Opie

While I used to jump to Sammy's defense before he went to Van, I can not argue with the fact seeing Nyquist over Bert or Sammy is a no-brainer!

I have paid for many products the NHL offers in the past 20 years, but for at least the next two the NHL will not see a penny of mine. I will not pay for any games, no highlights, no jerseys, no t-shirts, no sweat shirts, no calendars, no baby clothes, no coffee mugs, no wall clocks, no $100+ tickets to see Wings in Boston, no hats, no video games, none nada zip zilch zero. *** Call it me locking them out of my checking account! When I see that what the players had offered the owners in early Dec is nearly exactly what they agreed to overall, I am starting to believe the rumblings that this was the date the NHL/Owners were holding out for all along. If you remember the early Dec offer from the players was the "this is the hill we will die on" press conference that had the Owners and Bettman and Daly all bent out of shape. Shawn Thornton on a local sports radio show said the only real difference between this deal and the Dec offer the players gave them was the 7yr new team contract length (the players wanted all contracts maxed at 8yrs), and the Salary cap (Players wanted ~65m owners wanted ~60m). They were only a small distance a part from each other and the owners, well their representation, came out with a ton of rhetoric about how far a part they were. Thornton also mentioned the rumbling of players saying that the owners made up the money they were looking for the players to sacrifice by missing half of the season's payroll. I am not sure about that last point, because I am not sure how much each team lost in revenue not having games and selling merch. But sounds fishy when you think about the fact it took a month to come to this agreement. One in which the players still gave in, the owners come out smelling like roses and the fans get treated like s***, and no one cares about the Beer or T-shirt vendor who lost ~20 shifts at the arena (excluding pre season). Millionaires (players and owners) acting like spoiled little babies, that is where I draw the line. The last lockout I agreed with somewhat, changes needed to be made, the salary cap (hate it as I may) was vital in the survival of the league. This time, they didn't even deal with the important issues; no realignment, Winnipeg will still be in the south east, head shots will still be as lethal, Pho is still league property, the league (as in the sport not the NHL the group) did not improve, it stayed the same, nearly exactly the same. These cap circumventing contracts were not as big an issue as a salary cap or even as big as the owners/NHL made it out to be, just ask NYI how many 13 year deals they wanted to give out again. Teams (owners have to agree to deals) were handing out 10+ year deals right up until the lockout, if they were such an issue why not stop handing out long term deals at the end of last season? (Looking at you Leopold and Wild!!!!!!) Why, because the owners and their orgs are actually the perpetrators in this mess. If the only thing the hypocrites were offering was 5 year deals do you think the players would have had a strike? No, they would have signed the 5yr deal that they saw best. This is like getting pissed off at the dog because I thought keeping dinner in his dish was a good place to keep it safe. What is the dog supposed to do, go "Oh no, this is too much for me, and way too good. Dad, I think you made a mistake here, I would like my kibble 'n bits back please!". NO the dog eats all the food and I am the asshat, not the dog! The owners and their GMs created this, and expect the players to help clean up their mess. This was a bunch of rich people arguing over who gets a bigger $lice of the pie, all while the economy continues to s*** bricks all over a large portion of this country. Bad timing, worse results! There is nothing the league can do for me in the next 2 years to spend a dime on them, nothing. I will watch whatever free product they put in front of me, but I will not throw any more of my money into the trashcan that is their undeserving, unappreciative wallets! *** someone needs to make a photoshop of the priceless ads, but have it be "no Jersey sales -5 mil, no ticket sales - 10m, pissing of die hard fans of all kinds, worhtless!"

I don't trust the owners will make good on the "Make Whole" clause, I doubt the players trust the owners more than I do. The owners negotiated contracts this summer under false pretenses. Offering money they were not willing to pay, giving out 10 year deals while claiming no one should have a contract over 5 years. The owners are being very shady and hypocritical, if I were a player there is no way in hell I accept that Make Whole clause!

