Stick tap to Zach for letting me steal the Hunter S. Thompson-esque title. I would quote HST every post if I had an excuse to.

So, I've vanished. Here's the deal. I wrote a nice somewhat combined LA/STL recap about not being cynical, looking forward, all that. It was pretty long -- and this is from the guy who writes long stuff to being with. I was on my last sentence. A totally non-Wings related factoid. I went to bold a name. Instead of hitting CTRL-B for bold, I hit CTRL-W. Which apparently closes your tab. And no, Bloguin doesn't auto save. And yes, it kills me. And no, I'm still not smart enough to save in the middle of posts. I'm still writing here, despite what all my instincts tell me.

Briefly on the cynicism thing -- it's tough. A few weeks ago I declared I would not be cynical, or less cynical, as it were. The Wings have won maybe one or two games since then. It's tough to be positive. But you know what sucks: seeing a tough loss and then seeing a million people on Twitter whining and moaning. I can't stand it, at all. These are the worst types of fans to me. Everyone knows we're going to be fine, everyone knows we're capable of winning a playoff series. Yet, the Wings lose another tough one and I have to hear ten different hilarious zingers. Just stop. What are you accomplishing? What you did do is help me condense my Twitter/RSS feeds.

What's so frustrating is the teams around us suck, and they're playing terrible hockey. Nashville, Calgary, Dallas, us, Anaheim, Minnesota, St. Louis. Wins in their last ten games? Three, Three, six, two, six, five, four. It's frustrating that every night we win, everyone we don't need to win also wins. And when we lose, we somehow kinda keep pace. It's the weirdest thing. Dallas is the hottest team in that group and they just traded for the most injury prone goalie in the league. Curious.

But if you want to be optimistic, and realistic, you'll realize that we're basically being served a playoff spot on a silver platter. How screwed would we be if even one other team went on a Los Angeles style run and went 9-1 in their past ten. Nashville and Calgary just cannot put us away, and they've had all the opportunities to. I don't know how anyone can be discouraged by Detroit putting up 50+ shots on San Jose. James Mirtle tweeted the other day that Detroit is 2-5-5 in the past month. He said that like it's news. Is it news to any Wings fan that Detroit is 2-5-5? It didn't exactly happen overnight. By my count, it happened over the course of a month. Huge story there. And that's not a slight to Mirtle, he does outstanding work, but people made a huge deal about it. Trust me, it wasn't news to me.

Yeah, we lost, I get it. But the types of things people come up with blow my mind. It's unprofessional and it's petty, but I'm singling out the one guy who's driving me up the wall right now. He's driving me up the wall because I know he knows what he's talking about. He's the only non-troll who supports trading Nick Lidstrom. And he's the only guy I know who will blame a loss like that on Lidstrom. It's Keith B. After the game, Keith asked where Nick's defensive game was on the Joe Thornton goal. Yes, that was the goal that was a split second rebound off the boards which Thornton put in despite being shoved into the net simultaneously. I know people call Nick superhuman, but it's mentally absurd (that's a nicer term for the word I want to use) to suggest he could have got to Joe any faster than he did.

Look, Lidstrom is human. He's having an off season. An off season for him is just not the same as it is for anyone else. He's been virtually flawless in the past decade. No other defenseman has come close. Sometimes I watch Zdeno Chara and chuckle that he won the Norris last year. Guy's good for one big mistake per game. Still has those awkward moments where it looks like he doesn't know he's 6'9. Wings fans are spoiled rotten that Lidstrom has been so perfect, and there's some illusion that all elite defensemen in the league are as mistake free as that. Not true. Not at all. Lidstrom won't win the Norris this year, but flat out, I guarantee you, 100%, there is not a better defensive defenseman in the league. And his offense is coming around recently, so it's not too hard to see to guess at who is still the best overall defenseman in the league.

But that's ok if you disagree. Hockey is great for opinions. Lidstrom has really only turned it on the past month. A month does not make a season. I'm just saying, right now, if I had to win one game, there is no defenseman I would rather have. If we were down three goals, maybe I'd take a fourth forward like Mike Green. At 0-0, there is no one better.

