Buppy

If we'd had a real training camp this year, they very well might have. Their roles aren't exactly the same either. Also, being better doesn't necessarily mean they will be more effective in their rookie seasons. In their first years, Franzen and Flip were really no more effective than Miller/Eaves/Cleary, and look at them now. Why give up guys (who wouldn't bring much of anything in trade), lessen our organizational depth, to bring up kids who aren't likely to make much, if any, difference? I don't think anyone really expects Nyquist or Tatar to be stars, much less stars in their rookie seasons. But you don't have to be a star to be more than Emmy or Eaves. And for the record, Hudler was, and is, a very good player. If Tatar turns out so well we should all be pretty happy. That would be a nice result from the 60th pick.

Why would he be frustrated? He's played fine this year...

I think he got him mixed up with Abby. In his defense, Abby isn't much better than Emmy. But I'd certainly expect Tots to do better than either. Maybe not with the Wings, considering our glut of forwards, but somewhere.

Depends on how many games, and how he gets the points. If it's like 8 games, scoring mostly off his own skill and hard work, we'd probably try to move Eaves, either trade or slip him through waivers if we can't find one. 14 games benefitting from Datsyuk, Tots goes back to GR.

I want to say Jimmy is above average, as there aren't many goalies that are really any better. Rinne, Lundqvist (though his stats this year aren't much better than Jimmy's), maybe Quick (though last year was the first year he really stood out), Luongo (even with the occasional playoff implosion)... But then I realized there aren't many that are really any worse either. Lot of "sameness" among the goalie ranks these days.

At least there was some head contact on that one... Major penalties, or at least match, need to be reviewable. Simple solution and they aren't so common that it would cause any real disruption.

I DVR all the games, usually start watching 1-3 hours after the actual start so I can FF through the commercials/intermissions. Neat idea though.

Lashoff being better than Quincey is debatable. He did alright in his few games. As for Sproul and Ouellet... Remember not too long ago when Kindl was putting up a point per game in juniors? Everyone was all excited for this big Swedish offensive dynamo. Supposedly played with "an edge" too. A lot of people wanted him to replace Fischer. Yeah... Yes, as a matter of fact, it is.

Who in the minors is better than Quincey? As for Cleary, you only assume Tatar or Nyquist would be any better. You can only assume they will be successful at all, especially if they're put in Cleary's role. If Tatar comes in and makes a real impact, I think we'll find a way to keep him up. If not, it's better to leave him in GR, at least until the trade deadline. You don't dump assets to make lateral moves.

Not really a fair comparison. Guys taken 1st or 3rd overall are expected to be stars and contribute right away. Tarasenko was considered a top talent as well, likely only fell as far as he did due to the Russian factor. And that was a draft with a lot of top talent. We'll get players like that the years after we're bad enough to get picks like that. I don't think "leaving kids in the minors" is as much a thing as it's made out to be. For the most part our kids stay in the minors because they're either not ready for the NHL, or not significantly better than anyone they might replace. It makes more sense to leave those players in the minors for extra depth rather than give up another player. How often have we left a kid in the minors when they were actually better than someone on the roster? Helm in '08-09? Maybe Smith last year? If we'd had a full training camp this year, some of the kids might have made the team. I think maybe management was hoping they would in order give us some trade options. But with the lockout it just makes more sense to stick with what we know, and use the unknowns for extra depth (which, sadly, it seems we're going to need...).

Cleary's only been on the ice for two PP goals against in around 17 minutes. Eaves has barely been used; probably not fully back in shape yet.

That's not particularly unusual. Top-pair defensemen play the most minutes and against the best players. They tend to be on the ice for the most goals against. Doughty's been on for 13 of 22 against LA. Pietrangelo 13 of 19 for St.Louis. Keith 10 of 18. Suter 15 of 22. Chara 9 of 19. Girardi 13 of 22. Enstrom 17 of 31... and many of those guys are consdered Norris candidates. He could certainly stand to improve some on the PK, but I wouldn't say it's scary. If he's still close to a goal a game against on the PK after another 8 games I might get a little worried, but he's been doing it for a while and usually much better so I think he can turn it around. I doubt our PK will ever be good this year, but average should be an achievable goal, and enough to let us win more than we lose. (At least it will if our offense can rise above average, and our PP better than comically terrible.

