Confirmed with Link: Datsyuk retiring

[Bench]

Datsyuk would’ve won the Selke and scored 110+ points in today’s league. Sometimes I get bitter seeing all the open space in today’s NHL and wonder what magic Datsyuk would’ve made with it.

I dunno, Datsyuk was never a speedster. I think current NHL defenseman, who prioritize skating and stick work, are far more equipped to handle Datsyuk than the older generation.

I think he was perfectly at home in his era. Not quite clutch and grab, but not nearly as fast as today.

 

[Bench]

This is one of those "wait I thought that happened years ago" moments. I fully expect to see news of Chris Pronger and Derian Hatcher retiring.

Legend has it, on a still winter night, you can still hear the whispers of Pronger's contract helping a team reach the cap floor.

There are those that call this silly or say that it's actually Bigfoot opening a bag of Doritos, but when the winds blow and the papers rustle, the natives of Ontario know that chilling sound of circumvention.

 

[tabness]

What made Datsyuk Datsyuk? I watched much of it, but other than "magic" I can't do anything but wave my hands vaguely and point to replays, when asked.

I think it's just smoothness. Datsyuk's puck skills were like Paul Coffey's skating, just so unbelievably smooth it was majestic to see. There might be a few other guys who had that high level of creativity and intelligence, the amazing stickhandling skills, and so on, but Datsyuk put it all together so well and made it look so good.

 

[Bench]

I think it's just smoothness. Datsyuk's puck skills were like Paul Coffey's skating, just so unbelievably smooth it was majestic to see. There might be a few other guys who had that high level of creativity and intelligence, the amazing stickhandling skills, and so on, but Datsyuk put it all together so well and made it look so good.

Very much so. I definitely believe the unique aesthetics of Datsyuk's game elevate him in some folks eyes.

 

[Ricelund]

What made Datsyuk Datsyuk? I watched much of it, but other than "magic" I can't do anything but wave my hands vaguely and point to replays, when asked.

Insane hands, great edge work, unbelievable ability to win puck battles along the boards, underrated strength/physicality, tremendous hockey sense. He was one of a kind.

 

[Reddwit]

I dunno, Datsyuk was never a speedster. I think current NHL defenseman, who prioritize skating and stick work, are far more equipped to handle Datsyuk than the older generation.

I think he was perfectly at home in his era. Not quite clutch and grab, but not nearly as fast as today.

Nah, I disagree. He didn’t need speed. He’d be like a Jason Robertson today.

 

[MabusIncarnate]

It was a pleasure to watch his Wings career start to finish, there's not much more to say that hasn't been said. The man was a special talent and we were all pretty damn lucky to have him with Z during that era. Enjoy retirement, catch lots of fish!

 

[MBH]

Insane hands, great edge work, unbelievable ability to win puck battles along the boards, underrated strength/physicality, tremendous hockey sense. He was one of a kind.

I just don't don't think we'll ever see that mix of anticipation, deception, agility and then jaw-dropping puck skill on a regular basis.
A guy like Patrick Kane shows it from time to time. But Datsyuk was just doing ridiculous things on a nigh-in, night-out basis.
He didn't just wow fans.
He wowed the best players in the NHL.

 

[FabricDetails]

He can retire all he wants. He's still an alien. Look at the facts, bro.

 

[Oddbob]

Amazing how many pts he put up, when just watching and the countless highlight videos of awesome plays that didn't even end up on the score sheet.

 

[aar000n]

One of the greats to play with the Wings. It was a heck of a ride.

 

[The Real Pastafarian]

Miraculous he managed to play 270+ games in the KHL. When he broke his contract with the Wings I was told several times his ankles were shot anyway so not a big loss.

In all seriousness what a great player and fantastic career. I remember in his first couple seasons I massively underrated his potential, thinking he'd be a Slava Kozlov type player. I think I was fooled by them being two soft spoken but crafty Russians wearing the same number.

I'll always marvel at what Datsyuk did on the ice, but do not love how he left or his regressive views on social issues.

His views? The views informed by the man's religion?

I suspected that much of the criticism here, for one of the greatest players on this or any team ever, on the day of his retirement, wasn't really about his breaking his contract. Thanks for your candor.

Can't we put politics aside for hockey? Or does it have to permeate every waking moment of every day?

 

[Mount Suribachi]

My favorite athlete of all time in any sport.

Same. A truly unique athlete

 

[GMR]

Farewell match for Alexander Semin? Lol.

Will Oleg Kvasha get a farewell match too?

 

[iDangleDangle]

The single biggest reason I became a Red Wings fan. An electrifying player that made things happen each time he stepped on ice. Still the most unique hockey player I've ever witnessed.

Datsyuk's performance on 2011 playoffs and that Shark's series was IMO one of the most dominating showcases by a single player I've seen. Karlsson in 2017 and McDavid this year are some others.

