CrimsonFlame

I think the fears stem less from direct records and more from just the style of play fro teams like Boston and Philly. They try to rough you up. And while our short term record may be good against them, it will definitely have an effect towards the end of the year.

I guess thats one way to protect your +/- rating

This is purely for arguments sake to provide some alternative than to what others are proposing.

My prediction: Sharks jump to an early 2 goal lead. Wings get one back on them. Sharks grab a third. In the third period Wings start the comeback tease and tie the game only to lose from a softy within the last three minutes of regulation or the first two minutes of OT. Goals by Thornton, Pavelski (2) and Stuart for the Sharks. Brunner Tootoo and Kronwall for the Wings

I was thinking about the whole baseball divisions idea and the more I think about it the more I like it. Here' s a scenario I was thinking about. East and West are eliminated all together and now we have two division, the Prince of Wales and the Campbell. I'm sure you guys can come up with something more creative. Each conference has it's own east central and west divisions I tried to keep the divisions relatively close in terms of how good the teams are as well as try and preserve some rivalries and also having to travel relatively similar distances. I also managed to get all original six into one conference since that's important to a lot of people. What do you guys think? -=Prince of Wales=- -=Campbell=- *East* *East* Tampa Bay Lightning Montreal Canadiens Carolina Hurricanes Boston Bruins Philadelphia Flyers New York Rangers Washington Capitols New York Islanders New Jersey Devils Florida Panthers *Central* *Central* St. Louis Blues Detroit Red Wings Nashville Predators Chicago Blackhawks Buffalo Sabers Pittsburgh Penguins Ottawa Senators Toronto Maple Leaves Minnesota Wild Columbus Blue Jackets *West* *West* Anaheim Ducks San Jose Sharks Phoenix Coyotes Los Angeles Kings Vancouver Canucks Colorado Avelanche Edmonton Oilers Calgary Flames Winnipeg Jets Dallas Stars *edit* Looking at it now blue division is a lot more clustered compared to orange division so I would consider swaping CBJ for st louis or nashville.

The west coast teams have to fly out east just as much as the Wings do. Don't forget they have to play out in Detroit Chicago St Louis Columbus and Nashville too. It's not like the Red Wings are the only team in the league that has to travel long distance. And my whole point anyway was that a few conference games is not on the same level as having a divisional opponent a thousand miles away.

Because it's not just conference road trips which really aren't that much travel since you only fly out west once and just stay there for a while. This a case where a divisional opponent that you have to play significantly more than everyone else is now. It's not just that they have a few more long distance road trips, it's that now they have to fly halfway across the country every other game. Detroit does not.

They've done just fine in the Central for a while. They don't need to be moved like Winnipeg needs to be.

Wings don't NEED to be moved right away so the smart move would be to wait until everything is settled before they begin the real realignment. Otherwise they may end up having to do another realignment 3 or 4 years after the first.

I understand that Winnipeg playing in the southeast is a big problem, but there is a much quicker and easier fix than a complete conference realignment. Winnipeg to the Northwest, Minnesota to the Central, and bump Nashville to the Southeast. Much easier to shift three teams then completely redo the league. And this can even act as a temporary fix until we can really address realignment down the line once Phoenix's fate is clear as well as expansion and other teams moving.

I think before any conference realignments are done the NHL should figure out what Phoenix is doing and if they are adding two more teams and all that stuff. Wait till all the franchises are completely stable before we start trying to realign everything or things could get screwed up and need another realignment 4 or 5 years down the road.

Did I miss something? Aren't you supposed to avoid getting hit in like all sports?

I'd like to give it another two or three games before I'm ready to say it's back.

Wow I've never seen a keyboard with buttons on the left like that. Makes sense now that you said it. I was thinking it was some kind of weird left handed keyboard or something.

What the hell is going on with your keyboard?

I'd much rather keep Chicago San Jose Vancouver and Colorado than lose them and gain Boston and Montreal. Thats really all I'd look forward to seeing in this promotion. Tampa Bay is ok I guess, buffalo is pretty meh, and Toronto doesn't do anything for me.

Am I the only one here that wants the Wings to stay in the west?

I'm not saying Tootoo is why the team sucks. But Tootoo is not the answer. Him playing any more than his eight minutes a night I'd venture to say is probably going to hurt us more than help.

It's alright they'll trade for another 3 big name goalies before the trade deadline is over.

The problem is if you go to a 2-3 system you're killing any chance of offense you would have. 3 Guys hanging back in the zone will be a lot easier for a goalie to manage against. And if you move one of the defends up you're just playing an inferior 3-2. It might be something interest to try if you're up 2 goals in the third and want to coast your way to victory but it really wouldn't have a use outside that.

The were a lot more variables in 09 than the lack of enforcers. And even so it came so close they could just have easily have won the cup. Also you can't honestly tell me you would rather have Tootoo than Hossa.

Yeah forget the superstar players and one of the greatest defensemen of all time. They didn't contribute nearly as much as our 4th line grinders....

I don't get why Tootoo is all of a sudden such a fan favorite. We need hockey players on this team. Not goons. Goons don't help us when we can't score a goal of the Blue Jackets after the first five minutes. Oh whoo he fights. Great. Let me know when fighting gets you goals.

Even if we do draft a top 10 player, he's probably going to spend the next 5 years in Grand Rapids in true Red Wings fashion.

That powerplay goal was all Tootoo's fault. I'm sorry but there is no excuse for trying to start something while Columbus is still cycling the puck through our zone. Completely irresponsible.