P. Marlowe

Ah, true. Lidström might take a paycut and that would create some space. When Maltby and Holmström retire they will probably be replaced with players with similar salaries.

Where does the cap space come from? I'd be surprised if the cap went up.

Wow, I hope Babcock is reading this. Sometimes you make a simple thing so complicated that you need to just get back to the basics.

*Playing was easier...* (By the expressions in this photo there must be something really awesome happening on the ice)

It's a shame he couldn't finish his career with the Caps. I think there were times last season when he could've won the number 1 job back from Theodore.

That's what it's like to be on only one side of propaganda. With all these generalisations it seems like in NA it's tough inside the rink and soft outside the rink while in Russia it's the other way round.

I recall that there was an Mlive article where Holmström said that he takes one year at a time. His future depends on how healthy he stays. I think trading Holmström wouldn't be too good an idea as his Red Wings tattoo would look stupid at any other team's locker room. To hide it he wouldn't be able to shower. Although not showering for months would make his net-front-presence even stronger. How could any goalie concentrate on the puck when Holmström smelling like death is standing in front of the crease?

Do they need to call anyone up? 12 forwards make a playing roster. CBA has many detailed rules, but if I've understood something right, then not calling an extra forward up would save Wings some cap space for later use. Extra cap space helps when Wings want to put Lilja back to the roster.

Yeah, the injuries forced him to retire. You might be right about Rangers playing him too young though. Funny thing that Blackburn played with too blockers and no glove for a while when he attempted comeback. He couldn't move his hand enough to use a glove.

Don't you know why he retired?

Well... Not every European player is small, weak, skilled and not interested in physical contact. Just like not every North American player is 6'6, slow, aggressive and score only scrappy goals. The situation isn't so black and white. They actually fight sometimes over here and I've heard that Martin St. Louis has good hands. NHL takes the highest talent from every other league in the world so a player that has had a solid spot in NHL team for years is very interesting for them. The salaries are so high because that's the only way they can get anyone from NHL. Of course there's also the fact that these players most likely will have a bigger roles in their KHL teams than what they in NHL.

Ah, the rules of hockey fighting.

If he's going to get injured anyway Rangers should start using him as a kamikaze.

Datsyuk was "nonexistent" last spring. What I mean by this is that you might be right, but there's a big change that Gaborik was playing injured. He's injured so often that he's probably never ok even when he's playing and posting over point-per-game stats. Gaborik was great in 2003 playoffs when Wild went to conference finals.

They have 13 forwards even without Abdelkader.

To be able to dress 18 skaters Sharks must get a fourth line for $1.5 million. Or something like that.

Yep. If Lilja comes back late enough on the season then Red Wings might not have to move anyone else.

KHL?! Vade retro satana!

Lilja most likely won't be able to start the season so Lebda will be the defenseman number six and Meech will be number seven (unless Meech outplays Lebda). No one will be traded. If Lilja recovers at some point and there's no cap room for him to come back then either Lebda or Meech will be traded depending on which one is lower in the depth chart.

It looks like they remembered the Wings again when they got to late 40's in their list.

It was a bummer last season when he had 97 points with three games left, but he couldn't get himself over 100.

Now, where's LeftWinger?

It'll be interesting to see. Wings depth most likely keeps Leino on the third line, unless there are injuries or he outplays someone. He put up good points during the 13 games he played last season, but most of that production came when he played with Datsyuk. It'll be tough for Leino to beat Tavares as he has almost a guaranteed spot on the Islanders' first line.