wingsownnhl43

Does anyone remember what our top 3 lines looked like when we won the cup? If I remember correctly ZDH were together Franzen-Flip-Sammy ?? Cleary-xxx-Hudler I cant remember but this is pretty much the same team as we had back then. We had 8 forwards with 40 points or more. If healthy, I believe we have seven that are capable. I'll honestly take Bertuzzi over Samuelsson. Hudler is the only loss. The only thing about that year is that Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Lidstrom, and Osgood were dominant.

Under the same breath, Marcel Hossa has 54 points in 56 games over there and he was a complete and utter disappointment in the NHL.

You're missing my point. I begged the question why not go back to similar line combos that we had in 07-08. FinnishWing responded by saying people get older. I said that about those four because they havent aged that much. You could argue that they are actually more into their prime now then they were in 08.

Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, and Filppula are that much older? Im just saying ZDH Franzen-Filppula-Cleary/Bertuzzi Eaves-Helm-Cleary/Bertuzzi Williams-Draper-Abdelkader could work better than having Miller drag down the Filppula line and having Williams drag down the Zetterberg line.

I agree with this mindset. I think Helm is capable of centering that third line though. Let Draper center Eaves and Abs on the forth line. Whether Huds comes back are not, I still think we need to look into getting a top 6 forward.

Hmm.. This begs the question... Why not go back to a similar formula?

This is great news. He looked good today.

This game shows the WIngs will be dangerous in the playoffs. Are good players were pretty damn good today.

From CapGeek.com.... I'd try and resign Lilja instead of Meech. Id also let Drew Miller walk. I hate how we have so many grinder types on our roster this year. When healthy, and with Hudler back, we dont need so many next year. Under this scenerio we would have 3.332 million in cap room and two spots to fill. Id use one to sign a 13th forward for the league minimum. If Drew Miller wants to play for .500 then fine. If not, he can walk. Then with 2.8 to fill a final spot, I would go after a forward better than Bertuzzi/Williams. Possibly Slava Kozlov for one year.... Just a suggestion, I dont know what kind of player we could get for 2 million, as Im sure wed probably want to leave some room for flexibility. Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m) Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / * Jiri Hudler ($2.880m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) * Tomas Holmstrom ($2.000m) / Kris Draper ($1.583m) / * Darren Helm ($1.000m) * Justin Abdelkader ($0.850m) / * Patrick Eaves ($0.700m) DEFENSEMEN Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) / * Nicklas Lidstrom ($4.000m) Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) * Andreas Lilja ($1.250m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($0.900m) Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) GOALTENDERS Chris Osgood ($1.417m) / Jimmy Howard ($0.717m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS ROSTER: 20; PAYROLL: $53.468m; CAP ROOM: $3.332m

I kinda want to see xxxx- Datsyuk- Homer Cleary-Zetterberg-Franzen Hudler-Filppula- Bertuzzi Just to have 3 dangerous lines again.

http://wdfn.com/cc-common/podcast/single_podcast.html?podcast=ShepAndSharp.xml Here's the link guys if you want to listen. Just scroll down and look for "Mike Babcock 3-2"

I actually agree with this completely. I would love to see Hudler playing with Filppula. Id also love to see us pick up another top six forward to play with Datsyuk and Holmstrom. I think whatever line Franzen is on seems to click. We just need another winger that can play with Z or D.

I think the FIlppula haters arent looking at the big picture on him this season. First and foremost, flip is a defensive minded center. This year he has been playing with Drew Miller on his wing. Do you really expect him to accumulate 60 points this season? As it is, if he played a full schedule, he'd be on pace for 48-50. Lets see what he does when we get Hudler back. I think we could see Huds and Flip together on the third line next year. Maybe we reup with Bert and have that as our third line. That should solve the secondary scoring issue and get Flip on track.

I dont understand your point? The fact is, the Wings overpaid Rafalski, big time. Fans have a right to complain about this.

Its his cap hit. I dont know why people dont realize this. If he was making 3 mil/per, no one would complain about him.

I think this is part of our problem. I lot of fans are in disbelief that this team is struggling. Part of it is injuries, and part of it is that some of our players are running on name recognition. Brian Rafalski is still pretty solid offensivly but is terrible in his own zone. Another one showing his age is Lidstrom, but I wont go there on LGW.com.

Rafalski is the ideal choice. It would be nearly impossible to find any takers however, being that his cap hit is way higher than what he is worth.

