Chunkylover

Well, I don't watch any of their shows, news, or sports presentations already so I guess you could say I was preemptively boycotting CBS!

It definitely points to parity. It does not absolve poor team defense and sloppy overconfidence. The fact that the Wings weren't able to win despite their poor play made the "competitive balance" more glaringly obvious, and vice versa.

Yep, there really aren't too many bad configurations. I don't think Babs has given up on splitting D and Z. They, and Hoss, will get their points.

If Ericsson remains with the team in the playoffs, our defense looks real good. With the exception of the top pairing, everyone else brings a big physical presence that will be vital to post-season success. It seems a lot of people want to see Hank and Pav paired up again. Can't say I disagree with the results of combining them, and we'll still have scoring depth with Hossa and Franzen on the second line, but I don't think we'll get as much out of Hossa on a line with Fil and Mule. Love to be proven wrong though.

I don't pay attention enough to really disagree with him. I think I can enjoy how wrong he is about some things and disagree with him without disparaging his record as a coach. It pleases me he backed the wrong horse. Unfortunately for them they chose their coach instead. I know they pretty much had to, but I believe if they'd let Therrien go before July, Hossa and Roberts would both still be there.

I think the problem with your line combos is they demote Franzen and Sammy. Franzen will produce more on the second line than Hudler because he can better compete against the opponents top defensemen. Sammy will provide the same benefit on the third line that Franzen will. Hudler will make Helm and whoever else is on that line put up respectable fourth line points. Who knows what Babs will do though.

Don't let Cherry near any razor-blades!

Probably not. He was a healthy scratch for a few games last season. I think he'll start, and if his line is a liability in a win, or if the team loses, he'll be rotated out. If we play a team like Calgary Kopecky will probably dress because of his size, if Columbus, it'll probably be Leino - Helm - Hudler.

Downey has a great attitude and I saddened me to hear he had contemplated retirement because of his assignment to the minors. He's a good fighter, but he has only average balance on skates. That affects everything he does. He'll go flying in to nail someone and end up looking the worse because he'll bounce off them, or miss, and end up on his butt. It also can impede his ability to get in some good swings when a fight bogs down to a grapple-fest. If he could skate as good as Kopecky, he'd be a starter, and Kopy isn't a great skater either. I could wish he'd improve in that area, but that's up to him to develop within the limits of what his body can actually perform. The league needs to allow teams to dress a couple extra players per game, then he'd probably be in.

It's as difficult to guess the best top-six combinations as it is to guess the bottom six. Line 1A: Datsyuk - Holmstrom - Hossa Datsyuk can click with anyone, and he'll probably produce the most with Hossa. Holmstrom will always be on his line. Dynamite offense and stingy defense. Line 1B: Zetterberg - Franzen - Filppula This line can be good, if Z and Mule can stay healthy and Fil starts shooting. In any event Z is good on the boards, Fil can feed the Mule, the rest should write itself. All three are regular penalty killers. Checking Line: Draper - Samuelsson - Cleary This line oozes defensive competence speed and grit (at least Detroit-caliber grit). Good forecheckers and can pitch in a goal every other game. Energy/Checking Line: Helm - Hudler - Maltby These guys all saw some time together on this line last season. Maltby and Helm were good energy guys. Hudler can make anyone a goal-scorer against the oppositions depth lines. Kopecky - Leino The Wings will lose a few games through the playoff run. Kopy and Leino are inexperienced and that keeps them from starting. This also depends on who our opponent is. If it's a big tough team Kopy is in, if it's a speed/skill opponent Leino is in.

And yet people still look back at the Thorne/Clement/Davidson ESPN days a with reverence. Versus may be bad but according to my calculations VS>ESPN.

... but continue to succeed because they have good management and coaching. Revenue sharing?

Hey, Barry, could you repeat that?

So would I. I have no complaints about Ken's inactivity. As was already mentioned the Wings problem this season is mental.

Locking up guys long term.

Waaah! Your concern is certainly valid, but we have a pretty deep pool. We're assuming Helm and Leino will start the playoffs, but two guys will have to come out of the line-up. We have a lot of defense depth and we have a few grinders that can be plugged in where injuries occur. Moen would have been good, but we have guys that can do his job already on the big team and in the minors.

Good move then. Look at how Yzerman, Shanahan, Larianov, Hull, and Lidstrom have positively affected the young guys that played with and eventually replaced them. Datsyuk and Zetterberg will be here quite a while. I hope they are as effective in passing on those hard-working values.

Really, I hadn't heard that before, although it may explain his playoff drought.

Geez, Ducks clearing house! Moen can contribute. I guess that's their Neil back-up strategy.

Who'd have thought your new GM would make worse decisions to stay cap compliant than your old one?

"Competitive balance" kills NHL trade deadline! I didn't expect much and didn't think we needed any upgrades so I'm not too disappointed in the slow news day. The positives are that neither the Sharks nor the Bruins made any significant upgrades. Calgary improved and will be tough in the playoffs. None of the teams the Wings will likely face in the first round got better either. If they can stay healthy the odds are favorable.

And they're lazy too....

I've always respected the Predators as a team because they are feisty, well-managed and well-coached. I don't like some of their taunts but one can't deny their passion. Glad you had a good experience on the road.

At first I thought Giguere was over-reacting, then I saw the replay of Ott hacking the crap our of Niedermeyer. Moen took advantage of Ott's injury but at that point a beat-down was well deserved. This is one reason to avoid getting someone who can bring "snarl" to a team. Drake was an old dude when he came here but while in St. Louis he received his share of suspensions. If Neil were to come here, he might also bring that unintended consequence with him. I have a feeling the officiating will be decidedly against us in the playoffs this year. Anaheim took a lot of penalties against Dallas which they had gotten away with the year before. It's good to have a disciplined team, even if they might be boring. Fortunately neither applies to Detroit.

That's what I think it is, although when they flipped the "toughness" switch they forgot to also flip the "solid defense" and "no give-aways" switches. Seriously 15 Detroit give-aways to 3 for LA, and only 2 Detroit take-aways. That crap needs to stop. This is why I blame the team for making Osgood's slump worse. We'll see how they do in Nashville at the end of three in four.