It's about time.
After 10 years of making an annual road trip with their dads, the Red Wings are taking their moms along for the ride.
And it all started with a note.
"I wrote a letter to Santa," Debbie Quincey said. "By Santa, I mean Ken Holland."
Kyle Quincey's mom said she made a secret effort years ago, behind her son's back. She asked the Red Wings general manager to allow the team's moms to accompany their sons on a road trip.
"I guess it worked!"
The result: over 20 women watching practice at Joe Louis Arena with their bags packed for Florida.
Henrik Zetterberg's mom, Ulla, estimated she's seen "hundreds, maybe a thousand," hockey practices and games.
This weekend will be her most anticipated slate of games yet.
"I see him play once a year," Mrs. Zetterberg said.
Tomas Tatar said his mom usually visits him in the states for Christmas, but this year she stayed home in the Czech Republic.
"I didn't see her since I left for the season, so this is a nice way for her to see what I'm going through. I'm really happy she is here," Tatar said.
As for the dads? There's no sympathy from their Florida-bound spouses.
"It's always the fathers who get the chance, not the moms," Niklas Kronwall's mother Tove said.
"This is lovely!"
All of the moms were showing support in the stands, with some showing a little bit more than others. Linda DeKeyser was sporting a button with five-year-old Danny's hockey picture on it.
After all of the long drives to practices and games, it's time for the players' moms to sit back and enjoy the perks.
Let's be honest, they had to deal with the worst part of hockey for so many years.
"A lot of stinky equipment," Sidney Denise Larkin said of her son Dylan's hockey upbringing.
"Dylan used to get mad if I washed certain things. He was very superstitious."
They won't need nose plugs on this trip. It's time to kick back and relax.
"Maybe we'll even stay for an extra week," Kronwall's mom said.
Brad Galli is a sports anchor and reporter from WXYZ Detroit. Follow Brad on Twitter @BradGalli
