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I swear to god, the only Red Wings clip on that NHL.TV commercial was a Penguins' player hitting a Wing (after a clip of Crosby).

I'd gladly take Forsberg for the 8 games he is healthy for this year.

In other news: Crosby Saves NHL Crosby Saves Christmas Crosby Saves Small African Village Crosby Saves the California Condor Crosby Saves Virginity Crosby Saves Puppy from Alligator Crosby Saves Neo-Tokyo Crosby Saves, with Coupons

I love Avery being in the league, but I would never want him back on the Wings. There has to be something between charm school graduates and Avery.

Wow, even they're sick of him already?

That's cool - at least a Hall of Famer about to be inducted gets similar billing to Crosby getting in the way of a puck

Oh, that??? I guess I fail to see the correlation there. 1) Detroit was winning 2) Osgood was run, which prompted the whole thing 3) No instigators were assessed 4) Franzen was not even issued a fighting major 5) Nor was he issued a misconduct (like Malkin in 09) Pittsburgh was issued 5 penalties, including 2 misconducts at the end of that game, while Detroit received 3 minor penalties for roughing.

Bolded - LOL Your fight card is under dispute. The subjectivity should be in the hands of the on-ice refs, who saw it exactly as most non-Pens fans saw it, and issued an instigator penalty knowing full well the implications of it at that point in the game. It's one of the few occassions where the NHL has basically stated an on-ice ref botched a penalty.

100% agreed -- I was sick of hearing "datsyukian deke" a couple years ago. Add something else to your repetoire, Daniels.

Honestly, I don't even remember it... did he get an instigator in the final minutes?

Then I question your statements about your fights earlier in life if you think that was merely a "heat of the moment fight" between two willing combatants -- which anyone who has been in one knows it was not. Zetterberg is a smaller, skilled player whom has not been in a single fight in his NHL career, whom happened to be the #1 thorn in Pittsburgh's side the past two Finals. If you do not think Malkin singled him out, started wailing on him and instigated to "send a message" you have never sent a message yourself. It is as clear as day to me. "Thugs" are not the only players capable of getting frustrated and wanting to send a message. It's a stupid rule that should be abolished, and the NHL's subjective handling of it only nails it home.

I can't say I am not bothered by a league that "plays favorites"... as prevalent as it might be in other leagues.

Scuderi got about a million extra on his new contract for that save in the finals. This was not as impressive as Crosby's amazing stick exchange in the '08 Finals.

Not as funny as Ruutu sitting on Avery's stick, but that was a crazy game last night between NY and Van!

It's like it is taboo to mention how decimated Detroit was by injuries when talking about the Pens '09 Cup Run. A Cup is a Cup, but the fact it took a very close 7 games for Pittsburgh to beat an entirely run-down Red Wings team pretty much takes them down a few notches in the context of how strong their Cup team was.

Positive posts are not allowed until the day of, and immediately after, a Stanley Cup win.

LOL! He is intantly transformed from 'nice guy' to 'this guy means business!' I was hoping someone might take that and run... thank you! As for McCrimmon, he was a great defensive defenseman who really helped Lidstrom's early development (playing the angles). In 18 seasons he was a +444 which is 10th all-time, and 6th for defensemen. Lidstrom, Bourque, Pronger, M. Howe and Coffey have all credited him with being instrumental in their development -- which is why it is strange to me this whole 'coaching' thing has not met with much success for him.

Grow a mustache.

This is an area I am fuzzy on -- I know reconditioning stints need a player's permission and are only once a year fr a maximum of two weeks -- but I'm not sure if that counts against the cap, but I'm not sure why a player out on LTIR for 'most' of the season would not be able to play in the playoffs? I do not think Franzen will be any benefit to the Wings this regular season - maybe he can be for the playoffs. It just would be ideal if the Wings trainers could keep him on LTIR for that cap space - which could make all the difference this year. Ultimately, it is probably impossible if Franzen is genuinely ready to return before the end of the season - and would constitute "circumventing the cap".

ACL injuries take forever to come back from -- Fischer was awful for 1 1/2 years; Hatcher came back after 80 games and sucked in the playoffs -- I would not be against unofficially locking Franzen out this year, and let him play a conditioning stint in the AHL, hopefully to get him ready fr the playoffs. I'd rather have him stinking up the AHL than the NHL. If he was kept off all year, it allows for a serious signing at the trade deadline - not Kovalchuk, but still quite a bit of flexibility.

The Wings had a lot of success in the playoffs against a relentless forecheck by bringing a forward down low for quick, short outlet passes -- they are not doing that now and getting slaughtered.

If Franzen and Lilja look to be out all season, it would allow for a pretty nice trade deadline acquisition -- but at this point all they can really do is bring up Griffins.

I'd love to see Janik or Kolosov in for a game or two. I keep hoping Kolosov turns out...

I'd have trouble seeing Hasek at this age starting over Vokoun, but would have loved to see him out there regardless.

Campbell has an NMC -- he's not going anywhere. They will be able to get rid of Huet... whether it is through waivers are sending him out with a pick. But by retaining all 3 RFAs they are a two-line team.