Broken 16

HAHA... HAHA... HA-EFFING-HA!

Life must be pretty good in Red Wing Land if people are bemoaning the possible loss of a bottom pair defenseman... Seriously... there are about a million dudes that could replace Lilja. I like Lilja, but he is not a 'make or break' player by any stretch.

That's cuz none of the defensemen look like this: Who cares about his stats anyhow... I just can't wait to see all the spins on his name if he ends up sucking.

I can't help but laugh at the people that completely disregard the fact that we were at least top 3 in man games lost to injury, injuries to key players for huge chunks at a time, that the return of Hudler will greatly improve our powerplay and we've effectively dumped Lebda and Williams. AND we still have wiggle room for a decent upgrade somewhere. And what does a year older have to do with anything? Stupidest argument ever. How many players are going to decline over the course of one year on this roster? Two? Maybe Three? How many are going to improve from that year? Six? Eight? Maybe more? Seriously, the 'one year older' argument is the weakest s*** ever.

This. That was the first thing I thought when I saw those lines. I like Hudler up on the second line over Bert.

Hudler will be a big catalyst on the powerplay. Book it. Our percentage will go up a fair amount with him on the team. Special teams wins games... especially in the nuNHL

Williams and Lebda are gone. That's good enough for me.

I don't know about that. He would be worth the money... just not for the Wings.

Pass on Ladd. I don't see the guy as being anything special.

Wrong... him and Eaves together brought our PK out of the basement last season. I'm not completely sold on keeping him either, but your statement about him reeks of ignorance. Our awful PK cost us a lot of games early-early mid season last year.

Wow... did not see that coming.

Kinda miss the Vipers. It was good cheap hockey. Lots of fights.

When you have a professional hockey team in your city that wins a Stanley Cup every three years or so, anything the other teams accomplish is just a bonus. No, wait! You're from Chicago. You wouldn't know. You're team isn't the only team that has lost talent because of the cap. Happens to the Wings too. See Ville Leino. The question will be how your team manages the cap. They are on the road to repair, but they still have a ways to go.

You greatly underestimate the importance of team chemistry. Winning a Cup is a LOT more than just names on the roster and how they compare statistically. Right now, the Hawks have great chemistry. Every player they lose, 4th line scrub or not, is gonna affect your teams chemistry. If you gut a roster, even if it's just the bottom 6, it's going to affect your chemistry. It's been a long time since you guys had to deal with a glut of talent... you'll see.

Sweet

This guy has to be a MUP.

No... so try harder. On topic: Would have liked to see Chicago get shafted a little harder, but oh well. Have fun sucking Buff.

Yet he failed to display the mentality and will to crack the lineup last season. Nothing against Maltby, but he just doesn't have the legs to crack the Wings lineup anymore.

Why would he be embarrassed? If getting old is an embarrassment, then I guess I'm screwed. I say let him play in GR if he wants to. I can think of worse things than having him as a black ace in the playoffs.

I don't think Cheli would come in and blow the doors off McCrimmon, but long haul I think Cheli would be the better choice. Maybe.

He's hard to move and blocks the goalie like an eclipse. He would have a role on that line. He could be a good compliment to Cleary and Abby. He's still a decent finisher. If they taped his stick to both of his hands, that line would probably be very tough to play against imo.

I voted 'hate' because I don't like Chelios. He should have never been a Red Wing in the first place... anyhoooooooooooooo As much as I don't like him, I believe he would improve the team if he was an assistant. There, I said it.

I don't critique line combinations very often but those are the worst lines I have ever seen. And that's ignoring your attempt to shoehorn Hudler onto the first line. The only thing I agree with is Bert on the third line. But not over Eaves. I get that you might be banking on lightning in a bottle from Eaves... but giving him more minutes than Bert AND Flip is just dumb. He's showed potential, but not that much potential. C'mon.

I would love to see the Wings swap out Bert for Nolan. They are about equal in my mind skillwise, but Nolan brings more snarl imo.

Lucky for Leino it didn't pan out.