BringHomeTheCup!

The U-M blogger is a fool. There are so many things wrong with that blog, I don't know where to start. But, I'll try, and if any of this is a repeat, sorry, I'm to upset to read anything else on this subject without first throwing out my thoughts. First, the NHL DID widen the blue lines. Anyone else remember this? It has helped. Second, he is wrong in thinking that teams wouldn't try the home run pass. Guys like Lidstrom, Savard, and Thornton would find ways to make those passes. Guys like St. Louis, Ovechkin, and Jagr would find ways to get open. And wouldn't you think coaches would find a way to incorperate it into the gameplan? Of course they would. Just like a veteran goalie always seems to cut a strap in OT right before a big faceoff when his best faceoff man is tired. I won't go into any more detail about what's wrong with that post. My head hurts too much as it is.

He has a great hockey mind, no doubt. But I think he was doomed to fail here in Detroit. No one could follow Scottie. I think it's nearly impossible for an Assistant coach to take over a team when the HC leaves under just about any circumstances. Dave just isn't a good HC, but he is a stellar Assistant.

This is a little tricky. There are a couple senarios, but since Montreal said it was trade or buy out Samsonov, here is what it looks like in actual cap hits. If Montreal would have used the buy out option on Samsonov: 2 years at $1.56 cap hit per This is what is interesting to me, since they are buying out Cullimore, here is what it looks like (with the potential buy out of Salmelainen, and keeping him) 2 years at $760k hit for Cullimore and/or 1 year at $750k/ 2 years at $300k for Salmelainen That means if Montreal keeps Salmelainen they will spend $2.27, if they buy him out they spend $2.12. Samsonov would have cost them $3.12 in a buy out. You have to tip your hat to Montreal in this deal. All signs point to Handzus leaving Chicago. But what is scary is that Chicago could be pretty good if they sign the correct UFA's, and possibly dump A.A.'s contract on someone else.

Dave and Mick were the best. I grew up listening to them. BRING BACK DAVE!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and make him grow back his 'stache, he looks odd without it!

I honestly couldn't care less where the Preds play. I think in the long run, they would be better off in Canada. I personally would like to see a new tandom take over the NHL Commish poisition. Howe and Orr. These guys would not let anything destroy our game like Bettman has. Furthermore, I'd love to see Balli pull an Al Davis, and say to the BOG, 'Oh, by the way, that team I bought a few years ago? Yeah, we are gunna play in Hamilton now."

Nope, I was correct, Cheli has wasn't the first winner of the MMLA, in fact, he has never won it. He did with the Yearly Leadership award. Two different things.

Cheli wasn't the first Messier Leadership Award winner, and Lidstrom or anyone for that matter, hasn't won this years Norris. Wiki is what's called open forum. Anyone can add to it.

I hate it when people talk like this. Any sort of thought of a conspiracy is a joke. Take this hypothetical for a test drive. Bettman says, I want Atlanta to win the Cup. So he holds a meeting and tells all refs and others involved in the game (goal judges, ect.) to call everything Atlanta's way. How is this going to ensure an Atlanta Cup victory? That's right, it can't. It still boils down to the players playing the game. If anything, the suspension of Pronger should point away from any sort of conspiracy. You want to talk conspiracy, click here

I was thinking about the possibilites on the blueline next season. With Markov all but gone, Kenny will need to get a physcial presence on the back end to replace Markov. Then it hit me. Greg DeVries. He is an UFA, he won'y likely draw a ton of intrest, and he is a tough, mean, punshing guy to play against. He doesn't do much on the score sheet, but what he brings to his own end of the ice is soild play. He made a little more than $2 last season, he is not getting any younger, and undoubtedly wants to win another Cup. I think he would be a great addition to the blueline, he is a great leader, and I think he is the type of player Kronwall could really learn a lot from. That's not to say that he can't learn from Nick, or Cheli, rather that DeVries brings something different to the table. He could restore the physcial presence that we haven't had since Vladdy's accident. I think that he could be had for $1.5-$2, if not less. I don't know if he would even want to play in Detroit, but I love the idea of it. We need some nastiness back there. Imagine Cheli and DeVries, what a snarl that combo would provide. Gotta love it...

