This discussion of our 3^rd and 4^th lines will be a bit tricky. Reason is there are guys that play in the top 6 that I don’t think should be there and there’s one guy, we’ll call him G. Nyquist, who I think should be getting more minutes. But, I’m not the coach.

We have a lot of guys to discuss, so we’d better get to it.

Full bottom 6 preview after the jump:

It seems like Lidstrom’s retirement was over a year ago. Hard to believe Kyle Quincey has only played maybe ¼ of a season with us since being acquired in a trade. We didn’t get Suter, but did you remember that we did sign Colaiacovo? Lockouts will do that to you, but it’s over now and we have to sort through the rubble of the offseason to see what we’ve got for the rest of this year.

Full player review after the jump:

Not a whole lot of new news to report this morning.

But we're gearing up for this short season that could start next week.  We could be watching Red Wings hockey in 7 days.  I know this has been painful.  I know that it has been frustrating.  But let's put our fan hats (made of tin foil) back on and think about not what we've lost...but what we are NOT losing.

1. We are not losing another year of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg's career.

2. The chance to have a furious few days of talking about who is going to wear the "C" next week.

That's just a couple of things...I'm sure there is much more (feel free to chime in).  Imagine what we all would have been going through if King Lidas had indeed decided to come back this year, only to go through a work stoppage.

More after the jump.

Morning, gang...it's time to get back to work, according to NHL.com:

After a marathon 16-plus hour negotiating session at the Sofitel Hotel that began Saturday afternoon, the sides announced an agreement in principle shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday.

We don't have a number of games yet...we don't have a start date.  BUT - apparently those details are going to come out soon.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen - it looks like we're going to have some NHL hockey this year,

I know I've taken the ostrich approach to this lockout...burying my head in the sand.  Maybe that wasn't the right thing to do.  Maybe I could have tried to come up with something to say on a daily basis to try and keep the site going.  But I said it at the beginning - if they canceled the Winter Classic - I was going to lose it.  They canceled it.  I lost it.

More after the jump.

This sucks.

I love the Wings.  I love watching, reading and writing about the team and the sport.  That’s what brought about NOHS—Drew loved the Wings and wanted to share his thoughts with others.  And from that it has grown into the site it is today.  It absolutely astonished me every single day that people, real (internet) people, wanted to read what Andrew, Twig, Brandon, Jeremy and Jordan had to say (and Josh’s amazing posters) about the happenings of the Wings.  And moreso, I couldn’t wait to read the comments, good and bad, from our awesome readers.  You all made every post worth it. It still blows my mind when I think about it, that somehow, we were accepted into the Wings blog community.

But Gary and Donald have taken the Wings from us, lying to our face as they stabbed us in the back.  These two made themselves more important than the owners, players and game they are supposed to represent.  They’ve let us down, time and time again.   And unfortunately, after being abused for the past however many years by Gary and pals, we’re all done with it.  

For the first month or two of the lockout, I could have written an article or two a day about how angry it made me.  But that’s subsided--now I’m just disappointed.  I’m disappointed in the players.  I’m disappointed in the owners-that Mr. Ilitch hasn’t stepped up to do what is right.  I’m disappointed in everyone who’s had anything to do with the sport pretty much. 

And even that disappointment is fading into apathy.  I’m finding myself busy with other things.  I used to check Kuklaskorner, TSN and Puck Daddy almost hourly, even in the summer.  Now I’m finding days, sometimes weeks, where I neglect to even look at what is happening.  I just don’t care. 

So as of today, we’ve decided that we’re hanging up the skates and closing up shop at NOHS. Without hockey being played, we are being robbed of magic moments from Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Smith, Howard, and friends.  And without those magic moments, writing a blog about the Wings feels, well pointless.  Sure, we could probably give you up to date news from the lockout, but that’s not what we are in this for.  Writing about the Wings is fun.  Giving news is a job, plus plenty of other places can do that a lot better than us. 

 Is this permanent?  I don’t know.  I certainly can’t speak for the other guys, but right now, the magic about being a Detroit Red Wings fan, to me at least, is gone.  There’s a chance that if the league started up again next week, we’d all be right back where we were, letting you know how pissed we are at Sammy, how incredible Datsyuk is, or detailing the magic between Brunner and Zetterberg.  Hockey is that special of a sport.  But right now though, I can’t see that.  While I’m not going to lie and pretend I wouldn’t watch and follow the Wings anymore, I think the diehard in me has moved on.   I don’t think the game will ever regain the magic and wonder it has always held in my heart.

I guess we’ll see what all becomes of this.   But for now, we all just wanted to say thanks again to all our readers, those who have followed us from the beginning. 

And, in true NOHS fashion, Josh wanted to give us one more poster before we called it a lockout.  And of course, it couldn’t be more appropriate.   A talented man he is. 

Thanks again everyone. It’s been a hell of a ride and I hope there’s more in the future.   But, for now, we'll leave you with this:

LGRW. 

Well it’s officially official.  The Wings are going to get a new rink – and it sounds like not just that either.  They’ll be getting an entire district centered around the new rink in Downtown Detroit.

After years of hints and speculation, the Ilitch family took the first steps Tuesday toward building a new entertainment district downtown anchored by a multipurpose arena that would be home to the Ilitch-owned Detroit Red Wings.

No site has been chosen, but the proposed $650-million district would offer much more than hockey. The multipurpose arena would host a range of shows, concerts and other events, and the broader district would include residential housing, retail shopping, office space and more.

You know, as much as I love the Joe, I’m good with this.  Hopefully they make it modern, but with the blue collar feel as well, keeping as much as the tradition and history alive as they can.  Maybe even the troughs too.  You know, just because.

You gotta give Ilitch credit for his intense devotion to downtown Detroit.  Here’s what he has to say about this all:

"It's always been my dream to once again see a vibrant downtown Detroit," Mike Ilitch, chairman of Ilitch Holdings, said in a written statement. "From the time we bought the Fox Theatre, I could envision a downtown where the streets were bustling and people were energized. It's been a slow process at times, but we're getting there now, and a lot of great people are coming together to make it happen. It's going to happen, and I want to keep us moving toward that vision."

The site hasn’t been determined yet, but the Free Press guesses either right behind Fox Theatre, opposite MotorCity Casino, or west of Woodward Avenue and north of I-75.  Here's a map of those possible locations.  The ability to really wander around and enjoy the area around the rink will be a huge bonus as compared to the Joe. 

Hit the jump for more: