Buppy

120-123 are the sections closest to the benches. 123 being my preference, to the immediate left of the Wings bench. I personally like being right on the glass, but 10-15 rows up probably affords a better view of the action.

I think when Malhotra came to us we were still thinking to keep Hudler.

I think the goalie situation is just so obvious that it's hardly worth discussing. Whether or not we're tough enough, gritty enough, skilled enough, or whatever at forward or defense is open to debate. Howard being a huge question mark isn't.

Maybe that's who he traded for Tootsie

Jabs is a center with some talent at both ends of the ice. Probably not available for the reg season, but come playoff time, after a full year centering the top line in GR, he could be ready. Hank-Pav-Homer Mule-Flip-Leino Cleary-Jabs-Bert Willy-Helm-Eaves Solid offense and defense on all 4 lines. Several other combinations would work as well, depending on how well guys are producing. And to keep this on topic, adding May in as Downey's replacement would be a good move. Probably wouldn't see much time with the big club, but still.

Of course we can we win with this roster. We won with a similar roster two seasons ago, and came within a bad break or two less from doing it again last year. And for those on the grit/toughness/fighting wagon...just face it, the Wing's skill-first management philosophy isn't going to change as long as it is so successful. Start rooting for the Wings to miss the playoffs. Maybe then you'd see us emphasizing a different type of player. Of course, our scouting and development staff might not be as good at that as they are at finding the skilled players.

Phoenix, Atlanta, Islanders, Nashville, Columbus, and Florida are hemmoraging money. Tampa Bay, Carolina, St. Louis and Buffalo are struggling. Washington, Pittsburgh, and Chicago are just starting to become profitable again. I believe even San Jose and Edmonton aren't far above the danger zone. The league has been improving steadily since the lockout, but still a long way from 'fine as is'.

As far as I'm aware, LA actually generates some nice revenue, mostly due to the arena. Fairly sure Anaheim does worse, despite their recent success. Either way, the Southern California market seems perfectly capable of supporting two teams. Playoff format has some merit, but rivalries really build in the playoffs. A single 16 team pool would make it less likely that rival teams would play each other. Also, that schedule is only 74 games, not that it matters.

1 yr, $700,000 according to Capgeek. Puts them slightly over cap even with the bonus cushion, but they have 13 forwards now so they'll likely send someone like McGinn or one of their young defensemen down. Would have liked him in a Wing sweater. I think he'd be a solid checking line center. Sharks have made some nice moves, though even with this one, their bottom 6 forwards still seem like a weakness.

Most people I've seen regard Hull as among the 2nd tier of all-time greats; behind Gretzky, Howe, Orr, and Lemieux. Pretty much right along side Richard, Shore, Sawchuk, Beliveau... Can hardly call that 'vastly underappreciated'.

Wouldn't be the first sports team with a nice history to move. It's been more than 25 years since they won anything, have reportedly lost over $200 million in the last ten years, and sit in a market with two other teams (and a third not far away, in an already crowded East...) who are both doing much better at the moment. They might do better than a few of the cities I included, but wouldn't likely expand the overall market. That said, it wouldn't be very difficult to keep them around. Columbus, Carolina, or Nashville could all go, or any one of the expansion cities.

Get rid of Phoenix, at least 3 of the Southern teams (Nashville, Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa, Florida), and the Islanders. Add Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Milwaukee, Salt Lake City, Portland, Seattle, Kansas City, and possibly a 2nd Toronto area franchise (maybe in place of one of the above). 4 8-team divisions, North and South conferences to equalize travel. 6 games vs each divisional team (42 games), 3 vs other division (24), 1 vs each non-conference (16) = 82 games. Bring back divisional playoffs. Something like... Northwest: Vancouver Seattle Portland Calgary Edmonton Saskatoon Winnipeg Minnesota Northeast: Milwaukee Chicago Detroit Toronto Buffalo Ottowa Montral Boston Southeast: New York Rangers New Jersey Philadelphia Washington Pittsburgh Columbus Nashville Carolina Southwest: St. Louis Kansas City Dallas Colorado Salt Lake San Jose Los Angeles Anaheim

Prior to his injury last year he had 14g, 16a in 40 games. In the 13 regular season games after the injury he had 7 assists. That translates to 21+ goals, 35+ assists. When he's in the lineup, he's definitely still capable of producing. His playoff production was down, but both his linemates were off as well. Considering Homer's game, and how Pav and Hossa were performing, it's hard to fault him too much for his playoff numbers.

