SwedeLundin77

I am so happy that our GM and Owners are competent and wise. The Blackhawks are showing their inexperience at being a good team and keeping that team together for the long haul. Giving this kind of money to a young guy like Barker, while good, is a perfect example of how the cap is going to be completely screwed down the line. Could you see us giving Ericsson, had he been a RFA this season, 3+ million a season right off the bat? HELL NO! And Ericsson would have stayed for much less too. It's not exactly the same, but look at Leino... 775,000 for 2 years. Sure he only played 13 regular season game, but the potential is there and he had 9 points in 13 - that was no fluke. It's going to be interesting to see how the Hawks dig themselves out of the hole that they have continued to dig deeper and deeper this off-season. They will have to trade more than Sopel if they plan on keeping Versteeg. Thanks Talon, thanks for continuing the trend of screwing up the cap system for the NHL. Bloated salaries in a s*** economic time = ignorance.

Detroit over Pittsburgh 4 games to 2... Hossa will be the star of this series with Datsyuk close behind.

Yep, we got hosed.... big time. Usually I try to look at this from the other point of view, but the other point of view has no defense for this horses***. It all boils down to the fact that this should be a reviewable play. Of course the dirty goon ducks get a gift wrapped win. Sure we came out playing flat, but we turned it up and really showed that we are a better team and when we are on our game there is no competition. Shame the refs decided they had to step in and call a bulls*** call on Stuart when they weren't calling jack s*** anywhere else which leads to a goal and then they take our tying goal away. This is the exact reason why the NHL is not as popular as it could be. If I am trying to teach someone about the sport that knows nothing, what does that make the NHL look like?!?!? Well the rule is this, but the refs can determine it to be this way too... WTF???? Okay, I've vented, moving on, let's get a BIG W in the next game and take it home tied.

Well he had a poor season due to his eye issues and the blurriness, then he had to wear the full face visor which messed up his downward vision since he often grinds it out and has to look down in his feet. You could see him slowly getting better after he had the last surgery to fix his eyes and he has really come on in the playoffs because he is built for the playoffs. I kind of feel the same way of Stuart, I feel he didn't play all that well during the regular season but he becomes a hitting machine in the playoffs and ups his play.

A players worth is measured by far more than just points tallied at the end of your career. He may win cups, but it is not purely reflective on the INDIVIDUAL'S greatness when that happens - it is a team effort. I would take Zetterberg, Datsyuk, or Hossa over Crosby any day of the week, because when all is said and done, they are OVERALL better hockey players. From the start of their careers they were taught and excelled in defense first and the responsibility of being able to play in all situations. This is something Crosby has lacked as evidenced in last years playoffs (defense). 1 on 1, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Hossa would all burn Crosby. Now, I strongly dislike Crosby because of crybaby demeanor and the fact that the league decides to market just 1 players instead of doing it the right way (see NBA). Having said all that, my opinion is not based on my dislike for Crosby one bit, I'm not a fool, I just know that there is more to the sport of hockey than scoring as many points as possible. Being one dimensional is not appealing to me. P.S. - Crosby is not the best offensive player on that team. Malkin is. Malkin has continued to inflate Crosby's numbers.

The only reason I find your comments funny is because they are completely baseless and without merit. Ever heard of a 'tender named Ryan Miller? Yeah, I'm pretty sure he said he wants to play in Detroit. The only reason he re-signed with Buffalo was because Detroit had already shored up their goaltenders and it was apparent that we have some really good prospects coming up the pipeline. Howard, Larsson, McCollum.... yeah, it wouldn't be the most insane belief that one of those three will be our starter after Osgood departs. Also, getting Bouwmeester will not answer our prayers.... This is the same defense we won the cup with last season, so yet again you think that someone like Jay B. will swoop in and save the day? Forget about it. Don't get me wrong, I like Bouwmeester and all, but he is not the answer. The answer is simple: Hard work, determination, hunger, and playing a relentless 60 minutes.

Sammy is streaky as all hell, shoots the puck a lot... right at the goalies chest, plays horribly at the point on the powerplay (i'll be happily rid of that aspect), and is expendable in my own opinion. I would much rather give a guy like Leino, Helm, Abdelkader a chance. Plus, we'd be saving cap space that way too. Sammy is not worthless, but he's at the bottom of the priority list with our free agents.

Tell Kenny Holland that! By all indications, he seems pretty psyched about the challenge and the possibility of retaining both Hossa and Franzen. Listen to everything he says about it, he wants to make it work. I'd say questionable, but out of the question? Come on! You're no GM.

Notice Filppula is not in that projection. It would take some creativity, but I wouldn't say it's impossible.

We honestly cannot have Filppula continue to waste away on the 3rd line.... Either he plays on the second line or we need to trade him and save cap for Hossa Franzen Hudler. If Hossa had not come this season, Filppula would be centering Franzen and Hudler/Sammy/Cleary on the second line.

