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Thank you for having the Griffins this season. Depending on the lockout length I may have to get AHLlive myself (was planning to get GameCenter). Game is on. Griffins down 0-2 after the first.

The Tatar line looks great. Griffins are down but are playing well. Some decent team toughness the last few minutes.

Goal! 1-0 Griffins.

LGG!

I'm very exited for this. I've watched some KHL games, but the physicality is lacking. Hopefully Callahan takes a big step this season.

I agree. He fills a nice niche for the Wings and I like that he is locked up for a few years. I need to find a player shirt with his name now.

The actual injuries from fighting are less than the actual injuries from hitting. Most of the saddening examples you mentioned began before the players were drafted Depression, addiction, etc was involved in most of the cases. This is where causality enters the equation. Did these issues occur because the players were going to become/had became enforcers, or did these issues lead these men to become enforcers? Plenty of NHL players have sustained more substantial head injuries than most enforcers. Personally, I would prefer fewer enforcers and more team toughness in hockey. IMO the game would be better if more than one or two people on each team could be counted on the stand up for themselves and their teammates.

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If you're worried about player health, you should be for eliminating hitting. What percentage of serious injuries have resulted from fighting? The percentage is low, and the amount of injuries is less than the amount of injuries from 'dirty' hits. For the topic, he shouldn't have to respond for a clean hit. However, I do think the other team should challenge him. Except for blatantly dirty hits, I think fights should be agreed on by both players.

How is Vandermeer as a defensive defenseman? I know he is physical but I don't know much about his positional play. I liked Commie's attitude last year. He seemed very focused on being a dependable defender in his own zone.

Too expensive for the two years left on his contract and his role. Who do you prefer over Commie?

IMO the ideal player would be a younger, faster Commodore. However, I think Vandemeer or Commodore would be okay if no one better is available. From what I've seen of Bortuzzo, he's a big player who is solid in his own zone and can protect his teammates.

I don't think he'll crack the Pens top 6 unless there is a trade. He is a RFA now and I am unsure of his waiver status. The Pens do currently have 8 defensemen signed, and I believe the Yotes and CBJ have a similar amount.

Erskine would be a good choice. I'd like Bortuzzo because he is a big stay at home guy. The Wings have a lot of offensive defensemen in the system and a young, cheap defensive defensemen would be a good addition. Edit- I'm unsure of Bortuzzo's speed. I am for JBo if picks and depth can get him.

I think Pitt, Pheonix, Columbus, and possibly other teams will have to expose defensemen to waivers for the season. The Wings might be able to trade a depth player or late pick for someone like Bortuzzo.

The cap floor needs to be a percentage of the cap ceiling. With revenues growing quickly, the ratio of the floor to the ceiling has become large and this has (somewhat) hindered the ability of low-budget teams to control their financial well-being.

The Wings should wait, but not because the UFA pool is better next year- although that does help. They are smart to wait beacause of the CBA. The Wings have Mule and Z on lifetime contracts, and adding more may have been the wrong move. With a limit on contract length, and a large amount of money, the Wings are poised to make moves in the next 5 years for free agents. Long term, having a 35+ yr. old Parise, Suter, Z, and Mule may have hindered the Wings on the ice and against the cap. Not signing any 10+ yr. contracts this off-season will pay dividends in the next 10 years because the Wings will have the cap space and roster room to make big-time moves.

All of the Mlive articles mentioning Abby make it seem that a contract is close to being signed.

Win can match any offer sheet, and they likely would. Both Kane and Win management have clarified that they are working on a deal, and that Kane did not request a trade. Kane is their best player and Win won't be trading him for anything less than an overpayment.

Flip is a pending free agent, causing his value to decrease. Further, RFAs don't have nearly as much value as a signed player. It will probably take Mule, Cleary/Tatar/Nyquist, prospect, and picks to get one top pairing d.

Was Miller good in the playoffs? Cleary? Mule? Bert? Was anyone better in the playoffs this year than last year? Further, what fourth liner making less than 2m is a consistent scorer in the playoffs?

And he was still the Wings top hitting forward last year. I don't understand how you can complain about offense and hitting in the same post. Abby had the reputation of going out of position to make a hit, and he corrected that mistake while adding offense. No one on the Wings forward group was within 40 hits of Abby last year. If you're going to complain about hittting, you're looking at the wrong player.

Other than the San Jose series two years ago, what are you referring to?

Did you watch the WC this year? Abby's play was great (.5ppg), and he was able to accept more responsibility. What most posters don't understand about Abby is that he is as good as his linemates. He doesn't have the speed or hands to suprise anyone, but he has the vision, strength, and ability to contribute to any line. Hs linemates have included Maltby, May, Emmerton, etc. and he has increased his production every season with the Wings. I'm not sure how much higher than 22 points can be expected from someone with those linemates. Abby (and now Tootoo) is the only consistently physical forward on the Wings. He was the only forward to have more than 100 hits last season (148), coming only second to the now departed Stuart. Therefore, the Wings lost their most frequent hitter, and you're suggesting they also trade their second most frequent hitter. The team doesn't get tougher by replacing Abby with Tootoo, it gets tougher by having both players. Abby also had the second best FO% of the Wings' regular players, with only Dats being better.

Columbus doesn't need any more dmen I believe. Their top 6 is pretty much set for next season.