Leaderboard

Link to article. I'd say that's that. I don't know what Filppula is smoking.

Here NHL, I've fixed it for you: "NHL Considering Ban on Shootout." Ahhh, much better.

The one they should make illegal is the Patrick Kane "Come to a complete stop & stick handle for 2 minutes" move

Sakic LIES! Never trust a former mid 90's avalanche player.

I know that this glut of forwards has been staring us all in the face for a while now. But as the Wings' offseason moves along and guys re-sign, and Holland waxes in typically conservative fashion about "17 forwards this" and "Cleary that" , I'm left wondering if there really is any chance of Detroit getting that top six winger everyone keeps talking about (which, to me, is starting to seem as elusive as Bigfoot).

I like Fil and think this season was not indicative of what kind of player he usually is, but that kind of money and term would be crazy for him. If Datsyuk wasn't going to re-sign I would have considered giving Fil a good contract for him to stay as a backup-plan, but now he's expendable. With Nyquist/Tatar coming up and Järnkrok not far away either we have enough guys that can fill Fil's shoes.

Youre out to lunch, hes not one dimensional because he scored at the same rate as any other fourth liner on the team this season while getting used to a new team, fighting and being one of the hardest hitters in the NHL. How does a guy who is so one dimensional put up 30 points a year ago playing the fourth line? You saying he doesnt hit enough or stick up for teammates is actually laughable. I dont think hes some offensive juggernaught but he probably is a bit above average for a fourth liner, and especially for one that hits and fights like him. You also say he doesnt fight enough.. what? He fought 8 times this year, on pace for roughly 15 in a full season, who was the last wing with that many fights in a single year? Not big enough to really deter enforcers I agree with, but I guarantee you the average NHLer is more scared playing a shift against Tootoo than they are against John Scott. Theres plenty of huge hits Tootoo had this year that youre blind to, probably because hes a player who fights. Are you saying you would rather have Prust like hes more intimidating than Tootoo out there? Or because hes a better player? I would rather have Tootoo at his cap hit considering hes just as good of a fighter, hits harder and is cheaper. Find a video of Prust throwing a hit like this

Just because you were a starter doesn't mean you always will be. He would have been the 4th line center this season with Andersson in Grand Rapids. When Helm couldn't go Andersson was brought in and he quickly passed Emmerton on the depth chart (as evidenced by his time on ice vs Emmerton's). When Helm is back he'll either be the 3rd line center or the 4th line center, with Andersson taking the other spot. I know you like Emmerton but he's the odd guy out at center, playing only when Helm or Andersson go down. He may even be waived if they need a roster spot as he's the most expendable forward we have.

It already came back and haunted them when they missed the playoffs. Honestly, all the Wings fans who want to fire Holland + Babs, who want to trade/waive/buyout everyone who isn't' Pav or Hank, who want to sign every FA under the sun - take a looong hard look at Philly (and NYR). Throwing players at the wall and seeing who sticks just doesn't work. Philly management, fans and media have yet to work that out. No roster stability or continuity, a couple of random playoff runs and 20 years of underachievement.

We would agree that $5.5 mil AAV is too much for Filppula, but in terms of Filppula's right to be a free agent or demand whatever he wants, I think you're off-base. You're saying Filppula owes it to the Wings to accept whatever low-ball offer we throw his way? That a player in the prime of his career needs to "prove" himself by taking one-year deals until he either (a) Has an outlier season where he blows up and then gets overpaid; or (b) Gets his head run into the boards and sees a serious diminution in his value and future earning potential? Um, no. If I'm Filppula and another team offers me $10 million more (over the life of a multi-year deal) AND a higher profile role on the top lines and PP unit...and all I have to do is live somewhere else and wear a different color sweater? Yeah, I would at least consider that. Filppula is no longer the "property" of the Detroit Red Wings come July 5th - there was nothing stopping his from extending him previously if Holland wanted to lock him up on a multi-year deal.

Nothing against him, but stay away from Briere please. Wings are going to get younger, bigger Briere doesn't match the new direction. The Flyers are really handeling their players like crap at some point this will come back and haunt them.

He is small, 35 years old, has a history of concussions, and just had the worst season of his NHL career. We don't need another undersized center, let alone one clearly on the downslope, and certainly not when there are prospects waiting for a roster spot.

He made a sequence of saves all right in a row with about 5:30- 6:00 left in the game. I said to myself, this kid might have just won the game for us. I hope he can continue to improve, and keep getting good game time like he is. This guy is hopefully going to be awesome in the future for the Wings.

A. No way Bettman could balance 5 plates, and B. He would drop plates on purpose in order to influence who wins. Just sayin'.

So that means Bettman has to be at all games in case of a shootout?

10 mins of 4on4 first please.

They play this one a lot at the ACC. A perfect song for when someone gets Kronwalled.

New rule: in order to score a shootout goal a player must 1) skate through a series of ten cones 2) skate around a midget balancing 5 plates without making him drop any. 3) jump through a ring of fire 4) limbo under a pole 5) and then put the puck in the net.

While I conceed that a new barn is inevidable, I will mourn the reduction of the view of the upper bowl seats with the all-but-certain addition of the mid-level suites. I suppose the reduction in seating is to allow for the suites as well as additional leg room from increasing the depth of each row. But seeing as they haven't even apparently settled on a design, I think we'll have a number of seasons to still enjoy JLA.

Acdc or kid rock stuff like that.

esteef

No one has said Journey... Is this real life?

Tootoo got sat. He's our 14th forward. Nothing more.

The cool thing is we have no clue on what Holland will do! He could surprise us all or totally s*** the bed... If it come down to no trades and only UFA, I like the Ryder and Penner idea along with Weiss. But would most definitely require BOTH buyouts and a traded player(s) for a pick. In this scenario, I bought out Bertuzzi and Sammy, and traded Q and Emmy at the draft for an extra pick or two....then sign Weiss, Penner and Ryder. Salaries are just a guess, they may get more.... CAPGEEK.COM USER GENERATED ROSTER My Custom Lineup FORWARDS Michael Ryder ($3.000m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) Johan Franzen ($3.955m) / Stephen Weiss ($3.750m) / Dustin Penner ($2.750m) Gustav Nyquist ($0.950m) / Darren Helm ($2.125m) / Damien Brunner ($2.250m) Tomas Tatar ($0.840m) / Joakim Andersson ($0.950m) / Justin Abdelkader ($1.800m) Patrick Eaves ($1.200m) / Jordin Tootoo ($1.900m) / DEFENSEMEN Niklas Kronwall ($4.750m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($3.250m) Danny DeKeyser ($1.350m) / Jakub Kindl ($1.050m) Carlo Colaiacovo ($2.500m) / Brendan Smith ($0.950m) Brian Lashoff ($0.725m) / GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($5.292m) Jonas Gustavsson ($1.500m) OTHER Buyout: Todd Bertuzzi ($0.000m) Buyout: Mikael Samuelsson ($0.000m) ------ CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $59,619,545; BONUSES: $1,010,000 CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $5,690,455 (ya ya, I know, even though I cannot stand Franzen and wish upon wishes he gets dealt somewhere, I honestly don't think he will so I left him in this scenario.) Also note that there is nearly $6M available in cap space if those three guys cost a bit more than I put in...

I'd be willing to bet that the Wings will not sign an enforcer this offseason AND that they will fare just as well in the east, if not better, as they did in the west.