T.Low

Its called socialism. Central planning, as opposed to market forces, determine value.

C'mon guys, Kenny Holland must have a good reason. Loyalty does not mean charity, so McCarty must still have some redeeming value in the eyes of Holland and Illitch. I would have to think he gives great mentoring down in GR, a message that cannot come from anybody else.. The guy's been thru everything and is a real life example of how fleating an NHL career can be. No one appreciates the opportunity to be in GR more than Darren McCarty.

He can rent it out to Helm and Leino!

Hell yes, we sure can! Ovie said he wants to come to Detroit to play with Pavs, and I think Holland has a way to get Heatley, Luongo, both Swede-deen Twins, Marian Gaborik (because 2 Marians are always better than just one!) and Stevie Y is coming back...just another thought!

u prolly cud lern how 2 rite like a gro nup sum day

I agree whole heartedly with the OP. Dats and Z are awesome together and if Hossa can stay we have Depth 'o Plenty. I still think Holmer works well with D&Z, creating even more depth down the lines. Its the best combo to take advantage of Holmers skill set; creating havoc/traffic in front of the net, deflections, garbage goals, which in turn also creates a little more time and space for D&Z to operate out on the ice. He stays out of their way and takes a lot of Dman and goalie attention with him. With D&Z, Holmer is great. Without D&Z, Holmer is not so great. But can Hudler center the second line? I'm thinking: ZDHolmer Franzen Filp Hossa Cleary Hudler Leino Helm Drapes Malts Kokopuffs I like that top six as much as any I've ever seen. And Franzen Filp and Hossa can rock, we've seen that! Filp and Hossa are both awesome on D. Filp is a playmaker for the two finishers, and Hossa shoots every 9 outta 10 touches and Franzen is great at rebounds. Especially if the opponents are trying to shut down ZDH. I just don't think Hudler can center the second line. If he was capable, it certainly would help out the 3rd line combo. Otherwise, I don't know about the chemistry on the 3rd line, though. I guess I haven't seen Leino play enough to know if his Defensive game is good enough to put on the same line as Huds. They seem to be the two weekest D forwards on the team and it wouldn't be wise to have them on the same line together. The more I look at it, the more I'd be ok with Holland keeping Sammy and instead of Hudler. Sammy can score 20 goals and more, and has enough grit to rub opponents the wrong way, and is a pain in the ass to play against. Edit: CLeary can literally fit in and role play on any line. His versatility could even allow a fourth checking line that can score. ZDH Franz Filp Hossa Huds Drapes Leino Cleary Helm Malts

I did, about six months ago. It was probably 7 pages long. I'd link it, but I can't ever find anything in this frikin search function.

I've never seen anything on LGW that would indicate in any way that anyone on here hates Zetterberg. Russian vs Swedish thing? What are you talking about? Zeems to me that everyone has been talking about Zetterberg shutting down the Crosby Show the past two finals. Am I the only one that finds it difficult to take the origianl post seriously?

He should have rotated thru the end of season and playoffs spelling the D men for a rest. That way, maybe they would not have gotten so run down and made so many mistakes in the playoffs, and Wings would have won. That was the ticket right there.

I like Mattplay's positve post focusing on the players and the side of them we don't normally get to see, rather than yet another post about the obvious stupid things the NHL does.

Good thread. Thanks for the OP. Datsyuk very impressive; Selke & Lady Bing, Hart finalist, and 3rd (or did he finish 4rth?) in scoring. Wow.

As far as points for Team Pairings goes, the Sedins are 4rth behind Crosby/Malkin, Ovie/Semin, Dats/Z. But IMO they are not going to lead you to the promised land. They elite 2nd liners if there ever where elite 2nd liners, but just too vanilla to be your big line. And Cup and Smythe aside, have they shut down Crosby two Cup Finals in a row? Do they play on the PK? They were discussing this on VANCOUVER Team 1040 and Pratt started comparing them to Zetterberg and Taylor kept saying,"Stop. Stop right there, just stop. You cannot compare them to Henrik Zetterberg just because they have a lot of points and are Swedish. Just stop. They are no where near the two way player he is," and he went on making great points about Z.

I was going to ask if he plays a good two way game. I don't really get to see him play, but what I have seen gives me the impression that he's a bit of a hotshot that doesn't seem too concerned with backchecking or forechecking. Is this the general consensus? Either way, I can't see him as the beastly back checker that Hossa is. So, no, don't rock the boat for Heatley.

Exactly. I love the guy. But i got tired of seeing him knocked down behind the net by relatively small hits. If there were room on the roster, I would love to keep him. But given that someone has to go,...s***, I can't get myself to committ to letting him go. While I would actually prefer to keep Huds and move Leino, we won't get the value in return for Leino. In todays salary cap world, you have to have that rotation of bringin guys up and moving players out for prospects to bring up later. I think Leino will do everything Huds can and be cheaper, but I haven't seen enough of him to know how strong he is on the puck, so...

$4m is a bargain for Marian Hossa. I would definitely like to see him stay at that price. But we'll find out soon enough if he'll sign for that. Is his pride big enough to want to stay here and finish what he started, cause you know he'll get a long term for $7-8m/yr from someone else. If he stays and is a major factor in winning the cup a couple times, '09 will be but a chapter in his bio instead of the epitaph on his grave stone. And he'll still retire with more millions than...I would know what to do with. Will he stay or will he go.

