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I don't think Shanahan's numner will be retired from Detroit, anyways. As it is right now there is no way Fedorov's number should be retired -- numbers are not everything. Lidstrom is the only current NHLer who deserves that recognition right now.

This Cleary signing *really* worries me. Loyalty only goes so far when you could possibly make close to double the money with another team. He's young and should have a lot of years in front of him so he might not mind going to a team that is in a rebuilding phase and willing to fork over Sharp-like money for a do-it-all type guy. If Cleary decides to stay for around 2 1/2 million with the Wings, well... he is going to be one of my favorite players. But I have a sneaky suspicion we will lose him (as I know Holland will not pay $4 million a year for him).

At the premiun even mediocore defensemen have been going for these days, Rafalski was a good deal. He's not perfect, but I still consider him a large upgrade from Schneider (who I did like).

How else are we going to know who would win in a fight? Duh.

Props to Drake for his willingness, but it would be nice to have someone out there who is not guaranteed to lose in a fight.

No, No -- AO did not save the team any money -- he saved himself money. agents are paid from a percentage of the contract for a player. They are not paid directly from the team.

I personally do not think there is a chance in hell he will make it, but I just heavily disagreed with the statement, "If the rest of the league doesn't want him, why would we?" I honestly do not buy this and have no idea where it is coming from. Obviously it has never been printed in an interview. I've met McCarty, and yes... the guy is not a rocket scientist, but I do not think he would turn down playing for the Red Wings in favor of his band. I mean not only is that unbelievably stupid (and while he has proven he can make bad decisions), but the guy lived and breathed red & white. It made a lot of financial sense for Holland to buy McCarty out... I would have done the same thing, no matter how much I loved McCarty. I doubt Grinder was the make-or-break part of the equation.

Pronger is just not dominating this year. Anaheim has been scored on more than they have scored. Their power play and penalty kill are no where near the league lead (of which Pronger is an integral part). I say Babcock sit his ass on the bench the whole game. To be honest, I am suprised Neidermayer did not make the team... with some of the dumb choices made.

Well, that could be said about half our draft picks over the past 15 years. The same could be said about Kocur -- whom the rest of the NHL obviously passed on but I think would have loved to have him after what he showed when he came back for the cup run. I don't think he'll make it, but have the utmost confidence in the organization if he does somehow prove to be good enough again to make the team. The fact the rest of the NHL does not want him makes no difference to me. I do think it is safe to say McCarty's odds of making it back to the NHL are higher if he is trying to make the Red Wings, than if it were for any other team.

Holland has often attributed this to part of the success the Wings have been able to maintain. Players are given time to work on their game and mature (or prove beyond a reasonable doubt they will never be ready) before they are thrown into the league. I think an argument can be made that Zetterberg and Datsyuk would not be as good today (or even still with the Red Wings) if they had been playing as teenagers in the NHL. That holds even more true for defensemen and goalies, who take even longer to develop.

In one year you could be out of the game with an injury. You'd be pretty stupid not to guarantee yourself an income as long as you can.

Until something drastically changes with Chelios' game, you let the man play here as long as he wants. Those who are wanting to run him out due to age are obviously not watching him play. It's like having Fetisov all over again.

Does Babcock *have* to play Pronger? I would laugh my ass off if Pronger road the bench throughout the All Star Game

You are targeting the large, young and signed & cheap form those teams -- that is exactly what they are going to want to keep. You have much better chance of getting Fedorov than Antropov, Klesla or Gill.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/stor...&id=2636562 I remember reading that at the time and thinking, "Isn't it just a tad bit early to be calling that?"

Though I do think it is early enough 1 1/2 years later to point out the Wings are not in "the middle of the western conference" or much worse.

Any team in the league would be happy to pay $3 million for a year of Chelios. Behind Lidstrom he is our most sound defensively, without question. Babcock has the luxury here of keeping him out of back-to-back games... Chelios would be happy to play every game, and most teams out there would do just that with him.

I still think of Lilja as the #5 -- with Chelios as the #4, despite Chelios not playing every game. Come playoffs, I am sure that is the way it will pan out. I do think anaheim is the only defense in the NHL better than ours, and not by a whole lot.

I am amazed every single game I watch those two play - by their defensive abilty. I have not felt that way about any other forward since Fedorov was in his prime. Demitra and Gaborik play for defense-first, trapping, two great goalies - Minnesota... yet Gaborik with 34 pts has a +/- of 0 while Demitra with 19 pts has a +/- of -1. Compared to +14 and +20 of the Euro Twins. Granted, that is not even close to a tell-all stat, but I think it should be considered.

Thanks! Finally ordered a Konstantinov jersey (still on back order though)... though that might be nice to add.

Several of those tandems could match the offensive play of Datsyuk and Zetterberg, but none could come even close to matching the defensive play. Which would make it a pretty decisive victory for the Euro Twins-- their defensive play is that good. It is a pretty rare thing.

http://www.mlive.com/sports/statewide/inde....xml&coll=6 It also really got to me that the Wings are the second most penalized team in the league. They need to stop gooning it up out there! Edit -- sorry for the typo in the subject.

Is it possible to get the "I Believe" patches?

Datsyuk is just the sort of player you can feel safe locking up long term. He plays smart and like Lidstrom, reduces his risk of injury greatly. My biggest fear is locking up a power forward long term and watching him play 30 games a year due to injuries and concussions. 51 steals is leaps and bounds beyond anyone else in the league, by the way.... I do not think there is a single other player at 40. Yes, you get Datsyuk's production -- but by god, he is a constant threat on the ice -- with, or without the puck. Absolutely a pure joy to behold. It's like watching Barry Sanders all over again.

What fantasy league manager would waive Holmstrom??? Crazy people.