Hank Dats 'N Homer

I think it was 3 times just in the finals haha the guy has no luck. From what i heard, his dad has even worse luck when he played haha. Talented family, but unlucky. I do like him though and definetly wouldnt mind seeing him!

Our young guys gotta step up sooner or later, and if we cant sign stuart than what else can we do?Gotta let Quincey or Ericsson step in. Lilja has come a long way the past year becoming a solid shot blocker. If you read any of my posts, which looks like you havent, you would see that im not saying DONT sign Stuart, im simply saying it doesnt look like we are going to because he would have to take a discount and stay in Detroit where he would be a #4 dman where he can make more money and have a bigger role somewhere on the Coast that his family lives on. People on here have been talking about letting our young guys play for a while, and if stuart leaves, i think thats a great opportunity to see what they can do. Drake leaves due to retirement, that means we have a forward position open. I think Rolston could fill, and move Sammy down the lines where he belongs. I watch as many games as i can of the Wild since im a big fan or not only Rolston but Gaborik as well. Im not saying the guy isnt getting older, its obvious that hes not getting any younger, but the guy can still play whether hes lost a step or not. Look at his stats, he still puts up numbers, and is a productive player.

I wouldnt mind Malone either. I hear he doesnt like the way the organization is being run over in Pitt so resigning him would be difficult for them. Hes a big body that we can pop infront of the net with some soft hands. I would prefer Rolston over Malone, but Malone could give us some grit that we could use with Drake departing. Might be tough for us to get him he may be bitter over the finals.

bump...

I can understand your thoughts. I think he would love to play here and i think he could fix alot of our problems on offense. During the regular season we had a bit of a problem of secondary scoring and i think this guy could be the cure. He may have a problem adapting to the puck poession style, but he has been dealt around his whole career to different teams with different styles. From New jersey to Colorado to Boston to the Wild, they all have different styles of play. Hes posted 3 of his 4 best seasons the past three years, which shows mw learning a new style isnt an issue for him. I think learning a puck posession stlye of offense would not only be an easy thing for him to pick up, but also be a good chance for him to post a career high in points. He has posted 3 great seasons when it comes to points while playing a dump and chase style of play the last three years. I think putting him on a team that posesses the puck for a good portion of the game will only give him more points Its obvious that Rolston knows what to do when he gets the puck, and if hes on a team that has posession of the puck for 70% of the game i think he would fair pretty well. It may take some time getting used to but thats what the offseason is for. I dont know if Rolston is even a thought in Hollands mind right now, but in my mind he is a perfect fit, and i think i would Gasm in my pants if he came home...

I'm not sure what you mean when you say he is slowing down. the guy has posted some of his highest stats in the last 3 years. Hes posted 59 64 and 79 points in his last three years with minnesota with really no one around him. The only guy on the wild that puts up points is really Gaborik and him, but Gaborik gets hurt every year. Rolston has shown Durability and consistency his whole career, so if you put him with some talent like Franzen and Val, i think the opportunities are endless. As for his fit for our team i think you are dead wrong there to. I think our team needs a few North American players. We have more than enough European players, and the Chemistry is great, the only person in my mind that doesnt fit is Sammy. And when i say he doesnt fit, i mean he doesnt fit on a second line. He would be fine for a 3rd or 4th liner for us. Rolston would be perfect for our second line. He can score and play an awesome defensive game. he has been know to be a defensive forward his whole career, which is the style of play that not only Scotty praised,but also the game that Babcock teaches. I think his style of play and veteran leadership is exactly the fit for our team. I think he is exactly what we need. He is a player that can play the PP and the PK and can kill the opposing team with that massive slap shot. Hes a perfect fit for our team in my book. Im not trying to start a fight, i just think hes perfect for the wings and is exactly what we need. We move sammy down which is what we have prayed for for the last year, an we get a point getter to replace him, as well as bringing in not only a north American but a MICHIGAN BOY at that! I think its a cheap and safe bet and will still allow us to lock up Z and Mule in the future. I hope holland sees it the same way i do. It just seems perfect to me.

