WorkingOvertime

Why would his hitting stats be skewed? He's one of the Wings' biggest hitters. Babs probably likes his work ethic, physical play, offensive potential, etc. On a team starved of 'grit', I'm not sure how you can be against him on the team.

If your analysis is correct, why didn't the Pens keep him or why wasn't he offered a contract ona team that could garuntee him a roster spot? He is faster than Abby, but I can't agree that Conner is/was a better overall player. You mention hitting, but Abby is one of the Wings' top hitters (and is easily above average compared league wide). Edit- Did you only watch him in that one game? Speed will certainly make a player more noticeable, but it is just one skill. Rob Schremp has a great highlight reel and can impress anyone, but slick stickhandling only got him so far before his other weaknesses were exposed.

How specifically is he more effective than Abby? Also, how can you determine he's better than Emmerton with his limited NHL experience?

He probably has played a few too many NHL video games.

From my experience, you are underselling Nashville's fans. I don't think their hockey knowledge is as simple as you state.

I've seen the Wings at Nationwide a few times too. I've never been given much trouble, maybe a few verbal jabs, but there are usually a lot of Wings fans at the games. I did witness a Wings fan 'get in to it' with a CBJ fan last year, but both were extremely intoxicated. R-Bar (assuming that's the bar you usually go to) is a great place to go before a game- when the Wings were in town it was probably 50/50 Wings and CBJ fans. Just be sure not to use the urinal with the Wings logo in it. Usually, you won't experience more than a few verbal jabs rooting for the away team. If you don't get belligerent, ridiculous, obnoxious, etc. you likely won't have much trouble. Just watch out for the belligerent, ridiculous, obnoxious, etc. fans from the other team.

I can't wait to see them together. I put Abby on the third mainly because that fourth line is amazing. I don't think Abby or Helm would make much of a difference for the third line, but I do think Helm makes that fourth line work.

It's not about the line number, as I expect the third and fourth line to play relatively equal amounts (especially if Homer is on the first line and a thrd liner takes his place a few shifts a game). Abby has scored more in the AHL (per game) and is a better playmaker and shooter. Helm creates chances with his work ethic and speed. Rarely will we see Helm's line control the puck in the zone (outside of the cycle) and set up a pretty goal. Garbage goals are just as valuable, but they aren't the best predictor of offensive talent. IMO Eaves- Helm- Mursak makes the best fourth line, and Abby's game should mesh well with Cleary and Hudler (making the line defensively sound, and Abby and Cleary have some offensive chemistry). Likely, Cleary would play in Homer's spot frequently, giving the fourth line just as much TOI.

Abby has a higher offensive ceiling than Helm IMO. Also, Helm will likely be better with Eaves and Mursak than Abby.

IMO the lines should be... Flip Dats Homer Mule Z Bert Huds Abby Cleary Mursak Helm Eaves

He should be on the first line, but not because he's a first line player. In order for Homer to be effective, he has to player with linemates who will handle to puck most of the time. Dats and Flip/Z can do that. Also, Data has said that he likes playing with Homer because he opens the ice. Homer on the fourth line wouldn't work because he isn't fast enough or good enough defensively. He should play first line because that's where he makes a positive impact. I see Homer playing first line, but Cleary, Abby, etc. will likely be double shifted in his place a few times a game.

Can you cite any specific examples of Crosby acting inappropriately? He certainly doesn't have the best character in the league, but he is far from the worst. Also, considering the hype he's lived with for 10+ years, I think he's adjusted relatively well.

His leave earlier this season was not substance abuse related. There have been reports of mental illness. RIP. Rypien was great to watch on the ice.

The Isles didn't choose to show the game- MSG did. The Isles aren't hosting the party themselves- a bar is and there is no evidence I've seen that Isles prompted the bar to do so. While the Isles are promoting the event, it isn't their event. Their involvement is only to draw awareness from the fans, and I don't think any of them have a problem with the event. They see the game as a turning point for the team, and from what I've heard, the fans like the game (outside of the Gillies incident). Outside of the Gillies incident, I'm surprised to see fans here look down on this event who praise the Wings for fight night.

