RedSea

If being *** means winning the cup, then I suppose Nashville is the straightest team in the NHL. The "***" Wings will win tonight Homophobic Preds fans despite Final score four to zero Lidstrom being the hero A goal for Zetterberg is just the tip of the iceberg Datsyuk will wear a moo moo and still skate circles around Tootoo Maltby plays game one thousand one and slips the puck under Rinne's bum Say goodnight to Steve Sullivan After a hit so Kronwallian The Predators will leave Nashville Ultimately feeling they lack the skill To beat a bunch of guys They think are homos in disguise

I'm not trying to take anything away from Hudler or say that he is some special case where his teammates are the only reason he's playing well. I just think he's playing on the best 2nd/3rd line in the NHL and that's boosting his stats a little. And it was for the sake of a one-on-one argument. I think Lilja has shown better defensive capabilities on the one-on-one than Hudler has shown on the offensive side of the one-on-one. That's all I was really trying to say, I guess I just worded it poorly.

I used to want the Wings to jump all over a 4th line energy player at the deadline. But ever since Helm and Leino have proved that they deserve a roster spot I think there is little truth behind these rumors. Even if there are scouts at these games I bet they're looking at defensemen and not forwards. We're way too stacked at forward this year to bother with it. We're not going to bench Draper or Maltby because of experience and Babcock is loving Kopy, Helm and Leino. So who would Lappy or Roberts replace? No one. Unless Colorado has inquired about one of our players and is offering a juicy deal (Filppula?). But I don't see Kenny gutting our depth this far into the season for an energy player now that Helm seems to be fitting that mold. Maybe something will happen in the offseason.

I was originally going to say Hudler, but then I thought about it and I think Lilja takes the cake. Lils was on my s*** list a lot last year but this year he has been the most consistent d-man behind Lidstrom. Very good on the PK and blocking some very important shots. But I think it's close between Huds and Lilja. Hudler has enormously stepped up his offense and even improved his defense a little, but I just think Lilja has improved his defense so drastically that he could easily be a 2nd line defenseman on any other team. Hudler, on the other hand, still lacks the size to make himself a threat without his teammates around. I see Lilja making a lot of one on one plays, while Hudler is more of a get open and shoot/pass kind of player right now because he can't muscle for position (he could still kick my arse, but compared to NHL players I don't think he's quite there yet). I can't even tell you which one has more potential to be better because both have improved so much over the course of a year. I think I'll say Lilja has more potential because it's very possible Hudler will not be wearing the Winged Wheel next year and I think that will hurt his progress .

I've noticed Kronwall trying to lay some big hits more frequently too. I think everyone is getting in playoff mode. The 4th line has looked a lot better ever since this rotation took place. I don't know if I want Babs to be rotating guys out come playoff time, but that just may be the way it has to be with Helm and Leino making strong cases for starting spots. I'm really impressed with Helm and Babcock's faith to put him on the PK. I think this kid is easily the 3rd line center next year. And then there's Leino, in which case not much needs to be said about his scoring ability. He just needs to hit the gym like Datsyuk did during his early career.

Kinda stinks that Kronwall will be parted from Lidstrom, I liked that pairing. But I can't really see Raf playing with Stuart.

Yeah, heaven forbid we talk about potential trades for a team lacking in penalty killing and high energy players like Drake.

Crosby is such a poor loser. "He shoved me from behind". I didn't see any shove, I just saw Ovechkin trying to get off the bench while Sid was lallygagging. Then he goes on to say "That's just him". Yeah, Ovechkin is really known for his cheap shots, not his ridiculous scoring ability. How about that low blow and slew of cheap shots you gave Valabik, Sid? How about jumping Mclean? Man, what a terrible poster boy for the NHL.

Ovie would destroy Sid. Crosby only gets by on cheap shots and jumping unexpecting people.

Major? No. 4th line addition? Possibly (Neil). 3rd line D? Possibly but doubtful.

If the cap numbers work then Holland should definitely be looking into this.

