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Did I miss the announcement about the Panthers becoming the AHL farm team of the Blackhawks?

Not at all surprised. One can only ram his head into a wall so many times... I just hope the highest (or ONLY) bidder is Quebecor and this whole charade is put to rest. !Vive les Nordiques!

So much potential and I just think bad situations for this kid, I'd like to see the Wings take a flier on this kid if there's any chance he'll sign a 2 way deal... if not, I'm not comfortable with giving him a roster spot(barring waivers obviously), but given the right circumstances, why the hell not? at bare minimum, come August if he still has no home, extend a training camp invite to him... EDIT - Sections bolded for those that seem to overlook them completely when replying.

All this fuss over brent Burns huh. The guy is severely over-rated. He entered the league on some pretty good Wild teams and then the past 3 season has continually been average with one of the worst +/-s of all the defensemen on the team while being extremely injury prone. Hell, nick Schultz is 3 years older and I'd take him over Burns any day of the week. Wings wouldn't have been able to offer the Wild anything substantial. The Sharks had to dramatically overpay for Burns, something that Holland just doesn't do. To get Burns it would have cost the Wings, Smith, Filppula a first and probably Helm. Would you make that deal for Burns? I sure as hell wouldn't.

I know people are quick to shoot you down - because thats what this board likes to do, but I've actually heard this being discussed as a real possibility. Here are a couple of reasons why: 1, No one is saying that Yzerman will just GIVE us Stamkos. But, you can't deny that if Yzerman was forced to deal a hand - Detroit would probably be the first one he would call. Just look at Tallon in Florida and tell me that GM's don't enjoy the luxury of dealing with who they know the best. People are saying that Stamkos might be unsignable just because of the other contracts Tampa Bay has, or will need to have in the near future. As well, signing Stamkos may make the rest of the cupboard bare, and I don't believe Yzerman is willing to do that. So - getting something in return as oppose to losing him in Free Agency is a real option. 2, Everyone knows that Detroit will be a player in the FA pool this offseason. The thing is, I'm not convinced it will be for Dmen. Even though Holland said he wasn't even close to pulling a deal during the draft, he isn't stupid. He will only pay so much for Wisniewski. The Red Wings NEVER sell the barn for anyone, especially someone who could just be this seasons flavor of the week. Markov and Bieska are arleady gone, the weaker FA pool is getting even weaker now. What I think might be more of a possibility is getting a top 4 Dman through trade and then signing Ed Jovanoski (very Red Wing type FA and you all know it). I think any forward not named Pavel or Henrik is on the trading block at this point. Even if we deal Filpulla, or Franzen, or Cleary - those guys are much easier to replace at this point. I think we deal a forward for a Dman, and then replace that lost firepower with someone like Richards or (SHOCK!) Jagr. I think if Jagr signs its almost a certainty we are trading away a forward. IF...the opportunity comes that Stamkos is attainable, we might very well go that route instead of this FA pool to replace that lost firepower. I think we need to revamp our "big 3". Franzen (who I love, mind you) is kind of like a poor man's goal scorer. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are very complete players, but as great as they are they don't have it in them to win a scoring title. The Red Wings have been missing that kind of player for some time now. Now, the odds of this happening are slim - but so is any scenario (no one wouldve thought Carter and Richards would have happened). But I think that in the board room, there has been or at least will be a mention of it. If you guys don't think our Execs are exploring every avenue right now, then you don't know Red Wings hockey. You're talking about a team that traded for Chris Chelios for crying out loud! If you aren't old enough to know, that is the equivalent of signing Claude Lemieux.

Hopefully, they'll move to Saskatoon (the Paris of the North), and the Wings can continue their move to the East.

Seriously, it's as if the Hawks hired Tallon to be hired by the Panthers (as if they had any credibility as a franchise to begin with) so they could unload all of their crap contracts and overrated players. f*** you, Tallon.

SUP DAWG, I HEARD YOU LIKE TO DREAM! SO WE PUT A DREAM IN YOUR DREAM SO YOU CAN DREAM WHILE YOU DREAM WHILE YOU DREAM!

I'm still angry that they fired Charissa Thompson for him. Nice going Versus.

