Cruiser008

That's why they should have an ESPN special that gives viewers a glimpse of what goes on inside all the NHL war-rooms during trade deadline day. They did a bit of that on 'The Season' a few years back for Detroit but they should do it for all the teams. Amen to that.

Bertuzzi back problems this season stemmed from a herniated disk in his lower back. When anti-inflammatory shots failed to dull the pain he elected to undergo a microdiscectomy remove the bulging disk on Nov. 3rd. Normal recovery time is only 2-6 weeks, but it would take longer before one engages in physical contact. Bertuzzi had a few full practices with the Panthers during the first week of February, but a 'setback meant that he wouldn't return to the ice before the trading deadline. As others have mentioned the Wings will take their time and are aiming for a late March return. References: Globe Sports: Todd Bertuzzi Profile Herniated disk: Treatment - MayoClinic.com Bertuzzi's return delayed by rehab 'setback'

OMG I should be getting served with enough crow for a week now. You'll all remember how badly I ripped on Holland for his to unwillingness to acquire grit, his disgusting habit of giving up 1st rounders during the trading deadline and his man-love affairs with our small skilled forwards. Well I still think we have too many soft guys but we've improved by leaps and bounds in the past 30 hours.

WOW!! Did Kenny ACTUALLY deal for a Winger/Power Forward with grit, toughness and all that good stuff?!?!?! How could he get a guy whom if fully healthy is EVERYTHING Detroit needs? Did I just enter into some bizarro world where Kenny wheels and deals like a GM maestro without giving up the farm??? I was watching the TSN Trade Deadline Special at work and when I saw the Bertuzzi trade announced on the air I had to stop myself from disturbing the co-workers! Anyways I love the fact that the pick is conditional on how many games Bertuzzi plays, how far we go and so on. As for Matthias his upside is no better than a 3rd liner anyways so it's no big loss (although I'd have prefered that we dumped a centre prospect instead but that's really nitpicking). I haven't been this excited about our cup chances for a long time (i.e. since last season)..... Our team defense is arguably the best in the league and with 6 legitimate and proven scoring forwards (provided they are healthy) we have the horses to grind out a 2-1 or 3-2 wins against any team in the league. BRING ON THE PLAYOFFS!!

Well we traded an undersized forward who's been struggling mightily this season due to laziness and bad luck for..... ANOTHER undersized forward who's been struggling mightily this season due to laziness and bad luck! I hope Kenny pursued all his options because I wonder if we could have done better (although perhaps this was all Williams could fetch); I mean even on Philly Calder was worst on the team in +/-. On the other hand he is more of a two-way forward, unlike Williams is a natural Winger and is willing to get his nose dirty (or so they say). Morever he was turned it around a bit: Games 1-31 - 1 goal - 3 assists - (-23) Games 32-59 - 8 goals - 9 assists - (-8) From reading his bio he's fast, not physical but fairly responsible.... sounds like a smaller, more offensive version of Cleary.

That is quite an overpayment for a guy who tends to disappear in the playoffs.

Ben's replacement C-Webb (who btw is making 14.3 million less than Wallace this season) comes through with the game-winning tip-in; poetic justice.

Oh man an EXCELLENT trading deadline for the Pistons. Neither Chicago nor Cleveland were able to land the players they targeted, and Miami loses D-Whistle to a dislocated shoulder (btw Wade is such a cry-baby; hockey players have been known to play with separated shoulders in the playoffs!). Looking at our Eastern Conference rivals, Shaq is a shadow of his former self and LeBron has no reliable supporting cast. Chicago can give us problems if Big Ben abuses C-Webb inside, but our perimeter D is phemonenal and without a low-post threat they've got little chance. Detroit isn't a lock for the finals yet and it's sure lookin' pretty good right now.

Funny how that works; we could have picked Perry with the 27th pick overall in 2003 had we not traded that pick away (and a 2nd and Avery and pylon) for Mathieu Schneider.

You're right that Bertuzzi sucked in the Olympics (so did most of Canada). But that wasn't my point. My point is that if Bertuzzi had a reputation as being a cancer he wouldn't have been chosen since there were other talented options available.

1. NO he wants the $$$ 2. Holland IS a moron.... hence the likelihood that Datsyuk will resign 3. Many scoring lines are unstoppable when they are hot. I want a scoring line that is DEPENDABLE. 4. Again NO. Zetterberg is the more complete player. 5. In a 6 on 5 situation with the goalie pulled you crash the crease and get as many shots on net as possible because there is no space to create. Thus I want puck in Lidstrom's stick because no one else is better at getting a shot through traffic.

