Uncle Danny

IIRC, they both signed for like $1m in order to play together, causing many internet jokes about them also picking out drapes. I don't think the salary cap was the issue here. EDIT: Before I get flamed, I was simply pointing out that the salary cap had no bearing on getting those two players on the same team that season. It had to do with two friends wanting to play together and hopefully win a cup. Didn't quite work out in the end, though.

Dude, you should seriously consider unplugging and getting a spa treatment come UFA day this summer. From what I've seen today and last July, you're going to blow a vessel one of these deadlines.

I don't get why so many people keep bringing up our cap space as a reason that a move should've been made. I didn't see many salary dumps today, did anyone else? It's not as if we could walk into the CBJ offices and say "Hey there, fella. Let me take Nash's cap hit off your hands, and here, I'll throw in an Emmerton. We've got plenty of cap wiggle room." That cap space is only useful in two scenarios: 1) a seller wants to dump salary (didn't happen today) or 2) we use it to pick up a high priced R/UFA in the offseason. Would I have liked to see some movement in Detroit today? Sure, who wouldn't have? But the prices being asked in terms of picks were just way beyond what the assets being delivered were worth. The cap space we have available was a complete non-factor.

Ummm, that's because Yzerman's team isn't making the playoffs and needed to stock up for the future. If we were sitting in 11th place, I'd bet my left pinky you'd have seen Holland making similar moves. Apples and oranges.

Trying to quantify something like this is a fools errand. Stats and awards be damned. Depending which criteria you use, an argument could be made quite well for any of the three. (IMO) Lidstrom is the best player of the three. His game is flawless. That said, Stevie was the consummate selfless leader, and dragged this team out of the grave by sacrificing his body and completely reinventing his game despite enormous offensive talent. Gordie? Well, geez. What can be said that hasn't already? The man is Mr. Hockey. He's pretty universally recognized as one of the two most important players ever to lace them up, league wide. It all really depends on your definition of greatest, I suppose. Given that, and voting with my heart, I'm going with Stevie for the reasons outlined above. He had the talent, the leadership and the character to take a dead franchise and turn them into a perennial winner. Plus I love the legend (not sure if it is true or not) that he threatened to retire if he was traded from the Wings -- that's character.

Yzerman and Panger, Yzerman and Errey both come to mind.

(I just went for my favorites here, please be gentle) Shanahan - Yzerman - Gallant (I debated Sheppard for Gallant, but the stache won) Kozlov - Larionov - Fedorov (How can you NOT reunite the Russian 5 in a thread like this?) Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Hull (Probably my second favorite line ever, behind the Rooskies) Probert - Mac - Kocur (Yes, I realize there is no center on this line... but manoman would this have been fun to watch) Lidstrom - Coffey Papa Bear - Vladdy Murphy - Fischer Hasek Vernon Also rans: Draper, Dino, Chaisson, Rafalski, Helm, Pushor (remember I said it was favorites, right?)

Man. This would almost be too good to be true...but MacGuire is hardly Eklund, so there must be SOMETHING to the rumor. In addition to all the obvious stuff about his scoring, size and age, doesn't the kid have like 7 more years under contract? Jeebus. I'd hate to see Flip and/or Smith go, but color my interest more than piqued.

This much is definitely true

I had a similar thought. A broken jaw isn't something you come back from in tip top shape immediately. Unless someone here has heard differently, I'd expect he's lost of ton of weight and strength. Generally, I agree with egroen's assessment of him being the most valuable on that list, but I suspect it'll be next season before we see Patty back at 100%. Making a quick move based on his return would feel odd to me, if I'm correct.

Riding on what some others have already said, I love the draft idea. I'm not sure I'd buy into fan drafting -- can you imagine how lopsided some events would be when one fan knew his/her stuff and the other just got lucky in the lottery? Ugh. No thanks. What I think could be interesting is if they somehow found a way to decide on two "All Star" GMs, and let them draft. Not only would this ensure that the players were being picked by someone who knows how to build a team, but would spark all sorts of buzz following. "OMG, Holland picked Weber first -- you just know he'll be making a play for him at the deadline!" That said, I will admit that seeing players selected by their most elite peers is also pretty cool. For my part, I took more pleasure in following the drafts than I did from the game itself. Other random thoughts; * Remove fan balloting, as many others have mentioned. It's turned inclusion into a joke. The original premise was a decent one -- get the players on the ice that fans want to see play -- but it just plain hasn't worked. Axe it. Let the press and insiders decide. Maybe the fans get to vote on team captains or something. * The kids versus the goats idea is an interesting one. Seeing the youngsters play the vets would be a blast, and would definitely up the compete level. This might have negative implications on the selection process, though. * I love the idea, in theory, of sending one representative from each team to participate in each skills contest. But I fear it would make things damn near impossible to watch. Imagine sitting through 30 shot accuracy rounds, followed by tie breakers, etc. Way, way too long.

I agree. Seems to me that all parties involved did what was right from their spot in the world: 1) Shanny had to suspend AO. Intent or maliciousness aside, it hit several of the marks for exactly what he's said he'll punish. 2) AO is a fiery character, and it sounds like truly believes the suspension was excessive. In his eyes, if you're going to suspend me, why should I play in your cash cow? 3) Bettman (or whomever the powers that be are in this case) recognize that his point is valid, even if it is a latent middle finger to them. No need to further rake the muck. I'm a little personally disappointed, as he's one of the most entertaining guys to watch at these events, but I get it. Cest la vie.

