lomekian

Thank you for this, I found that a very moving article, even at 4am in the UK....It was the character, humility and generosity of Steve Yzerman that made me a wings fan, and the more players we have that exhibit those qualities, the more of a pleasure it is supporting the team...also its nice to know that I had a good feeling about him without any knowledge that is now justified...thanks again.....

I'm quite positive about this signing....costs us nothing, looked like a decent 4th liner in the playoffs, has shown a bit more offensive potential earlier in his career, so if he fits could become a 3rd liner..has good speed and defensively responsible. At worst, he gets sent down or claimed, and at best he provides depth which allows us to send gatot down when everyone else is fit. exactly the kind of move i make on EHM from time to time....

The only thing that would stop me following the wings is if i stopped following hockey all-together...and even then i would still check how they were doing. Once you have a team, it stays your team...end of

Thought he has looked incrementally better in each game so far. Not stellar by any means, and his rebound control is a concern, but his positioning seems sound on the whole, and his lateral movement's pretty good. Last night and against the AVs he made one or two very good saves in high pressure situations. 3 of the 4 goals he conceded in those two where on the PP, and the result of good puck movement or poor coverage. At this stage I am fairly happy with him as a backup...the question is whether he's good enough ato share the workload as much as Ozzie needs him too, for Ozzie who is clearly a playoff starter, but mediocre in the reg season....

lovely pass from flip...

Quality dive to tie things up...

This..see my sig!

Nice to see the pessimists out in force so quickly. Ok the PP wasn't great, but its been ok this year in general. The PK is much improved, and we had double the shots of the team with one of the best records this year. Not as good as 2 years ago, but actually on the whole the team played a hell of a lot better than the 3 games i've seen previously this year. Cleary was very good tonight, Flip looked good except on key draws, Bert was very unlucky not to score, the 4th line crashed and banged to a respectable degree. Agree that there is still a lack of chemistry on some lines, and that Zatta and Dats look out of sorts. Sadly, TH96 is offering very little 5 on 5 at the moment. And obviously our 3rd D pairing is suspect. This team is really missing Franzen (or Hossa last year) just driving to the net with the puck, as we have very few big forwards with real goalscoring ability. I think the team is starting to gel and is moving in the right direction, but obviously is not as good as the last 2 years. What's more important is that the team seems a little rudderless and lacking in confidence, which need to be addressed quickly. Scoreline tonight really flatters the Avs who were outplayed for the vast majority of the game, but rode their luck, as teams on good runs tend to...

Another dodgy goal call...f*** me its just like playing in the last years playoffs again...

Like the idea that was suggested re teams that score shorthanded get rewarded by an end to the penalty too...would reward a more aggressive approach on PK. Not sure about unreleasable penalties, but I do think maybe they could work as a sort of bridge between standard penalties and 5 min majors, giving officials a 3rd option? Like the idea of a PS on a major or misconduct in the last minute, as it might stop losing teams gooning it up on late and might limit the really cynical cheating that can take place in the last 30 seconds or so fo games...maybe try them in the exhbition season next year...?

We agree...i was suggesting that given that crosby relies more on smarts than strength or outrageous skill, its a better match-up for us, as we find him easier to play against than Malkin and Staal, given our comparative lack of size at the back end, and that we play a fairly smart team game....

LEG-END! Best Player? Maybe not....most exciting player and most entertaining player.....by a very significant distance. The anticipation when he gets the puck...I find i have an involuntary intake of breath...because you know for all his lousy defense and questionably decision making at times, absolutely anything is possible. SOMETHING will happen...... For the NHL to be realising his poster potential is only a good thing....he is instant wow! On the SC87 debate, great player, but as the playoffs proved again, I'd much rather him on the ice against the wings than an on form Malkin (or even Staal actually), as he's smart but he's not a bull, and we player better against smart!

