GMRwings1983

Khabibulin is the whole key to that team. If he can stay healthy and play well, then he can steal games for them regardless of who else they have injured. However, if he's hurt, it doesn't really matter what Havlat or Ruutu do out there because they'll still be a losing team.

If players need motivation to win the Stanley Cup, then there's something wrong with them. Many teams from past eras won mulitiple cups because they were still hungry the year after winning it, and not because of one guy that they wanted to see carry the cup. If our players need extra motivation, then we're in trouble.

I know that last year he felt like he had something to prove to everyone, and he proved it. It's good to see that he's not satisfied with that and wants more. I hope to god, though, that we don't see any more snow angels 5 feet away from the net like we saw at times in the playoffs.

Avery is the biggest clown in the league. Asham isn't as good a player as Avery, but he's not nearly as annoying and is a much better fighter than Avery.

Rolston and Shanny have nothing in common at this or any other point in their careers. Rolston is a better all around player, but Shanny is more of a pure goal scorer and more physical. As for the Wings, I'd much rather have Shanny, because we need a right handed shot on the slot for the PP. But since it's doubtful that we'll have either one, all we're doing is just speculating about unrealistic matters.

I like Rolston's all-around game, but do we really need another center on this team? Also, he'll be about 35 next year, so it's a big gamble to suggest that he can still play at an all-star level for several more years.

At this point in their careers, I wouldn't pay either 4 million, but Penner has a much brighter future at this point than Bertuzzi does, so I can't see how any of you can vote for Bertuzzi. He'll never be a star player again. With that said, I don't know if Penner will ever be able to reach the level where Bertuzzi once was, but apparently Edmonton thinks so.

Does anyone honestly think that he would prefer playing here as opposed to the divealanche where he feels more comfortable? Also, does anyone know if Nashville has pretty much given up on signing him?

I agree. Now all the Leafs have to do is sign Fedorov and have him play defense.

Adam Hall is not a fighter, plus he was a disappointment in New York. At this point, I can't really think of anyone in the market that would help our team except for Selanne.

Too early to tell.

I wouldn't be surprised if he was never even on Holland's radar. I would have loved to have him here, but his physical style of play combined with the fact that he's willing to drop the gloves from time to time basically prevented him from ever being a Wing.

I think that we should sign Peter Worrell. After all, he's close friends with Andreas Lilja and probably still has his driver's license.

Nice picture. I doubt that she wears Wings attire, but she'd look great in a Winged wheel. Then again, if she's from Windsor, I'm surprised that she's wearing a Montreal jersey.

Team toughness didn't prevent us last year from having as many injuries as we did from opposing cheapshots. Many posters here don't realize that as childish as it may sound, "an eye for an eye" isn't a bad theory to have in hockey. Why should our players always be the ones subjected to cheapshots? An enforcer/goon would at least go after the other team's skilled players in retaliation. That would make other teams think twice, or at least it would even the odds. It's plainly obvious that many opposing coaches have given their players a green light in running Wings players. We have to change that philosophy, or else we'll be the whipping boys of the league. Yes, cheapshots often result in teams taking stupid penalties against us, but in a playoff series that can be a small price to pay. Calgary and Anaheim resorted to playing dirty when those games were already out of hand on the scoreboard, thus they had nothing to lose.

How do we hate the Leafs. We never play them anymore. I know they hate the Wings in Canada, but I can't say from a hardcore Wings fan's perspective that the feeling is mutual. I always joke about their futility, but hate is a strong word to use for the Leafs. I think that Bowman probably misses being in the mix more than he thought he would when he called it quits in 02. Maybe if he joined the Leafs the year after his retirement, then I'd be mad, but so many years have gone by that I don't have a problem with him making this move.

I agree that McCarty was one of those tweeners, but only for the late part of his career in Detroit. When he first came into the league he was dynamite, and held his own against all the top enfocers in the league. He won just about every fight in his first year or two in the league.

Thanks for the link! I didn't even know that such a website existed. I realize now that some jerseys are so bad that they tend to become classics in some sad way.

Forget about Dingbat. Calling him an enforcer is like calling me Jou Louis. That guy was the worst fighter in the league for a tough guy. All he'd do is grab and hold on for dear life. As for Asham, I wouldn't really label him an enforcer, but he can hold his own with anybody, and is skilled enough to satisfy all the naysayers on this board who don't want roster spots to go to tough guys. He'd be a great acquisition, but I haven't heard Holland even mention his name. I don't know how you can call Kocur underrated. Everyone has him ranked as one of the 10 best fighters in NHL history, and definitely one of the most feared. Having him on the bench for a few seasons was the last time this team came close to having an enforcer.

Hey at least the Ducks were attempting to be creative. Look at those idiotic jerseys they unveiled last year that have no logo and a hideous color scheme. Another jersey that should have been on the list is that penguins jersey from the late 70's. It had the same logo as they use now, except the colors were blue and white. Does anyone remember those jerseys, or have a picture of them?

I didn't even know they had an NHL network. Do they at least show classic games on there?

Very creative thread. I guess you've discovered one way to make this team look more North American, although I don't think that Don Cherry will still be satisfied.

If Cleary keeps up the work ethic that he showed last year, there's no reason why he shouldn't be a top 6 forward, especially since this team didn't add anything in the offseason. Samuelsson had a good year statistically 2 years ago, but wasn't very consistent last year, and scares the s*** out of every Wings fan when he's playing the point on the powerplay. To me he's not a top 6 forward, however, I'm afraid that if he plays with the 3rd or 4th line his production will be even worse since he needs to feed off of someone.

I wish you were right, but I can't see how. The last time an American born player entered the league with a lot of hype surrounding them had to be in the late 80's with Modano and Roenick. Think how many highly touted players have entered the league since that time from other countries. Dozens of players have. Yet not from the USA. As for my answer to this question, I'd have to agree with Sweden as the consensus pick. However, look out for Finland. They're going to overtake everyone but Canada in prospects within the next 5 years. I remember as far as 5 years ago you'd be hard pressed to find a great Finnish goaltender in the league. Now there's plenty of them, which is a sign of how well their development has grown.

Why is there always so much disrespect for San Jose? I've always thought that for a non-traditional market they had a great fanbase. I also wish there were more Canadian NHL teams, but the truth is that not that many Canadian markets could ever support a franchise. The ones that can already have teams.