I'd settle for Maltby, or Mac, or Devereaux, or Stacy Roest, or Matt Hussey...or anyone else who's no longer on the team. Ok, just kidding, I don't have any problem with Emmy. I doubt many others would either if injuries weren't putting him in the lineup every game.

Not really, considering Flip could possibly be gone this summer, and Pav possibly the next. Jarnkrok looks like our only potential top 6 center among our prospects. He'd be a nice insurance policy, or even allow us three scoring lines. That said, I doubt the Avs would deal with us. Not sure that our prospects would be enough either.

Capgeek has a waiver calculator. You can find all the information needed for that on Capgeek as well. Not sure how ATOs and entry-level slide affects waivers, but in most cases those don't apply.

I've had DirecTV for 3+ years now, and I rarely lose service. Most interuptions last only a few seconds. It's more reliable than the Brighthouse cable I'd had previously.

In keeping with the Star Wars theme... Stormtrooper aim The Empire's ability to keep Death Star plans secret Chances of keeping a hand in a light saber duel Reliability of the Millenium Falcon's hyperdrive Han Solo's credit rating with the Hutts AT-AT agility Ewok technology

Your premise is flawed. Quincey had a few days to receive offers from others teams (he didn't get any, AFAIK), then he filed for arbitration. The options were either sign him or let him go for nothing. Or trade, but that option is still there.

Stole a couple from Euro. Several others are terrible... Datsyuk Skywalker Hanrik Zolo Yodan Franzen Wedge Valtteris Brunner Fett Qui-Todd Jinntuzzi Count Danku Cleary Darren Helmtrooper Mikael Sarlaccsson Darth Abdelkader Drewbacca CThrEavesPO RTooDToo Cory Leiammerton Admiral MursAckbar General Grievous Nyquist Obi-Kron Wallobi Jabba the Huskins Emperor Brendentine, Dark Lord of the Smith / Darth Smithious Jar-jarnthan Ericsson Kyle QuincEwok Lashoff Calrissian Biggs DarkWhiter 2-1B Colaiacovo Grand Moff Tarkindl JimMace Howardu Jawas Gustavsson

Not necessarily. Trading a player isn't an insult. If it looks like we'll be out of the playoffs, or even just fighting for a bottom seed, older players would probably thank us if we sent them to a contender. I'm still on the fence about it. Part of me wants to see how long we can stretch the playoff streak, even if it means giving up a bit in the future. Another part thinks we should cash in while we can to help get back to greatness as soon as possible.

Riley Sheahan's decision making abilities on Halloween

This year's UFA class is weak. Already the list of defensemen is pretty pathetic, and probably 2/3rds of the decent players will re-sign before UFA season. Forwards look a lot better right now, but again I'd bet most of the best talent signs before they're available. It's highly unlikely that UFAs will be a viable solution. I don't think our trade assets are as valuable as you seem to think either. Flip and Franzen would both create holes in the lineup and with their current deals you probably couldn't get an even return. Smith could probably get us a short term upgrade, but he's 23 with a lot of upside. Pretty much the exact opposite of what we want to trade right now. Most of our prospects are still years away from the NHL and very much unknown. You're not going to get a lot for any of them. Nyquist and Tatar probably get you something decent, but I don't think it's enough to make a meaningful difference.

He's already signed for next year. No adjustment needed. However, Howard, Flip and Perry are all pretty optimistic. Might save a bit on Brunner, Lashoff, and Smith, but not likely enough to fit that roster under the cap.

If I remember correctly, there was some mandatory military service. I think they talked about him possibly coming here for a year, then going back to finish his service, then realized that would be silly. He's been kind of going downhill since being drafted though. Far from a lock for the NHL, though too soon to count him out.

So basically Del Zotto's deal. Guess it makes sense, though a bit surprising considering they gave Gorges 6 yrs @ $3.9M.