Having encyclopedic knowledge of players' birthplaces and junior teams does not make one a good commentator. How I envy you Canadians and your incredible "TSN."

Maybe you should strive to write better than a 6th grader in public instead.

Just wanted to share this since I am just as big of an Eddie Vedder/Pearl Jam fan as I am a Wings fan! It was an amazing show by the way! :]

So one missed capitalization and a misspelling leads to you being a prick? He used perfect punctuation, aside from using the wrong "its", on a hockey message board and all you can do is be an ass? Seriously? I've seen way worse stuff on her in terms of grammar and no one points it out. If I see someone butchering there, their, and they're I'll usually reply with a witty comment using all the words correctly, not go ad hominem on them.

Is that where we're keeping the drugs now? Outside of the box? Seriously though, make it happen Kenny.

@ The above quoted roster, Ericsson won't get near that little. The numbers may not be exact for Ehrhoff and Wiz, but the average puts them at $5.1m, which seems about right. Laich will get anywhere from .5-1.25m more than that, so add in a medium at .8 or so (putting him at 4.3) So Laich at 4.3, Ericsson at 1.9, seems a bit more accurate. Boosh is a solid backup. The above, more likely numbers for Laich and Ericsson still fit under the cap in that scenario and still leave us extra, potentially for a deadline deal. Edit: You don't want Laich at center. Much more effective at LW. Let him take faceoffs if needed (good at faceoffs) and that's it. Here, submitted corrections in quote format: Every line has 2 good options for taking draws (Datsyuk Franzen [Hudler]; Zetterberg Laich; Filppula Cleary; Abdelkader Helm) which should make the DRW a beast on draws. I wouldn't necessarily those lines exactly, but I think that basic build (2 faceoff guys, at least 1 playmaker and 1 banger on each of the top 9 lines) makes a lot more sense given the players involved. Plenty of potential to mix and match all lines. I'd like to note I really like to see these lines in some situations: Laich - Zetterberg - Cleary -- Amazing shutdown line with plenty of offense Hudler - Datsyuk - Franzen -- Load the offensive guns Bertuzzi - Flip - Holmstrom -- Flip gains zone, Bert and Homer make aggravating traffic/front of net threats for a 3rd line Abdelkader/Mursak - Helm - Eaves/Abdelkader -- Go out and hit/outskate the already worn out opposition

He's taking his "no" talents to South Beach. Please tell me there will be a big press conference in Miami for this signing.

Awwww shiiiiittttt.

A lack of capital letters at the beginning of a sentence...yes, it annoys me. Using "any one" instead "anyone" annoys me. Leaving out the word "it"...oh yes, that's annoying. The teams having recourse to deal with substandard performances from players making a lot of money...not so annoying.

Babcock vs. Jagr would be epic. Babcock doesn't appear to like Hudler too much, but at least Hudler works hard. When he doesn't, you get his performance the first couple months of last season. Jagr is the epitome of a floater who has always gotten by on natural talent. Which has worked fine, given his sick combination of strength, speed, and skill. But now he's 40. And still a floater. Doesn't have the same speed, skill is down... and he doesn't have that overpowering strength he once had. Although why not sign Jagr and Vrbata, and we could have the best Czeching line in the league!

Honestly, this may offend some people, but this is what my dream NHL would look like. A combination of the late 80's, plus several of today's franchises. Smythe Canucks Flames Oilers Sharks Kings Avalanche Norris Wings Blues Blackhawks Maple Leafs North Stars Jets Patrick Penguins Flyers Rangers Islanders Devils Capitals Adams Canadiens Bruins Sabres Nordiques Senators Whalers That's 24 total teams. Obviously, I would contract several franchises and move some others around. I know it would never happen, but like I said, this is what I prefer the divisions to look like in my dream world.

Who exactly is Bettman reinventing the wheel for? Besides, he should wait until his Coyotes move.

Jagr was an ugly, ugly child

That's quite the Czeching line.

Also, most people have no idea that checking was meant to separate player from the puck, they just see big hits and drool over. Fighting makes team tough and enforcers are super important. Red Wings are soft, which is why they suck every year. Gotta love LGW.