2\27 Ken Holland signed a four year contract extension yesterday. Holland, 45, is in his 18th 
season in the Wings and fourth as GM of the team. He is expected to earn about $800,000 per 
season.That's good news. He's constantly praised as one of the best in the NHL.

2\26 It was 3-0 Phoenix after one. It was 3-3 after two. Detroit won it 6-3. Burke was 
awesome in the 1st, stopping 21 of 21 Red Wings shots. He was much more pourous in the second 
and third. Manny Legacy replaced Ozzy after one and didn't miss a beat. Scoring were 
Dandenault, Shanahan(2), Holmstrom, Devereaux, and Lapointe. Marty has his first ever 20 goal 
season. Sergei Fedorov and Slava Kozlov sat out with injuries from the St. Louis game. Sergei
broke his nose and had some surgery on Saturday and Kozzie had a headache from the brutal 
(but legal) hit he took. Next up: at Anaheim on Wednesday. 

2\24 Steve Yzerman netted his 1600th point and Chris Chelios made his return after missing 47 
games to carry the Wings past the Blues 4-2. Scoring were Fedorov, Draper, Holmstrom, and 
Yzerman. The Wings lead the Central Division by 1 point, but the Blus have 2 games in hand.
Next up: Phoenix at the Joe at 3PM on Sunday. 

2\22 The Wings took no shit from the Blackhawks, winning 7-3. Scoring were Fedorov(2), 
Kozlov, Yzerman, Lidstrom, Verbeek, and Duchesne. The Wings are now one point behind the Blues,
so the winner of Friday's game at the Joe will have the division lead.

2\21 Once again the Wings crawled back into a game that seemed over, this time a 3-3 tie in 
Nashville. Scoring were Brown, Kozlov, and Fedorov. Doug Brown scored for about the eighth 
time this year on his first shot after being scratched the game before. Next up: 
at Chicago tonight.

2\19 Chris Osgood was fabulous, allowing only a penalty shot goal and backing a defense that 
methodically dismantled Dallas's offense in a 2-1 win. Scoring were Lidstrom and Holmstrom 
who both ended long goal droughts. Next up: at Nashville Tuesday night.

2\17 The Wings looked good last night in beating Columbus 4-2. Slava Kozlov had two goals and 
Shanahan and McCarty added one each. Brendan Shanahan was honored before the game for playing 
in his 1000th game a few days ago (at New Jersey.) The Red Wings have not lost at home since 
December 27. Chris Chelios has been cleared to play, but the Red Wings don't plan to use him 
until Feb. 25 at home against Phoenix. Detroit is 4-0 against Columbus this season. Next up:
a short road trip to Dallas, Nashville, and Chicago. 

2\15 Detroit's penalty kill took the first two periods off, putting the Wings down 3-0. Then, 
in the middle of the second, Sergei Fedorov took a sweet pass from Shanahan and beat Arturs 
Irbe and the comeback began. Marty Lapointe netted a powerplay goal and Kirk Maltby tied it in
the third to send it to overtime where Sergei Fedorov ripped a one-timer for the 4-3 win. The 
shots were 41-35 in Carolina's advantage and Ozzie was very good again. Next up: Columbus at 
the Joe on Friday.
  From the Freep: "Chris Chelios said Wednesday he had received a green light from his doctor 
to return to the lineup after an almost three-month absence following surgery on his left 
knee. He has practiced fully with his teammates for the past several weeks, and he said he 
is ready to go. It's possible he'll play Friday, but for that to happen the team would have 
to do some roster moves. 

2\13 From the AP: "TORONTO -- Ulf Samuelsson, once feared as one of hockey's hardest-hitting 
defensemen, retired after 16 seasons in which he played for five NHL teams. Samuelsson, who at 
37 was unable to catch on with a team this season, announced his retirement Monday through 
the NHL Players' Association. 
   "Hockey has been really good to me and my family," the Swede said. "We have spent time in 
some great cities and have made a lot of friends along the way. I'm now excited to move on to 
the real world and try my luck there." 
   He had 57 goals, 275 assists and 2,453 penalty minutes in 1,080 career games. Samuelsson 
irritated opponents with hard and sometimes questionable hits, including a knee-on-knee 
collision with Cam Neely in 1991 that led to a series of knee problems for the Boston wingers. 
Toronto Maple Leafs tough guy Tie Domi sucker-punched Samuelsson and was later suspended in 
1995-96. Samuelsson was drafted 67th overall by Hartford in 1982 and played his first seven 
seasons with the Whalers. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins near the end of the 1990-91 
season. He won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins that year and again the season after that. He 
left Pittsburgh after the 1994-95 season and joined the New York Rangers, where he played until 
getting traded to the Detroit Red Wings near the end of the 1998-99 season. He played only four 
games with Detroit before signing with the Philadelphia Flyers last season."

2\11 The Wings looked good again, but gave up the tying goal with under a minute to go.
The final, 3-3. Scoring were Kris Draper, Sergei Federov and Steve Duchesne. Next up: 
Carolina at the Joe on Wednesday the 14th.

2\9 The Grind line led the way along with great team defense and stellar goaltending from 
Chris Osgood as the Wings beat the Leafs 2-1. Scoring were Maltby and McCarty. Next up: 
at Toronto on Saturday night.

2\8 Jiri Fischer was sent to Cincinnati of the AHL. The move was made after the Wings 
activated defenseman Max Kuznetsov, who had missed the last 18 games because of a rib 
injury. In order to send Kuznetsov to the minors, he'd have to clear waivers. It's likely
that Fish will be brought back after the trade deadline when roster size is unimportant or
sooner if theirs another injury. Chris Chelios is due back in a couple weeks and another 
decision will have to be made then.

2\7 The Wings played a good game and outlasted the Sens 4-2. Scoring were Yzerman, Fedorov, 
Shanahan, and Lapointe(en). Next up: a home and home with Toronto beginning Thursday at 
the Joe.

2\4 Sergei Fedorov scored two goals and Nick Lidstorm added two helpers for the World team, 
but it wasn't enough. North America won the highest scoring all-star game ever 14-12. 
Sergei also finished second Saturday in the hardest shot contest to Tampa Bays Fredrik 
Modin. The hype all weekend was around Mario Lemieux, who I don't think earned a spot there 
this year because he's only played a handful of games. He was named North American Captain 
to boot, and that honor should have went to Joe Sakic or Tony Amonte. All in all, it was a
fun weekend to watch.
   Rob Blake trade rumors are swirling fast. Two Canadien media outlets are saying Chris 
Osgood will be traded for the L.A. defenseman in as little as two days. Keep in mind, these
are rumors.

2\1 Ron Tugnutt almost pulled it off, but Steve Yzerman's goal one minute into overtime 
spoiled the game he tried to steal 3-2. The Wings peppered him all night but he let in only 
two (Devereaux and Duchesne). Chris Osgood was great again. Detroit is 7-4-4 in OT, the 
most wins in the NHL. Next up: All-Star weekend then Ottawa on Tuesday the 6th at the Joe.
    Chris Chelios traveled with the team to New Jersey and Columbus and has begun 
practicing. He's due back in 2-3 weeks.