Esquire

If a couple of 34/35 year old role players and a goalie prospect are 'high end' trades, you must be watching a different league than the rest of us.

By the beard of Zeus! Kindl +17! 10th in the NHL and 3rd amongst Defensemen. I actually had to double check that. NORRIS!

No offense, but the fact that Filppula is one of our more valuable players is a glaring indication that the cupboard is pretty bare. Unless other players have a direct interest in playing in Detroit, I believe Holland will now have to begin to pay more for players than he has in the past, or start giving up prospects. It's either that, or hope that the prospects in the pipe now all turn out to be gems. Losing 1-2 Hall of Fame players a year for the past 3 years is not something rectified on a one-to-one basis, nor is it done in a calendar year. I believe that this team is punching above its weight at the moment and that a move to the East at this time is going to be a very rough one in terms of exactly how this team has been built to play. Watching the Habs/Bruins game last night, as well as several Leaf games, as opened my eyes to how diminutive this team is in terms of size. Next year is going to be rough.

For this team as it is, the trade deadline most likely won't yield any 'bold moves'. We can't be comparing Holland's moves to Shero's moves since the two clubs are vastly different in terms of what they can offer to players. If I'm being honest, this team is at least 2 years and several 'bold moves' from even sniffing the Pens level.

I'd like to see the Wings to get Dekeyser, only to flip him in the offseason. lolz

Iginla just went from District 5 to the Hawks...

That's a boatload of coin. Not the kind of money I'd spend on him, but good for him.

Who in the hell is Mike Kamisarek Tor?

Among goalies who have played at least 15 games this season, the average save percentage is .911% So on the season, sure, Jimmy's save percentage has been around average. However, a save % of .955 (7 goals on 175 shots, 29 Shot/gm avg.) in the last 6 games is most certainly not average. Unless I've missed something, only Crawford, at .962%, has a better save percentage than Howard in the past 6 games.

Henrik Zetterberg as Captain. Nothing seems to phase this guy. Quietly going about his business and putting up team-best numbers in his first season as skipper. As good as Hank is, I for one wasn't expecting the transition to be this seamless as it's been thus far. If the Captain is to be the man that is looked to as an example, we can thank Hank for the work rate these new guys and kids have been putting in.

I don't eat cereal, but thank you for taking the time to formulate a well articulated rebuttal to the topic being discussed. Move along.

This entire quote contradicts itself. How can you possibly use statistical data attempting to compare the game now to a time when those injuries were not even reported? Impossible. Winner. Gagnant.

You're right. How can I possibly believe the sport is more dangerous now that players are bigger, ice surface is smaller, equipment is harder, and speeds are the fastest they've ever been. I suppose they're only implementing things like no-touch icing, head shot majors, and things of the like because it's a much SAFER sport than it was even 10 years ago.

Fair enough. I just don't see how this particular instance now becomes the rallying point for any kind of significant change. Hockey is only getting more dangerous, and unless there is a drastic change in things like core fundamentals to the game like taking hitting/fighting out someone is eventually going to die on the ice. Even if you took hitting/fighting out, terrible tragedies will occur simply by probability. You have X space for Y players. People are going to run into each other and/or the boards and it may or may not include skate blades. Increase the speed of the players and the likelihood of an incident goes up even more. Terrible to see, but getting rid of this stuff is impossible. So again, you either accept this and play hockey, or you don't.

If you play hockey, you might get paralyzed. So either play hockey or don't.

The only reason that this is surprising, is that it's actually a move for the good of the franchise and it was made on time.

Homer decided to retire after realizing that, after Nick retired, he has nobody to eat his ritual pre-game meal with. Poor guy. As usual, all the best to him and his family for his sacrifices to the team. Hope to see him back with the Wings in some capacity.

Er... Henrik Zetterberg - 12 yr/$73,000,000 until 2020 Johan Franzen - 11 yr/$43,500,000 until 2019 Niklas Kronwall - 7 yr/$33,250,000 until 2018 Every one of those contracts, under the NHL proposed CBA, would be hit for cap circumvention. Here's a good article: NHL lockout: League proposal would punish teams that circumvent cap with long-term contracts Doesn't seem like Mr. Ilitch would be too eager to back Bettman on this.

A boycott implies an eventual return, but I am done with the NHL: - Cancelled Centre Ice - Sold my 4 Winter Classic tickets - Put every piece of my merch in a packing box - Shut down my 5 year old online hockey pool - Bought flex pack for Oshawa Generals (OHL) Perhaps I'm cynical, but at my age, I've realized that the NHL is simply a vehicle for the game I love and that all they do is play on nostalgia to get fans to return under the guise that nothing has changed and that this is the same ol' team/league as it was 5, 10, 15 years ago and that everything is fine. I have also finally realized that investing emotionally into sports is quite possibly the worst thing you can do, for me anyway.

Without having read this entire thread, has any started the discussion about how Mr.Ilitch may be one of the hurdles that this negotiation is facing? Seems logical since a couple of key points in the negotiations are cap circumvention (which he did) and revenue sharing with smaller clubs (which he does a lot). Maybe he's lobbying hard to save money so he can fully fund a new arena! LOL

Just got an email from the Wings with links to the Winter Classic refund policy. Promising! lolz

Worst season ever. Ughh.

A relationship expert would tell you that if she cheats on you and you stay with her, you lose all her respect. And this Bettman/NHL ***** has already cheated on you 3 times now. It's time to end the relationship.

Fixed that for ya.

That does it for me and the NHL. I've already got someone buying my Winter Classic tickets that I spent $800 on and I've tossed all my merch in a box in the garage. I'm treating this like a breakup from an abusive spouse since that is exactly what it is.