Icesurfer

IMHO Tyler Myers does not deserve the Calder over Howie. Howie ranks in the top of the league among goalies, whereas Myers DOES NOT rank top in the league among defencemen. It isn't even close. Where Myers ranks top in is size. And that's all anyone ever seems to talk about. In fact, I have heard peeps who favor him bring that up as their first reason why. Is this a size contest? Is this some sort of beauty contest? Is this some sort of Pronger comparison contest? I don't get it.... just because of his size they are predicting some great things from him. What about Chara? Is he in the top of the league? Does anyone remember Gilles Lupien? NO?... Well, I will tell you. One time defencemen for Montreal, Pittsburgh and Hartford who was 6'6" and in a 5 year career had a grand total of 30 points and was +44, though. The point is that size doesn't guarantee anything. In fact, the best defencemen in the league (Lidstrom... who else) is only 6'1".... and at his age he probably now is only 6'0".... LOL. Myers may be first on his team in ATOI at 23:47, but that is only good enough for 24th in the league for defencemen. What that tells me is that the reason Buffalo is near the top is primarily because of their award-winning goalie not Myers. Myers' league rankings for DEFENCEMEN are as follows: 9th in points 9th in goals 12th in assists 16th in points/game 16th in shot % 20th in plus/minus 25th in PPA 30th in PPG 30th in blocked shots 80th in hits 234th in the league in Production Time!!!! I am NOT IMPRESSED!!!! I guess peeps are basing their vote on his 6'8" size..... LOL. Again, Myers DOES NOT rank as high in the league in his defensive categories as Howie ranks in his goaltending categories.... NOT EVEN CLOSE!

Howie has been unbelievable! Even is back-to-back games he never seems to get tired. And, in fact, he performs even better. So we really need a nickname for Howie! My vote is HOWIE THE HORSE... to complement our MULE. LOL Howie will be a horse in the playoffs.

So we don't know who said that but obviously they were talking out of their Buttman hole. The Calder Trophy is not voted on until the end of the regular season. Just in the last 2 weeks alone Duchene has taken himself out of the running by running out of gas and his team sinking in the standings....IMHO. Quote: "The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season. From 1936-37 until his death in 1943, Frank Calder, NHL President, bought a trophy each year to be given permanently to the outstanding rookie. After Calder's death, the NHL presented the Calder Memorial Trophy in his memory and the trophy is to be kept in perpetuity. To be eligible for the award, a player cannot have played more than 25 games in any single preceding season nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding seasons in any major professional league. The player must not be older than 26 years before September 15 of the season in which he is eligible." I actually heard a broadcaster think Myers is going to win because of his size! WTF... is this a beauty contest???? The only reason Myers looks half-way decent is because they have a Silver Medal Award winning GOALIE on the team!!!! ..... who btw was flat out beaten by HOWIE!!!! HOWIE WINS BY PROXY!!! LOL If Howie gets the Wings into fifth seed and has a GAA of less than 1.5 the last 2 weeks here.... he will be the winner!

Howie Interview: Download wma file

Howie interview with Dan Pollard:

I think Colorado and LA are sandbagging... LOL. LA has lost the last 4 games to teams who are below them in standings. Colorado has lost 5 of the last 6 but I attribute that to the fact that I think Duchene is running out of gas. Colorado and LA do not want to play Vancouver or Phoenix. The last time Colorado lost 5 out of 6 was December 3rd. The last time LA lost four in a row was December 30th.

Wings knock the Hawks and Hossa out of the playoffs... three times is a charm.... for Hossa...LOL Wings send Cindy packin'.... like the packer he is. Howie raises the Conn Smythe.

NO ONE is afraid of Luongo..... IT IS THE POSSIBLE THREE FRIGGIN' FLIGHTS OUT TO VANCOUVER THAT IS THE KILLER! And if the Wings have to fly out to Vancouver three times (for games 1 & 2, 5 and 7)to beat Vancouver they will be cooked in the next round. When Wings won the cup two year ago they had a VERY easy flight schedule!

I hate to say it but injuries always happen. Just thank goodness we are deep on defense and we have other forwards who had plenty of experience with the team this year. I have a feeling they all will be playing at some point.

