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Stuart!

Z!

If you bought them on ticketmaster, you should be able to reprint them. Saved me when I drove to Nashville and left my tickets at home a couple years ago.

Mule!

Z!

Dats!

He's a pretty sneaky at commiting dirty plays- he doesn't do it very often, but he can be very dirty at times.

From scratch too.

So can Helm, Miller, Bert, E, and White. But you expect Abby to do it. Obviously you believe he is an enforcer. I'd love to see him challenge Rinaldo, but I won't hold it against him if he doesn't since he isn't an enforcer. Prepared here. With celebratory cookie dough.

Haha. It must be him, right? As I said, you expect him to be an enforcer. He isn't.

Kronner!

What count is this? Please let me know which hits are worthy of this count from each player. Abby is not a fighter or an agitator. He does not run his mouth and he does not often look for fights. He also does not goad other players into penalties with fake glove drops, cheap tricks, etc. This is what I mean by judging Abby by his play, not by comparing him to other players. As I said, why have Abby fighting as a negative for him, when you're comparing him to players that don't/won't fight? I'm not saying Abby is better than Helm- I just use their statistics to show that Abby, despite less ice time, has performed as well or better than Helm this season on paper. Helm is exciting and noticeable because of his speed, but Abby is producing just as well (with more hits and more blocked shots) playing a solid defensively minded game.

The hit you are referring to is at 40sec in this video. It is a big hit, but it is no bigger than Abby's hit on Hall. Further, it looks like Helm's shoulder hits Martinek's head. That is why he was injured. What other hits are you referring to? Abby certainly has more than one big hit on the season. If you take speed out of the equation, I would disagree that Helm is a better puck handler. Helm keeps the puck because he uses his speed to avoid defenders. Helm has more giveaways than Abby throughout the season. Helm isn't a great puck handler, and he smartly uses his speed to avoid defenders. Why does Abby need to fight and hit more and not Helm? They are similar statistically, except for blocked shots and hits- which Abby has substantially more. I don't expect either to fight, just to stick up for themselves and their teammates. Why use the fact that Abby fights and Helm doesn't as a negative against Abby? Again, I don't have a problem with Helm not fighting, but I don't see why fighting is a negative to Abby. It seems that you judge Abby on the player you want him to be. Why not judge him on the player that he is? I think Abby's offensive potential is largely dependent on his line-mates. He doesn't have the hands or speed to create plays himself, but he has a well rounded 'supporting' skill-set. I see his potential to be like Cleary. He doesn't do many things exceptionally well, but he is solid overall.

I expect a lot from Abby too. I think he should be able to match Cleary's offensive production from the last few years. With that said, I don't expect him to produce 40 points playing with Emmerton and Homer. Despite my expectations, I don't understand the 'hate' when he is producing as much as the players a line above him despite having worse line-mates and less ice time. Doing a quick search on YouTube, there are some Helm hits from this year, but none are as 'big' as Abby's hits on Pääjärvi-Svensson and Hall this season. Helm can hit, but Abby hits more frequently and with more force.

Again, please show me videos of these big hits from this year. I can find many for Abby this season. There is a reason Abby is credited for 1.5 times as many hits, and it isn't because he is less physical. If a third or fourth liner was consistent, he likely wouldn't be a third or fourth liner. Abby has managed one point less than Helm despite less overall ice time. He has also managed more hits and blocked shots. I only mention Helm because we all (most of us) assume he is fixture in the bottom six. I don't see the Abby hate when he performs as good or better in almost every statistical category despite having less overall ice time.

Can you share any videos of those hits from this season? I can't remember many. Helm was a great hitter when he was first called up, but he hasnt been nearly as physical since. Despite having less total time on ice, Abby has around 1.5 times as many hits as Helm.

GMR, I'd think you would know more than most on this board that team toughness isn't built around just one or two players. Trading Abby for Moen (or someone like him) only makes the team marginally tougher. However, having both increases the Wings' toughness greatly. I agree about Abby, but I think that equally applies to Helm. Both have 'stepped off the gas' since we first saw them a few years ago. In their defense, playing recklessly and all-out for a few minutes each playoff game is much easier than playing the same way for every game over an 82 game season. IMO Miller's success is due to his hockey sense. Most of his goals could be scored by most on the team, but not all players would be in the correct position to score those goals. His hockey sense elevates his relatively mediocre skill-set. Does whoever negged my last post care to post why? I don't think anything I posted was incorrect.

How is Helm a far better hitter? I cannot recall many big hits he has thrown since becoming an NHL regular. He was a big hitter as a call-up years ago, but he is not anymore. Despite his injury, Helm has more minutes on ice than Abby and still is 30+ hits behind. Abby has had many big hits this year, Helm has not. Further, other than speed, how exactly is Helm a better all around player? See that stats Newfy posted. Helm is very noticeable because of his speed, but how does that make him an 'all around better player' if that speed doesn't translate to the other areas of his play? Abby has spent much of the year on the fourth line with Emmerton and Homer, while Helm has played much of the year with Cleary. Cleary has regularly produced 40 points, while Homer and Emmerton aren't nearly as relevant offensively 5v5. IMO this post is evident of the general feeling about Abby. He has more hits/min than anyone on the team, he has as many or more points/min as Helm, he has a better FO percentage than Helm, he fights, and he has a better plus-minus than Helm. I'm not saying he's better, but how exactly is Helm at another level, outside of speed, if he isn't on another level with regards to any stat outside of minutes/game?

Another solid game from JMac.

19!

Kindl! Edit- Abby!

CBJ is looking to improve now. Prospects with unknown NHL skill and fringe roster players will not land Carter. IMO the trade would start with a top six forward, and then those pieces would be added. I'd take Carter for scraps (what many are proposing) but I prefer our top six players to him. Hudler can't be included because his contract is going to expire soon. Overall, I'm against Carter because of the cost and issues mentioned by other posters.

Great game by the bottom six. Abby with two assists and a fight. JMac was solid again.

Z!

Miller!