GMRwings1983

That was Osgood's Conn Smythe, and would have gotten him to the Hall of Fame. But another Cup would have been one more item on Datsyuk and Zetterberg's side of the scale.

Kronwall is the hardest and most dangerous hitter on the team. Tootoo is the guy most likely to throw checks on every shift, though.

Now that I think about it, this depends on who the owners are. Maybe a new owner decades from now will decide to loosen the strict requirements for retiring Red Wings jerseys. Then, guys like Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Fedorov will get in. Look how Ilitch came in and took down Aurie's jersey. That took some gall. You never know what an owner in the future might do.

Pretty classless by Mike Ilitch. He needs to realize this franchise existed before he and his big money got there, and respect its history a little.

I always hoped he'd turn out to be the next Mathieu Dandenault. Alas.

Maybe, except there's no such "requirement" Sid Abel never hit even close to 1,000 points. Different era of course, but exceptions can be made regardless of numbers. Abel certainly deserved to be there. It's not just about stats or longevity, but also where those names rank in NHL history. If you look at who's up there and compare them to Datsyuk and Zetterberg, you'll see the difference. I think an exception should be made for Red Kelly, despite lack of longevity, but Ilitch and family seem to disagree. Then again, Ilitch and family had the gall to take Aurie's number down, which is something you don't see very often from other teams.

If Stu Grimson's number isn't retired, I don't know why Datsyuk or Zetterberg should be.

No. Red Kelly and Norm Ullman weren't retired, two guys with higher all time NHL rankings. Seems like the Wings only retire the most elite players in terms of rankings in NHL history. I don't think Pavel or Hank rise up to that level, unless the franchise wants to make exceptions to its previous standards.

A couple of dozen? That's pushing it a little.

To me, there's more elite centers or goalies in the league than there are defensemen. Technically, every team has a number one defenseman in terms of his standing on the team, but very few of them are elite. So Kronwall is our number one, but he's not an elite defenseman.

Tough to say. In the playoffs, his offensive game disappeared completely. In the regular season, he was very good offensively, but a train wreck in his own zone too many times. He will play as a number one because we won't get anyone better. But realistically, he's a guy that should be your second best defenseman.

I'm glad we don't have to deal with that team and its annoying fans anymore. And since they like our goalies so much, they can take my boy McCollum while they're at it.

I wonder how hard Alfie will get booed when we play in Ottawa.

Tough to say for me. I just know they're a young team, but I don't know what goes on behind closed doors (no I didn't watch that Oil Change show on NHLN ) Maybe he is a bad leader.

LOL at yourself. Don't you ever hear Cherry talk about how his Canadian boys play the game the right way, while those soft Euros shy away from contact? I was just making fun of Cherry's BS. Didn't know I'd have to spell it out for someone.

I'm guessing Kovalchuk will not be getting his jersey retired next year in Jersey?

Islanders - Tavares Dallas - Robidas Ottawa - Phillips Columbus - Dubinsky Calgary - Giordano Buffalo - Stafford Tampa - St Louis Edmonton - Hall Not sure about a lot of these. Many depend on whether the team rewards seniority, or wishes to make some younger player captain for the future.

Even though Kovalchuk beat up one of Cherry's "Canadian boys"? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aywypSGFDwo

"We like our team" Lou Lamoriello addressing the media today. Doesn't sound like he's going after Brunner to me.

Yet Holland doesn't? Lamoriello built that franchise from the ground up. He didn't just walk into a perfect situation with a bunch of Hall of Famers and yearly playoff success. He's had a tougher time since Stevens and Niedermayer have retired and since Brodeur became an old goalie. However, those Stanley Cup rings are very deserved. No one is giving him "too much credit" for the last six or seven seasons. Just what he did before that.

Then maybe you should be a coach in the NHL, since many of these coaches are apparently "wasting roster space" when they dress guys like Orr, Matt Kassian or Parros for occasional playoff games.

He'll toughen them up in the regular season with his manliness. But I think he should and will play in the playoffs if they go up against Boston/Ottawa/Toronto, and those teams dress their tough guys against Montreal.

I'm talking about playoffs. Montreal has been physically bullied in the playoffs by the Senators and Bruins in recent memory. They didn't sign Parros because he could help them score goals or help God (Carey Price) stop shots.

Ottawa punked them out of the playoffs. Boston has been punking them for years. There's no mystery why Montreal got Parros, despite previous attitude from their management that they didn't need to get tougher. The Sharks and Ducks haven't had goons for years. The Blues have and I've been upset at how guys like Backes and Stewart were given free reign to drill our stars into the boards and start scrums after whistles.

The only knock is that Lidstrom was the only player from that 2002 team in his prime at the time. The other guys were past their primes (Datsyuk was before his), albeit still good players. For that reason, there are a few teams in NHL history that I'd rank higher. However, as far as all time greats assembled on one roster (disregarding primes), that might be the best team ever, and certainly the best we're likely to see again. It's enough. Bure and Cam Neely didn't reach 800 if I'm not mistaken. Recent HOF inductees at that.