Yzersyukstromberg

Babcock should consider giving Conks the lion's share of the starts moving through the final 38 games of the regular season...a split of about 23 for Conks and 15 for Ozzy would make good sense...the guy has earned it, and if he keeps it up, he'd deserve serious consideration for the starting nod in the playoffs. I know that Osgood is a proven commodity, but for some reason, he's just not bringing the same level of goaltending to the rink on a nightly basis that he brought last season. I hope Ozzy turns his season around, and makes it a tough decision for Babs.

Kind of an obscure stat... This stat is purely controlled by the coaching staff, and their decisions on what amount of ice time each player is given. But, there's no doubt about it...it is interesting stuff to consider, I just don't think it's that relevant. Just because Hank plays 8 minutes a game more than Huds (for example), doesn't necessarily mean that he'll put up almost double the points. Just my opinion though...

I bought one of the family packs for the Columbus game on Jan. 6th. I had already sold my season tickets to a friend and decided I still wanted to go to the game... The deal is a great value...the tickets they give you are $48 face value...usually in the corners, but between rows 15-21 of the upper bowl. A good deal in my opinion.

Or Kenny could pay the guys a modest wage, and throw in Little Caesar's pizza for life as an incentive...that should do it. Seriously though...the NHL should have modified the way the cap works. Having a firm salary cap just doesn't make sense, as there's no point in handcuffing the teams that are willing to spend money. Best way to go about it would have been to impose a luxury tax on teams who spend more than the cap. What they'd do with that money, who knows, but it would allow teams to keep players around rather than having this constant uncertainty that every team now faces as players have their breakout seasons. Obviously, a luxury tax would stop most teams from spending over the cap, but in a situation like this, the Wings could go over the cap by $5 or 6 million, and even if they were taxed 100% by the league on the amount they went over, it would probably still be worth it to keep the players in question on the team. In a perfect world this might happen, but as we all know, this Gary Bettman's NHL, and perfect will never be associated with that a'hole.

Hart - Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings Vezina - Steve Mason, Blue Jackets Norris - Nicklas Lidstrom, Red Wings Calder - Steve Mason, Blue Jackets Lady Byng - Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings Selke - Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings Jack Adams - Mike Babcock, Red Wings Art Ross - Evgeni Malkin, Penguins Rocket Richard - Alex Ovechkin, Captials Jennings - Tim Thomas/Manny Fernandez, Bruins Bud Light +/- Award - Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings Presidents Trophy - Detroit Red Wings Western Conference Champions - Detroit Red Wings Eastern Conference Champions - Washington Capitals Stanley Cup Champions - Detroit Red Wings In case you can't already tell, I'm heavily Red Wings biased....but even though some of my Red Wings' award predictions likely won't hold up, I firmly believe Pav Datsyuk deserves SERIOUS consideration for the Hart Trophy this year. The guy is as important to his team as is any player in the entire league.

DECLINE!!! Rafalski is only going to keep putting up points, but Shea Weber won't keep up the output all season...Nashville has a hard time scoring. Pominville and Setoguchi are a decent swap overall, but you don't want to lose Raffy. Hope that helps.

LOL...love it! Love the guy, but lately, I've actually been thinking that, in a sarcastic manner.

Couldn't even believe it when I saw it on the highlights last night. Brings to mind something similar that happened in the Canada/Sweden Gold Medal game in the World Juniors the other night...did anyone notice, I think it was in the second period...there was a scrum in front of the net, bunch of players went down in front, and then you see the Swedish player seemingly bite the Canadian kid's hand. The Canadian player throws his glove off, shaking his hand...all the talk is that the Swedish player bit his hand....I'm going to have to try to find this on YouTube...if I do, I'll post a link. I can't believe that two similar incidents happen in our sport in the same week. What's up with these guys???

They have the jerseys on that site for every roster player, even those who were scratches, or injured. They even have a Darren Helm available. I believe the players changed jerseys each period, giving the league a few sets to work with, as well as a set for the Red Wings to sell, which they did yesterday....and they sold out very quickly I might add, not surprising. I can't see the value on the McCarty unworn jersey being that high, but if you're a die hard D-Mac fan, it's a pretty good souvenir I suppose. I noticed they were also selling the game pucks, practice pucks, and each of the pucks used to score each goal in the game....nice touch.

What a great thread... There are a few Wings that come to mind for me when it comes to jerseys that need to be retired, but I agree with all above...Kelly's #4 should be hanging in the rafters. A player like Nick Lidstrom is a given, he'll get the same treatment Stevie did upon his retirement, with a ceremony the next season... Others like Ozzy and Fedorov deserve consideration, but like a few people mentioned in earlier posts, there's still several outstanding players from the early Red Wings cup teams that deserve consideration as well. I am all for honouring players who made huge contributions to the Red Wings organization, but at the same time, I'm not sure I want us to be just like the Canadiens and retire so many numbers that current players are forced to wear oddball numbers. I like the fact the a jersey retirement in Detroit remains the 'highest honour' and hope that whatever jerseys get retired in the upcoming years follow that trend.... Just my humble opinion...