For me this is a two horse race. Stevie and Gordie. My eyes lean towards Stevie, but Gordie was Mr Red Wing for many many years before Stevie even put the Winged Wheel on. My final 4 based on those brackets would be Yzerman Vs. Feds /Lindsay(the man doesn't get the credit he deserves) Howe Vs. Lidstrom/Abel (this one is a close one for me but I go with Lids due to seeing him play)

Oh this thread brings back memories. On topic, I was wondering what if the KHL and European leagues catch on in the next season to season and a half (as projected). Lots of players have said they would have no problem staying in their home countries. SOOO... What about finally having a world wide league. Have 2 NA divisions Can and Amer in one conference, 2 more between KHL and Europe divisions making another conference. The first three(maybe 2) rounds must be from the original holder of picks homeland (so to speak). After that you can draft anyone anywhere. Or not let anyone draft anyone, but I thought it would be a neat feature. No play in other conference until a 7 game championship series held at a rotating host site each year. Maybe???? Maybe Not????

LOL @ The AXE. Hmmm my other who loves feds and who hates feds post hit the second page, lets take a page out of Blue Adams book and..... Repost but change topic title and no one will know this is a who else loves Feds thread!

all I could think of reading thread title:

WOW 6 years. Good for Pac.

Sawchuk was the best netminder of his time, Ted was not only a great player who was part of one of the most productive lines in hockey, but was also a pioneer for player rights and put his own neck on the line by standing up for player rights, was huge in the forming of the NHLPA. here is what you need to know about Alex: **From his wiki page**

Wasn't also the game he guaranteed a win? or was that game 6?

I have 0 issue with him being in the HOF, I am just saying a guy like Dino who has over 600 goals is out of the HOF, numbers are important, and I do realize this is the international hockey hall of fame not NHL so his Russian numbers are a factor, but lets not forget how long it has taken for the HOF to recognize the KLM line, Krutov didn't get in until 2010. it would be impossible for me to deny the talent Feds was, I am just saying that sometimes in HOF voting I don't think the defensive play of a forward gets factored in enough. And sometimes I have no idea what they are using for criteria. I mean Adam Oates & Bure over Shanahan, If Shanny isn't a first ballot HOFer I am not sure what the IHOF is doing. IMO Shanny, sakic, sundin, no question first ballot guys. EDIT: I am an asshat, Dino is in the HOF, hadn't had coffee yet!!!!

Good point! I think Sawchuck was the only one who didn't but that would be because very rarely is a netminder a captain.

You think it should be retired because you love Feds. I don't think it should because the wings that are retired were the face of the Wings, they were the embodiment of being a Red Wing. You have a problem with that, I don't care I am not the one who set the standard, I am just the one pointing out that he does not meet that standard. And every point you have brought up has nothing to do with his being a Red Wing above all else, it is about his stellar play, which is all in good if this were 29 other teams in the league. It is not, this is the Detroit Red Wings, they only retire a very select few numbers, and those players are indeed the embodiment of being a Red Wing first and foremost. His career speaks for itself in terms of the HOF, not the rafters at the Joe. In terms of the rafters his leaving the org, holding out, and taking shifts off speak volumes (and had he stayed in Det none of this matters, even if he still holds out and takes shifts off). EDIT #2: my point here is if he stayed 91 is in the rafters and probably puts up better career numbers as he declined severely after leaving Det! (another point all the Feds is god camp forgets to point out, one 65 point season the rest under 43, another reason I left his ana and c-bus days out of my comparison of the two, so you wouldn't say oh well he played with no one once he left) Again nothing to do with like or dislike of Fedorov, his caliber of play, none of that keeps him from the rafters, again because you have selective reading impairments: THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH LIKE OR DISLIKE OF FEDOROV OR HIS CALIBER OR PLAY! It is do to him leaving the team, holding out, and taking shifts, games, and parts of seasons off! Edit: BTW go back through my posts and show me were what I said was wrong, you use the "the more you post the more wrong you are" and the 'My eyes" test, but you refuse to use those same eyes to see that the Wings that have been retired as of late never played another game in a different uniform, never held out, and were the picture of what it means to be a Detroit Red Wing!