When we get Franzen, Williams, Holmstrom, will we have enough fire power heading towards the playoffs? Adding three players capable of scoring 40 points in a season is huge, but I still think this team needs to add another forward to be able to make another deep run in the playoffs. Its unfortunate that we would have to make a dollar for dollar exchange due to the cap world. What do you all think? Here is my suggested line combinations while fully healthy. Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi Cleary-Zetterberg-Franzen Helm-Filppula-Williams Abdelkader-Draper-Eaves Maltby-Miller as reserves. Leino can go back to europe/be released, whatever.

I hate when people point out that Homer is leading the team in goals and can conclude that he does not suck. Lets face it guys, he is an awful 5-on-5 player. He is a straight up liability. On the powerplays, yeah, Id love to have him in front of the net. When it comes to 5-on-5 play, hes nothing more than a fourth line player. And as crazy as Jake Ryan is, I have to agree. Lidstrom is probably worth around 4 mil/yr at this point in his career, and yeah Rafalski is grossly overpaid.

http://capgeek.com/contracts.php To me, surprisingly, I dont think this team needs much. Drastic changes are not needed. The core of this team is still amongst the top 5 of any core in hockey. The problem with our team right now, 1, is obviously injuries. Getting Val, Franzen, and Kronner back is very important to the success of the red wings. I dont count jason williams because i didnt want him here to begin with. 2. We have way too many fourth line caliber players. With the cap, and how strapped we were last season, and injuries... this is to be expected. but Holmstrom, Maltby, Draper, Abdelkader, Leino, D. Miller, B. May, Eaves, Jason Williams (yeah hes a fourth line player), is just wayyyyy too much. 3. I think our defense is running on name recognition. I believe Kronwall, Stuart, and Ericcson are solid. Lidstrom is noticiably getting older. I still think hes a top four defenseman, but he is no longer invisable. Rafalski is just plain overrated. As far as our forwards go I like the top two lines consisting of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Val, Cleary.... We need to add a couple third line players that can give us both grit and a secondary scoring punch. Guys like Max Talbot, Jordin Stall, even Dan Cleary, or Ryan Malone. Are there any of these type guys available in the 2010 class?

Ideally, for next season I would love to add two 2nd/3rd line fringe type forwards instead of 3rd/4th type guys and also one big solid stay at home defenseman. Thats the cliffnotes version of my OP.

There has been a lot of panic from our fan base and also the media so far this season. But really? Why? Because we arent 8-1? Remember fellas, this is a team that has been to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, saw some significant changes in the offseason, and also lost one of their top 3 forwards in Johan Franzen for four months. A slow start should be expected. Moreover, the core of this team is still intact, and still is very solid. This team is still built for the playoffs. This team should not be ignored. Understand that we will get Johan Franzen. This team will make a move or two at the deadline. Pavel Datsyuk will start racking up points. Also keep in mind that the 2009 Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins were 24-28 through 52 games last season, (counting their OTLs as Ls). The Anaheim Ducks, an 8 seed, if not for a game 7 loss to the Red Wings, would have walked through Chicago and gave Pittsburgh a very strong fight. Its a long season fellas. Do you really think teams like LA or Colorado would beat us in a seven game series? Get real. We are just fine.

I guess I just see this for what it is, a early season slump. The most important thing is that we focus on getting healthy because we still have a lot of talent on this team. Currently we're seven points out of third place with two games in hand. That is very manageable. And some of you are right, this may not be a team that wins the presidents trophy, or even wins the division. However, if healthy, we still have Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Filppula, and Cleary who are familiar with being top 6 forwards on teams that had two SCF runs. We still have a solid defense, and a goalie that seems to find his game when it matters most, and a conn smythe candidate in back to back playoffs. I still see this team as a cup contender.

What are your initial thoughts on him so far this season? Alot of people, including me, were pretty hard on him in the offseason. I still am holding to my thoughts that he looked like absolute horse manure in the post season and actually hurt us when he was on the ice, but maybe he was hurt because he hasnt looked to bad so far. Secondly, Ive thought Bertuzzi has looked relatively solid. Yeah, he needs to produce more, but I think the Datsyuk, Z, Bert line could be pretty solid as the season rolls on. Third. I dont understand why people on here are already pushing the panic button. As wings fans, we should know more than most, that its when you put it together is what matters most. The talk that the Wings are in a transition year is outrageous. Remember the Penguins were 24-23-5 at one point last season. Translate that to post-season, and thats 24-28. We went through quite a bit of change in the offseason, growing pains are expected. With that said, the nucleus of this team is still intact. This team is still as much of a contender as anyone. We will get Franzen back, and also, this is a year that we will likely be active at the deadline. This team still should be feared.

Cleary-Zetterberg-Franzen Filppula-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi Leino-Helm-Williams Eaves-Draper-Maltby Holmstrom Abdelkader inserted for Maltby whenever we can without getting into cap trouble.