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They can't. They already lost Lang. Who will be the scapegoat if Lilja gets traded? I suppose LGW could go back to blaming Osgood for everything but that's tough to do when he spends most of the season on the bench.

I've never seen the US more interested in hockey as when the Rangers won the Cup in 1994. The Red Wings are #1 locally and they have a great national following but that's because they've been consistently good since the mid 1980s. If the Rangers had that type of consistency, they'd be huge.

Matt Ellis might stick on the Wings because he's a Mike Babcock type player. He doesn't have a lot of natural talent but he works his ass off. He always hustles and he can play a sound crash and bang game. I don't even think he was drafted by anyone but look at his stats. He's had a caeer high every season as a pro. He's no all star but I think he'll make a decent third or fourth liner in the NHL. hockeydb.com

Look at the picture in the first post. That's Hudler in the red jersey.

Fire on Ice is the name of a synchronized skating team in Australia.... fireonice.net Also, the title of a documentary about figure skaters..... IMDB And finally, the name of one of the forums over at calgarypuck.com..... forum.calgarypuck.com

CBC probably has the triple header going... Two Canadian teams in the prime time slot. Wings-Leafs @ 3pm Canadiens-Sens @ 7pm Lanche-Canucks @ 10pm

No Rangers. Bruins, Leafs, and Canadiens on the road. The only home game with an original six team is against the Blackhawks. No Sid the Kid. Plus 14 games on consecutive nights. Not that I didn't expect this but excuse me while I hurl...

Now we'll just have to see whether he turns into another Mario.... or another Lindros.

The 09 Line (Kennedy, Abdelkader, Crowder) was clutch in the NCAA tournament last year and everyone feels they're only going to improve. They raise the intensity on the ice every time they take a shift and they're always crashing the net and jumping on every loose puck. From what I've seen, Abdelkader will definitely fit into this team. He plays exactly the way Babcock wants his players to play.

If Drake was signed to replace Calder it's an upgrade. If Drake was signed to replace Lang or Bertuzzi it's a downgrade.

Hudler and Lilja are the two players on the roster I would love to see shipped out. How about a package deal? The pair for any decent second line winger.

If they can pick up a decent first line center, a veteran top four defensemen, and avoid injuries they might break the .500 mark. But don't count on it.

I'm playing tonight. Over 40 drop-in followed by beers in the parking lot.

I started following the team during the 77-78 season. The Red Wings made the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade and they swept the Atlanta Flames in the first round. Montreal crushed them in the second round but it was fun while it lasted. Jim Rutherford was the starting goaltender and Reed Larson was the stud on the blue line.

I generally don't post unless I have something decent to say, but you asked for it.

I grew up in Detroit but lived a good part of my adult life in Chicago. Both teams have a storied history. Both have a ton of hall of famers. Both are original 6 teams. And since it's possible to buy a Blackhakw ticket without selling a kidney or mortgaging my house, I've probably attended more Blackhawk games over the past 15 years than Red Wings games. When they're going head to head, I'm a Red Wings fan all the way. But if Chicago is playing anyone else, I'm backing the Hawks.

WTF? I thought he did a pretty good job. Maybe the Red Wings have someone they want for the job. Can't imagine who, though.

Let's see. He's coached the Flyers, Blackhawks, Rangers, Blues, Canucks, Bruins, Panthers, and now the Flames. He gets around more than a $5 hooker. I give him until the trade deadline before he pisses off enough guys that they stage a player revolt.

Hockeydb.com shows the IHL played from 1929 to 1936, and then from 1945 to 2001, so it wouldn't be the first time the league took a few seasons off.

No, but here's a couple of his teammates from the 83-84 Canadiens: Guy Lafleur Larry Robinson Bob Gainey Claude Lemieux The first three retired more than 15 years ago. Lemieux was a rookie and he's been retired for almost 5 years.

Don't forget Lidstrom's game winning power play goal in the 55th minute of game two of the 2002 Finals against Carolina. Without that goal, Carolina was a shot away from going up 2-0 in the series. But the best Nick Lidstrom moment is no moment at all. It's the 30 minutes a night he puts up, game after game and year after year, that really stands out.

My first game at the Joe was towards the end of the 79-80 season against Toronto. Detroit had just moved to Joe Louis Arena and my friend's dad got some tickets through Kroger. They had a block of tickets in the upper bowl. Detroit was already eliminated from the playoffs and I don't remember the score, but there were a couple of fights and plenty of penalties. The most memorable moment was Reed Larson punching some Maple Leaf player and knocking him down with one punch while the ref was up ice. The ref didn't see a thing but the fans sure enjoyed it. Reed got a standing O.

When Howe's authorized autobiography (And... Howe! isbn 0964714906) came out in 1995, Gordie offered to sign any copy of the book for free. If you couldn't get him to sign it in person, you could send it to him and he'd sign it and sent it back. I got a copy at home in my bookcase. You can probably pick one up off ebay for less than $20.

Man, those jerseys on New Year's Eve had to be the worst thing I've ever seen. Whoever designed these needs a punch to the head. Griffins did get the 3-0 win over Rochester so the night wasn't a complete disaster.

ABSOLUTELY! If I told someone I thoulgh the Wings were going to win the Central and battle all the way to the Conference Finals back in October, they would've looked at me like I had five heads. This team exceeded a lot of expectations. Let's be happy with that.