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I don't see why this is a bad signing, but I also don't see how I. Flip can break onto the Wings next year. Unless we sign any of the remaining forwards to one-year contracts, there will only be one forward spot available next season. Mursak, Tatar, and I. Flip will all contend for this spot, and there will be two losers here unless the Wings trade away some top-9 talent before the 2011 season starts. The competition is great for the Wings (and GR); hopefully the Wings can somehow capitalize on this without giving away talent.

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In your opinion, who is the best enforcer in the NHL?

In order to be an effective enforcer, they have to actually play in most games and be on the ice. Orr has been able to do this for the past three years. I'd consider him the best because of how he policed for the Leafs this year. He was always there to respond when something happened or when the team needed a spark. He also seemed to be one of the more intimidating players in the NHL. Against Philly this year, he ran everyone in sight without retribution. IMO he was the best at playing the enforcing role while actually being a good enough player to deserve his ice-time.

While there are some players like that still in the NHL (Godard, Cote, Koci), I would be careful to call Orr a one-dimensional player. Orr can play a regular shift and has played all 82 games the past two seasons. IMO he is the best enforcer in the league and his 1m salary is evidence of this.

That's all great in theory, but it just doesn't apply to real hockey. Have you ever played competitive hockey? It doesn't work like that. Do you think Richards was trying to target Booth's head? Hits like that should be punishable, but you cannot base it on the injury. For those that have played hockey, the hit to the head is a lot like checking from behind. While it can be done purposely, most of the time a check from behind is a result of bad judgment, the player turning, unpreparedness of player being hit, etc.

I'd be more than happy if the Wings picked up Konopka. He has the ability to put up some points and isn't afraid to throw them with anyone. That mic'd video is great- I love how he goes after Stortini. Here's another example of him being a good policeman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D40sIBQAPvE&feature=player_embedded#!

Please no. While to idea of suspending a player for the length of the injury sustained is a good one, it wouldn't work well in practice. There are too many other factors like did his head also hit the ice, is the injury only to the head area, did the player expose his head at the last moment, etc. Also, many injuries from hits are a result of the person getting hit not being in the correct position to be hit. Therefore, injuries are often a result of both parties, whether or not the hit was dirty.

I hope that they don't over-police this penalty. Dangerous hits to the head need to be prevented, but I think some of you overestimate the amount of control a player has on the exact position of his hit. The Booth hit was a good example of a hit to the head; however, if Richards' shoulder was a few inches lower he would have only gotten the shoulder. Often the player getting hit moves at the last second to expose his head- how will this be dealt with? IMO there were not a lot of head shots this year, so hopefully the refs can successfully implement this rule without taking away from the physicality of the game.

We need someone who is always willing to drop the gloves to police the game for us- not Modin. IMO the players needs to be tougher than Drake. Personally, I think Abby fits the Drake mold very well at this time in his career and someone tougher would be great to compliment him.

I think this is on the low-end of his possible development. He has a good offensive game if he is with other skilled players. I'd like to see 5-15 fights and 30 points from him next year (assuming 82 games and time above the forth line). The thought of a Tatar- Abby- Mursak line in a couple years really excites me. On the visor issue, I have no problem with him wearing one as long as he ditches it when there are 'non-spontaneous' fights. I almost don't want Abby getting in more than 10+ fights only so he can work on his offensive game next year. Also, 10+ fights would probably mean that he is the toughest player on the team, which would be disappointing.

I think Janik is a perfect 7th d-man- he is a physical, stay at home defenseman. Does everyone here think Meech>Janik? Personally, I prefer the way Janik plays, but (due to the lack of Janik playing in NHL and their different styles) I'm not sure which is the better overall player.

I would bet that the probability of a 4th line going against another 4th line is greater than .25. Do you disagree? As the home team, you can also control the line changes so it is easy to get two guys lined up next to each other. For example, when Lappy hit Lids a few years ago, Downey was easily able to get retribution. Downey's interview here is a great example of the enforcer mentality.

In theory this is correct, but in practice it doesn't hold up. People are going to take liberties, either through accident, frustration, etc. no matter who is on the other team. Therefore, an enforcer needs to be ready at all times. Does this mean that an enforcer with 25 fights is more effective than one with 20? No. Does it mean that the enforcer with 25 fights was more effective than the enforcer with 2? Yes. If Probert didn't fight anyone, nobody would be intimidated by him. Look at Chara this playoffs. With the cage on, players on Buffalo constantly got in his face much more often than after it was removed or during the regular season.

I can't agree with this. I see Nashville as a team line Phoenix this year- capable of beating any team in a 7 game series, but unlikely to win four consecutive series. Nashville plays very well as a team, but they lack star offensive firepower that most teams have. While their D is good, it is hard to rely solely on D for an entire playoffs.

The problem I see is that, assuming the Wings resign Helm, Eaves, and Abby to 2+ year deals, there will only be one spot open in 2011. Therefore, if is likely that Mursak will be the next one up with Tatar coming a year later. If both Mursak and Tatar have excellent seasons, I'm not sure how they can both be brought up in 2011.

Do you really expect our forth line to get 10-15 min of playing time a game? Unless the player is a PK'er (and there are a lot of penalties), this is very unlikely. Also, Helm doesn't fight.

Exactly. Someone on the team has to play less than 10-15 min a night in order for the other (better) players to get their time in as well. There are a lot of good UFA and RFA fighters available this off-season, and I hope the Wings can pick up someone that skates well, is defensively responsible, and can get in 10+ fights if needed. The problem with the better players that everyone wants (3rd+ liners), is that they hurt the team when they fights because they are key players. If May fights, the forth line was probably unlikely to see time during that 5 min anyways. If a third liner fights, that line is now changed for 1-2 shifts. Also, these players are never (rarely) the toughest on their team. Toughness should be addressed from the forth line out IMO.

I read on the internet (not sure if there was an official source) that he was being shopped before the deadline this year. I'm not sure what his current status is with CBJ though.

Flyers' D sitting back too much right there.

I would be happy with Winchester. He wouldn't be my top choice, but I wouldn't complain if the Wings picked him up. The more I think about us getting a gritty 4th liner, the more I want the Wings to pursue Boll (or another RFA). It seems that at least one of Miller or Meech won't be retained and maybe we could swap rights with CBJ. I'm not sure if this type of deal happens often (or can happen) but it sounds enticing to me.

I think the problem with Janik is the uncertainty of E and Kindl. IMO Janik can handle 7th D duty just fine (and cheap), but if E and/or Kindl fail to develop, Janik may not be sufficient. Either way, signing anyone for 1m+ for more than a year could be risky with the possible emergence of E, Kindl, and Smith (later) in the coming year(s).

Hopefully we can have both a 4th line gritty player and a tough defensemen. Exelby is the only player you mentioned that I've seen play often- he's certainly good enough to be our sixth defensemen but he would probably need to take a pay cut to play here. What are the chances of Janik being called up full-time next year? He's gritty and plays a solid defensive game. If Kindl can handle regular duty, Janik could be a decent 6th/7th defensemen at a cheap price.

Mursak has a greater chance of being called up next year than Tatar. Tatar seems to have the greatest potential, but I am also (very) excited to see what Mursak can do with NHL players.

In addition, I don't see Abby taking a 100k pay cut. Eaves will also get a higher salary than 700k. Asham will likely stay with Philly or go elsewhere to make more money. He's shown that he can a third line role, so I think it's unlikely that he'll sign for 1m to play on a forth line anywhere.