union drone

There are several important factors: 1) Lidstrom's body: will his age start to show and his numbers start to diminish, allowing someone else to rise up to the Norris? 2) Lidstrom's will power: Can he stay engaged enough in the game to continue to play at a top level? Keep in mind his off year after the third Norris. The lockout probably helped him rediscover himself. If he can keep pace offensively with the standard he has set for himself, while continuing to play good defense, it will be hard to argue against him winning. 3) The competition: Will one of the hot youngsters step their game up a notch? Guys like Phaneuf, Campbell, Green, or Markov are capable of putting it all together in a career season and getting the trophy. Old guard guys, like Niedermeyer, Pronger, Chara, Zubov, or Gonchar could enjoy a renaissance and steal the Norris with a strong season. I would say that the chances are good that Lids wins another Norris before he hangs them up, but at this point he has little to prove. I would not be disappointed if he didn't get one.

Foote. Handzus or Hedberg?

Shanny was pretty adept at finding ways to take nights off as well...

Emery is only a victim of racism if you consider mediocre goalies with poor attitudes to be a race.

In my humble opinion, Konstantinov and Sheppard don't even get a sniff of this top ten list. As for Shep... He was probably the most one-dimensional top six forward the Wings have had in the last 15 years. He had a great shot and nothing else. His skating ability probably rivals some of the NHL's worst. He had almost no playmaking ability. He was irrelevant defensively. He was not gritty or physical at all. He didn't bring any intangibles. Oh, yeah, but he scored 50 goals in a high scoring era with one of either of two amazing set up men at his side (either Feds or Yzerman, depending on which season). Was he instrumental in winning a cup? Hell, no. As for Vladdy... I love the guy. Maybe he gets a sentimental (but perhaps undeserved) #10 for what might have been, but there were others who played more and were at least equally instrumental in the Wings' success. If he had played on more than one cup team, then you have an argument. I have a hard time, however, ranking him above guys that were good players for more seasons and were in key roles on multiple cup teams.

Vernon. Mickey Redmond or Paul Woods?

Rheaume Larry Murphy or Pierre McGuire?

98 Draper Holmstroms ass or Turco's face?

Gilmour. Chris Simon or Todd Bertuzzi?

Brian Leetch. Joe Louis Arena or Olympia?

Ha, Ha...If Price managed to keep his eyes open, maybe his team would have lasted longer in the playoffs.

Well, it's not like pro hockey players ever have to wait till payday. Isn't the league minimum something like $500k per year? How many people do you honestly know (like personally, I mean) who make $500k per year??

double post...sorry.

Feds has been a consistent 40 point per season player since the lockout. Based on this, $4mil per season is too high. On the other hand, he looked like a player going through the motions and little else over that period. Playing most of those games on a underachieving Ducks team and a piss poor BJs team doesn't give him much motivation. I look to see Feds put up 60 point season this year. In 18 regular season games and 7 playoff games with the Caps he got 3G, 15A, for 18P. Over 82 games, this equates to right around 60 points. He now has chemistry, motivation, a potentially winning team, and 25 games of getting to know his teammates, which will only make his performance better. These factors can make up for the fact that he might miss some games. My prediction 15-25G, 35-45A, 50-70P. He still has speed and defensive upside. Based on this, the Caps could very well get their money's worth. If not, they're only on the hook for one year.

?!

What's to prevent Chelios from being a healthy scratch? Sorry.

Just out of curiousity, has a Jack Adams finalist ever been fired at the end of the season in which he was nominated??

It is interesting, however, that Dats has equal number of assists at home and on the road. Perhaps he looks more for the shot on the road, as opposed to at home. Another thought (someone please back me up with some stats): Games 1 & 2 are at home for every series. Teams focus more on shutting down Dats early in the series, which leads to a loss (Wings 8-0 combined in games 1 &2). The opponent makes adjustments at home (perhaps focusing on a different player, perhaps Z), only to get lit up by Pavel. Thoughts?

...and it starts a little something like this: "In the beginning there was Chelios..."

W00t!! Get 'er done boys!!!! Go Wings!!!!!!!!

Is there a video link for this at TSN??

The Joe Santriani music is a real throwback. I remember this song as being the unofficial Red Wings song of the 91-92 season. I think that it was either TV50 or PASS sports that would play this song leading into the intermission report.

The Therrien might be going for some help on the face off. Pens haven't fared well in that category, and the Wings have been winning lots of face offs. Seems like a calculated move that might or might not pay off. It's a tough call to bench a guy like Roberts.

Damn that Penguin is such a diver!

Yes, it looks like Penguins explode. Hmm...they also apparently molt.