Lovin Jiri Fischer

I was just about to say this exact same thing.

But they've been made known to you?

Since you're such a true fan does this mean you watch every All Star Game and take it seriously too?

Well, since you are the dictator over the True Hockey Fan Department, what about if the university that you are attending for the last year of your life that you love and don't want to ever leave is playing in a bowl game? Would I be allowed to watch that instead because I'm not as emotionally invested in Pittsburgh or Washington? I'm sure most people in Michigan would rather watch one of our own teams play football than other cities' teams play hockey when these are huge bowl games.

My boyfriend called me like a week ago to tell me about this because he saw it on NHL.com but he thought it was real and I had to really convince him that it wasn't. Maybe that's a compliment to the Thrashers marketing.

Maybe for some people the issue is the Penguins, but for more people I think the issue is that the NHL is letting a team go twice before other teams even got considered. Then they are going to try to act completely neutral like they don't have favorite teams. In my opinion, this especially sucks because there has only been one Winter Classic out of 4 to feature Western teams and this whole Eastern Conference bias is getting really annoying. It's like hockey doesn't exist west of Detroit and Chicago. I've heard the stupid excuse that it would be messed up with the time difference, but I think that's complete BS. Broadcast the game at 3 pm Eastern time, and it's noon on the West Coast. Most people get up that early to watch college football on Saturdays anyway.

In a few years I'm sure Patty Kane the cabbie assaulter will get huge cheers.

Hopefully he comes back no later than that. I was so excited to see Modano play for Detroit, and it's really sad that he had to get injured this one year by some freak thing that happened.

A team I can't stand is playing in the Winter Classic while my Spartans are playing in a bowl game. Of course I'm gonna support my school over them. The only time I didn't was when the Wings were in the Winter Classic.

I'm so sick of the whole "Detroit has been consistently good so they don't have real fans" argument. People here go all out for the Wings. We have arguably one of the worst economies in the country and people are still buying tickets that they can't afford to come watch their team play. Fans in both our arena and at other teams' arenas risk being kicked out of a game so they can throw an octopus on the ice during the playoffs. Maybe it's rude to do that in another team's arena, but it is a statement for how much those fans love their team, that they are willing to risk missing the game just to show some support. And when we won the Cup a couple years ago, 1.4 million people skipped work or school to come celebrate at the parade which was on a weekday and very inconvenient. Just because a team is great doesn't mean their fans aren't real fans.

A couple opinions: 1. Most of the Hawks fans in the arena have been fans for about 1.5 years, so they probably didn't even know that Chelios played for them or who he even is in the first place. 2. I don't think we would do the same thing. If Sergei Fedorov was being honored, I doubt people would boo him, even though he left on his own choice (not traded like Chelios) and it really hurt.

If it's not two Western teams then I will scream! All this Eastern Conference bias is getting annoying. I don't care if it's Detroit as long as it's someone in the West. Although I don't want to hear anyone from the NHL saying Detroit was in the WC too recently so they can't host.

I hope the Wings never get cheerleaders. As a former cheerleader, I can say I hate pro cheerleaders. I lifted girls twice my size, threw them in the air and caught them. And I have smashed my face into the ground so many times trying to tumble and learn backflips. Pro cheerleaders don't really do anything but dance. It's not even exciting, and hockey is exciting enough.

The New York Yankees are the Detroit Red Wings of baseball.

Being a hockey player doesn't automatically make you right, by the way. All sports involve adrenaline and emotions, but you don't see stuff like this in basketball or football. I have played on sports teams before, and I'm sure almost everyone here has at some point. We know what it's like when an opponent gets under your skin. But we also know that people are watching. If I played a sport on TV professionally, I would have to watch my actions because this is not just sports we are dealing with, but the entire media as well. So as for your above statement, yes I understand what goes on in a game. Hockey is not the only sport where you get really pissed off at your opponents, and you are not the only one that knows anything about sports and emotion. We all know what it's like. But sometimes you need to control yourself on TV. TV is not the same as a beer league or school.

Personally, I think this should be suspended. Only because this is on TV for all of the little kids to watch and start copying. If a guy in a beer league did it, however, I would have no problem. This is also why players can't swear to the media or get suspended for saying things like "sloppy seconds." Even though personally I think this is worse than sloppy seconds. Still funny though. But it's not for everyone to see.

Totally skipped 3 classes and work to be there. Totally worth it!

Going to the game tonight! Totally excited to see Modano!

Hmmm...poor NHL. Get rid of the cap then.

Here is my major question: Is the punishment a result of the original 17-year contract, or are they being punished for the 15-year contract? I disagree with this punishment because: 1. If the Devils are being punished because of the original contract that they offered Kovalchuck, they should not be penalized because they did not go through with it after the NHL stepped in. The contract was taken away, so therefore no rule was broken. If the league told them that they would not allow the contract and the Devils went and did it anyway, then I can see them being punished. But they shouldn't be punished for something they did not follow through with. (Of course this is the NHL so maybe "intent to sign a contract" actually means that it counts) 2. If the punishment is a result of the new 15-year contract, then how can the NHL punish them if they approved it? Here, no rule was broken either because the NHL allowed this. I know $3 million is not a lot of money for a hockey organization, but the draft picks will really hurt because some of their players are getting up there.

It's weird that it's Lebda

I have a bf now who loves hockey and the Wings as much as I do. But before I met him I definitely used being a female Wings fan to my advantage. That was always my go-to flirting method at parties and bars. Most guys would make the exact same shocked and excited face whenever I put in my opinion of the last game or who I want to play in the playoffs, or what I think the lines should be, etc. I even got a marriage proposal from one guy I just met after I told him about my Zetterberg obsession. So I just wanted to tell all the girls out there and see if they experience the same thing.

This isn't really a problem. Remember all of our injuries last season. I would love to have too many good players and not enough spots as my team's biggest problem.

We neeeed him

So the Habs pull off a come-from-behind win as an underdog and the postgame is all about Crosby yet again (who did nothing all game)?