All this anti-gretzky revisionism is madness. So he's a poor coach...most genius players in most sports don't make fantastic coaches. When you see things others don't, its hard to communicate how to see them...cf Maradona, Bradman etc. Gretzky is the best ever offensive hockey player. While the league was not as tough, he still put up stupid point totals compared to his contemporaries. His number has been retired, he is referred to as 'the great one', and almost every player of a certain age idolised him. His impact can't be underestimated. He was the first and arguably only global ice hockey star. I didn't even know Ice-hcokey existed as a sport until I'd heard of Gretzky as a young kid. Growing up across the atlantic ocean. I imagine more people globally have heard of him than every other nhl player past and present put together. In US sports, probably only Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Joe Dimaggio, Ali, and maybe someone like Joe Montana are more famous globally. Until he is surpassed he is the Pele, Muhammed Ali, Don Bradman, Federer etc of Ice Hockey. People may argue if he was the best ever, but you never say definitely that he definitely wasn't, and internationally there is no comparison. Plus he was a wierd funky name like Yzerman that when you first see it feel shouldn't exist in the english language.....

Well, not the signing I was looking for considering some of the other free agents, and more than I feel we should pay for williams, but he did ok for cbj, will get more points than sammy imho (not as solid defensively admittedly), and is a reasonable but disappointing signing. I guess He's there partly because Eaves was a risk signing, and apart from abde, not many of the griffins seem close to graduating this year...though I'd be happy with oulahan as 13th fwd. mostly just meh about it. He'll justify his price in points, and will be gone in a year when either our cap issues will be eased or the cap goes down...I guess the 1 year deal is why we got him and not some of the other ufas....

Aah good on him...its good to see he cares and also responds to fans as well...too injury prone for the money, but have always liked him....another ottawa escapee!

All power to him....in all sports organisations hide behind a lack of individual accountability to let the sportsmen in question take the stick. Unless like like Kenny, the GM or equivalent has the balls to be honest, fans often assume its the players driving the moves when it comes to free agency or badly imbalanced trades or trades to rivals. Havlats probably had some stick from fans, and feels hurt at chicago basically dumping him in favour of one of his mates (and from their point of view quite sensibly). After all if you've been one of the top guys on an improving team and have helped drag them into a position to be a contender, only to be replaced by one of your friends who has no affinity to the team at all, how are you going to feel. Surely its better if he shows he cares.....

I love hossa as a player, but you are of course right. Hossa is a dynamic offensive player who relies on bursts of speed, strength and individual skill. The greater puck retention of Z & D together would give homer a greater opportunity to get involved in the play. Having said that, I do think injuries have started to get to him and inevitably he's not quite the ox he was. However, he's still worth another year on the top line with those guys as he could bounce back, and they have proven chemistry. I also think it would be foolish to dump homer until Lids goes, as they have such a great understanding on the PP (sadly not evidenced in this years playoffs, but considering 4 of our top PP either missed games or struggled with injuries, its no great shock)

On a purely statistical basis, his evidence is sound-ish, and of course it will have a leaf's bias. Where he falls down is... 1) Ignoring the fact that of the drafted players now playing in the NHL, the wings are among the best of having their draft picks prosper in their organisation, rather than giving up on them as busts and swapping them for a 6th rounder only to see them flourish elsewhere. 2) It doesn't matter if only 1 player a year makes it if that player becomes an integral part of that teams success 3) Detroit is unbeatable at finding guys that no-one else has seen and picking them 2 or 3 rounds later than they have to. Also allowing Hakan one or two projects a year increases the diamond in the rough factor. 4) If someone plays 600 games for a winning team, then their worth is greater than someone who takes 15 years to play 600 games bouncing around between bottom feeders and the AHL... 5) Trading 1st round picks is not a bad idea if there is no one in the coming draft you feel you can get at 30 that you want, and if you win the Presidents trophy in the mean time!

