Opie

http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=52932 to quote B.I.G: I'm not saying, but I saying!

I understand that he will have to at some point in time in, I guess I was speaking in a bit of an exaggeration, I wasn't laying those lines out because you didn't know them, more out of excitement because this is the first real hockey news (red wing related) in a long time!

What are you basing the heavy decline on? Honest question. If you are using stats, that would be coach's fault. Babs has not let Cheli play any PP time his main role is PK and stay at home D man. If you are basing it off of the Dallas series, I would suggest holding that decision off until we all see what he looks like this year, it could be age or it could be that he had a lingering leg/knee problem. I like the idea of Cheli as the 7th man, letting guys get a breather, he is experienced and will not be taken back by any situation in hockey, he has seen it all. Plus if it is 7th man in the NHL or 1st man in GR I would much rather have Big Rig in GR honing his game!

I think Babs doesn't play the match up game at all this year. Homer Dats Hossa can defend any teams top line, Hossa is just about as good in his own end as Z and Dats Hudler Z Franzen again with this line (I didn't say it for the above) has two PKers on it and is very sound in its own zone, Mule may not be Z in his own zone but he is also not a slouch! Cleary Flip Sammy Responsible defensively, hell Cleary and Sammy played on the Checking/defensive line last year with Drapes. Drapes Maltby and whoever else as you stated will be a frustrating defensive line. Then throw the top 4 d-men into the mix and you have a very talented Defensive team with a lot of offensive talent/upside. I think Babs (opinion I have no inside source) has set his lines up so that he doesn't have to match up or worry about match ups on the road. 4 very solid (2 great) defensive lines, 2 phenomenal Offensive lines and the third line will be great especially when they are facing a team that has to match up against the top 2 lines, I expect big things from the 3rd line this year, Flip and Cleary NICE!! Then you have the 4th line, solid defensive line, limited upside but will probably be the best forechecking line! (Edit: Especially if Helm plays on it, speedy forecheckers I like)!

What an interesting approach, let a player earn the roster spot you say, hmmm novel approach! Sarcasm aside, this and the fact that he has one more year of waiver eligibility are the reasons he will be in GR most of the year. The Wings are in a pinch with the Salary cap, they need to be careful these next couple of years with veteran players, having a guy like Ericsson around will help, if they need a D-man he is there at a relatively low cost to them.

As long as he can play in a league some where why not, KHL or Czech league. Good for him, if they want to pay him he would be another name for the KHL!

Like Babs said that is one hell of a third line!!

Because most reporters know very little about what they are covering and since Mats is a big name free agent they ask the question. That is pretty much the only reason!

I always like Stu Barnes, not so much that I was begging Kenny to get it done, but respected his game! Good for him and good for the stars, I think the more former players you put in your front office the easier it is to have a rapport with the players. If you have guys who have been in the grind the current players you have will respect that, as oppossed to having a bunch of non hockey players. But I could be completely wrong!

I think I asked this question before, but what about the $15 discount for when the panther's are in Washington, or when Phoenix is in Florida or LA is visiting? Does this mean that since Detroit is a major draw and other teams are charging more for those games that Detroit can charge 15$ to any fan that buys with a zip code outside of Michigan, if they really are worth $15 more when they travel aren't they worth $15 more if people are traveling to the Joe?

The point in referencing his young age and why it is exaggerated is that being that young will give him more years in the league, and if we infer from what other players have done in their careers it is easy to see that in a couple of years the guy will be even better. Here is the thing, he will mature physically and mentally, with that maturation will come more understanding of his body and a better understanding of how to use it. He will get better, and right now the only thing separating him and the best forwards in the game is Defensive ability, if he picks his game up in his own zone bar none he will be the best forward in the game.

D'OH!!! Just me being an asshat again! Sorry YoungGuns I misinterpreted!

Not disagreeing with you but pointing out, that in Det for their rookie seasons Dats and Hank where the farthest thing from the focal point, while Crosby and Malkin where the focal point for all of the Pens Offense. The hatred on this board for Sid is ridiculous, the only thing that keeps it from being worse than the Sammy bashing is that Sammy is on the team that people are rooting for. Sid Crosby will be the greatest player in the league soon, yes Lids is better, and Yes right now Z and Dats defense is a lot better, but he is young and very talented on the offensive side of the puck, he needs to improve in his own end and then yes he will be the greatest player in the league, that is of course assuming Lids has retired by then! (edit) OR that AO hasn't started playing great D!

So you may or may not have heard, but Yaz (Carl Yastrzemski) had triple bypass surgery, in reading articles there were a s***load of comments with people giving Yaz credit for making them a baseball fan. I personally wasn't a fan until I saw Yzerman play, so I can relate to those people. But it made me wonder, what player brought you into the world of hockey? If this is a waste of DB space feel free to delete.

Another twist to this,

I am pretty sure that if this is the case GMR is referring to other people, because many many people have trashed his play since the cup was won!

So you don't think Howard is ready even though he has been better than average in the AHL and shown signs of being very solid in the NHL (Dallas game when the top 4 D were all out), yet some one that has not played any NA hockey, isn't used to the rink sizes (which changes angles) is? If J-Ho is ready, he will be the man, if not then Holland and Co will fix the problem whether that be internally or via trade. Is Larssen / J-Ho going to be the new goalie controversy thread now?

