MulesWillFly93

I like it!! It's one of those messy-but-it-works kind of designs, and I LOVE the Doc Ock idea. I like how it goes with the Wings' color scheme, too. The tachometer one was classic - clean design, great idea - and it's still my favorite, but I like this one, too.

I would sure think spending a mil more would be worth it to upgrade to Halak, but you never know. I love being pleasantly surprised, so I hope Price does well...except when we play the Habs.

I'd probably go with Zetterberg, too. He's just a flexible, good-all-around guy to have, on and off the ice. He works well with others, plays well in all zones, and is very loyal if you treat him right. You know, I'd probably go for Crosby if the opportunity came up. I don't think I'd make him team captain, but I'd still sign him. I'd probably want somebody more like Lidstrom for a captain - a guy who's been around the block a few times and has clear seniority (partly so Crosby doesn't get any big ideas about who should be captain), and somebody who's friendly but can still get everybody to do what they need to do so there's no drama or ego tripping. Anyway, I'd still rather have Zetter, though, especially for the playoffs, but if he wasn't available, I doubt I'd turn down Crosby. Doughty certainly wouldn't be a bad choice, either. I think it'd be an interesting experiment to have Datsyuk as captain. I agree that the language barrier would be a problem, but he can always improve (and is improving), and I don't know, I just see a lot of the same things about him that Stevie has. He's quiet but is very grounded and well-respected, and you know he cares about the team more than anything else. If we're talking about the real Wings team and not my own, I think Zetterberg will be our next captain, and I'm happy with that, but in an alternate universe where I have my own team, I just might take the risk and see how Pasha does in a leadership position.

Yep, I feel similarly about Shanny, too...I know it's not going to happen, but I would love to see it. I'm probably even more that way with D-Mac, though, because he was as much of a lifer as he could be and still does stuff with the Wings Alumni and everything. I know, my head is trying to tell my heart these exact same arguments, and I know that it wouldn't be practical to retire all those numbers even though they certainly belonged to awesome players, but I just can't help but think how cool it would be to see 25 in the rafters, and to see the look on his face when they put it up there. Oh well. I'm all for a McCarty Appreciation Day, anyway.

Good deal - I think this turned out the best way it could. Welcome back, dude! edit: "Good deal"? Where did that come from? Some people have senior moments...I, apparently, have Minnesota moments. You betcha.

Oh dude, I've been to a Dickey's in Tennessee - good stuff!! Do please try it!

Did someone have to take 25 so fast? I mean, I know we can't unofficially retire every darn number, but it's a little hard for me to be unbiased about D-Mac, so I really am trying to compromise by wishing they'd leave it alone for a couple of years. If you want to know what I'm really thinking, my initial reaction was, "NOOOO!!! PUT 25 IN THE RAFTERS!!" So I really did tone it down, I swear.

I know you think he's cute, but please re-think becoming a Crosby stalker.

1. I think it's crappy not to let Russian players play in their home country when they might not get another chance. 2. There is probably less chance of them getting injured at the Olympics that there is at an NHL game. 3. I think this is basically all about NHL rinks sitting empty and not making any money, end of story. As for the exposure issue, I agree that these Olympics will probably bring less exposure than Vancouver's, but I still think the Olympics creates a certain amount of at least a temporary awareness of any sport. I also think that if they want the people who did watch hockey for the first time and liked what they saw to transition over to the NHL, it would behoove the NHL to have their players there to give these people a preview of what they're going to see. So when somebody watches and thinks, "I wonder who that Russian guy is who fakes out the defense with those crazy cool moves," he can look up #13 and find out that it's Pavel Datsyuk, who plays for the Detroit Red Wings, and gee, maybe he should start watching the Wings after this thing is over! Much better than finding out it's some random college kid from Minnesota whom you'll probably never hear from again. Also, from a fan perspective, I hear a lot of people say this should be the time for amateur players to shine, but...I don't know. I like seeing my favorite players change it up and play with different people (even if it doesn't exactly pan out...it was still cool seeing Datsyuk play with Ovi, for instance), and it's better than the All-Star game because it's an actual tournament, and they're playing for national pride. It's like the soccer World Cup - they've got to have SOMETHING that's special to everybody and is a place where the players can play for their countries, and since the World Championships are every year and kinda lame, it's got to be the Olympics. The only thing I will say is that it does kind of break a team's momentum. Well, except it helped ours this year, but that's because we got so many players back from injuries right after that. In general, though, I can see how a team not practicing or playing together for a couple of weeks could mess up your rhythm. I think it's worth it, though, and I'd feel really bad if all the Russian guys didn't get a chance to play. It's only once every 4 years, after all.