I think they need to address the goaltending. Do we want to try and sign Conklin to an extension? Will he ask for more now that he has proven he can play at a top level? Will he want to stay here in a backup role or will there be some demand for him to start somewhere else? Is Howard ready? Is Larsson more ready than Howard? These are all questions that need answers. Beyond goaltending, I feel we need to move on to re-signing Hossa first, gauge where he's at now and how much he'd like to make with this team. Would he be willing to follow Zetterberg and take a discount to play with a consistent contender? If we can sign Hossa to a 6 mil cap hit, I will literally announce Ken Holland as my Lord and Savior.

The more I think about it, after seeing the Datsyuk Zetterberg compliations from years past, the more I want them reunited. So here are two scenarios: Without Hossa: Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Holmstrom Hudler - Filppula - Franzen Cleary - Draper - Leino Abdelkader - Helm - Maltby With Hossa: Hossa - Datsyuk - Holmstrom Cleary - Zetterberg - Franzen Abdelkader - Filppula - Leino Helm - Draper - Maltby

I was bored when I found out so I figured this out. It is approximate, not exact, and obviously some of the players may be different. I only went with Conklin or Howard's salary to backup Ozzie, but listed the options available. Of course that's considering Conks will re-sign for the same low amount. Zetterberg - 6.000 Datsyuk - 6.700 Filppula - 2.500 Cleary - 2.500 Holmstrom - 2.250 Draper - 1.650 Helm - 0.630 Leino - 1.000 Abdelkader - 0.710 Maltby - 0.750 24.69 Lidstrom - 7.450 Rafalski - 6.000 Stuart - 3.750 Kronwall - 3.250 Lilja - 1.250 Lebda - 0.850 Meech - 0.500 47.74 Osgood - 1.450 Conklin - 0.750 or Howard - 0.750 or Larsson - 0.685 TOTAL - 49.94 approx. CAP - 56.70 DIFF - 6.76 Million to re-sign Hossa (6), Franzen(4.5), & Hudler(3) That's 10 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goalies. We will have close to 7 million leftover to re-sign 2 forwards (a combination of the three above perhaps, but not likely) I really like Filppula, but as long as he plays on the third line and doesn't see consistent top 6 minutes with other top 6 players, he'll never play up to his salary. Thus there is no reason to keep him here when his salary could go toward securing Hossa. I would really like to see Ericsson, Leino, Helm, and Abdelkader up next season, but I have a feeling we'll only see 2 of those 4 up. I would guess that Lebda is on his way out to make room for Ericsson. Not sure what we'll do about Chelios, unless we deal Meech too. I like Conklin a lot, and Ozzie is really concerning me this year, so the whole goalie situation is obnoxious. I want to give Howard a chance, but Larsson is knocking on the doorstep already.

So you and several other people, would rather he sign a 5 year deal for 6-7 million, then in 5 years when hopefully our economy is back on track and the salary cap rises in the nhl, he could ask for upwards of 8 million instead of locking him down for a 6 million a year cap hit for the rest of his career.... I'm sorry, I trust in this organization, they know what they are doing. Zetterberg is no DiPietro or Yashin. He is a classy hard working individual who puts team first. He is the next captain of this team and I'm glad that we have him locked up for this career.

There is no reason why Crosby should be able to have a direct call to the Commissioner of the NHL... That's the first issue I have. How many times have you heard of a single player having a conference call to the Commish? Personally, I have never heard of that and is just another point about how Cindy get's preferential treatment by the league and the media.

If I'm bored, I usually will put it on, but after the bulls*** that happened this year and the flaws in the system, I'm not going to watch it whatsoever. When the fan balloting makes sense, I'll maybe think about it, but when players who don't belong in this kind of game get to go, it's a bunch of crap and makes the game LESS enjoyable. Fix the fan balloting NOW! If a player is needs the time off to nurse an injury, don't penalize them for that, you're only hurting the team, hurting that team's fans, and hurting the GAME itself. Anyone who disagrees with this needs to take 2 steps back and literally FK your own face! It's a little over the top but if you've seen Tropic Thunder you'd understand the humor in it.

Only Datsyuk and the team doctors know that for sure... Shouldn't the decision to not play in a game be HIS and not Chairman Mao-Bettman's. Thanks for the injury status Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.

Probably because he'll be coaching with his old buddy. I seriously hope he drops out though, in reponse to this bullcrap, that would be hilarious and prove the point even more that the whole idea of suspending two class act players for being injured and wanting to take the 5 days to relax and rest up is absurd.

Haha, true.

Guess what, they do those kinds of things ALL YEAR LONG! In Detroit and wherever they go play, it happens. I want to know who actually pays for tickets to the ASG? Haha, that's about as bad as going to Mexico and drinking their water! Maybe what really pushed Datsyuk over the edge was when they counted him out of the skills competition... REALLY? Pretty much one of the most creative and skilled hockey players to play the game is not going to be in the "SKILLS" competition?!?!? Give me a break!

