Valas19

In more ways than one. I hate this guy and will never ever like him no matter how hard he can still hit. Wings fans wanted to crucify Pronger for his hit on Homer in the playoffs. Drake has done this more than a couple of times.

That was a bummer losing Whitney. The guy quietly did rather well but was kinda lost among all the other Wings with the bigger names. I'd love to see him back.

I never liked Kozlov when he was here just because he drove me nuts with the dumb relatiiation penalties he always seemed to get. But the man can put the puck in the net. Sign him up. Don't know enough about Comrie to give him a yea or a nay.

At least one person that I can agree with about the Rafalski contract. I am darn glad we got him but $6mil is pretty steep. I wouldn't have resigned Schneider for the money he got so I agree with Holland but it almost seems like this was a panic move on his part. We lost our #2 guy on D so he goes and grabs the next best guy on the list, price be darned. What about Sheldon Souray? Is he really that bad on defense? I would have been tempted to offer him that kind of money mainly because he's much younger. Not that Rafs is old, but a youth movement would be nice. I'm sorry but if for that money I'd rather have Ryan Smyth. Who knows, maybe he had no interest coming here. It still sucks. This guy is Yzerman like in putting his heart and soul (and body) into the game. Dan Cleary showed that kind of grit in the playoffs, too bad he didn't have the talent of Smyth. As far as Bertuzzi, I can't argue against letting him go either. It stinks but tying up that money for a questionable situation is not cool considering you have to resign Zetterberg next year for around $6 - $7mil. What is frustrating is there doesn't seem to have been a contingency plan for losing Bert or missing out on Smyth. Holland jumped at Rafs but is sitting back on the O. Is that our glaring weakness?? I don't seem to recall the D suffering last year, even through the injuries in the playoffs. Yes, our top line was killer, but what about everyone else? The 2nd line sucked. The 3rd line has their role and if they happen to score well that's a major bonus. I loved the passion and zip of the 4th line but it was rarely used. Ok great, we got rid of the scrubs from the 2nd line and some other deadweight. What is left? If you wait too long you have to pick from everyone else's scrubs. Sometimes you'll find a Cleary but more often than not you'll find a Calder. We could have had Anson Carter last year but Holland doesn't like dishing out multi year contracts to new free agents so he turned down the 1 year offer. Funny how he wound up in Columbus with a 1 year offer. It's tough to hear the rhetoric of a GM saying how they are going to go out and try to nab some top guys and come up a bit short. Again, good job on Rafalski, don't agree with the money but what can ya do? Now that the top guys are gone for the most part, guys like Fedorov and Yashin are on the radar? Seriously? I guess it's better than nothing and maybe they can regain some of their old form but if that's what you are counting on to make a difference I just don't know what to say. I just don't want to turn into the Leafs in relying on guys nobody has heard of and old guys who used to be great and just can't quite cut it anymore. I still have faith in Holland regardless of what I may say in a moment of disgust but to sit back and say you aren't even a little concerned is somewhat startling. I want to win Stanley Cups, not just get to the playoffs and fizzle out. We already have the Pistons for that and that act has now become old. Yeah, we almost had the Ducks but almost and a quarter will get you a bus ride to the other side of town.

This would be fine with me. I'd rather do this than sign some scrubs and leave only $1mil left for the deadline as per usual.

If he wants that then screw it, go without. I really don't care for Osgood but I'd put up with him until Jimmy Howard is ready. No way does Hasek get $5mil a year.

Yeah, certainly no time to throw in the towel just disheartening to see the Wings kinda sit back like they usually do. It's hard to argue against the results and we have certainly been spoiled by their success even though the Cups haven't been coming here for a few years now. The main issue I have is not losing Bertuzzi. It's missing out on a bunch of other guys. We've lost a full line and 1 maybe 2 defenseman. Whether they are dead weight can certainly be argued. Is anyone really gonna miss Lang and Calder? The question is who is going to fill these missing spots? I love Filpula even though I can't seem to spell his name and Hudler. Put those guys with Samuelsson and there is a potent 2nd line. The 3rd stays as is. The 4th...who we get for the 4th? Our biggest guy winds up being Samuelsson and Franzen. I guess its not as bad as it seems, it just could have been better is what is frustrating. Damn the Wings for spoiling us for all those years.

I read somewhere that teams can go over the cap until a certain date when they have to be under so they can still go hog wild for awhile.

I can't help but think that this is what William Clay Ford Jr. thinks about Matt Millen

A gain in cap room to get who?? Please enlighten me. I realize Bertuzzi wasn't the be all end all of the team but he's probably much better than whoever is going to be forced to play from Grand Rapids. You think Daryl Bootland is going to light it up? I hope so but I woudn't count on it.

