Nev

Hudler has been Babcock's little ***** from the moment the 2 came together. He has always been loathe to give him ice-time, constantly criticises his defensive play - or when he is playing well defensively, rags on about he needs to keep playing well defensively. And when he's putting up points (which is most of the time) Babcock goes on about how he needs to keep putting up points. He was a healthy scratch almost the entire playoffs, even when Calder's ice time could be measured in seconds........ Compare this to how he kisses everyone else's ass, especially the "elite, elite player" that is Mikael Samualsson Lots of coaches in lots of sports like to have a scapegoat on their team. Seems pretty obvious to me that poor little Jiri is Babcock's.

The Blackhawks are like the Lions - they've sucked for so long that anyone who has moderate success gets big money thrown at them to stay.

Hudlers terrible long hair doesn't help his looks one little bit...when he had it shaved he didn't look half as wierd.

1) I just don't see how we can afford him long-term - on the open market he will command $7-9M, no way we can add that to the payroll without letting the likes of Cleary walk when they become an UFA. 2) He's gunna cost at least Hudler, Kindl/Ericsson and a 1st. Plus maybe another pick if he resigns. Thats a lot for a rental that... 3) We don't need. I keep saying it, *****FOR THE PLAYOFFS***** we do not need another skilled European forward, no matter how talented. We need more toughness and grit, more warriors. More Dan Cleary's, not another (more talented) Sammy. Someone mentioned about his signing a new contract before a trade. Its unusual but it has happened. If you remember, when he was traded to ATL for Heatley, the day before the trade he signed his contract extension which is why the trade came as such a shock to everyone. And yeah, Hossa to Anaheim, :rofl:

Hey congrats on winning the upgrade. Just to throw my twopennorth in, I'm really not a fan of rinkside seats. Advantages - You get to see everything close up, making a different viewing experience. The noise is also really intense down there. Disadvantages - Its cold! The players smell! You can't see a damn thing when the puck is in the corner down the other end due to the glass. Players benches/Penalty Box glass also add to the distortion. Personally when I go to watch the Sheffield Steelers I always try to sit back row of the lower tier like somebody else mentioned. Close enough to see the detail and hear the sounds, far enough away to take in the bigger picture. Oh, and Drew Sharp has written a pretty sensible (by his own atrocious standards) article on the Redwings attendance in todays freep http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...464/1053/SPORTS

Lidstrom is arguably the 2nd best D-man of all time. Orr is way out in front, but then Lidstrom/Bourque/Robinson/Potvin/Harvey are all a toss-up with little to no consensus on the order - but with each Norris he adds, Nick claws his way up the list. Yzerman, Deity on Skates that he was, is, at best, only the 3rd best centre *of his era*. 4th best if you put Messier in front of him.

OK, so my 5-2 Wings prediction was a little off...... Its officially a slump now, but wings slumps rarely go to 4 games.......they'd better come out fired up on Thursday. But then I said that yesterday.....

Whilst I would like to talk about how Elvis never meant shi*t to Lidstrom, I'm going to take this thread back to the serious line. Lidstrom will go down in history as the best player never to win a Hart Trophy. There, I've said it. The Hart normally goes to a player who elevates an average or above average team to Cup contender. The wings have been an elite team, Stanley Cup favourites for all bar his first couple of years. Of course he has been a key facet of that, but his genius is taken for granted around the league.

Nice thread. And illustrates perfectly why D-Mac is so beloved. And check out that face! The teeth, the nose, the eyebrows........ouch! He's making a play for the "ugliest NHLer" thread

Wings on mini-slump, Osgood let in 5 goals last game, playing a defensively poor team? Wings break out of slump, 5-2

Awesome vid - word is Turco, Kipper and Vokoun are still looking for their jocks I remember that one against Dallas, it was the live game in the UK that week - stunned doesn't even begin to describe it. One that wasn't in there was from his rookie season IIRC. I forget who we were playing (Vancouver?) but we were down 3 or 4 goals and he went on this incredible end to end rush that ignited a wings comeback. That was the moment I went "this kid can play!"

My bad, I though he was nearer the $2M mark. Couldn't agree more with Torres though, ever since the EDM series I've wanted this guy in a Wings uni........he's only got 5 goals this season so don't know if we could get him a little cheaper? Anyone know what his contract is? Can't find any details other than 3 yrs. He is *exactly* the kind of player the Wings roster needs ****FOR THE PLAYOFFS**** Forget Sundin or Hossa, we have enough goals in our lineup. We need more toughness come playoff time. EDIT: Just found, Torres is in the 1st yr of a 3 yr $6.75M deal.