I wish I had some real advice, but I've never been to Florida, so all I can say is that I hope you have a blast! I'm sure you will. And hey, in all likelihood it'll be colder inside the arena than it is outside, so enjoy! Of course, I just looked at Wikipedia, and it said last year was the coldest winter they've had in a while - not to be Debbie Downer or anything... t was kind of a weird winter last year in general, though; even we got a lot of rain...hopefully this winter will be a little more normal. Well, anyway, you won't be looking at ski jackets and long underwear like I am, at least - I'm going to JLA for the first time in March, and the last time I was in weather colder than about 45 degrees was when I was visiting my relatives in Nebraska during the big blizzard of 1997 (by their standards, not mine, hehe). Anyway...it could be 40 below when I get to Detroit, but I know I'll still have the time of my life - I can't wait!! Tim Horton's is calling me! Hope you have a great time as well, and I'd like to extend an early welcome to the U.S.!

Thanks, guys. Good to know that they have insurance. Looks like it won't be a problem, though - got a front row ticket! I'm kind of in a state of shock right now...I can't believe this is actually happening. Can't wait! I'll be wearing my jersey that Howard signed for, um, "luck."

Another ticket-related question: is it safe to buy off StubHub? I mean, I know it's a rip-off price-wise, but I just want to know if the tickets will actually show up. It's not my first choice, but I'm just thinking about a worst case scenario if I can't get a ticket for the Pens game when it goes on sale tomorrow. On a semi-related note: HOLY CRAP!! I can't believe I'm actually going to do this!!! On another semi-related note: I'm sorry I've been coming in here and playing 20 questions lately...can I blame the off-season?

Yeah...I need Center Ice. Hmm. This puts a damper on things...if I get that, I won't have enough money to go to Detroit in Nov. like I was planning. Guess I could just save up some more and go in March instead, and that way I could go to the game vs. the Pens, which would be fun. Decisions, decisions...

JJ, you're a freaking genius, man. I am a Star Wars junkie, so this is my kind of off-season post. Can I switch Betty to Palpatine and vote for Sean Avery as C-3PO? Hehehe. Pierre's still scarier, though.

Well, somebody here had to be the odd jackass out, so it might as well be me. I gotta say, guys, I don't miss ties. Watching the World Cup this summer reminded me of this (of course, it wouldn't be quite as bad in hockey because you're less likely to have that extra-infuriating 0-0 score, but still, I like to come away from a game either gloating or sobbing, not feeling meh). That said, I'm not a big fan of the shootout, either. I would at least like to see 10 minutes of OT before going to a SO. I don't care if they want to do that 4 on 4 and then 3 on 3 thing or what (I think leaving it 4 on 4 the whole time would be fine unless I'm missing something), but I definitely think there should be 10 solid minutes of actual hockey being played before they have to resort to the skills competition. And for God's sake keep it out of the playoffs.

It's times like these I wish our AHL team was based out of Hell, MI instead of GR. So many missed opportunities... Back on track...I hope Ritola can just hang on for one more season in GR; I really don't want to lose him, but I like Miller. I, too, am a fan of that Miller-Abdelkader-Eaves line. Hey...I had all this straight for a while, but now I'm confused again: is the cap the problem here, or is it that we have too many forwards? Like, say, if we get rid of Meech, is that going to solve the problem, or will we still need to boot off a forward? EDIT: never mind, just figured it out...still gotta move a second guy besides Meech, right? Ok, I'm going to make the hard decision here and say keep Miller. I hope I'm right. Glad I'm not Kenny.

