Having Fun Yet?...

Remember last night when we were all happy and spitting rainbows because the Wings beat Chicago? I think I do. Vaguely. I’m pretty sure that at one point in my life the Wings brought me joy, but it’s starting to seem like a distant memory. This season has been nothing but stress since Henrik Zetterberg tweaked his groin before training camp even started. Then the rest of the second line went down with groin injuries. Then Jonathan Ericsson took a shot off the ankle in the first game and limped off the ice. Then the Wings lost. To the Blues. Then they lost again. Then Ericsson left the game early again last night. Then…yeah apparently I enjoy wallowing in misery.

And today we got hit with the worst, most stressful news yet. As everyone knows by now, Johan Franzen tore his ACL and will be missing until after the Olympic break. Yeah. That Johan Franzen. The one we were hoping would step up and maybe hit the 40-goal mark. The one who’s in the first year of that mega contract extension he signed a few months back. The one who’s absolutely unstoppable when he decides to score. Gone until March. To think that it was Ericsson's health that I was worried about when I went to bed last night.

So now what? Is it time to panic yet? Um, well, let’s just say that no rational argument is going to stop me from doing just that. This is a problem because I have about fifteen pages of writing due bright and early Monday morning, and instead of working on my paper, I’m eating ice cream and having a Mel Brooks fest in the hopes of cheering myself up.

Some have gone so far as to say that the Wings are going to struggle to make the playoffs. That seems a bit dramatic, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Wings finish second in the Central this season the way things stand. His absence is going to wreak havoc on the lines, and I don’t even know how that’s going to shake out. The only good news of the day was the fact that Darren Helm is likely going to return on Tuesday. That’ll strengthen the lineup, but he’s not going to account for the offense the team just lost with Franzen. Ken Holland has already said that he's not going to make a trade to replace Franzen, and I can't really argue with that. Abdelkader's already been recalled from Grand Rapids and then there's Patrick Eaves who still hasn't worked his way into the lineup.

So anyway, enjoy your weekend, sunshines. I know how I’ll be spending mine. George over at Snapshots was kind enough to provide a survival guide to help you get through this trying time. Unfortunately, he failed to include instructions for how to handle the news if you were sitting in class listening to a lecture when you found out. As a result of this oversight, I had to freestyle. It wasn't pretty.

PS. Best line of the day: “Well, it’s not like he was going to show up to play until March anyway. Might as well have him fresh for his annual spring rampage.”