Alright, you may be sick of it but just hear me out. If Drake retires, that opens a free spot on the roster. To me this means we can look for a good second line scorer and move sammy down to the third or fourth line. So we have a little money laying around. Not a lot but a little. Well something tells me that Stuart is on his way back to the Coast. Which means we have an Extram id say about 3-3.5 million saved on what we would offered him. Well what do we do about our D? Well we know our top 3 are going to be Lids Raf and Kronner. Than we have Lebda and Cheli. Bring up our young guys like Ericsson meech or Quincey to fill in the other roles. They are ganna have to do it sooner or later might as well be now. we can even resign lilja for cheap if need be, hes always good on the PK especially at blocking shots. This gives us a lot of money to play around with. We can do a few things with that money, but we have to be smart about it. We have Z and franzen extensions to think about soon. We can go out and sign a big guy like Hossa or Sundin, but there is no way that we can lock either of them up longterm because they would just cost way to much and would not have neough for Z and Mule. So we can lock one of them up for a 1 year contract (which i beleive neither of them want at this point in their career.) So whats the solution? Go out and get a second line scorer for a reasonable ammount and lock him up long term. Brian Rolston makes 2.5 a year in Minn. They will prob offer him the same ammount. If we take the 3 mill that we would offer Stuart and give it to Rolston and lock him up 3-4 years its perfect. Still leaves us well under the Cap level to lock Z and Mule and Flip long term after 09, and we have a second line scorer who can play any of the forward positions. Also with his slapshot we can replace Sammy on the PP. With that shot he can Quarterback the 2nd PP. The guy is a safe bet. Hes in his prime right now when it comes to stats, and with some guys like Mule and Flip to work with, it could really do us and him alot of good. The money works, the situation works. I think its the best bet, and most reasonable aquisition for the wings.

Whoa since when is cleary friends with Hossa? How did this happen? But if we are talking about friendship here, dare i do another Rolston plug? I think so ... here we go Brian Rafalski... how does he know Rolston? Well aside from sharing the same first name, they are both from Michigan, but ontop of that they both played together in NJ and won a cup together, so if anyone is alling anyone we better get Rafalski on the phone with Rolston and get him in a wings uniform, i dont think it will take to much convincing.....

Its been a few hours since i have done my Brian Rolston plug....so......BRIAN ROLSTON! Its gotta happen, and i dont think i can wait till the 1st....

When i went and got them i bought 4 hats one for me my brother my dad and my girlfriend. The funny thing was that they are all suppose to be the same size, but 2 of them were bigger than the other two and you could definetly tell. Needless to say i kept one of the smaller ones for me and it fits perfectly. haha. I dont know why they are a little bit smaller but the one i have fits like a glove where as the ones i gave to my bro and my dad were bigger but fit them fine.

I could be wrong but i thought i heard he was looking for a 3-4 year contract...although he was thinking about retirement after this season so maybe he would just take a 1 year deal. To me though, if his whole thought process is to win a cup before retirement i would be looking for atleast a 2 or 3 year contract with a great team to increase the odds. I dont know what his mindset is, but i heard long term. With hs payrol and our little cap space for the 09 season i dont know if its a good investment. i think getting a guy like Rolston who has a considerably less payrol would be a much better long term investment in my book. But ill be pushing Rolston on everyone here untill the day he is signed by someone... haha.

I didnt say he was a GREAT defensive player yet, i just think he has highly improved. Hes becoming more of the defensmen that everyone thought he would be. Hes starting to impress me more and more every game. He hasnt been great when it comes to turnovers, but neither is Stuart in my book, hell even Rafs gives the puck up a little to much and is kind of slow, but hes stilla hell of a defensman. i just think Kronner is our clear #3 D man right now and that Stuart will be a close 4th if he decides to stay.

To be fair, his wife was pregnant and pregnant woman arent allowed to fly so that probably played a big part as to why she stayed home. But yeah hes a california boy with a Cali family and lifestyle, he may want to head back west as much as it sucks.

read his post again, he was talking about Sundin being Swedish and expensive. Not feds....

He may be a more Stay at home defender and more sound on defense than Kronner, but during playoffs he had some bad turnovers in the dfensive zone. Some people that used to watch him in LA were saying that its very typical for him to do that. Im not saying hes not a #1 or #2 guy, on any other team he probably would be, but he has to understand that he would be playing for the Red Wings who dont need him to sign on as a top 1 or 2 defensemen. We need a #4 defensemen to pair up with Kronner. Kronwall is becoming more and more of an Offensive Defensemen like he was rumored to be while he was coming up through the minors. Also i love how he has started to play smarter when it comes to hitting guys. He knows how to pick when its a good idea to go for him and when its not. With his brutality, his offense, and his attitude towards the game i think that makes Kronner our #3 guy meaning Stuart would be 4. No shame in being the 4th best dfensemen on the best team in the league, but if its going to hurt his pride, or he wants more money to play a #1 or #2 defenseive role on a less talented team than well thats his choice. I dont think this decision will hurt us very much, although i would love to see him stay.

Wow, talk about no chance in hell. haha. theres no way boston would trade its captain for a guy that they lost to free agency a few years ago. Not to mention Chara is worth much more than a Brad Stuart combined with a first and second round pick. Also this is more of a trade that a team that is looking to make a big move in order to improve their team so that they can make it to the cup. the wings are the top seed in the NHL and have no need to make a trade like that for a #1 defenseman when we already have 2 of the best dman in the league. Plus i trust Hollands drafting and would hate to see us losea first and second rounder for a guy that is not needed. I think our D is set with or without Stuart. Its just a matter if we are going to have some extra money laying around to sign a second line scorer, that is if holland even wants to...seeing as Franzen stepped up big and took that role it may not even be necessary. but ill say it again and again....Brian Rolston. He can play every forward position so you can play him with just about any two other forwards, and he can play the point on a PP (so we can finally stop putting sammy the Logo Hunter out there). The guy wants to come home Kenny. forget Stuart, we have depth at the D and i want another Hometown BOY.

