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Am I the only one who thinks Brunnstrom can make the team? I really think his head is in the right place in this situation to see it through and make the cut. The fact he didnt do great in Dallas and Toronto mean nothing more to me either then thank god he wasnt there longer. Let's be honest , neither of those teams have displayed the best track record for grooming superstars. When on the other hand the Wings have shown over and over again that's more less a forte of theirs, finding diamond's in the rough so to speak. Ok so Maybe Brunnstrom wont be a first rate superstar but I certainly think he can reach the plateau we wanted Leino to and then some. I just have a feeling the Wings are going to get the last laugh with this kid.

How many Games do you think kocur gets for the late punch now days? I say 3 and a small fine....If I didn't love the game so much I'd hate it.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy... Oh, I mean, HOW TERRIBLE! In all seriousness, Crosby should never have played the next game vs Tampa if he had symptoms stemming from the Steckel hit on New Year's Day. Hedman hits him from behind, down again and this time for good. And what's absolutely crazy about all this, remember: The Pens' new rink at the Consol Energy Center was DESIGNED AND BUILT to have a capacity of 18,087. Wouldn't that suck if 87 never played another game at the rink with his number in the seating?

Crosby never beat this team, Zetterberg made sure of that. It was a good effort by the rest of the Pens plus ridiculous help from the league and on-ice officials that beat them. esteef

I think your right on the money about that line four. Helm could move up a spot or two as well but they just do that job so perfectly. I would like some people on here to throw out some of the best line four combo's the league has to offer and pair them up against Mursak, Helm and Eaves. Last year on many, many nights I couldnt wait for line four to come on the ice so we could sustain pressure in the offensive end for a while.

Source??

Man you are really reaching aren't you? Hudler will have another mediocre year and possibly be part of a deal at the deadline.

Oh dear, then sorry Travis but I have to agree with Crymson that was not a horrible joke...

Maybe that can be like an urban dictionary dirty sexual act or something like that.

Being about the Caps and all, I would actually prefer "Semin on Bradley".

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Unless I missed it I didn't see anyone saying Brunnstrom would make the team, So I will add that he takes Emmerton's spot which would be a real good thing in my opinion. To me a Brunnstrom with ethic and a will to win (if that indeed is the case) makes him a threat on any line, like Hudler used to do/be. I also think Hank, Pavs, Helm and Flip have great years, Howard and Conks are fabulous, Bottom 6 all around are stellar but Mule and Huds come up short.

Franzen's career high is 63 points. In 2010 Franzen had 21 points in 27 games, so by your math over an 82 game season he would've scored 63.7 points (I rounded down). So his last three seasons he's actually averaged around 60 points.

I am sooo happy to see so many non voters, I couldn't do it either. I feel a lot of people here are also correct when talking of Hanks "new style" and considering he's number one choice for captain perhaps it's a longevity move. He bulked up more thus better in the harder to play places in both ends of the rink but lost a little speed, and he may not make as many jaw dropping moves as he used to but he also lead the Wings with points last year and played his highest number of games in any NHL season so far. His +/- was is worst ever as well (-1) but I think he's going to have a great season. Also I was told once when I was younger "don't ask a question you already know the answer to." This is one of those questions.

Another prediction from me.... -Eva will continue to misunderstand that to be really bold, a prediction must look to be impossible & he will continue to s*** on everyone else's postings, especially the ones that mention Hudler OK, this prediction is in no way "bold" given that it is based totally on past performance in this thread

Holland traded him in 2007 because he knew that Williams was a soft, lazy player. He freaking traded him for Kyle Calder for pete's sake. Re-signing him was as dumb a move as Holland has made.

What sort of thing?

You know what I think I am going to do? Start a thread asking people to post third line players who suck because they are relied upon for offense and only puy up around 40 points in a given season. I don't think the list will be very long.

