THIS AND THAT

Its been a while.

Been a while since the Stars season ended.

Been a while since Detroit was crowned (or '3 Crowned').

Been a while since I've added my two cents.

I call it decompressing. My wife calls it "The annoying period of every calendar year." The time when her loving husband is grumpy and without purpose yet is still too busy to do, "women's work". My girls refer to it as "Daddy now got no excuses not to play Polly Pockets and entertain us, time."

So lets see, what's rattling around in the Razorboy's gray matter...

-- The Wings were the best team in hockey because they had; great two-way players, timely save goaltending, the best defenseman maybe to ever play in this league, a core of veterans who know how to win - and they were really, really, really well coached. Nothing is tougher to overcome than a talented team that is pushed and has its best offensive players interested in defense. No shame at all in bowing out to them in the round of four.

-- I guess they dinged the trophy a little during celebrations. It happens. You probably remember a story about a one hop plunge into a local rockers pool in '99? Or maybe you heard about the '94 Rangers returning Lord Stanley's Mug in a box -- in pieces. You party hard when you win the Cup -- you earned it.

-- There was a lot of talk about how Nik Lidstrom became the first European Captain of a Stanley Cup team, which is true, but let's grab some perspective. After being in North America for decades he now sounds about a Swedish as the chef on the Muppets sounds Texan. Put Lidstrom in St. Paul, Minnesota and no one would suspect he was a foreigner of any kind.

-- Speaking of Swedes, Matty Norstrom's retirement announcement was not unexpected. His family moved back to the Motherland with a few months remaining in the season in order to give his two autistic children the best care and tutoring possible. He was a terrific teammate, a talented head shaver, and is wished all the best in his new/old life back in Scandinavia.

-- Coaches keep getting fired, interviewed and hired. A week before the draft and no fewer than 5 teams are still coachless -- Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Ottawa, L.A., Florida…and for you cynics -- Calgary.

-- The Maple Leafs soap opera continues to unfold. Since the end of the season they have; fired their coach, hired a coach (former Sharks man Ron Wilson), and just yesterday they hired the man who was brought in to take a Leaf blower to the hockey department then bow out when a permanent G.M. was secured (ie Brian Burke). But even the best laid plans get altered and Cliff Fletcher is now their permanent General Manager. Don't be surprised if 1999 Conn Smythe winner Joe Nieuwendyk is hired by the Buds shortly as a sort of “Manager in Waiting”. He and Fletcher go back to the Stanley Cup days in Calgary and Joe is made for that gig.

-- The NHL Awards were last night (Full breakdown later). I never understand why the league doesn't use the S. Cup Playoffs, and especially the Final, as a platform to award the season's best players. Marketing -- it can be a befuddling arm.

-- I have a new word -- TARADIDDLE. It means fib, or pretentious nonsense. (Use it at your own risk)

-- Dominic Hasek retired at age 43. The Dominator was the guy who surrendered THAT goal to Brett Hull in Buffalo in '99 and I think his legacy should be that of the guy who took the statistic of save percentage to a different stratosphere. Before he came along in the early 90s a save percentage of 90 was what was regarded as excellent. Then he moved the bar not just a little but a whole lot. I know 3% doesn't sound like a lot but when Hasek started posting save percentages of .930 and higher, he set a standard that was previously thought unattainable.

-- Yesterday another blow of reality was delivered to Mike Modano's hockey mortality. Trevor Linden, the player drafted second overall behind Modano in 1988 announced his retirement.

-- And finally, do you think Stars owner Tom Hicks would ever peddle his Stanley Cup ring through an auction house in order to put his grandkids through college like former Edmonton Oiler Owner, Peter Pocklington just did? Me neither.