I've always wondered what happened to Bat Boy.

A lot of factors would play into the possibility of Stuart being traded: Stuart's performance, Lidstrom's decision, Lilja's future, the development of Ericsson, Kindl, and other young defensemen, including Lebda and Meech, the salary cap, and needs at other positions. If Lidstrom returns, Ericsson proves worthy of a top 4 spot, some other combination of defensemen look serviceable for the 5-6-7 spots, the cap goes down significantly and/or we need a top 6 forward or a new goalie...Stuart's salary would be better spent elsewhere. A lot of 'ifs', but none of them particularly unlikely. I wouldn't expect Stuart (or anyone besides Lebda or Meech) to be traded anytime soon. Maybe in two years when Ericsson needs a new contract, depending on how long Nick decides to keep going, and how well Rafi holds together. But I wouldn't exactly be shocked either.

He can be sent down, he'd just have to clear waivers first.

A two-way contract does make a player exempt from recall waivers (assuming the minor league salary is less than $110,000 [maybe higher now]), but not regular waivers. Players are more likely to be claimed on recall waivers, since the claiming team only has to pay half the salary. A lot of players that would pass regular waivers would get taken on recall.

We don't have the cap room to keep three goalies, but we could always waive Howard. At this point, if Howard can't be an NHL backup, would it really matter if we lost him on waivers?

Kovalchuk again

The only thing that bothers me about Williams is that his being here will keep Stuart and Ericsson from getting a real shot at the PP spot. I haven't liked a forward on the point since Sergei. Willy was my second choice among FA Columbus centers, but not a bad pickup. Leino-Flip-Willy can certainly be as, or even more, productive than our third line last year, and if Leino works hard probably better defensively.

Alphabetically is always best Forward: Bertuzzi-Cleary-Datsyuk Draper-Eaves-Ericsson Filppula-Franzen-Helm Holmstrom-Howard-Kronwall Lebda Defense: Leino-Lidstrom Maltby-Meech Osgood-Rafalski Stuart Goalie: Williams Zetterberg

I'd add Spezza, Heatley, Eric Staal, and Hossa to that list as well. Probably Pronger too. Maybe Weber.

Our defensive strategy against Crosby's line was no different than it was last year, and no different than what we did against Nashville, Dallas, Columbus, Anaheim, and Chicago the past two years, and no different than the typical strategy of pretty much every team in the league: Top defense pair and best defensive forward unit vs opponant's top scoring unit. It's not like Kronwall & Stuart are poor defensively, nor Flip & Hossa. You act like we had 5 guys playing Crosby while ignoring the rest of the team. He may have been better than Datsyuk who missed 4 games (yet still scored only 1 less point), but Zetterberg was better, as was Cleary. Flip, Franzen, Hossa, and even Helm were close even. Doesn't mean any of them are better players, just that Cindy had a s***ty finals.

Yeah, probably. Personally, I just find it too hard to compare goalies to skaters. Even comparing defensemen to forwards is tough. That said, I'll vote for a forward again. Kovalchuk. 5 straight years with 40+ goals...

I'd expect Osgood to be low, since he usually doesn't play as much as other starting goalies and the season he had last year, but those goalie projections seem a bit odd. Combined 49 wins for Hiller + Giguere is probably a stretch. 48 wins for Rinne + Ellis is downright hilarious.