lets go pavel

Okay, but that's not really the point. Pretty much every reason you're giving for why Homer shouldn't be on the 1st line applies to Bert as well. The performance of the lines over 2 games is hardly evidence of anything, certainly not individual abilities. Not to mention that Bert has 1 assist and is -1, Homer has 1 goal and is even.

And isn't this also pretty much true of Bert?

Umm ... isn't the same true of Holmstrom? Just based on ... oh ... the last how many years?

If we had scratched everyone that wasn't healthy during last year's finals Pittsburgh would have been playing Grand Rapids for the Cup. Homer sat a good chunk of last year because he was injured.

I agree, but I don't know that we want to double-shift Dats, Z, or Flip ... anyone really. Given the long runs the last 2 years and the Olympics later this year, anything we can do to keep our top guys fresh should be a priority, and that means regularly rolling 4 lines. I'm really hoping it's just rust , and he'll get his legs here soon ...

Homer has lost a step, no doubt. At the same time, it has only been 2 games, and a lot of our players haven't looked too great. Last year was a rough year for Homer, but he was pretty banged up for most of the year, so it's hard to say whether his struggles were due to injury or time catching up with him. I think it's worth giving him a few more games to see what happens. I also question whether he'd be of any value on the 3rd or 4th line. In theory those are our defense/energy/grinding lines, which are pretty much the 3 attributes most folks are claiming Homer doesn't have any more. I think he almost has to play on a top line given what his contributions are ...

The irony, of course, being that you're the one that seems to have a hard-on for him, spewing your inane, Homer-hating hyperbole every chance you get, while the rest of us are trying to have a reasonable and rational discussion about his performance. Okay, your turn ... tell me again how Homer makes the sky fall ...

This baffles me ... how exactly does Hasek deserve credit instead of Ozzie for us winning the cup in 2008? And are you suggesting Ozzie is the reason we lost last year? Last I looked we scored twice in the last 2 games, both with a chance to win the Cup. Don't remember Ozzie collapsing ...

I knew it was just a matter of time before you showed up ... you could smell it, couldn't you? Did Homer give up 4 goals and 5 goals the last 2 games? I don't remember seeing him in our crease. No, he isn't what he once was, but to suggest that Homer is the only problem, or even the main problem, is ridiculous. Give it a rest, dude ...

On the phone with Jiri Hudler, looking for a place to stay (and play) ...

Please please please go to the KHL. Ugh. The team thought Kyle Calder was an upgrade over him, and now we're going to bring him back at 2.5? I think I would have preferred keeping Sammy. Just out of curiosity, don't the Wings have to wait and see what happens with tomorrow's hearing with Hudler before they can go signing other folks?

Yup, I think we'll be in good shape. It's easy to get gloomy comparing the coming roster to last year's with so many people leaving, but last year's really was the exception in the cap era, what with Z, Franzen, Huddles, Sammy, etc all earning relative peanuts. The 09-10 roster will be about the norm I think, and yes, other teams will have similarly talented rosters ... that's parity for you. We have the skill to match up with anyone, I really think it's going to come down more to intangibles ... heart, determination, etc., along with injuries. I'd still like to see us add a veteran forward a la Dallas Drake or Bill Guerin, but otherwise I'm optimistic with what we have.

It's all because of the categories they use to rank the teams ... the Wings got hit on ticket prices and stadium experience, not really surprising. Other than that they would have been #1.

Hell no. Seriously, the guy was the freakin' LGW pinata most of the time he was here, and for good reason ... are we really in such dire straits that we need to bring back all the bums we were happy to get rid of years ago?

The article says 7.5M per year ... if that's true, that seems like way too much ...

On paper we won't be a better team. Then again, on paper we were better 08-09 than we were 07-08, yet it was the 07-08 team that won it all. Lots of factors went into that, but lets not forget how much intangibles play a role in performance. My point is that we could be worse on paper yet be better on the ice next season ... here's hoping!

Once you get past the headlines, I'm not so sure the Hawks are even going to be better than they were this past season, much less Cup finalists. Sure Hossa's a great signing, but as others have mentioned he's pretty much replacing Havlat ... statistically, Hossa was 40-31-71 and Havlat was 29-48-77, and Havlat had the better playoffs. At best I'd call that a wash. They also are losing their #1 goaltender ... Huet is a huge question mark. With Eager and Versteeg still unsigned, Kane, Toews, Burish, and Keith free agents after this season and Seabrook and Byfuglien the year after, they have little room to add anyone else, at least not for more than a year. Apart from the fact that their young guys are going to be a year older, I don't see a whole lot of improvement on the roster ... can the extra experience overcome what could be a big hole in between the pipes? I wouldn't bet money on it ... As for the Caps they have similar question marks in goal ... is Varlamov going to be the starter, or do they try Theodore again? The Pens exposed their lack of depth last year ... so far they've swapped Knuble for Fedorov, is that enough of an improvement? Again, I doubt it ...

I enjoyed having Hossa, but for a couple reasons this actually kinda makes me happy ... 1. If 12 years 62M is what it would have taken I'm glad we passed. Don't get me wrong, Hossa at 5 per year cap hit is a great deal, but 12 years ... I think we would be knee-capping ourselves in the long run. 2. We've won it without him, and we can do it again. Plus, I really prefer being the underdog/having something to prove. With Hossa we'd never be in that position, now we've already got people on here picking us for 2nd in the central. 3. Kane, Toews, Hossa, Campbell, Keith, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Lidstrom, Rafalski ... what a great 8 games every year this will be! 4. He's taking Kopecky with him ...

link Burke hires Wilson ...

Hell no, you are giving up way too much. I'd rather have Hossa than Heatley, and we certainly wouldn't need to give up all that to make cap space for him. Neil's a FA, so we can just wait until July 1 to make a run at him, no need to trade anyone. And Bertuzzi ... really?

I highly doubt we'll go with only a 20 man roster ...

Yes, this, along with "Make me a milkshake, Malkin!" Seriously, what's with all the homoerotic double entendres? Next thing you know he's gonna be making Quizno's commercials ...

Well, they're gonna be a force to be reckoned with now that they've got some stability in goal.

Absolutely they are cheating ... just the other day, on the 9th hole, Hiller hit two balls in the water but didn't take the penalty, and Giggy is notorious for carrying extra clubs.