Opie

In High School we used a similar system, due to the fact that not every team faced one another. It was called Heal Points, not sure of spelling of heal, heel but regardless it worked like his: Each position 1 through what ever was given reverse points. So if you beat a team that was ranked one out of ten you received 10 points and vice versa. It did not matter what their ranking was the week before or the week after just what ever place they were ranked when you faced them. Rankings didn't kick in until all of the teams had played 10 games (for example). Then everyone's rank was based on record and ties were based on pre season ranks. Granted this may not work on the pro level but worked on the high school level fine. The biggest problem with this is that in high school, there were two conferences and no divisions, so everyone was in the same bracket, in the pros you have teams from different conferences and divisions playing each other, so if the Wings played the Atlantic and the Sharks had to play the South Least sorry South East how would you count those points. Any kind of point system (other than points for wins) would have to rely on team weighting because beating the Sabres last year would not have been worth the same as beating the Thrash but they both finished first in their division.

That would be awesome, but I still am not going to get my hopes up. If Fisch never comes back I am cool with that, however if he could come back and in a year or two be his old self again, that I would be super cool with!!!!

Rolston next to Thornton was Boston's biggest mistake. He was a fan favorite and a very talented player. He would be a great top 6 forward for this team. Put him with Dats or Zata that is nice.

YoungGuns, A man can dream can't he!??!!?!?!?!?

Well there is that little tid bit that Pskov just pointed out, Demitra is at 4.5 this year and I could see that fitting in under the cap at the deadline with Min picking up some of his salary (for the year). However in order to happen Min would have to be out of the playoff chase. Which in that division is not completely out of the picture.

Martyrme19: only because of free agency. Demitra is a UFA next year where as Gaborik is there for another year. But if all things were equal hell yeah I would take Gaborik!!

Please explain this theory to me.

Rolston is more of what this team than Feds or Forsberg are. The odds of Forsberg playing a full season and being healthy going into the playoffs are about the same as me winning powerball. Feds, past his prime and with his less than stellar work ethic it would not be a good choice for the youngsters to learn from. Rolston, hard worker, great on the PK, solid defensively. Would be a great fit to this team. However if the wings are plucking from the wild I would much rather see Pavol Demitra. Orange Goalie, while I hope that what you say is true about feds, I will continue to think that the only thing feds cares about is feds, until I see or hear of him signing for a lesser contract to prove his desire for another cup. Not sign a beefy contract to fatten his wallet. To all of the Heatley wanters, I am sure you are just wanting him for the sheer skill and numbers he puts up (must admit that he would be a pipe dream), but remember if this team signs Heatley you can kiss Zata good-bye. No way this team can afford Heatley, Rafalski, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg.

He isn't renegotiating his current contract. His contract expired, he is an RFA, he didn't like their original offer and went to Arbitration. Now without arbitration the team could have given him whatever they wanted to.

Remember scorn duck fans can vote as many times as they want!!!

norrisnick, because those people want a fighter worse than a sailor on leave wants a BJ. I agree this team desperately needs a top 6 scoring forward. Now if that forward can throw down and check like a mo-fo then even better, but right now this team has 3 goal scores (even though I hesitate to call Homer a goal scorer) and then a lot of hopes and dreams pinned on some youngsters. Funny though how a rebuild in the D is definitely different than say in Chi town.

I think the difference is that it is pretty well assumed that Lowe paid Penner for potential where as Arbitration is all about what you are doing now. An arbitrator in order to stay arbitrary in the hearings can not use (rather should not use) past years or future years to decipher value, it has to be this year. That is the only way it could be fair and arbitrary to both sides.

I agree he will not step over toes of Nill or Holland, he is too respectful to do something like that. I think he deserves our loyalty to him now. He busted his ass and stuck by the wings throughout his career as a player. If a team is willing to give him a shot and he is too loyal to take it, he is being loyal to a fault.

Watching that again, everyone knew if Mac got a hold of LeTurtle it was over. The refs were trying to hold him back, didn't work. Turtle himself knew Mac was going to destroy him hence the instant Turtle. Even Roy was like ohh s*** and tried to come running to his rescue, however he ran into the Human Clothesline named Shanny. I love watching Mac work the Helmet off and then just start cranking on him. It moves all the way to the bench and the wings players just watch and laugh as Turtle gets his head beat. I wonder what he was saying when he was all turtled up: "No, stop, owwww, quit it, I give, uncle, SOME ONE STOP THIS MAN!!

1. Unfortunately I really think no he will not reach #1 or #2 status. He will be a solid Defenseman but not a #1. Damn I hope I am wrong. 2. I think on a line with Dats and Flip he will get top 6 like numbers but unless the team signs a top 6 forward his numbers will suffer because that line will have a single point of failure. Shut down dats and that line will be non existant. 3. I think so, even on the third line, he has shown a decent scorers touch. If he can prove to Babs that he can work hard I see no reason for him not to put up 20g. 4. Of your questions I think this one is the easiest to achieve, he most likely will be with Dats on the second line and that will help tremendously, if he is on the third line with a combination of Clearly, Huds, and/or Franzen it will be a good line with some young talent. And most of the other teams defensive scheme will be based on lines one and two. 5. No way, I would be surprised if the wings as a team have 5 fights. 6. Rafalski will have a career year for him, he will produce better than Schnieder, and be more defensively aware. However he will go unnoticed by the general hockey public because he will be out performed by Nick Norris, I mean Norris Lidstrom, sorry Nick Lidstrom. 7. Zata C, Rafalski A Datsyuk A (this will not happen until Lids is retired) 8. Dan Cleary with Franzen or Draper on a checking line has a great year. Dan Cleary put on one of the top two lines is a failure in the eyes of the fans. His game is not about scoring terrific goals. I think he realized that last year and that is what made him great for this team. 9. Pavol Demitra, and in my mind this is not that much of a stretch. Minnesota is bound to be out of the playoff hunt by then and his salary is only at 4.5 mil this year. 10. If they don't have Pavol then I say go grab Jochen Hecht. I have watched this kid since he was a Worcester Ice Cat. He plays the game right, and he is huge in the community. And for the bottom 6, geez ummm, I guess Kunitz from Anahiem, but I am not sure he is needed. If Grigs turns out to be what we all hope.