I think he was our 4th best D-man at best. (6th if you count Zetterberg and datsyuk defensemen now). dont get me wrong hes a great D-Man with his size and all, but he has some bad lapses where he really looke bad. Rafs Lids and Kronner were all stronger than him throught the regualr season and the playoffs. I dont think he is worth 3.5 and if he wont take a pay cut i say let him walk and let our young guys play. Use that left over money to go after a second line scorere like Rolston, or just hold on to that cash till Z and Franzens contracts. I dont see any need to pay the guy that much if A)he really doesnt want to be here and B) he honestly thinks so highly of himself that he cant take a discount to play with the most dominant team the past decade. If thats the case, let him take his stanley cup ring and walk and let Ericsson play or just have Quincy or meech fill that spot with Cheli. Cheli plays most of our PK minutes anyways so i dont think its going to hurt that badly. Dont get me wrong i love Stuart, but not for that kid of money and not if his heart is back on the coast. Bring in a guy like rolston born and raised in Flint, we know where his heart is.

Seems very injury prone, and the time i have seen him play ive only seem him play well in a handful of games. I like him, but i think helm is a better fit (although we havent seen much of him either so the jury is still out) i hate to trade away good young players but if we can get something good for kopecky than i say take it. I dont think he will get the playing time he deserves here in Detroit and he may be usefull elsewhere. Although we dont really know how helm will play next year, so maybe you keep them both for insurance purposes. I dont know. Im glad im not babcock and Holland because we have such good young players that i would feel bad about wasting their talent in the AHL, but at the same time you dont want to give away talent just because you wells are stocked... haha cant have the best of both worlds i guess

Wait, what happened to stuart?!?!?!?!

Yeah i like when a player stays on the same team for his entire career too, but i just hope that the jackets bring some more talent into its organization so that he has a chance at a championship. If they dont keep improving and start to go back down the tubes that i have no problem with him leaving, i dont consider it a problem if the player leaves an organization that doesnt try and help him out. But as of right now they made some imporvments from the 06/07 year and as long as they continue to do so than i say stay where your at. With that said, i want every player that i have mad man love for to be a wing, so heres to still hoping we get him, Rolston, Milan Lucic, Modano, and Sundin haha

Haha, i do love Rick Nash....i hope he moves up north a state so he can do that for real with the Actual Stanley cup...god knows he wont get the chance in that sweater....

Will never happen...

i've been saying for years that i have wanted Rolston and have thought that he would be a great fit for our team. Im a sucker for a Hometown Boy as well! His slapshot is the best in the league by a forward in my book. His style of play is classy just like our team now. I think if we are looking for a big name free agent this offseason and are factoring in the thought of who will fit and mesh with our team and style of play, along with a reasonable salary as to not kill us to bad, i think Rolston is the only one that fits that mold. Bring him home Kenny, please? For my birthday (as if a stanley cup wasnt enough of a gift haha)

I've been reading alot of predictions that peopel are makiing for next years lineup and almost everyone is eliminating Lilja. Babs praised his PK and Shot blocking skills for most of the regular season and all through playoffs. Do you think Babs and holland like him enough to keep him around or is he going to give up a few blocked shots and bring in a young guy and give him some expereince? We have such good young talent coming up with quincy and meech, and ericsson, but i just dont want us to deflate on defense just get these guys some experience. If Stuart isnt going to sign and we lost lilja well than we lose a good chunk of our size in our defense. Yeah we have Kronwall who has been playing huge...but im affraid if he keeps playing that may thats hes going to get hurt again (since we know how he is so prone to freak injuries). I like Lilja and what he brings to the game as of late. He used to be a liability, but this year he kind of stepped up his game and became a decently sound defenseman. yes he had a few screwups but everyone does unless your name is Nick Lidstrom. Plus he seems to bring a good energy to the club off the ice as well. Seems like hes always a happy and upbeat guy like everyone else on out team. I doubt losing him will hurt our team chemistry, but i think our goaltender would be facing a few more shots on net since he was one of leading shot blockers last year. Is he staying or going? And do you think that the decision on whether Stuart stays or goes will play a large role in whther we keep Lils or not?

I think the wings playing in sweden would be the greatest idea that the league has ever had. Many swedes are already fans of Detroit (or so i have read in articles). They would get to watch players that they watched grow up. I think it would really help expand popularity of not only the Wings but the league as well.