Wings are going to have a few good goalies in the next few years!

I heard the same thing..... he did say it.... I died laughing.

I think Buttman will fix it so that the Wings will play Phoenix in the first round. He is trying to save the franchise. What better way than for them to face the Almighty Red Wings and have very high TV ratings. That's fine with me as long as Wings don't have to go to Vancouver in the second round. Obviously you want the least travel.... so going first to Chicago, then San Jose and then Nashville or Colorado would be ideal. BUT, if Wings can gain the fifth seed then they may have home ice advantage for round 2 and 3 because it is very very possible that the bottom round seeds will defeat the top four seeds in the first round... that would be real nice. If you look at the teams Phoenix played during their winning streak they overall were not very good teams. The Winged Wheel isn't afraid of anyone... JUST STAY HEALTHY.... that is the bottom line.

MAHARAJAH LOL Unwearying, energetic, tireless warrior!

Stats have been updated through Sunday, March 28th. This has been an interesting week to say the least. Howard gets the FIRST STAR, SECOND STAR & THIRD STAR of the week as no one else was even close. Yes, Howie had a Calder Trophy winning week by far. With FOUR wins and his GAA plummeting (for this time of year anyway...LOL) from 2.32 to 2.24 and his SV% increasing to .926. Howard got a shutout against one of the other hottest teams since the Olympic Break. He continues to out-duel all the top goalies in the league. Howie has given his team a chance to jump 3 seeds in the playoff race. Rask gets honorable mention for also getting a shutout, but he lost the other game he played. Duchene managed 3 assists this week (2 on the PP) and the coaches have increased his ice time dramatically in an effort not to sink out of the playoff race. But Colorado is sinking fast as Duchene seems to be running out of gas. Myers managed 2 assists this week and both were on the PP... not all that impressive as he went MINUS 2 for the week. Myers is benefiting from having a hot goalie to keep his team at the third seed. Howie is benefiting from Howie.... LOL... well, he does have his normal team intact.... but no one on the team is hotter than Howie!

Babcock is right. For the first time since Babs has been here there is no goalie "controversy" heading into the playoffs. Two months ago everyone knew Howie was starting in the playoffs and there hasn't been one single question or qualm about who would start. That's enough for me.

That is soooo funnnyyy! LMAO!

Stats will be updated after tomorrow's games. Dan Pollard, host of "NHL on the Fly", said after the Nashville game and Howard's unbelievable performance, "He has to be the front runner for the Calder now". I have to agree! His stats will be better than Mason's Calder Trophy win of last year.

THAT'S GOOD! ....LOL

First of all Keith Tkachuk is an old goat. Secondly, he is left winger. Bertuzzi and Williams are BOTH right wingers. And Williams plays on the PP....right-handed shot. If both are gone obviously the Wings would need a right-winger. There are NOT too many right wingers who are UFA who can score. Colorado has a pair ..... Stewart & Mueller.... but they both will be RFA... and I don't think the Wings want to give up any draft picks. Armstrong (27 pts - 15 goals)- 28 yo, Stempniak (41 pts -23 goals) -27 yo and Afinogenov (57 pts - 22 goals)-31 yo will ALL finish with more points than Tkachuk (28 pts - 12 goals). I wish peeps would look at the stats before they post. You must be Tkachuk's agent.... tell him to retire... LOL! Wings have enough checkers.... they need a SCORER who can skate and would do well with Filppula and Z. And if you are going to dole out $3 mil or more you want some younger legs with potential for upside not someone who is on the downside of their career.

