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This. Only watched for a chance to see Datsyuk dazzle. I saw plenty of Patrick Kane, Corey Perry, and company (although mini-stick move should have won that event). Watch for two plus hours and what do I see? Datsyuk takes 15 seconds to spin himself dizzy around cones and then half-heartedly does his go to backhand-to-forehand move against a goaltender who was expecting it. Way to utilize the best talent in the whole fiasco. Should have had him in the passing event since Kane took forever, you can't tell me Pasha wouldn't have smoked him. They didn't even have him passing for accuracy or one-timers, he literally cooled his heels for the whole event. No wonder players opt out. The game is one thing, but most of those guys during the draft, media day, and skill competition have to be thinking "I'm leaving my family for THIS?"

Corey Perry mini-stick shootout goal was beast.

There's not the faintest chance that Calgary's GM would pull the trigger on this trade.

BTW Trading Flip would be stupid...

I dont get the negs for this comment because it was pretty brutal imo but the problem I personally have about bitching about it is I dont have a solution for fixing the level suck that it has. The NHL is not the NBA but the players seem to be confused via Gary Bettamn on what they should be doing out there...At times it looked more like a circus then seeing the best hockey players in the world on one pad of ice.

This is a great interview with Boylen from THN. Short, sweet, and plenty of Datsyuk's trademark character. Extremely humble and appreciative about being so well-respected and the last question he answers is a complete gem. Somehow he says something completely unexpected (at least to me) and it is far better than any other thing he could have (and anyone else would have) said. Enjoy! http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/44429-VIDEO-Oneonone-with-Detroit-Red-Wings-superstar-Pavel-Datsyuk.html

As much as we all (myself included) seem to envision Zetterberg as the next Captain, you can't ignore this guy. They're few and far between where someone is just so unbelievably classy you can't ignore it. This guy has the making of a Captain written all over him.

Still can't understand half the things he says. I does seem like he understands the language really well, can process and answer questions quickly like its second nature now, just wish he could speak it a little more clear lol. However, he can speak gibberish for all i care as long as he keeps playing like he does.

If he likes rednecks so much, someone tell him Michigan has its fair share, haha.

Possible site for a Winter Classic Game?

Not sure if this has been posted but I just saw that because Ovie is "suspended" he shoudn't go to the allstar game? Has this ever been an issue before?. After reading the article it left me feeling like he's kinda being a baby about it, like Im taking my ball and going home sorta stuff, but oh well I wonder who his replacement will be? Linky: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=613450&navid=DL|NHL|home

I don't know how they chose who goes for each event. No Datsyuk for the shootout? No Gaborik for fastest skater?

I don't think CBC explicitly mentioned Crosby or Ovechkin once (Maybe Ovechkin once in passing reference to the fancy breakaway event). Props to them. They had Price miked up and I gained a lot of admiration for him, and the way he handled his role in that contest. Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson also commented that Datsyuk was probably the best overall player in the league. Crowd going nuts on Chara's 108.8mph shot was cool (since we heard their reaction before seeing the time) Overall very solid event IMO.

One can dream.

I would definitely drive 3.5 hours down to Columbus for the fan festivities, and maybe even get some game tickets if they aren't incredibly expensive. I get that the outcome of the game doesn't really matter, but it looks like a good time that's worth such a short drive. Even if you only do the fan fest. Red Wings fans in Southeast MI have a solid opportunity to experience both the Winter Classic and the ASG in the same year. I think this s*** is

I don't think it can be fixed - there's only so much excitement you can inject into a game that pretty much doesn't matter. It's just an exhibition game, and it doesn't really showcase the players' skills all that well, at that. As far as "big games" go, I like the Winter Classic 100 times better, and I think it shows what hockey's all about a lot better, too - teamwork, rivalry, tradition, that sort of thing. I think it was wise to find a format that's better than the ASG and just go with that, rather than trying to artificially pump up something that's just not all that exciting or representative of the sport. I do like the changes Shanny & co. have made; I like how the draft lets you see a different group of guys playing together each year (I'm kinda glad that Malkin's playing with Datsyuk this year - wouldn't have happened under the WC-EC format), and the show gives you at least a little insight into the players' personalities, which is no small feat considering what tough nuts hockey players are to crack in general. I think the skills comp changes make it a little more fun and a little less serious, so I'm cool with that. The game itself is just going to have to stay the same - it's probably my least favorite part of the whole weekend, but I don't know what they're going to do about that. I'm happy with their efforts to make the weekend more fun, and I don't blame them at all for not finding a way to fix the actual game.

The good news is there aren't enough Blue Jackets fans to stuff the ballots and vote 4 or 5 of their players into the game.

The Hawks will be our biggest competitor during the trade deadline. Another original 6 team, with a younger core and a great future in terms of Cup contention. Holland will have to be brash to outwit their GM.

It is kind of funny, especially considering how awful Drake was in the regular season. But he had a good playoffs and also supposedly gave Datsyuk advice on hitting, which has clearly paid off. All in all a net gain, but I think his role on the team is getting a little overblown as the years go by. Still, I'd take Morrow on the Wings in a heartbeat. Even if it costs some prospects, this is the year to go for it. Potentially Lidstrom's last year, but also Dats, Franzen, and Z aren't getting any younger either.

Yes, the President Trophy winner should have home-ice. If the All-Star game decided home-ice in the SCF it'd be the stupidest thing ever. I can't imagine all the bitching it would lead to. Imagine The Wings come 1st in the league, 5-10 points ahead of the best Eastern team. Still that team gets home ice because of an exhibition game played 6 months earlier between vastly different players? How would you even go about making the teams evenly matched enough for it to be a fair matchup? No, you're looking way too hard at a way to give the game meaning if you want that to happen. The ASG doesn't NEED to be a game of critical importantance where the players give their all and risk injury. If you can get the players to care atleast a little bit about winning, great, but not at the cost of ruining other aspects of the league.

I understood that, but surely the overall standings are a better way of deciding which conference winner gets home ice?

History shows that there are plenty of stupid GMs out there who will trade star players for not a whole lot. What did Hossa go for? A half decent player, a bit-part player, a prospect who isn't panning out and a bad 1st round pick. What did Roy go for? Thibault, Rucinsky and Kovalenko. Yashin for Chara and Spezza. All hockey fans massively over-rate their own prospects, and tend to under-rate their own movable pieces (or massively over-rate them in a few cases). Wings fans hate on Ericsson for his bone-headedness, other GMs and fans see his size, see he comes from the Wings puck moving system and like the look of him. And we WILL need to move roster players, even bit part players, simply to make room on the roster for any new arrivals. Franzen and/or Filpulla if part of a package for a legit top player. Hudler, Abdelkader, Miller, Eaves, Emmerton, Mursak are all replacable. Stuart if part of a package, most probably with Anaheim Ericcson, Kindl, Commodore are all replacable. Any prospect not named Smith or Nyquist.

Stuart and Hudler have no value to sellers.