JoeBuddy

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  1. JoeBuddy

    nhl.com calls Kenny the best GM

    This is all it took for me to read to know that Ken Holland is the best GM in the NHL. You are 100% correct. I'm sure it wasn't easy to fire Dave Lewis after he had been with us throughout the dynasty years. He hired a great coach (despite what some of LGW things) in Babs and has put this team in a position to win. He has no control over how well our goaltending is in the playoffs, or if we score goals or not. He puts the players that are capable of helping us win on the roster. It is up to them to play well. Kenny is the best GM in the league and I wouldn't prefer anyone over him.
  2. JoeBuddy

    nhl.com calls Kenny the best GM

    You have to consider his forsight to not make any reactional signings or trades. Teams like NY, Philly, and even Pittsburgh this year went "all in" to try to win The Cup. If none of them do, then it was a failed season by their expectations (Philly fell flat early). This season without a doubt is a rebuilding year. However, look at where we currently are in the standings. We are 8th in the WC and 15th in the league. To me, it's incredible that we are rebuilding and are still competing for a playoff spot. In our worst season in a long time, we can still see hope and potential that we can be a serious contender within the next few years. We are only a top 6 player or two away from that. We lost the best defensemen ever to play, along with Brad Stuart and our defense hasn't struggled nearly as much as everyone expected. We have competed and almost beat the best team in the Western Conference twice this season, all while injury riddled. The losses of Helm and Bert (not so much Sammy) have really caused us to force guys who don't belong in the top 6 to step up and play top 6 minutes. Holland could have made a move to land a guy like Iginla or Bouwmester, but why would he at the expense of our future? Holland is as level-headed as a GM can be. He realized right after the last lockout that teams now need to build through the draft and not through free agency. Look at all of the teams who have won Stanley Cups in the past years and there is a trand that their superstars are drafted, while their role players are picked up through trade or free agency. 06 Hurricanes - Eric Staal 07 Ducks - Perry, Ryan, Getzlaf, McDonald 08 Wings - Datsyuk, Zetty, Filp, Franzen, Lidstrom, Kronwall 09 Pens - Crosby, Malkin, Fleury 10 Blackhawks - Toews, Kane, Staal, Keith, Brouwer 11 Bruins - Lucic, Krejci, Berjeron, Marchand, Seguin 12 Kings - Quick, Kopitar, Brown, Doughty For the most part, since the 04-05 lockout, all of the teams who have won Stanley Cups have built their core through drafting while adding one or two other pivotal players through other means. Ken Holland was the first person to say that this is the new trend after that year. He didn't trade any draft picks this season in order to gain a rental player. He is a very smart man and I don't think that any of us on the internet could do a better job than him. edit: grammar
  3. I don't think he is at all. If anything, he has been more active this offseason than most during the salary cap era. He went after both Parise and Suter. He made a bid for Rick Nash. It has also been reported that we are interested in Shane Doan, and possibly Alex Semin. He spoke with Weber's agent to see what could be done to bring him to Detroit. Unfortunately for us Wings fans, we are in the same division as the teams most of these players are coming from. Columbus and Nashville would have a really hard time trading their respective stars to their division rival. Suter had narrowed down his list of teams to Detroit and Minnesota. Too bad for us Zach Parise wanted to move back home while convincing his pal to join him. The Doan sweepstakes has been said to start at 4 years at 7.5 mil per year (more than both Dats and Z get paid annually). Semin has been said to be a locker room 'cancer' that some wings players, "don't think to highly of." What can Kenny do? The man has reportedly attempted to bring every name on the market this offseason to Detroit. He is the victim of unfortunate circumstances this offseason. The allure of joining the Red WIngs organization is not fading away. Ken Holland has tried as hard as any other GM in the league to land the Wings a player of significance this offseason. Eventually, he will succeed. If he sees a player that will help us win, rest assured that he will do everything within his power to bring them here. We still have a ton of money to spend through free agency and trade this offseason. No one knows what the cap will look like after this new CBA. We still have to save for the raises that Jimmy and Filp will be getting. The trade deadline may also have a few 'sellers' that may want to unload. He knows our D isn't as good on paper as it has been in the past. He knows that we need another top 6 forward to help support our main guys. When the oppurtinity arrives, the Wings will be make their move. Don't worry. In Kenny I trust.
  4. JoeBuddy

    Building a new Wings team (the realists thread)

    As much as I'd love to have Parise or Suter, I just don't think it'll happen. Brandon Prust would be a nice, gritty additition. What scares me is the defense and the inconsistency we may see with a realistic lineup of: Lidstrom - White Kronwall - Smith Quincey - Ericsson I didn't really see much out of Quincey this year, but knowing that we spent a 1st round pick on him means that Kenny wants to keep him. Also, Smith may bring high hope along with him, however, at this point in his early career is he really any better than Stuart defensively or on the PK? That learning curve might hurt us and could cost us a few points in the standings. I would love to get the two most coveted FAs this offseason, but realistically I'm not holding my breath.
  5. JoeBuddy

    Who will be Vancouver's 2012-13 goalie?

