Wombat

Did you even watch the playoffs? Helm played 3rd line center in basically every game. The team has centers.

I don't think that is necessarily true. If it happens that Howard can't hack it, the Wings can trade for a reliable backup. that is why to me it is important for the Wings to leave a good amount of cap wiggle room this year... so they can make trades if needed without losing roster players. I don't think the Wings should sign Hossa, Sammy, or Hudler. Get whatever compensation you can, and leave some cap room open in case they need to get pieces during the season.

I still don't see how this deal gets done without the Wings trading some pieces or some guys being 'forced' to retire. I don't want another regular season like last year in which there was no salary cap room available for the team to bring up minor league guys for quick/short term injury replacements (ones that do not give the Wings cap relief by going on LTIR). I think it's possible that the Wings can try to circumvent the cap somewhat by putting Lilja on LTIR to begin the season, and use that cap relief to keep everyone they can. But cuts still look like they are needed to get it all under the cap.

The only scenario I see any of those 3 not being on the team is if they retire. Under retirement, both Draper and Holmstrom would have some or all of their cap hit count against the cap, with Maltby would not. However, there is a way around this. IF Draper or Homer retire, the Wings can trade their retired contracts to another team. Let's say Phoenix, being in flux right now, has a hard time signing players to make it to the salary floor. The Red Wings could trade the cap hits to Phoenix. Phoenix doesn't have to pay them anything, but they can use the numbers to hit the cap floor. the Wings get cap relief, and maybe the two teams trade draft picks in the deal as well.

No murderers on the team, please. But seriously, I don't think he fits stylistically with the team, and he definitely does not fit cap-wise. There is absolutely no reason to bring him in when the Wings are already so close to the cap.

You can't win the Cup every year. Circumstance kept the Wings from the Cup, but they got as humanly possible to winning the whole thing again as they could. I'd "stay the course" with the style they have, and look to bring in a couple low cost, gritty vets for the bottom 2 lines.

I have no problem with what Stuart said. He's clearly taking it hard that his play in Game 7 was subpar.

Hudler is a good player and it'd be nice to keep him, but the Wings are in a major salary crunch. The best thing though is that Hudler is a RFA, so the Wings can either get draft pick compensation if he signs with another team, or they can trade his RFA rights to another team. It'd be nice for once to have some draft picks coming back the Wings way, so hopefully they can mine a few more gems and keep the system running. It's sad but at least the Wings will get something when he leaves.

It's not about entitlement, it's about being ready. Leino is ready. Just like Helm is ready. Ericsson is ready. Abdelkader is *probably* ready, but he could benefit ala Helm from another year in GR and becoming overripe, and being the first call up. Realize that Leino and Abdelkader are different players with different strengths. Leino, with his skill set, is better as a 2nd or 3rd liner than a 4th liner now... but there was not room on the 2nd/3rd lines for Leino. there will be next season because some players are leaving. Abdelkader, right now, is custom built for the 4th line. BUT if you give him prime minutes in GR, he could develop faster into a better player for the Wings in the future. And f*** off about the entitlement thing in terms to me. You don't know me. I've worked for what I have. I know I'm not entitled to anything and will be working even harder after I most probably get laid off next week and reboot my life.

At the base level, yes. In the regular season, it's good to also mix in someone that can drop the mitts occasionally, but in the playoffs, the games are so tight that I want my team's 4th line to be defensively responsible. It's also good to get some energy out of them, but the most important thing is to not get scored on. If they do chip in goals (like Abdelkader did) then it's only a bonus.

Were you expecting Leino to go out and get a hat trick every game? He was the 14th or 15th forward on the team and played with the 4th line. He was responsible defensively and for the playoffs, that's all I want out of a 4th liner. He's a good player and he deserves to be on the Wings next year. He came over to play at the highest level of hockey, and I think he was a good sport by spending most of last year in the AHL to develop to the NA game.

I don't think Sundin provides anything the Wings lack. He's a steady veteran leader that wins faceoffs and isn't physical. I'd pass on him at basically any price.