 

[Ricelund]

Datsyuk's performance on 2011 playoffs and that Shark's series was IMO one of the most dominating showcases by a single player I've seen. Karlsson in 2017 and McDavid this year are some others.

Agreed, I posted this earlier in the thread. He was unbelievable that series.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

His views? The views informed by the man's religion?

I suspected that much of the criticism here, for one of the greatest players on this or any team ever, on the day of his retirement, wasn't really about his breaking his contract. Thanks for your candor.

Can't we put politics aside for hockey? Or does it have to permeate every waking moment of every day?

You ask me to put it aside but you apparently already have a theory as to the "real" reason for the criticism so politics are clearly influencing your feelings here as well.

My main criticism of Datsyuk as a player is breaking his contract. Love him for what he did on the ice but that was incredibly unprofessional and hurt the franchise.

And as we often do here, there's also discussion of the person. On this forum players like Kadri are called human garbage for throwing bad hits and getting suspended and that is apparently acceptable. I type half a sentence about how Datsyuk supports laws and beliefs that treat some of my friends and members of my family as an "apocalyptic" abomination and suddenly that's over the line.

I don't go on about how people vote in elections, which is actual politics. But I'm not going to pretend a player's bigoted beliefs don't exist, be it that they're racist or misogynists or homophobes.

 

[FabricDetails]

You ask me to put it aside but you apparently already have a theory as to the "real" reason for the criticism so politics are clearly influencing your feelings here as well.

My main criticism of Datsyuk as a player is breaking his contract. Love him for what he did on the ice but that was incredibly unprofessional and hurt the franchise.

And as we often do here, there's also discussion of the person. On this forum players like Kadri are called human garbage for throwing bad hits and getting suspended and that is apparently acceptable. I type half a sentence about how Datsyuk supports laws and beliefs that treat some of my friends and members of my family as an "apocalyptic" abomination and suddenly that's over the line.

I don't go on about how people vote in elections, which is actual politics. But I'm not going to pretend a player's bigoted beliefs don't exist, be it that they're racist or misogynists or homophobes.

Hey man... If you could make a deal with the universe so that you could do things like this...



I wouldn't be mad at you, .

 

[MBH]

His views? The views informed by the man's religion?

I suspected that much of the criticism here, for one of the greatest players on this or any team ever, on the day of his retirement, wasn't really about his breaking his contract. Thanks for your candor.

Can't we put politics aside for hockey? Or does it have to permeate every waking moment of every day?

Bingo.
Not religious myself. But some of the best damn people I know are devout.
Who cares?

 

[MBH]

Agreed, I posted this earlier in the thread. He was unbelievable that series.

There was a series against the Coyotes where he dominated like I've never seen anyone dominate.

 

[sdf]

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

His views? The views informed by the man's religion?

I suspected that much of the criticism here, for one of the greatest players on this or any team ever, on the day of his retirement, wasn't really about his breaking his contract. Thanks for your candor.

Can't we put politics aside for hockey? Or does it have to permeate every waking moment of every day?

My ill feelings for him are 100% tied to him breaking his contract. Or rather, he and Milstein holding Holland up for 5 years, accepting three and then bitching to get out of it like a week later. If you knew you had misgivings about continuing to play (and who f***ing wouldn't with cadaver ankles), why why why would you sign multi-year and try to leave immediately after. He f***ed over the Wings and Phoenix being a bum ass franchise that let us deal the contract for pennies on the dollar doesn't undo that. Wings could/should have had Jakob Chychrun but they had to clear Datsyuk's money.

 

[jaster]

His views? The views informed by the man's religion?

I suspected that much of the criticism here, for one of the greatest players on this or any team ever, on the day of his retirement, wasn't really about his breaking his contract. Thanks for your candor.

Can't we put politics aside for hockey? Or does it have to permeate every waking moment of every day?

If his views are informed by his religion, that's even worse.

Social issues are only politics for those annoyed and otherwise unaffected by those social issues. For others, it's their lives. So yes, certain things permeate everything all the time for many people. Putting sports above them and in some kind of protected class because people treasure their entertainment that much is kinda gross. I'm on team "shitty views should be called out," regardless of how uncomfortable that makes people who prefer to turn a blind eye in the name of sports entertainment.

 

[MBH]

There was a series against the Coyotes where he dominated like I've never seen anyone dominate.

Datysuk;s CF for the series 63%
6 goals for. 0 goals against.
18 high danger chances for. 5 against.
Had Zetterberg been healthy, Detroit might have been able to win a cup that year.

But between Z's injury and the Franzen issues, (and Babcock refusing to use Hudler) it wasn't enough.

 

[jaster]

Bingo.
Not religious myself. But some of the best damn people I know are devout.
Who cares?

Datsyuk has some shitty beliefs. A poster mentions it. Another poster implies those shitty beliefs should be protected because they come from religion. And then you jump in as backup implying no one should care about religion because you know some cool religious people.

What useless sentiment. Thanks for making this a full-blown clown show, newsy.