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good player, but I seriously don't see why everyone is so up in arms about him. He isn't worth the money he's asking for, f*** him

Sorry but I miss guys like this. Loved Stevens.

ENJOY

When we saw Pav and Z play together this year they really didn't look all that great. With Babs hell bent on keeping them apart, I've been wondering about whether or not they'll ever be able to recreate the magic. YT has 'Top Plays with Lecavalier and St. Louis' and I thought, "Why don't they have one of these for Datsyuk and Zetterberg?" So to the best of my ability and access to footage as a fan, I made one myself. Even though the NHL doesn't have footage stored from 02-03 or 03-04, I feel as if I remember those years fairly well enough that I'm not missing a goal when it comes to pretty plays between the two. The blog is acting a little weird so I have to paste each link one by one: Hope you all enjoy it!

Sorry, couldn't resist...

its the money he wants not the 17 years. Its pretty obvious he would not have play all seventeen years. He was just manipulating the cap. Offer him the 102 million for around 10 years and it will basically be the same nhl contract.

Stick around! (unlike Niemi)

This one is really tough for me. I was going between 1997 and 2002. And as much as I loved the memory of watching Stevie Y hoist the Cup for the first time, I had to go with 2002 by a slight edge. And for me, it's partly because the early 2000s were really, really good to me in life. My best friend died in '97, and then Vladdy's career gets ended in his prime. I just wasn't as happy a person back then. But 2002 I was thriving, loving life and having a great time. Literally everything was going right for me, so the Stanley Cup championship was definitely the icing on the cake for me. Plus that was such an epic squad. Arguably the most stacked we've ever been as a franchise. To this day I still miss that 2002 roster. That was the one year where almost every single hockey fan thought the Wings were gonna win the Cup. And they were all right. Also, that was the one team in a long time to actually win the Presidents Trophy and then go on to hoist the Cup. And that still hasn't been done since. That team was so good that it got the job done almost every night as soon as the first puck dropped game 1 of the regular season, all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.

I've never seen the problem of calling yourself a fan of many teams. Obviously, a person has their FAVORITE team that they root for above all else, but i dont see how watching and cheering for another team makes you any less of a die hard fan of your favorite team. I'm a hockey fan. Period. My FAVORITE team to watch has been and will always be the DETROIT RED WINGS. Am i a fan of other teams? Of course. Because my love for hockey runs deep. And i dont see anything wrong with saying that. So yes, i have seen myself become a bigger Tampa fan than i already was. Vinny and St. Louis have been two of my favorite players to watch, so ive been a Tampa fan. Then they get Stamkos, Gange, and Ellis and of course Yzerman. So now Tampa is at the top of my list of Eastern Conference teams. This team in my book is going to be very exciting to watch and i cant wait for the season to start. Again, i will never root against the Red Wings, but i dont see any problem for rooting for other teams at the same time. Again, im a hockey fan and enjoy watching other teams play as well. I know some people dont agree with this and are ONLY Wings fans, and im not saying that you are wrong or any less of a hockey fan as i am. Im just saying i really enjoy the sport, and i choose to watch more than just the Red Wings, but that doesnt mean i dont bleed Red and White. Im the same way with other sports. Im a die hard baseball and football fan as well. My favorite baseball team is by far the Detroit Tigers. As a Tigers fan i really only truly despise one team...the Yankees. I'm also a fan of the Red Sox, the Cubs, The Braves, and the Phillies. Same with football. My favorite team is the Lions (i know, thats sad but i dont care) but i also root for the Saints (before it was the popular thing to do) and the Patriots (yes because we all love Tom Brady). I dont see a problem with rooting for other teams as long as you know where your true allegence falls. I would never root for any of these teams when they are playing my favorite teams, but i dont see why that means i cant root for them in general and hope they do well.

I'm an Yzerman fan, not a Lightning fan

Also, that team had something that no other team in NHL history has ever had before or since: 4 500+ goal scorers on the same team (Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille). And Steve was literally a warrior on one leg throughout the entire playoffs. Talk about an epic year.

I hate that you're right.

Just false information that's all, he never got a camp invite nor a contract.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/KHL-President-offers-Kovalchuk-17-year-deal-cho?urn=nhl-258875

Sounds good to me. The guy can't win at the Joe.

Exactly. The #1 center was completely shut down in 2 consecutive SCFs by another center who is not even on this list. esteef

I will still give it a look as I love hockey and on New Years that is something to tune into as I recover. Did the double duty with last year's flicking back and forth between the classic and bowl games. My family usually makes some good eats to soak up the night before's mess and its mostly a relaxing day. The WC is getting way too much hate but its also getting valid points to why. Especially with said player who wears 87. Just makes it less appealing.

Oh ******* rights! Downey is a gun, I hope he gets signed, one of the best guys in the buisness. Plus he couldnt hurt to have in case of rough games and helping out the kids in the minors.

I watch the Red Wings because I'm a Red Wings fan. If I wasn't, I wouldn't watch/listen to their games, post on their message board, follow the players, read news about them, etc. I don't give a rat's ass about Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins or frankly, any other team in the league unless we're playing them. Then I care as they're our opponent. If they're not, I'm not bothered. The only reason I watched the SCF this year was because of my dad. Had the Hawks not been in them, I wouldn't have watched. The Wings are the only team I care about.

I don't see how you could like hockey and not be somewhat interested in how a match-up between Ovechkin/Semin would fare against Crosby/Malkin. That is an exciting game. Do you watch the Wings just because of the city they are from, or are you watching because it's interesting to see how the game unfolds? Knowing the attributes of Wings players and how it factors into the progression of the game is just icing on the cake. I would argue a hockey fan would usually be interested in how a game unfolds between two highly skilled teams.

I'm not watching it either. I guess Bettman still hasn't realized Crosby isn't liked outside Pittsburgh and some parts of Canada. Man the NHL is stubborn and doesn't know how to market themselves properly! Cash in on the USA Olympic Team's success and the Chicago-Philly Stanley Cup Final you morons, quit this Crosby crap already!

What a coincidence; both him and Brad May were on TSN's OTR today.

It sucks for fans of other teams, but you have to understand that the NHL is a business. It's all about the $$$. Which is unfortunate because there are plenty of historic teams that could have played in it (Habs, Rangers, Leafs, etc)

That might actually be a little easier.

His agent has now confirmed it. http://twitter.com/dchesnokov