Leaderboard

What the heck.. Where is the 'None' button? None of those players will have their jerseys retired. It's original six Gordie Howe Detroit, not a florida team playing hockey when folks are suntanning outside and couldn't give a s***. Don't get me too wrong those players are good, Fedorov was probably born on skates. I wouldn't have lifted an eyebrow if he skated in an individual program in the olympics. But they are not generational players. Like Howe. Like Yzerman. Like Lidström. No siree. As a sidenote, I personally nominee Holmström as a generational player and should have his jersey retired at the Joe.

Neither. And neither was spelled correctly. Retire Red Kelly's number first.

I wasn't sure if I was the only one that caught that and I didn't want to be a peckerhead about it, so thank you.

The D is an interesting situation because with free agents and promotions it could be very different, but equally it might be the same. I suppose the biggest question is will the coach keep the Babcock tight positional play that has been reasonably successful or take a risk and go for a more offensive style? The answer to that will determine the futures of many players on the roster, including kindl, smith, weiss, jurco and possibly Pulks, all of whom would be keen to see the latter. One of the interesting questions for the new set up is can they get the playoff version of Brendan Smith to show up in the reg season. In the post season he has looked like a top 4 dman, but in the 82 games he can fluctuate from top 4 to #8 without warning. Kindl also has question marks...although he gets the easy ice time, his points to games ratio is not bad at all, and he is one of the few of our D who actually can hit the net on the PP, and he plays great stretch passes. Can they get him to overcome his indecision and lack of fight in his own end? Big asks, but either coming off would be a big help. Can Big Rig get his confidence back with a healed hand and actually look a top 4 damn? Will DD continue to progress? Will KFQ be able to maintain last seasons form without babs? Or might he even surpass it and re-find his offensive touch as seen in LA and Colorado? We know Marchy and XO can cope with Blashill, but can they REALLY step up? And of course, one can assume KH will try to find a FA upgrade. Landing any of the current options creates spare assets. A trade for an upgrade seems unlikely, but the cap space of others may yet change that, especially from teams out west. As for what I'd like to see... If we can't get Green or Franson at a reasonable price, i would consider Martin, Sekera or maybe even Erhoff or Meszaros (if cheap cheap) if we can swing send some other assets away for an upgrade. Otherwise leave along. Up front, Drew Stafford is an obvious option, Joel Ward as an outside choice but really there isn't much and I'd probably prefer to stand pat. Again if we trade assets, maybe Shawn matthias, glencross,Justin Williams or possibly at a push Frolik come into, but only would be worth considering if we can shift others out to bring an upgrade on the back end. In net, I can't see Jimmah leaving, so no change except possibly in GR. If no trades or signings of note happen, I'd be tempted to shake up some of the lines. Tats works well with D but also with Sheahan so I'd be tempted to go with. Z - D - Abby Tats - Sheahan - Jurco Franzen/Pulks - Helm - Nike MIller, Glen, Ferraro NK - BS KQ - DD JE - AM Of course Weiss and Kindl if not traded will rotate in, and I wouldn't be surprised if the former bounces back to complicate things no end! But I would only do so on the basis of situational line rotation and fairly equal ice time for the top 3 lines. Its tricky because it would mean Tats/Sheahan/Jurco would be the only balanced line really. Nyquist has great chemistry with Zetterberg, but the only other person he seems to really have that telepathy with is Franzen and I can't see him coming back or staying back. Otherwise that's a good line because of Franzen's size, and Nyquist's speed taking some of the physical pressure of Z, but only really works if Z and Franzen can rotate central duties as I don't see Z as a full time center from here on in. Dats can kind of play with anyone as long as there is at least someone providing good forecheck pressure. Pulks I can see moving up and down the line up until he finds a fit as his shot makes him a threat on any line that gets offensive zone time. Certainly the 4th line picks itself as the roster stands. On the back end the only pair that works for both is KQ and DD, and I'm scared of having Kronwall and Ericsson together as Kronner's skating has declined and Ericsson's first 5 yards is SLOOOOW. Smith on the first line IS a massive risk, but he seems to play better when a) given more responsibility and b) with someone really smart! In an ideal world someone comes in alongside Kronner or Marchenko suddenly takes 3 steps forward. We all know our back end is horribly imbalanced and suffers from quantity over quality, so unless we get someone in from outside then there is no really satisfactory solution. I know Smith higher up the line-up might go horribly wrong, but if nothing changes roster wise, i'd prefer to take the risk first up and give him a chance and the confidence to utilise his strengths. Like many, I suspect he just doesn't have what it takes between the ears, but he does seem to switch on when pushed front row centre. As for PP, I only think smith works if we play 2 d- men and he can roam, effectively being a demi forward, so if the current set up works with the coaching changes I'd use him sparingly. I say utilising him there is less of a priority than getting the Pulkcannon in positions to use that slap shot. Our finn has much development to do, but he has the best slapshot and one of the best wristers on the roster and he WILL shoot, so if he's on the team that has to be utilised, and not too close to the crease. His release and ability to find space will never match Brett Hull's but he's the closest this club has seen since.

