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Scott Howson needs a goalie + Scott Howson is stupid as hell = The Dominator has a new job. It's simple math really.

That's Hudler

Um, the last time Hasek played in Czechoslovakia was in the 80's.

Wait you mean an unrestricted free agent can sign for with any team he likes without even having to justify his decision in any way? This is bulls***! Looks like there's a new item for the CBA negotations. Get er done Bettman.

If this is true, we will have officially lost our title as the best player retirement home in the league!

That's exactly the point I was trying to make, someone else beat him to the punch. Surely, if the Sabres GM could pull the strings on a deal like that then Holland could have. I don't think he wanted to, and hence we don't have Erhoff. Also, read again, I never said Erhoff was better or comparable to Rafalski, I said he'd put up ten points less (on average) per year and cost two million dollars less. Finally, I've NEVER suggested getting rid of Holland, I've simply said that there were things that could have happened over the last three years that would have left our defense in better shape than it's in. Holland missed out (or opted out) of those situations, which doesn't mean he should be fired, but I don't know why suggesting Holland should have done something different when the opportunity clearly presented itself is such anathema with some people around here. He's a great GM, but it's not like the guy can't make mistakes once in a while. And when he does, and some of us choose to discuss it, I don't see why we're considered treasonous by some, or worse accused of wanting him replaced (which neither I nor Esteef ever suggested). p.s. I'm not talking about you Carman, while we disagree, I do think that you've been perfectly reasonable the entire time.

I don't think we're going to go 0-82 this season, but I also don't think we're making the playoffs, either. I think we're going to be comfortably mediocre, never excelling, but never truly sucking either. The team has too many holes, some of which weren't filled adequately. We didn't get Parise or Suter which sucks, but that's life. The reason I don't think we're going to do that well this year has little to do with anything that happened specifically this year, aside from Lidstrom's retirement, but rather has to do with Holland not doing much of anything to improve the team over the last 4 seasons. The chickens always come home to roost, and this is our year, it would seem. Don't take this post as a sign I'm turning my back on the team, or jumping off the bandwagon or whatever else it is you crazy kids like to throw around in an effort to appear morally superior to other fans. I'm just calling it like I see it, and what I see isn't that great.

I also want to take this time to blame every other GM beside Lombardi for not winning the cup. You all know what you didn't do to make your teams better, how dare you all. Holland is an easy target for everyone who thinks the glass is half empty, no amount of trades and free agents will guarantee your team a cup and to blame the GM for a perceived lack of moves is ignorant. " Damn you Kenny! Why didn't you go back in time and move the Suters and Parises to Detroit before they where born! " There is absolutely nothing better any of you could have done. Period.

Ya, cuz there gunna hung hiz jerzy nix yizzear

And I'm sorry, I don't buy for a second that anyone can honestly say they're comfortable with our chances of being a successful team with our defense consisting of Kronwall, White, Ericsson, Smith, Quincey and Kindl. I mean, really...? Really...? I'm not knocking them as individual players right now, I'm just saying, look at that group and remind yourself that it's the core of your defense right now. Really consider that Lidstrom and Stuart are gone from that group. Maybe it hasn't fully sunk in yet. Maybe you're good at forgetting how lost this team looked last year in March without Lidstrom? I don't blame you; we all wanted to forget that. Let's just forget about making the playoffs for a second... Are we even a .500 team with that defense? Maybe in a couple years with more NHL development for the youngans, but next year? Seriously? Don't forget or overlook how important Lidstrom's contribution to our offense was as well. I don't want to s*** on anyone trying to be optimistic; it's a noble thing and I will cheer this team on next season no matter what. But none the less, I don't think people have really accepted what we're going to be dealing with next year, nor are people willing to admit how much Holland has mishandled the whole situation the last 3-4 years. You can talk all you want about how "smart" it is to not make ridiculous reactionary moves now, but we never should've been in this position. And we've been talking about how "smart" Holland is for sitting on his hands because of the "cap" or some player's "potential" for four summers in a row now, and here we are: Lidstrom's gone, Stuart's gone, Hudler's gone again (I'm completely okay with that one, but he still scored goals and that hasn't been our strong suit...). We didn't land our primary free agent targets. We added Tootoo and an older Samuelson (and a good backup goalie, but hopefully that'll be a fairly inconsequential addition this year). Our defense as of now features Kronwall, White, Ericsson, Smith, Quincey and Kindl. No Lidstrom. No Stuart. Very, very, very few options left. Smart?

