Let's face it everyone, whether Yzerman hangs up the skates or not, this team will not be the same next season.

Here is what the Hockeytown writers are saying:

LINK Mitch Albom

LINK Ted Kaufman/John Niyo (Zetterberg is missing from their list of players under contract)

LINK Bob Wojnowski (Nicklas Lidstrom was on the ice for all four Edmonton goals Monday night.)

LINK John Niyo (The NHL draft is June 24 in Vancouver.)

Superstarov's Take:

Yzerman will retire.

Legace and Osgood will give way to Jimmy Howard and a free agent. Legace may be back as a back-up.

Shanny will either be gone, or come back with a big pay cut.

Lidstrom... has been wanting to return to Sweden for a long time, will he stick around for a rebuilding process?

Lebda, Williams, Franzen, and maybe Cleary will get contracts.

Chelios loves the game and the city, he'll be back. Look for him to Captain the US Olympic team in 2010.

Cross could be back, but hard to tell. He was inactive for the entire playoffs. He didn't come here to ride the pine.

Same with Wooley, but I think at this phase in his career, he'll look somewhere else.

Datsyuk has got one year left, and given his lack of scoring in the playoffs... may be traded, or who knows, maybe he'll have a career year trying to get a bigger paycheck in 2007-2008.

Some of the new blood from the minors will be up and down next season. But I don't see a ton of toughness down there. We've been drafting for puck control. I think Holland will be looking for some hard hitting power forwards.

Captain? Draper or Lidstrom. With Zetterberg waiting in the wings.

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Lidstrom can't hang in the playoffs, let him go.
I hate to see SY go but he hasn't helped team ice continuity for 3 years now. Kick him upstairs.

Hey Albom compares Hill/Stack trades as I did yesterday. I feel vindicated.