GMRwings1983

Abdelkader Leads the team in hits and has around 10 fighting majors. Bertuzzi Gets around 20-30 goals and 50-60 points. He's way too big and skilled to have such average numbers despite playing so many games for us in recent seasons. Has to cut down on his stupid offensive penalties. Brunnstrom Becomes a top 6 forward and the steal of the offseason. Reaches his potential which he never could before. Cleary Doesn't get hurt and finally learns how to stop falling down all the time. Honestly, I'd settle for 20 goals from him and hope he's still active on the forecheck and plays hard on every shift. Datsyuk Stays healthy and gets around 90 points. Eaves Starts scoring some more goals and gets PP time. 20 goals would be pretty good in my opinion. Emmerton Don't really know or expect much from him. Hopefully he can crack the lineup regularly by being a good contributor on the bottom lines. If he doesn't, it won't be the end of the world. Filppula Scores 20-30 goals and notches around 50-60 points. Stops missing the net all the time with his shots. I really hope he's worked on his shot in the offseason. Franzen Doesn't get a concussion or any other injury for that matter. Scores 40 goals. Doesn't have nights off or disappears for a long stretch of time when in the lineup. At this point, I don't expect him to use his body more as a hitter, which I would have listed several years ago. Helm Scores around 15-20 goals and continues playing his ass off on every shift. Holmstrom Scores 20-30 goals, stays healthy and plays well enough not to be a liability on the first line. Hudler Notches 25-30 goals, 50-60 points, and shows off his UFC training at least once. Miller Continues playing hard and doesn't lose his spot as a regular 4th liner. Don't really expect anything else from him. Mursak Comes back with no ill effects, and continues developing his game for the NHL, as I think he'll be more important in the near future than he is now. Zetterberg Goes back to being a great goal scorer. I want to see 40-50 goals from him again, since he still takes a boat load of shots. Commodore Becomes a big hitter and a force on the blue line. Starts being a nasty guy to play against, like he used to be. Improves the Wings lack of shot blocking. Ericcson Starts hitting people more and using his size better to clear the crease. Gets into around 5-10 fights. Greatly diminishes his turnovers. Learns how to utilize his big shot and passing skills better, hence becoming a regular powerplay contributor. Kindl Becomes better on both sides of the ice and earns a regular spot in the lineup. Basically, I want to see him continue to grow his game at a fast pace. Kronwall Goes from being good to being great. Puts up Norris like numbers and becomes our best defenseman. Starts hitting with more frequency again and laying people out in open ice. Lidstrom Stays healthy and gets another nomination for the Norris. Has such a great time that he decides to return for another season. Stuart Continues being physical and consistent. White Puts up 40-50 points playing with Lidstrom and becomes a good powerplay replacement for Rafalski. Conklin Plays so well that he creates a goalie controversy if Howard is to struggle again. Howard Finishes top 10 in the NHL in GAA and save %.

Is this the same video game where Toronto and Buffalo have an offensive rating of 92, which is the highest in the whole game? Also the same game where George Parros is not only ranked as the best fighter, but has the best balance of any player in the whole game :!: Not joking here folks. What has EA stated about George Parros having a fighter rating of 97? Or about Cam Ward being one of the top 5 goalies in the game? I like playing this game, but there wasn't much thought or effort put into player ratings. Too many attributes are the same across the board, and there's too much that doesn't make sense, like some of the above.

As I've said before, I see Nashville moving to the Southeast, Minnesota moving to the Central, and Winnipeg moving to the Northwest. Then all the Western Canadian teams will be in the same division. I like the idea of the league realigning and Detroit moving east, but I don't see it happening.

I figured something like this would happen after the offseason deaths and the new "player safety" measures Shanny is laying out. He doesn't say much, but I don't like the sound of what he's hinting at. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2011/09/29/sp-shanahan-national.html

You forgot to mention Lilja going to the Flyers.

Like I said, tell that to all the GM's in the NHL who have enforcers on their roster. For that matter, tell it to Babcock, who dressed guys like Brad May and Aaron Downey, in favor of more talented players in the minors. I'm sure Babcock did it for ratings, though. That doesn't explain anything. Most teams in the league have some kind of tough guy. Are they all having trouble filling seats? For instance, I don't think the Pens are having trouble drawing fans, and they dressed Godard a lot in the past, and recently signed MacIntyre. Chicago dresses John Scott on their blueline, who skates as well as I do. Are they struggling to fill the United Center? Those teams certainly don't suck. Neither do the Bruins, who dress Thornton a lot, or the Capitals, who frequently play Erskine. I've never heard of a team owner telling the GM and coach to sign a tough guy just to put people in the seats. Not at the NHL level and certainly not nowadays. Are you making this stuff up? I just don't believe it.

Bullcrap. NHL teams wouldn't sacrifice winning and losing just for entertainment and sideshow antics. This isn't the bush leagues. I've yet to hear a person here on LGW give me a good response to what I posted. Yours was a common one, but it doesn't hold much weight. Coaches and GM's aren't going to make training camp roster decisions just for show.

People are quick to point out incidents where fighting didn't deter something cheap, but ignore the many situations where a cheapshot may have been averted because of having a tough guy in the lineup. I don't think every GM in the league who signs and dresses a tough guy is a dumb ass, while the anti-enforcer people here on LGW are hockey geniuses. Don't forget that most teams have some sort of tough guy in the lineup, who's taking a roster spot away from a more talented player.

Enforcers help toughen up soft Euros over the course of a season.

So what? I used to post as mindfly and JakeRyan, and no one seemed to have a problem with it. There's been a lot of tension here the last couple of days with the season approaching. These GDT's are gonna be fun this year.

Not only does he make the team, but he plays on the top line all season. What an achievement. And with Homer on the line to boot. I hope Datsyuk doesn't die of exhaustion by the end of October if that's the case.

No Ericsson? What a shame.

Ah, I see. But hockey games aren't that long compared to other sports. Is it really a problem?

How will it shorten the game, though? No-touch icing means more whistles, hence more stoppages in play. Whenever a guy beats the icing, that keeps the clock rolling.

Doesn't the CHL have no-tough icing? So players here in North America are accustomed to it at a young age.

Wow, this is better than our regular powerplay. Just send guys to the net and shoot it from the point. No fancy s***.

Komisarek and "The Penguin" helping us score a goal. Priceless.

Not tonight we don't.

God, you're like Ned Braden in Slapshot, who refused to fight. I'd bench your ass if I was coaching.

In other words, you want to see Helm get pushed around and hit with a cheapshot, with no retaliation? Since we dressed this lineup, we may as well use it effectively.

Someone needs to fight Komisarek. He's a big enough ***** where pretty much any of our tough guys can take him.

If Ericsson fights Rosehill, he'll earn a month long amnesty from me on these forums. Unfortunately, he'll also earn a month long stay on the IR.

Colby Armstrong (aka, The Penguin) was jawing at someone on that last play. We'll see how that plays out later on.

Like Aaron "Stanley Cup" Downey?

I wouldn't mind seeing someone feed Phaneuf his lunch.