Here is the argument being had around the Beantown area. The Arch Rival Yanks are getting a brand new stadium, well that means the Sox ownership is going to try to out do the yanks, that is how this thing works always has always will. Here in lies the argument, when they switched from the old Boston Garden to the new TD BankNorth Garden the complaint is that it just isn't the same the feel, the environment, everything has changed and the opinion is that it is not for the good. As much as people complained about the seats or the concessions or whatever at the old building those complaints are now being trumped by the "It just isn't the same feel anymore" argument. Not sure what side I am on, but I do know that the Sox ownership has recently sunk a lot of money into Fenway, the area around Fenway has really become part of the experience. The city shuts down Yawkey way and as soon as you onto Yawkey you are in the park, you can get beers and dogs whatever while still standing outside the park, it is all fenced off. But no one wants to see Fenway go because of the reaction after the Garden went. Not saying the Wings don't need a new arena, but when it is done, will going to the games feel the same. Now if the Wings get a new building and continue to win, sure the environment will be great. But the C's(until recently) and B's both sucked and the one thing about the old garden is even if the teams sucked the environment the whole building, everything was just different.

I haven't kept up with player opinion, so I may be off base with this statement but..... I don't know how the players feel, but as a fan looking at or wearing a jersey the CCM/KOHO (Didn't Det use KOHO in the past or maybe just the replica's were KOHO) were leaps and bounds ahead of these jersey's. I find it interesting that a guy like Modano has a jersey that has got to be two sizes to big for him (based on the fit of these jersey's) in order to get the jersey to tail out behind him. I wouldn't be surprised to see more players switching to bigger sizes for comfort reasons, in the new ones it seems to me (again through a camera lens) that the players adjust their pads and jersey's a lot. Tangent warning!!! In playing Volleyball there were two different sets of Jersey rules,so to speak, for me. On the beach I wore tighter and less clothing (Board shorts no Shirt, not a speedo or anything) to keep sand out of certain areas (which is why the feminist issue around the bikini clad ladies Olympic V-ball team is laughable and made by people who have never played beach ball) but indoors loose clothing and a jersey is a big help because you don't get floor burns and it is more comfortable. But that was all preference, for the league to come out and say everyone has to wear a tight fitting Jersey, I would think some guys (like in every other sport) may like looser fitting uni's. s*** look at Manny Ramirez's loose fitting rags as opposed to a guy like Johan Santana or others who prefer a tighter fit, a lot of that probably has to do with range of movement and what not, but these Edge Jersey's look like crap, and really don't look comfortable at all to play in!

I will give you the apples to oranges in the Det comparison, but how is Ana really that much different in playing style than Cal, especially his role, which will be a power forward who can bang and score 40 or so points. Same as it was in Ana, and he had a decent year, but he is still a shadow of his former self!

That is a pretty cool story, one of those right place right time stories. Can you imagine it though, chilling in the locker room about ready to go play Rockband or something and then NHL guys are firing rubber at you while you try to not piss your pants!!

Oh, I am just saying that is my thought, I think it is obvious that Lilja will be the odd man out as he was last playoffs when all were healthy. Cheli had lingering leg injuries and was not playing at a level babs thought wouldn't be improved by Lilja over him. But the difference is that Sammy and Lebda are and were under contract when the season ended, Holland approached Lilja offered him a deal and now he is saying sorry man, I guess I jumped the gun a little. Not saying he won't trade him, but that is worse than trading a guy you have had under contract for 2 years and is headed into the last year of said contract. Again Lilja would appear to be the odd man out, he Kills the PK, the Wings have ample D-men to do that, the one thing he provides that none of the other D do is the fists. Lebda has a decent all around game, nothing that makes you say wow, other than his speed. I agree it is a tough call, I just have a feeling Holland will keep Lilja around, but I am just some guy at a desk, so take that for what it is worth.

Blasphemer!!!! /sarcasm!

Why some people think trading some one from the Wing's is ONLY because they suck, to GMR's point, Lilja is a veteran D-man who played significant time on the best Defense in the league last season, yeah why would anyone want a defenseman who can play the PK and is effective in his own zone, WHY? What a waste of money. For the record, I don't think Lilja will be traded due to the recent signing, if the Wings were going to let him go (I understand,they didn't have Stuart) they would have let him go out on the market and test the waters, it would be the fair thing to do to him and the Wings are all about being fair to the players. I think Lebda may have more draw from other teams however, his salary does not help the Wings much if at all when traded. However if the Wings were to package Sammy and Lebda for a Drake-type player (style not age) and a pick they could probably get said forward for under a mil and then be free of Sammy's salary and cleared one space at the back end. Before people who don't know think I am a Sammy basher, I have been one of the most vehement defenders of Sammy, however with the emergence of Mule, Flip, Huds, Cleary as viable secondary scoring options and the addition of Hossa, Sammy has become expendable. Hell I bet if Holland throws in a Ham Sandwich with the deal he could get Lucic from Boston for the two. (Sorry the Ham sandwich part is my own joke about the B's front office "SKILLS"! The trade of Sammy and Lebda would gain the wings about 1.8 mil in room to work with, the problem with my scenario (not the Lucic/ham sandwich one) is that the team is really only going to gain a couple of hundred K, the returning forward would probably be too expensive so they are better off probably doing the deal for a prospect forward and draft picks.

Thank you oh so much, not sure what I was doing wrong!