Buppy

Some people here could be very surprised by Meech's ability to suck. Hard as it might be to believe, he has been worse than Lebda so far. That said, he's still fairly young so it's worth giving him a shot. Plus, he's more versatile; he can suck at multiple positions... Wouldn't get your hopes very high though.

That's just it...there are no 'decreased stats', at least not significantly. 08 playoffs he had 4g, 8a in 21 games. Better than last year, but so were a lot of players. If you look at anything other than the most recent playoff run, his numbers are very close to the best he's ever done. Beyond the numbers, I think people have fooled themselves into thinking Homer used to be some all-star caliber player, when in fact he's never been more than the rather slow, defensively weak, one-dimentional role player that he still is. His board work and passing have always been and still are average. He has only ever done one thing very well, it just happens that it's something that compliments the playstyle of our top lines very well. And by any metric you can think of, he still does that one thing very well, when he's healthy. And when he's not healthy, who cares, since he's out of the lineup anyway and his detractors get their wish for someone new in his spot...

Not totally directed towards you, but where exactly is this idea coming from? He has been hurt the past two years, but while he's been in the lineup he's been as good as he's ever been...so is it just the one 19 game stretch from last year's playoffs? Personally, I think some people are vastly over-rating how good he used to be; judging a decline from a height he was never at in the first place.

Who is the better player isn't relevent. The fact is that Homer's skill set is more suited to role on a scoring line Helm's, whose skill set is ideally suited to a checking line. Homer being on the top line did not cost us the Cup. Homer wasn't on the top line (or top 6) when we lost it. He was on the 4th line where you want to put him. In the finals, the Wings were 2-2, scored 10 goals with Homer in the top 6 (Homer had 2 assists). With Homer on the 4th line we were 1-2, scored 7 goals (5 in one game), and Homer had 0 points.

Probably useless to point this out, but prior to his injury last year Homer was having one of the best seasons of his career. 14g, 16a in 40 games before the injury. In the 13 regular season games after he came back he had 7 assists. His 23 assists were the 3rd highest of his career, despite playing the fewest number of games since his rookie season. His +18 rating was a career best. His PPG was 2nd best of his career. His production did drop after the first round of the playoffs, but Anaheim shut that entire line down. Then came some line-shuffling and Datsyuk's injury. There was more to his lack of production than just deteriorating skills, injury, or fatigue. He has a goal this season, created at least one scoring chance with his corner work (good puck retrieval and nice pass to Franzen in game 1), creates chaos in front of the opposition net, and hasn't made any real notable mistakes. He is about as good an option as anyone below him for our top 6. Not to mention that both our 3rd and 4th lines are doing pretty well so far, so we shouldn't mess with them. Of course, some other combinations would work, and will at some point be tried, but there's no reason to change anything yet. The line generated plenty of scoring chances. As for Helm; he is simply not a top 6 forward. He would add nothing to the line. Neither Franzen nor Datsyuk are particularly fast, so Helm's speed would do little but put him up ice with no support and no skills to survive without it. The line would be plagued by offside fouls, lack of flow, and turnovers. Then on the other side of the coin, you take an ideal checking/energy line center off your checking line and replace him with a defensive liability winger with little speed. You degrade both lines by swapping Helm and Homer.

Homer was fine in the two games. He scored a goal with a great screen, had a few nice passes, and some good corner work. And while even Meech would likely have some success playing with Pav and Mule, Helm would be ridiculous. He just isn't that good, and has no skills that would compliment either of those two. Most likely he would just get in the way.

Forgetting the playoffs? Healthy worry is fine, but our last playoff is ample proof that this team has the ability to be very good defensively. We just need the boys to realize we might not be able to outscore a lack of defensive effort like we did last year.

People have been predicting a 'steady decline' for the past 10 years. Eventually you'll be right, I suppose. No doubt the cap will make it more difficult to rebuild on the fly, but we've done well so far, and we've also found some significant talent with our drafts and cheap signings. Franzen, Flip, Ericcson, Helm, Leino, Abdelkader, Cleary...Hudler could come back as well. Pav, Hank, and Franzen have quite a few years left, and free agency is still an option. This team has been to the 3rd round the last three years, finals the last two, won one Cup, and has not changed all that much. Most of our core players are still in either the 'prime' or 'still improving' portions of their careers. One of our 'old' guys is still arguably the best defenseman in the game. There is absolutely nothing to suggest that we will not be a serious Cup contender this year, and quite likely next year as well. The Central is certainly a tough division, and I expect Chicago to be a serious Cup contender as well, who could very well win the division. That does not mean the Wing's status as contenders is over. You'll forgive us our optimism. Player of the Decade, Coach of the Decade, GM of the Decade, Team of the Decade...The decade ain't quite over yet.

We also have basically the same defense that won a Jenning's trophy two years ago. Osgood proved in the playoffs that his skills haven't left him, as did the defense. Some intensity and a full 60 minute effort and this is still one of top defenses in the league.

Freak accident or has Burke gone all the way off the deep end and equipped his players with Scythes instead of sticks? Seriously though, tough break for Markov and the Habs. They were a fringe playoff team with Markov, if he misses 2/3rds of the season they may not have a chance.

