dat's sick

That would be a fun line (2 goats and a kid?) but we all know Babs want Cleary or Abby there.

Some turnovers and moments of looking lost. Didn't stand out as being horrible but I definitely noticed him in a negative way. Sammy was terrible on the PP. 5-on-5 he was mediocre.

My bad, simply forgot him.

Standouts: Good - Tatar, Datsyuk, Howard, Dekeyser, Kindl, Ferraro Bad - Cleary, Samuelsson, Smith Nice game, though the Pens really didn't seem to bring it. Barely noticed Crosby.

Everytime I see Almquist he impresses me. That was a sweet shot.

Well not too much to comment on so far, but Tatar looks good as does Pav and Z and Howie. Samuelsson and Smith are the standouts in a negative way. Cleary looks like Cleary.

If Holland actually said those exact words to reporters, I have to believe he's told Tatar that in person. Maybe he had a talk with him to calm him down after this Cleary business.

IF (big if) Nyq isn't on the team day 1 he will be day 2 when someone is injured. Wings have been very injury prone the last couple of years, why is everyone assuming every player will be 100% this year? I'm definitely worried about Tatar, but I'm hoping he kicks ass during camp. Even if he doesn't I'm sure Holland will look at every possible solution that doesn't involve letting him go.

When have the Wings been that team though? They've always relied on internal talent developing into stars, and most trades and FA signings have been relatively proven role players or veterans. It's a good system for always having competitive teams without overpaying for potential. This offseason is a great example, assuming that both Nyquist and Tatar find their way onto the team we've added youth from our own system and proven veterans for a sensible cost through free agency. Cleary isn't a bad guy but I'll only hate this signing if, when all is said and done, it costs us Gus or Tatar.

Just don't want to think too hard about how they're plannng to make room for a guy who has nothing left in the tank. And it's pointless speculating, just have to wait and see.

Guessing Tatar will be waived and Nyquist sent to GR, with Cleary being double-shifted all season. We're possibly looking at a Dekeyser+Smith trade to bring in Cleary's grandfather as a veteran presence on D.

If everyone on the roster makes it through training camp healthy I'll be happy enough to cope with Nyquist starting in GR.

They're great, down-to-earth people and extremely hard workers. What a disgusting thread. Obviously they're going to negotiate together, there's not enough seperating them to warrant a discrepancy in term/money and they have the best chemistry in (the history of?) the NHL. Would they be good seperate? Yes. But together they make one of the best lines in the league regardless of who is the 3rd man.

Excited to see Drouin based on what I've heard about him. Not too many others outside of the Wings own that I'm interested in.

3yrs? NTC? ...what? Cleary's not got much left in the tank. Glad we dodged that contract. Gotta wish him the best though, he's not a bad guy and has done a lot for us.

Imo signs point toward us being fine on defense unless we're (again) hit hard by injuries or 1-2 of the young guns don't improve at all and actually decline instead. The Kindl-Dekeyser pairing we saw at the end of last season gave me a really good vibe, I think they could be great together. Kronwall-Ericsson may not be an amazing 1st pairing, but they're solid enough most of the time. Quincey-Smith is the only big question mark, but hopefully they both have their worst hockey behind them.

Great deal. could easily end up being a huge steal. Worst case scenario of Gus not reaching potential, it'll still be a solid pricetag. Really hoping Helm continues to progress and becomes 100%, I want to see a Tatar-Helm-Nyquist line.

Can't see that happening to be honest, but Babcock obviously loves the kid so maybe he could get a call-up as soon as this coming season?

Pav signing this extension should have wiped away any doubt, his number will be retired. Hank is well on his way but needs atleast a couple more good years and some more playoff success imo.

20g 15a. Even with 1st line minutes all year I don't see him doing much more than that.

Signing Weiss is great, especially for less money than Fil. Signing Alfie is spectacular, don't know how anyone can be disapppointed by that. A guy desperate to win a cup who can still play, who will inspire everyone on the team. If we lose Brunner and re-sign Cleary I'll be less impressed, but if we re-sign Brunner and let Cleary go it'll be a perfect off-season.

Seguin is promising but damn... Eriksson is a great two-way player, really really solid and complete player. Boston would look so good with Bergeron+Eriksson.

Elias is pretty underrated. Bit dangerous to give a 37 year old a 3 year deal for that much money but he's a good player.

I liked our PP when Z was on the point and Brunner hanging around the circles/slot area. He's good at deflecting pucks and picking up rebounds. Just gotta get him signed... Otherwise I want us to have a 1A-1B powerplay next year. No more having a useless 2nd formation please. If we only have d-men on the points, I'd like to see Kronwall-Ericsson and Kindl-Dekeyser, with Smith jumping in if Ericsson or Dekeyser aren't doing a good enough job.

We were competitive last season. We were the closest team to beating the Cup Champs in the playoffs. Holland may be too conservative sometimes and too loyal sometimes, but atleast he doesn't do a deal just to do a deal if he is afraid it could handcuff the team down the road. The Lecavalier situation is a perfect example. We all would have liked him RIGHT NOW, and so did Holland it seemed. But in 3 years? In 4? 5? He's already declined a lot from what he once was. Philly is known for handing out crazy contracts that put them in terrible situations after a couple of years, it's no surprise they were the ones willing to take that chance. Holland isn't the guy that is willing to put everything on one card (like Pittsburgh kinda did this season) and say "we want to win THIS YEAR", but he finds ways to put a decent team out there, even if this last season he got a bit lucky with Dekeyser falling into our laps.