My thoughts exactly

I despise Tucker, but I have to say, he is exactly what we need up front. Only problem is his contract - 1st year of a 4 yr deal paying him what, $3M per year? Maybe if we can ship out Sammy and his $2M odd we would have the room for him.

Please, spare me the flawed logic. Have you forgetten the media sh*t-fest in the 98 conference finals when Ossie let in that long goal against Dallas? The end of the world was nigh! And that first spell of his many of the fans never really took to Osgood, and in the end they ran him out of town....."Oz-zie.......Oz-zie......Oz-zie....." When your home fans want to tar and feather you, you think the rest of the league believes you're HOF worthy? None of this is personal against Ozzie, its just how the rest of the league perceives him. And stalwart 'wing though he is, he ain't no Roy, Brodeur or Hasek. Or even crazy Eddie. Can you imagine how many cups we would have won if we'd pulled the trigger on the trade with Montreal and got Roy instead of Colorado? (answer: >3 ) And he spent most of his career in the shadow of 66 & 99, what can a guy do?

To be fair, he hasn't played in forever. Right now he's just trying to regain some semblance of fitness. Having said that, I still think his chance of making the wings is <1%, but I can see him making Grand Rapids if he keeps it up *AND* stays injury free. Good luck to him, but I ain't holding my breath.

1) Franzen - guys with size who play a mildly physical game and score a few goals are much easier to find *cheaply* than 2) Guys who can put the puck in the net like Jiri Hudler. There is a reason why goalscorers get paid the most money 3rd equal Flip/Cleary. DC has the heart of a warrior, and some decent skills to go with it. What I wouldn't give for another one of him come April. Flip is maturing into an elite 2-way player in the Brindamour/Lehtinen mould.

As others have said, its the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Pretty Good. He's gunna finish with stellar career numbers, but he's never been seen as an elite goalie. He's never carried a team to the cup (indeed the perception at the time was that the Wings won in '98 *in spite* of Osgood, not because of him). He's never won a major individual award either. Compare his trophy cabinet to Roy, Brodeur or Hasek and you'll see why he won't get voted in. The only chance I see is if in the next 4 years the wings win at least 1 cup with him as starter AND/OR he wins a major individual award AND its a particularly weak class his year of eligability. He has more chance of having his number retired, as by 2011 he will own most Wings goaltending records.

Just watching the highlights over the internet this morning, it definately looked like Ottawa were outhitting us big style - both the frequency and intensity of the hits. Just further reinforces my belief that we need another physical forward (not an enforcer, just a guy that can hit, and can play a bit).

If he's here, it will be Zetterberg. Dark horse? Filpulla. You heard it here first.

Sad but true. The mind may be willing, but the body no longer is capable Hopefully it will all work out for him with Flint. He will always be one of the most popular Redwings ever, and I'm sure he WILL wear the winged wheel again, just it'll be in charity games and the like. Pounding The Turtle, and deking Ninimaa? out of his jockstrap to win the cup in '97 are two of the greatest moments in Redwing history. Treasure the memories.

I'm guessing part of the problem is that a lot of announcers are employed by the team - so they are told be be positive and not say anything negative (ie, be biased). It seems to be a problem that particularly afflicts struggling expansion franchises - don't criticise the team, it might affect attendance!

I'd have to go with the Philly announcers (all 3 of 'em). Its unbearable listening to them, especially if a Flyer starts gooning it up and the ref dares to call a penalty on them

Hockey is a violent sport, but the NHL has guarenteed contracts - hence why Luongo and Richards are willing to sign LOOOONG contracts. They are trading off short-term financial gain for long-term security. Of course I'm no suggesting we throw a 7yr deal at Hudler, he'll probly want no more than 3 or 4 to take him to when he's an UFA (when payday really comes around). As for Chelios, I thought the CBA had the minimum wage going up for players as they got older/played more games? Anyway you look at it, $0.85M for a HOF defenceman and part-time on-ice coach is a steal.

The question you must ask yourself is this: Who has a better #4 D-man? The only one that springs to mind is Anaheim with Beauchemin, and they're in a world of Salary Cap hurt because of it. Anyone else?