Bravo, thank you Mr. Holland for taking the right stance. Who said something about the Wings not objecting to this issue? Take that statement and throw it out the window.

Exactly, another good point. The fans didn't vote Datsyuk or Lidsrom in, so this whole idea of them robbing the fans is moot. The fans would rather have Toews and Niedermayer there over two players who deserve to be in the starting lineup. Maybe if the voting wasn't a bunch of crap in the first place, the all star game might actually be a pretty good time.

If you were truly sick, you would miss your meet and greet, it's part of your job, but when it comes to health or injury you more than likely would not be able to make it. Your job, I would guess, has no physical elements to it. It's hard to make an analogy from hockey to powerpoint presentations and shaking hands. If Datsyuk has a hip flexor injury, the team and the team's fans take priority. Having him healthy for the home stretch is more important to me, as a fan, and the team itself than having him "showboat" at an all star game that is a farse in the first place. The very same goes for our TOP defensemen who has been dealing with an elbow issue for who knows how long now. Get healthy, rest up, take the BS all star game and one game suspension off and possibly be ready for Thursday if you feel ready to go then. As a fan, winning games and preparing for the playoffs is priority one, the all star game (which should be held after the season ends) is priority 14.

This is a huge joke, the NHL All Star Game is a huge joke. It has been that way for as long as I can remember. First of all, move the All Star Game for the NHL into the post season like the NFL does. Secondly, let the fans have ONE VOTE each. This will not be perfect, but each registered e-mail is only allowed to vote once, sure some real big losers will sign up for a few e-mails, but it won't be "vote as often as you like so long as you wait a minute between votes". That is an absolute joke. That's when you get some real big losers in Anaheim who sit in their basement and stuff the ballot for Getzlaf and Niedermayer. Now don't get me wrong, Getzlaf is not a horrible choice for a starter, but Niedermayer has no business being at an All Star game anymore (not as a starter). Now we get into suspensions for players who decline to come?!? Give me a freakin' break! So if Datsyuk has a hip flexor issue that happens the game before the All Star break and would benefit from that time off to heal and be ready for the second half, why in God's name would you punish a player for thinking of his team first? Same goes for Lidstrom. They weren't even named starters which is the biggest joke of all. Bettman has to go, I say Shanahan would be a great replacement because he knows what is good for this game and he is young, so he'd be an energetic commish. Let's look at some "suspect" players in the all-star game this year... Western Conference: Toews - He has had a sophomore slump this season, didn't score in something like the first 15 games of the season. He's a 60-70 point player this season. Brown - Has 33 points right now... Hejduk - Started out decently but has cooled off significantly like he has every season Modano - Is having a decent season, will put up around 60 points. Tkachuk - Started out the hottest goal scorer, but cooled off quickly, currently has less than 40 points. Hasn't even scored 20 goals, with the hot start he had in mind. Niedermayer - Over the hill, doesn't produce like he used to. There are a handful of players who deserve the starting spot over him. Robidas - As an injury reserve, he is not even considered a top producing defensemen, at all. Giguere - Has had pretty much one of the worst seasons of his career this year. It's pretty bad when your backup Hiller is getting more starts lately than your starting goaltender is. Eastern Conference: Kovalev - Was dynamite last season. This season has been poor on the production side and plays with an offensive team. Hudler has more goals and assists than Kovalev at this point. Kovalve - 33 points Hudler - 39 points Staal - As far as Eric Staal goes, he is a borderline choice to go. He has had a terrible offensive season for his standards. Only has 35 points in 48 games played. Komisarek - Let's face it, he's only a starter because it's in Montreal. But that is not the reason why we have an All Star game, it's not a hometown thing, it's supposed to be the "BEST PLAYERS"... Komisarek is by far the worst starter choice this year. Western All-Stars that make sense: Getzlaf Boyle Datsyuk Lidstrom Marleau Thornton Weber Iginla Rafalski Hossa Sedin Souray Koivu Campbell Doan Cammalleri Nash Kane Backstrom Luongo Nabokov Reserves: Setoguchi, Phaneuf Eastern All-Stars that make sense: Malkin Markov Crosby Green Ovechkin Semin Streit Savard Chara Parise Krejci Bouwmeester Carter Kuba Kovalchuk St Louis Heatley Vanek Thomas Price Miller Reserves: Elias, Wideman These are the appropriate all-stars in my own opinion, I don't expect everyone to agree with this, but if I'm thinking of an entertaining all-star game, I want all the top offensive and creative players out there. Try to get as good a representation of all the teams in the NHL as you can, but if they don't belong in the same league as the above players they either should not be there or they're rooks and they should be in the youngstars game.

Why not Hawaii.... it'd be relaxing for the players too!