stevkrause

That's my thinking too, Modano's creds speak for themselves and I have NO problem with a lefty-lefty combo, especially when the talent merits it... I just want it to get a look, and if it works, maybe we caught lightning in a bottle and have another viable righty-lefty combo, if nothing else, just for a 3rd point pairing in the event we have an injury, someone's in the box or just needs a rest... never hurts to have viable options...

not true... there's Maltb... oh wait if they end up adding Hnidy, he's a right handed shot and I'd still rather have Eaves back there, even with Williams here last year, I would have preferred Eaves... once again, he has a lot of offensive potential and is stong on the puck... I stand by what I said... if you want the lefty-righty combo - he is a VERY good option to at least look at...

This has been a VERY hot topic on this board as long as I've been coming here, so some people get sick of hearing it... It usually leads to intense "enforcer" debates which always lead to heated exchanges and bad feelings, so naturally this is one topic to tread lightly on here, but it does have it's validity... As long as you: - Check back at least a couple pages to make sure a topic hasn't already been started before starting a thread - Don't start crap just to get a rise out of people - Don't want to have Crosby's lovechild (Carman) - Don't post line combo threads just for funsies and piss everyone here off with your complete lack of substance to the board (blueadams) people are generally accepting and intelligent here and can have some pretty good discussions...

this has already been covered in this thread, please read a whole thread before commenting... I'm not saying you SHOULDN'T put Modano back there, but if you want the right-lefty switch... which Babs LOVES, Eaves is a VERY good option and worth taking a look at... that's what it comes down to... and there's no reason you wouldn't STILL roll Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom Hudler-Filppula-Franzen Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall-Eaves Bertuzzi, Cleary and Modano all seeing time too for extended powerplays... the whole point of this entire thread, is that it's worth giving it a look in camp and pre-season and if it works and works well, then you're set... if not, you go with a lefty-lefty combo (Modano-Kronwall) on the 2nd unit and call it a day, but you never know if you don't give it a look...

lets not flame or neg the guy right away, it does say this is his first post AND that he just joined today, lets not show him how un-welcoming this board can be right away, let him ease into it, haha Welcome to the board! With that said, a guy like Asham could be a decent addition to this roster, if there wasn't already such a logjam of players back there, keeping in mind that we are already going to need to cut at least one player just to stay under the 23 man roster limit for Modano, now granted, it will be Meech most likely (as he was surely to be traded/waived regardless) but I just don't think we need to add anymore players from outside at this point up front... the only spot that could still possibly use some shoring up, is the bottom d pairing with a good, physical, stay at home vet (Hnidy, McKee, etc...) Also keep in mind that Abby took boxing lessons this off season and isn't opposed to getting his nose dirty, neither are Eaves or Ericsson... we'll be just fine in that area...

Dead on! I'm not advocating they just blindly hand him the spot and anoint him untouchable in that spot, but it can't hurt to at least give it a look! Well said.

Although I understand your point and think it's a little overrated too, it still sets up much better one timer opportunities and it does have it's advantage... with that said, I actually agree that all 3 of them would be better options back there on skill and/or shot speed alone, but you can't argue the fact that Babs IS in love with the righty-lefty combo and with that mindset, it makes perfect sense to give Eaves a shot... keep in mind he's still only 25 and has a lot of untapped potential, this could also be the boost he needs to really flourish EDIT - Also, keep in mind that when Modano played the point in Dallas, his PP partner was Robidas(R handed shot) more or less, there is a reason so many coaches stick to the format and it does make a difference...

you are correct! I brought it up right around the time that Stuart started slumping and was looking tired from all the extra minutes... I've thought since last year that it was, at bare minimum, worth a look and you were one of the few that didn't call me crazy back then, haha I can definitely see the point of having Modano back there, given his history and just overall skill, it's just nice to have that righty, lefty dynamic back there for one timers and that's one of that main reasons I want to see Eaves at least given a look...

Both are left handed shots and both already DO play the PP... UP FRONT, Cleary not as much, but Hudler will be a regular and Cleary will see some PP time... I'm not really sure where you're going with this???? We're talking about on the point....

If anything, this just further backs the point to give it a look... to say someone deserves a shot doesn't mean just throw them in there in gametime and "see how it goes"... there's a little thing called practice to work the kinks out, but the thought to give it a try has to be attempted first to ever know if it could progress...

couldn't have said it better myself. I think he's definitely more important on the PK, but to say you don't want him on both doesn't make a lot of sense, he doesn't see a ton of minutes on the 4th line anyway, so his minutes would come primarily from PK, PP and then 4th line minutes, which I HIGHLY doubt would top 16 minutes a game and I'm positive he can handle that... Lidstrom has been playing both PK and PP his whole career, Z and Dats have done it quite a bit too, and they have much bigger roles and more 5-5 ice time too... if anything that's more reason to do it, like I said in the first post, minute dispersal.

