Yzersyukstromberg

When posting stat totals and using them as the main point of argument....consider something...Sergei Fedorov's prime was in a completely different 'era' of hockey. Back in the mid 90's, the NHL still had players winning scoring titles with point totals upwards of 150+ points....things were different then. Stats don't tell the whole story. Pavel Datsyuk on the other hand, is playing in the NHL during an era where only a few short years ago, Martin St. Louis won the NHL scoring title with only 94 points (forgive me if I'm off by a point)....THE GAME HAS CHANGED. I make no argument that Sergei Fedorov was the COMPLETE package, almost completely a natural talent.....but Sergei wasn't the consumate team player Pavel is, and it's shown even more since he left Detroit. He has basically turned into a 3rd line player since his departure. Long story short.....everyone who's sitting here trying to use statistics as the main point for their argument is completely off. Pavel Datsyuk is nearly averaging 1 point per game in his 6 1/2 year career, in an era where 1.20 points per game puts you in the race for a scoring title. There is something to be said about that........and if you were to factor in the fact that he was used in a 3rd line type of role for the first few years of his career, the stats are even more skewed. Again, for me it's Pavel Datsyuk.....I'll never sit here and try to diminish the role that Sergei played for the Wings in his time here.....he's a big reason why there are 3 cup banners hanging in the rafters from 97, 98 and 02. No doubt about it. He was an awesome player, and like alot of people say, he probably does deserve to have his number retired in Detroit....but the extracurricular stuff he 'pulled' puts a sour taste in alot of people's mouths. One last point....Fedorov was on the trade market at the deadline last season, and all the talk was that he was headed back to the Wings........does everyone think the reason why he's not here was because the Wings weren't willing to give up what the Jackets wanted in order to move him??? I don't think so. All of the rumors that I've heard say that at least half of the upper management team wanted nothing to do with him returning to Detroit....something tells me (and this is strictly my opinion) that Stevie Y was one of those guys. Anyways, just my 2 cents.

MY CHOICE = DATSYUK Here's my reason - Both of these players are highly talented hockey players in their prime, but one thing comes to mind for me.....ATTITUDE. Sergei always seemed to be lacking the positive attitude....great performer on the ice, but he seemed to take a lot of days 'off', where Pavel brings it every single night. He's all about team....I could never see Pav doing some of the things that Sergei pulled during his tenure with the Wings....ie; holdouts, etc.

I don't blame this guy for leaving, if he does. If I'm him, and I look at the situation, with Leino being stuck in Grand Rapids, all while Draper, Maltby, Kopecky and McCarty remain on the NHL roster, I'd be pissed too. He's better than all of those guys. I realize that contract situations are forcing the Wings' hand, but if I'm Leino, I'd feel the same way. The guy just wants to play the level of hockey he came over here to play.....not AHL hockey.

This type of a modification to the nets would take forever to completely implement to hockey abroad. It would be one thing to introduce this to the NHL, but to expect arenas across North America (and around the world for that matter) would be costly, take a long time, and in general would be difficult to get done in short order. I say stick with the nets that are in use now. There are easier ways to increase scoring....

No, I never have been to a game in Toronto, sorry. And, yes I do understand how the economics of major sports work....obviously there will always be a large showing of corporate types at sporting events...but one can't deny that our corporates are less than enthusiastic. Even though I thoroughly hate Toronto hockey fans, there is no comparison between the way Canadian hockey fans (and I'm a Canadian Wings fan saying this) and American hockey fans follow and cheer their teams. Each and every Canadian NHL arena is a madhouse on every game night...regardless of their team's standing in the league....while many American clubs have to be successful for some time before they can enjoy that type of support....in the Wings' case, it almost seems as if our success has become commonplace, and our fans save themselves for the playoffs. That's just my opinion though....... ***Well, I just realized that you live in Canada as well....so you must completely understand how hockey here is like religion...and that's (in my opinion at least) why Toronto enjoys such rowdy crowds despite their horrific record.

Apparently they believe he will be ready to go after the 1 week break for the All Star Game. We should see him back in the lineup in Columbus next Tuesday (27th), but I personally wouldn't be surprised if they held him out until the 29th when the Wings return to the Joe to play Dallas.

That rule isn't official. It's an unofficial 'rule'....Steve Mason of the Blue Jackets canceled his appearance in the Young Stars game, yet continued to start games for the Jackets after the announcement.

I'm OK with the 'tradition' part of it...but like I said, I make it out to every single game...and I can say one thing for sure. It's very predictable, and not very exciting. It seems like they hold back all of their flashy video graphics, organ music and 'pump up the crowd' type music until playoff time. I remember, even a few years ago, you'd have the 'Let's go Red Wings' organ playing constantly. I don't think I've heard it once this year. I have no problems with tradition, or honoring Detroit's motown heritage, but like has been said above.....be creative, not repetitive. I could close my eyes at the Wings game, and tell you exactly what's going on based on the song being played. That gets old. As for the new PA announcer....I agree, he sucks. Monotone, and just plain boring. There's no arguing the fact the Budd Lynch is old, senile and is losing it....but if we're going to diminish his role, shouldn't his successor be an upgrade??? I will say this....I still love Budd for calling Cindy by the name Steven Crosby at the opening puck drop of the '08 Finals. Best mistake the guy ever made. The Wings made a great new opening video that's played before the players take the ice for the first period, but another problem at the Joe....they're scared to pump up the volume. I love attending games at the Joe, because I'm there for the hockey being played, not the entertainment, but I can completely understand how some others might be turned off because of the 'boring' atmosphere. Our fans, for the most part, truly don't get into it. I think that mainly stems from the corporate types in the lower bowl, because I know myself and most of the 'true' fans in the upper bowl are loud and proud.

