Broken 16

Bruins - Neely Sabres - Mogilny (supposedly he was a chain smoker. That always cracked me up) Canadiens - Guy LaFleur Senators - Hossa Leafs - Felix Potvin Devils - Scott Stevens Isles - Chris Osgood (haha) Rangers - Brian Leetch Flyers - Bobby Clarke Penguins - Mario Thrashers - Kovy Hurricanes - Brind'amour Panthers - Jovo Lightning - Stamkos Capitals - Semin Flames - MacGinnis Avalanche - Sakic Oilers - Gretz Wild - Nobody Canucks - Bure Blackhawks - Roenick Blue Jackets - Nash Red Wings - Konstantinov Predators - Nobody Blues - Tkachuk Ducks - Getz Stars - Zubov Kings - Robitaille Coyotes - Selanne (Jets) Sharks - Larionov

Actually, it isn't the bottom line. It's an opinion. I think Salei is going to fit seamlessly into the line-up. Babcock is familiar with him. Besides, I'd much rather have Salei mentoring our young guys.

It's hockey. Nobody is injury-free. Some only appear to be that way because they play through it. Seriously... people fixate way too much on injury history.

Geez...

The biggest difference between Lilja and Salei is the nature of injuries they are recovering from. There's a pretty big gap between back surgery and concussion syndrome. That kinda gives Salei the edge imo. Seems like players recovering from concussions are never quite the same.

I don't agree. I've seen Salei play a lot through the years and I've seen him get pretty nasty in front of the net and around the goalie. Howard will even benefit a little from his presence (ok, I'm reaching a little there, but you get the point).

I like the signing. To me it's more of a commitment to develop players and I like that. The Wings obviously feel that it is worth it to go with a more budget player in order to hang on to as many prospects as possible. I really don't think health is an issue. He'll be getting third pair minutes. He's mean as hell. Meaner than Mitchell imo. Just the guy you want hanging around Ericsson and Kindl.

I'm starting to think that this offseason may turn out to be one of the best off season's I've ever witnessed as a Wings fan. There have been plenty of splashy, dramatic signings throughout the years, but I am thoroughly enjoying watching Kenny and Co. tapdance dance their way around the salary cap and still put together a deep roster only 15 months from back to back Stanley Cup appearances. Just the fact that we are in the running for Mitchell speaks volumes about this management team. The efficiency they show is almost awe inspiring.

I hope he lands somewhere in the NHL. Sure would be a shame to see the Stanley Cup winning goaltender out of a job.

I was thinking the same thing. That would be great. I actually think it would be cool if both teams wore a patch.

For sure. That's one area where he seems to be starting off in the hole.

Yup... even Datsyuk and Zetterberg have a long way to go before that honor is bestowed.

I don't see how either player made such a big impact as to have the number 24 taken out of circulation, imo. Yea, Probert was one of the greatest heavyweights to ever lace them up and provided massive entertainment value. But that's not worthy of taking the number out of circulation. Chelios bandwagon jumped onto a hated rival, played solid D and tutored a few players. Again... not even close to being worthy of having the number removed. Just my opinion though.

Neither. No reason #24 should be retired, imo.

Just like any other 'Best of' list. A glorified popularity contest.

Not yet but he's off to a pretty good start. I'm projecting in the case of Crosby. He's managed to improve an area of his game pretty much every season. People like to compare present day Crosby to Legends like it could ever be a fair comparison. Given time, there's really no reason to believe that he won't eclipse Sakic and Yzerman someday. It's not like their numbers and achievements are THAT untouchable.

Good list. I'd put Crosby ahead of Lemieux. Lemieux was a great player and a decent leader, but Crosby. The DB torch burns brightest with him as someone else mentioned. Plus I think Crosby will prove to be a better, all around player by the time it's said and done.

Ya, I totally acknowledge 2001, but this offseason is cool because none of the other fan bases hardly have a clue that were are really close to being fully loaded. Check out the HF boards. Everyone is ranking us 4th-8th in the Western standings next season. It makes me giggle to see the Wings totally underrated and underestimated.

True, but goin down the road of "We could have signed him if we hadn't signed this guy!" will drive you crazy for no good reason. The differences between adding Mitchell to the lineup and Modano to the lineup probably aren't really big enough to worry about? I mean, I could see if we missed out on Mitchell because we re-signed Williams. That would suck really bad. But I really don't see the point in lamenting the possible loss of signing Mitchell when we just signed a Hall of Famer to anchor the third line. Just kinda seems like splitting hairs at this point. It's not like Mitchell is a 'one of a kind' on defense. There will be others available when the Wings are ready. Next season or the season after.

Sounds like he has decent puck moving skills too. Hehe... welcome to the team Lukas. EDIT: Lol@ all the negs. As if the Wings don't covet puck moving defensemen. If he has ANY puck moving skill at all the Wings are automatically interested by default. Totally wouldn't be surprised to see him here if he truly does have any puck moving skill.

No matter who is signed, there will always be someone else that we 'could have had' instead. You could just as easily say that signing Eaves or Helm prevented us from signing Mitchell too. It's neither here nor there at this point.

That's what I'm talking about. In my OP I mentioned that there have been plenty of splashy moves over the years, but this methodical filling out of the roster that Kenny and Co. have managed this off season just blows my mind.

I don't think next season is gonna be a walk in the park for the Hawks by any stretch. I could be wrong though. Like I said, if they stumble coming out of the gate, they are gonna be in trouble. You saw how hard it was for us to gain ground last season and we were the hottest team in the league. We'll see what kind of coach Q really is, that's for sure.

Fixed that for ya.

You greatly underestimate the burden of defending a Cup during the regular season. Every game is going to be a playoff game for the Hawks. Two lines might be fine for a team under the radar. No such luck for you guys. Lol. Good luck with Turco.