turn out the lights, the party's over

depends on what your definition of no limits is, i guess. as i predicted, the wings didn't go very deep in the playoffs this year. san jose knocked the boys out on saturday 2-1, ending the 5 game series, and earning themselves a rest before facing their conference final opponent, chicago. i say go hawks.

many reasons can be listed for the wings early exit (they lasted longer than i felt they would), the primary would be injuries. this is a false claim however, as all the injured players participated in the second season. while they all may not have been up to snuff, they all skated and many played in the olympics. more on that later.

next, the dreaded travel schedule. detroit, located in the eastern time zone, plays in the western conference, and as a result travels probably more than any other nhl team. add to that the compressed season due to the olympics, and you have tired guys playing more frequently, and on the road a great deal of the time.

another reason, i think, is the physical as well as psychological make up of the team. most of the players are of smaller stature (average size on detroit's roster figures up at 72.22 inches and 199.18 lbs.), and almost half are european, who are known to play a less physical style of hockey than their north american counterparts.

compare this to san jose's stable average of 73.14 inches and 206.23lbs. big deal right, an inch taller and 7 pounds heavier. okay, maybe. except when those inches and pounds slamming you into the end boards for 60 minutes are guys like thornton, clowe, blake,murray, heatley, and marleau. only 4 guys by my count are euro's, which means a tight checking, physical brand of hockey. these figures do not include goalies.

while detroit may control the puck better, teams like san jose are willing and able to go through you to get it, and keep it. also, have you ever seen a team miss the net more than the wings?

my pet peeve about the entire season has been the olympics. detroit sent at least 8 players from their active roster to vancouver. many were coming off injuries or nursing them along. that combined with winning the cup in 7 games in '08, losing the cup in 7 in '09, and the factors already mentioned i feel helped chase the wings from the playoffs. helping make my point is pittsburgh, who just got run in 7 by montreal. that is who detroit played 2 years in a row in those 7 game cup finals.

what does the league get out of the olympics? advertising? exposure? i doubt it. the league should mandate that no team can send more than 4 players TOTAL to the olympics. but they're playing for their country. big deal. the owners are paying you to play and win for them. olympic games were supposed to be the best amateur's in the world playing against each other.
but that all changed when we sent the basketball "dream team" out to wipe the floor with the world.

i don't want to hear any crying about 'the russians did it', either. remember the miracle on ice?

so what do i think the wings need to do? 1) not blow megabucks on nick lidstrom for multiple years. if he will come back for about 5.5 to 6 mil a year, for 2 years, fine. if not, thanks for the memories. 2) let bertuzzi walk. in his 15 years in the league he has only broken the 50 point mark 6 times. in two stints with detroit, his point total is 48---------for the 2 seasons. that's points, not goals. see ya. 3) re-sign jason williams. he is a right hand shot and he can play the point. 4) lilja, lebda,draper and maltby can all go.5) keep miller, eaves, helm, meech and abdelkader.6) look to trade zetterberg, seriously. get somebody younger with a better back that will cost you less, and can score when the goaltender is actually in the net. maybe a guy like pavalski or byfuglien, with another player and pick thrown in.

so long, cindy, i mean sidney....and good luck hawks.