Wings_Fan_In_Exile

It's nothing more than speculation at this point, but I hope the speculation is right! I'mm all for an expansion team moving to Canada. Although I grew up in AZ, so I'm glad it's Nashville that might be moving.

Same here. Good thread. Watching the Ducks is slowly killing my enjoyment of playoff hockey. Is it just me or is a HUGE chunk of Pronger's play interference? It seems like he could be called for it on every play he's out there.

If one of the last hockey moments I see is Pronger raising the Cup it is going to be a looooooong summer. The Senators better start playing better on Saturday!!! But man oh man it looks like the Wings might have been the only team this year to give the Ducks a hard time.

Nice post I think Toskala would be a good fit, but I do not believe he is a UFA. RFA or still under contract? Cuz I wouldn't be excited to trade anybody from this roster, as I think somebody mentioned earlier in this thread. I like keeping Bert around as long as he doesn't ask for too much money. As far as the Osgood backup vs #1 debate: my two cents- he is a good solid goalie, but not the goalie to steal us any games in the playoffs. I agree with The Dude saying "If they do go with Osgood next year they are not going to lose because of him, but they will not win games because of him either. And I agree with ZDH - "I also am wary of the fact that Osgood tends to be injured himself despite not playing in many games. Lets say it's Osgood and Howard next season for argument's sake. If Osgood goes down then it's all on Howard. Is he ready for that? Maybe. Perhaps he pulls a Cam Ward and takes off as the #1 guy." Heck even TSN scouts Osgood as: Scouting Report Assets Doesn't let outside distractions faze him. Is an excellent team player. Usually plays in control and can become a starter in a pinch. Flaws Is no longer starter material. Still lets in soft goals on occasion. Has always had trouble with long shots. Career potential No. 2 goaltender.

I've never seen Howard play but looking at his stats in Grand Rapids I wouldn't call them anything earth shattering. He's still young, another year down there might not hurt. I've always liked Ozzie, but I don't see him being the starting goaltender for us to bank on in the playoffs. We won a Cup with him back in '98, but that was a loaded, pre-salary cap roster that he played behind. Let's hope Hasek comes back. And I don't even like Hasek very much....

I could see how that would be funny to a Duck fan. Just disturbing to me. But if it was Pronger and Salami (which it should be) it then would indeed be funny.

Great article, thanks! Holland said Calder hurt his finger in the first round of the playoffs against Calgary, but it wasn't broken and that wasn't why his performance declined. "He played real well early and as we got into the playoffs his role was reduced and he probably started to press and it went from bad to worse,'' Holland said. "He didn't have quite the impact we hoped.'' Interesting about Calder, sounds like he won't be back. And dang, I knew we were banged up, but now it's official.

I don't think he's perfect by any stretch of the imagination but I don't think he's overrated. He is so positionally sound and square to the shooter that he makes every save look easy. He's a decent sized guy at 6' 1" 200lbs where alot of goalies are under 6' and under 200lbs easy. So pads on a bigger guy LOOK bigger because he naturally fills up a little more of the net. (take a look at Maine's goalie in the NCAA Frozen Four at 6'7") Gigure swallows up rebounds and is rarely out of place. Hasek, while he is also good, can make a routine save look incredible because he is often out of position, relying more on physical ability than technique. Gigure is less flashy but just as affective (look at the stats of Hasek and Gigure in the last series)

Haha, same here. That is when my hatred for the Sharks began. Of course Marchmant and Ricci playing there didn't help any. And I'm still pissed Vernon was traded there!

Wow, never seen that one before. Yikes.

I'm down with getting rid of Bettman. He just doesn't get hockey. Same with going back to the old conferences that would be sweet. I hate the schedule change. Go back to the pre-lockout schedule. And get rid of the stupid trapezoid. I think this is already happening, but go back to white jerseys for home and dark for away.

Smyth would be nice but I doubt we'd have cap room for him.

Bert at 100% in a Wings jersey sounds awesome. He's definately worth the risk- as long as we can afford him. I echo the sentiment that he would be a great replacement for Lang. Not that I hate Lang or anything, but between the two it's no contest to me.

Ditto

Yes, since there doesn't seem to be a good replacement out there. Hopefully he can stay healthy and another year of Father Time doesn't take it's toll.

I don't think Fedorov will ever be back with the Wings, and I'm fine with that. His production has dropped off and he hasn't been entirely healthy either. I'd like to see Bert given a chance to prove himself here with a healthy back. There is no way he was 100% at any point during his time with the Wings. Same with Calder in the playoffs. If Hasek retires, I'm not even sure what we could afford as a replacement. Osgood is a great backup, but I'm not sure he is consitent enough to carry us through the playoffs. He was 10 years ago, but he was also behind a loaded, pre-salary cap roster. I've never seen Howard play but he has decent stats. I'd be curious about Niklas Backstrom, but he's probably going to cost too much for being relatively unproven. If not retired, resign: Chelios Hasek Resign: Bertuzzi Calder Schneider if we can afford him Markov if we have money left UFA's: Nagy if not too expensive (would love to see him replace Lang as an offensive threat) Scott Hannan for a big bodied stay at home D-man if we don't resign our D-men. Although I bet we will keep Bert, Chelios, Hasek lose Calder and Lang, Markov and Schneider. And will fill the roster internally or cheap.

IMO, the Ducks outplayed the Wings in games 1, 2, and 6. They did it with a lot of running the goalie, some cheapshots here and there -Pronger, and more lucky bounces then we had. I think the WIngs were the better team, but just couldn't finish. Especially in OT. The Ducks did finish, and Giggy was very strong. Beyond that.. I look forward to the Senators owning them next round.

A fantastic season. Proved a lot of critics wrong, and for a while there looked like they were destined for their fourth Cup in 10 years. A very disappointing way to end the season- especially to Pronger and the Ducks, but Game 6 of the WCF is way better than the entire league (minus two teams) did this season. That says a helluva lot. Good job Wings. I look forward to next year. For now, GO SENS!

It was a helluva season by the Wings, but the Ducks took advantage of their opportunities. I'll be rooting for the Sens in the Finals, but the Ducks did play well. And I still hate them.

Thanks for the friendly thread. It was a good series, damn shame it didn't go to 7. The Stanley Cup Finals should be interesting.

Beautifully worded.

IMO, I wouldn't put Gerber in the same sentence as Giguere, or label Hasek as the best goalie in the league when he was outplayed in this series. Moot point anyway I guess, since Giggy won't end up here. Anyway, it was a heck of a run. Great season. And for the record I don't blame Hasek for tonight. Now Go Sens, make Pronger cry!

ditto. Although it was already official for me when they picked up Pronger. They dropped the Mighty and Disney, now get rid of the prick! Maybe we can steal their goalie.....

I had to leave the room for a bit after the loss, didn't see that. What's that about? Sounds like poor sportsmanship to me....

Of course I'll be watching, it's playoff hockey. Especially to watch Pronger cry as he gets oh so close to the Cup again just to lose.