Icesurfer

I think people have forgotten that Homer WAS a fourth line guy under Bowman while still playing on the PP. Cleary and Franzen have both been getting better as net crashers and putting in rebounds in front of the net. While their skills are improving, Homers skills are declining .... I saw nothing from Homer last year that would make me think he could regain his form.... he has been hurt so much it has taken a toll on his body. With Cleary and Franzen being the same type of players it only makes sense to put one of them on each of the top 2 lines. If Homer plays on the top line it will last about one month at the most..... before he is injured again .... so why not give him less playing time during the regular season.... mostly PP.....and just maybe .... just maybe .....he may be well enough to play in the playoffs for a change. I mean he really is only useful during the PP anyway.... seems to be common sense to me but maybe I don't know what I am talking about.

That is an awful lot of nevers for a team who lost FOUR regular skaters and gained two new ones. I really expect Babs to mix and match at least the first month of the season to see with which team mates Leino, Williams & Eaves develop chemistry. And we all know that Babs likes to split Z & Pav up on the road if opposing team is keying on that line. Homer is washed up... this will be his last year.

Williams can also play center. From MLIVE "We won't know the answer until opening night, but Williams' ability to play center throws a wrinkle into the concept that he, Eaves, and Ville Leino will form the third line if Mike Babcock chooses to keep Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk on the same line." Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Cleary Fillppula-Helm-Franzen Leino-Williams-Eaves Maltby-Draper-Homer Homer has lost too much speed to stay on the top line. He was a handicap there last year. Helm is too good of an all around player to stick on the fourth line. Filppula is also a center. This is my prediction if Z & Pav are kept together at home.

What???? PK & PP partners are sometimes different than the regular lines. Babs tried many times last year to put Fil with Pavel on a regular line and it never worked. You can't have 2 players who find it difficult to shoot enough times at the net on the same line. Finally last year Pavel just started to shoot the puck more at the net but sometimes he still falls back into his old ways. Filppula has to shoot the puck more.... everyone knows that... and it is up to him to do it..... Both Pavel and Filppula have a tendency to want to pass rather than shoot.... therefore I would never put them on the same line. And in saying this we all know that Datsyuk and Zetterberg have the ability to improve the play of ANY player if even for a short time. The one player that Z was not able to really gel with was Hudler..... at least on a consistent basis. But this is also the reason I think Pavel and Z will be split up more than being together. They will be put together at home when the Wings go through a scoring slump. Otherwise, on the road you don't want the other teams best checkers always keying on those two.

I think Babs will do more mix and matching this year than any other year.... especially on the road where he likes to split Pav & Z. He has to find out if Leino will gel with Pav or Z. I think Homer is done on the first line... he is losing too much speed. Cleary can go to the net as good as anyone. Leino-Datsyuk-Cleary Filppula-Zetterberg-Franzen Homer-Helm-Williams Maltby-Draper-Eaves Pav, Z, Helm & Draper are your best centers. Everyone in the list is in their natural position.... except Filppula is also a center. Fil & Pavel have never gelled together. Cleary, Franzen, Homer and Eaves are your net crashers. Cleary plays well with Pavel and he will pick up his scoring with Leino on that line .... Homer was a handicap on the first line last year. I think Leino and Pavel will gel together very well. But like I said Babs will be doing a lot of mix and matching even putting Eaves and Helm with Datsyuk. Datsyuk can make anyone else a better player. Wings have 537,333.00 left for either a rookie or a goon. I look for the Wings to find a tough guy for around 500,000 as the 13th forward. If Lilja is on LTIR then the Wings can acquire a bigger shot blocking stay at home defenceman for 1.25 mil or less.

NO!!! We will finally see the emergence of Filppula as a goal scorer. Leino will be exciting to watch.... You can pair any of these guys with either Pav or Z and Pav and Z will make these other players better. Spread the wealth....

Hudler is going to the KHL for 2 years, then is obligated to the Wings when and if he decides to come back to the NHL for 2 years at 2.75 per year. My question is if Hudler is injured in the next 2 years and his play sinks and he wants to come back to the NHL are the Wings obligated to pay him for 2 years??????

$$$$ Players have only 10-20 years to make their money. I wouldn't exactly call Hudler a superstar. I doubt that he any offer sheets... never really know though. In the last 12 years players seem to have better careers playing for a Wing's team than for someone else.... I would imagine Lidstrom is the key to that. It will be interesting to see how Hudler's numbers..... especially plus/minus.... do in Russia. Agents work on % basis also.... I imagine they try to persuade their client one way or the other... especially in this economy...LOL

BINGO! Couldn't have said it any better...

Zherdev is NOT a Detroit type player. He seriously lacks on the defensive end of the ice. He would NEVER get along with Babcock. Detroit's lineup will eventually have ALL two way players..... now that Hudler is gone.... LOL. I think Zherdev is a MINUS 46 for his career. Defense wins championships....

Ericsson ... the kid's got a good shot and is responsible defensively.

