JPT

I've seen quite a few posts referencing how we will be in trouble next year moving to the Eastern Conference and playing some tough, physical teams. I was skeptical and wanted to see how we've stacked up in the recent past. Now I know that these stats were with #5 on the blue line but its not like he made us all that physical so here goes.I also included out record against the existing NE division 2011-2012 season: 10-7-1 against the East, 4-2 against the NE 2010-2011 season : 12-4-2 against the East, 6-0 against the NE 2009-2010 season: 9-6-3 against the East, 4-2 against the NE Just for kicks against the big bad Bruins: November 3, 2009 2-0 W February 11, 2011 6-1 W February 13, 2011 4-2 W November 25, 2011 3-2 W SO I know past success is not a prediction of the future but I think people's fears playing in the East are overblown. I think a lot of people think of the team as "soft" and its true that the Wings don't hit like other teams and aren't as physical...but they can still win! Moral of the story, no matter what conference, everyone always needs a big, physical scoring winger. We aren't getting one so we go to war with what we have.

Unfortunate news but not surprising to anyone here. He's a great 3rd line guy and PK'er. Hope he comes back strong and healthy and at this point I would rather him sit the remainder of this year and heal properly. I don't know how much of a difference he would have made overall to this team. I kind of think we would be in the same place or just a little better.

I am so thankful of the injuries to Cola and Sammy which have allowed the kids to play. At some point you have to see what you've got when it comes to young talent. All rookies and young players are going to make mistakes, its allowing them to play through them and learn which shows that a team is dedicated to youth. Players can develop in the AHL but at some point they have to prove it in the NHL. This youth movement is solely by chance due to injuries and if Cleary went down and Sammy never returned to the lineup I would be happy to see Nyquist and Tatar up full time. I appreciate what Cleary has done for this team but he is done at this point.

I think we've seen Flip's ceiling and he's a guy that should be playing on the 2nd or 3rd line. $5 mil per would be a lot of money for his production and hard to swallow but I wouldn't be surprised for him to get it from a number of teams including the Wings. Only KH knows what the contract expectations are from Flip's camp but if he wants north of $4.5 per and we could swing a deal for a top 20 pick in the draft I would think Holland would have to seriously consider it. I expect him to remain with the team after the deadline though. I don't know how many teams are actually interested in him as a rental and trading him would damage whatever chances we have of making a cup run.

Pretty much everyone is tradeable. A center with size, the ability to step into the NHL at 19 and with such a high ceiling is well worth a top end G prospect. Ultimately Howard is the goalie for the next 5 years at least which makes Mrazek expendable. Is Courturier worth it? I'm not educated enough to say. But Mrazek is definitely tradeable.

I would love to see Jagr filling out our top 6 but I don't see KH matching the Bruins. They're motivated to add a piece after the Iginla deal.

I'm not comparing the quality of prospects. Before this trade happened no one had heard of these Blues prospects. If you had then my next question would be which NHL team do you scout for. People would have to google Jarnkrok to find out who he was. As Wings fans we may have high hopes for our prospects but lets be honest - most prospects don't pan out and that applies to all sports. Back to the topic at hand I am disappointed that we couldn't swing a deal to land J-Bo. Bottom line - he would have upgraded our defense. I think its likely Flip walks (and we should let him at anything approaching 5 mil a year) and if that happens we wouldn't have that much cap trouble for the 1 year left on his deal.Our defense is young and has promise but needs a boost. Interesting how Quincey was worth a first a year ago...and by interesting I mean nauseating!

Blues fans would be saying the same thing if we had traded Jarnkrok or Ouellet. Who are these nobodies?

I wonder if he would be amenable to coming back to the Wings or if the decision not to try and re-sign him turned him off to the organization for good. No doubt he would be an asset sorely needed on the team as currently constructed but I wonder what it would take to get a deal done considering that he's 34. He hasn't cracked 30 goals since he played for the Wings and always is a lock to miss some time so I wonder if it would be worth it to let Flip walk and sign him.

Don't. Get. It. Tatar should not be moving down to GR, unless there is some sort of locker room issue which we haven't heard about. Its about time with Nyquist...let the kid sink or swim at this point.

I wouldn't be so sure about him not being bought out. His contract runs until 2021 when he's 42. If he retires before then the Blackhawks have to carry a lot of dead cap space. Those front loaded contracts are trouble now. We have a couple of those too.....

I can't imagine that the Wings will re-sign White so I hope they are shopping him. He's a decent puck moving dman so I would think he has some value for a 2nd or 3rd rounder. I would rather see Lashoff in the lineup rather than White.

