Leaderboard

As for all the smith hate (or disappointment), I'd like to use kindl as an example.. it took him a few years to adjust to the nhl and in some ways I'm sure he still is. Anyway, kindl won me over this year and I'm sure smith will too. It's not a make it or break it season for him just yet.

The Wings are loaded with solid defensive forwards. I can overlook Brunner's deficiency in that area because he provides the Red Wings with something they severely lack in goal-scoring ability. I still hope Brunner comes back, but the ship seems to have sailed in Detroit.

The good thing about him filing, is it precludes teams from going after him with an offer sheet.

Agreed. He just needs a couple years like most D-men do. Ericsson took 4-5 years to become a decent player.

I don't know why some ppl are on Smith's ass so much. He's only played for 1/2 a season in the NHL and only 13 games in 2011-2012.

Good. His indifferent play last season ought to get us a good value.

Yes 31 players who filed today have big ego's. Arbitration is a tool used to get contract negotiations going. But carry on talking about something you have no clue about.

Filppula also filed for arbitation after 08. Funny how some people have selective memories.

I still think smith will be fine. I think dekeyser as his partner would be better than Quincey.

Holy Crap!!! Howard signing looking better everyday.

Dekeyser played unreasonably well for someone jumping into the NHL like that. Most defensemen when they enter the league play closer to how Smith did than Dekeyser. I'll fully admit I was hoping for more from Smith. I'm still confident he'll become a much stronger player over time though. As I've mentioned before, Jiri Fischer was despised on these boards for the longest time. You can't give up on players right away. (And by "you", I don't literally mean you, Kip, I mean the large group of people here that bash Smith.) There's frequently a huge lack of patience here.

I really don't think any goalie is worth more than 6 million on a short term contract. They're just not needed to be as good and they're too inconsistent as a whole. Or maybe the money doesn't matter as much as the term. No goalie should be signed for more than four (five max) years.

Wasn't it Z who said re: Smith..."he creates a lot of chances. For both teams."

That's definitely a legitimate concern, but I think with a full training camp, offseason conditioning, and all the other perks that come along with being a player on a professional club in the NHL, Brunner is only going to improve. How much? I have no idea. But I don't think it's a long shot to assume he'll improve on his transition year. The guy's a good player, and a lot of this contract stuff has soured people on him, but he's not as bad as he's been made out to be by his defectors, and not as good as his supporters. I think tops you're looking at a guy who can basically play Michael Ryder's game. But he's not there yet, and therefore doesn't deserve the money he's asking. For the life of me I don't know why he didn't sign a one year deal and then cash in after a strong performance this season.

So if everybody lies at the same rate your theory holds up. Got it. esteef

Maybe he just wants to expedite the process of getting a contract completed. There's nothing to indicate he's asking for a ridiculous amount. I really don't see the "ego" angle to this.

Could you explain why you believe that filing for arbitration means that he has a big ego? We don't know anything about the negotiations between Holland and Smith's agent to this point.

Ha! Fredo is my new one, so we can make Godfather references when Alfredsson does things. Emdog has become commonplace.

That's a very long term with a lot of money for a goalie. He's top 5 in the league now, but for how long? He's only been the #1 for basically a lockout shortened season. That's not much to merit $7 mil per. I would have signed him 3 years $15 mil if I were the B's GM. Their depth will suffer with this signing. The Wings division may get even weaker now cause of the lowered cap.

Yeah I agree, he'll get better there's no question about it. And how could he not after last season's performance lol. He'll be fine.

It's just that, at times, he didn't play those games very well. I like his upside ... he should be very good, in time.

I think he means lately

I could actually see both Datsyuk and Z hitting 80 or more points if they can stay relatively healthy and stay on a line together. They were both PPG or better last season, and if not for injuries the two seasons before that, Datsyuk would have pretty easily hit 80.

For kicks, I did the math on hits (and more!) for the past four seasons. In the 2013 season, EC teams averaged 1197.6 hits apiece, or 24.95 per game. WC teams averaged 1174.1 hits apiece, or 24.46 per game. The difference? A miniscule .5 hits per game. The Stanley Cup winner was dead last in the league in hits. The Maple Leafs were #1. The Bruins (who seem to be getting the most attention in this thread) ranked in at #10. Of the top ten hitters, five each resided in the EC and WC. Of the top eleven players (four were tied for 5th place) in major penalties, four played in the EC, five played in the WC, and the final two split their time between the two conferences. In the 2011-2012 season, EC teams averaged 1911.2 hits, or 23.31 per game. WC teams averaged 1821.9 hits, or 22.21 per game. The difference? An unimpressive 1.1 hits per game. The Stanley Cup winner was #2 in the league in hits. The Rangers, who failed to qualify for the playoffs, were #1. The Bruins ranked in at #20. Of the top ten hitters, seven played in the EC and three in the WC. Of the top eleven players (two players were tied for 6th place) in major penalties, five resided in the EC, five played in the WC, and the last split his time between the two. In the 2010-2011 season, EC teams averaged 1835.9 hits, or 22.39 per game. WC teams averaged 1891.5 hits, or 23.06 per game. The difference? An tiny .69 hits per game, this time in favor of the WC. The Stanley Cup winner was #21 in hits. The Rangers were #1. The Bruins, as mentioned, were #21---two spots below the Wings. Of the top ten hitters, five each played in the EC and WC. Of the top twelve players (three players were tied for 8th place) in major penalties, three played in the EC, and nine resided in the WC. In the 2009-2010 season, EC teams averaged 1806.7 hits, or 22.03 per game. WC teams averaged 1807.6 hits, or 22.04 per game. The difference? A completely irrelevant .01 hits per game, in favor of the WC. The Stanley Cup winner was #25 in hits. The Stars, who failed to qualify for the playoffs, were #1. The Bruins ranked in at #10, again two spots beneath the Wings. Of the top ten hitters, three resided in the EC and seven in the WC. Of the top ten (no ties in the final place this time) players in major penalties, four played in the EC, five played in the WC, and the last split his time between the two conferences. For those who would prefer it in table form, here are the per-team averages for each conference: So there you have it. I hope that these numbers will help to put to rest this talk about the East being an immensely tougher conference. In other news, I can't believe that I just spent 45 minutes on this.

Emmerton IS our 4th line center. They will play Andersson and Helm in the top 9, if both are healthy.