Uncle Danny

I'm hoping this is as true in his mind as it is in ours. He did spend years upon years in our development system, finally got his shot and took advantage of it like a stud. This is pure speculation, but I have to imagine that he's happy to be in Detroit given his trajectory. As our "goalie of the future" for so many years in GR, I'm fairly certain he could've raised a big enough stink by age 25 to get traded had he really wanted to. Another year like this, and he'll be due a hefty raise, but, given the speculation above, I don't anticipate hotly contested negotiations. I'm hoping he'll get the lowish end of his market value and not dicker...which will still be a heck of a lot more than Ozzy has made recently, but likely worth it if he avoids the sophomore slump.

Absolutely a classic. If Shanny weren't so damned smart and fiesty, I'd have loved to see him commentating. As it stands, though, I'm glad he is in a place to do some good for the game.

Heh. Well done. Lump taken graciously, and I admit to poor words on my part. All I really meant by that, as I think the rest of my post illustrated, is that if you think about the NHL as a business (and one that lost a significant market share following the lockout), it makes more sense to approach the Winter Classic as an acquisition opportunity than as a platform for user retention. When you only get center stage once (or so) a year, you don't use it to sing to your girlfriend despite your shareholders. I'm not even a marketer, and I can see that.

Let me get this straight... You'd rather not advance in the seedings so that Detroit's placement upsets Chicago's fans to a greater degree in the event of a series win? Homerism and hyperbole should seriously rhyme around here.

It'll never, ever happen, but... I'd take Iginla wearing the winged wheel in a New York second. And I'd give up a roster player to do it. What are two things our team is missing? What are two of the most lamented lackings on this very board? Toughness and a sniper. Sound familiar? He brings leadership to boot. Any team would be beyond silly to not add him to their roster, given the chance. Even if he isn't the same player he once was (and I personally chalk this up to a s***ty year), the dressing room presence, willingness to stand up for his team mates and Dan Marino like release make him worth a paycheck any year of the century. Oh, did someone mention hockey IQ? Yeah, I think he's got that too. Team minded? Yup. Able to mentor younger players? Check. Even if the Calgary poster here is correct about his decline, he would not be asked to be the man here, only to add to the soup. We already have at least three of "the men." But just like Hossa in the same position, we can't afford him. I can't believe this is even a debate.

Luke: Got 'im! I got 'im! Han Solo: Great, kid. Don't get cocky.

I think you're correct. According to my fantasy sites (sorry, guys), Kronner has 0 GWG this week.

Also agreed. This one could work. AO versus the biggest market in the league.

As someone else said, the small untapped market in Canada isn't going to change their mind because of this match-up. Further, absolutely no one in America that isn't already a die hard will even watch the commercials for this game. Some of the replies in this thread make me seriously wonder if people here have ever worked with a national marketing campaign. They don't need to overtly please us with this single game of the year, people. They already have us pleased with the other 82-ish that we watch, happily. Why on earth would/should they cater to the die hards when they have the big stage for once? We'll be there anyway! I worked at a national ticketing company for a ton of years, and people like us were their favorite users, by and large. We knew what we wanted, we bought tickets to those events (period) and we spent very little time on the website making decisions. As such, they didn't need to spend marketing dollar one on us. We were pure profit. Whereas most of the marketing spend and effort went to user acquisition, trying to gain new users who didn't meet the above criteria. If you were the NHL, and trying to increase revenue, you'd seriously consider playing a Minnesota/Dallas game before putting Sid on the main stage again against his (media) arch rival? I'm glad we're all armchair only commissioners, as that type of thinking would sink the league faster than a lockout.

I know this will be an unpopular opinion here, but... I honestly can't think of a better matchup than this to market to the casual/new fan. To my mind, this is the most important thing the NHL can be doing, as a business. As much as I'd love to see players like Miller or Parise showcased, they just aren't a reason for casual fans to tune in at this point. If they really want to highlight young stars other than AO and Crosby, it has to start with marketing well in advance of the Winter Classic for these stars be a pull for new viewers/potential fans. Simply focusing on them during the broadcast doesn't really accomplish much, as people won't tune in on the strength of Zach Parise's Q score alone. As a hockey fan, of course there are other games I'd like to see: Montreal/Toronto, Detroit/Pittsburgh, Montreal/Boston, San Jose/Vancouver (sorry, I'm on the west coast ), New York/New Jersey and I LOVE the Dallas/Minnesota idea. But the fact is, none of them will draw major network ratings like Washington/Pittsburgh. That match-up is almost as widely appealing as the Wings/Avs rivalry in the late 90's. I also don't buy the idea that every team should be given a shot before a team is repeated. IMO, they should look at what will draw the most viewers and has the best storyline for showcase each season. Currently, unfortunately for many here, that match-up happens to involve Sid Crosby, his 2009 Cup winning Pens, Alexander Ovechkin and his likely 2010 President Trophy winning Caps.

