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You say that as though Eva's standard of excellence is grounded in anything that even approaches rational thought.

This times 1000000000000. Hopefully this doesnt ruin the conversation, but In all seriousness, people need to wake up.

...if people only realized how true this statement really is.

I'll be the mean and evil one. I can't deny that Crosby is a great player but I hope he doesn't ever play again. Thank who is gonna be Bettman's little baby boy and the face of the NHL. I'm sorry but I HATE Crosby. I hate the fact that I live in Michigan and whenever I go into a hockey shop or a sports store the only Reebok Hockey Stick has Crosby's name and number on it; like he is the only player in the NHL that uses Rebook equipment and can endorse for Reebok. I know that's Reebok's thing and has nothing to do with Crosby playing but I think back to the 09 Cup Finals and listening to my local sports radio show and all anyone could talk about was Crosby not even the rest of the Penguins squad just Crosby and his tremendous skills. Everytime I think of 09 I get sick, and I feel I always will. It's as if he is the ultimate Hockey God and I just can't stand to hear about it and even if he doesn't play we'll still hear all the NHL talk about him not playing but for me it's better than hearing about him being the NHL's hero and all the other crap they can come up with to make Sidney Crosby into Superman. So I hope he NEVER plays again.

Yeah, it's just posturing to ensure he gets the Masterson

I picked Zetterberg. He's the guy who's always looked to for the defensive shutdown, he's a top scorer in the league, he's an amazing all-around player, and he's a great leader. Datsyuk is flashier, but I think Z is the better player. Dats also will cost considerably more soon; he already has a higher cap hit and his contract ends soon, while Z has a lifetime deal. But ultimately, if we're looking for cap space, can't we just trade Franzen instead? I mean come on. He might be worth a $4m cap hit now, but he probably won't be worth it in three years. He only makes $2m less than Zetterberg. Would you rather have Franzen and a third liner, or Zetterberg? That's like asking "Do you want me to punch you in the face and the stomach, or kick you in the balls with steel-toed boots?"

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/feed/2011-02/isles-vs-pens Anyone else find this rather strange? I mean it was a fun game and all, but this is not the LNAH. I'm surprised to see an "NHL" team doing this. It's sad how far this franchise has fallen and has nothing else to celebrate. I wonder what the league will do about this? P.S. I wish I had the time and money to attend this event. Should be a fun night.

The non-waiver deadline is July 31, when you can trade a player for a player and whatever without going any further than that. Kinda like the NHL deadline. The trade-waiver rules mean that you must place a player on waivers before a trade. Then from bottom to top, teams in the same league i.e. AL or NL have a shot to claim him, followed by the other league, again bottom to top. If he is claimed, the waiving team can pull him off, let him go for nothing, or negotiate a trade with the claimer team. If he then clears waivers from all teams, he can be traded to anyone. In this case, he needed to only drop to the tigers, who then could negotiate a trade with the twins.After August 31, players who are traded are not eligible to participate in the post-season, like the Stairs trade in '06. hope that helps.

It's really too bad so many threads end up being Hudler threads. Haven't we beaten this horse to death? Back to the topic, I'm excited that Holland has given Brunnstrom a try-out. At worst case, it creates more competition in camp and that's always a good thing.

Come on really? You say mursak needs to earn a spot but you go ahead and assign Hudler to a first line role? Did i miss something? Last i checked, Hudler was an undersized 2nd/3rd liner healrhy scratch last year, whom has been discussed in numerous trade rumors around Detroit. Theres no denying that babcock isnt a huge fan of him as it is, he doesnt play defense, and refuses to shoot the puck...where in all that did he earn a 1st line spot. I dont like to come in and flame people about stuff, but you somehow turn everything into a Hudler discussion and you make him out to be way better than he is. Its just getting a little old...whenever i see your name in a thread now i know im going to read something about Happy Hudler. Im not a Hudler hater by any stretch, im pretty neutral, but how/when did he earn a first like spot on this team? It baffles me, especially when you come in talking about other players having to earn spots in the lineup, but somehow give Hudler top honors like hes a top 20 player in the league.

yeah those all look like good combos to me. I just have a feeling that Mursak is going to be a lot better than most give him credit for, and will eventually make his way up onto the 2nd line. We shall see I guess....

But SuperMarios basement is such a wonderful place to rest the weary head.

The same way most people on the board get away with saying Hudler had a terrible season despite the fact that: He finished tied at 159th in forward scoring with 37 points. He tied for 7th among Wings forwards in points despite being 9th in ice time. But ultimately, this thread isn't about me or Hudler, so let's stop this s*** and everyone can stop taking the little jabs at me because they think they're the next Jose Jalapeno... on a stick. Dats has only played 6 more games than Z since Z entered the league. Dats also missed time injured for two separate stretches last year, and was injured in the playoffs. Don't be so quick to say "Z is injury prone, keep Dats!!!"