I think Kopecky might be the odd man out come deadline time. Moving him for anything will open up a much needed roster spot for one of our young guys to come up from GR (Helm, Leino come to mind). Any reasonable pick for him is better than losing him to free agency for nothing at season's end. As for Flips, I agree with most above...keep him. Unless you have a contract signed by Hank &/or Hoss, he's not expendable. Chances are, we have the team we're going to the playoffs with already. I think the moves that will make the most difference for us this season is to bring up some guys from GR once the cap is no longer an issue at season's end. Guys like Ericsson, Helm, Leino and maybe even Abdelkader might just be the final pieces to the puzzle for another long playoff run...

You're right...it is useful. I'm going to use it from now on...wasn't quite sure how to initially. Thanks for turning me on to that! Me, I'm not too sure if the equipment is an issue for Ozzie overall, but as others have mentioned, he is a creature of habit....I mean, look at him, he's still wearing the old school helmet and cage combo. Can't believe he hasn't changed that yet, but at this stage of his career I have to assume he probably will just keep with it. I like the look of his new goalie pads, but that doesn't really matter in the long run, it's all about how he feels and plays in them. Hopefully he'll continue to play well now that he's healthy and ready to get things rolling.

I did read the thread, thanks...my response was the guy who started the thread....my apologies for not copying his original post.....

How about we all just get off of Ozzy's ass for a game, and be glad he allowed 2 goals instead of his regular 4. We all know he had a rough start, he knows it, and yet he still managed to battle through it with a 13-2-4 record. I'm not complaining. If he struggles, we know we have Conks waiting to take over. We're in good shape....and the longer the season goes on, the team will get past the PK woes, and the goaltending will be under less pressure. Have faith in the guy who had a GAA of like 1.50 in the playoffs last year.

A couple of things...IMO. 1 - The all star game is a fraud. It's a boring game of high scoring shinny that nobody even watches. We'd be better off with our players taking a few much deserved days off to get rested up for the balance of the regular season. 2 - Agreed...the voting is also a fraud. I just don't buy the fact that all of these undeserving players from Montreal, Pittsburgh, Anaheim and Chicago all are going to be starters. The NHL needs to find a way to prevent the fraudulent voting going on. There's just no way that the fans of these teams have ACTUALLY voted that many times. It's a joke, and I don't see how the league hasn't adjusted the vote totals accordingly. 3 - We all know it's a popularity contest, so why do we even care? The players who really deserve to be there will be selected by the league to fill the balance of the roster. I know that some will be left out due to the fact that the league requires that every team be represented by at least one player, but that's life. It happens in every sport. Me....I could care less if any of our guys go out there for the game in Montreal. If they stay home, they come back from the weekend off healthy, guaranteed. All we need is some stupid injury to Pav or Nick in the all star game. Thanks but no thanks.

Filps is a talented player, no doubt about it....whether or not he contributes big point totals at this point of his career isn't a guaranteed thing. Kenny Holland played this contract out right...$2 mil this year, $2.5 mil next year, then $3.5 for 3 years after that. He's not necessarily worth the $3 mil average salary this season, but as long as he manages to put up another 40 points this year, you really can't complain. He sees 12-14 minutes a game, and his linemates change almost every other game....it's got to be tough for a young guy like that to get his confidence really rolling when things keep on changing!! I will say one thing that concerns me...Filps has trouble finishing. He's good a good nose for the net, gets there often, but when he does get there, it's rare that he puts the puck in the net. Over time, that will change though....he's young. Not every player is going to just blossom overnight. I agree with the statement above....we might just have another late bloomer on our hands. If we all panicked when the Mule didn't put up stellar numbers right away, he'd already be long gone, and some other team would be reaping the benefits of his abilities. I say we ride this kid out...we'll know soon enough whether or not he's going to be what we expected long term, and if it isn't panning out, Kenny Holland will know it long before we do, and he'll make the necessary moves to make sure we get proper compensation if he ever does get dealt. Just my 2 cents!

Hey everyone...just joined up on LGW...been reading and observing for quite awhile, but finally took the time to register! Me...I'm from Windsor, Ontario. We've got a group of 6 of us heading to Chi-town for the game...we've all got tickets, it should be awesome! Let's hope for snowshowers! I have 2 extra tickets to the game, if anyone's interested in picking up a pair... They're preferred level seats, in Section 236, Row 12. Right at the end of the ice, should be a great view of the game. High enough up so you'll be able to see all of the action. I'm looking for $325 each for 2 tickets. If you're interested, or want more details...just shoot me an email! howdonh@hotmail.com Cheers!