VM1138

I don't suppose anyone could record this somehow (whether it be a stream or from the TV) and upload it for download after the game? (Or know of a place where maybe the streams are archived for a bit? Can't believe the playoffs are here! Go Wings!

Exactly. Offense is nice, but we're stacked there. Defense is starting to thin and eventually we're going to lose somebody. Go defense.

I wonder if they even bothered assigning Datsyuk to anyone?

I love Holland's comment: "I'd love to beat your team and beat you up, but it's impossible to do both." Yeah, we'll take just beating your team.

Wow, Melrose picks us AND O'Halloran is in? We might not even get to play 4 games in the first round.

Wow, I guess Wings WILL lose the first round.

Wow, that really sucks. Why can't we put Leino in instead of promoting Mr. Useless?

Drapes has just lost his offensive touch. He's in the twilight of his career and now fulfills only a few certain purposes. THere is nothing wrong with this. He's still a defensive forward and great at winning faceoffs. He's in. Frankly, I think Kopy is out. The guy missed th eplayoffs last year and we won, further proving my point that he is useless. After that, it all depends on performance. If Maltby (or even Helm) has a bad run, Leino is up to replace them.

Unless he has a monster playoffs, I think Flip needs to be let go to free up some cap space. His development seems to have stagnated the past two years.

Some of these are pretty good, but I hope we eliminate Columbus so we can face a team with a history to draw from.

Man, the Octopus on the ice is really going to confuse these people.

I burst out laughing hysterically when the bear hit the tucked in jersey guy with the fish. Classic!

It's gotta be Kopecky. Maltby is a playoff performer and knows the game. He stays until he proves he doesn't deserve the spot. Kopecky on the other hand, has never proven he deserves to be on this team, let alone a regular.

Weird, the audio isn't working for me. What are they saying?

Apparently some magazines aren't worried either. I saw the other day that one of the big mags, I think it was Sporting News, picked the Lakers and Wings to win their respective playoffs. Kind of weird to see the Wings mentioned on the cover of a non-hockey mag.

Cleary's career has nosedived since his injury. Sadly. He still works hard but it's just not clicking for him. Maybe the playoffs will bring a return to form. Stuart, however, is being bashed for no good reason. He's still vital to thsi team. Every player has a bad year once in a while. I wouldn't be surprised to see a return of the smash brothers for the playoffs.

Wow, that schedule sucks. Looks like I'll miss the first round, except for maybe one of the last games if I'm lucky.

It struck me the last Wings-Wild game. One of the commentators was complimenting Lemaire and said "he realized that his defensive focus wins games." To which I reply: "How often have the Wild done anything of note?" Overdue.

Downside: I'm probably going to miss 90% of the playoffs this year because of work....at least I get to catch a few West coast trips. I really hope they play Wednesday so I cans ee Game 1.

Love this time of year. Absolutely did not expect to face Columbus, so this is goign to be fun!

Wow, I'm out of the loop for one day and suddenly the whole playoff picture changes? Columbus? Wow. Should be VERY interesting. Wings in 6!

Franzen's production has only increased, so I don't think this long-term deal is a bad idea. I don't see why we have to lose Hudler, though, especially if we lose Hossa first. If Babs wants to keep him around and Hudler hasn't been scarred by his treatment over the years, I don't see why Hudler wouldn't take a little discount to stick around.

Well, I figure a chunk of thsi team is on the way out, Hossa or no Hossa. Lebda, Howard, Maltby, Chelios, Kopecky, Samuelsson, Conklin, and Meech are all gone, I'm betting. Chelios could keep truckin' and if he decides to it wouldn't affect us much on the cap. I don't see the others returning, though. That frees up 2.792 million and drops 4 players. Okay, so, keep following me here for the fun of it (I know it's not going to happen). That leaves a roster of: Forwards: (9) Datsyuk Zetterberg Filpulla Cleary Franzen Draper Helm Leino Holmstrom Defensemen: (6) Lidstrom Rafalski Kronwall Stuart Lilja Ericcson Goalie: (1) Osgood So that leaves: 1 Goalie needed 1 Hossa needed a few two-way contracts for AHL players, however they count against the cap. So that's 2 players for sure needed for 5.969-7.269. Resign Hossa and sign another small contract for a backup goalie and we got ourselves a general outline of a team. So obviously this won't happen, but it goes to show that we're not completely out of options. Not to mention if Flip leaves that frees up some cash to sign his replacement. Or we could always drop the pursuit of Hossa and sign another high-quality forward for less.

Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to grow my playoff "beard" out. I work at a respectable place now and my "beard" looks really ridiculous and scraggly. I can grow it out a bit, but it looks like I might have to shave it at the end of every round or so.

I'm still not used to these long-term contracts though. Franzen will be with the time (barring retirement) until 2020. Zetterberg similarly. I can't even imagine what hockey will look like that far in the future. I'll be 34.