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In for a penny in for a pound. I'll be done with this season when lockers are being cleaned out.

I'm sure that other than his health and trying to carry Detroit into the playoffs, this is his biggest worry: gaining back your respect.

Yeah I also wish Z was a terrible captain with a complete lack of heart who is willing to let down his country, family and friends because he wants some extra rest. He'll be fine. Did people freak out in 2002 too?

Canadian College.

Spoken like someone whos never gotten the shot to represent there country in something. To most athletes (especially those from Europe) representing ones country is the highest honor. Yes even more so than the Stanley Cup. Hank owes nothing to the Red Wings or Red Wings fans. He has the life he has because he worked his ass off not because the Wings gifted him a paycheck. He helped bring a Championship and almost a second to this city when the team was supposed to be in transition. If anything the fans owe him for the joy hes brought them. He's earned the right to put Sweden over the Wings. I dont know what fantasy land your in but the Wings are not contenders this year. Sweden on the other hand was a contender for a Gold Medal. Common sense dictates which one he should go for at the end of a career. Challenging his loyalties because he went and played in the Olympics is just disrespectful for a guy whose battled for over 10 years for the Wings and its fans. Get over yourself. Yes because carrying this team on his injured back the past couple months is not worth your respect.

For those saying Datsyuk and Zetterberg should have opted to not participate in Olympics... Have you ever heard about the national pride? There are only few things in this modern world you can't buy and this is one of them.

Wow, some of the responses in this thread...unbelievable. His back has been injured all year. It's not like he injured it MORE by playing in the Olympics. If he wasn't playing in Sochi he'd be playing in Detroit, and he'd still be getting injured because the NHL game is more physical. Are you people just dying or a reason to b*tch or what?

Simply not true. Franzen was concussed before the Olympics, and would still be out concussed in an NHL only no-Olympics season. He didn't suffer another concussion when he came back for 1 game, he simply wasn't recovered from his initial concussion (only 3 days symptom free when the protocol is meant to be minimum 7). He didn't rush back for the Olympics, he rushed back because we had no centers. Datsyuk was injured before the Olympics and would still be injured without the Olympics. He may be guilty of delaying surgery so as not to miss Sochi, but we won't know that for another 2 weeks. Zetterberg has been plagued with his bad back for 3 months now. He hasn't practised in forever. He's clearly been playing through the pain for Detroit. He had it before the Olympics, and he would have had it without an Olympics. MANY on here have speculated that it was only a matter of time before his back went again. Unlucky for us it went after the Czech game.

Not to mention he's 2nd on our team in points for Dmen and that's with squat all, if any PP time this year. I don't smell what the Babcock is cookin'.

Finally made an account on this forum just for this post, after months of reading anonymously. At the beginning of this season, I was all for trading a Nyquist or Tatar for someone that could help the D. Given the circumstances at that time, we had a bunch of offensive players and forwards, to the extent that neither would play, and we had an expected to be, weak D. An upgrade there via player that couldn't crack the lineup would have been massive. Fast forward to now, where Nyquist, and the Tatar/Sheahan/Jurco line has been the brightest spot for this team, I'm almost to the point where I'd say stay put unless someone is basically giving up a Dman. Our defense isn't the best, but Smith has improved tremendously in the past 20-25 games, on top of Kronner, E and DK. It'd have to be a Letang or Subban that got me to give up a Gus or Tats or anyone closely rated in that area

Well, I am not going to speculate, Z knows what he can do, and what he can't with that back. But this makes me sad for him. He was having a blast. I feel so bad that he's hurt and can't play for his country. Just hope he can recover and come back for us, soon - love the guy and he makes such a huge difference for the Wings. Feel better, Hank.

On a positive side,Kronwall is the new captain of the Swedish team. Get well soon Z....and Pavs

Kronner's all growed up wearing the C. *wipes tear* *pours a 40 for Z*

Z himself is saying he could opt for surgery instead of the same treatment he had in December. And then his season is of course in danger.source: http://www.expressen.se/sport/os/zetterberg-det-gar-inte-att-halla-pa-sa-har/

some Swedish doctor said hi whole nhl season could be in danger cause its worse than before

Well I know not to be on this board while Canada plays...you guys are hilarious. lol

Should've saved that for a person it's actually relevant for. Not Kip.

Worse to miss their final chance at Olympic Gold? Worse than what, missing the rest of the Wings season? Screw the Olympics... Thank GOD for no NHL in 2018!!!!

No say it ain't so.... Back is toast...he needs to take the entire tourney off in order to heal up enough to come play for who puts his food on the table...

It's all a little pointless. With our cap situation and all our overpaid valueless vets, we're not going to trade for anyone. It would involve moving someone of current or future potential to clear cap space and Ken won't do that. Even trading someone like Smith wouldn't work. We could get someone who's better NOW, but he'll likely have a higher salary than Smith. So yeah no trades this season

ME!

Denigrating a country or it's citizens is completely unacceptable. Anyone participating in such a discussion will be persona non grata for an appropriate length of time. The Olympics were created to encourage good will and inspire friendly competition. Please let's enjoy these games in that intended spirit. Also, I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone about the "Report" button. It truly is your best friend behind Matt. If you see a post you feel is against forum guidelines, it is VERY helpful to use the report function.

I suggest you do a little bit of research before you start throwing around outrageous statements such as this one. A) Qualification for the men's tournament at the 2014 Winter Olympics was determined by the IIHF World Ranking following the 2012 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships. The top nine teams in the World Ranking received automatic berths into the Olympics, while all other teams had an opportunity to qualify for the remaining three spots in the Olympics. B) Using the IIHF World Ranking points system, the current year received full value, and each preceding year was worth 25% less.[2] The following was a ranking based on points already accumulated toward Olympic qualification of all countries at the top level, or who are ranked amongst them. World ranking Team WC 2012 (100%) WC 2011 (75%) WC 2010 (50%) OLY 2010 (50%) WC 2009 (25%) Total 1 Russia 1200 825 580 520 300 3425 2 Finland 1100 900 520 560 265 3345 3 Czech Republic 1120 840 600 510 260 3330 4 Sweden 1040 870 560 530 280 3280 5 Canada 1060 795 510 600 290 3235 6 Slovakia 1160 705 450 550 235 3100 7 United States 1020 750 440 580 275 3065 8 Norway 1000 780 480 470 230 2960 9 Switzerland 920 720 530 500 240 2910 Pool A 1) Russia 6) Slovakia 7) USA Pool B 2) Finland 5) Canada 8) Norway Pool C 3) Czech Republic 4) Sweden 9) Switzerland - Slovenia, Austria and Latvia qualified for the final three spots in the tournament

That just sounds so wrong....I can't understand it. I do the same thing when Wing players are playing against other countries, but no way would I cheer against Canada.