South Dakota wings fan

Some Flex scheduling late in the season, like NBC does for Sunday night football, would be wise. Maybe they split up the conference finals like espn and TNT do, with cross-promotion could not be bad for either network.

I think Cheli may still be back as an insurance policy next year depending on what happens this season. I also think we could see Hudler traded this season and replaced by Leino (depending on how he plays in GR). I think Sammy will be gone via UFA unless he comes for less than a million next season. I think the cap potentially going down could be a huge factor in this equation. I have a major sentimental attachment to the Mule, but we must remember Hossa is probably better and they are the same age. I think this debate is almost like Kyle Busch v. Dale Jr. for those of you who pay any attention to NASCAR. Hendrick motorsports went after Dale Jr. who was a bigger name and more marketable and gave up Kyle Busch who was an up and coming star. Busch could very well be the better driver, but Hendrick went with the superstar. Very similar situation.

I think Leino would/should be called up first due to the fact that they need to find out if he is the real deal. Helm would be great and I would love to see him in the lineup right now, but if they don't get Leino some PT, they risk losing him either back to Finland this year or to another team who could afford to pay him more next year.

I think it is just a matter of looking to the future. So in reality, Shanahan WAS a good player. He no has limited skills and would take up valuable ice time from a young player, i.e. Franzen, Hudler, who has potential. Chelios is nothing more than an insurance policy for this season. He is serviceable and they will try to make sure he can be available for the playoffs in case they need him so they don't end up with an unproven rookie (Quincey in '07) playing during the conference finals.

Excellent point. Holland promised Lids that no one would make more than him when signing the extension. So, they structure the contract to escalate. Then, if Lids re-signs after next season you almost have to think that it will be one year deals and at some dollar amount that is cap friendly. I tend to think Hank will not sign for anywhere close to ten years due to his health issues in the past. I think the only way that the wings would do this is if the cap hit was around Pav's contract. It would give Hank the long-term security he would desire, and the wings the flexibility they would desire. I just am not sold it will happen though. Hank may be a team guy, but he is not stupid either. Look at the contract that Kopitar just inked. I believe it was for 6.8 per year. That is only 100k more than Pav per year. Pav's deal is going to be considerably under market value unless the salary cap drops drastically. If the cap does drop, the only good side effect is that it lowers the max contract that a team is allowed to give a player based on the 20% rule. It has been mentioned before, but at the end of the day with all of the free agents, the major decision of the summer could be Mule vs. Hossa; who do they re-sign? Does anybody else think the wings may shop Hudler? He is a RFA next summer, which would allow them compensation if they lose him. But, it could allow them the flexibility to call up Leino if they desire. I think most would rather see Sammy traded, but all you could get for him most likely is a bag of pucks. Whew...that should be about all for now.

I would agree,. Iginla is classy until his team is getting blown out! Very easy to dislike in those situations.

I think there were only 5 or 6 games that weren't on NBC/Versus that weren't on Center Ice last season. And I think 2 of them were on the NHL Network simulcast of FSN Detroit. You will have more trouble finding time to watch all of them than having to worry about if you will get screwed and they won't be on. Hell, it's still cheaper than going to two games!

I have to say the one thing I took out of this interview, was that Leino won't be in Grand Rapids for long. If someone doesn't get a major injury towards the beginning of the season, someone will be traded to make room for him. Otherwise, they will risk losing him next year...Hell they may still lose him if he plays awesome and commands more money on the open market.

I think Q gets traded, and Meech stays and also plays a little forward since we may have to only carry 12 forwards to start with. I think Ericsson will take Lebda or Lilja's job next year...possibly this year depending on injuries.

obviously none of us know if/when this will happen for sure...especially with Chelios hurt now. But, I do believe the writing is on the wall that Quincey is the odd man out. Babcock has already said that Lilja - Lebda will start as his 3rd d-pair. They are also talking about starting with only 12 forwards. Meech played some forward last season, he makes more sense to keep around. I think Lebda could find himself on the way out next year if he's not careful. I find it hard to believe Ericsson won't be in the lineup next year...if not later this year if the brass decides he belongs.

