stevkrause

without a doubt... I fully expect Meech to be the one traded, as he has the highest trade value, but as long as he's here, I'd like to see Meech/Lilja, Lebda/Quincy, Lebda/Lilja 3rd line pairings while he's away, NEVER Meech/Quincy... too much inexperience and poor decision making in one pairing... ideally, I would like to see Quincy moved, as Meech has more untapped potential, but once again, it's because of that upside that we can get more for him and I still don't know if I ever believe he will fully meet his potential... I would actually like to see 2 guys moved and the Wings carry only 7 d all year, bringing up guys if need be...

you know exactly what I meant by "subtract"... you're splitting hairs... and exactly my point, that's why you carry an extra forward with a 2-way contract and then send them back down (clear the cap space) when he returns... 6 of one, half a dozen of the other.......

if he's out 6 weeks, they WILL LTI him... regardless, one of the 3 d (Lebda/Meech/Quincy) is going to be moved anyway and then it won't matter, because between the other 23, we should still be below the cap (FYI - McCarty, Downey and Helm are all 500k or less of a hit) - Subtract 750 for Cheli and the approx 500k for the traded player, then add in the additional 250k (approx) left... and there is room...

ridiculous on all accounts.

furthermore, even Ericsson has said, he would rather play huge minutes in GR than be a reserve on Detroit and that's how the brass wants it too... he has options and will not be up here this year, UNLESS he's dressing, he will not be a reserve. period.

this means there will not be an 8th d-man... no need for it, they will carry 7, deal away one of Lebda/Meech/Quincy and carry 14 forwards now until Cheli returns, my bet is on Downey and Leino staying with the big club just because of options and them not wanting to lose Leino

I would LOVE to see Ericsson, but it's not gonna happen... do people seem to forget that before the Chelios injury that we were carrying 9, yes 9 d-men that can not be optioned?! Even after someone is dealt, Ericsson will not be played up here, if anything, it just guarantees that at least one extra forward will be carried on the 23 man roster until Cheli is back... D pairings will be - Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Lebda/Meech/Quincy-Lilja then out of Lebda/Meech/Quincy one will STILL be dealt and the other one will be a reserve and now 14 forwards will be carried instead of 13, count on it...

exactly.

people cant even compare, because it wasn't a cap world before. BEST. OFFSEASON. EVER

people cant even compare, because it wasn't a cap world before. BEST. OFFSEASON. EVER

Title pretty much says it all - Personally, there are a few moves I would like to see to consider this an absolute GRAND SLAM of an off season - - Sign Pavol Demitra to a 1 or 2 year deal at 3 a year - Demitra is a great faceoff guy, penalty killer, good wheels and has gotta be yearning for that cup - good leadership as well and could be a GREAT mentor to Hudler - Sign Georges LaRaque to a 1 year deal at about 1 mil at a limited role- Great energy guy, who will go through a wall for teammates - Adds grit and toughness and can still actually chip in for about 30 pts in a year trade Lebda and/or Quincey for future draft picks When all is said and done - Here are your 4 lines Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom Franzen-Filppula-Cleary Hudler-Demitra-Samuelsson Maltby-Draper-Kopecky Laraque Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Lilja/Chelios-Lebda/Meech/Quincey (depending on who is dealt) Osgood Conklin Howard Not too expensive, not too flashy, but I think would just fuel to the fire that is already there and still leave cap room for the future...

JUST READ THAT! I'm SOOO STOKED I was wrong!!!

A. In the rafters immediately if we win more than 1 more cup under his Captaincy, within 5 years (still maybe immediately) if not B. He has all the makings of a GM, maybe moreso than even Stevie C. He originally wanted to return to Sweden before his kids entered High School - They are already Americans and will graduate and most likely go to college here, so he will likely stay stateside and become a citizen eventually

$&*(^#(@$^(*#@$^(@*$*)^@^$)*@$^*)$ :ranting: :ranting: :ranting:

ok, just saw the actual clip and I take back what I said about a suspension on this play - I still stand by what I said about suspensions for dirty hits, but after seeing the replay, there was nothing Mitchell could do, he even tried to hold up at the last second if you watch the clip again and their angles were just too bad... not a dirty hit at all...

