Swedish club Björklöven has apologized to former Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg and his family after its traveling fans heckled and sang through Timrå IK’s ceremony retiring his No. 20 jersey before the teams’ game Saturday, Oct. 17, in Timrå, Sweden.
The noise from the visitors’ section carried through recorded video greetings from Zetterberg’s former peers and through his own speech, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff reported Wednesday. In its statement, Björklöven said it distances itself from the fans’ behavior, and assistant coach Daniel Rahimi told Expressen he found the episode sad.
The fallout has reached the club’s supporters group. A local business owner who had let the Green Devils use a space outside Umeå free of charge for two seasons to prepare tifo displays has withdrawn it, TV4 reported Monday, saying the disruption ran against the company’s values.
The night had a second hiccup: the banner Timrå raised left out the 2004-05 season, when Zetterberg played for his hometown club during the NHL lockout. Timrå communications manager Adam Sälg blamed the error on the banner’s supplier.
None of it seemed to dim the honor for Zetterberg, who told TV4 it was a fantastic feeling and that Timrå holds a big place in his heart. Timrå won the game 3-0, and Red Wings prospect Eddie Genborg had a hand in all three goals.
Zetterberg, 46, played his entire 15-season NHL career with Detroit, winning the Stanley Cup in 2008 along with the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, and served as Red Wings captain from 2013 until back problems ended his career after the 2017-18 season. He scored 337 goals and 960 points in 1,082 regular-season games.
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