Hank and Pav are more threatening on offense, but in no way are in Sergei league on the other side of the puck. They are solid backcheckers, and decent PK'ers. Complete players in their own right, and by no mens hurt the team in a defensive situation. But again, Sergei is something special on D, and on O.

If for one second you think that DeVries comes to Detroit and somehow not only manages to not make the top 2 pairs, but suddenly he is 7th on the depth chart, wow pass some of whatever you are smoking down here. Realisticly speaking, DeVries will be available for under $1.5, tops $2 (just for reference, he made$2.05 last season). I would agree that those young Dmen need some NHL experience, but getting experience because you have the potential to be a top 4 Dman, and being a top 4 Dman are two different things. I don't think it would be wise to have more than 2 of the young guys in the line up on a regular basis. Lilja is a strong candidate for the 7th slot, with Kronwall and Lebda being the young guys, and Nick, Cheli, Matty (assuming he re-signs), and (for sake of this post) DeVries filling out the rest. You can count on Kronwall getting a splinter in his left index finger that will get infected and need to be surgically removed, causing him to miss 23 games. Quincey is going to be the 'next' young guy to come up, but he isn't ready. I would throw him and/or Lilja in the lineup when Cheli is rested, when Lebda plays like a retard, and while Kronwall is injured. That should be about 40-45 games to split up. This 'outside chance' at Lebda being a top 4 guy. Let's get serious here, it is more like no chance. Before Kronwall has any real chance of being a top 4 guy, he needs to make it through an 82 game season without injury. Quincey just isn't ready yet. He didn't do to bad in the playoffs, but he wasn't exactly stellar either. Another year or two in GR wouldn't hurt this guy. As I said before, DeVries should be available for about $1.5. Nick is getting $7.6, let's say Matty gets $3.5, and Krowall is getting $3. That is roughly $15 on our top 4. The Leafs have over $18 on their top 4. Not to mention our forwards are pretty solid. So I fail to see any real reason for comparison there. And I'm glad you mention Markov. He wasn't highly pursued. Neither will be DeVries. And he could step right in and do everything Markov did, save a bit of offense. But he is also better in his own zone, and tougher. To WiNgSowN: No, the only thing you can think Kronwall is due for is a mid to late season vacation lasting anywhere from 10-35 games, and potentially the entire playoffs.

Anachronism, I love that word. But sersiously, Sergei is one of the best two-way guys. Just watch him play. He may not be as threatening offensively as he once was, but he is still up there. Couple that with his defensive prowess and you've got what? One of the best two-way guys in the league. Again, I challange not just you, but anyone to show me a guy who is offensively threatening as Sergei, and defensively solid.

Wow, did you read that post? He said Sergei CAN'T be a top line guy, and that he would be a good second line center. I don't know how anyone could think that the addition of Sergei would be a bad thing. The guys is, year in and year out, one of the best two-way guys in the league. Now, I'm not saying Kenny needs to go out and get him. I believe he is over priced. He is 37 and he isn't the player he once was. But neither is Cheli, Ozzie, BERT, Malts, Drapes, Dom, ect. Bottom line is Sergei could jump in and help this team. However, with his price tag, it isn't going to happen. Now next summer.....

From what I've read, Markov is all but gone. It's just a matter of time.