I feel like people just run out of ideas to write about and this is the result.

Shades of my drunk LGW times a couple weeks back.

I believe they spoke with Mike Babcock, I'm not sure how that went tho...

Neither

Good players. They made huge contributions. Unfortunately, they aren't at the level required for number retirement. Maybe if this was Atlanta...

Neither.

neither.

Unlikely it'll be either. But if it's going to be one of those two it should be Fedorov. Osgood was a big part of the team but is not the caliber of player that the Wings retire jerseys for.

Neither

None!

Juck ******* pott

I know you're being sarcastic, but it really is great. Blash is the right way to go. He has been groomed for this for the past 4 years.

I'm so confused by what's going on here. This has got to be a prank of some sort, right?

And the bedroom, amiright?

I would like to wish Jonathan Ericsson the best in his future endeavors.

It's not a strawman argument at all. I'm not suggesting you think he's dumb. I'm saying he's dumb. He turns the puck over , frequently blows his coverage, and was benched the first two games of the playoffs for playing the puck from the bench. His judgement is questionable, to say the least. I'm not really sure why you're being contrary here. All I've said is that he needs to earn powerplay time, not be handed powerplay time. Seems like a truism. Are you suggesting he should be used on the powerplay just because it seems like he'd be good there based on his skill set? Because that's a horrible way to run a team. Nobody would argue that Jurco should replace Abby in the top six because he's faster and a better stickhandler. Nobody would suggest Gustavsson should start over Howard because he's bigger, more athletic, and is safer with the puck. They actually have to play better, consistently, when they're called upon. To date, Brendan hasn't done that. Which is why Babs didn't trust him, why his icetime was reduced, and why his stats suffered. Not because he was being misutilized. If Smith gets an opportunity and runs with it, good. If not, too bad. He's not entitled to powerplay time just because he has more raw talent than somebody else.

Unfortunately he was used as a checker because Babcock saw a big body and said power forward but I think I see him as more of a playmaker that could learn a lot from Datsyuk

Are you comparing Osgood to Roy and Brodeur, or are you just trying to say that other goalies have played with great players around them? The latter statement is true, but doesn't make Osgood an elite goalie. Besides 1996, was Osgood ever a candidate for the Vezina, like Brodeur and Roy were many times? Was he ever considered one of the top 5 goalies in the world, let alone for a stretch of time? No is the answer to both questions. He's not elite. He's a good goalie that accumulated wins because he played with great players around him. And unlike Roy and Brodeur, he never stood out for individual awards or nominations. Wings fans overrate Osgood. I've done it before too. But you need to see things in context.

Never. Hell I still blame Boyd Devereaux for most of my troubles.

Did the same thing in round 1....see lengthy thread on the topic

You should have put on a Chelios Wings jersey. That would have done it.