VM1138

I don't like putting too many eggs in one basket, so I'd hate to see the Wings sell the farm for one player of any caliber. Lidstrom will leave a huge void, but we still have one of the league's best defenses without Lidstrom. Holland will go out and sign a #2 or #3 defenseman and we'll lean on Kronwall, Stuart and Rafalski a bit but it will work out.

I heard the Lady Gaga on TV and it immediately seemed out of the ordinary. THe music seemed very clubby and not aimed at a sports atmosphere. Music is the one area where the Wings management has really dropped the ball (or is he employed separately by the JLA?) EDIT: Side note, why are all the videos being posted on the forums no longer allowed to be played here? I keep getting a message saying Youtube has disabled embedded videos.

I remember seeing him struggle and throw off a few other guys during the game and just being flabbergasted at how physically strong he must be.

Haha, what's funny is that my first thought was that "Good, maybe he can go screw up baseball" and then I read the subtitle.

I think he'll retire, not because he can't play the game, but who wants to play backup forever? I think his heart is with Detroit, so he won't request a trade or sign somewhere else even though he still has talent. Aside from Yzerman, Osgood is the other player I most associate with Detroit from this most recent generation or so. The man has the Winged Wheel tatooed on his heart.

I don't see any problems with Salei. He jumps up on the play and I haven't noticed him getting caught out of position. He's not a star obviously but I have yet to scream at him on my TV like I did with Lebda. The things that bugged me most about the WIngs was their lack of communication, though. They were running into each other, making blind passes toward their own net, and constantly overskating the puck. That's what other teams do, not the Red Wings. But a win is a win.

He's been quiet this season for someone who's among the team leaders in points. It's almost like he and Datsyuk have reversed. Datsyuk is the goal scorer now and Zetterberg is the set-up man, which is completely opposite of what it was in previous years. I'm so glad Datsyuk learned how to shoot the puck, though.

Me, too. He's just amazing and he's not even close to his peak yet. I think he could potentially be another Franzen: we're expecting a solid 3rd liner, but if he ever discovers his scoring touch like Franzen did look out.

Let's say that those players would have been the ones traded, I'm glad we didn't lose them. Bourque was nearing the end of his career, and we would have lost Draper (critical for our Cup runs in the 2000s) and of course Kronwall. I would have loved to have Bourque here, but hindsight is 20/20 and I'm glad it didn't happen.

I think Hudler has looked decent, he's just got to start making connections. We all knew it would come to this, we've got too much talent up front. With no one necessarily playing bad, good players will have to sit (i.e. Eaves, Miller, Hudler, and yes, even Modano from time to time). The best way to do it is to rotate players who sit. Also, Draper will be coming back sometime, too.

Most people in Michigan are hard up for cash, though, too. So while 30 bucks plus gas and whatever may be "reasonable" relative to other sporting events and whatnot it's still hard to justify the expenditures sometimes. EDIT: And Michigan is a big state, so gas can REALLY pile up if you live outside of the Metro area.

Should be a good game. Howard has benefitted from Ozzie's mentoring. He doesn't let bad games or goals rattle him anymore, he'll come up huge tonight. The question is, will the rest of the team back him up? I think so, they haven't really put in too many half-assed efforts this year.

Excellent goaltending in Halak and Conklin and a solid defense can take a hard working team far. Also factor in most teams probably took them for granted and let their guard down. It's cliche, but it is still early in the season and they probably will cool off. But they'll probably make playoffs this year, relatively high up, too I bet.

The reffing overall wasn't too one sided, however, it's bizarre that the Nucks got virtually all their powerplays after the Wings were already down. It was like the deck was stacked against the Wings after the Nucks scored at the start of the 3rd and there was no way they could get back into it.

Goaltending didn't cost us that series, the reffing did. Did you catch the games were Detroit SHOULD have won the game or at least tied it but were defeated by constant 5 on 3s on which San Jose would score? The goaltending COULD have been better but it didn't cost the team in the sense that it should be blamed.

Love having Miller on the team, and wish he could be rewarded for his hard work, but that doesn't look too shabby.

Hudler starts and Modano sits one of the next two games, Babcock said. I think he specifically mentioned Edmonton. He doesn't want Modano playing a back-to-back. Modano scored a goal, now it's time for Hudler to make his case, as that final spot seems to be between these two.

So many positives... Cleary, Helm, Datsyuk, Howard, Lidstrom, Stuart, Abdelkader, on and on. I'm glad Modano got another one, hopefully he can keep it going. At this rate he's on pace for 8 goals!

The reason being that Cleary can perform on any line. It's not much of a demotion because he'll probably be able to do more damage on the 4th line. Plus, Cleary-Helm-Modano isn't as impressive as Hudler-Helm-Modano, style-wise. Since I forgot Eaves, I can't figure out who sits. The obvious choice is Modano but he won't ever be sat.

Just throwing a radical mixup out there, but what about: Hudler-Helm-Modano (yes, I know, but maybe throwing Modano on a wing will mix things up a bit, and like people said, he can't go down to the fourth) Miller-Abdelkader-Cleary? That way the fourth maintains energy. It's not an ideal situation but it might jump start the 3rd line so we can put Hudler-Modano-Cleary back together after a few games. And we know Miller-Helm-Abdelkader will continue to work because it always has, even if they're separated for a while. EDIT: WOw, I completely forgot about Eaves, my mistake!

Sorry folks, it's taken me a long time to get what facial hair I have, I'm not about to shave it when the patches are finally starting to blend in! Haha.

It'll probably take something drastic to snap them out of it, but it'll happen eventually. I'm thinking an injury or something that bumps Hudler or Modano up to the 2nd line. That could get them going and carrying over when they go back to the third line.

So because a player gets made a fool of by Datsyuk he's not worthy of playing for the Wings? There have been tons of highest caliber players (He's even robbed Ovechkin if I recall correctly) Datsyuk makes fools of. I'd hardly use that as a measuring stick. Lilja is a great 5th defenseman who can step up to 3rd or 4th if need be. I'd love to see him come back to Detroit in the future.

I think Modano is the problem on the third line, not Hudler or CLeary. Cleary and Hudler are going to the dirty areas, they're working hard and both are taking shots and making things happen. The points will follow eventually. Modano...I can barely remember any shots he's taken, except that when he does take a shot it's usually a weak shot from the point. He's almost never where he needs to be or where he would be of use, whereas Hudler and Cleary are all over the ice. I'm not so ready to give up on Hudler just yet.

I wouldn't mind him getting another 7 million, 1 year contract. He's clearly worth it. He's one of those rare players who is contemplating retirement LONG before it's actually necessary. He's the best defenseman on the team and I don't see this changing by season's end. And he's not going to start sucking if he hasn't yet over next summer. So hell yes throw another big money contract at him. Although, as usual, taking a hometown discount would be much appreciated.