stevkrause

Miller has DEFINITELY proven more valuable than Maltby (not going anywhere though), Leino and May... and Babs loves him - he's incredibly versatile and works his ass off... to let him walk to keep Leino would be a huge mistake... Also, the team they iced at the beginning of the season hadn't even gelled before injuries and we've been competing at least with bottom 6 guys in top 6 spots, so you keep those guys (Eaves, Miller) on the roster and roll with it... his back checking, effort on lose pucks and desire to go to the rough spots on the ice does say it though... not if they'd been up more than 10 days I believe the number is... it might even only be 7 days...

Why does everyone assume that Janik clearing is a certainty? Who's to say someone doesn't make a claim on Janik... even thought it's the most likely scenario, I would much rather loose Lebda or Meech for nothing than Janik... I'd bet my year's salary that Leino will not score 10 goals in the next 2 months... especially since he'll be benched more than not since he has no heart I'd feel better about Leino putting up zero points if he skated with heart, I'd gladly take Ritola over Leino at this point... also, having a guy that will go through a wall for his teammates(May) makes a HUGE difference on the ice and the locker room and shouldn't be counted out... chemistry and team morale is a big, BIG deal...

listen... that's something that we all just think and never say!!! No more bad ju-ju to the injury gods, he doesn't mean it!

he may only get 700k, but his cap hit is 800 and he clears up a lot more space than Miller and May and a lot can be said about the intangibles that they both bring that he does not... also, any one of Filppula, Williams and Eaves can move to the top lines if needed, we're better off carrying our extras for the bottom 6... Letting Miller or May walk to keep Leino would be a massive mistake if they have any hopes to win anything this year...

They're not going to move all forwards, one of the D-men is down/out... and unfortunately, it's probably Janik...

You're probably right, but I wouldn't be surprised if a young team lacking scoring punch (Islanders) wouldn't take a shot at him... esepcially to package him with Lebda for maybe a low level prospect and a late draft pick... Lebda would be a top 4 d-man on that dreadful defense... And although you're probably right about May or Miller being waived over someone else... I'd hate to see it... I didn't say my scenario was the most likely, I said it was what I wanted to happen... the most likely is actually more dreadful(Abs(sent down), Leino AND Janik waived and lost or sent down)

Helm ISN'T going down, Babs has already said that, PLUS, by the time Franzen is back it will be at least 11 more games from now and Helm will have 69 NHL games under his belt and no longer be waiver exempt, so... NOPE! Also, Janik is not waiver eligible, so we'd lose him for nothing if someone else wants to make a claim... and although it's likely the Wings brass takes a chance on losing him over Ledba or Meech, I'd rather one of them be waived before Janik...

Henrik Zetterberg - Pavel Datsyuk - Tomas Holmstrom Todd Bertuzzi - Valtteri Filppula - Johan Franzen Drew Miller - Jason Williams - Daniel Cleary Kris Draper - Darren Helm - Patrick Eaves Brad May Kirk Maltby Nicklas Lidstrom - Brian Rafalski Brad Stuart - Niklas Kronwall Jonathan Ericsson - Doug Janik Derek Meech Chris Osgood Jimmy Howard looks good to me...

Lebda or Meech will be traded before years end or waived... guaranteed.

Agreed 100% There was a point last night where Lebda and Meech were out there together and the camera stayed on them for about 5 seconds as they skated together and talked before they lined up for the faceoff... I threw up in my mouth a little at the sight...

yes - and although I disagree with the choice - I agree with the reasoning... he has stood on his head for them Mine would be: Hart: Joe Thornton - His assists and overall presence is huge... a good argument can be made for Ilya Bryzgalov of PHX Lady Byng: Pavel Datsyuk - A good argument could be made for Matt Ellis in BUF too, only 4 PIM's so far... on a side note, I think the Lady Byng needs to return to it's former prestige and not only go off of gentlemanly play, but be basically an MVP who also exudes gentlemanly play... like it used to be... Vezina: Ryan Miller - Hands down Calder: John Tavares by a slim margin to me and a pretty good argument can be made for Niklas Bergfors of NJ Norris: Mike Green - as long as he keeps the +/- up and keeps producing, you can't argue, regardless of how much of a true defensman he is... Jack Adams: Terry Murray - amazing turn around in LA and looking like a legit cup contender - A damn good argument can be made for Mike Babcock with the turnover, injuries, etc... and a damn good argument can be made for Dave Tippet in PHX too Selke: Jonathan Toews - ugh, hurts me to say it, but he's been amazing defensively this year and his +/- shows it...

I in no way contradicted myself... the first statement I made is towards people that never tip, or tip poorly, regardless of service, especially when a server stands on their head for them... if the service is horrible - they have not earned a tip... but when someone doesn't tip because they're "doing their job" when they've given you excellent service - they're a scumbag. period.

