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f*** off Sharks... And now? f*** off Canucks.

If Nick hangs 'em too I'm looking for the nearest open bar.

Confetti? Oh yeah, Vancouver won the Cup. Sorry, I forgot.

I'm not sure what is funnier, the goal or the Canucks fans acting they just won the fricken cup already. Anywhos glad this happen to the Sharks.

hahahaha, thats what the Sharks get. Now lets go Tampa Bay/Boston

[i know this should really be Hudler, so maybe I will edit it later. i think only the oldtimers will know what its from anyway ]

Agreed. One team of floppers gone. One to go. It'd be nice to see Tampa win, but honestly I'd be okay with Boston too. Vancouver will be tough to beat in the finals, but I'd love for their condescending, obnoxious, self-entitled fans to choke on it for another year. And this is from someone who was a big fan of Linden, Courtnall and Bure... Someone over on hfboards pointed out its this same day in 1994 the Canucks won the in double OT to go onto the Stanley Cup Finals. And lost in seven games to the Rangers. So maybe there's hope? I kind of can't believe I'm rooting for the Eastern Conference...

That trade I would be interested in. But the quoted part said Mike Green. looks like I hurt someone's feelings too. They game me a -1 for saying I didn't want Mike douchebag Green.

Some of you guys are thinking small. Let's replace Lidstrom THIS year, and enjoy a season of Lidstrom and his replacement dominating, and replace Rafalski next year. Think big, people. I know Weber is probably out of the picture but the future is now. Holland won't be going for a decent roleplayer, he's going to find a partner for Kronwall who dominates, and next season another guy who dominates to anchor the second pairing with Stuart when Lidstrom retires.

exactly, Rafalski wasnt in the league at Wiz's age. He is a mean little bastard who is capable of playing the PP, right handed and has good offensive instincts. He could keep developing into a nice 50 point scorer consistently. He is a huge hitter, a tough fighter and with Kronwall and Stuart would give Detroit one of the toughest defenses to play against. Being from Detroit, young and providing other elements the wings lack like clearing the crease, I cant see how the wings wouldnt target him. Add him and Bieksa and theres rafalskis offense replaced as well as the wings all of a sudden have the toughest defense in the league pretty much. Pitkanen is a pretty good option as well

f***, man. My wife is due 5 days after that. Obviously a no-go for me. Extra sucky since my birthday is the 17th. Edit: Wife telling me she'll talk to her doctor and if doctor gives her the go-ahead perhaps we'll do it.

This is a good evaluation. If Holland is doing his job correctly, our 1st round picks will consistently be 25th and later. The elite talent is in the top 10 of the 1st round, and the talent after that likely won't be able to replace either of Lidstrom or Rafalski, which brings us to our next point: regardless of whether Lids retires this year or not, Holand needs to make a move at some point to replace him. Weber is amongst a select few in the entire league (not just in this year's free agent pool) that can effectively fill in when Lidstrom leaves. Rafalski leaving will be devastating to our offense, but there are more options for replacing him over the next few years than there are for Lids. I'm willing to sacrifice 4 1st rounders for Weber to lead the Wings' defensive core over the next decade.

I had nothing to do with this, but it's awesome.

Sorry to inform you PredsFanTheBayou, but he is not gonna come out and say he DOESN'T want to be in Nashville, how would that sound? He isn't even gonna say he wants to see what happens come July 1st. He is be PC and so he doesn't lose faith from fans or his teammates, but in a business, anything can and will AND HAS happened. We've experiencede both sides of that puck: 1. Chris Chelios hates Detroit so much that he would accept a trade there...oops, March 1999, Chelios waives his No-Trade Clause and is traded to Detroit. 2. Marion Hossa tells everyone in the free world that Detroit is where he is gonna end his career, he is gonna a Red Wing and he is going to take less money to stay here. He says it's not even a question, we are just working on the details...oops, July 2009, Marion Hossa signs a "lifetime" contract with the Chicago Blackhawks, chooses to leave Detroit... I am not saying it will happen, I am not saying it won't happen, it may not even be Detroit where he goes, but prepare yourself because it COULD happen, and if it does, you guys will turn on him just as fast as a Louisiana.....well you understand.... Oh, let me give you another example that needs no explanation, just one word.....Fedorov....