There's a lot of misinformation in this thread. From what I've read, MSG chose multiple games to show throughout the summer and this is one of them. I believe a bar is hosting the party, and the Islanders are supporting/promoting the party. I don't believe the Islanders organization chose this game to be shown, it was MSG.

Generally, I'm not in favor of the rules that try to increase scoring- like serving full penalties. I'd like the trapezoid to be removed, and I'm not sure how I feel about the hybrid icing rule. I like touch-up icing, but the injuries that result from it can be serious.

Wings have 20 fighting majors. Hudler will have 50 points. Abby will have 30 points. CBJ will make the make/miss the playoffs by ~4 points. If the Wings make a big trade, Franzen will be included.

There was that prostitute...

Third line players (generally) need to be well rounded. If I third-line player is one dimensional, than he (generally) sucks at being a third liner. If he is great at defense, but has no offensive talent, he should likely be on the fourth line. If he has offensive talent, but not enough to break in to the top-six, and no defensive talent, he might not have a spot on the team (see Jason Williams). Obviously this thread is about Hudler. He gets a bad reputation on this board because he is a one dimensional player who isn't skilled enough to crack the Wings' top six and doesn't have chemistry with many players (on the ice). If he produced ~.7ppg again, I don't think you'd see much hate here. However, last year he didn't produce. No amount of what ifs, predictions, averages, etc can forgive his lackluster season. I'd love for the line of Cleary- Abby- Huds to work, but who knows. There are few players who can be a good third liner while being one-dimensional. The Wings are one of the few teams where it might work (due to scoring depth), but last season it did not.

What age group?

Carcillo fought Gaborik, so I wouldn't say the Wings' star players are safe. However, that was rare- even for him. My problem with the Wings not having a fighter is that they'll likely carry 14 forwards. With Tatar (and possibly Emmerton and others) in the AHL ready to fill in, I don't see how carrying a decent enforcer/player (Winchester comes to mind as someone still available- many more earlier this off-season) would hurt the roster. With 13 forwards, I can see the need to have interchangeable parts but the 14th forward could have addressed the offensive thoughness hole.

In arbitration the player usually requests above his value and the team usually requests below the player's value. If Weber's wish is offensive, the Preds number was worse IMO.

I'd bet against them winning the cup, but they certainly have a chance. The Wings can get past them in the playoffs, but it would be close again.

I think I touched on this in my other post, but I'll reiterate here. For the first week(s) I suggest trying all/most of the available streams for a game and make a note of the better ones. Most of the streamers do games every day (or multiple games a day), and it's really helpful to have a list of the better streams on hand. Therefore, you rarely have to go through all the available streams to find the highest quality. I think a lot of people who try myp2p just use the first link they see, not knowing the quality varies between streams. It sounds really simple, but the idea didn't strike me for a while and searching through streams at game-time can be frustrating.

For how I watch games, myp2p is the best. I'm usually studying and/or reading and not paying attention the entire time (unless I'm watching a big Wings game, I usually use the announcers voice to get me to watch big plays), so the quality doesn't need to be excellent. Most myp2p streams work for this, and the other (LGW) stream is usually excellent quality. It's certainly a personal preference. There are myp2p streams that match hockeystreams quality, but not for every game. IMO Center Ice beats then both, but at a price. For anyone considering hockeystreams, I would suggest trying myp2p first to see if it meets your needs. If you're going to watch through sites that pirate the game, you have nothing to lose by trying the free option first. FWIW if blackouts wouldn't make me miss so many games I watch, Center Ice would be my choice. It supports the NHL and with cable you get every game at the highest quality. Unfortunately, getting Center Ice would require me to also get cable, which I wouldn't use much outside of hockey. I don't think Center Ice is overpriced for the product, but the requirement to have cable is a deal breaker for me. Did hockeystreams go down this year a few times? When I was a member a couple years ago, the site got overloaded a few nights. This pushed me to use myp2p, and I've become accustomed to using it since. If hockeystreams were more stable, I would consider it again.