stevkrause

Exelby will be a GR player, unless Kindl is dealt in a trade and he wins the 7th spot in camp... I'm glad Conks is back, I think the abhorred D in front of him in St. Louis last year made his numbers worse than his play actually is... he'll never be confused with a #1 netminder, but he's a damn solid backup and an even better guy from everything I've read... a team can never have too much good character in the locker room

Called it!

Catch all threads like this should be created/modified by mods and they should keep a running list that is updated on the first page of the thread, it becomes awfully scattered the way it is now... On to the Ladd signing, that is a good deal for WPG, he really found his groove there and seems to make a great captain for them...

Don't get me wrong, Rafalski, even at a 70%, is a top 20 d-man in the league and was great at QB'ing the offense, made great passes, had great vision and was great on the PP and that's not easily replaced... however, I think we're improved as a team, as a whole, defensively... White is better defensively than Rafalski, so although we may be losing goals offensively, I think we'll be seeing less given up defensively, so I think it will basically even out... With that said, I can definitely see your apprehension... anytime there is any roster turn-over, let alone a top 2 d-man, there are always growing pains and just gelling as a team can be difficult, which is why I was so happy to see Eaves and to a lesser extent, Miller re-signed... that continuity and chemistry can go a long way...

QFT The Rafalski we had last year, although still productive, was not the Rafalski of 08 - His body was breaking down and it was noticeable, especially defensively in our own zone... he has never been able to overpower guys with his strength, but this past year, he couldn't even make up for it the same with his speed, as that was noticeably decreased... with Raffi's body breaking down I would say that White is a definite upgrade defensively of Rafalski of '10-'11 and is only a small downgrade offensively, especially since he may have a career year point wise if he's paired with Kronwall or esepcially if he sees time with Lidstrom... Also, Commodore is a marked improvement over Salei, defensively and offensively, and especially if he's true to his words and comes to camp in the best shape of his career, as he's been quoted as saying he plans on doing, and plays with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove, he could be one of the steals of the off-season...

LGW photoshoppers... I think you've been queued... I'm not sure exactly what it would entail, but I'm imagining something with Gary Coleman's face on Hudler's body with one of eva's many comments captioned and, of course a word bubble coming out of Coleman's face, with said catch phrase... and... commence!

Agreed to an extent, Montador is a tremendous PK d-man...

I completely forgot about that one... that one is a great example of my point too, because even though it didn't go through, where's Clarke GM'ing these days? It's just poor practice and will eventually come back to bite a GM in the ass... thanks for the memory refresher! In regards to your second point, no kidding, that would have been a colossal steal!

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding Kevin Lowe showed how not to do the job of a GM is out of a job now because of it... the only other GM that comes to mind to sign someone to an offer-sheet, in the cap-era, is Doug "sign and trade" Wilson and I'm sure he'll be out of a job in SJ soon enough as well, as he is going to very likely crash and burn with other GM's and agents alike... and good luck being a GM when you can't negotiate with agents for contracts, or other GM's for trades...

you're silly. I'm thoroughly convinced that even you don't believe a lot of what you say about Hudler and just type it for a laugh... and this is coming from someone who has been a Hudler supporter and thought he always took too much heat on this board... I feel like we should have a sound cut like a 1980's sitcom, where every time eva talks about Hudler, everyone else, in unison, goes "Oh eva!" and then he just shrugs his shoulders and the laugh track is signaled...

Prove me wrong legal! Also, it's a moot point now, as most of the FA crop has majorly thinned out, but it's pretty convenient that you waited until after July 1 to reply to this, and still are yet to give a suggestion on who you think would/would have been a good fit...

1yr, 575k Per George Malik on twitter Could be a steal for them if he ever finds all that potential he has... too bad their d will be a sieve after the Weber and Sutter pairing...

Only have to worry about one d pairing there now, and if Lebda dresses, that's a guaranteed goal or two for, per game...

In that case, I apologize for it being in reply to your post as it not entirely directed at you... as you've missed a LOT of asinine, knee jerk over-reactions over these past 7 weeks, just go back and read some of the threads and you'll see where I'm coming from...however, the whole context of my post was not directed entirely at you... With that said, I still think your post specifically was a little bit of an over-reaction to our current situation... the holes we still need to fill are minor and nothing to be concerned about... that was all I was getting at in response to you directly.