I would have watched the skills competition if Pav or Nick were involved, but neither was even included in any of the events anyways, so I'd have to say I'm going to skip it, as well as the All Star game this year. The whole thing is a farce anyways and without any Red Wings involved, it doesn't appeal to me whatsoever.

According to an article posted on NHL.com today, both Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom of our Red Wings will miss this weekend's All Star Game in Montreal, due to injuries. We all know about Datsyuk's injury (hip flexor) that occured last night in Phoenix, but Lidstrom's injury is something I didn't expect. Personally, I'm glad to see that our players will be making the smart choice and taking a week's rest at the mid-season break, rather than participating the Ducks/Hawks vs. Habs/Pens 'All Star' Game. Neither of these players has anything to prove, and considering the fact that priority #1 remains a Stanley Cup repeat, the rest will do them some good. Their replacements are Patrick Marleau (SJ) and Stephane Robidas (DAL).

Pavel Datsyuk looked good out there tonight. Hank Zetterberg did not (-4).

Our goalie situation isn't as bad as it looks. Our bigger issue at the moment is our road penalty killing, and our D's tendency to give up the puck in our own zone. I think at the end of the year, we'll have the same goaltending duo that you see out there now, and with any luck, Ozzie will be back to his old self. You really can't get on Conklin...the guy's been stellar, and nobody's perfect. The defense, however, needs to step it up a bit and get themselves back to the level they played at last year. Overall...we're still 31-9-6...an awesome record. These hiccups will happen, and a 6-game road trip is where they're most likely to occur.

Every time Hank scores, they play it. Been to every game this year, and nothing has changed...

Wings win tonight 5-1 Datsyuk gets 3 points (1G-2A) Zetterberg gets 2 points (1G-1A) Hudler gets 2 points (0G-2A) Conks gets another win and continues to make his case for the starting goaltender job. GO WINGS!

Check out www.2khockey.net They have a ton of downloads from all of the teams in the NHL. Should give you a good sampling from the JLA.

So true....it's a 'gray area' rule that gets called way too often, many times in situations just like Sammy's the other night against the Sharks. Meanwhile, the league continually ignores interference calls game after game after game...makes no sense whatsoever.

I think the longer the deal the better with Hank, honestly... If things go as expected, and he ends up as our next captain, we want this guy locked up for as long as possible. All injury speculation aside, this guy (along with Pav Datsyuk) will be the cornerstone of our franchise moving through the next 5-10 years. If Kenny Holland needs to sign him to a 10-year deal to get the cap number he's looking for, I'm all for it. Plain and simple, we need this guy on our team...he's a leader, and he plays great hockey at both ends of the ice. As long as it doesn't cripple us in terms of signing other UFA's we have coming up at season's end, I hope Kenny does whatever it takes, within reason, to make Hank a Wing for life.

Good for Bob. Another one of our Maple Leaf castoffs that ended their career on a positive note with the Wings!

Absolutely incorrect....if you think the Wings would even consider trading Lidstrom, or for the matter, Datsyuk, you're drunk.

It's a solid idea actually....only a few things....it would work out to an 80-game schedule in the format you suggested. 52 games in-conference (13 opponents x 4 games), 28 games out-of-conference (14 opponents x 2 games). This is probably a system that would work out perfectly for the league...which is exactly why Bettman will never do it. Good idea though. I like your train of thought. The only thing I think would probably work better, overall, would be to move Phoenix back to Winnipeg, and move Atlanta to Kansas City. Doing this, you could still utilize the 2 conference system, only you'd have to have an uneven out-of-conference schedule in order to keep the schedule from going to 86 games. I wouldn't mind seeing an 84-game schedule like the league had back in the mid '90s. That would be the way to make this work.

No way in hell the All Star Game should have any bearing whatsoever on home-ice advantage in the SC Finals. That's just foolish. If that was the case, the league can go ahead and shorten the regular season down to about 60 games instead of 82. There would be no point in such a long a grueling regular season. I can't ever see it happening, and if it did, I'd be extremely dissapointed.

He might just be the best player in the entire NHL.

I'm jealous...but I'd have stuck with the Wings jerseys just to piss of Kings personnel. Something tells me your lucky night would've been stopped short by a couple of events if you did that though! Good for you man!! Must have been an awesome night!

Horrible idea... This is the NHL, not the NFL. Let's not f*ck with tradition. It's worked just fine for over 100 years, why even consider altering it now??? We, as fans of whatever team we're fans of, deserve to see our team play at home if and when they reach the finals. It would be a HUGE mistake by the league to consider this as an option......which is exactly why they might just do it....because the NHL unfortunately has their head lodged inside their ass.

Yet again, the NHL makes a joke out of the All Star weekend. Favoritism is the theme this year, yet again...why in the hell would the league leave the player with the most electrifying moves in the entire league out of this competition??? Simple, just like already mentioned above....because they don't want him to win it. Thank god for the Red Wings, or I don't even think I'd watch hockey anymore...I hate the NHL. The day they lose Bettman is the day the league moves forward....