Sadly, All Good Things Must Come to An End...

That was the title of a Twitter tweet I just shared...and we all knew this day was coming at some point, but many of us hope it never should really arrive.

Who are us?  Loyal fans of the Detroit Red Wings.

What is the day?  The day is the first time since the 1989-90 season that the Red Wings were mathematically eliminated from the 2016-17 NHL postseason.

I realize many will observe that the sadness that I, as well as many fans of Hockeytown, feel is just "wining" and misplaced sorrow.  And I can't necessarily disagree with that observation; as Wings fans we've had it good.  Real good as the following list illustrates:

• Four Stanley Cup Champion teams in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008
• Six Stanley Cup Finals appearances in 1995 and 2009, plus the Cup winning years
• Third longest NHL playoff appearance streak, only behind fellow Original Six members the Bruins and the Blackhawks

As a Wings fan it's been a great ride and I feel privileged to have watched the Wings win four Stanley Cups in my lifetime.  Hopefully as the team goes forward they can rebuild into a contender once again and bring another Cup home to Hockeytown.

I'm going to see the Red Wings in Tampa tomorrow night and I couldn't be more excited.  I'll be sporting my #19 Steve Yzerman jersey, who ironically will be in the building as the Tampa Bay Lightening's General Manager.  Tampa is fighting for it's playoff life so it should be a good game and it's possible the Wings could be the spoiler.  Regardless, I'll be there for my team.

The Yahoo Puck Daddy blog has a nice piece on the incredible run of the Red Wings these past 25 years.

Wings Sign Lidstrom, Stevie Y Departs

The Hat Trick is back for the occasional post as we work out way through the move from Washington, DC to Philadelphia. One nice thing about this move is the Hat Trick does get to enjoy the Stanley Cup Finals living in a city that is in the Finals...although the mood was a bit bleak after the Blackhawks took a 2 - 0 series lead but it appears the Flyers are back in it after a 4 - 3 victory on home ice this past Wednesday. This should set up an interesting Game 4 tonight here in Philly.

Red Wings Captain Nicklas Lidstrom signed a one year, $6.2 million contract this week to play another season for the Red Wings. There had been a lot of speculation that Lidstrom would retire after the 2009-2010 season, especially with the Wings being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs. At 40 Lidstrom has definitely had a long and solid career but The Hat Trick is happy to see him come back for another year. He is one of the few players left from the great Red Wings teams of the 1990s and I still remain nostalgic for that time, even though the Red Wings teams of 2000s have been pretty solid as well. Good luck Nicklas and I hope you have a great year, especially if it is your last in a Red Wings sweater!

On a sad, though highly expected, note the Red Wings will finally lose "Stevie Y" Steve Yzerman. After almost 25 years of service to the Red Wings organization as a player, team captain and team vice president Steve Yzerman will join the Tampa Bay Lightening as their new general manager. While it's sad to see him go, this is the next logical step for Yzerman's post playing career and the Hat Trick congratulates him as he makes this next big step. Maybe after some time in Florida Stevie Y will be able to come back to Motown and lead the Red Wings as an executive! Congratulations Steve and thank you for all the contributions you have made to the Red Wings over these many years.

Congratulations Stevie Y!

The Hat Trick is a bit late in this post but better late than never. Congratulations to Steve Yzerman, former Captain of the Detroit Red Wings (and the Hat Trick's favorite player!) on his selection to the 2009 NHL Hall of Fame Class. This is a well-deserved honor after Yzerman's amazing career, all with the Red Wings, that brought Detroit back to hockey greatness after years as a cellar dweller. Yzerman is joined in the 2009 Hall of Fame Class by Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Brian Leetch...ironically Hull and Robitaille were members of the 2002 Red Wings that won the Stanley Cup, Stevie Y's last cup as a player (he won another Stanley Cup in 2008 as a member of the Red Wings management).

Once again, congratulations Steve Yzerman...you have more than earned this honor!