LOL the go by what I see guy wants me to believe in what he sees with his own eyes, yet failed to read half of my posts (the only reason I can see you saying I hate Feds, or that I don't give him credit or bringing up the 80s again, or missing my whole point). Show me where I said Homer was better, my point was again, the whole team was firing on all cylinders too, Yzerman carried the team through the first round, the team carried him through the rest, not Feds carried the team through the rest. Are you reading what I write? I can tell you have Mad love for Feds good, great even. But because I say he does not belong in the rafters you instantly throw in the I hate feds. No, go back through my posts, where do I say I hate him, where do I say he sucked, where do I say he was irrelevant? Nowhere in fact I have repeatedly made the following point and I will cut and paste my own text to show you my point again: And this is the best way I can word my opinion try reading it this time: You lose me on your last two paragraphs. First I posted (again you apparently didn't read) and have been comparing their stats when they were both on the Wings team, not the 80s and not when feds was in ana. Someone else brought up the "should Messier not be retired because he followed Gretzky", my point was that you can not use that example. Edm obviously doesn't consider being a lifelong player a requirement, like apparently Det does, otherwise neither of them would be up there. That was my point. I have conceded many times the talent and skill that Feds had. What you fail to realize is that Yzerman was that talented, all while Feds was in his prime and Yzerman was at the end of his prime. I have never denied his talents, like some have discounted Yzerman's (which is why I brought them up to begin with BTW). What I have maintained the whole time (again if you bothered to read) was that Yzerman and Lids were the embodiment of being a Red wing and being a Captain. Feds was not, therefore he will not be in the rafters. If this debate were about the overall skill of Feds I would have stayed out of it completely, there is no denying the all world skill the man had, what there is debate about is his effort and his dedication to the team above all else, and that will keep 91 from the rafters. Unless that standard somehow changes, Draper stands a better chance of having his # retired than Fedorov, simply because Draper was more of a "Red Wing" than Fedorov, and Fedorov was 10x (if not more) the talent and player Draper was.

I appreciate what he did, I even called him world class, even called him one of the most talented players, because you choose to ignore the shifts he took off does not mean I have to. I admitted the whole team won championships, not just Yzerman. But since you brought up 01-02 again here is another tidbit for you, who led the team in scoring that playoff run? Thats right Stevie Y with 6g 17a and 23pts, Lids 16pts (5 goals), hull 18 pts (10 goals), shanny 19 pts(8 goals), feds 19 pts (5 goals). Goals Highlighted to refute your point, Hull was the beast in the later rounds! Hell Homer had 8 goals that year. Yet another season where the team (after the first round) was playing great and so was Feds. Point out a year to me were Feds did the heavy lifting alone? What year did he carry the team? Now look at the amount of years he had high post season point totals, and look at how many other Wings had great stats too. They won as a team and lost as a team, neither Stevie nor Feds single handily won the team the cup, however Yzerman single handily won them a few series, even when the likes of Feds, Shanny and the rest were struggling. Where as Feds (again) was at his best when the team was at its best. As far as replacing him, you saying you couldn't replace him is just as speculative, in 96-97 Feds was 44th in scoring(30th in goals), behind the likes of Ziggy Palffy, Hull, Kariya, Selanne, Bondra, Nolan, Moginly, Rechhi, Graves, Fluery, Yashin, Amonte, Stumpel, Weight, Damphouse etc... 95-96 he was 10th (again one of his two great seasons). 98-99 he was just behind Ray Whitney at 31st. My point you may be asking, could they have replaced his production with one player for his entire career, no way in hell, but 2 or 3 players could have done it, and in fact anyone in 97-98 would have been more productive than Feds when he held out. Who says the Wings don't trade Feds for Palffy one year, then get Tkachuk later or whoever. The wings were deep at center and had multiple lines with 2 centers on it. But again all speculation on both our parts. Was Feds an important piece, very much so yes, was he as important as Stevie, no. Does he deserve his # retired, no. Is he HOF, questionable and I only say that due to the amount of HOFers with his stats. How many forwards in the HOF have less than 500 goals? How many forwards in the HOF have less than 1200 points? If he made it would I be upset, no not at all congrats, there are bigger travesties in omissions and election into the HOF. Either way my point is he doesn't deserve his number retired in the Red WIng org. Got distracted during this post it may not make the sense I wanted. My like or dislike of Feds has nothing to do with it. Maybe this will help: If part of the requirements in EDM were that players were lifelong, die hard, committed to the Org above all else neither of them would be retired in EDM, that is what makes retiring a number in Det so difficult and what keeps Feds out of the rafters.

