Uncle Danny

Howe as a Wing Probert as a Wing Larionov as a Wing Bert as a Canuck Clark and Gilmour as Leafs Mogilny as a Sabre Belfour and JR as Hawks Gretzky as an Oiler Muller as a Hab Kariya as a Duck Lucky Luc as a King Jagr as a Pen Just off the top of my head...

Boy, this is a tough one. The guy stands on his head more nights than not for us, even at his age. I mean, even anecdotally, he is the only reason we were in a position to come back against the Wild the other night, playing fierce even when the rest of the team looked entirely flat. He was a large part of a cup win in 2002, and, a few rough patches aside, hasn't really lost much in terms of productivity since. Were it not for Ozzie having a career year, any talk of him retiring would leave me entirely cold. That said, the talk about Howard is spot on. We need to get this kid in the lineup soon if he's ever going to mature the way everyone thinks/hopes he can...and we're going to need him in top NHL form in a few short years once one or both of our current tandem decides to hang up the pads. I think one thing is relatively certain, though. He will retire a Red Wing. I just hope that doesn't come at the expense of Howard's career, or (gasp) Kenny deciding to trade away Ozzie again to give Jimmy a shot next season. I mean, let's face it: Ozzie is 34 years old, playing like an elite goalie and tied into a relatively cheap contract for what he's bringing to the table these days. That HAS to make him appetizing to more than a handful of teams needing goaltending help right now.

Awesome article. He's freaking hilarious. He's gone from one of my least favorite Wings to one of my alltime favorites in just a few years. The game he plays and the attitude he brings are truly unique.

1. A. Ovechkin 2. J. Sakic 3. P. Marleau 4. S. Crosby 5a. B. Jackman 5b. E. Malkin G: Ryan Miller

Re: Adams Agreed. It is amazing to me how a man that did so much harm to the game and the players he was responsible for can continue to be honored with a trophy like that. By all accounts, he was an awful man to work with and made personnel decisions based on grudges and manipulation.

1. Jagr 2. Pronger 3. Sedin squared 4. Jiggy 5. Marc Crawford (I don't care if he's not a player. If you asked me what my top five least favorite sushi rolls were, #5 would be Marc Crawford. I hate him so much that I won't ever allow him to crack the top 4 on any list I produce, yet he will always ride the bottom when the word "hate" is in the title.)

Wow, great post. I couldn't agree more...although I'd take Sundin in a pinch for a song and a smile Hossa, assuming the contract talks end before the trade deadline, would fit in wonderfully. He's a great second-franchise type player. He'll never be a Z or a Sundin in the leadership or personality department, but the rest of his game is lights out. I have to imagine that with the right people sitting in front of him on the depth chart...bang.

He can't hold a candle to this kid (forgive me if I missed this posted elsewhere):

This is silly. I posted the video for clarification because I wasn't sure that mason got the references earlier in the thread. And who was laughing at the way he talks, aside from his comments in that context being ridiculous? I certainly wasn't (reread the thread if you wish). It was a funny reference to another primadonna athlete bitching when they get called out for missing practice. Nothing more.

It isn't your point that is being questioned. Your point is a fair one. It was the way you delivered it that elicited this response.

QFT. That's just messed up, and I'm glad you had the guts to say what I was thinking.

Ok, I'll bite. Your request for personal accountability is well taken, but your approach to the argument has me seriously scratching my head. Kwame, Vick and Emery = hip hop attitude for not taking responsibility for their actions (and, not that I'd defend the piece of trash, but Vick did, in his letter to the judge). Kwame, Vick and Emery also all = african american Mac = potential white trash, but not white trash since he took responsibility for his actions I question your reasons for grouping these folks the way you did. Latent racist much?