I don't think any UFA is going to be shy about coming to Detroit simply because the Wings are deep in prospects. The injury bug is something that is unpredictable. Had Kenny prepared for it, say by acquiring a Dman at the deadline like he always used to, it wouldn't have hurt so badly. Now I'm not ridiculing Kenny for not making that move. And I understand that with the cap, just bringing in whomever Kenny wanted isn't going to happen any longer. My point is this, realisticly, past Matty and Nick, the Wings didn't have a top 4 Dman that could be depended on to take on extra minutes in event of an injury. Yeah, Cheli stepped in and played very well. Yeah, Quincey did a fine job. Sure, Lilja played out of his mind. However, I just can't see Kenny feeling comfortable going into next season with a D corps that is so young. I'm not talking average age here, rather the number of vets vs young inexperienced guys. Kronwall, Lilja, Lebda, Quincey, ect. just aren't experienced enough to be what this team needs to make a legit Cup run. Nick isn't going to be around forever. Cheli, well, he might. Detroit also needs to get more grit on the blueline. Markov is all but gone. That is a HUGE loss of physcial play for the Wings. No, Kronwall isn't going to be able to fill that roll. He can play a pretty good physcial game, but he isn't any where near as intimidating as Markov is. Combine all this with the fact that Cheli will likely have the same role next season as he did this past season. That is, extra nights off, mainly a 5th or 6th D man, lot of PK time. We need someone who is a top 4 D man to come in play. No one currently on the roster fills that void left by Markov.

As of right now, on the roster, the Wings don't even have 2 solid pairings. That will change once Cheli is back in the fold. However, if a serious Cup run is what you are looking for, you can NEVER have too much depth on D. That is why I think the Wings should sign a guy like DeVries. Even if Quincey, Kindl, or whomever else from Grand Rapids is ready to make the jump, you can count on Kronwall missing 15-20 games do to a rare form of chicken pox that only effect Swedish defensmen playing in the NHL for Detroit that wear haffies and are under the age of 30. A lack of defensive depth really hurt us in this years playoffs. Once Matty went down, we were a totally different team. Could Detroit have won it all without him? Unlikely. Even if Detroit gets past the Ducks, the Sens would have torn apart the depleted D corps with their blazing speed. We need more depth. Just because there are a few guys in the system who are getting better doesn't mean that Detroit has depth.

How is that true? As I said before, I find it difficult to say one player was the 'missing piece', however, how would those teams not winning mean Pronger wasn't the 'missing piece' on THIS team? This is what I don't understand. Pronger has never done anything that resulted in anything near as bad as what happened with Bertuzzi and Moore. Yet just about everyone here was either excited about getting Bert, or suddenly forgave him. Since that whole thing happened, I've maintained the stance that there is no way to know 100% for sure if Bert broke Moore's neck. It could have just as easily been the pileup on top of Moore that did the trick. Regardless, here is something you are forgetting. Detroit has unbelievable leadership. That's something that Edmonton, St. Louis, and the Ducks just didn't/don't have. Any player who puts on a Red Wings sweater is instantly responsible for his actions. Don't think for a minute that Pronger would get away with what he did in the playoffs if he were wearing a Detroit sweater.

That is naive. Nick at $5 per? What are you smoking? He is at a hometown discount already! To even offer him anything less than $6 would be a slap in his face.

Why? How cold having the both in any way not be a good thing? Speaking strictly about on the ice, not financially.

I don't know that you could say any single player is ever the 'missing piece' on a Stanley Cup winning team. From year to year things change. Was he a huge part of their Cup run? Yes. But was his team able to win without him? Yes. If I were to consider a palyer the 'missing piece' I would have to at least say he is a very strong candidate for the CS trophy, which Pronger was not. To be honest, I was shocked when Giguere wasn't called up for that. Lastly, I would LOVE to see Pronger in Detroit. He is exactly what we are missing on the blueline. Blah blah blah, I don't want to hear about his cheapshots. He is a great Dman. He is an imposing physcial presence, and if for no other reason, having him on our blueline would make life easier for the Eurotwins.

In today's NHL, the deep pockets of an ower don't mean anything. After all, what good is $100 million pockets going to do you, if you can't spent more than $44? The Preds will be on the move. I personally hope it is somewhere in southern Ontario, that'd mean I could catch a few more games every year. One last point, even if the Preds start to draw some fans, it won't save this franchise in Nashville. You'd have to have 2 years of solid sellouts for Ball to even give keeping the Preds in Nashville a fleeting thought.