I agree that going after Liles doesn't make sense in that we have a ton of depth dmen and not high end talent. Honestly I like the way the D has been playing and would only want to make a move to bring in a guy that will be on the top pair here.

I think Howard will command a salary a little north of $4 million and I think that would be a fair deal for 4 years. He's a good goalie but I think in today's NHL goalies are a replaceable commodity and you can't sign a goalie to a huge deal with the cap in place.

Last night was a great game to watch. Pavs had one of the more memorable games that I can remember from a single player. He almost won the game on his own. Its a shame he doesn't have anyone on his wing that can help him out. Definitely a tough one to lose but I have hope for this team yet that they can put it together. As Richdg said as far as the injuries go its no surprise that some of these players are hurt. Cola, Sammy and Franzen always miss time. Holland an Co. knew this so these injuries aren't an excuse.

While Abdelkader may never develop his game much further he is a valuable player on the 4th line. He brings some energy, hustle and hitting. He'll never be more that a 4th liner but that's ok in my book.

Last time I checked to steal a series you have to actually win. Which we did not. He played well for sure. No doubt he's a good goalie most of the time. But he's not elite. Those I would rate higher than Howard: Lundqvist Rinne Quick Price Miller Luongo Bryz Kiprusoff Maybe you would argue with a few of these and maybe some other goalies I didn't list would rate higher than Howard. But he probably is not in the top 3rd of goaltenders in the NHL

I would agree that Jimmy Howard isn't among the top goalies in the NHL. His rebound control is consistently bad.I don't see him ever stealing a series in the playoffs for us but these days you don't need the best goalie just a good one.

I don't blame Bettman. All he is is the mouthpiece for the owners. And they want a bigger share of the pie. If I were the players I wouldn't back down on this. A salary cap was out in place to save the owners from themselves and now its not good enough. Screw that! Players are worth what owners are willing to pay them. Period. If a franchise can't afford to sign big contracts the salary cap means they can still be competitive and can still be elite with good management. Hockey is my favorite sport and the Wings my favorite team but should we lose the season I would have to seriously think about spending a single dollar with the NHL.

While Federov is one of my all time favorite hockey players I would think he's outside the bubble in terms of having his jersey retired. He was an incredible talent and one of the biggest reasons the Wings won the cup in 97 and 98. But he also wasn't a lifelong Wing and was never the heart and soul of the franchise. Dats and Z are way behind Federov when it comes to who's number is going to be retired.

I find the fact that people here don't want the Wings to sign Semin to be mind boggling. He instantly becomes the best winger the team has. I'm not suggesting the Wings break the bank with him but 10-12 over 2 years or 6.5 for one year would be a great addition to the team and without the long term commitment. If he is looking for a longer term deal I'm not sure. I would think to trade for a Bobby Ryan might cost too much and I would rather add Semin without losing Flip.

I think he'll somehow end up in Philly no matter what. Even if Nashville matches I think a trade is in the works. Being a hockey player in Philly is not a bad thing. They have a good young team and its a nice, fun city. As a New Yorker I have a strong dislike for them but being objective its a good situation for him. I think its time to face facts that we are not a team that people will just want to play for "just because". The Wings could stand to be more aggressive in pursuing high end talent. The fact that we'll be paying Quincy close to 4 mil a year and gave up a 1st for him makes me want to vomit.

I wouldn't be upset if we signed Semin to a 3yr/15mil contract. I think that's a slight over payment but compared to the salaries out there around the league not too bad. I think Ken Holland would be too embarrassed to make that offer to the Flames for Bouwmeester. He would be laughed out of the room. I would think the Flames want young assets not older, close to retirement players. People are so unrealistic.

The problem with us trading for players is that we have so few movable assets. People here are overvaluing Franzen in a trade scenario. The guy can score no doubt but he has a sizable contract with a lot of years left and is on the wrong side of 30. Flip is a real asset as are Nyquist and Smith. I think to get a Yandle it takes 2 of the 3 and a 1st rd pick. We don't have the depth to pay that price methinks. Plus I want to see Smith next year!!!

Are people here really complaining about player salaries and contract lengths? This is too funny. No Wings fans had issues when the Wings were able to outspend small markets and pick up a Hull and Robitaille in the offseason but when another team is able to sign players the Wings covet the system is broken? Players are worth what owners will pay them. Period. Grow up. If the Wings don't want to overpay for a Parise and Suter then they will have cap flexibility moving forward to make a play at a Weber next year or to make a trade for a guy and have the cap room to make it work.