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Interesting tweet from EJ Hradek on the Wizniewski suspension... I for one am glad Kenny didn't go out & overpay for him like C'Bus did. Makes me like that Ian White signing more & more.

This pisses me off. There is NHL hockey west of the Mississippi you know. I agree that the Rangers would be an awesome team for the Winter Classic, but Philly already got to be in one. I'm tired of certain teams getting to go twice while other teams with just as much history are left out. Let some Western teams in!

They need to start playing "Sweet Georgia Brown" before Bert's next shootout attempt. Meadowlark Lemon would approve.

Let's be logical and honesty here in talking about when Fil "should have" have his breakout season. In 06-07 is was a rookie. 07-08 he almost scored 20 goals, maybe not a legit breakout season, but for a 2nd year player, that's pretty good. It was definitely a big step up from his rookie season. In 08-09 he was demoted with the signing of Hossa, and in 09-10 he was out for half the season, yet still had some extremely impressive stretches of play, despite playing with 4th liners for a good period of time when he got back from his injury. The only real disappointing was last season.

I hope we get an update on Pav and his wrist sometimes soon. I also was concerned when he said in that interview that it still bothered him.

I agree. The past two seasons, especially last year, I questioned the teamwork of this club. It seemed like no one trusted anyone out there and it showed up in our GAA. You had some players trying to do to much and others not doing enough. Multiple times during intermission interviews did we hear about trust not being there, people trying to do other peoples job on the ice. A couple of games after we would see the Wings play as good as they can but after that back to the normal inconsistent untrusting teamwork. On topic: What is a "breakout year" for Fil in terms of points? 60+ points How many points will Filppula score in 11-12? 45-50 points is my guess. The only thing stopping Flip from being a legit 2nd line scoring center is consistency.

And for a 4th time in 6 years a team from Pennsyltucky is involved. I would absolutely love for a Red Wings-Blue Jackets matchup at Ohio Stadium, or even at Michigan Stadium. But I also think the NHL is missing out. Why haven't the Avalanche hosted one yet? Sure their fans have disappeared, but you know they'd pack whatever they call the new Mile High Stadium. Hell, their name refers to a wintry weather phenomenon. Obviously you're never going to have one in Tampa or Anaheim, but there are cities west of Pittsburgh the NHL should consider once in awhile. Also, I do get to a point the exclusion of Canadian teams since they have their own Heritage Classic each year now.

Brad Staubitz: pre-season + 3 regular season games NHL.com Shanahan video James Wizniewski: pre-season + 8 regular season games NHL.com Shanahan video

If we are throwing names around on who we think is the most expendable, then my vote is Hudler(of course.) Bottom line is Miller and Eaves at their rate of pay are far better than Hudler at his rate of pay. Unfortunately Hudler cannot be traded (nobody wants our fodder) and he won't be waived, so we are stuck with him. I just can't wait until he is a healthy scratch (again) this season and is splitting time with Emmerton in and out of the lineup. Considering the lines, I absolutely loved Filppula on Datsyuk's wing in the playoffs last year and would love to see that again, which would move Helm up to 3rd line center and give Abby the 4th line. This probably wont happen and Hudler will probably be put on Dats line, I hope he does well up there, but he is VERY one dimensional and his point total can and will be replaced with the Miller/Eaves combo, plus the defensive upside of those to make Hudler look like a wet diaper. I also loved Helm and Eaves together and the Bertuzzi/Zetts/Franzen combo was lethal for a stretch, but I know lines will change all year long, so nothing is set in stone. IF Brunnstrom gets a contract, Hudler better "return to 2008 status" or he could find himself out of a job in the near future. I believe Miller will not be waived, the final two spots are down to Emmerton/Brunnstrom/Conner/Johnson. I don't know which (if any) can go to Rapids without passing through waivers (I do know Emmerton cannot.) Anyhow, get well soon Mursak and here's to the regular season!

this thread will get far 2 long... Some suspensions are necessary, but im certain the suspensions will get out of hand, its hockey. also if shanny got suspended everytime he laid good hits on people, he wouldnt have had an NHL career. its gunna get out of hand....

I was at the game last night, and other than Lidstrom, I thought Fabian was the best player on the ice. He might not have scored, but he was flying out there, making good and smart plays, providing scoring chances, excellent back checking and so on. There was not 1 shift where he was bad. I think he is playing the perfect game right now to get on the Wings and be a part of Babcock's system because he has been really good in every pre-season game he has played so far and I think has earned a spot on the actual Wings roster. If Babs is intent on playing Pavs and Hank on separate lines, I think Fabian becoming a Wing would provide us with a very good set of lines: Hudler- Datsyuk- Brunnstrom Franzen- Zetterberg- Filpula Cleary- Abdelkator- Bertuzzi Homer- Helm- Eaves Fabian and Hudler have been really good together thus far and have good chemestry, and I think both of them could have great years playing with Pavs; that could turn into a really solid line for the Wings.

The Todd has a pretty impressive bag of tricks when it comes to shootouts. Nice goal, there. You're friends with draperfan on Facebook?

so where is the 45 or less option?

Great to hear. Though he should probably avoid saying he wants to be a dirty player in the press. He should use the more vague and acceptable "gritty" or "edgy" or "Pronger."

No....don't you know he outscored Dats while playing with him, so Hudler should score 100+

I don't see why we would need Brunnstrom for that. It's a pretty widely accepted fact around LGW that if Hudler were to play on Datsyuk's wing for the entire season he would also put up 35 goals.

He looks like he is gonna earn a contract, but he won't start the season up here because of Jiri "Choke" Hudler...

Here's hoping he starts out hot and stays healthy all year!

Great first move by Shanny, but the real test will be when a star player crosses that line.

There's no excuse for a guy with those hands and that size to only score 34 goals in the last two seasons combined. And he only missed 1 game in those two seasons. That's why so many people here call him a lazy floater.

A speedy checker... just what we have in abundance! Brunnstrom please. Sign him dirt cheap and waive him if he falls on his face. He cost nothing to acquire, anyway.

Wow, just what I was thinking everytime I hear the words "Hudler" and "Potential" in the same sentence or everytime he is placed on the top line... I'll stop talking crap about him when people stop saying he has the potential to be a first line sniper... So for now, Brunnstrom over Hudler everyday of the week and twice on Sunday...

Sure, why not set the bar as high as possible? I mean the guy did struggle to make the Leafs, though, so let's try and be realistic here.

39 points...please add another poll option.