Too many people just look at stats these days, and Keith is the best possible example. (For the record, if you want to look at stats, they do support the idea that Lidstrom is still tops in his own end). Fed up, once he told me that Lidstrom is merely a "top ten" defensemen instead of a top two, I flat out asked, "who?" Here's the list I was given:

Technically, he said Bouwmeester and Hamhuis are "right behind" Nick. That in itself is offensive. Let's think about it.

Mike Green is a perfect example of why +/- is a terrible stat. Keith points out that he's a +27 (now a +28). Plus-minus is only useful in context. Mike Green almost always plays with Ovechkin, and Ovechkin is +15 ahead of Green. Jeff Schultz is a second pairing defenseman and he is +10 above Green. Elite defenseman are always, always head and shoulders their teams best +/- player. The Capitals don't have a singular regular player in the minuses. On a team boasting a whopping EIGHT players in the pluses, Lidstrom is a +20. Plus-five ahead of Brian Rafalski (second place) and +8 ahead of third place, some Selke-winner named Pavel Datsyuk. Who? But to be perfectly fair, one of those eight players in the pluses is Kris Newbury. Oh wait...

Tell me, who's +/- is more impressive?

The only two defensemen I would give the Norris over Lidstrom, despite his three dormant offensive months, is Keith and Weber. Both two solid season offensively, with solid defensive play. But both, especially Keith, make a significant amount of mistakes. Anyone know offhand how many penalties Weber took against Detroit last game (correction: second to last game, but the point still stands)? Three. Can you name the last three penalties Lidstrom took? You can't, because he quietly goes about his business and doesn't hurt the team by trying to play tough all the time.

From a guy who watched Doughty his entire OHL career, Doughty will never be an elite defensive defenseman. He'll probably win a Norris -- and he's made huge strides, but I'm pretty sure he'd slap you if you told him he was a better defenseman than Lidstrom. Not yet, but an incredible year.

But Bouwmeester and Hamhuis are absolutely offensive. Bouwmeester was supposed to be the piece that put Calgary over the top this season, and look where they are. He's the best skating defenseman, sure, but he's never become that elite defenseman he was supposed to be and anyone in Calgary or Florida will tell you that. And Hamhuis? Dude, he'd be a #5 on Detroit. I guarantee if you watch a highlight reel you'll see Hamhuis on the wrong end once or twice. Ryan Suter averages three more minutes per game than Hammy. Kevin Klein is like 45 seconds away. Hamhuis is a huge bust for what he was promised to be, his inclusion in there is clearly on a list from a guy who does not watch the Nashville Predators.

Asinine.

But apparently Keith will never read this, because he let me know that I'm full of shit for not agreeing with him. I don't know why he'd read someone who's full of shit, but I digress. Apparently I've built him up as a god, even though I've acknowledged nearly every day he's having an off season. Because he couldn't cover Jumbo Joe on a rebound off the boards. Oh, the world we live in today.

The internet needs to invent a punch in the face button. Also, please refer to BDS' new poll.

In conclusion, some people need to shut the hell up, some people need to smarten the hell up, and some people need to calm the hell down. This team is not winning but there is still so much time left. A win against red hot Ottawa tomorrow would be perfection. Andreas Lilja might even play. We should be perfectly healthy after the break, and nothing this team has done in the past month suggests to me that we can't hit sixth or seventh before the end of the year. And if worst comes to worst, there's always San Jose in the first round.

Literally as a I rolled out of bed, I turned on my computer and caught the first wave of Leino tweets. I just woke up and had a gut feeling. Like something was happening, and I should get my day started. Basically what I'm saying here is I have untapped psychic abilities.

As initially broken by CBC's Jeff Marek, Detroit has traded Ville Leino to Philadelphia for Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and a 5th round pick in 2011. Helene St. James reports that, as I assumed, Tollefsen will be waived and sent down to Grand Rapids. UPDATE: Bob McKenzie is reporting that they've already waived him.

I'm actually pretty surprised. I'm seeing some people say "that's it?" but be realistic here. Don't think about Leino's talent level, think about his value as an asset. Leino will be 27 at the start of next season and he has looked like an NHL player in roughly a half dozen NHL games this season. He's under contract for next year, and for whoever acquires him, if you're going to send him to the AHL, or keep him in the press box for a long period of time, he'll probably just go back to Finland. And that's not to say he's selfish, that's just what happens to players who are getting a little to old to not be NHL players.

