Bring Back The Bruise Bros

Lol. Neil could wipe the floor with Abdelkader, Ericsson, and Quincey all at once. Am I hearing you suggest we sign McGrattan?

Lulz @ Lucic. There aren't a ton of "heavyweights" anymore, but I'd say there's still a fair amount of guys who can throw.

I mean, McGrattan's a free agent.

Maybe Blashill is more open to fighting than Babcock. Ericsson seems to do okay, but he rarely fights anyone noteworthy regarding fighting skill.

If the decision isn't an automatic astounding "Yes!", then it shouldn't happen, considering we're talking about the Wings here. The fact that he bailed for Anaheim will be the reason he won't have his number retired. He's now in the HOF, as he should be, and that's enough. Keep in mind this guy was one of my favorites growing up and remains one of my favorites of all-time. He was skilled beyond belief and a generational talent, but loyalty counts when Detroit considers retiring someone's jersey.

Tangradi and "enforcer" don't belong in the same sentence. He may be big, but he hasn't even fought 10 games in almost 150 NHL games. The highest number of fighting majors he's had in an NHL season is 2. That said, he likely won't make the team, but could be a call-up if injuries hit. Basically an AHL depth signing.

Meh. Mood-killer. Don't vehemently oppose it, but definitely don't love it.

Please don't. It's been a good start to free agency, let's not ruin it.

Good to see we got what we needed.

Coyotes very active today.

Upstate NY has enough bigotry, they don't need a ringleader.

Didn't like the signing from the beginning. Can't say I'm surprised, but it's what's best for everyone involved. What's this mean for free agency?

Decent return for Chicago. Anisimov can put up decent numbers. Was hoping we'd trade for him. If Columbus can stay healthy they're gonna be dangerous.

Does it make me a bad person if I hope he doesn't?

Same here, and I agree on your other points stated above. I plan on getting to at least one game at Joe Louis Arena because of the historical significance it has, not only for the city of Detroit, but for hockey as a social activity in general. After the Joe is demolished, I think I'll be less inclined to go to Detroit for a game. The history won't be there and the localized roots of the arena name will probably disappear and be replaced by some faceless capitalist entity's name.

I'm not sure that is the real situation. "Okay guys, either we demolish the arena or we have ads on the jerseys to keep the arena standing. What's it gonna be?"

You mean Sam Gagner?

Grossman is an interesting pickup for the 'Yotes. Anyone know if they're set to make more additions to the blueline via free agency?

Steve Downie's heading into free agency. He's got discipline issues, but I think a one-year deal could be low-risk, high-reward. Scored 28 points last year and he could potentially play either top 6 or bottom 6.

Griffins. That is all.

What was so glaringly wrong with 4-on-4? 3-on-3 makes it even more of an unrealistic gimmick.

Very interesting post. If Datsyuk gets another Cup and reaches 1,000 points, I find it hard to make a case against retiring his number, regardless of whether he has individual awards or not. Only thing that has prevented Fedorov's number from getting retired is the lack of loyalty to the organization, and I actually agree with that. The guy was a dynamic player, obtained a plethora of individual awards, but bailed on Detroit when all was said and done. Can't have a guy like that in the rafters when you've got the likes of Lindsay, Lidstrom, and Delvecchio up there. Part of me really wants to see his number retired just because of how instrumental he was in the '97, '98, and '02 Championship teams, but it would lower the bar, in fact. We're one of the very few organizations that won't retire a player's number just because they played 10 years with the team and won a few Championships. Guys like Fedorov, Osgood, and Holmstrom would've had their numbers retired by now if they played with just about any other organization in the NHL.

I'd like a guy like Franson, but he'll get offers far more lucrative than what Ken is going to be offering. I don't think he's worth $6 mil/year, anyway.

Give this guy a shot at 1-year, $650,000