Moen gone Veilleux gone Gratton was next on my list... Pick up the phone please..... Mr. Holland... and make the call.... Chris Gratton: 1.25 M Scouting Report Assets Has a great combination of size and two-way savvy. Displays decent hands and a mean streak. Is solid on face-offs and sound defensively. Flaws Has questionable hockey sense, which limits him in the scoring department. Isn't as complete a player as his package suggests. Career potential Checking line forward.

I think we can count on Filppula for about 25 goals next year. First of all, last year he got very little power play time... that alone should add 5 -10 goals.... Secondly, he played a lot on the third line... more as a checking forward.... and was not shooting at the net...... ala Dastyuk a few years back.... just didn't shoot enough. Third, by playing on the power play I think he will finally learn to shoot the puck when he can at the net. Fourth, he will be on the second line with someone crashing the net... like Franzen.... a big body who will give Fil some room. Fifth, Fil does have a good shot. Sixth, If Fil still doesn't shoot Babcock will pin his ears to his skull.... if you know what I mean......LOL

Giving up 60 more goals than the previous year is NOT SOMETHING TO MINIMIZE EITHER! If you didn't give up 60 extra goals you wouldn't have to score 88 more just to win! So if Helm, Leino, Abdelkader and Filppula (as additional goals for Fil) get JUST half that amount (44 goals... which is very reasonable) and the Wings go back to their previous 12 year average of allowing only 196 goals instead of 244 they will be AHEAD !!!!!! .... and a better team!!!!!

"a two-way player who can ACT as an extra forward" CERTAINLY does not imply being a full time forward. The Wings would have only 12 forwards..... if one gets hurt in pre-game skate or whatever Meech can fill in..... That's why I do NOT favor getting rid of Meech. Wings do not have that extra 13th forward so Meech can fill in when needed like last year. And because the Wings played 2 back-to-back very long seasons and because they are trying to keep Lidstrom's miinutes down and because they defense stunk last year and needs to improve next year, I favor the Wings keeping all the defensemen they now have. Injuries will happen.... always do... and you NEVER have enough defensemen. I would not sacrifice a defensemen to try to sign a forward just because he scores 20 -25 goals.... that's just plain stupid. I would like to see what Leino, Helm and Abdelkader do and save a little extra money so if any one of them stumble then go out and get someone at the trade deadline. NEVER have enough defensemen.... and GR will be thin on that end..... there are more forwards available in GR to bring up than defensemen. Holland said he would move a defensemen for more cap space because he was trying to sign Hossa then Hudler..... and NOW that has changed. His focus now SHOULD be to make sure he has a strong defense with backups to cut down the extra 60 goals they allowed last year from the previous year..... then they won't have to worry about making up the goals they lost from not having Hossa, Sammy or Hudler. Besides defense wins championships NOT OFFENSE.

Obviously if you trade someone you create more cap space genius...LOL. As I said my numbers are based on who is under contract as of this point and the fact that MLIVE indicated Abldelkader may start the season on the roster.... the numbers are correct genius.... check them with your spredsheet... if you really have one... because that is mine.... and I did not get mine from cap geek. You can trade Filppula and get another $3 mil.... genius..... LOL..... You can NOT count LILJA as cap space..... if he is on LTIR you get cap relief..... CAP RELIEF is not CAP SPACE, IF Lija is on LTIR one player who's salary is $1.25 mil or less can take Lilja's space..... you can NOT divide Lilja's salary between 2 or 3 players.... doesn't work that way genius. And if Lilja is on LTIR it will be a mistake to trade Lebda or Meech. Kindl is NOT ready! Meech is also a two-way player who can act as the extra forward!!! So there IS only 1.797 mil avaiable as the roster stands NOW.... which would be for one remaining forward IF the rest of the roster were to stay as it is now... bringing total to 12 forwards, 8 defensemen (1 on LTIR most likely... so only 7 defensemen), 2 goalies and 1.25 in cap relief that Holland would be able to use to bring players up and down who's salary is 1.25 mil or less.... which would be ideal to bring up some guys from GR. And when Lilja gets healthy, he or someone else can THEN be traded and then Holland may have some money left for a trade deadline deal. If the Wings trade a defensemen now (Lebda or Meech) and Lilja can't come back... they are screwed because Kindl is NOT ready. Obviously everything changes depending on what happens to Lilja or any trades.

This is the roster without Hudler..... thank goodness.... who are under contract. Datsyuk, Pavel $6,700,000 Darren Helm $599,444 Cleary, Dan $2,800,000 Zetterberg, Henrik $6,080,000 Holmstrom, Tomas $2,250,000 Draper, Kris $1,583,333 Abdelkader, Justin $740,000 Maltby, Kirk $883,333 Franzen, Johan $3,950,000 Leino $800,000 Filppula, Val $3,000,000 Lidstrom, Nicklas $7,450,000 Rafalski, Brian $6,000,000 Stuart, Brad $3,750,000 Kronwall, Niklas $3,000,000 Ericsson, J $900,000 Lilja, Andreas $1,250,000 Meech, Derek $483,333 Lebda, Brett $650,000 Osgood, Chris $1,416,667 Howard,Jimmy $716,667 TOTAL is 55,002,777. Available is 1,797,333.00. Last report was that Abdlekader was to be on opening roster so I already included him. If you don't want Abdelkader then replace him with the league minimum salary and you can ad 240,000 to 1.797 mil and you get a player around 2 mil...... not 2.5 mil to $ 3 mil. I don't know what spredsheet you are using but these numbers are correct. Some people may be including Lilja's salary. If he is on LTIR it is NOT counted as cap space but cap RELIEF. Cap RELIEF is NOT the same as cap space.

