I hate this form letter's worth of a column posited by so many pundits whenever the Red Wings are eliminated...

The Red Wings expect to make the conference finals every season. I respect their standard for success, and believe that they fell short of expectations this spring...but that doesn't mean that I do anything less than treasure every second of my time as a fan of the best team on the planet, nor does their disappointing finish diminish my gratefulness toward a team that I've been lucky enough to watch play dominant hockey over the past 18 years. I don't take their success for granted, not for one second.