Kenny, please stay away from him, like you would the "friendly" girl at the bar with the "cold sore" on her mouth...

Other than a little bit of a head scratcher in E's contract, I've loved it so far, Holland has managed to get tremendous value in a very thin FA class and filled holes without mortgaging our future, or putting us in cap hell for an unproven, or over-rated player and there have been other very entertaining contracts/trades, that have been fun to watch... and the beauty is... July 3rd. It's not done yet...

July 3rd. I repeat... July 3rd. The goalie we're missing is a BACKUP The forward needs are debatable in the first place, but once again, July 3rd, and trades still exist. Coaches are Babs decision, and unless they're not there come training camp, that's hardly something to get worked up about... Once again, I re-itterate. Be patient... I feel like a damn grief counselor, talking people off buildings on this board around this time of year...

He will be moved if Kenny wants to move him, he's probably just waiting to see the max amount he can get and who he is going to fill that roster spot with, when the deal is made... just be patient...

Absolute fleecing by Toronto, I don't know what the hell Nash is thinking...

Old time hockey!

I posted this in the Yandle thread, just something to think about... not saying it will happen, but I think it could be a win win Just thinking a little outside of the box, maybe kill 2 birds with one stone, get a couple discontents into new surroundings and make both teams winners in a trade? To Winnipeg: Hudler, Kindl, Larsson and two, 1st round picks To Detroit: Bogosian, Mason Larsson absolutely tore it up in the SEL last year and could steal the starting role from Pavelec in camp (probably could even give Jimmy a push for the starting gig here) but wasn't willing to play in the AHL anymore and will probably never be in the Wings plans, but is a stud goalie.... They also get some cap to add to the floor in Hudler, and he could return to form with a change of scenery... so it's a good gamble for them(especially since he isn't the centerpiece of this trade). They also get Kindl, who is very NHL ready and showed flashes of top 4 ability last season in his limited role. He could also probably use a change of scenery and would benefit from a more wide open run and gun system like they run there. Add a couple 1st rounders, to build for the future, and I think that's a very good package for them.... Mason on the other hand, looked a litte shaky last year, but could fill a backup role well here and has a reasonable caphit, plus, he looks like he needs a change of scenery as well. We also get a blue chip in Bogosian, who can't come to terms with Winnipeg and would fit our system better than theirs... I think it's win/win Once again, this is just an out of the box thought and, just as any, I understand it's not flawless, but I think it would at least be worth a call to Cheveldayoff...

Hudler would just be a piece added, not a negotiating piece and he would help them get to the cap floor, in the last year of his deal... I covered ths in my first post... I would also prob rather have Conklin than Mason, but this would be part of the goalie for goalie deal of the trade and Larsson is still a very valuable prospect, that many could argue is completely NHL ready right now... Yandle would also likely cost more than Bogo...

He wanted to play for Torts again, no surprise there... If he and Gaborik stay healthy, they could be lethal together...

That's my thought too... I still think Vokoun re-signs in Fla... they need to get to the floor, can give him an obscene contract and there aren't many teams left looking for a number 1 goalie left in the market...

Just thinking a little outside of the box, maybe kill 2 birds with one stone, get a couple discontents into new surroundings and make both teams winners in a trade? To Winnipeg: Hudler, Kindl, Larsson and two, 1st round picks To Detroit: Bogosian, Mason Larsson absolutely tore it up in the SEL last year and could steal the starting role from Pavelec in camp (probably could even give Jimmy a push for the starting gig here) but wasn't willing to play in the AHL anymore and will probably never be in the Wings plans, but is a stud goalie.... They also get some cap to add to the floor in Hudler, and he could return to form with a change of scenery... so it's a good gamble for them(especially since he isn't the centerpiece of this trade). They also get Kindl, who is very NHL ready and showed flashes of top 4 ability last season in his limited role. He could also probably use a change of scenery and would benefit from a more wide open run and gun system like they run there. Add a couple 1st rounders, to build for the future, and I think that's a very good package for them.... Mason on the other hand, looked a litte shaky last year, but could fill a backup role well here and has a reasonable caphit, plus, he looks like he needs a change of scenery as well. We also get a blue chip in Bogosian, who can't come to terms with Winnipeg and would fit our system better than theirs... I think it's win/win