I hate mandatory tips... it removes the whole incentive, because the server KNOWS they're getting it and doesn't have to work for it... but can understand it to some extent because of the low lives that don't tip and USUALLY restaurants only do that with large parties, which are assigned to their best servers anyway, so they've earned it. it should NEVER be regulated by government however - not their place...

whoever said it should count against their cap - haha now, onto everyone who says they don't tip and those that flat out don't - you are a scumbag and a lowlife... don't give me the "they're doing their job bulls***" - I make a pretty decent salary and am fortunate I am in my line of work and not the service industry, but I know plenty that are and they deserve their tips and bust their ass... The service industry is BASED on tips - these workers make generally less than $3 an hour for "doing their job" - if they provide you with adequate service at minimum, there is no excuse to give them less than 15% and if they give you good service, it better be at least 20% - if you can't afford the extra $5-10 for a meal, then dine somewhere less expensive or somewhere that doesn't go off tips (ie. McDonald's) The tip incentive is to drive the service to be better, if it's not, don't tip - but if it is and you don't - you're a scumbag - no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

That's not what I'm saying at all, and never did... don't put words in my mouth. Atlanta has one of the most potent offenses in the NHL right now and Dallas AND Vancouver are still very competitive teams that could easily give SJ, Chicago, Washington or Pittsburgh a run for their money any night of the week and THAT is where the parity comes into play, so to just write off his performance as him being "micro-managed" is a fallacy as well... you're acting as though I said "HEY EVERYONE, WE HAVE THE NEXT BRODEUR!!!" - He has been solid and deserves his recent praise for his recent play, but until he can prove it consistently and over a long term, he hasn't indeed proven himself completely, I'm just pointing out that you don't have to undersell him either to counteract the people here overselling him...

it was all over tsn and thefourthperiod when it happened... NHL network too

and at the time we were better in the standings - irrelevant - these are all teams that will be playoff bound come seasons end and those count as quality. period. also, with the parity being what it is, you could argue that every win is just as quality, hell, only 11 pts separate the 1st and 10th team in the conference - that's NOTHING compared to the distance that used to separate teams. so yes. context.

Has he had his growing pains, for sure, but to say he has only faced one real team this year is a joke... he has faced several and done quite well against them as well, not to mention playing well against teams he should as well... Date Team Opp GP W L T Min GA SA SO GAA Sv% 03-Oct-09 Det StL 1 0 1 0 58.36 5 32 0 5.14 .844 13-Oct-09 Det Buf 1 0 0 0 27.23 1 15 0 4.21 .872 24-Oct-09 Det Col 1 0 1 0 59.35 2 22 0 3.31 .884 27-Oct-09 Det Van 1 1 0 0 52.83 2 22 0 3.03 .890 29-Oct-09 Det Edm 1 0 0 0 65 5 33 0 3.42 .879 11-Nov-09 Det CBJ 1 1 0 0 60 1 26 0 2.97 .893 12-Nov-09 Det Van 1 1 0 0 60 1 32 0 2.66 .907 14-Nov-09 Det Ana 1 1 0 0 59.93 4 23 0 2.85 .898 18-Nov-09 Det Dal 1 0 1 0 58.75 3 32 0 2.87 .899 21-Nov-09 Det Mtl 1 1 0 0 64.95 2 18 0 2.75 .898 25-Nov-09 Det Atl 1 0 1 0 58.43 2 25 0 2.69 .900 28-Nov-09 Det StL 1 1 0 0 64.58 3 35 0 2.70 .902 30-Nov-09 Det Dal 1 1 0 0 60 1 30 0 2.56 .907 03-Dec-09 Det Edm 1 0 1 0 60 4 36 0 2.67 .906 06-Dec-09 Det NYR 1 1 0 0 60 1 29 0 2.55 .910 09-Dec-09 Det StL 1 0 1 0 59.48 1 26 0 2.45 .913 11-Dec-09 Det Ana 1 1 0 0 60.6 2 27 0 2.43 .914 14-Dec-09 Det Phx 1 1 0 0 59.91 2 32 0 2.40 .915 17-Dec-09 Det TB 1 1 0 0 60 0 30 1 2.27 .920 19-Dec-09 Det Dal 1 0 1 0 59.55 4 21 0 2.36 .916 23-Dec-09 Det Chi 1 0 1 0 59.96 3 31 0 2.39 .915 26-Dec-09 Det CBJ 1 1 0 0 59.9 1 29 0 2.33 .917 28-Dec-09 Det CBJ 1 0 0 0 63.2 1 40 0 2.26 .921

or was that nixed when he got his ITC?

didn't he get some sort of international competition ban from the whole arbitration/fleeing to the KHL thing with the IIHF?

I think the real test will be once everyone is healthy and he's facing 15-20 or less shots a night.... goalies are creatures of habit and routine and as has been proven in the past, some goalies thrive on action and do poorly when they have long stretches of not facing any shots, as they get bored/distracted and give up soft goals when they finally do face a shot... as long as he can keep his head even keeled, keep the bad stuff out and keep focus at a premium, we may have our goalie of the future... on a side note 19-14-6 isn't too bad with the team we have in front of him right now, but the real numbers I'm focused on are .926 SV% and 2.26 GAA - keep that up and you'll win way more than you lose...

which witch will willingly work wonders with wise ways? that's what we call alliteration my friends...

Guy played a lights out, stand on his head game... and took an OTL I feel bad for the guy... he deserved better

he has been damn solid given what he has been thrust into...

your "oops" didn't have enough enthusiasm... should have had more vowels to emphasize the point. like oooooooooooops.