Datsyuk Reunion Isn't Going To Happen

One of the stories emerging during the NHL All-Star break was that former Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk was interested in returning from the KHL to the NHL. Datsyuk’s agent Dan Millstein was the source of the talk, and naturally, the suggestion was that Datsyuk would most like to come back to the Red Wings. “It’d be awesome,… Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard told reporters at the NHL All-Star Game in San Jose. “I miss Pav. I haven’t talked to him in probably a month. “He’s a good friend and I’d welcome him back.… A lot of people seem gleeful over the prospect of Datsyuk coming back to Detroit, but here’s why it isn’t going to happen. For starters, Datsyuk is 40. He’s only third on his KHL team, SKA St. Petersburg, in scoring with 10-25-35 totals in 46 games. By contrast, Ilya Kovalchuk, 35, returned from the KHL to the Los Angeles Kings this season off back-to-back 30-goal campaigns. He’s produced 9-13-22 numbers in 40 games for the Los Angeles Kings and the former NHL 50-goal scorer has proven to be of very little asset to a team struggling to rebuild. That’s another question to ask. Why would Datsyuk want to come back and play for a team is unlikely to be a playoff team, let alone a Stanley Cup contender? He’s also endured his share of physical ailments - he missed 73 games his last three seasons with the Wings - and according to a KHL source, one of the reasons that Datsyuk preferred to go home was that the KHL grind would be much easier on his body than the punishment of an 82-game NHL campaign. Which brings us to the real reason why a Datsyuk-Detroit reunion isn’t in the cards, or have you already forgotten how he hung the organization out to dry by walking out on his contract with a year left on his deal? The Wings were forced to swap first-round picks with the Arizona Coyotes in order to rid themselves of the albatross to their salary cap that Datsyuk’s lost year would have created. You can be certain that this development has not been forgotten within the Red Wings organization, nor is it likely to have been forgiven. There’s a lot of long memories at work there. Just ask Sergei Fedorov how he’s enjoyed his number retirement ceremony. Team officials still haven’t forgotten how Fedorov walked away from a contract that would have made him the NHL’s highest-paid player. Nor have they forgiven him for the offer sheet deal he signed with the Carolina Hurricanes in 1998 that forced the Wings to cough up a $14 million signing bonus and an additional $12 million bonus for reaching the conference final that spring. That’s another puzzling aspect of this whole Datsyuk episode. Wings fans held Fedorov - and later Marian Hossa - to account for simply using the arrival of unrestricted free agency to move to another team, booing them every time they touched the puck whenever they showed up at Joe Louis Arena as a visiting player. And yet they are prepared to roll out the red carpet to bring back Datsyuk, a guy who neglected to honor his contract with the team. The people with the power to make a Datsyuk-Detroit reunion happen aren’t going to be so willing to let bygones be bygones. Do As I Say, Not As I Do Both of Howard’s son, James Jr. and Henry, play hockey, but at his behest neither is a netminder. “No, they’re not goalies,… Howard said. “I won’t let them.… His reasoning made perfect sense. “Because you get hit by rubber, hard rubber,…Howard said. “It makes no sense. I’d rather have them scoring.… Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer