Datsyerberger

Holy crap that ad scared me, I heard something about needing a medic immediately and looked up and saw Wings jerseys.. took me a moment to figure out it was the Fischer incident. Phew.

Heh.

I is. Let's have our own little GDT in here.

3 cups, 2 as playoff starter > HOF, imo

Almost feel bad whedn a goalie like Miller stands on his head and his team lays an egg and gets absolutely dominated the whole game. ..Almost.

Empty net..

Wow, that was an awesome move by Cleary to jump out of the path of the pass so Hossa can net it.

Holy s***! That's in!

Alright! Goal!

The stick infractions Buffalo is committing is getting ridiculous. Just saw two guys take the same Wing for a ride via a hook, no call.

Blatant holding the stick for 4-5 seconds, no call :/

If it weren't for the mustard in that picture, it'd look sooo good.

I can't stand that crap, either. Mouse turd, I mean. Just gimme a friggin' hot dog.

I can't stand that crap. Cat soup, I mean.

No, not really.

"Big Buffalo Unit" ? Yea...

I've seen too many -serious- posts like that one lately

Jennings, Pearson & Hart too. He hasn't been in net for a single goal against.

Jesus, it's only 10 minutes in and it's not like the Wings don't have any SOG.

Conklin pulls a Hasek on Vanek!

Only if I'm providing music for said party. I'm ******* worthless for a party otherwise, except for the consuming of alcoholic beverages. The person below me can't dance to save their life.

Realistically, the only way we keep Z and Hossa both is by shedding quite a bit of weight and them taking deals, and the only we keep Z, Hossa, and one of Franzen or Hudler is by them all taking really small 1 year deals so they can work it all out at Lidstrom's next contract. Like, 5 mil for Z and Hoss and 3 mil for Hudler or Franzen. Even if we only get 1 of Z or Hossa this offseason, look forward to keeping only 2/3 of Hudler, Franzen, Flip. Edit: At the same time, the article does give me some hope. The fact that they are talking means Kenny thinks it's not an entirely hopeless situation, and the mention of a plan gives me the idea he's trying to work out some miracle to keep Z + Hossa + one of Franzen/Flip/Hudler -- can he make them buy into it, though?

I'm afraid the numbers are wrong there, as NHL numbers often is. Datsyuk + Holmstrom + Z and Hossa (both at a cap hit of only 6 each) + Lids + Raffi + Kronner + Stuart + Cleary + Draper + Maltby + Lilja + Kopecky + Osgood + Leino + Big Rig = 51.61 -- That's 6 D-men, 1 goalie, and 9 forwards, leaving 3 forward slots that need to be filled, 1 goalie, and then thats only a 20 man roster, entirely unacceptable, so a 22 man roster would bring in 1 extra d-man and 1 extra forward (perhaps one of those 2 someone that can play both positions, like Meech) -- 5.2 to fit all that in assuming a cap of 56 million. All of those players are currently signed throughout the next year, except Hossa and Z, and Leino and Big Rig dont count on the cap right now, but I think it's likely we'll see them next year, at only .9 an .85 each (or something close to that). That list left out Flip, Hudler, Franzen, Sammy, Mac, Lebda, Cheli, and Conklin. Let's fill in the cheap roles first. We need a 3rd line center. Helm. He's only .6 -- 52.21 We also need a backup forward.. let's say Meech, he's cheap and can be a d-man too .5 -- 52.71 And we need a 12th forward, let's say a grinder or enforcer. .5 -- 53.21 We need a backup d-man. Lebda's cheap at .65 -- 53.86 Need a goalie. Howard's .75, I think -- 54.61 Flip puts us over the cap at this point. He's shipped. We need 1 more forward, a 2nd line guy. We have a little over 1.3million left to snag Hudler or Franzen and make it a 22 man roster. If both will take it, well, 2 ways to look at this. Keep Hudler, because he's young and has great offense, or keep Franzen, because we can get nice picks for Hudler since he's RFA. Good luck getting either of them to take that money in the first place. If the cap stays the same, and Hossa and Z sign for only 6 mil each, and if we keep all of our currently signed players and add Big Rig and Leino, we lose Flip, Sammy, Cheli, Conklin (Because he gets replaced), and likely both Hudler and Franzen, unless one of them sign ultra cheap, and we have Big Rig, Leino, and Helm on the roster.

Oh dear lord. Amusing that they won...

Alright, this is a wildly optimistic post, bordering either on insanity or blind homerism. I obviously don't expect this, but we'll call it a Kenny Holland miracle. We do know that Hossa likes it here and seems to (or at least says he wants to) stay. His agent, despite certainly knowing the Wings situation and the cap situation, seems willing to work with the Wings at well, at the very least give things a shot. He's already taken a cut to get with the Wings, perhaps, just perhaps he really likes the organization. And then, as we all seem to believe Z to be a character guy, perhaps he too will be willing to take a deal to stay with (and in the future, captain?) the Wings. They must certainly both be aware of the cap situation as well, and know it will likely bring the average new salary down.. So let's say they take long term deals at 6 mil each, or an average between them that comes to a cap hit of 6 mil each. That cheap, we're probably talking long enough to be career-long contracts, like 8 years for each. Possibly an NTC, too. Guaranteed home and big bucks over a length of time = less cap hit. Anyhow, here goes some nuttiness. Hossa (6)- Dats (6.7)- Homer (2.25) (Someone) - Z (6) - Leino (.9) Cleary - (Someone) - Kopecky (.6) -- If he improves and/or is kept around because of Hossa Maltby (.88) - Draper (1.58) - (Someone) (Someone) Raffi (6) - Lids (7.45) Kronner (3) - Stuart (3.75) Lilja (1.1) - Big Rig (.85) (Someone) (Someone?) Osgood (1.7) (Someone) 51.61. Let's say the economy betters itself and the cap miraculously stays at 56. 4.3 mil left to fill a 2nd line forward, a 3rd line center, 2 4th line forwards, atleast 1 defenseman, and a goalie. Since Meech can play both D and forward, let's say he stays. .5 -- That's 52.11 Helm kicks ass. And he's cheap. .6 -- That's 52.71 We satisfy GMR and others and have an enforcer on roster, be it Downey, Mac, or someone else. .5 -- That's 53.21 Lebda's cheap, and a decent 7th d-man. .65 -- That's 53.86. Gotta have another goalie. Howards .75 or such? Could be wrong there, but -- 54.61 1.3 mil left to make it a 22 man roster with a touch of wiggle room. That automatically rules out Flip, who gets traded for picks or something. That leaves Hudler and Franzen. Hudler is younger and seems loaded with offensive talent. If he takes 1.3 mil or less, I think he's taken over Franzen. If he doesn't.. well, he's worth good picks when someone makes him an offer sheet, and we keep Franzen, assuming he signs for 1.3 mil or less. I don't see that as likely, but.. *shrug*. More likely we'd land someone else, or even keep Sammy if he'd stay cheap. Or we ditch Lilja and bring in a cheaper d-man. Hossa - Dats - Homer Hudler/Franzen/Sammy - Z - Leino Cleary - Helm - Kopecky Maltby - Draper - Enforcer Raffi - Lids Kronwall - Stuart Lilja - Big Rig Lebda Meech Osgood Howard Looks pretty damned unlikely, eh? Maybe Raffi gets traded (I dont think so..), or Cleary waives his NTC, or or or or.. Yea. Oh well, it'll at least be fun this season. Regardless, git r done, Kenny! (Edit: Just for a quick giggle, can you imagine the bitching that would take place on other team's forums if the Wings actually pulled something like that off? *snicker*)