How is being a face people recognize going to put pucks in the back of the net or provide toughness. I am not saying Asham is great or should have been on this team, but your argument lacks any logic. When I say logic I am not calling you stupid or anything, using the word logic from philosophy class, you know like this: All trolls are green Hank is a Troll Therefore Hank is green. Sorry hank not calling you a troll just the name that popped into my head!

Thanks for the info!! One more question: Is it too late for a team to throw him an offer sheet. I would think yes, but just curious.

So he got one year at 3, is he a free agent next year or does he have to wait until his 10th year in the league still?

If the team accepts the arbitration offer does he have to take it or can he say I want more? How does it work after this point for the player?

I am all set with the wings not signing any one else on D. Unless it is a great deal, overpaying for Markov is the opposite of a great deal. If he wanted to come back at 2-2.5 I wouldn't be that upset, but paying 4 mil is not a smart move, and Holland has shown he is not backing down from his stance that he won't offer guys like Markov and Bert more money than he thinks they are worth. If it back fires and Markov some how is the Norris winner, than that was a risk Ken didn't think worth it and I agree. Same with Bert, if he comes back and scores 35 goals with 50pts and is a top forward in the league and Lang is the comeback player of the year and leads the Black Hawks to the playoffs than great for them but risks I would rather not see Holland take, especially for the money.

We will have to agree to disagree. I personally think Cheli is still one of the best in his own zone Easy chief, I already said he had played four years, but you can not count a 3 game and a 15 game season, in his perennial stats, as a started. Because if he only played 18 games in 2 seasons he was not their starter. 3) I have no argument there, as I am not saying he is not a good goaltender, just that I think the team should go Howard. [Even with two of the above mentioned players you are not accommodating for what the team has lost in my Opinion Weren't you the one giving me crap because I said that players aren't guaranteed to reach their potential, that is why I brought up Kuz, not because I thought every player would turn into him. Don't try to twist my words around. As I said in my last post, you are saying they will be a smashing success as much as I am saying they will fall on their face. The issue I have here is that eventually the cap will hit a ceiling. The reason the cap was put in place was to control teams spending. Yes the cap is growing greatly, but this is still the early stages. Now as I said before, my posts are completely opinion. So please do not take this the wrong way. Dats and Z will, much like the cap, reach a ceiling (unless they are complete superhuman freaks) their talent and skill can only grow for so long. They are both heading into their prime and an injury (back) can change all of that. I hope not, but it has happened before. Homer is about as close to fulfilling his potential as he can get, he has rounded off his game nicely, however he will not be an elite forward. In order for this team to be a cup contender (which was my problem with your roster) You are replacing the best defenseman the game has seen in a while with a 4 mil free agent, or Rafalski. Rafalski will be a great addition to this team and I hope he ends his career with Detroit. However, the loss of Lids will be devastating, at least Z will be there to take over the leadership side of things. And you are losing Cheli, regardless of our difference of opinion, he has the veteran skill, leadership, and ability that none of the young guys on this team have. Markov would be a nice replacement but as you are seeing now even he wants 3 mil and long term. I am not trying to argue with you so please stop insulting me, I apologize if saying some one was putting LSD in your cheerios upset you, but if you really think that roster can contend for the cup you are looking at it through red wing colored glasses. I think this years team wins the division because of a weak division not due to greatness on the wings side. However with a really good trade or RFA (after arbitration) this team has potential to contend if everyone stays healthy. I am pulling for Cammellari, because that would be a great long term fit, however I am not sure if he puts this team over the top. The whole second line is gone from last year. People may say that Lang was Lazy and he sucked, but he put up a fair amount of points that need to be replaced. If we (fans) are expecting grigs to carry that load or Franzen, I think we are being unrealistic. Where as in my scenario with Howard at a very low salary the wings can afford to put talent around him because his salary will be about 4mil less than what Miller will want. Which is my point not that Miller isn't a good goalie with the potential to be great, I have conceded that fact. Plus in order to get him away from the sabres, as some one mentioned, the price will be even higher, they lost a lot this offseason and will want to protect whatever they can for the future. And nothing would help more than locking up a potential perennial all star goalie. I bet they lock him up like Kenny does Zetterberg, if not I guarantee the wings are not the only team throwing money at him, maybe a team like Edmonton, they seem to have money to throw around right now, and in the years to come.

I just finished reading Maus I & II very interesting reads.

Thanks for the advice after reading this and the blood feud thread I am starting with The Captain and then Blood Feud. Thanks again, now I just have to finish the book I am on!!!

You could always ignore the thread I guess. Sorry to be captain obvious but that is what I am good at!! And besides, it could have been another Feds or Enforcer thread!

As much as I love Hockey fights, I agree 100% with GMR! Bettman is slowly working to get rid of fighting, The new Jerseys will also make fighting more difficult by 8% (couldn't resist). If they are form fitting and tight there will be nothing to grab onto, so you will see the dance, maybe a punch or two, then some one will tackle the other and end of fight!!