Uncle Danny

sidetrack Parker is the only Av you've liked? You never had any warm fuzzies for Sakic? Just curious. Despite the logo on his chest, he's exactly the kind of player that Detroit loves, IMO -- hard working, quiet leader, great longevity, classy off the ice, etc. /sidetrack

And Mac's grandfather was 34 years old when the Wings won their first cup of the 50's!!!!!! Ok, I made that up. Interesting find, though.

Neat post. Regardless of Bure's placement relative to Fedorov and Lidstrom, I think everyone on the planet can agree that the Red Wings had the best draft overall that year.

LOL!!!!

oooo, ozzie. nice save.

Huh? Where did I mention Fedorov? Neither player is in their prime any longer, but I'd welcome both back.

I may be in the minority here, but I want the road to the cup to include all the top competition. Obviously, it'll never happen, but I would love to see us have to down Anaheim, Dallas and San Jose en route to the cup. There would be something oh-so-satisfying about taking on all the toughest comers and walking away with the championship. Minnesota or the Avs would make for fun hockey to watch given play styles and history, respectively, so I'll take either of them in lieu of one of the above.

My mistake. I think you guys are right.

It's the Empire's theme from Star Wars. I'll see if I can find a clip.

Another thing I've noticed is that very few people mention what McCarty did to Claude after he turtled, and its symbolic significance... note that after the turtle pose, Mac picks him up and skates him over the bench, smashing his head into the boards a few times. It's not the exact spot, but damned close to where Draper took his hit. I can almost hear him asking Yertle "how do YOU like it?" I've wondered for years if this was a conscious thing or if he was just trying to get away from the refs and beat on him some more. EDIT: Typo

Agreed on the chills. I must have watched this video over a hundred times over the years and it never, ever gets old. Any youngsters that wonder why us old folks are so psyched about Mac coming back need only watch that video and have someone who was around for it explain the story behind each and every punch. Something I just noticed that I really have to give a hand to the maker of the video for is the moment when Mac is fighting Deadmarsh. Obviously, Deadmarsh was doing what he should have, which was to try and send a message to McCarty about the way he manhandled Turtle. Mac says "I hear you, but I'm not listening," in true #25 form.... anyway, the lyrics at that point of the video are something like: "You'd fight and you were right, but they were just too strong." Awesome.

You miss my point. I never said that Holland WOULD trade him away... what I was trying to point out is that his lower-priced, long-ish term contract makes him more attractive to other teams, and that he COULD be traded away after leaving money on the table, ostensibly to stay in Detroit. In other words, without the NTC in place, Cleary would have left himself open. Make sense? Contract negotiations 101: Plan for the divorce, not the marriage.

To those that pointed out the interesting NTC, I think it makes perfect sense for Cleary to have one. I don't think anyone doubted that he wanted to stay in Detroit, given Babcock's presence and his own rejuvenation there... that, coupled with him taking a lower salary than he likely could have gotten on the open market made a NTC a no brainer. Without it, he ran the risk of taking a lower salary and then being traded. Imagine next trade deadline when the next Hossa comes on the market if he didn't have this clause. We've now got an underpaid, instant performer, under contract for 4 more years and at only 30 years old. Trading him up to a seller would be a no brainer. Savvy move on Daniel's agent's part. And I'm happy to keep him for another 5 years

http://hockeyinformer.com/main/weeklyprojections is reporting that Hasek will start tonight.

Dude, that's BS. Neely didn't play in the freaking 50's. This argument always drives me nuts. He also played in the era of no instigator rule.

Shanny will get some respect from opposing players for his grit, size, shot and willingness to back them all up with a good donnybrook. Neely made the rain clouds straight up confused. If they rained on him, he'd skate between the drops, if they dropped some thunder, he'd plow on through to the goal... and if, heaven forbid, they pissed him off, he'd drop the gloves, kick some cumulus ass and rattle one off the top bar the next chance he got...then he'd break a hip the next shift :\

Yeah -- Mickey was ripping on him for being under-dressed. His reply was "it was casual Thursday!"

Cool to see Selanne, Mogilny and Graves getting some love on these lists. They didn't crack my top five, but all are great choices. Some others I wish I had room for: Denis Savard, Theo Fleury (not classy, but never dull), Gerard Gallant, Steve Chiasson, Stu Grimson (yep, you read that right).

Why on earth would Babcock sit Sammy over either Drake or Downey? He obviously isn't a star, but the guy brings dimensions we're short on and that both D&D completely lack. I understand it's chic to whip on him, but I mean, come on... It's gotta be one of Kopecky, Downey or Drake that sits. I'm with the folks above guessing it'll be a rotation to see who clicks. I'd love as much as anyone to see a Downey, Mac line keeping things honest... and the way Downey's been stepping up his game, I'm going to bet Babs gives him the chance. Keeping Kopecky up to help his maturity will definitely be a consideration, but come playoff time, it's all about who is playing well. Edit: Qualifier -- this all assumes that Mac plays well enough to crack the lineup int he first place. Here's to hoping!

He was becoming a US citizen

Was good to see him come to the defense of Dom yesterday too. I thought he could have roughed old boy up a little more than he did, given the circumstances, but to his credit he jumped right in and didn't take any stupid penalties for it.

Oh, I definitely did, and I cheered. It gave me to GAA and SV% win in my fantasy league this week!

Never mention the S word while the clock is still ticking!

Oh no! You didn't just mention that, did you? D'oh!