Uncle Danny

This. I'd do the same stuff I'd do with Crosby, from the other thread, only I'd ask Z's girl for an autograph instead of his landlord. Not to open a can of worms, but I think a lot of the posturing in the Crosby thread is just that, posturing. If I had the chance to spend the day with just about any NHL player, the routine would be the same. I'd be thrilled, and grill them for stories at a pub most of the time. Why would I turn down a chance to get an in depth, OFF THE RECORD look inside the game simply because I don't like a player on the ice? Who here wouldn't love to hear Pronger give you a first hand account of his heart stoppage (maybe a bad example), Fedorov tell you all about why he really left the Wings (and all about Anna K) or even Bobby Ryan or Perry talk about their Olympic experiences? How about Turco talking about why he has traditionally been a flop at the Joe, or Brodeur discussing the Devil's system that brought them their cups? Of course, you'd never get all the answers you were after, but I'd be a fool to pass up the chance to ask over a beer (thus my emphasis on "off the record" above)... and these threads ARE about having 24 hours of access to them, and not a chance encounter, right? It's not like you could randomly run into these guys in a bar and have the time or access to really get into it.

I'm going to skip right on past the obvious jokes and rivalries, and say that I'd: Ask his landlord for an autograph Ask him for an autograph Hit a dive pub with him and have him tell me stories from inside the NHL Ask to see his trophy and awards collection Ask him to give me a hockey lesson Tuck him in and say goodnight

Nope. I hope they always play in the Olympics. The person below me speaks more than one language.

Thank you, Doc. You said it better than I did, and I couldn't agree more.

Jiminy cricket. Give it a rest, you two.

I do indeed, but probably not for the reason you think. It's 60 degrees and sunny here, but I broke my favorite pair of flip flops yesterday. I must've had ten years and a thousand miles on those puppies. RIP, flip flops. The person below me thinks William Shatner would be a great dinner guest. EDIT: typos

I'm an American rooting for, in order: * Russia: Datsyuk is probably my favorite active player (sorry, Lids), and this team is built for exciting hockey...Plus my wife is Russian, heh. * Canada: Steve Yzerman. I actually dislike many of the players on this team, but you can't deny their talent. Oh, and I kinda like their coach too. * USA: My home country, although if they win it will be on the strength of their goaltending (read: not the most exciting hockey to watch, IMO). I'm rather ambivalent about most of the players, aside from Miller. * Sweden: Red Wings. EDIT: Of course, I'll be pulling for Team USA in any game I watch. But this is more because it's what I think I SHOULD do than what the hockey fan in me wants to see happen.

I'm not going to jump on the Crosby hatewagon in this thread, but I applaud Dubinsky for calling it like he see's it, right or wrong. It's very refreshing to hear a player speak his mind rather than spouting the usual vanilla cliche cone. Oh, for the days of Hull, Shanny and JR interviews.

Current: Datsyuk. He has moves like no one before, and is one funny sumbitch when interviewed. Plus I have a soft spot for Russians. All Time: Yzerman, Datsyuk, Probert, Larionov, Draper, Shanny, Burr, Gallant, Avery If I was simply listing my favorite players, it might look a little different (e.g. including Lidstrom), but I took coolest to mean someone you not only love watching play, but who would be a riot to have a beer with. In fact, I almost excluded Yzerman from the list for this very reason -- he's one dry mf'er...but, well, he's Steve Yzerman.

Small point of contention: Four points behind the Avs with two more games played. This is a ton less appealing than four points behind at even games. I don't like our chances, but I'm holding out hope and certainly haven't given up on the boys yet. And I absolutely hope Calgary continues the losing trend they seem to have (unfortunately) stabilized. To the OP: If the Wings don't make the playoffs, I think Babcock is secure in his job. Look at the man's record here. You don't hit a panic button that hard when a team barely misses the playoffs despite fielding 50% of an AHL team for much of the season. If anything, I think even playing to contention for the post season is laudable. Of course we all hope that Maltby decides to hang them up (with mad thanks for the years of service), and that Nick decides he has one more year left in him for a vastly smaller paycheck, but who knows? With so many variables floating around, it's tough to prognosticate. To be honest, I'm not sure I like our chances next season either, even if Nick continues to play and, very generously, frees up some $4million in cap space. I just don't see this team as a $4million player away from another deep run. All that said, I really hope I'm wrong, and I'll be here every game regardless of the outcome.

