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Post some of your favorite clips or memories of Datsyuk. I am shocked he's leaving after this playoff run. Thank you Datsyuk, there will never be a player like you.

What has Andersson done to deserve one?

The man wants to go home and spend time with his daughter with whom he has been away from for a lot of her formative years. Anyone criticizing him for this doesn't understand what is truly important in the long run. I say thanks for your service to the team Pav and I applaud you for making the right decision.

To be fair in the cap world that is the proper way to do it.

For all the crap people have given him, including myself, Tatar ended up doing okay. He's frustrating to watch, and I would never build the offense around him, but his stat line isn't astronomically worse than it was, and since everyone has had a worse year I'd be loathe to single him out. There's clearly something deeper going on, whether it's coaching or certain players, but once that gets fixed I'd like to see what certain players like Tatar can do. I certainly don't expect next season to be as bad as this one, provided we get a replacement for Datsyuk. But back on topic, to Mantha: I don't care about his defensive liability. The fact is we need to score, and can't win a tightly played playoff series with no offense. And Andersson didn't exactly save the team from being scored on three times yesterday, either. We need speed, skating and offense, because we're honestly not going super deep this year. Professionals like Blashill and Holland should be able to recognize this fact and realize now is the time to take a risk. Mantha needs playoff experience. It's not like he's single handedly costing us goals against. Let him play and learn from his mistakes, coach him into being a better defensive player. He's not going to cost us this series, and his offense (not yet figured out by opposing teams) might be something that could turn the scales in our favor. EDIT: I think Nyquist and Larkin have set the bar too high for our prospects, too. It's like, if you don't score 25-30 your first season, you're "not ready."

You realize that Kenny will think that he's getting top pair defenseman....

Why are you so pessimistic when it comes to up and coming Detroit players? You completely change your tune whenever its a Wing. You call the Sabres the Buffalo Eichel's all the time and talk about Jack Eichel as if he is a superstar, but the second someone says something good about Larkin you try to bring him down a peg. I've even heard you say more positive things about Chychrun then Larkin. I just dont get how you can take two players who have pretty much have accomplished the exact same things, and with one you talk about him like he is the next coming, but the other you you refuse to say anything too positive. Its just two extreme's. Compare their stats yourself: Larkin - Age - 19, 23 Goals, 22 assists, +11, Game Winners - 5, Shots - 221, Shooting % - 10.4% Eichel - Age - 19, 24 Goals, 32 assists, -16, Game Winners - 5, Shots - 238, Shooting % - 10.1% Other then 10 assists, there is really nothing statistically speaking between these two in Eichel's favor.

From what I've read, the contract cap hit shouldn't be a problem. After Datsyuk officially leaves, Holland will likely trade the contract to the Coyotes, which will actuallly save Pheonix about 600k. In turn, the Wings would receive Pronger's contract. Then we would use Pronger's LTIR status. Which wouldn't count any $ against the cap. So really, the only downfall to all of this, is losing an amazing player sooner than we thought we would. But realistically, even if he had no desire to return home, we wouldn't have had him for too much longer anyways age-wise. Hopefully we can make a nice run and maybe, just maybe, if Jimmy can play the way he did against Philly, maybe he can hoist the Cup one last time (not likely, but there's always a chance). And we all know #13 will be hanging in the rafters soon. Also, just like all our other Red Wings legends, he'll always be a Red Wing. And we'll continue to see him for years to come at various Detroit related events, signings, and future alumni games. Here's to a hall of fame career Pavel! It's been a pleasure to watch you take the torch that was passed by the likes of Yzerman, Shanahan, Lidstrom, Fedorov (and other Wings legends). Thankfully we have so many up and coming young stars that Pavel (and Hank, whenever he hangs em up) will in turn pass the torch to. We are so lucky to be fans of the best organization in sports. That always (and I do mean always) puts competitive teams out there year after year, decade after decade. Cheers!

...phew

Playing Mantha just on the pp >>>>>>>>>>> Andersson playing for face-offs.

^ I agree JW. As of now, everything I have read. Nothing has been made final. The decision is his and his only but let's not jump overboard just yet.

