VM1138

Doesn't hockey have the same ratings as basketball? It's just that basketball has a bigger presence in the big TV markets than hockey does. I'd say basketball is as much of a fringe, regional sport as hockey is. I read somewhere that the NBA is in decline outside of big urban areas. People play it of course, but they don't generally care.

Yup. Cleary was great for us. But his skill set has declined and while he still puts up points, I don't feel its an accurate reflection of what he can do. He wasn't one of our best players in the playoffs, yet he had ten points. I don't know how he got those points because he was never an impact player this year. He'd be good on the fourth line but not as a top 6 guy.

He needs to fire his agent. I love Brunner on this team as much as the next guy, but Tatar should be a legit 25-30 goal guy.

The playoff format is unnecessarily complicated. I was never a fan of divisional matchups being forced on us. Or divisions at all. You don't need to play a team five times to develop a rivalry.

Maybe blue would make it too hard to see the other lines?

Gaborik won't be captain in Columbus. They aren't even committing to a contract renewal until next season.

Happens every year, I think. I mean, if your role is be a fighter or enforcer, you have to showcase that at camp.

Setoguchi, last I checked, was a good scorer. A second for that is a good deal. Winnipeg has a lot of young talent already, don't they?

Hudler did it in 2009, which is why he had to play for us when he came back to the NHL.

I really don't think any goalie is worth more than 6 million on a short term contract. They're just not needed to be as good and they're too inconsistent as a whole. Or maybe the money doesn't matter as much as the term. No goalie should be signed for more than four (five max) years.

So what if they have fighters? Who is going to fight them? As for being tough, that doesn't automatically override skill. People need to stop worrying. They probably won't even play their goons against us because we aren't a cheap shot team. And you can't stop Chara from doing what he does. People need to stop worrying. The Wings have played and beaten tough teams before

Go over to the Florida boards. All ten Florida fans rave about him. They say he was the heart and soul of the team, he's feisty, is good on faceoffs and can control the puck. He goes for the net, he's a great teammate, a classy guy, and is underappreciated. About the only negative they said was that he's not super-tough, but he doesn't shy away from using the body or going into tight areas. They also said his forecheck leaves something to be desired. But all in all it sounds like he's a huge upgrade over Flip and the Florida crew thinks he'll be a fan favorite.

Absolutely agree. Losing Kelly was ridiculously bad.

I think you're overly negative when it comes to Holland. You're right that it can be harder to land talent for a bottom feeder like Tampa. But Yzerman isn't doing good, as much as I hate to say it. He's making questionable trades, seemingly random free agent signings, and sometimes completely neglects a team need. He continues to chase offense when they need goaltending and defense. Plus, a lot of talent DOElike to play in nice climates, whether the team is good or not. It's not entirely his environment that is hamstringing Yzerman. He's just not doing great. Holland, however, makes nuanced, careful moves (which is why I imagine a lot of people hate him) but they're usually carefully calculated to address certain needs, and they usually work. Yes, last off-season was awful, but Holland didn't have many options. Suter was the only really good d-man available, and we didn't get him because of personal reasons.

You're right. I just forgot to put him in the list. I also forgot Emmerton. Man, we've really got some extra forwards, don't we? EDIT: Although, I have a bad feeling Holland might send Andersson down just so he won't have to get rid of so many players, since Andersson technically can be sent back down. It'd be a bad move, but at the end of the day, is Holland simply going to waive five players? I don't think so.

I don't think it's up to Brunner anymore. We have no room. Babcock likes balanced lines, so you're looking at a Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Abdelkader line (skill and two workhorses), a Franzen-Weiss-Alfredsson line (skill and some grit), a speed line in Tatar-Helm-Nyquist (with Tatar replacing Brunner), and a somewhat discombobulated fourth line made up of three of Eaves, Miller, Cleary, Bertuzzi, Tootoo and Samuelsson. I like Brunner, and am bummed to seem him go, but isn't Tatar basically the same player? He really took some strides and I think Holland and Babcock have faith in him and like his style. It might take him a year or so to really get going, but he impressed all of us so far and fills a similar role to Brunner. If we bring Brunner in, either Tatar gets demoted to the fourth, further complicating things, or Brunner goes to the fourth which just won't work.

Our new division is going to be a cakewalk compared to the Central. Isn't the Central the most competitive division in the league? The only consistently bad team we had to deal with was Columbus, and even they learned how to play last season. Now we'll have both Tampa and Florida and Toronto and Buffalo? I imagine it'll play out like this: Boston, Detroit, and one of Montreal or Ottawa will be strong. I'm really excited.

Sammy screwed us over. No doubt about it. I doubt he sees the ice if he stays on the team. He just White'd himself.

I believe we can win the Cup with this roster because it IS good. Our defense is going to be really good in a few years, but what impressed me most is their ability to lock it down in big games. They may not finish first in the league, but the balance of youth and experience, added to their big game performances, makes me think they've really got something. Plus, I expect big things from Tatar and Nyquist this year, making a potent third line. Weiss makes our second line a good one finally, and a top line of Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Alfredsson could be lethal. The only line that would lack an identity is our fourth, and it's still early. We've got to dump some roster space, and maybe Holland makes unloads some contracts for a gritty fourth line. Look at how well they did this year with a garbage roster. Now, the roster issues will be resolved, the lines are balanced and have identities, they're motivated, and they can only do better than last year. I know playoffs are a crap shoot, but does anyone really see any team other than Boston or maybe Pittsburgh posing a really serious threat to the Wings? Boston got a little worse, and Pittsburgh is always a 50/50 flip on whether they'll show up or not in the playoffs. I think we'll finish top three in the Conference, and make the Finals at least. We'll have balanced, deep scoring, enthusiastic youth, we'll be more aggressive (Tatar, Alfredsson, Weiss [to a point]) than we've been before. It's not an all-star roster, but you don't need one to win anymore. Every area has been improved, it's hard to see how this roster wouldn't compete for the Cup.

Really, Alfie's contract is like 2.9 with deferred bonus, and the cap hit is 3.5. Can we please stop pretending his cap hit is 5.5 and saying it's an overpayment? He is still an effective scorer. Tgis isn't like the Modano signing. There are no questions about his desire or ability to keep up and okay the game. Sports fans are so obsessed with age. 40 is just a number. He plays better than most of the 30 year olds.

Cup or bust. They could've won it this year, or at least made Finals. Now they are better, deeper, and more dynamic up front. Plus, going to a new Conference in which there are very few real threats. Finals at the very least, but after a few years' hiatus I'm thinking championship.

This obsession with youth needs to stop. None of the signings benches youth. Tatar, Nyquist, and Andersson are all guarantees roster spots. Smith, DeKeyser, and Kindl are still there. We are not an old team. If anything, we were too young and inexperienced so we pick up two top 6 vets to balance things out. Five or six second year and young players is more than enough for a roster.

People like to forget that sports jobs are regular jobs, too. People move on after a while to new challenges. Rebuilding a destroyed team could be a fun challenge as opposed to merelt keeping a team competitive. And I'm tired of seeing people say Nill is the brains. He's good, but I haven't seen anything to denigrate Holland.

Alfredsson goes for the net, too. We went from having no one in our top 6 go for the net to having two very good players who do just that. Plus Tatar's shoot first mentality. We just became a more balanced team with greater work ethic, skill, and scoring ability. Plus, imagine if this change rubs off on someone else. Either way we're better than last year with the potential to be really, really good.

The kids will be the X-factor next year. We improved pretty well in the Top 6, but not by leaps and bounds. If Nyquist and Tatar have good years on the third, and give us three scoring lines, look out NHL.