Why compare the two, well lets see we are talking about Wing forwards who should or have their number retired, only one of the retired # forwards actually played at the same time as Feds, plus someone else already compared them. But you are missing the point; if you have to say "not Stevie" or "Not Gordie" or not "Lids" they don't belong in the rafters at the Joe! Another example if you don't like the Stevie Y comparison: Lids jersey, no need to put "not Stevie" on the back, he was the Perfect Human for 17+ seasons, was a Captain and a lifelong wing who toke pay cuts to help the team get better. He never played the hold out game, he never said he needed more ice time or to be the man. Yzerman's injuries had nothing to do with not being in shape, it wasn't like he was out due to pulled groins or ab strains. He had surgery that most people are lucky to walk after having, he had an orbital bone shattered by a puck, how do you strengthen and condition your orbital bone?? Yzerman was past his prime when feds was in it, yet Yzerman put up better numbers. And I explained to you when I thought feds crapped out in the playoffs, when Yzerman and Shanny played 3 games, and the team was relying on Feds. But when he did shine the likes of Yzermam, Kozlov, Murphy, Lids, Larionov and others were also producing. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000341998.html Check out how many wings had double digit playoff points. Let me try to explain my position better notice the difference in these sentences: Fedorov was a world class talent who helped the team win multiple championships and build a dynasty, who took shifts, games, and even parts of seasons off, left the franchise for a chance to be the man. Yzerman was a world class talent who helped the team win multiple championships and build a dynasty, constantly put the team first in salary, ice time, and any other way you can think of, was the epitome of what a captain should be, and was the complete embodiment of what it means to be a Red Wing. Lidstrom was a world class talent who helped the team win multiple championships and build a dynasty, constantly put the team first in salary, ice time, and any other way you can think of, was the epitome of what a captain should be, and was the complete embodiment of what it means to be a Red Wing. Being an elite, world class athlete is simply just not enough to get your # retired for the Wings, sorry, it just isn't enough.

Yes lets forget that the Wings had the best D corp in the game during those cup runs, Feds was a piece just as Shanny was, and with no cap the Wings did whatever they needed to do to get the best team on the ice. Without 91 the Wings would have got some one to replace him, that was how they operated, when they thought another team was better, Illitch opened up the checkbook. Lets look at the cup rosters: 96-97 (BTW feds was on the team for 6 years, this was the year they traded for Shanny, hmm who was the missing piece?) Shanny, Feds, Yzerman, Larionov, Fetisov, Konstantinov, Murphy, Lids, Kozlov, Lapointe, etc... 97-98 had all the same great names and added a very very good young goaltender to the roster. Was feds important, damn straight, was he the main reason, no! No one was, the whole team was amazing, Team D was unreal, hard, physical team to play against, with high end talent, Feds added a dimension of speed and high end talent, no doubt about it. And your argument that Feds was against the top lines of the other teams is pretty moot considering at this time (and I could be wrong) Feds, Shanny, and Yzerman spent a fair amount of time on the ice together. To say Feds is responsible for any of the championships in Det is ridiculous, especially the 02 one; in which if it weren't for a one legged Yzerman barely picking himself up of the ice, using his stick as a crutch to get up, single handidly carrying the team past Vancouver, which if Feds had done in 93-94 or 00-01 maybe I think differently of him. The D and the style of play got them the back to back cups, 2002 Yzerman willed them through the first round, then the team took over after that. Feds was great, not jersey in the Joe Rafters great.

