stevkrause

Williams made a pretty good case for it to not be him tonight...

Yes... on any team and if you think otherwise, you clearly don't watch a lot of hockey...

You're both right and wrong... they both should be top 6, winger or center is subjective, but they are both top 6 guys. Period.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=26220 no, I do NOT want him here, just found it interesting...

agreed... it has nothing to do with "toughness" when you're dealing with a freaking MCL/ACL injury...

one hell of a right at the end there by Abs...

haha, look at Carolina's graph for a laugh...

It's not that he isn't conditioned that's the issue, it's that he has a structurally weak knee... that DOES need rest... have you ever damaged an ACL/MCL? staying off it is the only way it TRULY heals... and yes, it would be a blow to Sweden... I just don't want to see hit tweak it in the Olympics, whereas an off ice injury is MUCH less likely... I'm being selfish

I traded Rafalski for Alexander Semin straight up and got a 2nd round pick for Lebda... then proceded to trade Meech and a 1st for Tyler Myers... if only that were real life...

Once again - salary for salary and value for value - people seem to overlook what they have in Flip Bourque - 28 years old: 53 18 23 41 +5 - 1.35 cap hit - last year of deal .77 PPG(points per game average) *Calgary would want a kings ransom and a lot more than just Flip - plus... he HAS peaked - no thanks Perron - 21 years old: 60 15 18 33 -10 - .918 cap hit - last year of deal .55 PPG *St Louis is not willing to give up on a 21 year old stud and would want a LOT more in return, also in division - neither side would make this deal Oshie - 23 years old: 56 11 22 33 -4 - 1.275 cap hit - 1 year left on deal .59 PPG *See reasons above Pandolfo - 35 years old: 42 4 5 9 -10 - 2.5 cap hit - 1 year left on deal .21 PPG *Stats and cap hit should say it all... he's older, on decline and Flip is FAR better - no thanks Moreau - 34 years old: 58 5 6 11 -14 - 2 cap hit - 1 year left .19 PPG *Don't need more leadership with lack of points, also older and on decline - Flip also better - no thanks Pisani - 33 years old: 20 2 0 2 -10 - 2.5 cap hit - last year of deal .10 PPG *Constantly out with Collitis and hasn't been the same since 04 - also older - DEFINITE no thanks Frolov - 27 years old: 58 13 24 37 -4 - 2.9 cap hit - last year of deal .64 PPG *last year of deal, so it'd basically be a rental - also known to take shifts off - don't think he'd be a Babcock type of guy - we'll call this one a push, but I still think he has close to peaked, wheras Flip hasn't - no thanks Afinogenov - 30 years old: 58 18 27 45 -9 - .8 cap hit - last year of deal .76 PPG *Cut from Buf because of lack of work ethic, known to take shifts off and doesn't play defense - AT ALL - NO THANKS Mikko Koivu - not even going to do the research - he's team captain, Minny loves him and we even the cap space wouldn't line up - completely unreasonable. The comparison: Filpulla - 25 years old: 33 6 16 22 -7 - 3 cap hit - locked up until end of 2013 - 3 years left on deal after this year .67 PPG Only 2 guys on that list have better PPG averages and NONE are better defensively. Once again, anything we did would be a downgrade for cap space... This is a perfect example of a grass is greener scenario - trust me, you do NOT want to lose Flip... he is underrated and will only get better...

I think Babs was REALLY onto something and basically stumbled into the line of Filppula-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi a few games ago and I would love to see him go back to it... Filppula-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi Cleary-Zetterberg-Franzen Draper-Helm-Maltby Holmstrom-Miller-Williams SHOULD be the lines tonight... probably won't, but I think it splits up your firepower and compliments everyone's strengths(and covers their weaknesses) the most...

better yet, clone prime-era Gretzky and prime-era Howe and get both of them... my point is - people need to stop treating trade scenarios like it's the EA Sports NHL series on XBOX or PS3 and remember there's this crazy little thing called the salary cap...

Sorry, but I root for Wings first, national team second (I know some may find that backwards) and if it were a team US guy, I'd still rather him sit and rest if it would help the Wings long term...

You also have to factor in trade value - you'd get NOTHING for Osgood and he also has that playoff consistency, which is nice to have in your back pocket when riding a young goaltender like Howard... Also, trading Flip is insane - you are not going to get a better value for 3 mil a season, anything we got in return for the same cap hit, that would actually be a reasonable trade (remember, we are up against the cap, can't bring in extra salary) would be a downgrade to Flip and he hasn't even CLOSE to peaked yet, his prime years are still coming - I've said it before and I stand by it - Flip is capable of 70-80 pt seasons once 100% healthy and playing top 6 minutes... next, giving up on E are the type of trades that bite you in the ass - look who his d partners have been all year - a guy can't grow with that s*** support, every mistake he makes is amplified 10 fold, whereas, if he had a competent D partner, his mistakes would be covered... it's called developing as a rookie - there will be some bumps along the way... also... we are younger, a LOT younger, that's part of our growing pains this year...

Good news if he's ok - I really wish Kronwall would just sit out the Olympics regardless, he could use the rest on his knee... Also Lebda-Ericsson scares me... Lebda is such a mess and Ericsson can't play his game when he's with d partners like him or Meech, because he's on his heals too much - playing without confidence=poor play... that's been his biggest problem all year, he's an offensive defenseman and needs to be able to make rash decisions, knowing he has a D partner that will bail him out if he messes up... that's what learning and growing as a rookie is about - but he's been too pensive and... poor confidence=poor play

exactly. most people on this board just don't and probably never will realize it.

or if Lehtonen is just ok, but Vishnevsky turns into a top 2 d-man, then it's a fleecing for ATL - my point was, one way or another this trade is most likely going to drastically favor when side when all is said and done

so... you're adding to my thought? Your post comes across as contradictory, but I was saying the same thing... EDIT - there I edited my original post for clarity, but basically what I was saying was the same thing, one way or another, this trade is most likely going to drastically favor when side when all is said and done

I was actually going to say the same thing...

because then we'd all have to look at them in Wing's sweaters and the vomit that would cover the JLA floors would simply be too much to clean up...

haha, oh man I hope that's a legit posting and not just someone editing his wiki

w0rld w1d3s 1nt3rn3t5?

this is such a gamble - if Lehtonen ends up staying healthy and getting back to form, this is a fleecing for DAL... HOWEVER If Lehtonen doesn't return to at LEAST 95% of what he was and continues to battle injuries, this is a fleecing for ATL... either way, this trade is going to drastically favor one side (unless Vishnevsky develops into a top 2 d-man AND Lehtonen returns to form, then it is an even trade - not expected) it's just a matter of which side that is over time...

wow... every thread about Tatar must include this and I'm very surprised I am the first to add it to the thread: In all seriousness though, I am very excited about Tatar and he is the guy I most look forward to seeing on my annual trip to GR to catch the Griffin's this year - we're just behind the benches this year too, so I should get a good look at changes, strategies, etc and have a good idea the minute he steps onto the ice... is it odd that when I go to my GR game, I watch it more like a scout then a fan? haha

Pronger: "Coach, I'll do whatever it takes" Babs: "Block a shot with your face" and we all win...