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Welcome back! As always, lines are projected as this was posted the night before the game. This is in anticipation of Datsyuk and Franzen returning to the lineup. A couple of big games back to back here as we venture forward without captain Z for the remainder of the season. Let's come out flying, shake that Olympic hangover and get a win here. Wings win it 3-2. GO RED WINGS!!!

Ryan Sproul, yes ! pp goal

A lit of players have similar injury histories. Hockey is a violent sport played by large angry men. Injuries are to be expected across the board.

Introducing your Red Wings' newest veteran (or should I say Bretteran) defenseman:

Respect is a 2-way street. He can leave at anytime... Considering what he has done for this franchise and fanbase, you would think people would be a little more accommodating when he wants to chase a dream.

Gdt's are back!!! It's like Christmas!!

It's been fun, congrats to Canada, Sweden, and Finland respectively. Back to the NHL, and another 4 year wait until more Olympic hockey.

74 or more games in 7 out of 10 years prior to signing here. He also played in the AHL during the lockout. 80 games. 8 out of 11. 62 and 64 (out of 68) games his first two years in the OHL. 53 total games 01-02, not sure how many he might have missed from injury, since he was on the Florida roster for part of the year then went back to junior, but I'll still say he could have played 68. He's played 72 out of 73 playoff games his teams have played. All told that's 988 out of 1140 possible games. ~87%, 10 of 13 years being better than that, and one more year being unsure but maybe lower. Typically, around half the league misses 8 or more games every year. In 11-12, there were around 8300 man-games lost to injury (out of 44280). Almost 19%. Average of about 13 games lost for each of the 620 regular roster players. Injuries happen, and happen to most players at some point. Minor injuries happen to most players every year. But even if you do assume he will miss time, you should still assume he would put up decent numbers...since he has done exactly that over his career. The least we should expect is 14-15 goals, 40-ish points. Maybe not great for almost $5M, but his recent history does suggest he should be better than that, at least in the short term. If you don't like Weiss, fine, just say that. Stop acting like there's some statistical evidence that proves he was going to suffer a major injury this season, or will in the future, or that his production would decline dramatically.

Meh, if he's really looking for a deal in the 7yr/$6.5-7M range, I want no part of him. That depends on what you mean by "do all they can" and "upgrade the team". If you mean upgrade for this year, there's a hell of a lot that could be done that would be incredibly stupid from an organizational standpoint. If you mean upgrading the organization as a whole, upgrading for the future without sacrificing this year or upgrading this year without sacrificing the future (or both), that "all they can" list is likely to be pretty short. Sounds to me like you just want to see something happen so you have some news to get excited about. But easing fan boredom is a poor excuse for making a trade. I would agree (though not necessarily with "crap and going to get worse" part), and it would seem Holland does too. However, not all deadline deals are expensive and/or rentals. Something like the Stuart deal would make sense; a veteran defensive defenseman wouldn't likely cost a lot. Most teams looking for defenseman at the deadline tend to focus on puck-movers. A scorer probably isn't likely, since the demand is usually so high. But there's a lot of teams with little cap space, so who knows.

Sooo....it's fine if all those players come from other NHL teams, just not the one you like? If Jonathan Toews had played injured for Canada, then came back and missed a game for the Hawks, would you care? Or would you only care if you were a hawks fan? Or if Toews played for the wings?

I didn't know he was an intern all this time. I thought he was being paid millions to put the Red Wings first and foremost on his list of priorities when it comes to hockey. Point is, the team has rewarded him for what he's done for it over the years. That's why he's a multi-millionaire, unlike any of us. But he's also under contract this season to perform for the team. There is no immunity because of the past as long as one is making big bucks in the present. If he's healthy and wants to play for his country, great. If he's hurt and is in danger of aggravating an existing injury to play in the Olympics, then it's not OK. If he's even more hurt to the point where he would only play for the Olympic team and not his NHL team in similar circumstances, then that is the worst scenario. I hope that's not what happened here.

Is Brett Lebda available?

Again, he was the C for his team in his home country. I think that's a pleasantry we can afford him. If it was in Korea and/or Ovi was wearing the C I'd feel a little differently. We have a good rep with players bc of actions like this.

i cant get mad at the guy. if i was in his shoes i wouldve done the same thing. its frustrating though when the wings need him now more than ever

A needs to get well and see if he can play at the same level, Pavs took time to play for his country and visit his family, give the guys come slack. Pavel has been nothing but professional.

Where did that blasted neg button go when you need it most... His family consists primarily of his daughter who his ex-wife has custody of and resides in Ekaterinburg.

So I can agree with you! Yeah, he's one of two marquee players on this team... A true pillar of the Wings. The Olympics are held in his home country and he gets to be the captain. This opportunity won't happen again in his hockey career. Most of you would do the same in that context, so I don't understand all the whining. Must be the long winter.

Agreed. The entitlement and sense of ownership over Datsyuk is getting a little ridiculous here...

If Callahan wants to play in front of the net and fight... that'd be cool with me. Lord knows Abdelkader, Bertuzzi, and Cleary don't do that very well.

And these are the reason Illitch will never be forgotten. I don't even live in MI, but I appreciate the things he has done for the city.

I'm glad this thread was unlocked so I'd have a chance to say that this is one of the dumbest things I have heard from a LGWer in a while, and that's saying something. The two coaches have very similar styles.

Coaches the winning team to the Gold Medal ... still gets no credit.

Team Canada's play was some of the best and most dominant hockey I've ever witnessed. Congratulations to Gudlevskis, Quick and Lundquist for keeping their teams in these games; some of the best goaltending I've ever seen. Shoutout to Finland and Latvia for the great team efforts.

Tatar, Mantha and a first for edler? That's a little rediculous