wingsownnhl43

The refs see him attacking Z just because he has NO success when Z is on the ice.. Let Bert whoop his ass. I seriously hate how there is no consequences for his actions.

Realistically, Hudler will probably be the only "new" face along with Jakub Kindl. And Jason Williams and Brett Lebda will be our only losses. This is assuming Lidstrom doesnt retire.

Hahaha. You cant forget the butterfly effect though. If we draft Jagr or Brodeur, its possible it would have changed the following events and we may not have four stanley cups in the ensuing decade. Hope that gets your night back on track.

Might not be a bad move. Dont get me wrong, I wouldnt want any coach other than Babs, but the consistent juggling of lines when someone was in a slump that Bowman used to do is something I really miss. I think Babcock trots out the same lines over and over even though its clear its not working.

I love that there is someone else on here that appreciates Flip as much as I do. Although, I will say Hudler is more gifted ioffensively and capable of racking up a higher point total than Filppula. My thing with Hudler is that he makes me nervous during 5 on 5 play and at times, can be a liability. He has had some pretty nice playoff games though, so hopefully he comes back and puts my fears to rest. Id be happy to have Happy back .

It was the same situation where Lidstrom made a play a few games ago, limiting someone to a weak back hand.. Mickey raved about it saying that more defenseman need to realize that sometimes you have to allow the player to get a shot off, you just need to make it as low percentage as you can. Like you said, I agree with #2. But overall, it was a dumb play.

It may not be entirely his fault, but it was a horrible defensive play. He had position on the guy. He could have put his stick out in front of him while skating alongside of the guy forcing him to take a weak shot on his back hand, which also would have given Howard position and let Howard know exactly what to expect. Instead Williams tried to to god knows what.

You get a +1 from me for this post.

Also, it was not a mistake at all to let Sammy go. We let him go because we wanted to have room to sign Hudler, in which you keep a 25 year old who is capable of producing more points over a 33 year old 10 times out of 10. The Wings brass couldnt have predicted hed go to the KHL.

Agreed. And Mick says this seemingly every broadcast.

Good for Sammy, but I still wouldnt want him here. It's great that he can score but the guy was and always will be a turnover machine that wont touch anyone to save his life. Im good with Z, Dats, Franzen, Filppula, Holmstrom, Cleary, Bertuzzi. There's just no room for him here.

Well lets just take care of Buffalo and then handle Calgary ourselves.

I've been hoping for a Cleary, Helm, Eaves third line for a while now. I think Helm and Eaves deserve more ice time, for sure.

You sir, are the man. I feel like I owe you a beer or something.

I've loved Eaves this year and I still think the best is yet to come. He can develop into a third line guy that can score 40-45 points imo. If I recall correctly, it took Cleary a season with us before he became "Red Wing Cleary."

I think Bertuzzi is capable of putting up more points than Cleary. Also, I think Cleary and Helm would feed off each other very well and give us an energized third line that would give us timely goals. I still want to see Franzen-Datsyuk-Homer Z-Flip-Bert Cleary-Helm-Williams/Eaves Miller/Abs-Draper-Williams/Eaves

Damn, that is a good investment.

You can watch Calgary and Nashville online??

Good role player? Yes. Third liner? Couldnt disagree more. I think MIller is a 4th line player and nothing more.

If my memory serves, didnt the majority of LGW want the Wings to draft Latendresse over Abdelkader??

Random, but funny. How has that prick kept a job for this many years?

Lets play the Blackhawks GM. How would you get them out of cap hell? As of now, this is what they have. 14 players signed, -$.8 over the cap. They need to sign 8 more players to have a legal roster so some cuts need to be made. I think one ground rule would be that we arent allowed to trade Brian Campbell's $7.1 contract with six years left. That deal would help them out immensely, but Id be shocked if they are able to get rid of it. FORWARDS Jonathan Toews ($6.300m) / Patrick Kane ($6.300m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m) Patrick Sharp ($3.900m) / Dave Bolland ($3.375m) / Kris Versteeg ($3.083m) Dustin Byfuglien ($3.000m) / Tomas Kopecky ($1.200m) / Troy Brouwer ($1.025m) DEFENSEMEN Brian Campbell ($7.143m) / Duncan Keith ($5.538m) Brent Seabrook ($3.500m) / Brent Sopel ($2.333m) GOALTENDERS Cristobal Huet ($5.625m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS ROSTER: 14; PAYROLL: $57.598m; CAP ROOM: $-0.798m -- The first thing I'd do is cut Cristobal Huet. The Buyout cap hit is $1.875. They would have to absorb that for two seasons. They would save $3.75 with the Huet buyout. -- Antti Niemi has been good for them. The Hawks are in no position to upgrade their goaltending. If some team wants to be real pricks, they could poach Niemi away from the Hawks and really leave them with nothing, but I dont think Niemi is worth it. As an RFA at .850 now, Ill give him $1.3 -- Next, its a very difficult decision to make, but in order for them to get under the cap, they have to cut Brian Campbell. They would have to absorb $2.38 for six years, but it would save them $4.76 which will help them. -- Next, I trade Kris Versteeg. I see his contract as the most tradable. Dave Bollands expires in 2014 so I think his might be hard to move. I dont see them moving Kane, Toews, Hossa, Sharp, Keiths, or Seabrooks. -- Then Id Re-up with Andrew Ladd giving him a raise and re-signing Ben Eager. FORWARDS Jonathan Toews ($6.300m) / Patrick Kane ($6.300m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m) Patrick Sharp ($3.900m) / Dave Bolland ($3.375m) / Dustin Byfuglien ($3.000m) * Andrew Ladd ($2.250m) / Tomas Kopecky ($1.200m) / Troy Brouwer ($1.025m) * Ben Eager ($0.965m) / * Colin Fraser ($0.700m) / * Mark Cullen ($0.500m) * Minimum Veteran Guy ($0.500m) DEFENSEMEN Duncan Keith ($5.538m) / Brent Seabrook ($3.500m) Brent Sopel ($2.333m)* Nick Boynton ($1.500m) * Niklas Hjalmarsson ($0.643m) / Jordan Hendry ($0.625m) * Jassen Cullimore ($0.500m) GOALTENDERS * Antti Niemi ($1.300m) / Corey Crawford ($0.800m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS ROSTER: 22; PAYROLL: $56.285m; CAP ROOM: $0.515m * Campbell Buyout ($2.380m) * Huet Buyout ($1.875m)

I think they will make the playoffs as they will still have Kane, Toews, Hossa, Keith, and a few others. But they will be a complete non factor in the playoffs. They will have below average goaltending, and depth that they wont be able to improve. With that said, the 09 Wings are more of a threat to win than will be the '10 Hawks will be. And, Im in to bump this thread after next season.

Im with you. Plus, I think Franzen-Filppula-Bertuzzi could really work.

Id really love to know what teams you have in mind that are lining up to take on the Huet/Campbell's contracts. Also, when they arent able to move those contracts, they are still going to have to move quality depth just to be able to complete their roster and get under the cap.