Bet if the Wings played a Pens team without Cindy and Geno, a Caps team with zero defense or goaltending they'd be in the conference finals as well. Yzerman has done a decent job thus far. Picking up Roloson was a nice move for one. But for the most part Stevie Y walked into a good situation with a good balance of quality veteran players who have already won a cup. And also having some young star players that can do nothing but only get better each year. And oh yeah some cap space to work with. I'll take a wait and see approach with Stevie Y. But for right now it's Holland.

At least it seems the bizarre Canucks' fever is over here on LGW And yeah, nice confetti Vancouver, congrats on winning the Stanley Cup Conference

Trying for isn't the same as going for broke for a player. Wings should try and sign Bieksa, but they shouldn't overpay for him. They should try for Suter and JML, but they shouldn't overpay for them. C'Mon. I'm not trying to be cheap, I'm just being realistic here. Bieksa is going to pull in a big overpaid contract this offseason unless he some how gets hurt this playoffs and scares everyone away. I've never even mentioned Erhoff, but from all accounts I hear he is going to be re-signed. Holland doesn't sign for the first wave anymore, he goes after the second wave players he doesn't have to overspend for. I hope he solidifies the defense too, and with the suggestions I made of who is practical or realistic (I do note that there are more available of the few I brought up), he not only doesn't over spend but he shores up toughness and defense. And you have to remember, part of that 6mil and extra cap space will be going towards making our forward group stronger and playoff ready.

With the Weber/Doughty thing, people are also overlooking how it's still generally considered an ******* move to go after RFA's like that, and I'm not sure that's how Holland wants to do business. Remember how big of a stink there is any time someone tries to sign another teams RFA? I'm not saying it wouldn't be worth it to get Weber, but it's one more reason to throw on the pile of why he's not coming to Detroit.

This is a GREAT evaluation and I agree with you 1000%. Imagine next season our def: Lidstrom - Weber Kronwall - Bieksa/Wiz Stuart - Kindl

This. Hopefully our options are Ehrhoff, Bieksa, or trade. I am not really going wild about the other UFA's. You make a great point about Kronwall's progression. He showed us his ability to be a top pairing defenseman this playoffs. Hopefully he continues to improve and eases the blow of losing Rafalski and eventually Lidstrom.

I'm with ya. Not as much appreciation for Raffy as you would think. He was a great replacement for Schneider - an upgrade. Nick and Raffy rocked together in 2008 and brought home the Cup. He may be on his last leg(s) as an elite player - yet still elite. There isn't a comparable replacement - ESP not one that can come in and be Cup-competent immediately. The 6 mill now is part of the price the Wings paid to go on the 2 long Cup runs. If he really does retire, shows you what kind of class the guy has - he could eek it out and just spend alot time on IR collecting $, but he'd rather not saddle the team - wish all players were like that. Thanks Raffy, you were fun to watch and we were glad to have you as a Red Wing for a few years at least.

What's it to ya?

Keep in mind that Rafalski was 12th in the league in scoring and played only 63 games. Look at his place at the end of the season in total points over the last 5 seasons. 10-11 - 12th 09-10 - 21st 08-09 - 5th 07-08 - 7th 06-07 - 12th People can knock is defensive game, but he is a point producing machine. I see the same upswing from Brendan Smith as he has the same skillset just in a bigger body. On a sidenote, I am pretty disgusted with some of the comments here. The "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out" comments in specific. He helped bring a Stanley Cup to Detroit. He took a hometown discount to come play here. A little respect would be in order.

Weber is obtainable if the Preds don't sign him before July 1st. As an RFA they can match anything, but at a certain point they might rather take the picks. I believe he can be an extremely expensive addition that you might not have been willing to take unless your defense sustains a critical loss, and it is possible that Lids running out of time and Brian retiring could be just that. I still think the only way to get him is to offer him a good one year contract. The Preds might just realize that they will get nothing better from trading him after matching, and with UFA a year away and Weber taking a one year deal they might know they won't keep him. You are right he is a franchise player, but remember he might not want to stay. The only way to tell is if you let him become a UFA and any team with some balls can offer him a one year contract that will make that certain. Doughty, however, is too young for that to be an option. I think it is far more likely we will go to FA for one addition, and this ensures we keep Ericcson and most likely will overpay him now... The names thrown around aren't that great to be honest, and no one really fills what we would lose with Brian. I really don't like this.