Dabura

I also agree with all of this. Like I've said before, I firmly believe he left the Sens to be a Wing (and pursue a Cup as a Wing). Had the Cup been his only/primary consideration, he would've accepted Chiarelli's offer and gone to Boston. And yet, I do wonder if he'd be willing to, say, make a run with Boston this season (fetching us a good return), then re-sign with us in the summer. Not that this would be something I'd bring up with him. It'd have to be his idea, his wishes, his will.

I'm not gonna freak out and start making a list of possible returns for Daniel Alfredsson. But I do think this might have to be the year that we actually do something of real worth at the deadline. Our blue line sucks, Franzen is out indefinitely, Zetterberg is out indefinitely, and Datsyuk is going at 50-75% (and the only reason he's playing at all is that it's Sochi and he's Russia's captain). On top of that, our goaltending hasn't been where it needs to be. All things considered, we might be looking at another major push just to make the playoffs, and possibly without Howard being a wall and Zetterberg throwing the team on his...back. *cringe*

Again I ask: Why are we acting like there's no two-week vacation option? Is it inconceivabe that taking a two-week vacation might've done Z's back some real good, or at the very least been infinitely kinder and easier on it than...playing in the Olympics? Why is it "Destroy back in Olympics or destroy back in the same way when the NHL resumes?" There are steps players can take to combat and minimize injury woes and risks. We're acting like the very concept of "maintenance days" is stupid because "Well, he's gonna get hurt anyway. Why bother resting up?" I think had he not been named captain of the Swedish team, there's a reasonable chance he might not have gone. Same with Datsyuk. So, what I'm saying is, being captain sucks. Yep, this is definitely worth considering. (Not sarcasm.)

Ths has probably already been mentioned, but what the hey: Datsyuk engages in verbal jousting prior to Saturday's US-Russia game [The Malik Report] I wonder how much of that is national pride, how much of it is gamesmanship, how much of it is injury-related crankiness, and how much of it is true belief. Ultimately, though, it's likely a non-story that the media is trying to pump up.

The big worry, Wings-wise, is that Franzen is out indefinitely, Datsyuk is playing hurt (wouldn't be playing if it weren't Sochi), and Zetterberg - who we knew was already playing hurt - is now seemingly out indefinitely. That's rough.

Dudes. I'm not mad at Z, and I don't think he should've stayed home. But I'm not sure why it's so hard to understand that staying home and resting probably would've been the best thing for his health and our season. Choosing to play for Olympic Gold was playing with fire, health-wise. The flights to and back from Sochi alone could be enough to aggravate even a less touchy/serious back problem. Z's got a bad back. It's been giving him hell this season. He's played through it because he's pretty much had to. The Olympics presented an opportunity for much-needed rest without hurting the Wings' lineup (see: Henrik Sedin). So, again, people getting sore (pun?) over this...I can understand their frustration. I don't think they should be calling for Z to be fired or whatever, and I don't think his character or commitment should be questioned. But I think it's fair to feel his decision to push his back in Sochi was regrettable, with a negative outcome being almost inevitable (again, he's clearly been playing injured for the Wings. I doubt he's been truly comfortable since the major flare-up that sidelined him earlier this season.)

I think that may be stretching it a bit, Kip.

I just realized I'm gonna miss at least the first period of the US-Russia game on Saturday. Start time for the game is, I believe, 7:30 AM ET, and I have something scheduled at, yes, 7:30 AM ET. Boooooo. How about those Finns. I know Austria is Austria, but still.

Plus: inevitable future injuries. Hell, we've got ten players in Sochi, at least two of which are clearly trying to play through injury. So I'd say the odds are pretty good that at least one of Jurco/Sheahan will be called up again before we even reach the playoffs. And another thing: it's only going to get rougher, chippier, etc. from here until the playoffs, given how tight the races are in both conferences. So, really, we WILL be dealing with more injuries. Bank on it. The only thing I really don't like about it is that Cleary and Bertuzzi (and Samuelsson?) are, ultimately, safe. So all the talk about the best guys playing and a guy's pay being irrelevant was mostly just talk. Not that I don't get that we're in cap hell. I guess I, like everyone, am frustrated that we have to be in cap hell at all. Re-signing Cleary and Bertuzzi, overpaying Tootoo, bringing back Samuelsson...and I'm not convinced Kenny has learned his lesson.

This is kind of what I'm talking about: SI.com

So Tatar scored that lone goal for Slovakia?

How do we feel about our own Brendan Smith? Keeper? Dud? Too early to say?

Sobering stuff: [Winging It In Motown] So...*stands above dead horse, baseball bat in hand*...we need an offensive defenseman like whoa. So much so that I'm actually questioning how much I'd really want to add Girardi, given that he's primarily a shutdown type. He moves the puck, and that's what it really comes down to, puck movement. But, dayum, we could really use another point producer.

I mean on the blue line.

I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to Marchenko being a regular next season, but I wouldn't want him to be the only new face on the blue line. I really do think we need a top-four guy from outside the system, be it Girardi or Edler or whatever. This whole counting-on-rookies-to-be-the-difference thing isn't working so well for us this season. Kronwall Ericsson DeKeyser Girardi Smith Marchenko Lashoff Maybe something like that.

Also, teams can eat salary. Not that I think we should count on that happening.

I was gonna mention this. It's probably not crazy to assume he's never truly at 100%. Which is pretty amazing when you consider how good he is. Well, to be fair, the best thing for his back and his long-term health and our playoff/Cup chances would probably be a two-week vacation, not flying over to Russia and battling for Olympic Gold for two weeks against stacked Canadian, American, and Russian all-star teams. Not that I'm really complaining, but I can totally understand how him aggravating his already touchy condition in Sochi would rub people the wrong way.

Re: Pulling the goalie - Goal differential counts for something in this tournament, right?

Absolutely. He probably also feels that the C on his chest makes him beholden to Be Like Stevie, re: playing through stuff that would render mortal men fully incapacitated.

What's on Price's mask?

WAIT. WHY IS PIERRE HERE?! (Just tuned in.)

St. Louis playing the role of Homer there a couple minutes ago. And to think, there are guys twice his size who are afraid to be that net-front pesk.

Keep in mind - most people probably don't know about Z's back issues. Sure, Wings fans and Swedes do, and certainly Swedish Wings fans do. But Average Joe Hockey Fans? Mostly no, I have to think. So, if this is a Sochi-centric story (and it is), you're sort of obligated to mention that he had a herniated disc and the inflammation is stemming from that. Does that make any sense? It sounded clearer in my head.

Yup. I don't get the sense that anything has really changed, aside from some inflammation. I don't have a whole lot to base this on, but I feel like if the next game were a Wings game, he'd be playing. He probably had a talk with the appropriate people and they all decided he doesn't need to play the next game, maybe even the one after that - basically, rest until the games really matter.

Also, I didn't mean to s*** on the Wideman suggestion. What do you guys think of him as an option? Broken record, but I like that he's - wait for it - an offensive defenseman who's great on the power play. Also: he's right-handed, and he can log big minutes. (Log big minutes? Is that a thing? You know when you're really tired but you can't sleep and certain words and phrases sound really weird?) My concern lies mostly with his contract. He's got a pretty heavy cap hit (5.25) for another several years (expiry = summer of 2017).