Oh. My. God. That is like my dream wedding - love it! And holy crap - screw Hawaii, now THAT is a honeymoon! Aww, obviously I was glad when the Wings won, but now it makes me feel even warmer and fuzzier knowing that you guys got the storybook ending to the game and everything, aww! I hope my friends are prepared for something similar to this because I have a feeling the bridesmaids' dresses aren't going to be what you'd call standard. I'm guessing there will be much red and white involved...

Haha, guess I kinda did, didn't I? Well, since it's too late to be demure, I also like watching sunsets and long walks on the beach. (Too bad that's not true...I can't remember the last time I went to the beach. Worst Californian ever right here.) I have the opposite problem as your girlfirends...I was saying something about the 7th period of a baseball game the other day, and my mom started cracking up. I like baseball okay, but I readily admit I know diddly squat about it.

I don't have a boyfriend, and the last one didn't like hockey (like 99.9% of the population around here). Yep, thinking about moving to Michigan. You know what's even worse, though? I can't fault a guy for not liking hockey in Southern California, but I went to a dance in high school with this guy whose dad had an awesome late-'60s Corvette, and when I asked him about it, he said, "I'm not much of a car guy." Really? Come ON! What's the point of being a guy if you don't like cars? Your DAD knows better - what happened to you? Yeah, that didn't really work out too well... Yet another reason to move to MI - you guys get the car thing. But back to hockey...I got a couple of my female friends to watch some of the playoffs with me, though. I think one was at least sort of into it, so I'm glad I wasn't boring them to death. Of course, she just moved back here from SF, so her adopt-a-team is the Sharks, which caused a few problems during the second round, but she was nice about it because she knew I was suicidally depressed afterward, hehe. Maybe I can get her to go to a game with me for my birthday in December...

Those are the four I picked before reading the article, so I don't have much to disagree about. I was going back and forth between Sawchuk and Lidstrom, but I figure I get one biased pick, right? Anyway, Malik explained it better than I could have, as usual - good job! (Glad to see he's over at KK now, by the way.)

Oh no, that's terrible. Hope you're doing ok, relatively, anyway. Glad your Stevie Stars didn't get soaked. Wish I had some better words of encouragement than this, but hang in there.

Here's something to cheer you up on a Monday afternoon! I think we all know the answer to this one...

When's Drew Doughty's contract up again? Next summer? Excellent... I hope Nick doesn't retire after this season, though...if it was up to me, he could stay until he's 50 if he wanted to.

Does anybody have a hotel they'd recommend in the Detroit area? Doesn't necessarily have to be right near JLA, I guess; just within driving distance. I'm trying to possibly maybe make a pilgrimage to Hockeytown for the Wings/Avs game on Veterans Day weekend and don't really have a clue where to stay (other than some suggestions from the nice people on Twitter). Didn't want to make a whole thread for this, so I suppose this fits close enough with the "dreaming of hockey season" theme. I'm going to be such a mess in October. My best friend's wedding is Oct. 9th (good number, hehe), the second day of the regular season, and it's against the Hawks. I hope she doesn't mind if I check my phone for score updates every 5 seconds during the reception...

Bruins - Marc Savard Sabres - Ryan Miller Canadiens - Brian Gionta Senators - Sergei Gonchar Leafs - Phil Kessel Devils - Martin Brodeur (with a shout-out to Parise and Clarkson) Isles - John Tavares Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist Flyers - Claude Giroux Penguins - Jordan Staal Thrashers - Andrew Ladd Hurricanes - Eric Staal Panthers - honestly, sometimes I forget this team exists Lightning - Steven Stamkos Capitals - Alex Ovechkin/Nicklas Backstrom Flames - Jarome Iginla Avalanche - Paul Stastny Oilers - ummm, going to go with the "I don't have a clue" answer of Taylor Hall Wild - Guillaume Latendresse Canucks - Ryan Kesler (FTW!) Blackhawks - Jonathan Toews (thought about saying Turco, but I decided to be nice) Blue Jackets - Rick Nash Red Wings - Pavel Datsyuk (if I really had to pick just one) Predators - Shea Weber Blues - Jaroslav Halak Ducks - Ryan Getzlaf/Bobby Ryan Stars - Umm, can Mikey still count for a second or two? Kings - Jack Johnson (and Kopitar...and Doughty...haha, sorry) Coyotes - Ilya Bryzgalov Sharks - Patrick Marleau