VM1138

I've never been so excited for an assistant coaching change. Woohoo! We're on the right track!

And will hardly play. We don't need any changes to the bottom 6. We need a second line scorer and possibly a second line center who can play on the third if necessary. It's time the Wings load up as best they can under the Cap. Honestly, I'm getting nervous because I keep hearing more rumors about Kaberle possibly coming here. Holland wouldn't be that dumb, would he?

It's nearly impossible to predict. So may players will retire that trades and free agency will be used more than drafting to rebuild the team, I think. FOr instance, Smith isn't going to replace Lidstrom. So, it all depends on the players Holland gets in the next few years, though I agree our youth movement has a lot of talent.

Sounds like they expended everything in saving Phoenix that they don't have the energy or goodwill left to save Atlanta.

No, because if Crosby is done, now we will hear that he's the greatest to ever play the game if only he could have finished his career. Whereas if he finished his career everyone would realize he's just a talented player but not nearly the greatest.

But they will still play western teams. The Wings still have established mini-rivalries with Anaheim and Chicago, and they will continue to be crowd-pleasers. I don't think this will hurt the Wings competition with the Western teams, after all, are we really hoping for a Minnesota-Detroit rivalry or something random like that? Give me Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Pittsburgh over any new western rivalries. But like the Toronto Star reported, Detroit moving east is a nonstarter, apparently Nashville would be the team to move.

This is good news. I doubted the rumors but it seems to be moving awfully fast and the NHL isn't being obstinate about it like they were with Phoenix. They appear ready to let Atlanta go. IF Detroit moves east, the downside could be playing Pittsburgh a LOT more frequently and of course, facing them in the playoffs before the Finals, leaving the refs to throw games in their favor and us having to listen to more Crosby love.

Honestly I don't think we'll see free agent signings. Most of the changes will be through trade, I think. The cap world has just eliminated a lot of talented free agents.

Did Rafalski play college? He's popular with Babcock.

The FREEP had a good point, though. It's not necessarily geography. Nashville is still in a different time zone than the southeast, is it not? And as far as Columbus goes, I doubt moving East will help them save a significant amount of money in the long run, so I don't think that will be a factor. Though it will probably come down to one of those three teams. So since it's too late for the Wings to move East this season, if Atlanta does move to Winnipeg, the West will just have an extra team for a season? EDIT: And as far as the Western owners not wanting the Wings to go, I've got to think Chicago would be all for it. It would all but lock up the Central each year for them. And they're probably strong enough on their own without the Wings to boost ticket sales, unlike Nashville and Columbus.

Awesome seeing the Vladdy stuff. I was watching hockey then but I wasn't at that point where I was really aware of players other than Yzerman, Shanahan, McCarty and Draper, so I don't really have memories specifically of Konstantinov, though I remember his injury very vividly. EDIT: Can't believe I forgot Fedorov and Kozlov, I was a huge fan of theirs when I was growing up.

THere's a cool video out there, about 50 seconds I think of the '37 crew celebrating on ice with the cup. I saved it to my computer but it's not working at the moment and I can't figure out why. Otherwise you have to pay a hefty fee (50 bucks I think) for this one minute clip from a stock video company. I'll do some checking on those photos and see if I can't lock down a date for you, too. Some of those are in a few Wings books I have, and I'd trust the books over websites, though even those can be mistaken.

All the rumors are so contradictory. I read in the Freep today that Devellano confirmed that no matter what happens, the WIngs will be in the West next season, but after that who knows. Yet the NHL won't guarantee that Atlanta will be in Atlanta as early as next season. So...somewhere there is a disconnect in all this.

You know, I don't think a Wings move would be approved. Like someone mentioned, Philly might be the one to move into the Southeast, and I would think Carolina and Washington would oppose that since they tend to be on top in that division and Philly would take away a lot of points they need during a season. This is really stacking up against the Wings even if Atlanta does move. There's just no incentive for the Eastern GMs or owners (whoever approves it) to approve such a move, except for possible increased revenues from Wings games.

Homer had a pretty good season, and actually impressed me with his skating and puck handling. I don't get all the hate. The guy produces points.

Leino would never had succeeded here. And it's not like he's a great player. Yeah, he puts up some numbers, but only when playing with other great players. He's also not a hard worker and not the kind of player to make his own points by working hard.

This off-season won't be about UFA's. There simply aren't enough good ones anymore. Holland will have to dip into trading. The first rule to trading is you find a team that needs something you have (perhaps someone needs a competent winger to play with their superstar (Hudler) or a playmaker (Flip), or both, and happens to have a solid Top 3 offensive D-man to spare. That's how deals are done. Hudler and Flip will probably have to be packaged, but they've proven they are not essential to this team. Which means you're probably looking at a weak team in the East as a trading partner.

Honestly, within a day if a rumor is out it's posted somewhere on here, either in General Discussion or Rumor Mill. This place is really spot on with getting up-to-date rumors and news.

The puck is meant to go in the net, not just to be shot.

The Wings are really shallow on defensive depth, I imagine they take a defenseman with the 1st pick. We've got some forwards, but I also imagine they take some bigger power forward wingers in some of the subequent rounds. The Wings are also shallow in goaltending depth, but I don't think it's as much of a priority as a defenseman is, since Howard will be around a while.

He wasn't a consistent NHLer while he was here, he's done with the NHL.

Miller is only ever on the bubble because he's a bit redundant on this team, not because he's disappointing the team in any way. I'm betting if there's room he's resigned in a heartbeat.

Why does this keep coming up? He's not a goal scorer anymore. He wouldn't have added any goal scoring. THe guy had no drive and no desire, and you wanted to put him into an evenly matched grudgematch that required everyone to hustle, grind, and make twice the effort than usual? He didn't play because Miller and Abdelkader had speed, grit, and heart. Modano did not. He really added nothing.

If I were Holland, I wouldn't just send Draper and Osgood packing. I'd really lean on them to re-sign, but with two way contracts. They can both still play, there's the loyalty factor, but due to roster space shriveling up we can't afford to sign them just to have them sit. But if they still think they can play and they don't want to uproot families for one more year somewhere else, mentoring Grand Rapids and filling in for the team would be utterly fantastic for everyone involved. It might ding their ego a little bit, but I think they would agree to it with a little convincing, since they simply love hockey and neither wants to leave Detroit (the city), not just the team. EDIT: I know Grand Rapids is farther away, but it could be made to work much easier than, say, signing with LA or something.

You're not the only one. The guy has been nothing but excellent for us, always giving his all. I think he's a lock for at the very least an extra forward. He's cheap, does well, and seems to be a good locker room guy.