I hope the Blues can pull this out. If there is one thing I want this year, its for the Blackhawks to NOT win the cup. I cant say I have too much faith though, for whatever reason this Blues team just doesn't seem to be built for playoff hockey. 1 series win in 12 seasons (though alot of those years they didnt make the playoffs) and 1 in the last 4 years all of which they were considered "contenders".

The crazy thing is they could go on a run in the playoffs if they put the right pieces in play. The Lightning are very vulnerable right now with injuries and is anyone that scared of the Panthers or Rangers/Islanders? I'm not saying the Wings would come close to beating the Capitals or Penguins, but the first round especially is winnable and then go from there. I thought Blashill would bring a new identity and finally push the young guys into larger roles. Instead he has been Babcock without the coaching acumen. I don't know if Holland has him by the balls or what, but I honestly feel this is a pretty dangerous team with better personnel decisions and usage. Right now though, they won't beat the Lightning if they are going down the same path as the one they used to limp into the playoffs.

If I read the article correctly .. His older daughter who is 13 years old lives in Russia with his first wife. His baby daughter lives in the U.S with his current wife. He wants to go back for his older daughter who has entered the teenage part of her life. Probably one of the most important times to have a father around. But yeah a daughter who is 13 moving to the U.S for only a year would be a bad idea.

Jeez, they really hate Mantha, don't they? Holland can be so damn condescending sometimes. I just looked at Jurco's NHL career stats. He's basically declined each year. He's the definition of a plug out there. Serviceable as a warm body but not doing anything to help. Andersson is the same. He can PK because he can't skate the whole ice. Blashill is obsessively defensive. His only tweaks are to bring a player on to help us play PK, not a player to help our PP score. I've never been so frustrated with this franchise. I really hope we're not about to go down in humiliation.

Which is whatever, if Holland feels that way. People may disagree, but it's management's call. Management throwing him under the bus (again - Devellano), however, doesn't feel like it's conducive to Mantha's growth. Don't see how the jab was necessary or helpful.

I think he planned on finishing the contract originally, but his ankle surgery changed things. Now he probably feels like he's on borrowed time and wants to be able to play in Russia without being unable to contribute.

this is just me, but I think we will be fine after a rather large elephant in the room is addressed. Who will be Captain when Z retires, which will be shortly after Datsyuk leaves -- if in fact he does leave and doesn't honor the rest of this $7.5M hit. Z is aging and injured and won't survive without his EuroTwin. Nyquist plays like a ghost when Pasha is out there. It's time for him and the younger players to establish an identity on the ice and play Wings hockey. Haven't seen that in a while -- it is time for a change, even if it hurts like Hell to do it. What I have been looking at is a team with two identities, and they do not communicate well. Time to put the sign back: To whom much is given, much is expected. This is Hockeytown.

I was thinking about this "backed in" to the playoffs (I made the comment too). How many teams can survive playing Philly, Boston, and NYRangers in 4 days, and playing 3 of our last 4 games on the road? We made the playoff because we beat Minnesota, Toronto on back to back nights, and Philly in a must win. Boston couldn't keep up.

Worst for Boston by far. That team went into a nosedive a dozen games ago and crashed and burned today. Wings had a bad start, but played well afterwards. Raanta stole the game for them really. That combined with Blash pulling the goalie way to damn early. Last time the Wings had a few days rest was for the Philly game. So hopefully that is the team we see for game 1.

amazing. I do wonder how long before Tampa puts the block on Wings fans buying tickets.

I'll give you an example. BoS posted this last year - probably one of my favs.

OH HOW I'VE MISSED YOU PHOTOSHOP THREAD

I've said for the past couple drafts that we should try to draft a defenseman in the first round, but once again there doesn't seem to be any high end guys that will be available where I think we will end up picking. So unless one of two things happen, a player like Jake Bean or Mikhail Sergachev drops down to us (doubtful), or we trade up for a player like Jacob Chychrun or Olli Juolevi (not going to happen), we should probably take another forward... Of the forwards that will likely be available at or around where we pick, I really like Max Jones and Kieffer Bellows. In saying that, our biggest need still remains to be on the back end, but realistically no one we're going to draft in June will be ready for another couple years minimum anyway, so our best option is likely to package some players together in a trade for a top pair defenseman... I like some of our defense prospects, but I don't see any becoming a legit number one. Russo and Sproul probably have the highest ceilings but I don't really see either becoming anything more than 2nd pairing guys...