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Slava Fetisov, former Red Wing defenseman and star of the wildly popular documentary "Red Army", wants Russian law to ban Russian hockey players from coming to the U.S. before their 28th birthday. You'll recall Fetisov's story. He bucked Soviet law preventing him from coming to the U.S. to play hockey, by refusing to play for their national team. In the documentary he explained how he wanted to be free to make his own decisions, make his own money, and determine his own future, without being coerced by federal authorities. And now he's a federal authority. And he's trying to restrict young players from having those very same liberties. Here's a thought Slava. Rather than using a draconian legal system to force people to stay against their will, how's about you work toward reforming said legal system, and equally restrictive and authoritarian economic policies, so that people will WANT to stay in your s***ty country. You are, after all, a Senator. What a dick. http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/12931779/slava-fetisov-wants-ban-young-russians-going-nhl

Hank and Emma had sex. I'm not sure which one I'm more jealous of...

Little bastard's gonna be GORGEOUS. And it'll come out of the vaja with a full beard - boy or girl.

Good coaches and good teams make each other better. If a coach had to have NHL experience to get a NHL coaching job, the league would run out of coaches. Your logic makes zero sense. The only thing I can figure at this point is that you are trolling.

Probably fair points, but if he can come in and start learning the NHL game without any hindrance to his long term development, I want him learning from datsyuk and Z as long as he can.

El capitan junior!

Does anyone else think that Alain Vigneault looks like Dan Aykroyd? Not Dan as a conehead. It's the hair that makes the resemblance noticeable.

Guys, please save your indignation. I just listened to Fetisov interview where he allegedly said what you are all railing about. Well, he didn't. He said that KHL needs Russian Labor laws amended, so they can introduce RFA status for younger players (up tp 27 years old), like the NHL does. As law stands now, any Russian player (or any other employee) can break his contract and effectively become a UFA on their own initiative and with 2 weeks notice, I am not Fetisov's greatest fan, he said and did a few things I disadree with since he left for Russia, but this time. he is not guilty of what he is accused of..

So did Babcock's. Also, Eakins was thrown into the dumpster fire that has been the Edmonton Oilers. The problems with that team were far deeper than coaching.

He was won at every level he coached at. 2008 Clark Cup Champion 2010 Blashill led WMU to a top-four finish in the CCHA; best year for WMU in 15 years. 2011 USCHO Coach of the year 2013 Calder Cup Champion 2014 AHL Coach of the year. But he can only coach kids fed to him.

Nobody is saying Blash is Bowman though lol. We are just saying that he is the best man for the job. Not because we think he will be one of the best coaches in the league right out of the gate, but because we believe he has all the tools to become a great coach. A lot of us think that is a much better option than going with some of the older guys out there. Having a coach grow with a young team can be a great think. Just look at Tampa right now.

To be fair, Fetisov was 31 when he came over. Kids these days need a little oppression, builds character.

There will likely be growing pains with a rookie NHL coach, no doubt. But Blash is the only right option. Any other coach available is a downgrade behind the bench right off the bat. Blash has all the tools to become a great coach in the NHL, and he knows he will have a lot to prove. I have no doubt he will be up for the challenge. Going with Blash is not at all a big risk, yet still has a potential very high reward. There is no point in going with a guy like Hitchcock, when he has a reputation for his players tuning him out after a couple years, all while losing Blash to another team in the process. Blash is a guy who has been working his way through the system along with the youth in the organization. To not go with him would be idiotic. To not go with him IMO would also mean we need a new GM.

I don't think we need to land a top guy. We've already got Kronwall. We just need to upgrade, where possible. Look at Tampa Bay's defense. Yzerman was criticized pretty heavily for wrapping up so much money in non-impact defensemen like Carle, Stralman, Garrison, and Coburn. None of those guys are really "top guys", but collectively they're better than any other alternative Tampa had. And they're playing good enough to win.

LUDA!!!!! Damn. Always one step ahead.

Top 6 go-to guy in Grand Rapids >>> Bottom 6 support guy in Detroit - (in regards to what is best for his development) Develop this kid the right way, don't rush him like we did Jurco. I understand that there is a huge difference between Larkin and Jurco, but Jurco was also a year older than what Larkin will be going into camp this season. He wasn't ready and neither is Larkin in my opinion. Let's see what he can do in the next few weeks, but even if he puts up a point per game, I still say he should start next season in the American League...

I think the change in sheer number of games, not only as a whole, but within a stretch of 4-5 days is the biggest challenge. I would not be surprised to see him in GR for at least the next 13 months - if, for nothing more, to allow him the chance to build his endurance. Not just skating, but in the weight room, in practice, and the physicality of the game. That's gotta take some getting used to before someone is ready. Do I think he could come up and be in the 80th percentile for three or four games? Absolutely. Do I think he'd regress to the 20th percentile after 60 games? Absolutely. I think you leave him in GR just so he can get a feel for how to battle with a balance. You can't go 150% all the time every time.

I have high hopes for Larkin but to think he is going to make the Wings squad next year is ludacris. He needs to adjust to the AHL for a full season or two. It will be interesting however how he fares against the toughest competition of the AHL off the bat!

Our next coach! Hows that for motivation.

I figured the would get the fact that I was only kidding across. I was wrong.

Saying that Larkin will be a wing is just as silly as saying Pulkkinen will be a center. He won't.

Lets not judge our next coaches decisions before he is even our coach

Nope, he regressed to his old ways again, big time.