Detroit should have won game 7 by a score of 1-0. Both goals resulted from turnovers in the defensive end if I recall right.... Pitts also played half the game without Cindy. Playing good defense and getting the first goal was the key. The Pit'ts defense was better than Detroit's as they shut down Hossa and the Wings despite the Wings playing the last half of the game almost entirely in the Pitt's zone. At any rate the defense last year stunk and was the worst since 1994.

Absolutely!!! And I am glad you are enjoying it!!! In the previous 12 years Detroit has AVERAGED 196 goals against. Last year the Wings allowed 244 goals. 48 MORE GOALS than their previous 12 year average. Obviously the defense stunk.... and in last radio interview Holland said as much and he knows Detroit needs to change that. The previous high was 210 goals. It is very obvious.... even a dimwit can figure that out....

Absolutely!!! And I am glad you are enjoying it!!! In the previous 12 years Detroit has AVERAGED 196 goals against. Last year the Wings allowed 244 goals. 48 MORE GOALS than their previous 12 year average. Obviously the defense stunk.... and in last radio interview Holland said as much and he knows Detroit needs to change that. The previous high was 210 goals. It is very obvious....

exactly! That's why we do not need to go chasing after a goal scorer for $2.5- $3 mil... who is a one dimensional... one-way player. Between what Leino, Helm and Abdlekader and Filppula on the PP will contribute, all the Wings need to do is cut down those extra 60 goals they allowed this year and they will be JUST fine!

We lost to the Pitts because of poor defense and defensive turnovers. Everyone knows that defense wins championships. Hossa was useless.

Petr Sykora Scouting Report Assets Has improved in the NHL since moving to right wing, where he can use his speed to blow past defenders and release his deceptive shot from anywhere. Flaws Gets rattled in physical contests. Still needs work in his own zone and must play a more consistent offensive game. Career potential Top six forward. You are chasing goals again for a higher price than 1.7 mil without any grit...... Wings do NOT need this kind of player. Wings need a two-way player who is tough to play against. Wings lost too much size and physical strength in Hossa, Kopecky, Sammy and Lilja (if on LTIR). Lilja was an excellent shot blocker..... maybe not good fighter..... LOL... Kopecky and Sammy were not afraid to mix it up...

TOTALLY DISAGREE!!!!!!!! NOT going to find a high scorer for 1,797,333.00 mil..... which is what the Wings really have left. And in the words of Babcock... "This is an opportunity for someone else". This may mean more ice time for Leino, Helm, Abdelkader & Filppula. WINGS DO NOT NEED TO REPLACE THE 80 OR SO GOALS THEY LOST...... THEY NEED TO CUT DOWN THE EXTRA 60 GOALS THEY ALLOWED FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. Stop thinking about trying to achieve the same offense..... It is NOT going to happen NO MATTER who they get!!!!!! They will never replace those goals lost.... period! Wings need to fix the DEFENSE!!!!! If you cut the goals allowed down from 244 back down to 184, as in the championship year, that takes care of those extra goals needed....... Common sense!!!!! Defense wins championships..... NOT offense! We need GRIT..... winning battles along the board for the puck..... getting the puck out of our zone without turning it over and leaving Osgood hanging out to dry. Did you forget the defensive turnovers that led to the winning goal in game 7??? As we ALL saw in the playoffs.... good offense is ALWAYS shut down by good defense...... Good defense wins CUPS ...... as it did for Detroit 2 years ago when we did NOT have those extra Hossa goals!!!!! And no one said one word about f*ck scoring..... there are a few on my list who can give you 15-20 goals on a Wings team.

NOT going to find a high scorer for 1,797,333.00 mil..... which is what the Wings really have left. And in the words of Babcock... "This is an opportunity for someone else". This may mean more ice time for Leino, Helm, Abdelkader & Filppula. WINGS DO NOT NEED TO REPLACE THE 80 OR SO GOALS THEY LOST...... THEY NEED TO CUT DOWN THE EXTRA 60 GOALS THEY ALLOWED FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. Stop thinking about trying to achieve the same offense..... It is NOT going to happen NO MATTER who they get!!!!!! They will never replace those goals lost.... period! Wings need to fix the DEFENSE!!!!! If you cut the goals allowed down from 244 back down to 184, as in the championship year, that takes care of those extra goals needed....... Common sense!!!!! Defense wins champioships..... NOT offense! We need GRIT..... winning battles along the board for the puck..... getting the puck out of our zone without turning it over and leaving Osgood hanging out to dry.