First, no, it's absolutely not true. But a lot of adult hockey fans in the 80's and 90's were bred with that Cold War mentality, and misinterpreted the playing styles of some of the Russians who defected at that time. Any stereotype based on an entire nationality of players is obviously unfair - Konstantinov and Darius Kasparatis were extremely rugged players who just happened to share the same nationality as guys like Alex Kovalev. But if you ever watch European soccer, there are just cultural difference in sport that Americans will not accept. For example, American athletes fully accept doing anything to gain an edge (bending the rules, steroids in baseball, trying to hurt opponents), yet diving or embellishing injury of any kind is a violation of the "man code" and completely dishonorable. In other countries, however, this is seen as a "trying to get an edge", really no different than stepping out of bounds but failing to correct a referee who doesn't make the call. Still, the "soft" or "lazy" accusation gets imputed to the whole when North American fans see something like this: I never though that Fedorov was "soft" or that Kozlov was "lazy", but I heard that all the time. There was a famous Sergei Fedorov quote where he said if his name were "Sam Jones", he would be considered a much bigger star than he was. There's been this tacit requirement that the bar for Russian players is much higher in the NHL (and still is). In other words, if you're Jordin Tootoo or Cal Clutterbuck and spend most of your time scrapping and running people in corners, North American players are romanticized for doing that, while a Russian who did that but couldn't score probably couldn't even stay in the NHL. I think it's getting noticeably worse for Russian players in the NHL, and the KHL is a prime reason for that. Nobody wants to make a long-term commitment to these guys when there's always the threat that they'll pull a Radulov or Hudler and end up back overseas. I think that's a legitimate concern for would-be employers, but we can do with out the Don Cherry-style xenophobia.

Your position seems to be that unless someone can provide concrete examples of players that were available, trades that almost definitely would go through, and would almost certainly improve the team, they shouldn't complain. That's an absurd expectation. At the time who would've predicted that Holland could get Stuart from the Kings for a 2nd and 4th pick? Or taking the Kings as an example, who would've thought they'd get Richards for Simmonds, Schenn and a pick? Or trade a defenseman they'd recently signed long term to bring in Carter? And that both of those trades would be huge factors in their Cup win? It's likely you would've shot down all of those trades as unrealistic or wouldn't improve the team. But who the hell knows until they actually happen? If I could provide those kind of examples beforehand, I'd take Holland's friggin job. I'm not complaining because I think he sucks. I'm complaining because I think he's one of the best GM's in the NHL, so he better be able to come up with some moves that the average fan couldn't know about. It's awful hard to provide irrefutable evidence for a trade that didn't happen. That doesn't mean I can't be unhappy with what Holland is saying and doing. For now I'm withholding full judgment until the summer is over. But Lidstrom retiring is something he and management should've started planning for 10 years ago. Looking at our blueline right now, it sure doesn't feel like they did. Your position seems to be that if Holland made the move, it was the right one. If he didn't, it wouldn't have made the team better or it would've cost too much. The only thing I've heard you complain about regarding Holland was Ericsson, which you were wrong about.

I fundamentally do not understand why we need a salary rollback when the cap itself has almost doubled over 8 seasons. It went from $39.0 million to $70.2 million. Heck, the salary FLOOR is significantly higher now than the Cap was in 2005-06...so how does it make any sense that we need to roll back player salaries? The problem is that the CBA was shoddily conceived and GM's found several ways to game the system. Since the cap hit is determined as an average of the salaries (not the actual salary for this year), you saw tons of long-term, front-loaded deals. Which means that while the Cap may be $70 million, teams may actually be paying $80 million, $90 million, whatever in salaries. Also, while the CBA might have envisioned salaries going down across the board, that isn't what happened. Top FA's were pursued as aggressively as ever, even pushing mid-tier guys like Mike Cammalieri into "star" value contracts. Also, the league became significantly younger, as teams compensated for this by filling out their rosters with entry-level contracts (see: Blackhawks, Chicago). I think a lot of the veterans lost money too (or were forced to Europe for more money) because of this approach to the Cap.

He is not. I read it the same way, because, well, thats exactly what it said. That Quincy and Smith will "replace" (the exact word he used) Stuart and Lidstrom. Oh, and I am not some doom and gloom negative person about this off season, I've been staying positive and hoping for the best, so you cannot attempt to refute MY comment by passive attacks and accusing me of only being negative like you did with him. You know what I'd like to see people give a rest? (in general, not just here at this forum) Calling anyone with a different opinion or alternate suggestion a "hater" or "basher" Those are such lame, overused internet terms. Don't agree with me? Oh, you're a hater then. Post any other comments or alternate suggestion? Quit bashing. Lame.....

