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You want less hockey? What is wrong with you?

No clue why Wings fans here are cheering for Chicago.

There isn't a scenario in which I would want less hockey.

Serious question: what were Orr's actual defensive abilities like? My impression of him as always been he was a forward who played defense (Sergei Fedorov). Was he a Karlsson/Letang?

Ideally I'd trade them to a team looking to move some salary out, and even more ideally it would be for a young scorer or top pairing defenseman. Yandle or Bobby Ryan come to mind. I don't know if either are available, but they've been rumored to have been on the block in the past and even recently as well. Again, obviously rumors but that's what I'd be looking for. Bobby would score like gangbusters on our top line and would allow us to slot Franzen against second pairing d-men, thus exploiting that mismatch. And Yandle would seriously help our transition game which looked lackluster this year. I really think we need someone that can help transition from defense to offense a little more effectively. Those are just two names, but their could be more if I really dug into it.

Well, I know you said don't argue about the merits of the article, but I'd rather we keep both of them. If I absolutely had to choose only one, I would take Nyquist probably. Obviously everything depends on what was offered, but I don't think the young small Euros are as redundant as all the low scoring PK specialist bottom 6ers the wings have.

Depends. The answer could be both, neither, or just one. if we had the had the chance to pick up 2 very good/great players but had to trade both away, you do it. Just some examples. You can pick up letang but have to include Tatar to do it. Would you? yes depending on the rest of the parts. same with Ryan. Now which one is better? Hard to say. They are different players. Nyquist is a much better puck handler and 2 way player. tatar is a sniper with a little grit/fire in his belly. Neither are very big. But are young and cheap. In same ways I wonder if the choice is more Tatar or Brunner? They are closer in style of play. Both being shooters first.

I wouldn't trade either one yet, we need to lock up Nyquist here and see what this year brings for those two with a full year on the team. We are finally getting into a situation to lose the redundant 4th line grinder situation...Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Nyquist, Tatar, Brunner and Andersson looks like a solid foundation. I really hope we don't lose either one of these two kids, this team is build from the inside and that excites me the most...

They are so close talent-wise. It comes down to Tatar's aggressive goal scoring and playing much bigger than he is against Nyquist's superior playmaking and better defense. I'm not too worried about having Brunner, Tatar, and Nyquist. Tatar doesn't play small, Nyquist has a well rounded game and Brunner is dedicated to improve his game in every area.

Haha, I wondered why you posted that one twice. The thing I like about Tatar over Nyquist is that he seems more tenacious. He's always attacking the net. I worry that Nyquist is a little to passive in his overall approach, which is good for a playmaker, but not so great for a goal scorer. And I think that we need more goal scorers on this team.

Fair enough, I can respect that. I think we both agree though that it would have to be someone with that kind of talent level.

I agree, and I'm not even saying that was their thought process when hiring Torts. I guess I"m more suggesting that the best case scenario for Vancouver is the situation I mentioned previously. Worst case it's a huge failure. Either way I don't really care, but I've always thought that Vancouver would perform a little better with a more hard nosed coach. Torts fits that bill, in spite of his obvious shortcomings.

Thats extremely strange isn't it? I don't like either team so I am cheering for both to lose but cheering for our most hated rival is just strange.

Hey! Whud I ever do to you?!?!?

I'm guessing that wouldn't be legally allowed, but it would be funny. Too bad they probably wouldn't allow HAWXSUX

Ericsson is a converted defenseman.

If Flip goes to free agency and gets signed by another team I am going to be shaking my head at Holland for not trading his rights. At least get a 7th rounder. We have seen what we can do with late picks. The fact that at this time his rights haven't been traded leads me to believe Holland is still negotiating with Flip.

So this is happening...(!)

EMDOG25

You have to remember that we are still in a lockout shortened and affected season. In a normal year, the Finals would have ended three weeks ago.

When I got my plates, I searched for days to find something Red Wings related that wasn't taken. I tried every variation of Red Wings, Wingnut, etc. that I could think of. Finally I gave up, but my sister suggested that I use a Z instead of an S and I got GOWINGZ. No Wings-related plates available. In North Dafrigidkota, of all places. We have a population of 6 and you still can't get a Wings-related plate. Good luck in your quest.

Only rumors exist to this effect. There are precisely zero confirmed sources.

source?

The Penguins have plenty of good defense prospects in their system. They're not about to trade away a 40-goal scorer who makes only $5m per year. Letang is more expendable than Neal is at this stage, especially given the ridiculous salary he's likely to demand. Letang is substantially overrated; he's a one-way defenseman.

I have such mixed feelings about this. I think that any rational citizen looking at this objectively would agree you shouldn't have publicly funded stadiums for billionaires, and a city as economically depressed as Detroit shouldn't have built THREE new stadiums in the span of 15 years. There is no appreciable economic benefit to building a stadium, particularly where there was already a stadium in that area. Studies have been done, and there just isn't any evidence to back it up. All that being said, people who like the Red Wings (myself included) convince ourselves that we don't care. Or, to look at another way, we DO care about the Red Wings more than we care about a museum renovation, lowering a budget deficit, or the $12 million diverted from education funds (my number/sources may be inaccurate, but you get the point). And as an out-of-state Red Wings fan, I actually felt guilty that I was happy about the new arena because it benefits me as a fan (though not one that gets back to many live games) without having having to pay the bill in the city I grew up around. I guess here's the thing with Detroit that keeps coming up: If not now, when? If your argument against any new development or construction is always "wait till things get better?", has that wish ever really come true since, what, the '67 Riots? You could argue there are certain way the city has gotten better since the 90's, but what they really mean is that city has done a better job becoming a Chuck E' Cheese's for adult suburbanites (casinos, Comerica, Ford Field, etc.). JLA is old and would need to be replaced sooner or later, even if there wasn't an immediate threat (like an owner thinking about selling the team or moving it somewhere else). Sorry, just rambling out loud. I get frustrated when I go back home, see the busted out windows and 28% unemployment, and then have my family tell me how nice downtown is because there's a skating rink at Campus Martius now. Most of my family has never moved more than 10 miles in their lifetime, and they don't know that it doesn't have to be like that. Go Red Wings.