    As much as I loved Ozzy, there is no way anyone in Canada would ever forgive Stevie Y for picking him over Luongo. Forgive me for saying so, but I too would take Luongo over Osgood at the time. Ozzy was at the end of his career while there were other proven goaltenders like Marc-Andre Fleury and Cam Ward who had both won Stanley Cups by then. Ozzy was probably never even considered as much as all Wings fans would like him to have been. On the subject of Luongo or Schneider, Vancouver can be very scary next season if they manage to pull off a Luongo for some type of star trade. I have a good feeling that there are GM's ready to bet the farm on a 'franchise goaltender,' as much as we on this forum would like to deny it. A team like Columbus perhaps would be willing to give up Rick Nash if they can figure out what to do with Mason. These are just ideas, but I wouldn't be too surprised if the Canucks make a couple of good moves in the off season.
  6. JoeBuddy

    Have we seen the last of Holmstrom?

    Love Homer for everything he has done, but it's time for him to retire. He is easily the worst skater on this team now and hurts any type of momentum the 4th line ever tried to create. He's turnover prone now and makes Datsyuk and Z have to work twice as hard when he's paired up with them on the PP. Don't get me wrong, I see that he works just as hard as everyone else, but his skill level isn't what it used to be. He has become a defensive liability. Retire with some sort of dignity, Homer.
  7. JoeBuddy

    The Phantom and The Seed

    This 100%!
  8. JoeBuddy

    The reason The Wings shipped Mike Commodore

    Good memory. It's just speculation on my part that he could be committing to the Wings by staying another year at Western, but I do know for fact that they did ask him to stay there. It makes sense that Ken Holland would want that. We do have a history of keeping our players ripe and transitioning them into the NHL slowly. However, the appeal to play in the NHL might be too much to resist. He could begin making tons of money now and that itself could lure him to any other team.
  9. JoeBuddy

    The reason The Wings shipped Mike Commodore

    The Miller salesman that comes into my work used to play hockey at Western. A couple of weeks ago he told me that the Wings sent Ken Holland, Jimmy D, Chelios, Draper, and more a while back to one of his games. Anyways, Ken Holland apparently had told him that the Wings would like Dan to stay in college for another year. Now that this report has come out that he will stay another year at Western, I wonder if that means he has secretly decided to join the Wings in the future. Also, I realize that this does sound unreliable coming from me, but if anyone can remember, I did report that the Wings signed Jason Williams on this forum before it was out on the press. (A lot of good he did us)
  10. JoeBuddy

    Johan Franzen Depreciation

    I can't agree with this thread enough. I've been telling my friends this since the season began. The problem with Franzen is that at this point he is nothing more than a shooter. When there isn't anyone there to feed him the easy goal or shot, he won't produce. He doesn't play defense. On occasion he shows some sort of stick-handling ability, but that is about it. The other night against Vancouver he was gently striding to get onside. It doesn't look like he cares about the regular season at all. I understand that as long as he performs during the playoffs, everything will be forgiven. However, that doesn't excuse his pathetic play as of late. He looks like the laziest player on the ice every night. I would not object to Ken Holland trading him away. What I am upset with is that the rest of Datsyuk's prime will be stuck side by side with Franzen and Bertuzzi.
  11. JoeBuddy

    Buyers Remorse

    In all honesty, I love the way White is playing. He's replacing an offensive-minded defensman in Rafalski. He wasn't brought here to make big hits or bring a physical presence. I think I lot of people forget how bad Rafalski really was on the defensive end of the ice sometimes. White is doing exactly what he was told to do when he came here, at an unbelievably good price. He's scoring and setting up plays every night. He's a big part of why we have one of the best offensive defenses in the league. Look at our D this year. It hasn't lost us nearly the amount of games that it did last year. If anything, during our 5 game losing streak, it was our offense that couldn't produce. With respect to Brad Mcrimmon, we're looking a lot better defensively, and that's where it'll all pay off during the playoffs.
  12. JoeBuddy

    ESPN insider article re: Wing's deadline cap space

    I don't see Kenny picking up any big names. Maybe a little move but probably going to save that cap space mostly for Kronwall's and Stuart's raises.
  13. JoeBuddy

    Away Games

    Have been to two Red Wings games at the United Center (Chicago). We're trying to make it a tradition to go the the Wings @ Chi games every year around Christmas/New Years. Both times we got harassed greatly by every drunk and sober fan wearing a Black hawks jersey. We don't really ask for it, although you are a target when you wear the winged wheel. The first time we went, the wings got shut out and the 2nd time we lost something like 3-1. Finding a cab after the game was sort of difficult while cars drove by and shouted, "wings suck!" In all honesty though, if you can handle a little bit of harassment and dish some back, then you'll have an awesome time. (Keep in mind that we are about 6-8 guys all around 19-24 and the people shouting at us are around the same age) (Also, it wasn't playful, a few altercations could've transpired into fights) But enjoy if you ever go there, it's a really memorable time as there are a lot of other Wings fans around.
  14. JoeBuddy

    Epic Boooing of Bettman

    What happened between the Illitches and Bettman? Please inform me.