wingsownnhl43

Carman, how in the hell do you have -384 reputation? Hahaha. I think that should be reset and you should be given another chance... Unless of course you like it the way it is?

Hhaha... that guy and Rob Blakes smiles are exactly the same.

Logan Couture Mclovin

I dont think anyone should expect anything less when your series goes 7 games. However, If you bring up last years turn around after a five game series in the western conference finals..

Pretty much perfect right here. Id grade Franzen a little higher though. Yeah, he needs to score more, but he hasnt exactly been bad. Man, I thought Lilja was one of our better defenseman this series.

I know I'm probably going to get hammered, but I thought Lidstrom was pretty below average until game 7. I dont think he deserves an A+ for that series.

I hope we dont have trouble matching up with their top two lines. They are obviously loaded in that area, however I wont doubt Z and D's ability to shut down top lines as we've seen so many times in the past. Howard will have to be huge. I wouldnt be surprised if he gets peppered in a few of these games. Our defense is going to have to be much better than it was in the Phoenix series. Franzen is going to have to score. All that said, I think are defense will step up, which will be key. We have a potential huge advantage here over the Sharks. Guys like Cleary, Helm, and Eaves will be difference makers. I keep going back and forth between 6 and 7 games because of the talent the Sharks have, but I have to remember they are the Sharks, and we are the Wings. Wings in 6.

Takes a real man to admit when wrong though. I dont mind so much that people give their opinions, even if it isnt in agreeance with the typical homer Wings fans opinion. Ill admit, I wanted Samuelsson the hell out of here and was estatic when he signed else where. Im kinda missing the secondary scoring he provided us with, and hoping he doesnt burn us if we make it past San Jose.

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Great post Doc.

Maybe. I honestly think those "huge hits" are more for fan affect and possibly a momentum changer than anything. I dont think we should be looking too hard to make a big hit because if you do, more often times than not you end up taking yourself out of the play. You make the big hit when the time presents itself. Kronwall already has a reputation. They know hes out there. And I know he would still make the big hit if the opportunity came.

Yeah, you're right. Those four individual hits by Kronwall, and Stuarts hit on Umberger wore Columbus, Anaheim, and Chicago down over the course of those seven game series. The whole purpose for a body check is to seperate the the man from the puck. Youre taught that in Pee Wee's. Right now, Stuart and Helm are amongst the top 10 in hits for this playoffs, so I have no problem with them. If you want to call out Kronwall for not Kronwalling anybody thusfar, Id probably agree with you.

Thats the objective.

Im pretty sure Darren Helm is leading the league in hits this playoffs.

Cosign on this one. Ill admit that bagging on Homer is nitpicking. I think the biggest problem we are having is the lack of secondary scoring and our defense. Aside from our top two lines, we have recieved very little help as far as offensive production, and our defense has been very average. We will be adding Hudler which is a plus. I would also love to add another forward to get three scoring lines like we had the past two years. As for our defense, I dont know exactly where to put my finger on. On paper you see Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Stuart, Ericcson, Lilja and it looks great, but somethings just not right. Lidstrom, Rafalski, and Kronwall are obviously the sexier choices in terms of choosing our best defensemen, but I honestly think Stuart and Lilja have played very well this series. Kronwall has probably played the worst but I dont think you can move him, just because of what he brings to the table. And he has a reasonable cap hit. Maybe a shake up is in order here, or maybe we just keep it the same and hope Ericcson and Kindl develop quickly. Im just glad Im not in charge to make the decision.

1. Completely agree. 2. What do you mean hes dragging the line down? Wouldnt you say that line has been our most productive this playoffs?

1. Hossa was offered that over 4 or 5 years. He or Z would never get that much money over 10-12 years. 2. I actually wouldnt mind seeing that. Even though it'd be tough to split the Z/Flip/Bert line up right now.

I believe so, yes. What happened to all that talk last year that it was supposed to go down a couple million this year?

Z's 6 million looks incredibly good right now, but what makes it fair market value is the fact that his cap hit will be 6 million for the next 11 seasons. He could have very easily gotten 8 plus on a 4 or 5 year deal, but I doubt he would have seen 8 mil for 10 years.... See Marian Hossa, a comparable talent that has a 5 million dollar cap hit. And again, I dont doubt Holmstroms ability. I appreciate what he has done, I just think the top six would look much better if we were to put someone else on that Datsyuk/Franzen line.

And dont get me wrong, I dont want to see Homer go away. If he wants to come back for around 1 million a year, Im all for having a powerplay specialist on the roster at that cap hit. However, I just think having him play first line minutes hurts us more than it helps. Ive seen multiple posters on here admit that if it wasnt for his skill set in front of the net, he probably wouldnt even be in the AHL right now. I dont know why you freak out, when I bring it up.

I would LOVEEE for you to dig through my posts and find where I've knocked him ALL year. I havent knocked him since last offseason. The Datsyuk deal was a great deal, no doubt about it. But honestly, the Zetterberg deal is fair market value. I wouldnt consider 6 million a year for 12 years to be much of a break. People over exagerate the home town discounts we recieve. I didnt see Samuelsson or Hudler clamoring to give us a break. And I know its a stretch, but loyalty also allows us to put Maltby in the lineup for Abdelkader after he scored goals in games one and two, when everybody and their brother knew that Abs would be much more effective than Maltby. Bottom line, I wont down play how good Homer is on the powerplays, hes great. But 2 million for six minutes a game is assinine. Take off your red goggles, hes terrible 5on5. We could take that 2 million and couple it with Berts 1.5 million (Dont get me wrong, I love Bert) and get a legitimate top 6 forward.

1. Reread my post. Tell me where I knocked Homer for his regular season play. 2. Please elaborate on how our loyalty is a reason Detroit is a perennial contender...

I hate to be the one to say this first.... but its about time this orginization puts winning a Stanley Cup first and loyalty second. Tomas Holmstrom had a great regular season, no doubt. He definitely exceeded my expectations after many were completely done with him after last years playoffs. But in my mind, hes getting exposed again. He helps you absolutely zero in 5on5 situations. For a player to make 2 million in the cap world and not help you at all 5on5 when the game is called much tighter, is absolutely insaine. Id sign Homer for no more than 1 million. If he cant agree to that, put the 2 million towards a solid defenseman that would improve this defense thats running on name recognition only.

They do remind me alot of the Pistons. A bunch of cast offs working together as a team and just getting it done.