The worst part is, he never really looked like he fit in with the Wings. He had Langitis (the disease spread by Robert Lang which involves no moving of your feet after you have the puck), he wasn't a two-way player, he was an awkward skater, and although he was great at protecting the puck on the boards, he often got really confused and so focused on protecting it that he wouldn't get rid of it.

It's one thing to get scratched a few times. It's totally another when you largely lose a lineup spot to Brad May. I liked Ville, but he was just not fitting in anywhere in this lineup.

So does that sound like a player that's going to demand a high draft pick or a decent return? Does it sounds like someone you want Detroit to give up a 2nd round pick for? Sure, other teams have probably seen that the guy has great hands. But at this point in his career he's just a short-term gamble. I was about 80% sure they'd end up waiving him out of here. This is more than I expected we'd get.

And what did we get. We got an Olympian. Well, an Olympian for Norway (sorry, Andy, I'd like to hear what you think of OKT though). We've got the next Anders Myrvold here. I actually really liked Ole-Kristian Tollefsen back in his Columbus days. Based on those days, I'd say he's a better option for a #6 than Mebdeech, but that's only because I prefer physical defensemen for the #6 spot.

But there are two problems with that idea:

First, Tollefsen has only played 10 games this year after 18 last year, and it hasn't been a recurring injury. A knee injury kept him out most of last year. This year, he had a concussion that sidelined him earlier this year (his second in three years), and an MCL sprain that sidelined him recently. So admittedly, although I remember him being a good defenseman, that was two years and a ton of injuries ago. He could be an entirely different player. But ask a Jackets fan -- they really liked his game. He didn't make too many mistakes.

Secondly, this was a move to free up cap space, and Tollefsen makes $600,000, so Detroit would really only free up $200,000 after swapping Leino for Tollefsen. He's barely cheaper than Lebda, which actually does make a different if Detroit is really close to the cap. Tollefsen will be a restricted free agent after this season, so at the very least, Detroit can free up a contract if he doesn't work out.

I do like him. It is an interesting idea for Detroit if, knock on wood, something happens to Lilja. But knowing this made it pretty apparent that he'll go to Grand Rapids. At the very least, it gives Detroit flexibility in moving maybe both shape-shifting entities that comprise Mebdeech, knowing that they won't need to rely on the unproven Jakub Kindl or the terrifying Doug Janik for depth in the playoffs. He does seem to be healthy now, so I do recommend everyone check out a Norway game or two to see how he looks against NHL talent. On another note, the Griffins now have two Olympic defensemen (Sergei Kolosov being the other), so long as OKT clears waivers.

Truth be told, I'm probably more excited for the 5th round pick. It's unlikely that OKT makes an impact, but it does give Detroit some flexibility. The 5th round has brough such picks as Kolosov and Danger Helm in the past few years, so I anxiously await 2011 when Detroit can make that pick. I know, I better start scouting.

For as much as I ragged on Ville this year, I'm pretty sad to see him go. I'm not disappointed with what they got for him, just that he didn't work out. I do hope he gets it together, even if it means he's doing it for the Flyers, because he is really skilled. He just didn't look like a Red Wing to me, but you can't deny his talent. Not a huge loss either, considering what we got him for (nothing). And hey, at least he isn't Fabian Brunnstrom.

For starters, I think this is the earliest in a day that I've ever made a post that isn't . I'm going to see so much daylight today.

Last night we recorded the eighth episode of The Obstructed View. I was involved with Casey from Winging it in Motown and Joe from Red Wings Guy with Chris from Motown Wings playing host. If you liked the last show I was on, you'll certainly like this one. I actually have a headset so it doesn't sound like I'm calling in on a phone from the '90s. Also, I was a little more awake so I wasn't just stammering aimlessly. Good news. We talked about Jason Williams, Justin Abdelkader, Mebdeech and the impending roster decisions, Babcock's latest comments "about" Chris Osgood, and a lot more. So check that out here.

