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Cleary is a good player but he is not even close to the 4th most important player. A starting goalie is an important player. A first line center is an important player. Your top two defensemen are important players. Your top powerplay unit are important players. Your top penalty kill unit are important players. Cleary is none of these things. He's a 2nd line winger. There's half a dozen guys on this team that can pick up his minutes and do just as good.

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Clarke was a great player, one of the best of his generation, but he's a horrible GM. I hope I never have to say that about Yzerman.

I like Cleary but I feel he is probably one of Detroit's most expendable players. Give him a decent offer and let him walk if he doesn't take it.

My favorite Leafs joke: Q: What do you call a bunch of guys sitting around watching the Stanley Cup Finals on TV? A: The Toronto Maple Leafs.

The NHL already tried byes. They were used from 1974-75 through the 1978-79 season. First round was a best of 3. I never liked it from a fan's standpoint because if your team had a bye, you had to wait. But the layoff didn't seem to make a bit of difference to the players. Every Stanley Cup champion between 1974-75 and 1978-79 had a first round bye.

Too bad you'll have to wait. Griffins are on the road for the next 6 games. No home games until February 15.

I had to work until 9 so I only caught the third period. I thought Detroit looked like crap for the first five minutes, but then they put it in gear and dominated the rest of the game.

A win tonight and Detroit sweeps the season series.

The Dogs are going down. Suck it Gretzky!

Ozzie was just doing an equipment check to make sure Draper was wearing a regulation cup.

Tampa could always try to get Khabibulin back from Chicago. The way Khabibulin's been playing lately, it would probably only take a bag of pucks.

I thought you guys played Chicago. Upon further review it was the Sharks. Doh!

Are you aware the Ducks played last night too?

Go Wings! Squash the Ducks!

The Red Wings got this one locked up. Look at how huge the Red Wings players are and how tiny the Kings players are. LA doesn't stand a chance.

Make up your minds. Do you want a tough guy or do you want a player who can skate? It's rare to find players who can do both and those guys are in the NHL.

Yeah, a January call up to the 27th best team in the league. No way he makes the Wings roster right now. Grand Rapids could use his help, though.

When are they naming the backups?

We discussed this in December. Long story short, OTL points/shootouts make it easier to reach either milestone. I didn't think the Red Wings would break the record back in 1996 but they just kept winning... and winning.... and winning. But that team was also deeper and didn't have a single major injury the entire season. It will take a lot of luck to do that this year.

Looks like every goalie in the league was nominated. Still Howard had a good month. I'm pretty sure we will see him in Detroit next year.

From the United Center website... Parking: The United Center has 6,000 spaces in 11 parking lots surrounding the arena. Parking costs are as follows: Cars $15, $20 & $30; Limousines $25; RVs $25; Buses $25. All prices subject to change. I've never parked there myself so I'm not sure how fast it fills up. I always took the Metra downtown and took a cab from the station.

Meech has got to be happy he even made it to the NHL. Not too many guys picked up in the 7th round can say that. Just goes to show you what hard work can do for you. Besides the Griffins can sure use him right now. Maybe he can help get them back up above the .500 mark.

Michigan State Hockey is the main reason I got interested in hockey in the first place. But I wouldn't consider them a junior team so I'd have to go with the Grand Rapids Owls.

Here is the player lineup: Saturday, Jan. 12 10-11 p.m. - Griff 11 p.m.-Midnight - Adam Keefe and Jamie Tardif Sunday, Jan. 13 Midnight-1 a.m. - Darren Helm and Jakub Kindl 1-2 a.m. - Mike Walsh 2-4 a.m. - Jim Paek 4-6 a.m. - Mike Stothers 6-7 a.m. - Neil Clark 7-8 a.m. - Mattias Ritola 8-9 a.m. - Jonathan Ericsson 9-10 a.m. - Ryan Oulahen 10-11 a.m. - Garrett Stafford 11 a.m.-Noon - Kyle Quincey Noon-1 p.m. - Jimmy Howard 1-2 p.m. - Jon Insana 2-3 p.m. - Mark Cullen 3-4 p.m. - Carl Corazzini 4-5 p.m. - Adam Berkhoel and Brett Engelhardt 5-6 p.m. - Mark Hartigan 6-7 p.m. - Brad Ference 7-8 p.m. - Randall Gelech 8-9 p.m. - Evan McGrath 9-10 p.m. - Tom Galvin Lineup subject to change.