GoWings1905

I like it. Hudler adds another whole dimension to the Red Wings from an offensive standpoint. If nothing else, hopefully Pavel and Z can recoup some of their magical chemistry playing together on the powerplay.

Take one away from the team and which would cause the bigger dropoff? Easily Lidstrom -- I think you could make the case Datsyuk isn't even the best forward on the team, let alone Nick obviously being the best d-man.

The real quality free agents were never an option for the Red Wings unless Nick retired and then it wouldn't matter because the team would be far worse anyways.

Then why bother watching? It's done - RIP 2011 Detroit Red Wings.

You can pick and choose good/bad deals all over and make them fit your argument. Is Jeff Finger comparable to Brad Stuart? Should Brian Campbell be making more than Duncan Keith? Lidstrom did take a discount when you look at his value still and what teams would pay him on the open market. It's a one year deal anyways - not really a fair comparision to Pronger's seven and Keith's 13 year deal.

Right or wrong, I don't think Holland had the intention of making many additions unless Nick retired this summer. The plan all along seemed to be bring back Hudler, keep all of the free agents besides Williams and Lebda, and possibly add a 3rd/4th line player. All of this can still be achieved even with Nick taking six million.

Difference being Nick is easily still the best player on the team...

I'm pretty sure no one shares your sentiments besides Mindfly. The first tip off was the minus 10 from your post. Sadly, I agree. My gut has been saying Nick is done since the season ended.

I still can't believe people say Stuart isn't worth his contract. Rafalski hell yes, Stuart not at all.

Later, Dontrelle. Thanks a bunch for those two wins. If Dombrowski hadn't given out some of the worst deals ever to Willis, Robertson, and Bonderman then maybe the Tigers could have some real starting pitching depth right now after Verlander. Or someone, anyone that could hit in the bottom third of the order. Inge, Laird and Everett are three free outs and the Tigers defense sucks anyways so that hasn't even made up for it whatsoever. I hope Dombrowski learned his lession about giving blank checks to garbage starting pitchers. The Tigers should be winning the division every season with their payroll and they are hamstrung by a bunch of scrubs who now aren't even on the team anymore.

He'll be the one that strikes out on a check swing three times...

Agreed. I think Mule has better chemistry with Z than Pavel.

Hudler is by no means as bad defensively as you make him out to be. And as long as #96 is wearing a Red Wings uniform, he'll always hold the "honor" of biggest defensive liability. The puzzling thing to me sometimes about Red Wings fans is we are so spoiled by having elite defensive forwards that if a player isn't at Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Helm, etc. level they are labeled as a "defensive liability". It just isn't the case with Hudler. I'm not nominating him for the Selke, but he isn't going to cost the Red Wings games because of his defense or lack thereof. It is OK for a player to just score goals - not all 12 forwards are going to be stalwarts in their own zone. Hudler's role is to put the puck in the net and quite frankly, the Red Wings need exactly that. If all he does is produce offensively (which he always has), I couldn't care less about what he does defensively. This team is stacked with solid defensive forwards. Who is a better top six option than Hudler? Bertuzzi certainly isn't better than Hudler and neither is Cleary in that capacity. Hudler is going to get top six minutes and thrive there because of his high-end offensive skill. True. That doesn't seem to take much either with Babcock in regards to Hudler.

Disregard if named Jason Williams or Brett Lebda.

Game 1 was on Saturday, Game 2 was Sunday.

Sorry to burst your Hudler-hate bubble, but the head coach of the team already has stated Hudler will play top six minutes next season. You are no different -- in fact, actually worse -- than the Hudler "slappies" with your extreme hatred of Hudler. Beyond the big three, Hudler is the most talented offensive threat on the team now.

After having this settle in, there's a part of me that says I wouldn't even want Stevie Y to be the Red Wings GM. He'll always be a Red Wing to all of us anyways - going to Tampa doesn't change that the slightest. I think the world of Yzerman and always will. He's everything that has made the Red Wings organization the way it is and he's about as close to a perfect human that there has ever been. I don't want to question his potential decisions as a GM or have it possibly go wrong with the Red Wings. To a lesser extent, it's like Joe Dumars with the Pistons. I grew up watching Joe D. as a player and for everything great he has done in the front office for the Pistons, there are some equally purely awful decisions that take away some of Dumars' luster to me. I'm nothing but happy for Stevie Y. It's another tribute to the Red Wings organization as well. Tampa Bay needs a winner and they got one.

Best of luck to the Captain and the heart and soul of the Red Wings organization. I can't possibly be mad at him for taking a great opportunity - he paid his dues and earned everything that has come his way. I hope he succeeds in Tampa, as I'm sure he will after learning from the absolute best in the business. The Red Wings are the blueprint for the rest of the league. At least he went to a team that we don't hate. I can root for Tampa Bay now in the Eastern Conference.

Definitely rooting for the Flyers, but the Blackhawks are going to win.

Chicago would have won, but the Red Wings would have given them a way better series. After watching the WCF play out, it just makes me feel that San Jose beating the Red Wings was pretty much a fluke. Everything went the Sharks way against Detroit and they got clearly exposed by probably the best team in the league. Without the refs handing the Sharks games or Howard blowing game three, the Red Wings could have easily taken that series. It was all or nothing for the Blackhawks this season. The cap is going to wreck their depth just like it did to the Red Wings.

Absolutely agree. I don't see how any Red Wings fan can even think about rooting for the Chicago Blackhawks and their obnoxious, bandwagon fanbase. I thought watching Anaheim and Pittsburgh win it all was bad, but Chicago would be the worst of all for me. I hate that franchise - although they basically do everything now the way the Red Wings do, so the Hawks' success is pretty much a credit to the Wings' organization. Sadly, I don't think the Flyers stand a chance against the Blackhawks so I am preparing for the worst.

May as well let him go then and actually get someone that would be useful on the 4th line.

I'm somewhat on the fence with this one. For the value, Bertuzzi was great this season and he really clicked with Hank and Fil on a line. However, the return of Hudler makes Bertuzzi more expendable to me. If Hudler is getting top six minutes like Babcock claims next season, I have to assume the most likely option to get bumped from the top six is Bertuzzi. I'm not sure how effective Bert would be on a line without Zetterberg, Filppula or Datsyuk. He makes a ton of errors (awful turnovers/bad penalties) as it is and those guys can cover them up to an extent. I guess I won't care either way however the Bertuzzi decision falls. If he comes back, that's fine. If he doesn't, then we can use that money towards a gritty forward for the bottom two lines.

I'll be pleased with the addition of a gritty/hard forechecking 4th liner if it comes to that but I would prefer we could add some scoring punch to the bottom two lines more than anything. The Wings' bottom two lines did nothing offensively in the playoffs. I realize we'll never have a third line like 2008 and 2009 again, but more balanced scoring will take some heat off the big guns to carry the team offensively. One energy line is enough - we need to round out a third line that puts the puck in the net more consistently. Therefore, my first choice would be Raffi Torres. Throw him on a line with Helm and Cleary/Bertuzzi, and that line has the potential to be a scoring threat. Abdelkader, Eaves and whomever else can play the 4th line energy role.

This just pisses me off more that the Red Wings couldn't beat the Sharks. They are no match for Chicago - the last team I want to see win it all.