Yzermania19

Reading and hearing some of the comments he's made since he retired - like, "my urge to play is gone" - I am convinced that he did the right thing for himself. As a fan, it sucks but he seems happy and somehow more relaxed, despite essentially having two jobs right now. And as a fan, I am happy for him. The last thing I'd want to hear Steve Yzerman say is, "man, I wish I had played just one more season." Somehow it's still hard to think that this is not Stevie's team. In a way, it still is. He was captain all those years and he has had a huge impact on everyone who played with him, regardless of whether you're a veteran like Nick Lidstrom or a young kid like Brett Lebda. And with Steve having a hand in some of the trade deadline deals and the Datsyuk signing in particular, he's still influcencing the direction of the team. Plus, his responsibilities as VP will increase over time and at some point he may even become the teams' GM. Steve will be influencing the team for years to come, just not on the ice. So, in that way, it continues to be Stevie's team.

I didn't. I was one of the few people - among all the doom-and-gloomsayers - who thought the Wings would be good enough to win the Central Division. However, I didn't think they'd win the Western Conference. I also didn't think Colorado would be on the verge of not making the playoffs.

Yes, I did. Oops.

Thanks. I have a friend who is a diehard Leafs fan and I was just wondering if I should call and wish him a Happy Easter on Sunday...or offer my condolences. lol

Awesome!!! Just like the 2002 Olympics, when my dad and I watched like 8 hockey games over a two-day span! BTW - has Toronto been officially eliminated yet or not?

Yep, agreed. Not to say the road to the Cup is going to be pothole-free (I mean, after all it is spring and it's Michigan) but this is one of those if they can get past the first round, they have a good chance of going all the way. The first round builds character, especially when playing an opponent like Calgary. Hopefully Calgary will continue to be as horrible at home in the playoffs as they have been in the regular season.

I hate shootouts, regardless of how the Wings do in them. It's a piss-poor way to decide the winner of a game in a professional league. It's the equivalent of the NBA going to a slam-dunk contest to decide the outcome of ties or baseball going to a home run derby if the game is tied after nine innings. I'm also not a fan of the 3-points-for-a-win idea. Why not just stick with two points? Two points for a win, one point for a tie and no points for a loss, regardless of whether you lose in regulation or OT. I just hate the idea of getting a point for losing. IMO, you lose, you shouldn't get a point. Period. But here's an idea - instead of the shootout, have a 10-minute 4-on-4 OT in the regular season. It wouldn't take any longer to play than a 5-minute OT + a shootout, and with 10 minutes you're more likely to have a winner than in a 5-minute OT. If the game still ends up in a tie, then it ends in a tie. I never saw the problem with ties anyway.

The playoffs are supposed to start Wednesday, but who starts Wednesday and who starts Thursday depends on who is playing who, TV time, building availability, etc. My guess is the Wings will start Thursday, because the NHL will want the Wings on TV Saturday. If they started Wednesday that would give two days between games and that's too many. Ii doubt we will know before Sunday, when the season is officially over.

First off, I am glad we have locked up Pavel for seven years...we will have him in his prime. Maybe the amount looks a little high now, but as some have pointed out, in 3-4 years, when Pavel would come up for another contract, he might have wanted $10 million. Now he's locked in at around $6 million or so. I agree with Steve that his playoff performance to this point has been an aberration. I expect Pavel to really come on for the Wings in these playoffs. This is definitely a statement contract. The Wings are saying to Pavel, "we think you are going to be one of the cornerstones of our future. We expect big things from you. We are placing the franchise on your shoulders. We came through for you, now you have to come through for us." Trust me, the Wings expect BIG things from this guy.

I like Crosby but... GO SENS!!!

I dunno...I have a pretty old (circa 1989) automatic 35mm camera with a 60mm zoom lens and I used to get hassled almost every time I took it to the Joe because it was 6mm over the lens limit. After making my case - "come on, it's obviously not a professional camera and it's only 6mm over. Plus I've brought it in before. And I promise I won't use the flash" - they'd let me in. Only once did I have to hand it over to the security desk and pick it up at the end of the game. OTOH, I have a digital camera with a 10X optical zoom - which brings me a lot closer to the action than the 60mm lens on my 35mm camera can and takes almost professional-looking pictures - and I have had no problems bringing it in AT ALL.

I don't like it either but people will be stupid. I mean, Chelios left Chicago long before Feds left Detroit and Chicago fans still boo Cheli. Heck, Vancouver fans boo Cheli and he never played there!! What really toasted my turnips was last April when I went to Columbus to see the Wings play the BJ's, some of the Wings fans were booing Feds at Nationwide Arena. THAT was uncalled for - I mean, boo the man at the Joe if you must, but booing him at his home rink was rude, obnoxious and uncalled for.

