Motown4013

Congrats to Chris Osgood on an amazing career and for everything he brought to the Red Wings. He is a class act and I hope he makes the hall...he certianly deserves it!

Thank you for saying exactly what I was thinking!

Wow, how does Barrie get a neg for this post?? I voted Wildcard too..look out little red minus button!

This is 'win win" for Joey and the Wings. I really wanted Theo, but after Jose Theodore was picked up by Flordia, I couldnt really see a RFA that could fit here without a huge cap hit! I like it

Actually I would do the complete opposite... I would LOAD this whole deal on picks. Hudler, Ericsson and the first round for the next 2 years. We are an elite team...give them as many "26th" picks they want...we like to find our talent 210th overall!!! Its different if you are the leafs or the Islanders...you may be looking at a top 5 pick, but LA wouldnt get a top 20 pick and we would land DD!

Agreed...Two words...RICK DEPIETRO. Eek

I couldn't agree more. That moment for the players is something they will never forget.... and it was tainted by a bunch of immature hecklers.

Drury? C'me on man....hey, I hear JP Dumont is available too....urghh

I really, really like this kid and would love to see him in the wheel. He is a steal and completely aree with stevkrause on this one. He really hasnt been given a chance to gel with a team and this is exactly the kind of player the Wings work really well with. Lets get this one done!

I am confused as to why you continue to state that Ericsson has not improved since he has been here, especially the last year. Sorry, but that simply ISN'T true. More assists, more points, more physical, a better plus/minus (+8)and is playing 15 minutes+ a night. If you are getting more time and you are a bad player, your stats go down...not up. Much more than the plus/minus, look at his over all stats. Last year, he had 107 hits, 56 giveaways and 16 takeaways ( BYW, Rafalski had more giveaways and E had 4 more take aways than Rafi at 6 million) Two years ago, E played only 62 games but had FIFTY giveaways, less hits and fewer takeaways (although its hard to breakdown because he only plays 3/4 of the year) He has gotten better and I am not relying soley on stats. As mentioned before, Babcock would not put the guy out in critical situations if he didn't feel that Ericsson's game hasnt grown. I dont see him being a top 2 guy, but he is effective for where he plays. Hate the guy or not, saying that he hasn't improved his incorrect. I'd love to see him be alot more physical but he has improved when you look at everythings. Numbers arent the whole picture, but when the trend shows overall improvement, you have to acknowledge it.

Well said.....all good points. I don't understand the hatred about E. Zetterberg is my favorate player but he LED the team in turnovers-that doesnt mean that he isn't a clutch guy, a playoff beast, a top 3 best two way players in the league. Everyone has strengths and weakness and at the right price, E can be very effective.

I would LOVE Theo in the Wings Uni. I watched a lot of Caps games in 09 and saw him quite a bit in Minnie this year and he still has the goods. Make it happen

One of the guys that I think could add some size to the third line and who has an offensive upside is Scotty Upshall. The guy has been plagued by injuries so his market value is poor but he could be a diamond in the rough. He was the 6th overall pick and he kinda reminds me a bit of Cleary coming to the wings. Other guys i would like to see in the Winged wheel include WIZ, Kaberle, Jose Theodore (great tandam back there!) and Laich. These are all realistic picks...of course I would love to have Weber, Doughtey and Richards but that is not going to happen.

I actually may be in the large minority here but I thought E was solid this season and in the playoffs. I felt like he didnt panic with the puck, was more physical and more in control. If you look at where he came from last year, which was a HORRIBLE year, I think Johnny is growing an maturing as a player- we isnt Lidstrom...no one will be- but he is a good addition to this club.

I posted on the boards after games 1-3 and stopped posting under the "superstition rule" of playoff hockey so I am glad to be back. I am devastated that we lost....We really did claw all the way back and push it to seven which is so rare. With a team that had 10 forwards (2 of which were rotaters throughout the regular season) the Wings showed hard work, class and a ton of heart. No Franzen, No Bert and No Cleary makes the game very lopsided, yet we managed to make it very difficult for the sharks to win it. We have all the pieces and some vey exciting prospects coming up so with that said, Props to the guys who fought hard, played through pain and NEVER, EVER laid down! Proud to be a Red Wing Fan!!!!

This series is very deceptive...It could be 3-1 Wings...or more likely, all tied up at 2-2. A weird bounce, a bad penalty- the difference is so slight ..we are so close to breaking through. We have momentum coming into game 5. We CAN still win this series!

Draper in, Eaves out! Miller is outworking Eaves IMO. If anyone sits, it should be Bert, even though I love the guy...he was a liability last night. I hope he makes me eat my words!

Just to put this in perspective.....The wings have lost ONE game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs....One game...in overtime- After all the crazy 7 game series, comebacks and breakdowns, we do NOT need to panic yet. Relax, enjoy...they will be fine!

Flip has been rock solid. This will be an ever bigger test for him... but for as much as people complain that he doesn't live up to his potential in the regular season, he always finds another gear in the playoffs. Go get em Flip!!!!

He is clearly related to fish taco!

nevermind bud...I find the irony of you stating my post is irrelevant mildly amusing

Joe Thornton's numbers in the playoffs are fine. No one is arguing that. But he absolutely has disappeared in big games when it matters. From the NHL playoffs to the Olympics he has absolutely disappeared. Also, making the comparison to Yzerman is way off base. Yzerman took a struggling Wings franchise and made them relevant again in a gradual/progessive manner. Thornton, in many people's eyes, plateaud and just hasn't been able to get to the next level in those big games. said much better than I! +1 to you sir

If you re-read the post, I AM talking about the early years....why else would i mention Racine??????

The last 4 years: Zetterberg 2006-2007 Red Wings 18 6 8 14 1 12 3 0 1 78 7.7 2007-2008 Red Wings 22 13 14 27 16 16 4 2 4 116 11.2 2008-2009 Red Wings 23 11 13 24 13 13 4 0 0 82 13.4 2009-2010 Red Wings 12 7 8 15 [b]11[/b] 6 2 0 2 45 15.6 Thornton: 2006-2007 Sharks 11 1 10 11 2 10 0 0 0 23 4.3 2007-2008 Sharks 13 2 8 10 3 2 1 0 1 29 6.9 2008-2009 Sharks 6 1 4 5 -3 5 1 0 0 17 5.9 2009-2010 Sharks 15 3 9 12 -11 18 1 0 1 35 8.6 Just sayin'