ESPN is reporting that there will be no suspension for opting out. This was one hell of a ballsy move by AO. Love him or hate him, you have to admit the guy's got brass in his pants.

This just occurred to me, although I know it's a pipe dream... can you guys imagine seeing the Production Line reunited for a shift with Stevie centering? EDIT: And the Russian 5 with Brownov (put Sergei back on D), and the original Grind Line and, and, and, and... sigh.

Sadly, I doubt any of the Russian 5, outside of maybe Larionov, would make the trip. Kozlov has been gone a long, long time. Fedorov is on the other side of the globe, as is Papa Bear. I would love to see the Prof lace them up again for us, though. I'd bet they dress Valddy, although he obviously can't actually play. I'd think Chelios is a no brainer, and probably Kocur. It might be too soon for Mac, Draper and Ozzie, but I wouldn't mind seeing any of them...nor Maltby. Maybe Gallant? Verbeek? For a no contact, low impact game, it would be awesome to see Fischer again, doctors permitting. Murphy is almost a no brainer to play. Sad as it makes me, I think the previous poster was right about Shanny and Yzerman. It would be a small conflict of interest for either to play. As for Gordie, I think you're right. I'd be he dresses and plays a ceremonial shift. Same for Mickey, although I wonder if he has the lungs for it. All in all, though, I'd give my left pinky toe to see #19 out there one more time. Just don't think it'll happen, given his current position.

Not trying to be snarky, but I see a couple problems with this idea: 1) Selanne isn't going anywhere. He'll retire a Duck. 2) Why would we risk our playoffs by putting a rookie in place of our best stay at home guy? Selanne would definitely add some scoring punch, but wouldn't the replacement of Stuart with an unproven prospect more than offset that benefit? 3) The only way this works, assuming Selanne agreed to it, is if he's set on retiring after this season. So what have we netted unless he single handedly brings us the cup?

IF the rumors are true about him wanting to head back to California, I think yours is an unfair indictment of Stuart. From everything we've heard and read, leaving Detroit for CA would in no way be a reflection of his feelings about Detroit as a city, a team or an organization. In fact, I'd be surprised if he has anything but positive thoughts about his time here. He won the Cup, boosted his level of play and all in all busted his ass for us. Stuart wanting to be near his family, and most likely doing it at the expense of playing for a contender (this assumes Holland does everything in his power to keep him out of SJ) shows character to me, honestly. Family should always come first, and he's definitely already done his share of the bringing-home-the-bacon part of that job description while in Detroit. He's paid his NHL dues, and apparently wants to finish the second half of his career near his loved ones. I don't know about anyone else, but there is no way I'd trade being able to spend months and months per year with my daughter out of loyalty to any employer. In short, I'll miss him (he's one of my favorites on the team), but not only do I understand why he'd move on, a part of me actually applauds it.

Just to keep things interesting, I'm going to avoid players I've not seen play and eschew with the big three (Lidstrom, Mario and #99). Lines are in no particular order, and all players in their prime...built to win a single game: Selanne Datsyuk Jagr Shanahan Oates Hull (The Blue Line) Mogilny Fedorov Bure (The Red Line ) Ovechkin Crosby Yzerman Stevens Pronger Coffey Niedermayer Borque Konstantinov Hasek Brodeur Man, reading back through that I guess I'm a giant homer. Lots of former Wings on that list. Cest la vie. Also, I know some will question the inclusion of Oates here. To me, though, pairing him with Hull is a package deal. He was easily the best passer not named Wayne of his day, and Hull was a magician at being invisible until the puck was in the net. Unstoppable duo, IMO. It was a tough call for me between Brodeur and Roy, but Marty ultimately got the nod for a couple of reasons: he was less prone to blowouts than Roy, and his puck handling was par none for goalies.

Honest question here: with all the talk of Stuart leaving, I seem to recall hearing something here (uncited, IIRC) about him selling his California (San Jose?) home. Does he hold another home in SoCal? Did he relocate his family to Detroit? If that rumor was true, it would stand to reason that one of the two scenarios above is likely and would definitely play into his decision as to where to play next year.

Please explain this. I am so tired of hearing about this Bettman conspiracy to ruin this game that I could puke. Further, what on earth does Gary Bettman (or Sid Crosby -- kidding!) have to do with MN's success? If someone could please direct me to data that ties Gary Bettman to MN winning a bunch of games, I'd love to read it. Seriously, I'd eat that s*** up. Until then, hats off to the WIld for exceeding expectations. Go Wild, unless you're playing the Wings.

As Mickey would say: "Now, you kids out there, pay attention, you could learn something from the pros."

Depends on the day. Usually beef. Stalin or Hitler?

Can't say I've ever had the pleasure, but I'm wary. The person below me has (intentionally) broken a board with their hand or foot.

+1 for the Eric Hipple reference... although I was always more of a Gary Danielson guy. As for Z, people just need to relax. He may not be the 40+ goal scorer he was (once), but he's still a 75+ pts producer, can play two forward positions well, is an incredible shutdown forward, is one of the heart and soul guys on the team (and our likely next captain), and has carried the entire team on his back for stretches when injuries occur as recently as last season. And his wife is really hot and I'd hate to see less of her around here were he traded. There, I've said my peace. We keep Z.

Saltines only purpose in life is to deposit salt into my mouth. So salted. Gloss or matte?