I'm glad so many find the alumni game to be amusing, a cheerful throwback to last century and the beginnings of this one. It's cute, now, to remember fondly the rivalry. That's the mature way to look at it.

But, I've never had the luxury of maturity.

And I'm hoping a few others don't, either. I'm hoping Dino Cicarelli fires one puck at Roy, one second after a whistle. A little ditty to get the blood going. And then I hope a playful Maltby elbow in the corner to the ribs of a balding Sakic leads to instincts some may think lay dormant.

I'm hoping those instincts flare like Jiri Hudler's loins after a downriver night sans protection.

Frankly, while so many view this as a gentle, made-for-NHL Network exhibition, I'd be giddy like a school girl if it turned into an all-out brawl. Personally, I'd love to see McCarty lay waste to Lemieux in the town where Lemieux and his BFFs said the Wings were too scared to fight. Remember the bawling cries of, "they had their chance here and never took it"? Well, they're "here" now and all the same characters are there with all the same instincts but with about 30 extra pounds per player.

Screw it. Drop 'em. I hope.

You don't care who wins. Of course you don't. It will just be nice to see The Captain(s) out there again, skating freely in the uniforms baby Jesus decreed they'd wear. You don't really care if the Wings win a damn alumni exhibition game against a team no one's cared about in more than fifteen years. Right?

Maybe. Or maybe the idea of those players playing those other players from that city in front of those garbage fans...maybe the idea of the Wings winning a game with all those elements is important to you.

It is to me, and that makes me childish. Juvenile. It makes me seem silly. It makes me look like a simple man with a few simple tastes. I guess that's true. I like cheap American beer. I like to be around overweight men who enjoy that same type of beer. I like the music of Bob Seger. I like the sea. And I really like it when people who claim to be fans of Denver hockey are absolutely emotionally crushed.

So, I'd like to see a win. I'd like to see a win that includes some violence. I'd like some hatred and I'd like to see it early and often. Because, instinctively, you know it's gonna be there.

Maybe, as Duke said just before Creed bid us all farewell at the hands of a Russian monster, maybe they don't know "it's an exhibition."

Minor stuff, really. Minor when you consider the other shenanigans that could, but won't, happen this weekend.

I see Stan Bowman's been busy like a balding beaver. That's nice. That's what GMs do when they see opportunities for dynasty. They give away future pieces for the greater, much greater, good.

Great team in Chicago. Great team, and we know it. Cup favorites. So what do you do when you're a Cup favorite? You put your boot on a throat and you push down and you choke 29 other beavers. You make the move.

Kenny? What are you gonna do? Kenny, what are you gonna do that will be any different than any year over the last decade and don't you tell me about Erik Cole. Don't you say it.

Oh, but the cap.

Stan's got a Cap. Ol' Stan's got himself a Cap to deal with and now Stan's gonna have another Cup to go along with that Cap because busy beavers who actually build with bravado don't hide behind bullshit.

Different scenario? Yes. Chicago's built to win. They'd be favorites with or without Ladd. The Wings are not built to win the Cup and we all, in quiet moments of disgust, realize that. This team, as it stands, will give a high seed a good run in Round 1. Maybe win it. Maybe the momentum from that can carry the Wings to the Conference Finals. Maybe. Doubtful. Maybe Mrazek can do it himself. Maybe Zetterberg has a last run in him and maybe Datsyuk AND Zetterberg stay healthy and maybe Nyquist and Tatar and Larkin regain the form they had last year and this year, respectively.

But a lot has to go really right for a real run. We know that.

The problem is that when Kenny does nothing this weekend it will be the same thing he's done at trade deadline for a decade, the same thing he's done over a massive number of consecutive summers. Back when 13 and 40 were 32 and 30, Cups 12 and 13 were within reach and what did Kenny do then? What did Kenny do that could possibly rival Bowman's balls? Nothing. Ever.

Kick those tires, Kenny. Kick them all weekend then mumble on Monday that no deal made sense. We know. And on to 25 we'll go. Squeak in is what the Wings will do. A tired first rounder against a high seed, with hopes that Mrazek can win that first series by himself, behind a team that can't score with or without an extra man.

I do not give a single shit about Cap problems. I do not care that some here and elsewhere think that Marchenko and anyone but Larkin or Mrazek can't be dealt. All I know is that Ken Holland and "his team of advisors" are paid and paid well to do exactly what Bowman did yesterday. But they never do. Ever.

Zetterberg and Datsyuk are old. They're tired. They're beaten down and they are icons in an organization that has done literally nothing to give them one more legitimate shot at the Cup.

Tick, tock Kenny. But not really, because even if the clock runs out on Monday and no improvement's been made there will be no consequences. No one's getting fired. Just us getting frustrated. Again.

I know the reaction. I know those who will say, again, that I'm not taking all the key factors into consideration, that trading's damn hard in the Cap world and that our fiscal situation is even more challenging than others and we don't want to give away key pieces for a rental and blah, effing blah.

I only know this: Kenny Holland has a job and that job is to try and put his team in position to win the Stanley Cup. I don't care how he does it. I don't care if it seems hard. His job is to win Cups and he hasn't come close to that in 6 years. Not even close. What's worse is he hasn't made an attempt to do it. He leads from the middle, where it's safe. Bowman leads from the front and there will be another parade in Chicago in June because of it.

LGRW