red Wings have begun to rebuild their prospect pipeline.One immediate problem could be the health of captain Henrik Zetterberg, who has been hampered by back problems and is no sure bet to be able to play next season. Zetterberg, who turns 38 in October, cast doubts on his future after the season, and Holland can’t say with any certainty what will happen with the Swedish center.”Last I talked to him, I think he’s planning on playing,” Holland said. ”Obviously his back is going to determine whether he can or he can’t. … When you’re dealing with the back and you’re dealing with the health of a person, it’s hard to read the future when it comes to health. Obviously that’s a key piece for us. I’ll stay in touch with Henrik as we get into July to see how his health is.”—AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed.— Look for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple to stick with their strengths Friday night at Honda Center.The Ducks (8-9-3) have been one of the toughest teams to score against in recent seasons, while the Maple Leafs (13-6-0) have featured one of the top-scoring offenses.Anaheim had the third-lowest goals-against average in the NHL last season at 2.55 Custom Toronto Maple Leafs Jerseys , but the Maple Leafs combined for 10 goals in a two-game sweep of the Ducks. Toronto tied for third in the NHL last season at 3.29 goals per game.Article continues below ...Anaheim hasn’t been as stingy this season. The Ducks are 11th in the league in GAA (2.85), but they continue to feature one of the league’s top goaltenders in John Gibson.The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, have become stronger on offense thanks to the addition of explosive center John Tavares. They’ve also tightened up on defense behind former Anaheim goalie Frederik Andersen.Andersen, who was drafted in the third round by the Ducks in 2012 and played his first three NHL seasons in Anaheim, has built some of the best numbers in the league this season. After making 42 saves Thursday night in a 5-3 victory at the San Jose Sharks, backup goalie Garret Sparks will start against the Ducks.Gibson and Andersen alternated starts for Anaheim during the 2015-16 season before the Ducks traded Andersen to Toronto in June 2016, making Gibson their No. 1 goalie. Anaheim signed Gibson to an eight-year contraction extension last summer.The Ducks have been very successful this season when holding opponents to two regulation goals or fewer, owning an 8-0-2 record in those situations, compared to 0-8-1 when they don’t.The main issue for Anaheim has been consistency, Gibson said.The Ducks started the season 5-1-1 www.canucksshoponline.com , marking the fifth time in franchise history they accumulated at least 11 points through the first seven games. Anaheim followed that run by losing seven in a row, however, one shy of the franchise record.Since ending the losing streak, the Ducks have alternated wins and losses over the past six games. They posted impressive one-goal victories against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators, only to lose their following game to the Los Angeles Kings (4-1), Minnesota Wild (5-1) and Vegas Golden Knights (5-0).“We’ve been able to win one here and there, but not go on a run,” Gibson said. “Hopefully, we can start stringing some together.”In the loss to the Golden Knights on Wednesday, Anaheim played without one of their top defensemen Vancouver Canucks T-Shirts Womens , Cam Fowler. He was struck in the face with the puck late in the third period against the Predators on Monday and sustained multiple fractures that will sideline him several weeks.The Ducks will likely start three rookie defensemen against Toronto, which is averaging 3.50 goals — good for third in the NHL.A big reason for the slight increase in offensive production this season has been the addition of Tavares, a five-time NHL All-Star who left the New York Islanders on July 1 and signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Maple Leafs.Tavares scored the first goal Thursday night against the Sharks, giving him five goals and 10 points in a seven-game point streak.