1. Darren Helm is probably not going to score 20 goals in this or any other season. If we're talking 20 goals based on 1993 scoring rates, sure. But that's like 15 goals this year. 2. Jiri Hudler is not going to be sent to Grand Rapids. If the Wings waive him, he's off to a team that needs another scoring forward and never makes it to the 'assignment' part. 3. Kronwall is going to lose his defensive and physical abilities, and go bald? 4. It hurts. It hurts so much. Why must you do this to me? 5. Seems like a reasonable thought. Except for one thing; what assets are given up? Holland won't be giving up any significant assets unless the defenseman is more than a rental. Which severely limits options and the chance of a deal. 6. He'll be a very mediocre player who has one iconic moment in his time with the team, and many fans clamor for his jersey to be retired because of it? 7. McCarty will be back to teach Commodore how to deal with all of his newfound fame as the expendable superstar? 8. Abby making 30-35 is pretty bold. It's not impossible, but he's in a situation where the only reasons he wasn't fourth line all year last year were injuries and the fact that Helm's line had great chemistry. He's less likely to get those offensive chances this year, with Hudler back on track and a speedier, more talented Mursak ready to go. 9. The sun will rise tomorrow. Seriously. 10. Conklin will start closer to 35 games. Howard's workload is going to start looking like what Ozzie used to carry in the 90s, otherwise he won't have anything for the playoffs. Ever notice that throughout history, a lot of great teams ran tandems? Edmonton did, Pittsburgh did, Detroit did, Montreal did, Toronto did. Historically running with a tandem has assisted the starting goaltender's playoff performance.

The Wings have won 13 Prince of Wales trophies and 6 Campbell bowls. The Flyers have 4 and 6, and the Blackhawks 2 and 5, respectively. Franzen's career high is 59 and he has only cleared 50 points one other time in his career, being last season. Given his age, injury history, and performance over the past couple of years I would call 50 points a "good" season. A "bad" season based on his past couple years would be 25 or 30 points. Of course this is LGW, where Franzen is expected to put up *another* 40 goal season, despite never having done it before. Also, if you are saying Smith beats out Commodore for the 7th defenseman, he's still in the press box. Which keeps him in Grand Rapids. So I'm going to assume you meant the #6 spot. And given the roles on the team, it's likely Smith would also have to beat out Ericsson or White for time to make the jump directly into the lineup this year.

Franzen has scored 72 goals and 135 points in 174 games over the past three seasons. That's an average of 24 goals and 21 assists in 58 games each season. Or, for an 82 game season, it works out to 34 goals and 30 assists. But over his six seasons, Franzen has played 395 games, an average of 66 games. He's in his early 30s and is fairly injury prone, he is very streaky, and his work ethic on the defensive side of the puck is worse than any other player on the team; this is particularly sad given the fact that he started his career as a defensive center.

Modano is the only possible suspect, as Harold mentioned, and he's no longer on the team. Homer sucks defensively, Hudler is no star in his own zone, Bertuzzi is mediocre. But those guys all work hard in the defensive zone. They just aren't as good at it as guys like Dats, Z, Helm, or Flip. Franzen knows what to do to play defense; it used to be his job. He just doesn't do it. Brunnstrom's best year by the age of 26, with top-six ice time, was 29 points in 55 games, or pace for 43 points. Hudler scored 37 in 73 last year, which included a huge scoring slump. Brunnstrom played top six in Dallas, Hudler has always been third line or below in Detroit. Brunnstrom is also consistently criticized by every scouting report for failure to backcheck, inconsistency, etc. Hudler's performance last season was, effectively, as good or better than anything Brunnstrom has EVER produced. And it is being called terrible. If you prefer Brunnstrom, that's fine, but you are also welcome to the unfortunate results of such a choice. Of course, the fact that Brunnstrom's ceiling closely matches a year that was very disappointing by Hudler standards, and has people calling for a 'bounce-back' year, tells me all that needs to be said.

Hudler was tied for 159th in forward scoring, but 233rd in ice time. Defensively, e was equal to or better than most forwards finishing with similar scoring numbers. There are 30 teams, and three forwards per line. Teams generally dress two as scoring lines. So finishing in the top 180 (30 x 6) means the player is a "top-six" forward in the league, 159th being a second line forward. But Hudler's rank of 233rd in ice time would place him as having been a third-line forward. So offensively, he produced above what his ice time suggested he should have. If he had ranked in the same range of scoring as his ice time, he would have scored about 25 points. It's not the year he had in 2008-09, but it's not the terrible performance that LGW haters make it out to be.

He wasn't offered up as "please take him for anything" he was offered for a 1st round pick, in a year where Holland had plenty of cap space and there were many good free agent forwards. That's a huge difference.

I hope Cindy is able to come back.... then take another vicious blow to the head....only to end up sidelined for the rest of his career.