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Wow, some of the comments here and elsewhere are really low. While I'm not expecting anybody to be losing sleep over an injury to another team's star player, celebrating the pain anybody goes through with that kind of injury is rotten. Sports really brings out the worst in people, especially those shielded by the anonymity of the Internet. From what I'm reading, Crosby did not need to get his jaw wired shut. That's significant because it means he should be able to get back to solid foods earlier than someone who required that procedure. Athletes in particular who go through that tend to lose weight and strength, which sets back their recovery even further. Hopefully Crosby recovers in time for the playoffs. I, for one, prefer to watch hockey with its best players active.

And hossa was playing with a bum shoulder that required surgery. But that's not important because it doesn't fit your argument.

I think the travel has more to do with it than anything. Mickey Redmond commented on this a few weeks ago. I think Brunner told him the farthest he had to travel to a road game was less than an hour. They don't have to deal with the drastic time zone changes either in the Swiss League. I know everyone thinks it's easy and oh, they get paid a lot, so they should just suck it up, but try flying all night, losing 3 hours, sleeping in a strange place, then having to play in a hockey game. I think it's far more difficult than it appears.

Sammy and Coliacovo would get hurt playing in juggernaught armor

I'm not worried. It's not a lack of effort, he just needs to learn the game. His talent is there, he is a great skater, and the shot is top notch. He's also better than I thought he would be passing the puck. He just over thinks the game too much, and he makes some really bad decisions defensively. He is really raw when it comes to that part of the game, but he has never stopped skating or anything like that. So I definitely think his game will develop with time. Once he starts to understand the game he'll create more offensive opportunities for himself by creating turnovers. His hot start had a lot to do with everyone around him playing well, once Zetterberg fell off he's game went right with him. And Brunner's not at the level yet where he can create his own scoring chances. The good news is he won't get a big deal, that kinda scared me in the beginning of the year when he was close to the goal scoring lead. Now hopefully we sign him to a couple year deal, and have a steal of a player once his game develops.

Would have been way better with Dekeyser, Brunner and a drafted player.

not to derail yours guys nyquist debate, but as far as lashoff is concerned, i think this is a move that could be for the best. he has spent significant time in the nhl and now can spend a little time in the ahl working on the parts of his game that weren't nhl ready. this is a much more effective development strategy than just leaving guys in the ahl for years at a time. it causes development to plateau. whereas with this route, lashoff got the chance to grow a ton in the nhl as a regular and now he can take a breather, work on some things, and come back more motivated than ever.

Team masseuse?

The fact that you are trying to justify that Franzen is somehow better than Hossa makes me wonder if you just check box scores or if you watch the actual games. Franzen scored a whopping 3 more goals than Hossa in 2010, and has 4 points since 2010 in 13GP in the playoffs, Hossa has 8 points in 10GP. No matter which way you slice it, Hossa is just better than Franzen.

Yeah, soccer really captures the gist of it. Sports are supposed to be entertainment. I don't know what it is that drives some people, makes them so unconscionable. Maybe they don't have enough going on with themselves so they live vicariously through sports and teams, and it becomes bigger than them. At any rate, the unbridled hate that comes out of stories like these make me a cynical man.

Fatigue isn't the only issue here. He was an unknown commodity with no NHL experience when the season began. He scored a few goals early off, had a highlight reel shootout experience, and a few weeks later he's among the lead leaders in goals. Suddenly, teams stopped treating him like a soft Euro and started taking away his time and space. He's more tightly covered whilst sneaking into the slot from the soft-side. Defense are on him much quicker and harder in the corners, and while Brunner can mentally adjust to North American hockey, it will be a slower process to build up the physical strength to be able to fight through the coverage that he is now experiencing. Secondly, Brunner has really focused hard on playing a more defensively sound game. He is back-checking much more effectively than when the season began, and he's playing much deeper in our own zone instead of floating at the blueline waiting for a breakout. He has also been more conscious of opponent's breakout potentials and is adjusting his game in the offensive zone to accommodate this. His new-found defensive responsibilities are also going to lower his offensive output. Combined with the brutal North American schedule and travel, its no surprise at all why Brunner has suddenly gone quiet. He's with good role models though, and I suspect that he will be able to overcome the schedule and the added defensive attention he has over the next few years. Given his commitment to learning the defensive side of the game, and how far he has come already, I'd say the guy is willing to do whatever it takes to be successful at this level. Lets hope my assumption is correct.

And the problem with trading is to find someone who will. In the West some teams won't trade with us because we still may meet them in the playoffs while some teams in the east won't trade with us because we will face them next season in our new division. And even if they will the price would be significantly higher than usual. It is the worst time to trade for the Red Wings, it will get better when the season is over. Stick with the tools we have and make some moves during the offseason, in which the new CBA will also help us.

That was a dive by Crosby.

Edited the thread title to be less obnoxious. I understand not liking Crosby, but celebrating that he got hit in the face with the puck is lame.

Change the thread title to "Amnesty".

What we saw the first handful or so of games is what I think Brunner is definitely capable of, but fatigue and adapting to an entire new league and all that comes with that is wearing him down.

So you think Datsyuk actually requested them and Babcock was justified in sticking with that line for two weeks, despite their total lack of production. Brilliant. Maybe Franzen will request playing the point on the powerplay. And what agenda do you allude to? Criticizing inexplicable lineup decisions and bad personnel moves?

This guy should have never been signed in the first play, even when he's healthy his best days are behind him.

Who's that lady with her hand on Bowman's crotch?

I use to work for an Oral Surgeon. Broken jaw = at least 6 weeks out. At least. HEY SID BEST OF LUCK SUCKING YOUR FOOD THROUGH A STRAW FOR SIX WEEKS HAHAHHAHAHAHHA

No I'd love to have a #1 team every year but I realize that is not realistic. Especially in today's capped league. This is not 10 years ago and Wings fans need to step into the current era. Wing's management is trying to build another solid foundation without doing anything too high-risk. This way we can compete for the playoffs on an annual basis instead of making knee-jerk decisions and going for broke one year and recovering for the next few. (see Philidelphia) Hockeytown is a mere nickname. To hold a team accountable to THAT of all things is kind of ridiculous.

get chris chelios behind the bench with babs and play some good cop bad cop. Have Chelios scream bloody murder at them and maybe then they will start listening to Babs a little more

I am cautiously optimistic that Dan is going to make a good impact with the Wings. Maybe not this season, but probably next season. Still, at this point, its great to have a top prospect on the team.

I like babes as much as the next guy, if not more, but I don't lke eye candy that is there for the sole purpose of being eye candy fluff. I'd rather listen to Murph talk about the game I'm watching than listen to Eva Menendez read the script that some else wrote for her while trying to lok like she actally knows what she's talking about I like Mickey and Murph because they are a coupe of veterans talkng hockey and don't follw the same ESPN sports guy formula. The Wings experience is all about nostalgia, and he is an integral part of it. Edit: The ratings are tanking because of the product on the ice: I was dreading watching the Anaheim game all day long because I could not bear to watch them play half hearted and get destroyed by frikin Anaheim. (Luckily, I decided to have the game on while I did other things, but you get the point).