While I think this is just a big rumor, it would be amazing to add such an energy player like Neil. But what I don't understand is if our cap room will remain at what it is when we bring Stuart/Holmstrom off the IR. Does that cap room stay when the players are re-activated? If not, I don't see how this trade would work for Detroit. We would have to do something like a Kopecky + pick trade or something along those lines. Even just to clear a roster spot I think one of our players would have to be sent to Ottawa. IF (big if) my trade idea goes through, the playoff lines would look something like: Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom Hossa-Filppula-Franzen Sammy-Hudler-Cleary Neil-Draper-Maltby(Helm/Leino) Even then this roster doesn't make much sense. Neil has the talent to be a 3rd liner. Of course, on the Wings, everyone plays a line below what they could be playing on any other team. Kenny could pull this off since the 4th line has been lackluster this year and really needs an energy player. But I'm thinking he stays put with what he's got.

Oh it'll be a loud booing session during that timeout . Lilja will start a fight the instant after the tribute.

While you're most likely right, the next time Babs would've matched the enforcer line with the line that aggravated Hudler and company. It's a chess game that you take in turns and sometimes you've just gotta sacrifice a little time to get back at your opponent.

The Wings send Kopecky and a 2nd round pick to Ottawa for Neil. Then Hossa will only drop the gloves against other superstars (Hossa vs. Crosby would be classic). Please make it happen Kenny. Not that Kopy really has much trade value, they would just have to clear up a roster spot.

No way the Wings trade Maltby. One reason they got Hossa is because of their loyalty. And second of all, Maltby does not garner much trade value.

I'm going to the game and very excited to see that Conklin is playing. The team just seems to play better around him (not to mention he is playing better than Ozzie currently). 4-0 Wings with goals by Dats, Hoss, Fils (finally) and Sammy.

So Howard gets to play the offensive-lacking Wild. I won't say it, but we all know what is going to happen. It rhymes with Futt-out and is the beginning of the end for Ozzie. What I'd really prefer is that Osgood just wakes the F up and starts playing lights out like last year.

This is what Osgood was planning all along. Take the season easy, get a whole bunch of close victories, then take an early spring break to re-tune his goalie skills and get back into last year's playoff mode. He got us wins didn't he?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!

The boards are saying the info. leaked is that the Kostitsyn bros and Hamrlik are tied to a serious drug dealer. Not so big? We'll see I guess.

Maybe one of them didn't show up for All Star Ceremonies but played in the All Star Game, which by league rule means a career ending suspension and 25 years in jail.

The Wings are going to be forced to be sellers because why? I don't get his logic. Sammy has 36 pts for the Wings this year and we need to dump him for a reason that I can't find? We don't need more cap space this year and he will be a UFA at year's end anyways. No sense to this...and it's Ecklund. Unless we're looking at picking up Lucic, which Boston would be retarded to give him up. A Sammy + prospect + picks for Lucic trade would be a dream but that's about what it is...a dream.

They're betting on themselves to choke before the playoffs and not make it.

If Chris Neil can be had for a 2nd round pick, I don't see why Holland wouldn't pull the trigger. Unless Ottawa is now shopping him around for a better deal and the Wings have competition.

Again, I just don't see Filppula being moved at the deadline. Your line combo is very feasible, but Zetterberg already went on record saying him and Dats won't be separated again so I think management wouldn't like that idea. Their chemistry is just too good to split up. IF (big if) Fils is traded at the deadline, then Babs would probably have faith that Franzen could move back to center and we would potentially see a Hossa-Franzen-Hudler/Sammy line. I could eat my words in a couple weeks, I just don't see Kenny wanting to gut the team's depth at center even with how strong Helm has been playing (I can't believe he's on the PK already). Remember, Neil can apparently be had for a 2nd round pick so if anything we would see that trade if Holland wants some grit. It certainly would be a great addition to the energy on this team. We won the cup without Kopecky last year so maybe he gets scratched in favor of a Neil addition.