Tombsy - great pic!!! S4P - LOL Too funny. You know, I thought I'd be the same way when I first met Stevie but even though my insides were shaking like a Jello jiggler in an earthquake, I was surprisingly calm, cool and collected enough to shake the man's hand and manage a short 15-second conversation with him. Of course when I got back to my car I screamed like a teenag girl at a rock concert!

I remember back in the pre-Yzerman era (lol) the Wings were getting maybe 3,000 people at a game. When Ilitch first bought the team, he was giving away cars at every home game in order to put butts in the seats. We've been very fortunate over the last 20+ years that the Wings have been very good and for the last 16 years they've made the playoffs. But what goes up must come down - face it, eventually the team will have to start sucking in the regular season and fewer people will go to games because of it. If you think the Joe looked empty in 1982 with 3,000 people, imagine what a 35,000-seat arena will look like with only 3,000 people in it. Look at Comerica Park as an example, how forlorn it looked before last season when maybe 8-10,000 people showed up for games on a regular basis. There were whole sections with no people in them. I mean, it would be great in the short term to have more tickets available, but I don't think it's very practical.

I hope he will be back, but I'm not sure. He still has value as a disturber and a PP guy, plus he can chip in for the odd goal, but what has he really done this year to earn a new contract? If he can be brought back for under $1 million, like Wingslogo said, that would be good. Hopefully he (and his agent) doesn't have an overinflated sense of his worth to the team and demand big money. As for the guys from the "glory days" of 97, 98 and 02 leaving bit by bit, that's bound to happen. We have to let go of these guys sometime. They're all going to be gone eventually (well, except for Chelios. LOL). Sad but true...there is going to come a time, probably in the next five years, when there will not be one Wing on the team that was here for the 97 Cup. I mean, it's already been 10 years and we still have Draper, Maltby, Osgood, Lidstrom and Holmstrom. When you think about it, that's pretty good - five guys from a championship won 10 years ago are still on the team today.

Wow, 12-1 through four rounds of the playoffs. That really is incredible. The only thing is, in 1952 they didn't have four rounds. I believe they had two - only needed eight games to win, hence the symbolism of the octopus. Still, to go through the playoffs without a loss is impressive. Detroit only lost two games in the first three rounds of the 1995 playoffs before they got swept by New Jersey in the Final. Then, in 1997 they lost four games - 2 to St. Louis and 2 to Colorado.

I'll join in on the Meet Stevie Day!!! BTW, Tombsy - very cool!! I can't wait to see the pics. :)

That's a good question...it would have had to be a team for whom each round of the playoffs went to seven games.

I think all we really know right now is that the playoffs will start on the 11th, and I don't think we will know more until the weekend, when the season ends. Everything else depends on who finishes where and who plays who. And of course, building availability.

And let the doomsayers begin... Kronwall injury could hurt Cup hopes

Actually that's your coccyx, or tailbone. Your sacrum is just above that. This is what the sacrum looks like - This is what it looks like within the pelvis. The pointy thing in the center is your coccyx - (thank you www.back.com) And I agree about Chelios...he is a Warrior, with a captial W. We will be fine. Losing Kronwall does not kill our chances in the playoffs. Now if we lose Lidstrom, we are screwed.

Back in the summer of 1995 my friend and I went to Chicago for a vacation. She wore her Paul Coffey jersey when we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. As we were leaving, there was a group of guys near the bar. One of them said to us, "Red Wings suck!" And my friend said to this guy, "Yeah, well we beat you!" The Wings had beaten the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals 4 games to 1 that year to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 40 years. If you're going to tell a fan of another team that their team sucks, make sure your team won its most recent game and/or playoff series against the other team.

How about "Let's Just Win a Playoff Round This Year"?

The greater the risk, the greater the reward. You can put $5,000 in a savings account and accrue 2% interest for the next 20 years...a sure bet, but you won't get a lot for your money. Or, you could put that $5,000 in the stock market and maybe double your money in 10 years...or lose it all. Ozzie's the safe route...he's younger and not so injury prone. He's also not as good of a goalie as Dom is. Dom is like the stock market - a riskier choice, because of his past hsitory with injuries, but he's a much better goaltender. If he works out, the reward is worth the risk. I think you've got to go with Dom. Safe just doesn't cut it here...it's Stanley or bust in Hockeytown.

I think the poster was saying "Whatever It Takes" was kind of an unofficial playoff slogan that the players had for themselves. I had "Let 'Em See Red" in my email signature back in 2002...when we got to the Cup finals, I changed it to "Let 'Em See the ORIGINAL Red!" because I didn't want the hockey gods to think I wanted Carolina to win...lol