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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...

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

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.

Have you spent much time in the city, or have you been confined the suburbs? I've found most of the suburban areas in Columbus (except for a few closer to the city) to be uninteresting. However, the city neighborhoods of Short North (arts district), Arena District (where the arena is), Downtown (the capital), Brewery District, and German Village are excellent. Assuming the players stay near the arena (there are a few nice hotels, and a new Hilton under construction), there will be plenty to do for them within walking distance. Also, there is a large river park that spans much of downtown. There is a lot to do within the city of Columbus. Shoot me a PM next time you're heading to Columbus and I can give you some suggestions if you want.

America's anus? Either way, I'm excited because I'll be in Ohio next year for my final year of grad school. I'll try to get tickets for sure.

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

Bettman is clueless. Stop trying to force hockey down the throats of non hockey towns. What a waste. The league should be cutting 10 teams anyways and moving the good players to the rest of the teams. Talent is stretched and the NHL is not in a position to be this large.

The Pens medical staff has to be completely embarrased right about now, but they seem to have screwed up several times. Let's not forget that they let him play, not only the 3rd period in the Winter classic, but the next game as well...after likely having broken his neck and suffering a oncussion. I understand the neck thing just came out now, but even without that, they should have learned from Crosby's concussion, yet this year, they let Letang go back in a game after taking a pretty wicked head shot. Sure enough, within the next few days, he's out with a concussion. Someone really should be fired.

Looks like all the players are having fun and I'm having fun watching it. Except for the constant reminders that Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin aren't there. And Pierre McGuire and Jeremy Roenick. They need to get some different commentators on the NBC family of networks.

Morrow on Z's line would cause a ton of turnovers and open up alot more space. I would rather Parise though.

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.

Just have the guys throw their sticks in the middle like shinny. I also like the earlier mentioned suggestion of having two lucky fans draft the teams and make up the lines.

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.

And it's just another reason I don't follow baseball. It would be insane to have the All Star game decide anything like that. And the biggest fear is Bettman is crazy enough to do something like that.

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.

Think the system we have for playoffs works fine and makes for a more interesting season. I see no reason for restructuring our playoff qualification system in order to make an exhibition game more interesting.

I think a lot of people here are in denial of the fact that any major deadline deal will include draft picks and prospects from the Wings` end. Sellers will not be interested in the likes of Hudler, Bertuzzi, etc, nor in our replaceable parts such as Emmerton and Brunnstrom. In an ideal world, he'd be waived. That said, he does play better in the playoffs than in the regular season. Unless Holland gets an offer he simply can't rightfully refuse, I don't see him shipping out Filppula.

Stuart is the kinda guy teams seek out to shore up their D on a Cup run, not the kinda guy teams ship out on a Cup run because they are afraid he may be homesick and not return with said Cup after he takes it home for his day in the summer with it. he's not going anywhere. Franzen is PlayoffZilla. Not going anywhere. Cleary will also sacrifice his life for the team during the playoffs, not going anywhere. Hudler...maybe.