The Coyotes are very fitting of a team in Pheonix. Thats what you have there, coyotes and road runners. Their colors reflect the desert scheme. Sam with the Oil. Edmonton is an oil city, so Oilers is very appropriate. Colors are cool like the climate. The Mighty Ducks was very fitting of a La la land city like Anaheim. Personally, i think they should have dropped the "Ducks" portion of the name and kept the "Mighty". There's a lot you can do with that as far as a logo. The Anaheim Mighty. Ottawa Senators may also be representative, but hardly original. Jerseys are cool. I don't like Washington's Jerseys, they look too CFLish.

I can't really blame Leino. He's ready, Abdelkader is not. Leino can play 3rd or 2nd line and contribute as he proved during the season. He is who he is going to be as a hockey player. I'm seeing Leins bringing what Hudler had, and Helm already bringin what Abs would bring, but better. Abs needs one more season of GR minutes instead of 4th line NHL minutes or it will retard his growth. The Ab Buster will get his shot next year and he will be ready.

Tired of all the Gary Bettman Trash rhetoric on this board. Yes, he looks like the Count on Sesame Street, or Eddie Munster or whatever. Yes he has a condition that makes him shake and look nervous and that inherently makes a lot of people feel uncomfortable about him. Yes he talks different than we do. Yes sports guys trash him on the radio. But what do you know that he has done that you do not like? I too was a little embarrassed of the fans booing him for so long while the entire hockey world was watching Detroit. He's no Kwame Kilpatrick! A short sweet boo would have sufficed and made the statement, then get on to respecting the winners of the Cup. He is obviously a well educated man, has the trust of many multi millionaires and some billionaires, and has a lot of experience in high powerred negotiations that would cause many LGWers to pee their pants while just standing outside in the hallway. I challenge you to cite what he has done that hurts the NHL and what he has done that has helped the NHL . I encourage you to list things he's done that you both agree with and disagree with. Just the facts and anecdotes, no rhetoric and minimal profanity. If all you got is "he's an idiot", or "he's lazy and he sucks", or "he's Crosby's sugar daddy", then simply don't post. Just click on to another thread and leave this one to those that want to post under those guidelines, please. Discuss, and keep it civil, please. Thanks.

Since the Russian 5 of the '90's Detroit has been a puck possession team. That, by definiton, means you need elite quarterback type Dmen in the top 2, not linebacker type Dmen. Holland knows that one way or another, Lidstrom will have to be replaced with a similar style guy that is nearly as capable and can lead the puck possession DCorps. That will not be an option with a goalie that demands a Luongo type salary. Weather Kronner can step in and be that guy, we will have to wait and see.

Ok, this brings up a few questions. If Jack Johnson is so great, why is he being traded away from a 2nd team already in his very short NHL career? (high degree of douchebagness, perhaps?) Yeah , he's obviously a bar bell boy and hits like Fencik & Plank (ok, I quit watching footbal 20 yrs ago, thats the best i could do) but he can't replace Neids or Pronger. If Neids is leaving soon (freeing up cap room), why would Anaheim trade Pronger and be down both top 2 Dmen? Jack Johnson is not ready for top 2 duty for a long time. How will this impact the always possible playoff series between the Ducks and the Wings? I gotta admit, I'm more afraid of the thought of Johnson hitting our Euros often than Pronger muggin them and elbowing Holmer every no and then. Johnson can put someone out for the year.

That is the significant point right there. I agree. I was really psyched for the Nucks when they got Big Mats. But after watching him more closely, he's just not a spark that lights a missing fire like Dally Drake was. He doesn't provide anything we don't already have. Drake supplied the hunger of wanting a Cup, the passion of making up for a lost Wings career, and a swan song of one last season all wrapped into to one. He hit like Sundin will not, he provided energy which Sundin will not, and he could play more roles than Sundin, like an older Dan Cleary. And Sundin can't play the smothering forecheck anymore; he's lost his legs. 5 years ago, hell yes. 2009, no thank you.

2 and a half questions: 1. When did Nick start rise above the rest and start to show his dominant prowess as a number 1 Dman and perennial Norris nominee? 1 and a half. What was the early part of his career like? 2. When did LGW begin to change from forum of mainly good, well thought hockey discussions to mostly knee jerk, smart ass comments offering up little in the way of real contribution? Unfortunately, LGW is not the place it once was, and because of it I don't see a lot of the good contributors with great observation and insight here nearly as much.

What ever you want to call it, it is going to change the Red Wings drastically once Lidstrom retires. We will need a top 1 Dman. A dominant force to lead the Dfense and start the offensive break out. I never see Bouwmeester play so i do not know if he is that man. Pronger can certainly do it all, and sometimes a little too much. Its a dilemma that I'm sure Kenny and Co. are looking at as we speak.

The difference in a top tier goalie like Luongo and Brodeur is not mathematically significant enough to make it worth the difference in cap hit of a 2nd tier goalie like Osgood, in the salary cap era. The Wings current philosophy of 2nd tier goalie and top tier elite Dmen works with the Wings system becuase they need Dmen that can shut down super stars and move the puck to breaking forwards. Luongo's stats weren't any better than Conklins. Just like Hossa is catching hell for taking up $7.4 in the budget, Luongo is catching hell for taking up similar amount of their budget while the Canucks still got burned for 3,4,6,and 7 goals by CHicago in a 6 gmae series. Pay for the top tier Dmen, teach your fowards to play both ends, and save $ on a 2nd tier goalie. Edit: Wow' my speelingis going to hell and mu tuping is getting roeally bsd, too.

You Sir, are a true Gentleman. Thank you for your support and may the Rangers have a prosperous off season.