Leaderboard

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.

Couple of very interesting things to be found in this article... My link Geez Ericsson, how good do you think you are mate? You have size but don't use it, you skate well but don't really utilise it. You don't have great hockey sense which results in too many turnovers. As for Draper, I know everything in our past suggests Holland will re-sign him for one more year, but is it time we start making the tough call, without emotions playing a part?

I guess I was just kind of hoping people would let their bitterness go in other threads (AKA "What should we do in the offseason?"), but this one is getting a good taste of sour grapes too. Maybe I'm getting a little more seasoned or more mature. My frustrations don't stick around as long as they used to, and they're not as violent.

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.

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

Why would any team give us anything but a bag of peanuts for Hudler?

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

I think you're being too hard on Franzen as well. He did lead the team in goals during the season, and while he did have some cold spots, in the NHL he's making about the right money for a 30-goal scorer. Plus, he started well in the playoffs before his ankle was messed up. I definitely agree with your defensive reading. Kronwall has really stepped up and finally become a bit of the "Nick Jr" he was advertised as. Preferably, I'd like the team to get a youngish 3/4 defenseman with some physicality and match him with Rafalski. I would like to see the Fil we got in the last two games for the whole season. Maybe the answer is putting him with Datsyuk. They both seem seem to play off of each other really well and can both be creative. Those two with Cleary or Franzen might be really entertaining. Ericsson is about what I expect out of a bottom pairing guy. I don't want to give up on him quite yet, but if they can bring in a new 3/4 guy, I wouldn't mind having Ericsson and Kindl fight it out for that last spot. Keep them honest and working.

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.

GO YZERBOLTS.

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

Trade Hudler. Kick Ericsson down the street. Those would be the main two. Other than that, I feel like we could do better than Salei and Filppula. I really want to keep Filppula, but he did exactly what he always does: wakes up for a couple of games and then goes back to sleep. We just don't get to see the sleep part this time. Draper and Osgood have earned the right to do whatever the F they want. As much as I think it's time for Ozzie to retire (and I really hate saying that), Detroit's known for its loyalty, and this is the part where he gets that gift and makes everybody else glad that they're playing for the Wings, too. Pretty sure Mo's done, so I doubt we have to worry about that. Pretty sure Lids isn't done...or at least I want to believe that, so I'm not going to think about it at any rate. I WISH we could get rid of Rafalski...I'm not completely unhappy with him on the whole, but I AM unhappy with his play for the amount of money we pay him. I don't know who to fill in...gotta think about that for a while. Bringing up Mursak would probably be a good start. I'd definitely like to add some size. EDIT: Wait, I meant physicality. We don't need any more "Big Rigs"; we need some tough suckers.

what are the odds of us getting brad richards

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

Go Canucks!! I want 4 straight shutouts!! LOL

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.