Doan is younger than Drake was when he came back in 2008 and laid himself on the line for a cup. Plus, Doan is a much bigger, grittier, and more skilled player than Drake ever was. Doan had 5 goals and 4 assists during this year's playoffs. That's a quarter of his regular season production in the playoffs. Not too shabby for a guy with no gas in the tank. Wherever he lands, Shane Doan will kill or be killed for a Stanley Cup.

This is insane. Fil outscored both Nash and Ryan last season by a healthy margin, yet people are still talking about trading Filppula plus multiple other high level picks/prospects for either one of them. Trading Filppula at this point for either one of them is a lateral move. At the very least, removing Filppula while adding either one of them isn't a significant enough improvement to our top 6 to make me cry.

Everybody thinks they're a comedian

Franzen, one of our top 2/3 prospects, and a first. Filppula should not be included, UNLESS the BJ are willing to take him as is (last year of contract) and you make it clear to Valtteri that this is a business move for the team and if he gets to UFA next season, he'll be back in the Winged Wheel (maybe a stretch, since BJ would no doubt throw the kitchen sink at him). Losing Filppula +++ forever is not worth it in my opinion. Fil is one of three forwards last season who showed up every single game. He is a great center, true, but last season played almost the entire season at wing and both increased production and made Zetterberg's line dangerous by shouldering some of the load. He is an obvious character player who is well-liked, and some have suggested him on the cusp of alternative captain. From what I've heard he seems like the Kronwall type of leader, and what I've seen on the ice, Filppula + would be a lateral move for more goal-scoring, and Filppula +++ would be an overpayment (in my opinion). Rick Nash is a better player than Filppula, but does he have a better future than Filppula, Smith, Nyquist, and our 1st (one suggested scenario)?

esteef

He' such an awful hockey player, yet he scored 30 points in 77 games last year. Why don't we compare his production to a few of our bottom 6ers: Cory Emmerton: 10 points in 71 games Justin Abdelkader: 22 points in 81 games Drew Miller: 25 points in 80 games Still look like a terrible hockey player? He's got some offensive touch and he'll add that element of grit that we haven't seen in a while. Tootoo was a healthy scratch in the playoffs because they had acquired Paul Gaustad and Brandon Yip before the playoffs, giving them depth at forward. It is so funny that people hate Jordin Tootoo because of his past. Yet, we loved Chris Chelios, who wasn't the cleanest player before he came here. Bertuzzi threw a pretty big cheapshot, yet we seem cool with him here. Just because people don't agree wholeheartedly with your stance on Tootoo doesn't mean the fanbase has a "Low IQ". As I've shown, Tootoo outproduced many players on this team last year, and should be a welcome addition to the team, considering he also has a pair of balls. He texted me earlier and mentioned that everyone's negative opinions on LGW were bothering him. He proceeded to ask me what my opinion was. Told me Tootoo's future rested with my opinion of him. Guys, he isn't going anywhere. Blame me if you don't like him.

There should be a talented youth injection. The Wings have Smith, Nyquist, and Brunner (not to mention Helmer is pretty young. Additionally, several other young guys will probably get a chance to make the team. Furthermore, there is no telling how this team will play. There has been talk since 2008 how the team doesn't seem motivated and lacks effort and passion. They have been dumped on by the media (and a good portion of their fan base) this off-season. Perhaps that lights a fire and now that they don't have front runner status and are more middle of the pack / underdog maybe they respond with that missing intensity. On paper they have some problems but they may have some intangibles that they have been lacking the past few years.

Samuelsson is a diamond in the rough. 2012- Panthers have best season in franchise history 2011- Made cup Finals 2010- 15 pts in 12 playoff games for Van 2009- Cup Finals 2008- Stanley Cup 2007- Conf. FInals

what else does the league want? The got their "parity" throughout the league, revenue is up, they got the Cap in place, they got their "KID" the Cup (maybe one wasn't enough and they need changes to make sure he gets every two out of three?) I don't know what else the league would want from the players. If the NHL suffer another lockout or lose of an entire season, it is over. It cannot survive another whole, half or any part of the season being cancelled... I cannot see why Bettman still has his job, half a season lost in 1994-95, entire 2005 season lost AND now this possibility!?!? Why does this fool still have a job? He has done hardly anything GOOD for the NHL and tons bad!