Take a second after you listen to applaud the efforts of our producer Brian Kiernicki. Usually this show is recorded Sunday afternoons, but that just didn't work out with everyone's schedule. We recorded this show yesterday at 9PM, with a turn around time of 12 hours for the Tuesday 9AM release date that is generally when people expect this show to come out. Personally, and this isn't a slight to Brian at all, just from my basic knowledge of low long it takes to edit anything, I thought this one would be a little delayed. Sure enough, I'm up early today, and nearly right on the nose of 9AM, the show is released. So as you're listening, just appreciate the hard work Brian did in getting this out in time.

Just passing on the quick note today that I was fortunate enough to interview Landon Ferraro last week, the 32nd overall pick (close enough to the first round, right?). The article is up over at Winging it in Motown, and I wanted to plug it over here while today is still a little slow.

Thanks in large part to Casey over at WIM, we're really just rolling along here and knocking off basically one interview a week. The current count is three, with Ferraro, his linemate (and obviously, a Detroit-contracted player) Willie Coetzee, and another 2009 pick, Nick Jensen. There are definitely more in the works, and without giving anything away since it's not officially official, it looks like we may have landed a big fish for this week.

My question to you all, is what sort of things do you want to know about prospects? Obviously with the way I follow them, I know their backgrounds pretty well and feel like I have unique questions for just about all of them. But I'm always looking for fresh ideas and different areas to focus on. Would more on-ice questions be interesting? Maybe more about what the player does off the ice, how they train? More on their developmental path, how they work with the Wings? Anything. Feedback either in here or over at WIM would be nice, I do intend to use it... I really find this to be an awesome opportunity for me, and the last thing I want is for my questions to get stale, I'm hoping to give everyone a reason to read these interviews every week. Let me know.

For starters, since I'm not up for making a separate post, Gazette Online's Jeff Johnson is spreading the word that Sergei Kolosov was named to Belarus' Olympic team. As you might recall, the word on the street was that Belarus bypassed him, but was going to send Dave Lewis out to personally scout Kolosov and decide whether or not he should make the club. I haven't seen it anywhere else, but as that source covers the Cedar Rapids team Kolosov used to play for, you figure they probably have a tie to him. Good for Sergei, and it will be great for Detroit to see how he fairs against NHL competition. Kolosov draws comparisons to Andreas Lilja and has come a long way in his short AHL career.

Onto the Wings of today -- they lost in a shootout. Gotta start putting a shortcut on my keyboard to type that. It's probably my fault. I ripped Dallas for getting so many loser points, but since then, Detroit's been racking them up and are now within one of Dallas. Whoops. To be fair, Detroit is just much, much better than Dallas.

Honestly, I'm not disappointed with today's performance. They got outshot pretty badly, but I felt like they really reigned in the stupid mistakes and gift-wrapped turnovers. Not entirely void of that, but a step in the right direction.

It was just the offense that couldn't get it going. Contrary to what NBC kept saying about how much of a statement Pittsburgh was making in holding Detroit to so few shots, a little background research (which NBC didn't have time for because they needed a third Sidney Crosby piece to fill out their intermission) would have shown that Detroit's struggled to put the puck on the net lately.

Jimmy Howard will be one of the first people to tell you that. Something like 250 more saves today. Pretty standard, average game from him. I wonder who the starter is.

"It's great, isn't it? It's called goaltending," coach Mike Babcock said. "He battled and gave us a chance."

I ran across that tonight via The Triple Deke, via The Ansar. Babcock is just so cryptic sometimes.

The best news today was that Niklas Kronwall isn't injured. It looked bad and worse during the replay, but it doesn't sound like he'll miss any time. I really have no idea what to make of these things anymore, but we'll see what happens on Tuesday.

It's funny when one play can really set the tone for what people take out of a game (see Todd Bertuzzi for more information). I don't think there's a better example of this than today when Valtteri Filppula missed that open net. That was a terrible, inexcusable miss. But Filppula was great other than that. I feel like since he's come back from his injury he's been quicker and more creative than ever. The finish might not ever come, but I'll take this Filppula any day. Great game from him, but I feel like people are focusing too much on the miss. Could be worse though, imagine how bad Todd would be getting that if it were him. Bert didn't even have a scoring chance today.