Honestly, I think it was 90% booing Bettman and 10% booing Crosby. A lot of the Wings fans stayed the whole time, and there was a big cheer for Mario lifting it up. If memory serves, the Wings fans even booed Bettman in 2002 when the Wings won the Cup in game 5 at the Joe, and he had to say something to the effect of, "I come bearing gifts!"

I know there was a topic on this earlier, but here is confirmation from the Freep

Yeah, the Pens could easily score 3 or 4 goals in 6 PP chances with how the Wings have been on the PK all year. Even with Datsyuk back, I think a special teams battle goes the Pens way. Game 5 in many ways was an aberration... once the Wings took a good lead, the Pens lost their heads and gave the Wings more PP chances and didn't have their heads about them to step up on the PK.

To me, the Wings have been dominant over the Pens in terms of 5-on-5 play. The key for the Penguins is to get on the PP early and often. If they can muster 6 PP chances, they will probably score on at least 2 of them. Then they have a chance. How do they do this? The Pens have to be the aggressor with forechecking and setting up a cycle in the zone. I think slowing the game down will work out better for the Pens. Dump the puck and slow it down along the boards... cycle and make Detroit chase in the defensive zone. Those heavy shifts usually end up with either scores, penalties, or icings (which give the Pens the advantage next shift). All 3 of those things are positive for the Pens and are in my mind the best way for them to win. If the game has good flow with fewer whistles, I like Detroit's chances more. I can't wait for the game to start! Go Wings!

This doesn't really seem to have anything to do with the thread. I didn't see people comparing Datsyuk to Fedorov in this thread. And just because Fedorov was a transcendent talent and a one-of-a-kind himself, it does not mean that Datsyuk is not, simply by not being as "great" as Fedorov. One-of-a-kind, to me, not only means high skill level, but also playing with a style that is not easily replicated. Datsyuk may never be the best player in the league (in terms of Harts/Pearsons), but he is great and has a style that is "him". In many ways, I see him comparable to Barry Sanders. It's a herky/jerky style that makes defenders miss them and in many ways, both were able to completely embarrass professional players at the highest plateau of their craft. The main difference I see historically is that Sanders will be in the discussion as one of the best ever at his position (easier to do in a sport with some 10+ different positions), whereas Datsyuk will probably not, in a historical sense, be considered even a top 20 all time at his position.

Awesome post! It seems hockey fans aren't immune from the culture to blame someone/thing else for failings and to only see things from one side. This series has been great so far!

No. The first game of the 2 at home (Game 1, and Game 3) for each team is an advantage. You get to start fresh and you get your crowd behind you. The visiting team has to fly in and settle into unfamiliar areas (rinks/hotels/restaurants).

Lidstrom is the only player on the Detroit team that this question makes sense for, at least to me. the Wings can win without Datsyuk. they could lose too.

Everyone is quick to call out when they feel they've been screwed... but Detroit has gotten beneficial calls as well. They get lost in the victories usually. Hopefully the Wings pull it together and bring a knock out game on Thursday.

I've enjoyed this series when they let both teams play. Every player has to fight for positioning, and I love it. Orpik is on the line but how the game is being played, I think he's doing well. That said, if you let it go, you can't call that penalty on Ericsson. Let's call the bounces for the series even and start Game 4 fresh!

s*** happens. A bad no call for sure, but it was early in the game and no real damage came directly from it. The breaks will probably even out through the course of the series.

It remains to be seen if the Wings can fully replace the 2nd greatest defenseman of all time. We will miss having a guy that could consistently shut down the other team (and add good offense) for almost half the game. The best chance the Wings have is if Ericsson can become 2/3 of the player that Lids has been. He'd be a consistent All-Star at that level (that's how great and unappreciated Lids has been!). Combined with other good guys on the backline, maybe that can allow the forwards (Z/Dats/Franzen) to carry the team along further.

Word. 97.1 is horrible comparatively.