A lot of Detroit sports fans can tell you exactly where they were during big transactions in their favorite team’s history. For example, I know I was with my family visiting Niagara Falls when my Dad told me the Wings had traded for Dominik Hasek. I remember sitting in a giant lecture hall in college when the Tigers signed Prince Fielder. And today I woke up in bed, grabbed my phone, and made my way to the can. And like most humans who own a phone and use a toilet I began perusing on my phone. Little did I know today would be one of those days.

If your sports fan/degenerate gambler like myself, you most likely have a plethora of sports apps on your phone that are constantly spewing notifications to you at all hours of the day and night. So, most mornings when I wake up I have sports notifications aplenty ranging from ESPN, the NHL, NFL, MLB and CBS Sports in addition to the Red Wings app. A lot of the times I will clear them when I wake up until I’m ready to jump down the sports news portal. So this morning, I cleared the noties and started with Instagram. I came across a photo from our dear friend and Queen Hockeytown, Erica Ott:

Being in a daze as I had just woken up, this meant absolutely nothing to me. 1. I don’t speak Spanish 2. I just assumed the Wings played the Canadians in their next game and/or Erica and the family was taking a trip to visit the beautiful city of Montreal. After double taping that photo (always) I had an Instagram session until I was ready to take a look at what I had missed in the sports world as I slumbered like the candy-ass that I am. And that’s when I saw it.

Reading those notifications can best be summed up by…

Cause not only are the Wings losing a grizzled vet who wanted nothing more than to don a Red Wings sweater, Detroit is also losing bad-ass-kinda-crazy-in-a-great-way-smoke-hockey-wife Erica Ott and their 2-year-old-son/future ECHL penalty minutes record setter, Maverick. Yes. Maverick. There isn’t a better name in the game.

Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s a business. And with the way the Red Wings are trending, this was an absolute A+ move by Kenny to be able to get a future draft pick (6th rounder in 2018) and send a scrappy, seasoned 4th-line center to a team who will need depth, experience, and toughness if they are to make a deep run in the grueling NHL playoffs. But god damn it I really liked everything about Ott as a player and person. He exemplifies everything you’d want in a Red Wing. Hell, look at his departure interview.

 

What is unfortunate about our brief relationship with Ott is that he joined the Wings at the wrong time. Steve Ott, at this point in his career, is a guy you want to have on your roster if you have an actual solidified top-to-bottom contender. But the Wings are missing SO much right now, from a superstar goal scoring forward, to a certified #1 (hell even #2) defenseman, and consistent goaltending. The Wings don’t even have one of those aspects to their team, and you can’t fill in the roster with the intangible, locker room guys, until you have an actual winning lineup to build around.

You can’t be paying a guy who is willing to throw hands to protect the team’s best player when your team doesn’t have a best player. 

Steve- I’m glad myself and the city of Detroit got a little bit of time with you on the roster, and it looks like you’re heating up just in time for the playoffs.

For the first time in my lifetime I will go into the NHL playoffs (LOL I write that like I’m actually playing in them) not rooting for the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup, so with you going to Montreal, I’m officially announcing the Canadians as my team for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. Go Habs.

And Erica. Hi. Thank you for the support of my shitty little blog/website thing. I am super bummed that your Instagram/Twitter presence will now mostly/probably consist of Canadians’ apparel and awesome pictures of Montreal instead of Detroit 😒 but that is not your fault. Not even 1%. You gotta rep your man and the squad he is on. I just ask you always remember who dubbed you the best wife/girlfriend of Hockeytown and I only wish you, Steve, Layna, and Mav the best going forward. I’ll show my love for you and my readers now by just posting a bunch of great highlights from your Instagram. #lgrw 🍾

And of course, our personal favorite:

– Frank