Well, I think you missed the point of my last post. I don't think the Wings should go after Smyth. I did say Smyth is a better player than Homer. There is no doubt that Homer just isn't as good as Smyth. My recolection of color analysts surprise in Homer scoring 30 is relevant. It brings to light that Homer shouldn't be scoring 30 goals, and what an accomplishment for him that really is. I think the biggest difference between Homer and Smyth is this. Homer can put up good numbers if he is playing with the right cast. Smyth can do it with a poor cast. Homer is a good player in his own right. But he is no Smyth. To say that Homer has matched Smytm since the lockout just isn't true. Homer put up 59pts and 52pts respectively. Smyth put up 66pts and 68pts respectively. It isn't a whole lot, but remember, Smyth hasn't played with one guy as good as Hank or Pav. While Homer has played with both of them. Just so we are clear, I don't think that signing Smyth is something Kenny should, or will do. I think what this team needs in a sniper.

I could not disagree more with this post. The idea is to grow hockey, make it more popular. How is contracting going to help that at all? The NHL should not worry about the 'established franchises' as you call them. Rather focus on the teams that need help, like Phoneix, New Jersey, Duckies, ect. I challange you to look at the attendance numbers for the Tampa Bay Lightning BEFORE they won the Cup, then look at the AFTER they won. The numbers are quite stunning. In fact, I'm fairly sure the Lightning actually sold out more than league average. The key to growing the NHL is in advertising, marketing, endorsments, and excitment in the game. Look back at when the NHL was pushing hard on the NBA. The NHL had tons of players on TV. Sergei's Nike commercial keeps running throgh my mind. Anyone else remember the 'troubled' goalies of the Nike commercials? You didn't have to be a hockey fan to LOVE those commercials. They were some of the highest rated commercials of all time. Speaking of commercials, I think an hard-nosed effort at getting some air-time during the Super Bowl would help. If the NHL can get some humor and action into the homes of that many people, it should be done. The NHL does not market itself enough. And here in the states, we don't see enough of the NHLers with endorsments. That needs to change. A lot of this is in the players hands, but baseball has a much more gruling schedule than hockey, and it's athletes seem to get it done. I know there is more opportunity for those guys, but our NHLers need to take every opportunity to help out this game. Finally, bring back the excitment in games. I have to tip my hat to the NHL post-lockout here. The game is much more exciting now that all the BS hooking and grabbing is getting called. However, let the boys fight. It will help police the game, and rating will go up. People love to watch a good fight, even hockey haters watch the fights. Oh, and I would fire Bettman. No, wait, yes I would. I'd fire Bettman and bring in Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe to run the NHL in unison.

If it comes down to it, I'd take Nick 11 out of 10 times over Smyth. I think the fact that Nick is wearing the 'C' now should keep him here for a few more years. I don't think the cap is going to raise enough to have about $24-$28 tied up in 4 players. Especially with Krowall making $3, (if signed) Matty will make at least $3, and by that time we will need a top tier goaltender. Regardless who it is, he won't come cheap. Even if it is Howard, he will be paid at lead $2-$3. That would be roughly $33 tied up in 7 guys. Signing Smyth would be mortgaging the future of the Wings for a possible 'win it next year' type of run.

They owe MUCH more than that. We would be on the hook for an additional 100k if we had won the Cup, but we owe Dom in the neighborhood of 300K, I'm not sure about Cheli. Here is a great site for salsry numbers, WALZY The Wings have about $32 tied up already, and are in need of 6 skaters and a goalie. They can't afford to back any big splashes in the UFA market this offseason, and still hope to retain NIck and Hank when their time comes. One of the most ridiculous ideas I've heard so far is cutting the roster from 12 forwards to 9. The guy claimed 'we only need three lines'. Yeah buddy, that's a spectacular idea.