Hudler yes; 1st Rounder, Hell no! Finally! 1. That's why we would throw a conditional draft pick, conditional on Bert's health. 2. NO. Gretzky picked him for the Olympic team.... Crosby didn't even make it. Steve Moore's family and lawyers think that's a great idea.

Let's see. Bertuzzi is... - a Winger; we NEED a top-6 Winger. Check - fast; our team lacks speed. Check - big and strong; many of our forwards are small and weak. Check - physical; our forwards are almost all finesse and we need a physical presence like a fish need water. CHECK - hungry; many of our forwards have already won a cup and have been beaten in the desire department in recent playoffs. Check Ok so he's had some personal demons, but if Heatley bounced back why can't Bertuzzi? Plus he is FILTHY cheap right now, so this is clearly a low risk, high reward trade. Is Kenny doesn't make this trade he is the BIGGEST idiot ever, not that he isn't already for his apparent lack of any back up plan in the Datsyuk situation (basically Pavel gets $6 mil a season or he walks).

If it's Hudler I would do it in a heartbeat, but that's only because I don't think Hudler will be an impact player in the playoffs.

Well this kinda sucks. Now Nashville has the deepest forwards in the league with 3 excellent lines. At least now we can boo the Floppa again.

"Swedish twins? I thought that was a myth!" ROFL!!

Well props to Serena for a superb final.... talk about peaking at the right time. Also congrats to Federer for winning without dropping a set. Those of you that say his has no rivals aren't entirely correct; Federer and Woods are running neck and neck right now and it will be interesting to see who blinks first. btw Nice pics Aussie_Wing!

Despite another a**whopping you gotta give Roddick props for his sense of humor . A few vignettes from his postmortem: When asked how the match went: "It was frustrating. It sucked. It was terrible. Besides that, it was fine." When asked how he will sleep tonight (ouch!) "It depends on how much I drink." When told that he had performed better in the news conference than on the court: "No s---."

First in the East after tonight's win. (yes I'm ignoring the fact that the East is atrocious at the moment).

Wow Federer/Roddick XIV was ridiculous.... Roddick won only 6 games!?! What's the over/under for number of games the runner-up to Federer will win in the finals? I say 8.5. Haas vs Gonzalez might be a tight match though. Beauty vs the Beast? But both Sharapova and Williams play some seriously unattractive tennis, although Sharapova is starting to incorporate (pun intentend) some variety in her game which is nice to see.

Well the Q-Final matchups are set and now it gets interesting. I'm hoping Nadal comes through in the bottom half because he's the only one capable of giving Federer a half-decent challenge (anyone else would be bowled by the Fed). On the women's side a Sharapova/Williams final would be interesting, although Clijsters may have something to say about that.

Ditto for me. The AFC Championship may not have the flash and glitz of the Super Bowl, but IMO the game itself has the potential to be a classic. Brady's poise is unmatched and Belichek (sp?) is a genius, but Manning is the best QB in the current Era and in addition to playing at home he now has Vinateari on his side. Can't wait!

I like C-Webb a LOT but I'm on the fence on this one. Our patented Detroit D is predicated on all five guys moving their feet, and at times Webber's feet are stapled to the floor. On the other hand his court sense (I admit this term is borrowed from hockey) is well above average and hence would fit in well with Flip's flex offense.

Quite the brawl between the Knicks and Nuggets last night at MSG. I think the video speaks for itself. Knicks and Nuggets brawl

Watched Mursak play against the Windsor Spitfires today in a 4-3 loss. Here's a brief (and not necessarily accurate, since it was only one game) scouting report based on what I saw. Strengths: The fastest player on the ice; he's quite slippery and has excellent one-step acceleration. His hockey sense is above average; he seemed to be at the right place more often than not and a few times he would tip the puck forward and then attempt to outrace the d-man to it. Moreover he knows how to use his speed to avoid checks and generate offense (although a few times at the expense of his defensive assignments). Weaknesses: Lacks strength and does not make a physical impact at all. The one time he tried to lay a hit on the Windsor d-man he actually bounced off the guy. Also on one of the Windsor goals (I think it was a SHG actually) he failed to pick up the late man, but he did get some PK time and seemed to do ok. Moreover he could stand to shoot more (one time he had the goalie out of position and instead of shooting at a sharp angle chose to pass behind the back to a teammate on shot it right at the goalie). Overall: Bulking up physically (and just gaining strength in general) without losing speed will be a challenge since he's only 5'11", but he has a good work ethic, excellent offensive instincts and the kind of skating ability you can't teach.