My Stab at the Forecheck Four

Which off season movement(s) surprised you the most? (free agent signings/ trades/ retirements... etc) -- Derian Hatcher-- I'm glad we got this hometown boy to play for the Wings. It was kinda expected after the Kariya / Selanne deal, which made it less exciting, but I was still pretty pleased. Too bad he had to get injured, but I'm hopeful he'll be back before the playoffs. -- Dominik Hasek -- I was initially mad at Dom for coming back the way he did, because he forced himself on the Wings and made for a bad situation for CuJo. But, I am more hopeful that it is for the better, with CuJo still recovering and Dom playing pretty well. He just better keep it up!! -- Kariya/Selanne -- I truly felt sick to my stomach when I heard the news. It was like a dream or something. I still try to deny it's real. But when I really think about it, it's not as bad as it seems. They can run and gun, or at least try, all they want, but they still have Aebischer in net (the fact that I am inable to spell his last name reflects his mediocrity), and that's a liability they'll have to live with unless they make a major deal. -- Roy -- I was extremely happy that Patty Wahhh retired, because I hate his guts and he's always a big threat to the Wings when we play the Avs. It's kinda sad to think I won't see another Statue of Liberty, but I can live with that memory. What do you think about the new 'road white' jerseys? I like them, but it's unfortunate for the fans that bought white jerseys to have to fork out money for the dark ones. But I guess the nhl needs the money the way they're losing it now. But I realize it makes since for teams that want to wear third jerseys, since there are so many of them and this forced home teams to wear away jerseys in past seasons, making for a tough situation for the laundary crew. More on jerseys. What's going on with those third jerseys? Who has the ugliest? I'd say one of the ugliest is the New York Islanders' Alternate, nyi Another bad one is the Mighty Ducks' Alternate, anhm Or Calgary's Alternate, calg Or any of the Predator's jerseys, pred Or the Coyotes' jerseys, which I've never even seen...., coyote Or Vancouver's Alternate jersey, canuck With so many significant key injuries this early in the season, how do you think this will affect the teams and how are the teams going to react? Hatcher's injury shouldn't be too big of a deal for us, since he should be back by the playoffs at worst. I'm hoping Kariya is hurt badly now, and that St Louis will follow their annual tradition in having Pronger or MacInnis hurt before the playoffs start. If we can unload CuJo to a team that is in desperate need of a goaltender at season's end, hopefully we can pick up a decent player.