stevkrause

You are only partially correct - you can add cap space, just as long as you are complaint when a player returns

I think we have a mis-understanding, I am still replying based on your initial post about scrapping the puck possession style - this would indeed take a minimum of a whole season. Dumping the puck up the boards/glass is just another checkdown of an outlet pass, but does not change the style of set-up or play and can very much so be used in a puck possession style... as a checkdown when other lanes are closed... the point is, the need to rely on their checkdowns more and stop trying to force passes into closed lanes, but that is not a system overhaul, but merely working better within your system - ie. coaching.

not at all... ask anyone who's ever coached - that'd be a MAJOR overhaul... and would take at LEAST an entire season just to get down, let alone perfect... if anything, you work with the D better *cough* D coach *cough* to know his checkdowns and outlets better if the initial pass lane is blocked...

He's been one of our best players thus far as others have said, and at a bargain to boot... he is incredibly solid on D and has made things happen... Also, Afinogenov was a healthy scratch on Buffalo for being lazy and is HORRIBLE on defense... single handedly cost ATL the game last night... I don't get the bashing on him thus far...

you do not scrap a system... that is complete team overhaul and would be the same as blowing the team up... He gets them to stop making boneheaded moves by any means necessary - you need to know your players and know how to get the best out of each of them, whether it mean chewing one guy out, giving another positive reinforcement, sitting another or doing bag skates with others, make them hate you, make them love you - whatever they each react too... once again there's a lot more that goes into coaching than people realize - even at that level.

oops, typo - I fixed it - I meant Holmstrom on the RW, haha

and he was playing with Lebda all season... not Ericsson... it is the coaching/preparedness, not the players... yes, the players need to step up, but they need better coaching to actually watch the tapes, review it and see where the mistakes are being made, then correct them... there's a lot more that goes into coaching than people realize - even at that level.

in that scenario, you have to give Dats more speed to work with than that... plus, I just do NOT like Leino on his off wing, he seems VERY uncomfortable there... if we're breaking them up - Leino-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi Cleary-Zetterberg-Holmstrom Draper-Helm-Williams (also better off on their right side) May-Abdelkader-Maltby

first off, I'd rather see Delmore or Janik up and the D combos juggled first (still trade Lebda or Meech though) and roll with D, but playing the game the way you laid it out - wow... I came in here to post a reply to this and you pretty much NAILED it... the only change I would make, would be O'Donnell, as I don't see LA parting wit a veteran D man with all the youngsters they have... 1. Ladislav Smid - EDM 2. Matt Walker - TB 3. Andy Sutton - NYI- last year of his contract, with Fil down for 2 moths, Lils LTIR'd and Lebda or Meech traded, the cap space should be there - solid stay at home D man and could probably be obtained for some picks and low level prospects the more the Islanders lose

eh hem - merge...

With the chemistry, I hate the idea of breaking up ZDH, even without Fil to center the 2nd line... we need at least one bonafide scoring line Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom Leino-Cleary-Bertuzzi Draper-Helm-Williams May-Abdelkader-Eaves

there is NOTHING and I mean NOTHING that would ever make me give up on my Wings - my first concious memory of watching the Wings was at age 3 in 85 and from day one, I was a diehard... and that will never change.

this hurts about as bad as a kick in the groin...

move MacLean back to D - bring on Gallant as O coach. done and done.

nice grab by LA, especially for that price tag and for how many kids they have that they can send down and/or bring up without them having to go through waivers... Jones will finish the year on LA's roster and at a nice cap hit at that

I don't care that this makes me a bad person... but this news makes me happy.

well... I mean... he is 96 years old...

May was already in Tuesday... if anything, this means that Eaves is in as well...

this.

I never want to see an injury occur, but I agree that the net crashing last night was superb and we do need to keep it up

laugh.gif I had to check the article just to make sure that was real... what a joke of journalism only 10 games into the season... haha seriously though, is this is a serious injury, that is going to be a major hit to them...

last night said it all - leads the team in goals. the guy is healthy and belongs on the 1st line with Days and Z.

I agree Bert has been playing very solid... but you were saying about Holmstrom????

Holmstrom hasn't been on the first line for all but 1 game... it was Bert before that and he wasn't very effective with Dats and Z...

compound that with the fact that 5 of our starting 12 forwards on any given night weren't here last year, or were here less than a handful of games and you have an even bigger chemistry issue... they need time to gel, but we also need lines that have a good dynamic to gel properly - one of the biggest reasons I am a heavy proponent of reuniting ZDH