Well, our only godsend is that the division still stinks so we almost win by default. I hate to say it but I can't see how this team goes anywhere next year in the playoffs. The defense is still solid, Dom should be good again and the top line rocks but lines 2 thru 4 are, shall we say, less than stellar? Our 2nd line stunk last year but now we don't even have one. The 4th liners get bumped up to 2 but we might not even have Hudler back. Ughh....what a poochscrew. Grigorenko better be the next Sergei Fedorov but with the work ethic of Yzerman or it may not be pretty to watch. Now we get to see how good Kenny Holland really is as a GM. Detroit isn't the preferred stopover to a Stanley Cup anymore and we don't have the cash to throw around. Oh, and Kenny refuses to sign most free agents to any long term deals which is great when you get someone who doesn't pan out but tends to keep the guys who want stability away. I realize that it's only day 2 of free agency and a lot of things can still happen but tripping out of the gate tends to mean you can't catch up with the rest of the pack. Guys, give me reason to believe!!! I'm almost putting my hopes on the Lions!

I'll give him some love. I've been keeping a close eye on him since I have questioned why he has been in the lineup. I have to say he has been playing very well and he's just what we need in a series like this.

Bah. lol I don't mind the Red Devils. I just started getting into soccer and Chelsea has become my adopted team. But that's kinda like saying I just got into baseball and have adopted the Yankees but still kinda like the Red Sox.

You go to any board for any sport for any team and get pretty much the same thing. The fans don't want to give the opposing team much credit. It also doesn't help that seemingly most of the time when someone feels strongly enough about posting something it's usually negative. When angry people vent it's easier to nitpick and point out flaws than to actually give a compliment. Never could quite understand the psychology of that.

It was just pointed out to me that the Sharks have scored only 2 goals in each game of the series. Let's hope we can keep that up and if so, Wings in 6. You can't win a series by only scoring 2 goals a game. Yeah, you can win a couple of games as the Sharks have but not 4. Anyone else feel pretty good about this?

I seriously don't understand why this guy is in the lineup. Well, with the injury to Homer I do but when Homer is back who's gonna sit? Hudler again? Calder? WHY?? I was honestly disappointed 2 years ago when Sammy had the 20+ goal season. I knew that meant we were going to sign him to a multi year contract. What does he do other than have a decent shot from the point and top of the circle? He doesn't really play a physical game despite his size. Anytime there is a scrum somewhere he tends to be on the outskirts of it not really doing anything. Even Datsyuk will mix it up. He isn't a quick skater. He doesn't seem to get back and play defence very well. Could someone put on the rose colored glasses and enlighten me as to why he's in the lineup every game?

Aye here. Already have my energy drink in the fridge at work for Thursday morning. Just wish the darn things didn't make me have to stop and water the porcelain every hour. Cuts into my work productivity, kinda like posting on the message board...

I can't fully agree. For the most part yes but not always. Let's look at last year. Is Dwayne Roloson a great goalie? I don't think so. He is maybe a bit better than average. Not gonna really argue his prowess. The Wings took a lot of shots at him but without anyone in front of the net he made those stops. What happened then? The Oilers gained a ton of confidence that their goalie is the next coming of Terry Sawchuk and the Wings grew frustrated that they couldn't get anything past him. Didn't really help that Legace did not exude any confidence by letting in some weak goals but I digress. End result we all know. Those shots need to be quality chances. Shooting with no one in front of the net, not even the opposing defencemen does nothing other than increasing the number on the shot clock. With that said, I'm not directing that at Samuelsson. Just at any of the Wings in general. 50 shots on the net means little if none of them are quality scoring chances.

Ahh, yes...Sturm. Wonder where the heck I got Brad Stuart from?

It certainly tops the Blues sending Bernie Federko and Tony McKegney to the Wings for Adam Oates. Man, the was awful. Who was the marquee player that the Bruins got? Wasn't it Brad Stuart? Ouch.

Agreed 100%

That pretty much sums up with what I've failed to clearly say so I thank you for that. No guys in front of the net means a halfway decent goalie will make almost every save. Having a really good one like Nabakov makes it even worse.

Bad timing on my part. This pretty much stems from last series and a lot of games since he's been back not including the 5 point game against the Hawks. Maybe it's just Lang, maybe he's still tentative or flat out still hurt from the injury. I guess this series he's more of an asset because of his size and the fact that the Sharks are are big team. I just don't see him using his body like I think he should. He's a big boy. He's doesn't have to be a Bertuzzi and knock people on their can but maybe once in awhile he should just to send a message. Look, despite the topic I really don't hate the guy. I want to see him do better. Am I asking too much? And no, I am not expecting a point a game, just a little more presence felt.

There is little doubt from me that we can win. This isn't a series that's likely to be decided by the perfect play. Pretty goals are for the regular season. Playoffs are about the ugly ones. All it takes is a lucky bounce or a deflection and it's anyone's game. The team that scores the most ugly goals wins. Even though we are down 2 games to 1 we haven't been exactly blown away. Sharks are a darn good team but we all know around here how darn good teams can be hitting the links and drinking beers while watching the Finals.

Ahh yes. Because I question one player that isn't producing regardless of the fact he's coming back from an injury or not I am clearly not a devoted Wings fan.