Top 10 finishes: 1, 2, 3, 6 - Crosby 2, 3, 5, 7 - Bure 1, 6, 7 - Lindros And unlike Bure and Lindros, Crosby won a Cup, as the youngest captain to do so ever. He is a shoe-in.

How? You simply can't allow someone into the Hall based on what might have been. As it is, Crosby has 1 Cup, 1 Olympic Gold, 2 Finals appearances, a Pearson, Hart, Ross and 4 All-Star appearances. Compared to other notables not in the Hall, that's nothing. Pavel Bure: 6 All-Star games, Calder and 2 Richards. Phil Housley: 7 All-Star games, 1 Finals appearance, 2nd most points by an American. Sergei Makarov: nearly a point per game for his career, despite starting in NHL late. 8 World Championships, Calder, Canada Cup. Adam Oates: 4 All-Star games, better than a point per game for his career. Fred Shero: 2 Cups as a coach, 4 trips to the Finals, Adams, Patrick. Eric Lindros: Hart, Pearson, 7 All-Star games, 1 Finals appearance. How exactly does he stand out as a lock when the likes of Housley, Oates and Bure are out?

Karma for all the diving he did/does when he barely gets tapped....now he knows what a real hit feels like! ...besides, he come back and play half the season and they will "give" him another trophy, the Masterson Trophy. Then they will fill the NHL airwaves full of talk about what heart and dedication he has, and how he is the only "true champion" for coming back from his injury. I can see Eddie Olczyk (and Carmen) wiping the jizz off his face already. I have no sympathy for him as a player (as a person I do hope he is ok to live a nice life,) this is what happens when you start believing the hype and think you are bigger than the game...the game stands up at the blueline and knocks you out...Eric Lindros part II... If he comes back, great, but if he is done, I won't lose any sleep over it. They'll trade us Joe Morrow for Jiri Hudler and Jakub Kindl.... (only in my dreams)

Sorry, I'm a little short on sympathy this week.

As much as i hate him, i love the rivalry and don't want to see such a good players career end this way.

I'd get rid of Holland for offering Hudler a $15 million dollar contract and keep both Pavs and Hank.

Datsyuk. He's a little older, but has elevated his game the last few years. Right now he's the best two-way player in the league and carried the team last year whenever he was in the lineup. Zetterberg is not as good as he was several years ago, imo. His accuracy and goal scoring is down, despite him still being one of the league leaders in shots taken.

So in his 13 season career, you're going to use 25 games where he was returning from a devastating concussion to call Savard a third line forward? Makes perfect sense. Hudler was playing professional hockey in the KHL, while Savard was hoping headaches and other concussion symptoms would go away so he could start working out again. It's not nearly the same thing. And unlike your example with Hudler maybe being an all-star scorer, Savard has actually been just that. Twice. It's not speculation. It's happened. Before the 25 game sample you've cherrypicked between his concussions, Savard had 33 points in 41 games. Before that when he was playing pretty much full seasons his point totals were 88, 78, 96 and 97. In other words, take most of Hudler's stats and double them, and you'll be around Savard's totals. If you're trying to make a case to people that Hudler isn't as bad as people say he is compared to other third line players in the league (which is a relatively sound argument) you only weaken your case and credibility with crazy ass things like including Savard in the mix. And making threats about derailing this thread with your absurd Jason Williams argument doesn't exactly strengthen your case either. Unlike Williams, Savard has put up impressive points totals in one single season. Third? Who is he in front of? Zetterberg? Franzen? It's sure not Dats. Flip does get hate here, but even when he's underperforming offensively year after year, he's a solid two way center who can handle the second line. Hudler has zero other positive attributes other than scoring. So when he's not doing that, he's dead weight in the lineup. Especially when you consider that Flip only makes $125k more than Hudler, and they put up virtually the same point totals. Don't get me wrong, I think everyone is eagerly waiting for Flip to produce more offensively, but when he's not, he's at least still useful.

What is funny, I think, is the fact that this guy says Kronner is top 4 and Letang is top 2 in the league. Granted Kronwall may not be top 2, but as Letanf showed when Crosby went down, he is not a top 2 defenseman. On the subject, Hemsky would be nice here, but at the expense of Helm or Kronwall is just idiotic. Where can I apply for a job, because I can (and have) proposed silly trades like this for free, I would love to get paid to do it!

Lol Im beginning to think you actually are Jiri Hudler...

He pretty much lost me right there.

QFT. I cannot put into the words the fear that I felt in my gut every single time the guy had the puck on his stick. It usually only left his stick if he wanted it to, and it went wherever he wanted it to. The man is insane. Best player in the league and you can't convince me otherwise. I wont mention the things I would do to have him on my team, but I assure you it's not a pretty picture.