This might be the single greatest typo I have ever seen. Shoot, I might start using that one on purpose. Thank you, LfL. As for Stuart, he's been pretty brutal of late. But, honestly, can you say you're surprised? He played lights out for much of the first half of the season, and is a large reason we're still even mentioning the word "playoffs" next to a phrase like "might still make." One of the biggest knocks on Stuart over his career has been consistency. So a player, known for ups and downs, who overachieved for some months has suddenly hit a slump? ZOMG. TRADE HIM FOR A BAG OF PUCKS! GET MURPH BACK ON THE ICE! WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THIS ONE COMING?!?!?!? Meh. Even with his recent performances, the dude has exceeded my expectations for him this year. I think we all know that pointing the finger at any one player in only a handful of games (good or bad...mostly bad) for our situation this season is foolish. Oh, and to whoever said Ericsson + Stuart == bad idea: Yes. Very good call.

It made me crack a smile, but I can't say I laughed out loud. The person below me wishes they made printers that came with unlimited toner/ink.

Lately, I gotta go with officiating. Consistently inconsistent and getting increasingly consistent in that regard. The nets above the boards are also a pet peeve, although I suppose in the grand scheme I understand why they're there and why that's not a bad thing. Chris Pronger That the leadership award is named for Messier and not Yzerman. The TV deal. Although it doesn't impact me personally in any major way (I typically watch online or at the pub), it definitely hasn't done anything positive in terms of growing the fan base. The salary cap.

Easy. Pronger by a few country miles. I hate the hype around Sid, but love watching him play. Sure, he's a little vanilla off the ice, but why would that make me hate him? I feel more of a rivalry with him than anything approaching real hatred. Much like I felt for guys like Forsberg back in the day. I may talk trash about him and hope he has a horrible season, but I sure as heck respect his talent and the way he plays hockey. As someone else stated previously, Pronger is a straight up villain. Sure, he's a talented guy and a proven winner, but there isn't much I respect about the way he approaches the game. He seems to enjoy hurting people. No, sir, I don't like him.

I'm not a sky is falling type, nor a guy who will start pointing fingers when things go wrong. But... The officiating in this league is ******* horrible. HORRRRRRRRRIBLE. We lost that game due to some defensive misses, not that final call. But... We also scored our first goal on a blown call, we watch multiple non-calls for both teams, and then they call that bulls*** in the last 1:45??? WTF???? Yes, I'm upset about the loss, but when is the NHL going to do something about officiating? It's seriously a joke!

Wow. Ken's been quick tonight with the zingers against the refs for past gaffes... Good on him.

Ditto. This should be interesting.

Because his ambulance chasing dad is so respected?

"He put that yoyo to sleep!" Ha!! God bless Mick.

Ha, yeah. I figured I'd catch some heat for that one. Just like with the "hated players" list, sometimes there isn't a rational reason. I've just always liked the guy, and enjoyed his game.

Chris Pronger Mike Green Sid Crosby Both Sedins All the Staals Mike Commodore Jonathan Cheechoo Rob Blake Roberto Luongo Brad Richards Marty Turco (just couldn't stop at five)

(I couldn't stop at five, and I'm only counting players who have never been a Wing) Alexander Ovechkin Mike Richards Barret Jackman Duncan Keith Jonathan Toews Andrei Markov Patrick Marleau Willie Mitchell Evgeni Malkin

Yup, I have definitely noticed this as well. It drives me nuts when people call him an over the top homer. To my ears, he has serious love for the Wings, obviously, but he loves the game even more -- and calls things accordingly. Next to the Wings, I watch more Sharks games than anything (due to where I live), and thus get to listen to Randy and Drew quite a bit. They bring the same sort of humor and character to their broadcasts as Ken and Mickey, but tip the scales on the homerism front. I'm firmly of the opinion that we're blessed to have the broadcast team we do, even if I do miss Strader. Has there been any talk of when Mick might retire? Has there been official discussion of Murphy being his successor? I don't mind Murphy as much as some around here seem to, but that would leave a huge vacuum, character wise. I would love to see someone like DMac be given a few games in front of the camera to see how he does. He just has so much more charisma than Murphy, and I liked what little I saw during the Nashville game recently.

Where did this 14-3 business start? Cracks me up every time, even after seeing it for a few years now. I especially liked last season, or the season prior when someone pointed out that the Wings have a better chance of winning 14-3 than the Lions do.