After enduring an injury plagued season last year, the Detroit Red Wings have to be feeling wary now that one of their most important players has gone down. Brian Rafalski has undergone knee surgery and will miss three to four weeks. Granted, that's not a long term injury, but Rafalski is probably Detroit's second best defenseman, and at worst he's their third best if you happen to be a Niklas Kronwall advocate. Rafalski is also an important part of the power play, and it is also important to know this likely means more ice time for Niklas Lidstrom. That's not something the Wings wanted to have happen this season, as Lidstrom is far from a spring chicken at this point. Still, the Wings should be able to weather this, and Rafalski will still be around for the vast majority of the season.
Since I am on the subject of the Red Wings, and since I am a Wings fan, it seems apt to mention that Kirk Maltby has retired after 16 seasons, most of which came in Detroit. While Maltby was never much of a scorer in the NHL, he never had more than 14 goals in a season, he was a member of Detroit's vaunted "Grind Line" back in the day and was a member of four Stanley Cup teams. He carved out quite the niche in the NHL, and congratulations to him on a long, successful career. Now, Kris Draper is the only remaining active Grind Liner, which, if I am not mistaken, means he is now the owner of priceless artwork scavanged during World War II.
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