I think both Helm and Abs will be here for the long run, as they are both slated to eventually become the new Draper/Maltby combo... I chose Helm, just because he's already locked up and probably will never garner a very high wage and the Wings know his value, whereas Abdelkader could potentially develop his fighting game and has 20 goal potential, so there's always the chance of him seeing greener pastures, but at the same time he is Michigan born and bred and has said it's a dream come true to play for the Wings, so I don't see him leaving either... either would be the safe bet in my mind...

exactly... that's another reason I see it being worth giving it a shot, no one can be worse than Williams, right?

he's got a pretty wicked slap shot too, gets his shot off quickly (doesn't need a big wind up) and he's smart with the puck, three things I think are very important to play the point on a PP

yes... Modano may get time up front on the PP, but not on the point...

Dead on - I agree they need to be played a little less, but for what they're paid, they shouldn't play MUCH less - I think it's more situational that needs to be addressed and I think Hnidy would add that to this team... disperse the minutes given on the situation, spread out the PP and have Nick play less on the PK... I have a suggestion that many may think is crazy, but I think it would be perfect... add Eaves to the point on the PP, he has a cannon of a shot, has pretty damn good puck control and has proven that he can score, given the chance... Lidstrom-Kronwall Stuart-Rafalski Ericsson-Hnidy PP1 Lidstrom-Rafalski PP2 Kronwall-Eaves PK1 Ericsson-Hnidy PK2 Stuart-Kronwall/Lidstrom (rotated out depending on shifts) when all is said and done, minute dispersal should be something like this: Lidstom, Rafalski - 22 mins a night Stuart, Kronwall - 20 mins a night Ericsson, Hnidy - 18 minutes a night Obviously, as there are more PP or PK situations in a game, this will vary, but with the proper dispersal and situational settings laid out, it shouldn't have to vary much and guys would be more effective... Once again, some of you may think this is crazy, but I genuinely believe this would work AMAZINGLY and I think we'd see Eaves have a career year...

the odds of him taking that much of a discount are slim to none... Hnidy is probably our best option... In my mind, this is our best possible roster option with what's left and what we have: (lines arbitrary and only setup this way for formatting to save space) Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) Todd Bertuzzi ($1.938m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m) Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / Mike Modano ($1.250m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) Justin Abdelkader ($0.900m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.750m) Kris Draper ($1.583m) / Mattias Ritola ($0.517m) Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) Jonathan Ericsson ($0.900m) / Shane Hnidy ($0.900m) Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) Jimmy Howard ($0.717m) / Chris Osgood ($1.417m) ROSTER: 23; CAP:$59.4m; PAYROLL: $58.905m; CAP ROOM: $0.495m; BONUSES: $0.000m

good luck, more than likely, half the time you'll be watching a pixelated or frozen screen... enjoy that...

Yes... Draper will be a healthy scratch unless Eaves, Helm or Abdelkader play themselves into the press box, or unless there is an injury - I expect Draper to play about 40 games this season filling in for injuries...

I had U-Verse here in metro Detroit for about 6 months and it was one of the worst services I have ever had... I would highly advise against it to anyone...

I wouldn't mind either of them if better options weren't available(and if they came cheap enough) but if I had my choice at this point, I'd prefer(in this order) 1. Hnidy 2. Lilja 3. McKee 4. Exelby

Over a smaller sample size, he's pretty much on par with Zetterberg... Henrik Zetterberg - 11/38 = 28.95% Mike Modano - 8/28 = 28.57% I would still rather he go than Hank, because Hank has gone downhill in the SO and I think teams have figured him out... Once again - this is ONLY about shootouts...

calling Ryan Suter inferior is downright laughable... with that said, Raffi DEFINITELY stepped his game up in the Olympics defensively and still maintained a high offensive level, but that is not something we can expect from him... as I already said many times on this board, Raffi is great for what he is - an offensive defenseman, but he is prone to defensive lapses and therefore, needs to be paired with a strong defensive partner to really play at his top level and once again, it comes back to why this makes the most sense: Lidstrom-Kronwall Stuart-Rafalski Ericsson/Kindl-Lilja OR Hnidy (both can be had for 1mil or less and add EXACTLY what we need from that 6th d-man) Ericsson/Kindl

Clark Gilles from the Buffalo Sabres in the late 70's and Enver Lisin from the Coyotes currently as well... no one has ever worn it for the Wings...

You don't win cups by worrying about being too close to the cap... we have plenty of kids down in GR that can come up for CHEAP and still go back down in the event of an injury and under this scenario, we will already have 2 forwards and 1 d-man reserve and STILL have about 300k of cap space (keep in mind, any call-ups are only counted on daily cap hit, so if they're not up for the whole season, their whole salary doesn't count), so we'd essentially need at least 1 dman and 2 fowards to go down with injuries before this were even an issue and then Janik, Kolosov, Smith, Emmerton, Mursak and I.Filppula ALL have VERY low cap hits, that would not take us over the ceiling for a short stint and if a guy was going to be out longer, we'd LTIR him anyway, so it would still work out... There's no logic or reason to NOT sure up that 6th d spot, UNLESS Kindl and/or Ericsson absolutely BLOW the coaches away in camp and damn near steal a top 4 spot... and that doesn't seem likely when growing pains are GOING to occur...