People who thought Flip would break out last year most likely expected him to center the 2nd line with Franzen and Hossa on his wings. On the few occasions he did get that opportunity, he produced. He's a playmaker, just not an elite one (and no one is suggesting that he is). That means his production is heavily bound by the talent of his line mates, but he definitely has the skills to be a solid point producer. The coach and his fellow players (even some from other teams) all believe that as well. But Babs likes to play both Pav and Hank at center, which could keep Flip on the third line for as long as he's with the Wings. That will probably keep him in the 40-50 point range. It would also probably mean he leaves the Wings when his contract is up, or sooner, unfortunately.

Could be a good thing...in three years we could see three more players from the '02 Cup go to the HHOF. Not sure Fedorov will make first ballot though, or that Cheli will end up retired this year...

Sounds to me like DirectTV is going to end up paying more in free service and lost subscriptions than they would by paying what Comcast is asking. :\

You think an average top line is better than Franzen-Datsyuk-Homer?

I predict he'll never shoot as much as he should. Pav's going in to his 8th season and still hasn't fully shaken his hesitancy to shoot. But there are certainly worse weaknesses to have, so it doesn't bother me much. I'm guardedly optimistic about Flip this season. I believe if he's given a chance to further develop some chemistry with Leino, Williams, or whoever else, and given some decent PP time, he could break 50 and even threaten 60. I'm a little worried though that the inevitable injuries and line juggling will prevent that, and lead to a slump/loss of confidence.

Free agency isn't the only way to add players. If Nick retires, I'd bet Kenny would try to work out a trade, Kaberle maybe the most likely suspect.

Nothing we can say here has any effect on what happens on the ice, so whether speculating about next summer, this season, or 35 years from now isn't any different. It's just entertainment, so... As others have said, we really don't have a ton of cap room, even if the cap doesn't go down. Nor are there many big ticket UFAs. Kovalchuk and Savard are the biggest, and probably unlikely that either makes it to free agency. There's a few RFAs, but unlikely we'd go after any of them. I think it mostly depends on Lidstrom. If he decides to retire I'd expect some kind of move to help offset that loss. If he comes back, then I'd expect something similar to this year.

YAY ZURICH! 2009 Victoria Cup winners! Hilarious!

They mostly solved their cap issues when they dumped Ehrhoff and Lukowich. Depth is questionable, and little offense from their bottom 6 forwards, but their top 6 forwards, top 4 defense, and starting goalie easily make them a contender.

Most of the regulars seemed to coast through the pre-season, so it's tough to evaluate. Leino-Flip-Willy were impressive, and could be a great third line. I think I even saw Willy backchecking once. Would have liked to see more out of Bert, Homer, and Eaves. Eaves didn't get many opportunities with the regulars, so I'll give him a bit of a pass. Heard he looked alright with Flip and Leino on Saturday, but I didn't get to watch the game. All in all, I'd say I'd rather see Pav and Hank together, but I don't feel bad about the lineup. The defense and goaltending hasn't exactly been inspiring confidence, except maybe Kronwall, but again it's just the pre-season. Ericcson hasn't really looked like he's going to be pressing for a top-4 spot, but I'm sure he can step things up.

Perhaps sent to GR? Neither has to pass waivers, so no reason I can think of to keep them on the roster.

East Boston - They have it all, and something to prove after the playoff disappointment, Northeast isn't very good Washington - Southeast is improved, but still bad Pittsburgh - Summer parties and a tough division, but still good enough to beat out Philly Philadelphia - Close, but just behind the Pens New Jersey - Boring is back, Baby! Carolina - A shade behind the Devils Montreal - The talent will gel just enough to sneak in Rangers - If Gabby can stay mostly healthy, otherwise... Ottowa - By a hair over the Leafs Leafs - Getting there, but not this year Florida - Best of the bad Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Islanders - Rest of the bad West Detroit - Still able to dominate, despite the toughness of the division Vancouver - Because Swedes are awesome in any time zone San Jose - Wings of 97, eff the regular season, let's start the playoffs, division will be tougher than last year Chicago - Good enough to win the West Calgary - Defense Anaheim - Defensive losses hurt more than Koivu helps, look out in the playoffs though St.Louis - Maybe a year or two away from contending Dallas - When healthy, they are a pretty decent team Columbus, Edmonton, Los Angeles - All in the hunt for that 8th seed Nashville, Minnesota, Phoenix, Colorado - Aren't

Larsson is an exception only allowed for the trip to Sweden. His salary only counts if he's actually used in one of the regular season games there.

Ideally, for ice time reasons, I think Pav and Hank should only play secondary PK roles, at least until the playoffs. I believe last year Flip & Cleary were the best of the dozen or so units we used. Maltby was statistically our best individual. Helm deserves a chance to fully establish himself as Draper 2.0. I'd go: Flip - Cleary Helm - Draper/Maltby/Eaves Pav/Hank used as alternates I'd like to see Lidstrom off the PK more often, but don't see how that's very feasible.

Another issue, hand in hand with passive point coverage, was 'losing' guys in the slot. Puck cycling in the corner, two PKers go after it, and bam, someone comes down wide open between the circles. But I think our biggest problem, both on the PK and defense in general was just a lack of intensity. On offense as well (turnovers, not as much puck possession...). We had a team last year that probably could have scored 350 goals, we just spent far too much time on cruise control. Our talent was enough to mask the laziness on offense, but that doesn't work in the other end. This year's team can put up close to 300 goals again, but if we coast as much as last year we'll be lucky to hit 250, and the defense will be just as bad. And without a big shot-blocker the PK will probably be worse. But I have faith that the team will be more motivated this year, and less hung-over. Lack of a shot blocker still worries me a bit. I think that's the reason the PK never got going in the playoffs.