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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.

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.

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

Holland's MO is to stand pat, sign a role player or two, and wait for a superstar to emerge from our recent draft picks.

I agree, but losing to the Rangers once again comes back to poor usage and expecting the veterans to carry the load after an 82-game grind. Blashill was playing not to lose yesterday and they did. I'm not saying this is a cup contender with these hypothetical moves, but I do believe it gives them more of a chance to win than the losing formula they clung to down the stretch. Babcock could get away with that system because he was such a good coach. Blashill is not there, nor should he try to become something that he isn't. He got the job because he developed prospects well and seemed to embrace transitioning them to the next level here in Detroit. Why we got away from that in a perfect year (not a cup contender, declining veterans) to incorporate more youth is beyond me.

^ 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.

In fact, a goal got taken away from the Wings because this all-star was offsides. Like I said before, they can't have 18 two way forwards, you need a balance. Can't win games if all you do is play defense. That's just playing to not lose, it's boring and it doesn't work.

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.

Right. And I get where you're both coming from, and why Holland sent him down. I may not agree with some of Holland's roster moves, but if the situation is 6-10 minutes a night/healthy scratch or playing in the AHL, I get why Kenny chose the latter. They wanted him in a top-six role on the team, and they don't feel like he's done enough to earn that role. He's not a 6-10 minute kind of player. What I don't get is referring to one of your top prospects as a "spare part", and asking why anyone would think he'd be "the answer". I wonder if Kenny knows what the answer is...

I already miss Datsyuk and he's not even gone yet.

It'd be nice to have a player who can score in the lineup, but I guess having defensive stalwarts Jurco and Andersson in instead is better. ...

It sucks but I think people had there blinders on for Mantha. He wasn't ready defensively/positionally. He probably has more to galn from being the #1 guy in the AHL playoffs. The fact that he isn't leading the team offensively shows he still has a lot to learn even at the AHL level. Good for him to get some games in the NHL and get to score in Montreal but I'd rather him take another step in his development than play 1:42 a game like Andersson will be getting

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.

Richards? He's gone after this year and he's not bringing much to the table now I really thought pavel would stick around one more year and not handcuff us with the 7.5 cap hit .... Now that being said and he's actually leaving I hope we insert mantha back in and let him play with pavel now and learn, I wanted him up a lot sooner to learn from him and hank but now time isn't a luxury And I hope Blashill wakes the f up and stops playing it safe and realizes if we're gonna make a good run here the kids are gonna have to step it up and that means more ice time and not benching a sniper and playing AA 5 minutes a games and overplaying hank and pav who will only get more tired and not benefit the team the longer the playoffs go for us It's time for Blashill to trust some of these kids , and if we are gonna have a long run it'll come through mrazek and not Howard

I still say "One More Year"

is that..."thing" Tebowing?

This is probably the worst possible first round matchup for the Caps. The Flyers will play a very physical game. This series should be a 7 game war, with the victor being ripe for the picking by the Pens.

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

I guess if you think about it the Red Wings did what they had to do to just make it yes we lost the last two games but honestly it's not our fault that Boston s*** the bed today. We are lucky that Boston lost but I guess in the grand scheme of things they should have gotten one more Point than we did the last 82 games. I still think we're a pretty bad team but you never know what'll happen. And for all the grief I have given him Darren Helm was clutch down the stretch. As was Jimmy Howard. I still believe there are a few players we could do without and next year but this group did a good enough job when they had to and Boston didn't. Maybe they sneak in a Philly loses out. We may not win the Cup this year but for the way the team played all year long just extending the playoff streak is like us winning something. It was absolutely one of the worst seasons in a long long time but we made it and all that does not matter now. Let's see what happens. Let's go Red Wings!

OH HOW I'VE MISSED YOU PHOTOSHOP THREAD