I'm with you 100% on this, no-touch icing is a HORRIBLE idea, it would kill the flow of the game and just hurt the game Players in todays NHL have NOWHERE near the amount of respect for one another as they did in prior years and this is where the real problem lies, leading back to your first point - suspension, yes. The NHL needs to address this issue and this issue alone. They need to take out the dirty plays and ACTUALLY hold players accountable for these actions, regardless of their "star status" and they also need to stop vilifying power forwards and TRUE enforcers who drop the mits with honor, therefore weeding out the goons and cheap shot artists (Tootoo, Simon, etc...) Players need to police themselves again, respect one another again and KNOW they will be held accountable for their actions, both on the ice and off the ice - You run at a guy's head against the boards - suspension, you slash a guy maliciously - suspension, stomp on a guy - bigger suspension, cross check a guy to the mug - SEVERE suspension or take a run when a guy is helpless and you had every chance to hold up - SUSPENSION All of these need to be without pay and increase upon offenses and until the NHLPA and NHL get together and really take a stand about this, it will continue to present itself as a bush league with no integrity

just needed to drive this home.

this whole thread doesn't make sense... it relies so heavily on what we do in the playoffs, what offer sheet is thrown at Flip, what the new cap is, etc... to even speculate, regardless of how fun it may be, is pointless

I have been screaming this at the TV for the last 5 games... it seemed like Babs was playing a Lidstrom-Rafalski, Stuart-Kronwall pairing for a few games there and then he went back to can't-hit-the-broad-side-of-a-barn-Sammy... I don't get it, if he is so bent on a right handed shot from the point, I would honestly rather see Maltby or Chelios out there than Sammy... at least they'll both get the puck to the net and maybe keep it in the zone once in a while...

Cheli is still hurting a bit and it was GLARINGLY obvious in last nights game... the coaching staff and trainers need to recognize that and shelf him until the last 3 or 4 games of the regular season, not putting him until he's 100% - granted, I know these games don't matter as much right now, and we're still winning, but he is a liability right now...

several points in response to all posts. 1. He's been caught out of position many times over the last 2 games 2. It's most definitely his lateral movement 3. Meech is number 8 for all of playoffs and will not play unless there is an injury, period. (regardless of if he earned it over Lebda) 4. Lilja is a VERY sound stay-at-home defenseman and the slack he's always taking is very unwarranted

I strongly disagree... I think our 2 biggest hurdles are San Jose and Anaheim and with how crash and bang they play, I would LOVE to see those 2 go at it in the first round and beat the living crap outta one another, we always handle Dallas pretty well and Turco usually disappears in the playoffs personally, I agree with what ultrapail said - Minnesota, for the same reasons, easy travel, similar style team, won't bang us up too much and will probably play us hard enough to send it to 6 and keep us fresh... in an IDEAL world, round 1 would look like this (it's very possible too) 1. Detroit - 8. Minnesota 2. Dallas - 7. Canucks 3. Colorado - 6. Calgary 4. San Jose - 5. Anaheim

I just have to preface these by saying that The Hart trophy goes to the most valuable player and the impact they have on their team and as an overall player, as well as the fact that I've always thought it was ridiculous to name an MVP based off of individual stats on a losing team - with how the Wings played without Nick and how they play WITH Nick, I think was a glaring statement that he BADLY deserves the Hart this year. Hart 1. Nick Lidstrom 2. Alexander Ovechkin 3. Evgeni Malkin Lady Byng 1. Joe Sakic 2. Mike York 3. Pavel Datsyuk Vezina 1. Martin Brodeur 2. Evgeni Nabokov 3. Pascal Leclaire Calder 1. Nicklas Backstrom 2. Patrick Kane 3. Andrew Cogliano Norris 1. Nicklas Lidstrom 2. Brian Rafalski 3. Duncan Keith Masterson 1. Jason Blake 2. Jeremy Roenick 3. Chris Osgood Adams 1. Ken Hitchcock 2. Guy Carbonneau 3. Michel Therrien Selke 1. Pavel Datsyuk 2. Henrik Zetterberg 3. Daniel Alfredsson

haha, oh yea? geeeeez

I don't care if he is 100... Downey isn't an upstart rookie and regardless of age gap, once someone hits a certain point in their life and professional career, it is disrespectful to refer to them as a "kid" regardless of if they will hear it or not.