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I only played high school hockey but I'd put myself down for at least 25 points if I played with Pavel all year. Jonathan Cheechoo had 50+ goals playing next to Thornton and rides buses in the AHL when he isn't. Colby Armstrong looked like an offensive force next to Crosby and an offensive farce next to anyone else. My point, that isn't a great measuring stick for Fil, he probably wont play with Pavel all year anyway, and even if he did I'm not convinced he gets 70 points.

So...he's only useful when playing with the best player in the world? I'm not going to say Flip sucks, because he doesn't, but he doesn't bring enough to the table to justify NOT being traded for a defenseman or a winger.

Filppula was tied for second in team playoff scoring and you have him under the bad section? I'd put him under the "Always comes through in the playoffs" section.

Ericsson needs to go. Plain and simple. If he gets re-signed, I will begin to start having serious doubts about Holland. How many years do we have to wait for this guy who was never a defenseman in the first place to develop? It's getting ridiculous, the amount of golden opportunities this kid gets to stink up the ice.

If the NHL were as popular as the NFL in this country, the league would share the same view. With the NHL still trying to establish itself in the a place where it has more regional appeal, ratings are key. Besides, I would bet none of us would have a problem if it were the Redwings hosting the game. I know I wouldn't.

With as much as Ericsson loves to pinch they should put him on the 3rd or 4th line and stick him in front of the net. At least this way he would be utilizing his size more often.

Also, if we got the past the sharks we would win the cup. Sharks just beat our asses down low and can not do ANYTHING else, teams like vancouver could not handle a never say die detroit redwings team. And who ever is coming out of the east sure as hell wouldn't. Sharks are bastards, just like the ducks were a couple of years ago. Datsyuk and zettz were clicking as well, we were starting to fire on all cylinders, with an amazing goalie. (playing out of his mind). So to congralulate the sharks is basically eating their s***. I don't like to eat s***, and neither should you. f*** hudlers, babcock and holland need to learn to not have ANY f*** ups on the team. Get rid of hudler and get a solid player, that just fits, plays hard, and doesn't do anything stupid. I rather a player like that get 0 goals and work hard than hudler making every wrong decision. f*** the sharks, f*** thorton, f*** couture, f*** all them *****. We are the stanley cup champions, the premiere franchise in all of sports, we tell other teams to get on their knees for us, NOT the other way around. The sharks will always eat s***, for now and forever. The canuck are garbage, f*** em to, i hope an eastern conference team wins it.

Estranged Hudler Once I read that, I was done with him.

Maybe Mursak will surprise us in training camp, secure a spot on a scoring line (2nd or 3rd) and do a solid job over 82 games. Mule-Pav-Homie Bear-Z-Mursak Huds-Fil-Bert Abby-Helm-Eaves

My opinion of Hudler is based purely on emotions. I wouldn't mind him being gone, whenever we can get rid of him. He didn't have a good season this year and the way things played out with him going to the KHL didn't do him any good. He was cocky and thought he deserved more money from the Wings, once he got to Russia he ran his mouth about how the Wings were holding back his talent and we had to welcome him back with open arms because of the arbitration. If he wasn't so greedy and stuck around he might have improved and become a vital player on the team.

I can agree with this, but beef up the backup goaltending position, trade Hudler and KEEP ERICSSON. I know he get's a lot of flack on the forums, but he's going to be great. I thought he was fine. I would like to see Holland replace Salei with another top-4 shut down mean Stuart/Seabrook type d-man with the left over cap space. If the cap goes up, Holland should invest in a top 6 two-way forward like a Mike Fisher.

Wings Fans - First, I wanted to extend my congratulations on a great series (and season). Please don't construe this as me rubbing salt in your wound. As a hockey fan, I thought it was a fantastic series. Certainly not the outcome you were hoping for, but entertaining nonetheless. Injuries suck, so losing Cleary and Bertuzzi was tough on your chances. Even with that, last night came down to one goal. Sharks fans have had more than their share of playoff disapointment, so I know how frustrating the day after can be. I also want to extend my thanks to those of you who contributed on LGS. It's nice when you have a group of knowledgeable fans from other teams visit our site. 99% of the visitors we had visit us had great takes. I suspended one account, because a discussion got a little heated, and I felt it was better to simply extinguish it before it got too out of hand. Hopefully there are no hard feelings from that event. We made some new friends who we hope will come visit us on the forums from time to time. I hope Sharks fans (especially those from LGS) conducted themselves in a manner which represented our fan base well. We're all sports fans after all. Here's looking to many more great playoff series between our two teams. The rivalry is establishing itself as one of the best in professional sports. Regards, Mike

Should be or will be? Those will be two extremely different responses on this board. Here's my take: Will be - he'll have a roster spot next season and at the beginning of the year it will be in the top 9 just as it was at the beginning of this season. The Wings won't give up on him. The'll give him the benefit of the doubt that his speed wasn't up to par after his season in the KHL and it took a longer adjustment period than they expected. They'll stand by their assesment of his talent and continue to give him a chance to reach his game. Should - My personal opinion is that he should still be given that chance. With the cap potentially rising, Draper's $1.5M/Modano's $1.75M coming off the books (even if Draper is back it will be at a substantially lower hit) there is already more flexibility there. Hudler's cap hit won't be as restricting as it was this year. When he got his legs back he did produce. That doesn't mean that I think his current salary is appropriate but that doesn't mean he should be shipped out of town either. I think Hudler does have a chance to regain and hopefully surpass his career high in production. If he doesn't do that this season his next contract dollar value should reflect that or don't have to bring him back. But to me he can still be a useful player on this team

That line up wouldnt get us past the 2nd round All three of those players make Franzen look tough. No thanks. I wouldn't mind getting rid of Hudler, possibly Ericsson depending what he'd want, draper, miller possibly, ozzie doesnt rly matter because howies the starter anyways....i think much of our line up will stay the same.

going back to my first round vancouver/chicago series strategy of cheering for random catastrophic meteor.

Since he isn't 35 he gets a pass? Because, apart from that, Ericsson is everything you described and he isn't showing that he has any potential to improve.

Green men taunting Thornton = pure win

what are the odds of us getting brad richards

Any guy who massacres the name of the greatest player of all time shouldn't be taken very seriously . Yea blame Holland, 100 pt seasons, 50 win seasons, Stanley Cups...I mean what the f*** is going on around here? The irony in that post is well....ironic coming from the biggest douch nozzle on these boards !

1. Let Ericsson walk 2. Let Ericsson walk 3. Let Ericsson walk 4. Trade Hudler

I hope both teams lose.

I agree, f*** the Sharks, Vancouver vs Tampa in the finals with Tampa taking the cup!

f*** THE SHARKS guppies!! They're going to be swept again in CF!!

You have GOT to be ******* kidding me. f*** THE SHARKS

Hi, First post here. Basically posting to say I agree with you. If anyone is going to get the spot (if there is only one) I have a feeling its going to be Mursak. He's got everything they need, not to mention the kid has some speed on him. In the few games he did play, I thought he showed great potential when he was brought up. I'm excited to see more out of him.