On the note of players coming back, I think it's about time we should be seeing Henrik Zetterberg and Dan Cleary step up. Pavel Datsyuk has really taken the reigns and was the best player on the ice today, but Zetterberg was on the inconsistent side, but now awful. Cleary has been pretty invisible lately. I'm wondering where his speed has been lately. I don't remember him carrying the puck much at all lately. That's usually a sign that someone's injured.

San Jose on Tuesday. Sounds like Tomas Holmstrom should be back, since he was close for this game. Hopefully we can give Jimmy a night off; say, less than 40 shots.

As some of you know, I've got a pretty cool writing gig at Hockey's Future, covering Anaheim's prospects among a random handful of articles for other teams. And no, my hatred for Corey Perry, does not get in the way of a fair and unbiased look at their prospects.

If you've never been to the message boards over there, you're missing out. They're too busy and chaotic for me to go regularly, but it's good for a once-a-week stop or so. One of the places I always check out is the Trade Proposals and Free Agency board, which allows users to be their GM and submit their own trade proposals for critique. It's got a reputation as being pretty brutal at times, but I think there are a few decently thought out proposals.

So what I do every once and a while is just do a search for anything containing "Detroit" and decide whether or not I like the ideas. Since once again my real-life "job" hasn't provided me with any "work," I've got some time before the game, and I figure with the trade deadline coming up, it would be a good idea to start keeping an ear on the rumor mill. I'll look at individual players at a later date -- for now, rumors are good for discussion... or a laugh.

If you don't know, with the Olympic break this year, the trade deadline falls in a unique spot. There is a roster freeze during the Olympics that unfreezes two days before the deadline. With two weeks for GMs to do nothing but watch hockey and talk to each to other, a lot of people are expecting some serious talk. That'll either lead to the busiest or most disappointing trade deadline ever.

Let's begin.

A frustrated Boston fan thinks that Detroit would send Brian Rafalski out in return for Tim Thomas and Andrew Ference. While it would be nice to free up Rafalski's contract, I do think he is still useful, and moving him in any fashion is something Detroit would regret if Nick Lidstrom retires. Thomas is from Flint, but that's as far as him coming to Detroit makes sense. He's being outplayed statistically by Boston's younger Tuukka Rask, and it doesn't seem as though Detroit gains anything by throwing him into their already questionable goaltending situation. If Detroit ever moves Rafalski, it would be only to clear salary (he has an NTC, by the way), and Thomas' $5 million cap hit doesn't do much for flexibility. Ference is a decent bottom pairing defenseman, but with Andreas Lilja potentially coming back, he seems like he'd be just as quickly a spare part for Detroit.

A Montreal fan likes the idea of Darren Helm straight up for Jaroslav Halak. I don't understand why Montreal fans don't want two good young goalies at the same time, but it does seem likely either Halak or Carey Price will move. For Detroit, adding another young goalie will not come at the price of what looks to be a guaranteed franchise player. This one is a quick no.

In a trade that looks bad, but sounds a little better when you read the poster's reasoning, a NY Rangers fan submits Brad Stuart and Valtteri Filppula (who everyone wants, as you'll see shortly) for Wade Redden, Enver Lisin, Evgeni Grachev, and Ryan McDonagh. The point of this trade from a Rangers standpoint is to get Redden's ridiculous contract off the books, and reward the team who does it with two top prospects (Grachev and McDonagh) and Lisin, who is one of those players who has top notch skill but can't get it together. It's a no for Detroit though, as they still don't clear the necessary cap room to fit Redden's $6.5 million price tag -- a lofty price for what would be a #4 defenseman. We're not Chicago here, Brian Campbell.

Prepare the laugh track: another Montreal fan is demanding Tomas Tatar, Justin Abdelkader, Ville Leino, and a mid-round pick for Carey Price, Paul Mara, and Matt D'Agostini. Yes, it would be nice to add another team's top two prospects for every player on your team that you want to get rid of. Price is clearly the lesser of the two Montreal goaltending projects, giving Detroit nothing but baggage in exchange for getting rid of Tatar. Mara is an overpaid and lesser version of Brad Stuart, and D'Agostini is a struggling sophomore year player. Even Leino has more points than D'Agostini. The presence of the generic "mid-round pick" being thrown in on Detroit's end just cap off this great idea.

