FedorovMan91

In March, HNIC mentioned that Brian Burke wants two Sedins and probably also Tavares to rebuild the team. I am not bashing Sedin brothers but they are not around the level of Zetterberg. In the regular season, they must be close but if you compare the playoff, Zetterberg is a tank while many Canucks fans call them chokers. Am I the only guy who is hard to call Sedins being the team's best players? They have good skill but they have no intensity. However, the Canucks have to catch Sedin brothers. If they don't, they may not have a chance to go far in the playoff or even cannot make the playoff. Mike Gillis must know this. If they don't do enough good, Luongo is going to leave the team and the Canucks will be screwed up for many years. Some Canucks fans say they have one rookie called Cory Hodgson. I never saw his play but heard he is a young talented player. But, do they expect him to be somewhat like Crosby or Getzlaf? Moreover, Ohlund said he will leave the team because he wants the Cup. I am not going to be surprised if the Canucks don't make the playoff next season

The goal exaggerated the skill of Leino: But unknown players also score some fantastic goals like this: name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>&"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" /> Overall, I think Leino is extremely skilled but we never saw his full season. We will see next season.

Leino-> 1.85 meters, 6ft 1 inch 83 kg, 183 lb, 13st 1 lb Hudler-> 1.75 meters, 5ft 9 inch 83 kg, 182 lb, 13st 0 lb This is the physical appearance of two young kids. Besides, Hudler made 57 points in 82 games while Leino made 9 points in 13 games. Hudler-> 0.695 points per game Leino-> 0.692 points per game The big difference is Hudler made 82 games while Leino made only 10 games. I watched the many threads of the board but I think Leino's skill is way too over-estimated even though I want Leino over Hudler still. It reminds me how the Oilers fans expect Sam Gagne will be a skilled player. Don't expect many things from the rookie. A more proven player now is Hudler. If we don't re-sign Hossa this summer, the Wings have to catch both Hudler and Leino. The thead came up because of the position of Hossa this summer. Let me be honest. Hossa will never accept the deal of 4 million. He can get a huge salary in the team like the Canucks and the Oilers. The Oilers has wanted him since the last summer and he got an offer of 9 million. I don't expect Hossa will go to the Canucks because he must hate idiots in Vancouver. People here never hated Hudler. He was the boost for us in the first half of the season. The concern I have with him is his toughness and his size. He got destoryed by the Ducks in 06-07, and this season. For example, we know Gaborik is extremely skilled. He can score goals, passing, blah blah blah.. but what happens now? His weakness caught him up. No surprise if it happens to Hudler. Good thing was he played 82 games and showed the consistency. From my view, I think Hudler and Leino will be re-signed and Holland many let Hossa walk out if the deal does not get done betwen 4.0 to 4.7 or 4.8.

Yeah, I am totally with you. We have been hearing for a decade that the Wings keep the loyalty toward the players they drafted. The list you mentioned Homer/Filp/Kronwall, they are from the Wings' draft picks. Holland will never trade him with the recognitionthat Kronwall and Filppula still have much period to develop their own plays. I think Holmstrom should be traded but I don't feel that. He had an injury for the half of the season and I think it hurt him but I still believe 2.25 million for him is a waste if we conside he cannot put up more than 50 points anymore by the factor of his age or other circumstances. I am with you, I don't see how Hossa can resign by 4 million. Besides, there is no official report of this. It is just our prediction. If we can keep Hossa by 4 million, people who don't want him are totally out of the world. The Maginot line of making a contract with Hossa is 4.5 million for me. But is it going to happen? I say 0.000000000001% it can happen. Without Hossa, our offensive depth will be still top 5 in the league. This is the assumption we don't resign Hossa Z-D-H Franzen-Filppula-Leino(or Cleary) Helm-Hudler-Cleary(or Leino) Draper-Maltby-Abdelkader I think the lack of production from Holmstrom is an injury issue but I think separating him from Zetterberg and Datsyuk really hurt him. I think we may have to see how he does with the top two defensive forwards in the league. Besides, I will still get rid of Samuelsson from my best line for the next season. By paying him, get a like Chris Neil. Personally, I think this regular season was the worst regular season for the Wings you ever watched. I never saw the Wings defenses got destoryed like this or winnning the game by the score by like 6-5, 5-4, which is like the Flyers who fail again and again in the playoff. I think Stuart and Kronwall will step up next season and same with Lidstrom and Rafalski. Hopefully Lilja gets healthy and be paired with Ericsson. I don't know how people will think of me if I say this, but I don't see the Wings get to the final next season. I think the Hawks will be a huge challenge next season and same with the Jackets. Wings, however, surely makes the playoff but I just cannot imagine the Wings can do that well next season. We may need 2 or 3 seasons so the kids like Leino, Abdelkader, Helm, and Ericsson find their games.