Shanny actually tweeted the following about it yesterday: EDIT: http://www.twitter.com/nhlshanny for anyone interested.

Great question, and one I've actually been waiting for on these boards for some time. Dino was, as you stated, a far better hockey player. He was a more aggressive agitator, he skated better, he was far more agile, his shot (from more than five feet out) was better, he was a better passer... Where Homer shines is twofold. I think his hockey IQ tops anything Dino (or most players for that matter) could ever hope for, at least when it comes to where shots are going to come from. I'd also give a large edge to Homer in terms of hand eye coordination. He has never shown me that he has "hands" that can handle the puck as well as a 4th liner, but I'll be damned if I've ever seen someone who can anticipate a shot and get the blade of his stick in front of it better than he does. It's absolutely amazing. Couple that with the positioning you already called out, and you have the best one trick pony of all time. Dino was the better player, but if I played GM I'd pass by him and pick up Homer several rounds later in a heartbeat. Similar bang for the buck, but at a far lesser cost. EDIT: Typos

C = Z A = Dats From there it gets a little dodgier in my mind. If Rafalski is still around (and I'm assuming Drapes has retired), then he'd be the logical next choice. But for the sake of argument, let's say Raf either retires or leaves the team. I'm not sure I'm feeling the leadership from Stuart or Kronwall that many here seem to be. That's not a knock on either one, they're both hard working players and I love having both in the lineup. Maybe it's because I've been so spoiled with alternates named Shannahan, Lidstrom, Draper, etc (even Chelios and Fedorov!), but neither one cries out to me for an extra letter on their sweater. That's not to say that I have a list of better alternatives. Franzen, while a force, also doesn't do it for me. He strikes me as too quiet (not that I'm in the dressing room, heh), and doesn't have nearly the level of skill that other "lead by example" types have shown (think: Lidstrom, Yzerman). Also, wouldn't it make more sense to continue with the tradition of spreading the A's across lines and roles? Draper was an obvious candidate for an A when he got one, based on leadership alone, but I have to think that his role on the checking line was a factor as well. Hmmm...So in summation, I have no freaking idea. So I'll just pull something out of my underpants and go with, ummm, Stuart. I doubt we'll continue with the triple A club, as I think that situation was unique given the respect afforded by Draper, and the talent/importance of both Dats and Z. There is no way anyone with an extra letter on their sweater right now didn't need to have that letter sewn on.

Wad of cash? Do a (very) quick glance around to see if anyone quite obviously dropped it. If so, I return it. If not, I keep it without guilt. With a wallet or card, I pick it up and seek out the owner. I wouldn't even take the cash in a wallet. For men: Nose hair -- pluck or trim? For the ladies: Leg hair -- shave or wax (or let it grow)?

Once upon a time, there was a rivalry with Toronto... Fact is, though, I grew to like Gill (like Chelios) and wish I'd had the chance with Clark. Both were hard nosed players, and always had my respect... even though I hated their guts.

Depends on the person, but usually a gift. Mac or PC?

I do indeed. Especially vanilla, with granola. The person below me liked Captain Piccard better than Captain Kirk.

Well said, although I do like Bert. I never liked Primeau, Clark, Gill or Hatcher, and I hated Chelios when we picked him up... but I rooted for each and every one of them. I think the only players I would have trouble rooting for in Red and White, in all my years of fandom, would be Claude and Pronger. Even with them, I'd be rooting for them to help the team win while hoping for a trade.

Huh. Pretty silly remark about Malkin, but the rest of it actually makes some sense. Ours is not a team known for fueling their winning performances with in-the-moment emotion (3/26/97 aside ). Oh, and I like Bob Errey. I didn't realize he was working for the Pens, but I'm happy he's still in the game. Loved him as a Red Wing, and love it even more if the rumors were true about Yzerman requesting he be picked up due to their time as linemates on the Petes. EDIT: Just found out he is also Terrible Ted's cousin. I like him even more now!