Wings will NEED a Right Wing who shoots right....Bertuzzi & Williams will be gone.... to play with Z & Flip on the second line and for power play. The three top choices are Lee Stempniak, Maxim Afinogenov or Colby Armstrong. Afinogenov is a right wing but shoots left. My primary choice in Stempniak. 2010-2011 Detroit Red Wings FORWARDS Pavel Datsyuk — $6,700,000 Henrik Zetterberg — $6,083,333 Johan Franzen — $3,954,545 * Stempniak, Afinogenov, or C. Amstrong $3 mil— $3,500,000 Valtteri Filppula — $3,000,000 Daniel Cleary — $2,800,000 Kris Draper — $1,583,333 * Tomas Holmstrom — $1,500,000 * Darren Helm — $1,000,000 * Patrick Eaves — $950,000 * Justin Abdelkader — $850,000 * Drew Miller — $750,000 * Kirk Maltby — $500,000 DEFENSEMEN Brian Rafalski — $6,000,000 * Nicklas Lidstrom — $4,500,000 Brad Stuart — $3,750,000 Niklas Kronwall — $3,000,000 * Andreas Lilja — $1,250,000 Jonathan Ericsson — $900,000 Jakub Kindl — $883,333 * Derek Meech — $525,000 GOALTENDERS Chris Osgood — $1,416,666 Jimmy Howard — $716,666 ROSTER SIZE 23 SALARY CAP $56,800,000 PAYROLL $56,112,876 BONUSES $0 CAP SPACE $687,124 Can remove Meech and have only 22 players and more cap space (~1.2 mil). 13 forwards, 7 defencemen (instead of 8), 2 goalies. I favor more cap space for trade deadline deals.

I know it is awarded based only on regular season performance but I believe the "tiebreaker" will be how far each rookie helps him team go in the playoffs. But I don't know the date in which it is voted on. When you rate Howie, Myers and Duchene based on how valuable they are to their teams final standing, I think you have to give it to Howie but the other two have also been very valuable. Howie should be awarded the Calder Trophy just for the face wash on Crosby. LOL

The stats are updated through Sunday, March 21st. The number one star over the last 2 weeks is Tyler Myers. He has accumulated 9 points over that time and increased his rating 10 points going from +3 to +13. His ice team is increasing even more. Plus he gets a huge bonus point for dumping the puck over the glass allowing the Wings to defeat Buffalo on the ensuing power play in overtime on March 13th.....LOL. The second star goes to Jimmy Howard. He has elevated the W‌ings into a playoff position going 4-1-1 over the last two weeks and lowering his GAA and making some unbelievable saves to keep his team in the game. The third star goes to Bergfors. He accumulated 6 points over the last two weeks and is keeping Atlanta in playoff contention despite the loss of Kovalchuk. Honorable mention goes to Rask. He is keeping Boston afloat with 3 wins over the last 2 weeks while Thomas is floundering. He has lowered his GAA to a league leading 2.08. Duchene is finally slowing down. The long season I think is getting the best of him while he is getting more ice time. Over the last 2 weeks he had 2 goals against Vancouver in a loss but has had only 2 assists since then. Colorado seems to be slowing down along with Duchene as they are sinking in the standing but still should make the playoffs. With NYI out of the playoff picture Tavares won't get much attention. He got 8 points over the last two weeks, but 5 of those were in one good game against Vancouver. He is still a minus 15.

Eaves is out tonight so Ericsson may play forward. Ericsson a forward At least Ericsson likes to shoot unlike Filppula! I have been saying all year to move Ericsson to forward position. LOL.

The problem is with Filppula. $3 mil for a "playmaker" who doesn't shoot. How can a line do anything if you don't shoot???? Wings have plenty of playmakers. They need shooters. And all the playmakers are trying to make that perfect pass or perfect setup. Half the time I find myself just telling them to shoot, shoot, shoot!!! Just throw the frickin' puck at the net already. Play the frickin' rebound off the goalie. And tell Kronwall to lower his shot about 6 feet. I don't get it. What is so hard about just throwing the puck in the front of the crease and banging away at it?? Filppula passes so much that he is also very good at passing it directly to the opposition players.... he did that a couple of times last night. And the number of "back-passes" is just unbelievable. Half the time when they go into the offensive zone they pass it so much they don't even get the puck anywhere near the net. And Zetterberg is DEFINITELY not skating at the same speed we saw last year.

I just hope Hudler does not hold the Wings hostage AGAIN this year!!!! Last year was such a fiasco as Holland had to wait to see what Hudler was doing before going after free agents. By the time the decision was made by Hudler and the league Holland got useless players on the free agent market. Out of shear respect, Hudler should be professional enough to let the Wings know what his plans are as soon as possible so Wings can sign the rest of the players they need for next year. That was the reason why I was upset.... because between Hudler and his agent the lack of professionalism was very evident.