Desperate as ever to get rid of their best player, a Leaf fan has a Tomas Kaberle deal for Detroit. Kaberle is by far the subject of the most proposals on Hockey's Future. This one packages him with Niklas Hagman for Valtteri Filppula (spelled wrong throughout the thread), Jonathan Ericsson, and Detroit's 1st round pick in 2010. Leafs fans are desperate to make up the pick that Brian Burke traded for Phil Kessel, so most of their proposals involve getting a 2010 1st back -- though it definitely won't be as high as the one now in Boston's possession. Kaberle doesn't do much for Detroit as they already have three elite puck-moving defensemen. Hagman is a great player -- but Toronto wanted him bad and threw big bucks at him, ensuring his un-tradeability (that's probably a word) for years to come. Detroit keeps a more skilled version of Toronto's skilled Finn, and doesn't give up yet on Ericsson, who, despite struggles, has the tools to be an elite defender. Sorry, Tronna, keep trying, eh?

A Wings fan thinks that Detroit should pursue Florida's Nathan Horton for Filppula (what did I tell you?), either Abdelkader or Jakub Kindl, and a 3rd round pick. This one does require some thought, but I think I'd turn it down. Horton still has the potential to become a big goal scorer, but it's a big gamble for Detroit. Filppula has just as much potential if he could ever learn to finish, and has a two-way game far more advanced than Horton. The loss of a big prospect hurts when Horton for Filppula is nearly a wash, and the 3rd round pick is the HF standard for "this team should throw in one more thing."

A Los Angeles fan, pumped about probably making the playoffs this year, wants to buy at the deadline. Tomas Holmstrom for Trevor Lewis and a 2nd round pick. Doesn't make sense either way. Detroit just doesn't trade Holmstrom, plain and simple. But the Kings have the second-best net-front player in the league already in Ryan Smyth. Lewis has always been pretty vanilla to me, I don't see him making an impact for Detroit. Holmstrom would be way valuable if Detroit ever absolutely had to sell him, and a checking line prospect with a 2nd round pick is too little in return.

Buffalo and Detroit? Filppula (spelled wrong again) for Drew Stafford. I'm not sure how to feel about it. For starters, I don't think Detroit should trade Filppula because I still think he has the ability to be a bigger point producer, and I think his past few games have been a shining example of his speed and creativity. Stafford is more of a natural finisher, but like the Horton deal, Filppula is the clear winner as a two-way player. That kind of versatility is coveted throughout the league, as you can tell by everyone wanting Filppula. I'd say no, but I wouldn't stop being a Wings fan if it happened.

Trades with big rivals aren't generally too popular and none would be worse than Detroit trading Filppula (spelled wrong for the third time) to Chicago for Cam Barker and Andrew Ladd. It's a good video game trade, but both players are underachievers based on where they were drafted. By this point, Barker should be one of the most promising defenders in the league, and Ladd should be a legitimate power forward. 0-for-2. Meanwhile, seeing Filppula in the wrong shade of red six times a year for the next however many years is a nauseating thought.

A Wings' fan (notice how few Wings propositions fans of the team actually come up with) is all about Scandinavia in a trade that sends Detroit's two Finns, Filppula (spelled correctly -- yay Detroit fans) and Ville Leino, or Brett Lebda, who's last name sounds a little Scandinavian, and a 3rd round pick to Carolina for just one Finn, Tuomo Ruutu and Swede Niclas Wallin. I don't think I'd do this trade with just Filppula, but I guess it would be nice to get anything for Leino or Lebda. Still, not enough from Carolina's end -- plus, they're not exactly huge trade partners with the owner squabbles and all that.

Finally, the newest trade out there has Los Angeles trading Jack Johnson for Brad Stuart, Ville Leino, and a 2011 (why?) 3rd round pick. Accepting this one for pure ironic value is very tempting -- Detroit acquired Stuart from Los Angeles for just a 2nd and 4th round pick, and would be getting a former third overall pick, and a free pass to get rid of Leino in return.

Sadly, nothing stands out as overly exciting. But it was fun to take a look at anyway, right? After the game tonight, I'm hoping to sit down and finally figure out exactly what the deal is with Detroit's cap situation -- as in, how much free space they'd have to make a deal. I suck at math though, so I'll probably spend an hour looking into it and have someone here point out in five minutes some major error I made. We'll see.