If I remeber correctly, Toronto also does not look sell out the game but they sold out every game. And I lived in Toronto for like 2 months and I visited ACC when the Wings came and the price was crazy. Whatever, the Wings pretty sold out most games according to this source. The only thing I don't understand is how the Wings did not sell out the games against the Sharks and the Ducks. Besides, if anyone jeers the Wings by the attendance, I call them not knowledgable. It almost looks someone jeers people who have a natural handicap. We cannot fix the local economic problem but that does not mean the Wings suck or somethng. There are bunch of teams who sell out but the team itself sucks

I had nothing comment being directed at you, it is just my opinion. I think Filppula is overpaid but he is still 25 years old. There is still bunch of chance he can develop himself to be an important player. And here is the link for next year's cap chart: http://www.nhlnumbers.com/overview.php?tea...amp;season=0910 To start, let me state that I am not a crazy fan of re-signing Hossa this summer. We have precisely 5 million cap left. We have Hudler, Samuelsson, Hossa, Kopecky, McCarty, Downey, Leino, and Conklin. There is no chance we can sign all players here. McCary, Downey, and Kopecky should be gone this summer even though they don't eat up much cap space. However, we should not let Leino to walk out because he is our biggest prospect from the AHL. If then, players left are Hudler, Samuelsson, Hossa, and Conklin. Be honest, I don't think Holland even wants to re-sign Samuelsson. I have called him not fit to this team at all because he cannot control the puck. The only question is Hossa, Conklin, and Hudler. However, if we re-sign Leino, we don't need to re-sign Hudler because Leino can replace Hudler's spot. Besides, the reason I don't want Hudler is because of his toughness and his size; I mentioned this in another thread but again. We all noticed how easily he got knocked out in front of physical teams like the Ducks. For Conklin, I feel sorry for him. He was our number one goaltender in the regular season. If he is willing to take the same amount of cap, I would welcome him. I honestly don't trust Howard that much either. But, somehow I don't see Holland will re-sign him. He stated Howard will be in the Wings team next season for sure. The only way we can re-sign Hossa is trading Holmstrom, who performed like a crap during the whole season. Holmstrom eats up 2.25 million cap number. If we get rid of him, we have 7 million cap number left. Then, we may have a chance to re-sign Hossa. Besides, I agree with you perfectly about Hossa's cap number. I don't see how he will take 4 million cap number while other teams may offer to him by at least 7 million.

No thanks. I like both kids and Helm performed great in the playoff but his stick handling is not even close to the ability of stick handling Filppula has.

I have read the front and the back of the thread and there are some coomments of suggesting trade Filppula. Huh? What are you guys thinking? Because he had one terrible regular season as the first contract, it does not mean he is just horrible player. I think Filppula can be a very skilled player in the future if there is one great goal scorer and one player who can play physically.

Wait, I have a question. Then, after Z and Mule turn up to somewhat around 37 years old, do they eat up 6.1 and 3.9 million cap space each?

If Howard does not come up to the NHL, any team has a chance to take him. To answer above comment, yes, Howard played in 07-08 season against the Stars, and the Canucks. I don't remeber other games against the Oilers and the Flames while Dom and Ozzie were out because of health issues. In that year, I saw his play and he played very well. This season, however, the game against the Wild, he played terrible. Well, our D was garbage throughout the season no not a big surprise though. However, I would rather watch him to play at least 20 games and decide or concern about him. After Osgood retires, who are you going to bring up for our starting goaltending? I cannot think of any goalie who will be favor to come to the Wings. Seriously, many people don't like him because they have not watched enough of Howard or he was poor in the game against the Wild. Give him chances and decide later and we have to see Howard next season for sure; Holland said he will develop both Larsson and Howard and choose one goalie for the future.

The reason I think we should not trade Howard is he is still young and we never see his play in the NHL more than at least 10 games a season. We will see next season. If he sucks, then concern about the trade. Now, are the Wings fans becoming somewhat like the Habs fans who whined Price with the given pressure of 100 years of the organization? One thing to say, as much as Osgood is a good goalie, the team itself shines him up. Same thing can happen to Howard. Cam Ward had a terrible two rookie seasons but he is considered as one of the best netminder in the league. Good teams make players to be good.

I think you got it in a correct way but I don't think Holmstrom is deserved to be the 1st liner. Unless he steps up next season to his own performance, Cleary have to be with Zetterberg and Datsyuk. To add, Hossa's 4 million cap estimation must be wrong. I don't see how he will get a discount of 4 million to stay here. He is an elite offensive player and he can easily get more than 6.5 million offer from other teams. He is not in the case of Mats Sundin who is almost 37 or 38 and never won the cup because he was in an unsucessful team. He is still 30 years old and while we think offensive players' prime is till 35 years old, he can move the team. The thing I like about your idea is removing Hudler. I think he played tremendously in the first half of the season but since the All-Star game, he did not produce that much. Mostly, his size will catch him in one day. During the Jackets series, he performed well but we watched the difference between the Jackets and the Ducks. He almost got knocked off on every ice. He has a good skill but hockey is not just about skill, sometimes toughness is more important.

