I would like to give my condolences to the Bourdon family and I hope Luc is in a better place right now. May he rest in peace. :( He was WAY to young. Luc was a promising defense men for the Vancouver Canucks and he died in a motorcycle accident this morning. Apparently he only recently got into riding motorcycles and he had just bought one of his own two days ago! This is a huge tragedy for the NHL.

To give my condolences to the Bourdon family and I hope Luc is in a better place right now. May he rest in peace. :( He was WAY to young. Luc was a promising defense men for the Vancouver Canucks and he died in a motorcycle accident this morning. Apparently he only recently got into riding motorcycles and he had just bought one of his own two days ago! This is a huge tragedy for the NHL.

via blog.mlive.com

Ok, I have a question for you guys... Who has been the best defense men for Detroit in this year play-offs? Lidstrom? Nope. Rafalski. Not a chance. According to coach Mike Babcock it has been Niklas Kronwall.

Kronwall's career started rough, with injuries ranging from a broken leg to a fractured sacrum. He was in and out of the lineup so much that it was hard for him to find any consistency in his game. Its seems as though these play-offs are his coming out party. He leads all defense men in play-off scoring and his penchant for the big open ice hit has his teammates impressed.

"It gives us so much more energy," forward Henrik Zetterberg said. "It's unbelievable to see Kronner do it night in and night out. It's nice to see him healthy and playing good in all situations. He makes huge hits and nice plays, so he's a pretty complete package." (Quote courtesy of detnews.com)

The opposition has also noticed Kronwall's physical play as of late. "You have to have your head up and be ready. If your elbows get up quick enough, you have to protect yourself also," Malone, the 6-4, 224-pound Penguins forward, said during a conference call Wednesday. "If by accident your stick gets up a little bit, maybe he learns his lesson. He's definitely a player you have to keep your eye on." (Quote courtesy of Mlive.com)

If the Wings can win their fourth cup since 1997, be ready to hear Kronwall's name in the talks for the Conn Smythe, he definitely deserves it.

Just months after being named interm GM's in place of the fired Doug Armstrong, Brett Hull and Les Jackson have signed contract extensions that will run through 2011. While Jackson is the "brains" of the operation, managing salary cap issues, Brett Hull is a guy that fosters strong relationships with the players and offers unconventional wisdom.

“This unique combination of talents gives us many advantages for our hockey club,” Hicks said in a statement. “Signing Les and Brett to these contracts provides stability for the future.”

Hull and Jackson engineered one of the biggest trades in franchise history, acquiring center Brad Richards from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Forwards Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern and back-up goaltender Mike Smith. Richards was a vital part of the Stars during their play-off run, finishing tied for second in team scoring with 15 points.

“We think the same way,” Hull said in trying to explain why the co-GM role has worked. “He is the ultimate gentleman, and anybody who can’t get along with Les, you’re in big trouble. Mostly it’s the self-confidence we have in ourselves and the confidence we have in each other that makes it real easy.”

Up next for the two is trying to get Tippet to sign a contract extension, something Brett Hull says shouldn't be to hard.

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Igor Grigorenko is finally coming to Detroit, six years after being drafted. He will be old for a rookie entering the season (24 years old). There is speculation that he will play with fellow Russian Pavel Datsyuk if Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg get there own lines to center. He is entering the season as an enigma, and I for one can't wait to see what he can do.

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Niklas Kronwall recently signed a 5 year, $15 Million deal that has been highly criticized by many hockey fans, including fans of the Detroit Red Wings. I think now with the departure of Markov (Rafalski replaces Schneider), that Kronwall will get top three minutes after Lidstrom and Rafalski. Kronwall has had some fluke injuries, such as the one he suffered just before the play-offs. In hopes that he will realize his potential this year, I wrote an article.

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