South Dakota wings fan

My contructive criticism is that I wonder sometimes if chasing matchups, especially on the road, can hurt the psyche of the "other" players who aren't matching up? Helm, Flip, Lebs, or E are on the ice and Crosby comes on, and instead of just playing they are thinking, "oh crap, Crosby is out here. I've gotta make a change because coach doesn't think I can handle playing against him." While it is not the ideal situation to have the Z line not be out there, but what does that do to the flow of the team? Also, no Dats is HUGE!

If you are really looking for someone to be mad at about Hossa, try Michel Therrien! That, I would contest, is the real reason he left.

Union leaders are just the same as a "greedy CEO", but working for a different company. They don't care about protecting workers, just lining their own pockets.

They will have to dump some salary somewhere, and I just don't know who it would be. The whipping boys are all fairly cheap. Lots of NTC out there for big money guys. The only one I can think of who doesn't have one is Kronwall, and I don't think anyone wants to trade Nick Jr. all that badly. The ideal situation would be another one year deal until the nhl can figure out how low the salary cap is going to drop, but he has already said that is out of the question, and I can't blame him one bit.

I think it will be June 5th. There was talk of moving up the start if both conference finals were sweeps, which of course did not happen.

Whoaaaaa, we're halfway there! Don't stop, Believin!

What I wouldn't give to kneecap Pronger!

Sounds to me like more of a cable carrier issue than an NHL issue.

Sure wish I would have had that option on my cable. Just another reason I can't wait to get Direct TV in the future, which includes watching all games during the regular season on FSD including pre and post game coverage.

NBC = TPC @ Sawgrass VS = Indy 500 qualifying If the NHL network picks up a game, it is pulled from Center Ice coverage because it is considered by the league to be on a "regular" channel, thus not requiring CI coverage. I am more upset about not having an alternate carrier for the game last night while the Canucks game went into OT.

The first time a wings game was pulled from CI and put on the NHL network last season, I was upset because I would have to pay for the sports tier on my cable. An extra $3.50 per month...but it has been totally worth it. If the NHL network is offered on your cable, but have to pay a little extra for it, order it for the month and then cancel it after the playoffs. I really enjoy their "NHL on the Fly" coverage, complete with interviews and press conference clips. It really is worth the extra coin.

97.1 fm

What I am seeing is making Don Cherry look right about the Ducks style of play. They are scaring the wings off of the puck. Did anyone notice late in the period, Lids attempts the first pass out of the zone to Huds, and Huds lets it go because there is a Duck coming his way? The Ducks get the loose puck in the neutral zone, and right back to pounding on our D some more. Lilja would be handy right now...and so would Dallas Drake.

I was very disappointed in what looked to be a very lackluster effort by the wings today. After the rusty performance on Friday, I expected they would come out sharp and firing on all cylinders...but I was wrong. The Getzlaf line seemed to be running circles around whomever they were playing against for most of the game. I sure hope Rafalski gets back in the lineup soon. I think his abscence is very noticeable out there. What does it say about Meech, other than his lack of playoff experience, that Cheli cracks the lineup before him, but can't see the ice after the 2nd period. Will Babs insert Meech in game 3 for some fresh legs with some speed? I can't see that it could hurt too badly. I think he would play more if he was a right handed shot.

I think people are reading way too much into every comment anybody calling a game makes. I'm pretty sure the color man for VS in that series is the color man on the Dallas Stars broadcasts, and he is usually pretty good. If every color commentator said nothing with an opinion behind it, everyone would complain that the broadcast was boring no matter what station was showing any game in any sport. The call was correct, but there was controversy based on the CBJ reaction. 2 weeks from now nobody is going to even remember that this happened.

Some might call this the difference between career guy and job guy. Career guy doesn't want to go to games anymore because he doesn't want to get drunk and make a fool of himself or be around guys who do. I have been to games in Tampa, Nashville, and Minny, and for the most part people have been decent. But you just never know.

Ok, dually noted. I just don't think the NHL is popular enough to broaden the teams that they show unless there is one team with a national following. We all love hockey, that is why we are on this board, but the NHL is never going to be the NFL in the U.S. It's just not going to happen. Hopefully we can see labor/management peace for the foreseeable future, and continue to grow slowly as to not have a boom and bust. Hating on ESPN doesn't do any good either, they are simply showing what people want. Maybe not everybody, but the majority.

The NFL does not make sure every team gets on primetime on Sunday or Monday night. They put teams in the schedule they think will be good matchups or are popular teams. Versus would be stupid to try to put every team on the schedule. They are not running a soup kitchen, they are running a business. I am a hockey fan, and I am not going to tune in to see a Coyotes vs. Thrashers game. You put the teams on tv that will draw ratings and advertising $$. Same with ESPN, they are only going to put the NHL back on their network if they think they can make $$.

If you are in the local FSN-Ohio viewing area, you might actually have the NHL network feed blacked out. That has happened often where I am that if the Wild were on NHL network during hockey night in Canada, but the game was on FSN-North, I was blacked out of the NHL network feed (which I would have preferred).

The games weren't showing up on the guide on the cable box for me either, but when I switched to one of the channels that would normall show them, it had the schedule for the two games tonight. All was well here in SD. The Center Ice is good and bad for me right now on my cable provider. The good is that Center Ice and MLB extra innings share the same channel sets. So, I get extra innings for free until the first two rounds of the playoffs are over. The bad part is there is only one HD channel for the subscriptions, so the HD channel has now been taken over by baseball. I am sure it all has to do with scheduling, but you think someone with a brain would realize that playoff games are more important. I want direct tv, and am unable to get it at this time...

Blasphemy! I'd rather have Center Ice carry Ken and Mickey than the Columbus broadcast. Kind of looking forward to hearing them instead of Edzo on Vs.

I don't think he will be offered that much on an offer sheet for a couple of reasons. 1. I don't think he is worth more than around 3 million, just my opinion. 2. I am not exactly sure on the structure of the draft pick compensation for $ on an offer sheet, but I have to believe teams will utilize the ranges to their advantage to put his number just out of the reach for the wings and their cap issues, trying to give up as little as possible in return.

20 year deal, with the last 10 at 1 million per year. I don't think that would be legal, but he would be signing the deal before the age of 35, which helps after retirement. This loophole is so gonna be gone after the next CBA! (I got good grammar)

Kenny has said more than once he is looking for the best hockey deal. I think Hossa is more of a game breaker, but for around 2 mil less, I think Mule is the better deal. We know the Mule has a knack for being clutch, 2 ot game winners in the playoffs, and keeps getting better. Mule is a little more fragile, but that could be because he is in front of the net like Homer. Less is more in this case. We must remember, they won the cup without Hossa, and could do the same in the future.

When was Pierre McGuire on Vs? I have seen him on TSN and NBC, but never VS. I do have to say he is better than Keith Jones. That guy is dreadful, and also a former Av. I am all in favor of this rumored tv deal. Cross promotion between Vs and ESPN can only help the league.