I'm actually enjoying the fact that I am consistently given a reason to hate the Ducks in recent years. It lets me finally let go of my hatred for the Avs so I can actually root for one of the classiest players in the game, Joe Sakic. And no, I'm not being sarcastic or cute. With Turtle, Keane, Roy, Ricci, Foote and others all gone, I no longer feel guilty for being a Joe Sakic fan. There, I said it. Damn, that felt good. Oh, and screw the Ducks....(even though I feel guilty for being a Selanne fan )

Oh, and back on topic... if Emery is trying to get traded, he's not being very smart about it. His stock drops every single time his name appears in one of these threads

I'm going to guess that was sarcasm, but just in case...

Why do you dislike him?

Fair points all. What I was getting at by mentioning the national exposure is that many casual fans who will watch only the odd home team matches, but don't obsess over the game, (like me and many of you) watching any game that is on at a given moment, will tune in for this event and, hopefully, find a marquee player they can get behind. I mean, who wouldn't want to watch more Pens or Caps games after seeing Malkin or Ovechkin play? As I said, it's not perfect, but it's the best we've got right now. Your point is well taken, though. It would be a far more effective spectacle if it was on, say, ESPN.

No. Is this a joke? This is the biggest marketing weekend outside of the playoffs that the league has. It's also a chance to showcase talent that most casual fans haven't seen in a national light (e.g ovechkin to the western conference fans). Is it perfect? Of course not. What is? Should we get rid of it because some spoiled Wings fans (present party included) aren't happy with the format or roster? That's just crazy talk. The whining over minutiae and homerism on this board is starting to drive me nuts. People, please look beyond the 313 area code! We love the greatest game on the planet, yet all people seem to focus on is nits about how the Wings were slighted in every thread. I love them as much as (or, I expect, more than) most of you, but I love the game even more. -UD PS: You have had the winningest team for the past 15 years to root for. Please apply some of that love to the game that they play. Please think of the reasons that each of the players you love and despise get up and lace the skates each night. This game goes back a century. If you don't, then you have no right to ***** without backing it up sans homerism. PPS: You root for an Orginal Six team. Act like you respect that history, good and bad.

Pardon my french, but what have you been smoking? Homerism is all fine and good (and something I can fall back on from time to time), but Stevie retiring in no way or shape affected our production negatively. He was a 3rd line winger, at best, upon his retirement, and no one could move in to take the team into the next century until he was gone. If he came back (or lingered any longer), it would have COST us potential cups, not bring them home to Detroit. Don't get me wrong -- I just paid $350 for a Petes autographed jersey -- but Stevie picked the right time, give or take a season, to bow out. Another classy move by a legendary leader who understands how and when to lead. Having him around would not help us one iota at this point. EDIT: clarity

Meh. It would definitely make them scarier, but not so much that I'd worry about them more than, say, the Ducks or Sens. Keep in mind that Forsberg hasn't played in 8 mos, Sundin has been on one team his entire career, and that we'd be completely shaking the foundation of the Canucks offensive foundation (ha, did I just type that?). It would be asking a lot for that forward corp, new and old alike, to make the necessary adjustments to their game and to find chemistry as a unit. Now, if they had this lineup for all of (or even most of) a season.... yikes. BTW -- Anyone else think that a line of Sedin, Sundin and Sedin would give play by play announcers nightmares?

I'd have been fairly inarticulate next to Snoop as well... that guy has charisma for miles. I'd love to see him become a marketing face for the NHL. Seemed like he actually knew his s*** fairly well, too.

This my be blasphemy in LA, but did anyone else think Tommy Lasorda sounded, well, not quite all there last night? I felt bad for him and for the commentators the way his stories kept on going and going and going. Was glad to hear that he's a hockey guy, though

I was watching a game yesterday and the commentators between periods said much the same thing, and called out Rafalski as the one who should be there in his place. Trying to remember which game it was... Minnesota, I think?

Anyone else watching the LA broadcast?

What Mac said. The Kings played with more energy, and, while Homer's shot was a good one, Datsyuk got a little lucky on the setup. Osgood's playing really, really well.