We never would have been able to hold onto Jagr on a team with the firepower and leadership we had. I know there is a lot of love for him on these boards, but let's face it... if Fedorov was a lockerroom distraction, I can't imagine what Jagr would've done for chemistry -- my guess is be traded away. I'm glad we picked Primeau over him, in retrospect. Hatcher and Tkachuk...eh, I think we made the right choice once it played out. All three were solid performers in their time. I might give the edge to any one of these three in a given year of their primes. The Brodeur thing, though. Man. Can you imagine how different our team would have looked with someone like Marty backing? It's hard to say that things would have worked out "better," but they certainly would have looked a lot different with one of the best ever in net. That's like some bizarro world type stuff right there. Chances are, we would have won our cups with him, but never would the lineups and systems we've lauded for the past 15 years been a responsible strategy with him as our last line of defense. Would we have adopted a puck possession game? Would the Russian Five have ever been? Would we have had to have traded someone like Nick at the advent of the salary cap? The mind boggles.

I'll second the noms for Hatcher and Whitney. Hatcher's situation is one he really can't be blamed for, but I was seriously excited when he was signed. Whitney I had high hopes for, but it was mostly an emotional hope rather than anything grounded in what he was actually capable of. I just liked him a ton as a player, and wanted to see him do well. I know these don't technically count as transactions, but I was very disappointed with how both the Fischer and Konstantinov situations played out (through no fault of their own, obviously). Wendel Clark is another that comes to mind.

Serious question here, I'm not looking to stir any pot... but... Where did this notion that Hudler is a defensive liability come from? Sure, he's no Flip on D, but "liability" denotes that he is a negative sum defensively, which I never saw. Obviously, our favorite hobbit would never be a PK force or be relied upon to shutdown the opposition's top line 5x5. But he was always responsible defensively, within his skillset and talent, no? When I think "defensive liability," I picture cherry picking forwards who consistently leave their linemates out to dry, or who commonly make dangerous and ill advised passes that turn the puck over. Hudler never matched that description in my eyes. As I said, honest question -- am I missing something here? Back on topic, I'd take Flip on my team before Hudler. He's not horrible offensively, plays well in the clutch, and is far more versatile. He'll never match Hudler's offensive IQ, but honestly, not many players will. If Huddles had another three inches and 15-20 lbs of muscle on his frame, he'd be a force. Any team would do well with either one of them on their roster. That said, I'd much rather have a beer with Hudler. He seems like he'd be a fun fellow to be around.

I've gotta take some issue here. Russia fell hard following the Soviet collapse, and things were rather nasty over there as I understand it. I've heard it often compared (by Russian expats) to a bunch of children whose parents suddenly skipped town. All the freedom in the world, and no idea what to do with it. This led to all sorts of violence, corruption and a mad dash for cash. But that was over a decade ago. I was in Russia this past May, and I have to say that St. Petersburg is one of the most impressive cities I've ever visited... on par with anything I've seen in the U.S. I witnessed no crime, the facilities (aside from the water and pollution, blech) were all better than what I've seen in other European countries and the cultural history was beyond rich. Sure, the food wasn't all that great (it reminded me of what I find in the Midwest), but the availability of any commerce item you could dream of, the public transportation, the business opportunities were all abundant. I'd go back in a heartbeat, even for a stay of six months to a year. I'd much rather live in Pitir than in Rome, New York, LA, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, etc... or even our beloved Detroit (where I actually did live for years). Anyway... that was all a bit off topic. The fan who hit the goalie is a jackass, just like jackasses you can find in New Jersey, Philly or any other major NHL town.... except for maybe San Jose. Those people are just plain tame. It's almost unsettling. EDIT: I remembered after posting that I did witness a crime. I actually had to "bribe" a cop for smoking in subway station, apparently the ONLY place in Pitir you are not allowed to smoke. The "bribe?" 300 rubles, or roughly $3.

That's like saying "Crap. I only have a few bills in my wallet, and they're all thousands."

Great explanation, actually. But who's tom? I kid. If you think about the physics of the situation, this makes perfect sense. The top hand has to move less distance through space to generate the same result at the end of the stick, and pulling is a more explosive and efficient use of power than pushing. I wasn't aware of an American bias, right or wrong, for the opposite approach. Thanks for pointing that out. I think the simplest and, possibly, best explanation I've heard for deciding which hand to use at the top of the stick is this (and I think I actually read it on this board -- kudos to whomever posted it): Start shoveling snow with a shovel. That's how you should hold your hockey stick.