Daniel Sedin One-Ups His Brother, Has Another Child

"I'm going to crush you." "Not if I crush you first."

As if it wasn't already perfectly clear that Daniel Sedin is using rage and envy over Henrik's career year last season to propel himself to an Art Ross and Hart trophy this season, we got further proof, Tuesday, when Daniel's wife gave birth to their third child.

That's one more child than sired by the Henrik Sedins, which means Daniel's competitive rage is so all-consuming, he's committed himself to outscoring Henrik both on and off the ice. This is now a literal blood feud.

And, if it weren't already apparent that Daniel is dead set on matching his brother's total Harts and Art Rosses solely out of spite, he'll be back in the lineup tonight when the Canucks face the Red Wings. Seriously, he shook his daughter's hand, kissed his wife goodbye, and caught the red-eye to Michigan. Considering Detroit and Vancouver are resting guys on a whim (Mikael Samuelsson's out with "the sniffles", and Pavel Datsyuk's missing the game with "ennui"), you've got to believe Daniel is determined to play. Why might that be?

Well, do you remember what happened last year when Daniel missed a few games?

During those five weeks, Henrik turned into Supergretzky, tallying 16 hat tricks and 2900 points. By the time Daniel returned, a statue of Henrik was under construction outside GM Place and Robson Street had been renamed Henrik & Only Henrik Boulevard. Daniel was like, "I'm back, everyone!" And everyone was like, "Oh hi, Henrik. I thought you went home for the day."

Clearly, Daniel Sedin is now petrified to let his brother play a game without him, and it's an understandable anxiety. When he misses time, people forget he exists and, after all the work he's put in to match Henrik's accomplishments this year, that would be a devastating blow. He's got a seven-point lead on Henrik in the scoring race, likely insurmountable because they tend to share the ice. But, if Daniel lets up for even a second, Henrik is free to gain ground, just like when when he briefly turned around in the womb, and Henrik darted past him towards the light.

You know Henrik's trying to put a stop to this revenge strategy. Remember that empty-netter from his own side of center the other night? That's out of character for Henrik--unless he's trying to gain ground in the scoring race. That goal was unassisted, except by sibling rivalry.

Daniel has to play tonight to protect everything he's worked for all season. If it slips away from him now, well, it would kill him. Not literally, of course. Daniel couldn't bring himself to do that, especially considering how many points his brother would score without him.

"Shocking" News: Darryl Sutter Steps Down

Okay, fine, it's not the least bit shocking. It was just a matter of time before the baffling moves Sutter's made over the past couple season would get him ousted from Calgary. Puck Daddy has a solid summary of the situation, Matchsticks & Gasoline will have the fan reaction, and Flames.com has the official word.

After squandering the best years of Kiprusoff and Iginla, getting a random assortment of Maple Leafs' castoffs for former wunderkind Dion Phaneuf, and bringing back Olli Jokinen in free agency, it's a wonder Sutter lasted as long as he did. His main issue, it seems, is that he never quite figured out that the Flames needed to rebuild. Instead of picking up prospects and draft picks for Phaneuf, he got a couple impending free agents. Instead of moving salary in trades to create flexibility under the cap, he bafflingly traded for Ales Kotalik and his terrible contract and handed out No Movement Clauses like they were Chick tracts. Combine that with a terrible prospect pool and the future is bleak for the Flames organization.

Jay Feaster will move offices as he drops the "Assistant" from his title and takes over for Darryl Sutter. Feaster has a Stanley Cup on his resumé after his Tampa Bay Lightning won in 2004, but he's stepping into a brutal situation. The Flames have most of the salary cap already tied up for next season and Feaster will have to be clever with trades in order to free up the capspace and prepare the team for rebuilding. The Iginla trade rumours have already been flying and this won't quiet them down any time soon.

Quite frankly, I welcome a return to respectability from the Flames. They have been the Canucks' primary antagonist over the years with many epic playoff battles and bad blood. As much as the Blackhawks have been labeled the Canucks' main rival, it's not a true rivalry until victories have gone both ways and, thus far, the Blackhawks don't have any reason to see the Canucks as a rival. For me, the Flames will always be that team, that hated team that I want the Canucks to beat. If the Flames aren't a legitimate threat, there's no drama in their match-ups. If the Flames sit at the bottom of the Northwest Division, then who cares if the Canucks beat them?