Kind of comparing apples to oranges on the differnces between the CBA in the NHL and NFL. NFL players can be cut at anytime and their contract isn't guaranteed. NHL players cannot be cut without pay.

But I don't think Chelios will play more than 35 games this year, barring injuries. I think Raffie is too small and is more of a PP guy. Lebda is took weak defensively to play PK...that leaves Lilja, Quincey, or Meech. That is unless they unload 2 D-men and Ericsson makes the big club. At this point, I just don't think it will be Lilja who gets traded.

agreed!

And as for "Who will replace Lilja on the PK?" -- Stuart will. Stuart was paired with Kronwall on the PK during the playoffs. When watching the games it was Lilja and Lids; Stuart and Kronner as the two PK pairings.

I'm not going to worry about it too much. Not even Kenny can win 'em all.

At this point, the question of which defensemen will stay with the team and who will go has been sliced and diced just about every way possible. Earlier tonight, I was watching game one of the finals on my DVR, and I thought of a question. If Lilja is the d-man who would be the odd man out, who would replace him on the PK? Lilja frustrates the hell out of me too when he makes his bonehead mistakes. But of the other guys on the squad, I don't see Raffie killing penalties too often. I would think that Kronner and Stuart make the #2 PK unit. Cheli is going to play part time barring several injuries. I think Lebda would be useless on a PK. Same with Meech. So, is Quincey the man you want to hitch to Lids on the top PK unit? I don't know if I would want to see that happen. At least not this coming season without some more seasoning. Now, if Lebda or Meech is the odd man out; do they have more trade value? If you can get a draft pick for Lebda at all, you already have gotten more back than you gave to get him. But, you may get more out of Meech because he probably has more upside. With Ericsson waiting in the wings for next season, do we really need another PP guy? Lots of questions, but good problems to have. Can't wait for the season to start!!! Just got tickets today to go see the Wings @ Wild 1/3/09.

Whose place on this roster could he possibly fill?! In a sick way, Shanny helped the team to win the cup last year by leaving when he did.

I am no homer for Kopecky, but he was playing some pretty good hockey when he got injured last April.

I think Downey gets the 13th spot. He can go long stretches without playing and it doesn't hurt his game. Mac is more of an insurance policy. Helm can play top line minutes in GR, and hopefully Leino can do the same for a few months. Let's face it, someone will get injured, they always do. When it happens, we will have depth to fill the holes. I almost wonder if Kopecky shouldn't start on IR while he continues to rehab and strengthen his knee, for the sole purpose of freeing up a roster spot in the short term. Granted I don't even know if that is legal under the CBA, but just a thought. As far as Sammy being packaged with one of the D-men, I think it depends on who wins out on the blue line. If Lilja is the odd man out, then I think he goes solo. If it's one of the other low $ D men, maybe it could happen. But Sammy's cap number really isn't that high and he is a UFA. What kind of value does Sammy really have?

My wife would have trouble letting him get away as well!

That is what Babcock has indicated he would start with. Homer-Dats-Hossa Mule-Z-Huds Cleary-Flip-Sammy Malts-Drapes-(Downey, McCarty, Kopecky, Leino, et al.)

I will be very interested to see who re-signs first out of Mule and Z. If Z is being difficult, does KH move to lock up the Mule and work it from there? I don't see Hudler signing anything until after the season, unless he is super happy with his role and playing regular minutes on the 2nd line. I think he has to prove he can play those minutes and be responsible defensively before the org and palyer make a long-term commitment to each other. I think we all know Hossa will be waiting until after the season to decide what to do. Let's just hope the cap continues to rise at decent rate so that everyone can be retained.

One thing to remember though, is that if Meech was so much better than Lebda, why didn't Meech knock him out of the starting line-up in the regular season or playoffs?

Let's just wait and see how things shuffle out as the season progresses. People thought Gretzky and Hull were going to be God's gift to hockey and they were never able to develop the chemistry. So what's to say that Hossa and Dats will make the ultimate line combo? I think everyone can agree on one thing; there will be plenty of talented people to trial together and find what works.

Very true!