The Axe: Google and Hockey DB are your friends, research things before you just say something. I know the internet is mostly filled with Porn, bad journalism, and stupid pop up ads, but it has useful parts too. Now this is what has always confused me about this argument; the stats! So what you are saying is Stevie must have scored 3/4 of his goals in the 7 years he played in the 80s? (I know exaggeration, but you get the point) Ok lets be fair to the Feds camp on this one and just compare years they played together on the same team, would that be better? No Ana feds, no 1980s Yzerman stats. Career totals from 1990-91 season until 2002-03 Sergei Fedorov gp g a pt pims plus/minus Playoff gp g a pts pim 1990-91 Detroit Red Wings NHL 77 31 48 79 66 11 -Playoffs 7 1 5 6 4 1991-92 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 32 54 86 72 26 -11 5 5 10 8 1992-93 Detroit Red Wings NHL 73 34 53 87 72 33 -7 3 6 9 23 1993-94 Detroit Red Wings NHL 82 56 64 120 34 48 -7 1 7 8 6 1994-95 Detroit Red Wings NHL 42 20 30 50 24 6 17 -7 17 24 6 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings NHL 78 39 68 107 48 49 -19 2 18 20 10 1996-97 Detroit Red Wings NHL 74 30 33 63 30 29 -20 8 12 20 12 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings NHL 21 6 11 17 25 10 -22 10 10 20 12 1998-99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 77 26 37 63 66 -9 10 1 8 9 8 1999-00 Detroit Red Wings NHL 68 27 35 62 22 8 -9 4 4 8 4 2000-01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 75 32 37 69 40 12 -6 2 5 7 0 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 31 37 68 36 20 -23 5 14 19 20 2002-03 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 36 47 83 52 15 -4 1 2 3 0 Totals 908 400 554 954 587 276 162 50 113 163 113 Steve Yzerman 1990-91 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 51 57 108 34 -2 -Playoffs7 3 3 6 4 1991-92 Detroit Red Wings NHL 79 45 58 103 64 26 -11 3 5 8 12 1992-93 Detroit Red Wings NHL 84 58 79 137 44 33 -7 4 3 7 4 1993-94 Detroit Red Wings NHL 58 24 58 82 36 11 -3 1 3 4 0 1994-95 Detroit Red Wings NHL 47 12 26 38 40 6 -15 4 8 12 0 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 36 59 95 64 29 -18 8 12 20 4 1996-97 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 22 63 85 78 22 -20 7 6 13 4 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings NHL 75 24 45 69 46 3 -22 6 18 24 22 1998-99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 29 45 74 42 8 -10 9 4 13 0 1999-00 Detroit Red Wings NHL 78 35 44 79 34 28 -8 0 4 4 0 2000-01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 54 18 34 52 18 4 -1 0 0 0 0 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings NHL 52 13 35 48 18 11 -23 6 17 23 10 2002-03 Detroit Red Wings NHL 16 2 6 8 8 6 -4 0 1 1 2 864 369 609 978 526 185 149 51 84 135 62 With half a season less hockey played Yzerman has more pts & more assists than feds. Bottom Line Yzerman put up better numbers in fewer games (I will admit Feds scored more goals but less than the gp difference): 90-91 through 02-03 Totals Feds 908 400 554 954 587 276 Stevie 864 369 609 978 526 185 If you look at the first stats the only seasons Feds dominates Yzerman in stats is the years Yzerman played 50 games. They are also Fedorov's only two great seasons. Feds had five 80pt seasons including two 100 pt seasons in this span, Yzerman had six 80 pt seasons and three 100+ point seasons including a 58 g 79 a 137 pt season. Fedorov outscored Yzerman in the playoffs by 28 points in 13 more games. Impressive! Yzerman scored more goals in that period however, but was Feds had far more assists, but had 6 post season were he scored 2 goals or fewer including 93-94 when he scored 1 goal in 7 games while Yzerman missed 4 games, or 00-01 when Yzerman and Shanny had a combined 3 games played while Yzerman put up all 0s in the one game Shanny went all Chuck Woolery (2 &2) in two games, feds played 6 games and put up 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points. This was when the team really need 5 goals and 2 assists from him. Not only was Yzerman on par with your most talented player in the history of the game, he put up better numbers, in the 80s or not. Numbers do not lie, Yzerman was better than Feds (in his prime) and played most of the end of their tenure badly injured. Not only was Yzerman the better statistical player, he was the epitome of what it means to be a Captain and a Red Wing. He played on broken bones while Feds played when he wanted (he was a much more talented Franzen). Many people forget the post seasons in which the Wings relied on Feds because Yzerman and Shanny were banged up, and when feds was the only Horse Det had in the race and he failed to show up. Again Yzerman is a top 10 player statistically in the history of the league: Goals 8th all time 692 Points 6th all time 1755 Assists 7th all time 1063 I know I said I would leave the 80s and the mid 2000s out of this but over his career Yzerman was a 1.16 ppg player, while Feds was .944. Feds is Carmelo Anthony, phenomenal when surrounded by elite talent, unbelievable when he is counted on to be the second or third cog in the wheel. Then when it is all on him he craps out. Yzerman towed the company line, even when faced with trade rumors he did what was best for the org, not him. This is what will prevent Feds from being up in the rafters, these are the rafters in the Joe, not in Colorado where Ray Bourque played 1.5 seasons and got his # retired. The Wings have had a long history of great players, it takes a special player to get his number retired in the Winged Wheel. Had Fed towed the company line a little more, not let his personal matters interfere, not let his ego and wallet interfere, and had he stayed a Wing for his career maybe 91 is in the rafters already. As it is he fails to meet the Team first requirement, as well as the life long Wing requirement( as far as the Lindsey left so blah blah blah, I already addressed that, those players left due to a horrible turn in ownership, not for more money or a chance to be the man). Sorry, no 91 in the rafters. Edit: Wow that was all pretty and formatted until I posted it, then the chart went to poop, glad I cleared it up for you.

