Broken 16

Everyone else you've mentioned is a career defensmen. I'd be more confident in his ability to 'come of age' if he wasn't switched to D so late in his career. He has a lot to learn... moreso than your average draft pick defensmen.

Good riddance... finally. Lol at the negatives. I was wondering what that was. I don't care if Chelios wore a Winged Wheel. All he did was cheapshot Wings players and their fans for a huge chunk of his career and then turncoat on his own fans and join the enemy. He's a DB. I don't know what made my eyes bleed worse, seeing Chelios wearing the Winged Wheel or Wendy Clark.

I really didn't see enough from him this season that instills any confidence that he will ever be a dominant player. Very disappointing on most nights. Hopefully he either improves or gets shipped.

Right. There have been many, many times that a strong play on the puck with two hands would have earned possession and instead they wrap the guy up and poke at it like sissies. I hope that practice changes by next season.

So does this mean that if they are burning Pronger's picture in a couple weeks that he will be the new "Most Hated Player in the NHL"? I guess I didn't realize that a handful of scrubs in Montreal spoke for the entire NHL fan base.

I tried to remain optimistic about Williams but he was terrible. Eaves and Miller practically fixed our PK by themselves and popped in a couple goals. No complaints there. Bert... meh. Aside from being eternally frustrated that he won't use his size as effectively as he could, he was worth the money. Easily. Hopefully someone will talk him into using two hands on the stick more often if he comes back next season.

I told myself that I wouldn't believe in any Crosby hatred until 1000 stupid threads about him surface on LGW. Almost there...

I had no idea that homeless crackheads were such serious hockey fans.

Howard (not a homer pick, I think he has a lot of upside) Weber that JJ(PJ?) kid from Montreal (name escapes me... Suddan?) Sid (I'd whip his s***ty on ice attitude into shape while I was at it) Pavelski Franzen

People really undervalue what Hudler brings to the team, imo. 70 points with top 6 minutes isn't really a huge stretch for Hudler. He'll see lots of powerplay minutes.

It's all going to boil down to how badly Lidstrom wants to win another Cup. Demanding a 5-6 million contract won't help his chances. He may be worth it, but the Wings can't really afford it and hope to ice a strong contender next season. I guess we'll see. If he makes that much next season, we're looking at the same line-up + Hudler(?) + one plugger. That's how I see it anyway.

I think it's just more a case of Babcock taking an opportunity to motivate a couple of players that he thinks can play better.

Unless said captain is in the last year or two of his tenure.

I wouldn't read too much into those comments. The Wings know where they are weak better than we do (gasp! ). Everything hinges on Lidstrom. Sounds like he is willing to come back (thank god), it's just a question of how much of a discount he is willing to take.

YES!!! The winds of s*** will crush the s***hawks if they cross the s*** line!

Oh boy... here come the "Do you wish the Wings still had Ville" threads.

I hope you're right... but I also hope he doesn't sign for more than 4.5 mil... 5 tops.

No offense to Brad. I like him a lot as a player, but none of his fights had any meaning this season. He didn't fight all that often and when he did, it was like he just fought the tough guy from the other team just for the hell of it.

You know you're good when the fans from every other team rejoice after you've been eliminated. It's flattery people. Enjoy it.

Your avatar mesmerizes me. I find myself staring at it for long periods of time. Based on all around play... Hossa. Based on who has the cooler sounding name... Kovalchuck.

Now that I've had time to reflect a little on the season, I've come up with a few things that I need to get off my chest before I can start enjoying the off-season... Why I'm mad: 1) The officiating. I'm not normally one to gripe and make excuses... and I'm not. But I am actually embarrassed to be a fan of the NHL because of them. It's so amateur league that I can barely watch it. It's so bad and inconsistent that I've actually considered NOT watching the Wings and start following the Griffins more closely. 2) The league. I can't believe they can't get their s*** together better and actually come up with a decent, consistent schedule for the playoff games. I understand that things conflict and that the Eagles apparently have more pull than the NHL... but c'mon... the scheduling is atrocious across the league. 3) The linesman dropping the puck. Oh my GOD. DROP THE ******* PUCK ALREADY! Why are they screwing around with it so much? Just drop the damn thing and get the hell out of the way. It's not rocket science. They've even simplified it. HIT THE RED DOT! 4) Babcock. I love him as a coach and a motivational speaker, but I feel like he is too stubborn with his line combinations. It drives me crazy. Ok... that felt good. Why I'm relieved: 1) The Wings finally get a nice long rest and will be able to properly reload. Some big contracts are coming off the books and I'm excited to see what Kenny has in store for the team. 2) The emergence of Howard. Hopefully, if all goes well for him and he continues to impress and improve, he will help stop the bleeding when Lidstrom is no longer back there to carry the defense. 3) Leino is gone forever. 4) I no longer feel compelled to head over to that cess pool of trolls known as the HFBoards. Thank God!

I've been thinking about the officiating in the NHL (obviously) and I'm wondering if anyone else thinks that maybe the game has gotten too fast and it's getting harder and harder for refs to keep up with the play? With all the obstruction being called (mostly), is the game moving too fast to get reliable officiating on the ice? I just can't believe that they are as bad as they seem...

Anybody but the Hawks or Pittsburgh. Odds aren't good, but there it is.

All the silly round 2 shenanigans aside, I'd like to see the Sharks win it so they can get complacent and lazy next season. Anybody but the Hawks.

That compilation shows why the new NHL sucks. It also makes me miss the old days when men played like men.