egroen

Fair enough - I just was not impressed with the level of hockey being played in the Eastern Conference playoffs last year. Eastern Conference record vs. West: 58-62-16 Western Conference record vs East: 78-43-15

I still think Nashville would have beaten Pittsburgh last year.

I think Hossa would accept a similar salary as Zetterberg, maybe even less, for a chance to stay on the team; but he will not get that chance and a free agent is almost always going to get more than what they would get from their current team.

Hell no, Detroit has great ice. Every time one of those player polls comes up Detroit and Edmonton are #s 1 and 2 for best ice.

And Samuelsson is getting worse than both of them. I actualy find myself hoping someone does jump Sammy, just so he has to actually fight and back it up. I don't think what Crosby did was the least bit worthy of a suspension, and I don't think he was really that "gutless" "cheap" or whatever anyone wants to call him - in that case. I am highly curious what the league-wide reaction would be if say, some player from Philly jumped Crosby like that.

And Hudler has more production per minute than every forward in the NHL, except Malkin.

Marc Reaume ended up scoring all of two points in 47 games for Detroit. Not the best return Jack Adams ever received in a trade. Man, that guy could hold a grudge. Some anecdotal info regarding Kelly and the trade from Detroit:

The West also has a ridiculously great record against the East so far this year.

No arguments from me -- obviously Yzerman has a special place in the annals of Detroit sports, but once all his intangibles and heroics are not as fresh in everyone's mind, his overall ranking will likely fall in most Red Wings' fans minds. In terms of pure hockey accomplishments, Kelly, Lindsay and Sawchuk are better all-time. Lindsay was a warrior, a great leader and one of the most competitive players ever... but he was also one of the dirtiest ever -- but nowadays that is not talked about as much as his actual accomplishments on the ice. Most gloss over Kelly and see that he only won one Norris in his career, without noticing that it did not exist until halfway through his prime. Looking back at All-Star votes (not for the all star game, but 1st team and 2nd team) and Hart voting will give you a very good idea of who would have won the Norris back then. Kelly is one of the few defensemen to ever receive 100% of the 1st team votes, and it is easy to see he would have had 4 Norris trophies (with two 2nd place finishes), and some would argue he would have 5. Back then the Vezina trophy was what the Jennings trophy is nowadays (lowest GAA), so if you want to look at who would have really won what we consider the Vezina today, you also have to look at All Star votes.

Phaneuf's defensive game has made no step forwards, and may have even taken a step or two back. He is not even Calgary's #1 or #2 option for the PK or for defending top offensive lines -- that alone disqualifies him from any Norris talk whatsoever, IMO. Is it so much to ask that a Norris caliber defenseman take the toughest defensive assignments? Phaneuf, the way he is playing, would need over 120 points this year to dethrone Lidstrom. Doughty shows me the most promise out of all of them in the OP.

I received a reply from Ansar Khan, and will post if he ever responds with anything further: Hi Brett, You make some compelling reasons for Kelly to have his number raised. I will ask Jim Devellano, next time I see him, if they ever considered it and what their reasoning was. The players I had ranked ahead of Kelly were: 1. Howe, 2. Yzerman, 3. Lidstrom, 4. Sawchuk, 5. Lindsay and 6. Delvecchio. Ansar Khan

I had not read that ... I have read the Toronto manager had plans to use him as a checker against Beliveau and the Habs and convinced him not to retire after Kelly threatened to after finding he was being traded to the Rangers by Jack Adams. Toronto ended up sending some scrub who only played like one season to Detroit for Kelly and it ended up being one of the most one-sided trades ever (Kelly helped the Leafs win 4 Cups). Jack Adams probably ended Detroit's dynasty prematurely by trading Lindsay and Kelly.

The Hockey Hall of Fame maintains a lot of old footage. I am not sure how difficult it is or even if it is possible for Joe Schmoe to ask for a recording, however, but it would be worth a shot! Please post if you have any luck anywhere.

I've given half-hearted attempts in the past, and there does not seem to be much out there. For good clips, do a search for "Legends of Hockey" and "Gordie Howe", Kelly, Sawchuk, Lindsay, etc... The Hockey Hall of Fame has put a lot of those together and includes some old game video. Let me know if you have any luck, as I would love to get my hands on some of this as well.

The announcers crack me up... you would think you were witnessing something historic there.

The only way that could have been more embarrassing for Semin is if the ref, realizing that was not even worthy of a fighting major, bent him over his knees and gave him a spanking at center ice before sending him back to the bench.

Are you saying it is OK to have a double-standard?

After that Datsyuk goal, I commented to my wife, "That was a $7 million defender and a 3rd overall draft pick Datsyuk just made look like pylons."

Strader tried to call the game but Olczyk will not shut his yapper so often that it was driving me crazy. There were great plays and excellent scoring opportunities that were not even commented on because Olczyk was blabbing away about weather conditions with McGuire or spouting off on what a great city Chicago is. For much of the game they did not even show replays of the penalties. Hey Guys! There's a game going on!

Thanks - I have noticed that as well, and often point it out when I hear such asinine comments as, "Datsyuk and Zetterberg would only be putting up 60 points on any other NHL team". Datsyuk and Zetterberg also spend a lot of time on the PK in Detroit. Also, if merely playing on the Red Wings vaults your stats so much, Hossa should be on pace for a 120+ point year.

I agree -it was not a cheap shot. But it was a dangerous hit from behind that lead to an injury. In my mind, that is worthy of a one day suspension.

I'd say that is worthy of a game suspension, no more and no less. Those announcers on the various clips are hilarious... especially the "nudge" on Brier.

That Spin-o-rama is just not working.

3 goals each period for the team with the wind at their backs - hope that does not continue.

Wings actually have a chance when they are not a man short the entire time.