Red Crazy

If Doan does in deed leave the Yotes he will pick a team that he has the most chance of getting a cup before he retires. I would be really surprised to see him sign until all the July 1st dust has settled and he can make his choice then. He is exactly what the Wings need. He is a great guy that wears his heart on his sleeve and plays at 120% every night.

That is a very true statement. Kenny is going to need to work his magic but Babcock may be in for the most work.

Absolutley. However, it is a what have you done for me lately world and if he fails to re-load this team and the Red Wings miss the playoffs next season do you not believe that his reputation as one of the best GMs in hockey will be tarnished to some degree?

What they are worth depends on what the team needs. Suter is more valuable to this team then Parise at this moment. With the loss of both Lidstrom and Stuart this year and Rafalski last year we are starting to look thin on defense. Kronwall has been a touch injury prone over his career as well. Can you imagine if we don't land Suter and Kronner goes down for 20 games? It wont be pretty. Sure there is about 4-5 other players that I would rather have on defense other then Suter but he is maybe the best available and they are not. I'd say a cap hit of 7m should get him.

I was thinking more of a trade option. If the Jets can't come to terms with him and he dosen't want to play there maybe it could be a trade partner. Winnipeg fans will eat him alive if he turns his back on the team, they will have to move him.

Semin is lazy and that is really hard to get out of a player. If the Wings want to gamble I would go after Evander Kane. He needs to grow up but works hard every night and brings some grit. Contract talks with him and the Jets are not going well.

I think I would rather go short term with Ryan Smyth then Hudler at this point. Ryan Smyth is older but still is a force around the net and not many are as good in the corners. Smyth also brings heart to the lineup. This is only an option if a true sniper cannot be had at July 1st.

Agreed. Phoenix is starting to have some playoff success which Doan has waiting his whole career to get. He is not going anywhere at this point of his career.

Bert shouldn't have to be on the top line. At this point in his career he will make a good 3rd liner. We all knew when he came back that he was NOT and never will be the player he was in Vancouver. (not paying him to be either) The Wings are not deep enough or good enough up front. Babcock said this at the presser. Bertuzzi was on the top 6 because we didn't have anyone else. We can't fill out our top 6 with guys from the minors either or shouldn't have to anyways.

There were only two choices so I went with Holland. I do think that there are a lot more reasons then that though but he is the builder and hands out the contracts. He has made some great deals but he has also made some very bad contact choices (Mule) that will not be easy to sweep under the carpet. All I know is Kenny will have to make some moves and cut some ties in order to make this team a top contender once again. Babcock in the presser said what the problem is so the ball is in Kenny's court. He has the money and has the cap room. No excuses Mr.Holland.

I am going to say that he will want to play again. However, Holland may have other plans. 13th forward.

That must have included 5 games that were Webers? I have seen much worse in these playoffs so I would say a bit harsh. 10 would have been right and I hate Torres. Ashams was way worse I think.

Bert and Cleary either need to be 3rd line guys with Helmer or shown the door. I would trade BOTH Flip and Franzen. Franzen is lazy and should have been shown the door after his the regular season dosen't interest me comment, that came after getting his big contract too. Flip is getting better but unless he is third line he just dosen't fit. He is way to soft in the corners and will not go to the front of the net. Out- Franzen, Flip, Emmerton, Hudler, Stuart(unless he wants to stay), Eaves(I think is done) In- Parise, Iginla/Nash, Smith(full time), Nyquist(full time), Prust, Slater I think Calgary might come to the table to deal Franzen. Thats a good point. I do think having Smith up full time would help with puck movement. I am not sold on Quincey or Ericsson as puck movers though.

To be fair, I thought Babs looked like he had givin up for most of the game. He looked like the game couldn't get over quick enough. The Wings have a lot of good forwards but they do not have enough great forwards that can win you the game. Even with career numbers, Flip is not good enough and was a no show come playoffs. Mule only plays when he wants. Hudler had a good year and looked like he was trying against the Preds but his lack of size really showed and unless you can pair him with a couple of power forwards he can go else where. The bottom six with the exception of Helm, I don't care if any of them are back. heir job is to check the hell out of the Preds top d-men and chip in offense. Didn't happen. I agree with Babs. Through loyalty this team has players on it that shouldn't be. I would like to see no less then 5 roster changes.

I thought everyone said Mule would start playing when the playoffs started?

Great game but they need to be much better. Nashville outplayed the Wings for a better part of the game. Franzen was supposed to wake up when the playoffs started? Looking forward to seeing that when it happens. Wings need to ramp it up back home and crush these clowns.

Vince Gill sang some song between the first and second called Bertuzzi's a sissy. Then the crowd was booing Z? I think they might be giving Canuck fans a run for their money at being the worst fans in the league. Vince Gill calling someone a sissy seems ironic.

To stand pat. He likes this team have you not been paying attention? No soup for you.

The Wings CAN beat the Preds. But they will have to play with lots of heart and lots of effort. ( which has been an issue most of the season ) The Wings need to come out with all their guns blazing in game one because if the Preds get the jump I think it will be over in 5. Win it all for Lidstrom boys!

Mike Babcoack is a great coach but at times I don't think this team will play for him anymore. I think that there may be several reasons for this but I think that player loyalty made this team a great place for players but it may have gone too far. We have issues with consistant effort for most of this and last season. We have even had a player say that he can't get interested in playing in the regular season (Mule). His ass should have been traded for that kind of comment. This team has become way to comfortable and I am not sure who to blame Babcock or Holland but playing hockey in the NHL is a job and they are not playing like it is.

^This is a good idea but I will guess Babs throw's Mules lazy ass on a line with Pav and Bert.

Need to address the crappy play so they don't sink farther down. Winning the division will not happen.

Homer pushes a player onto their goalie gets a goal called back, then they score on the pp and Babs gives him a shift as soon as he gets out......WTF. The finger is starting to point at coaching. You never reward a player for that kind of stupid ass of a play

Is anyone else sick of reading Babcock's post game comments? " I thought we were good for 2 min in the second, we didn't start on time, they played good, we only had one line playing" etc. I wish that he would call this team out or at least those who are simply collecting cheques and not giving a crap. Forget the PP. This team does not compete on a nightly basis and that is becoming a huge problem. Have you ever watched a Wings game and had a pretty good idea what the outcome will be 5 min in? Mike Babcock is a great coach but he needs to inspire this team. Say what you want about Ken Hitchcock but the Blues are playing inspired hockey right now and that is a lot to do with coaching. Getting the boys all back healthy will be a big help but this team has been lacking drive all season. So I think its the coaches job to turn this around now or face a very early playoff exit.

So you don't agree with the fact that this team even when there no injuries has looked very uninspired this season and parts of last as well? I do. Even with Dats and Lidstrom out of the line up this team should be able to at the very least compete night in and night out. A slump to me is even when your playing good you can't buy a win or have no puck luck. This team is not in a slump because when they try for 60 min they win. I do agree with you 100% about this division as it is insane.