Hey all! Been a while posting, but I've been following a few Wings stories, and Igor is one of them.
There are a lot of ways to look at this. But consider this... it seems like everyone in the Detroit brass knows how good of a player he can be. And there's no doubt your team could benefit from another top scoring winger and those in charge know that. It isn't a bold statement (I mean, what team couldn't use a top scorer?). But when you factor in how many Russians have bolted for home (especially recently), it looks like your management is taking a "walking on glass" approach with him. "Don't rock the boat," so to speak because it's already on the dock and ready to set sail for Russia. Detroit is one of the first team's I've seen to really lay down the carpet for a Russian player such as Grigs. You would have never seen this in the past - heck as early as last Summer Babcock was throwing plenty of comments at Hudler. Not with Grigs, and not this Summer... no way.
For those who follow the Flames, we fans have been very excited about Andrei Taratukhin, especially in this off-season as he looked like a lock to make the big team. And he sounded very comitted to making the team. This interview came out in August and it pumped us more as it pronounced his eagerness to play with us this season:
http://www.russianprospects.com/public/art...?article_id=530
... no more than a few weeks later, he had bolted for Russia. It's not like we gave him a hard time either, unless the fans were kept out in the dark on something. He just left...
If this kid could leave, it looks like it's going to be a very common theme amongst the new NHL. Detroit is taking a soft approach, like lowering a peanut to a squirrel, in every attempt to have him stay.
For your sake I hope he does!