What could have been a very dull topic has turned into a very interesting discussion...good work chaps! For my tuppence worth, I feel that both are possibly worth $2.75-3m on the open market, but neither is really worth that to Detroit. We can all see huds is the better player offensively by some distance (and playing 2nd line on a weaker team could probably put up 70-75 points), and his shooting (particularly on 1-timers) is light years ahead of flip (as his ability to find open ice). The downside is that despite significant improvements, he doesn't have great defensive instincts and his size can really count against him, particularly as he doesnt have fantastic speed. When he's on one of his good runs this isn't really a big deal as his point production more than compensates, but when he's on a poor stretch, his contribution to the team is minimal, as he lacks the real 2-way game to make an impact at both ends of the ice, and can't exactly throw hits around. He plays bigger than he is most night, which is greatly appreciated, but he starts from a position of weakness. Flip is almost the opposite in someways. his max point threshold any time soon is probably in the 60 mark barring incredible improvement. His shooting is a weakness, though he is better at puck retention and breaking up ice. Both for me have similar playmaking abilities (possibly huds with the better final pass, but flip has the edge at creating dangerous situations). Comparisons with pine furniture are cruel but not entirely out of order. Other side of the coin is he is a real 2 way player, solid defensively, postionally sound and quick. Doesn't use his size all that well, but unlike huds contributes more when his game is off due to broader (though less polished skil-set). Flip for me has higher potential, but huds seems to be more likely to maximise his. If choosing between the two, I'd go for flip, because a) he's more of a natural centre and I think thats more valuable and b) he often gives the impression of being 5% away from making serious strides. Despite Huds having as much impact, I just don't see that much margin for improvement - his technical skills and hockey sense are already strong, but I don't see him developing physically or significantly defensively. As has been said...its all down the cap and Hossa. If we can sign hossa for 4-5m, then I'd let huds go and hope he gets a nice big offer sheet.

ten points....correct..

As ever we are waiting to see what the cap size for next year is, and how low hossa will go! For anywhere around 4 or 5 we'd be stupid not to bite. He's a two way, 40 goal scorer, with a decent playoff scoring history who had a bad year and cracked a little under the pressure of the unique situation he was in. I agree entirely with the general principal of the discussions on this thread, but i think its a year too soon. Malts and Drapes are still contracted, and Lids is still earning big bucks. In a year we'll have at least 4 possibly 5 (if hossa stays) of our top 6 forwards tied up long term and the malts draper will ahve gone and lids salary will shrink if (pray) he stays. This year we either keep hossa and lose sammy and huds or we don't and probably keep huds with sammy dependent on who's UFA. Cheli will be gone. I suspect Howard wil come up and Conklin will go having his reputation and earning power boosted by his stay in detroit. Meech will probably be gone too. Wouldn't mind seeing kopecky go either, but i think he'll stay at that price. Either way, our team next year will be at a similar level to this year, and once again injuries will dictate our playoff progress.

The thing is, if the whole NHL marketing machine wasn't so far up Sidney Corsby's arse, he wouldn't be nearly as loathed. The point made by the earlier poster about Bettmann being a PR nighmare is entirely correct. He may know his stuff to some degree, but If I was his boss, I wouldn't let him within 3 miles of a press conference as his whole persona is slightly repulsive. I have some sympathy for crosby, who I though illustrated that he had grown up a little this year. He's been told he's the messiah since he was 16, and no matter how balanced you are, that will have an impact. As for the league...he's the best North American player in the league at the moment, and its that jingoism that informs his status. If the NHL was a truly international league, he would be sharing the spotlight with Ovechkin, Malkin, Dats, Chara, Lidstrom and maybe one or two others. All are as good if not better, but crucially none are from Canada or the US. This illustrates partly the outmoded attitudes of the NHL heirarchy who fail to realise that 'the kids' are far less likely to be influenced by nationality than say 25 years ago. There are probably more kids in Canada wanting to the next Ovie than Crosby, and until they see that, the league is missing a trick. If EA's NHL franchise of games can work it out, why can't he NHL?

Would you say the same thing if it turns out he was playing hurt?

Yeah stuart was our best non Norris trophy D from march until 2 weeks ago, but didn't cope with the pens forecheck...his play in the earlier playoff rounds and his NTC mean he stays. And I think on the whole he is worth his salary....

yeah malkin was the man..also was their best player in games 2,3 and 4 by some distance