Who has more career goals? Who has more career points? Who has more Career Assists? Who had more 100 pt seasons? Who had more 50 goal seasons? How many players in NHL history have more goals than Yzerman? Feds? How many players in NHL history have more assists than Yzerman? Feds? How many players in NHL history have more points than Yzerman? Feds? They both had 6 seasons being a minus player, 4 of Yzerman's were with the dead wings. (to be fair all of Feds were with Ana) Feds had 2 unreal seasons (93-94, 95-96), then the rest of his career was very good. 2 Seasons does not make him a better player than Yzerman. We are not discussing talent, not who is more talented Yzerman or Feds. Edit: Yzerman is a top 10 forward statistically in the history of the NHL, Feds is not.

People forget when they bring up Lindsey and others leaving the team what shape the team's ownership was in, as well as the state of the players union. Feds left for his own reasons, I don't begrudge him that. The Norris family had done some real damage to this team when these players left and their leaving was more about the team treating them like crap, then them wanting to go elsewhere. Feds took way too many shifts/games off, and left for his reasons. Which I said I am fine with, but the rafters at the Joe, and wherever they end up, are for an exclusive club of Team first guys who embodied what it meant to be a wing. Draper deserves his number retired more than Feds! Feds was a phenomenal talent, all around beast, but the Wings only retire a very select few, the Perfect Human and THE Captain were the first retired in a long time and I think we may see another gap again. Dats and Z are great, but they are not Lids and Stevie Y.

^^^^ Russo has been reporting this the entire FA period.

Just so you know it is not me I heard that bit on a tsn video this weekend, not sure which one or I would post it again. It was Mackenzie that said it on the round panel and Dreger agreed!

^^^^ I am have heard that Weber does not intend to sign an offer sheet because Nashville has promised to match any offer sheet he receives, so basically once he signs an offer sheet he will be a Predator. Not signing at least affords him the opportunity to leave next year. Edit: because an & and are different words!

The only reason Eaves, Abby, Mursak and others are at risk is the young guys in the system, but really I see most of them as top 6 prospects. I really don't see the Wings going after any more bottom 6 guys. Any moves from here on out will be top 6. So if you consider Sammy replaces Hudler, Tootoo Replaces Homer. Basically the spots are the same as last year, same guys competing for the same spots. Same competition for ice time as last year: Miller v Eaves, Mursak v Emmerton, Abby on 3rd v Abby on the 4th. I think you are much more likely to see the Wings part ways with Mursak and Emmerton than either Abby or Eaves. I think a 4th line with Abby and Tootoo could really create some havoc on the ice together, and with Miller and Eaves on the wing (rotation) that could really be a solid defensive line with some punch. I think the third line though will see a lot of Cleary, Helm, Sammy/Bert, so unfortunately that leaves the 4th line without a true Center. Abby can play that role, but is not really a true center. This is also why I see a trade making more sense to the Wings than signing Parise. If they add Parise it would be awesome, but then there are way to many forwards. If they are able to trade Franzen for a top 6 forward like a Ryan then maybe you can trade Flip for a top 4 D-man. But all of the stuff in the top 6 is speculation, the bottom 6 has 2 forwards that are going to have to be out of the rotation, and I think if all are healthy Abby, Miller, and Eaves are Babs choice to stay. He seemed to really like the rotation of Miller and Eaves before Eaves got hurt, they know the system and form a pretty decent 4th line when you add Tootoo to that.

I think the open mindedness of a guy like Bedard, will help him very much, Alliare is known for having a my way or the highway type attitude, he was/is great with Butterfly goalies. But very few goalies in the league have a style any more. Most are becoming hybrid goalies, which I guess is a style. He will come in and not be expected to compete for the starting gig right away, that is a lot of pressure. Now he comes in and knows he is the backup unless something drastic happens (knocking on wood). The lack of stress and the new goalie coach I think will be a big step in the right direction for this guy! Decent signing!