I never said our goalies suck or something. According to the performance of Conklin during the regular season, we may have to pay more than he got this season. Besides, Osgood will do his job but he is 36 years old. Do you think Osgood will be able to carry this team for the majority games for the next season? Besides, I am honestly scared of Osgood. Because he performed great in the regular season, it does not necessarily mean his poor performance in the regular season is somewhat forgotten. I never watched how Howard played this season but I did last season. I saw many people post Howard just sucks. I think he played pretty good last season. He played only 4 ot 5 games last season but he looked pretty solid. I know he played bad season but that does not exactly mean he sucks. Give him chances.

No one has anything against Hudler. He and Conklin were the boost for the Wings in the first half of the season. The reason why people want Hossa over Hudler is because Hossa is a world class offense while Hudler is just a young player. Besides, while Hudler is replaceable by Leino or other rookies, you cannot replace Hossa. Are you going to bring up a player like Cammalleri? Most importantly, I think his size and toughness will catch him finally in the future. It is extremely emotional when the good players leave the team. I am saying both Hossa and Hudler are good players but we cannot re-sign all players according to the cap number. It looks people not want Hossa because we did not win the cup and he did not perform good enough. For sure, Hossa underperformed but that does not necessarily mean his prime has come to an end. To end, I love Hudler stick up in Detroit but if we can get Hossa around 5 million, I would take him.

Why get rid of Rafalski? His offensive skill is the top level in the league but he is a defensive liability. Moreover, he is 6 million defense; I would say this is overpaid. He is our second best D-man. The fact is he has NTC so he would not be traded unless he has some problem in the locker rrom or Kenny highly forces him to move

Get out of Holmstrom fro the first line. We have seen the amount of skill Fippula has is waste if he is in the 3rd line. The issue of injury is not a businnes at this point because he is overpaid; 2.25 million for only fewer than 40 points production? I would rather have Zetterberg with Datsuyk and Cleary; Hossa with Filp and Mule. I don't mind to trade either Holmstrom or Kronwall to get a good prospect.

The thing of Hossa is one thing: when he had to be shiny in the final, he did not. He was horrible in the final. Overall in the playoff, not impressive at all. In the regular season, I highly wanted to re-sign him and I googled the rumor whether he will stay here or not. After this playoff, my mind has changed a bit but I am still on side to re-sign Hossa unless his demand is way too big. However, if the deal goes more than 5 years, I am going to be favor of the deal. Sure, offenses can play their hockey until 35 years old but we already locked up Zetterberg, Franzen, and Datsyuk for a long term. If we make another long term, it will hurt us once in the future. For example, the Sens locked up their main three forwards: Spezza, Heately, and Alffie. However, what rumor is coming up? Trading Heately. Why does he want to leave? One thing. Honestly, I say the Sens will be the bottom team next year too. Same with Pittsburgh. I am not whining the Pens after the loss against them but the cap system that three or four players eat up all the cap space will be dead in the future. Not far from now. We saw how well Hossa can play in the regular season. Unfortunately, many of the Wings played with some serious injuries so Hossa did not win the cup. I don't think we have a great chance next year. Maybe 2 years from now, if Hossa stays here, I think we will have a good chance again.

I gotta say tuned for a second but I cannot understand people who don't want Hossa for 4 million. Well, I think this is Holland's initial cap number throw to Hossa so if we re-sign him, it would be idealically around 4.5 to 5.5 million. Besides, Hossa is not just an addition of skill and the playing level. We need someone to be the reason to motivate the whole team. Be honest, it is quite amazing this team even got to the final with that atrocious performance in the regular season. Just my opinion and if I remeber correctly, Cleary interviewed that the Wings will run for the Cup to give Hossa the first Stanley cup ring. That might motivate the Wings to the Final and got to the last game of the season. Moreover, I gotta just release Hudler and Samuelsson as free agents in this summer. Samuelsson is decent 3rd liner but in this team's system, he does not fit at all because while he produces 10, he is also a liability of losing 30 by bad puck control. Most importantly, if both guys do not go out, Leino and Helm do not have many chances as they have to get as the first full regular season.

What I am thinking is that Hudler and Samuelsson can be replaced. Hudler-> Leino Samuelsson-> Abdelkader or get one from the FA market. Besides, I agree with you if Hossa asks more than 5.5

I am not expecting much for the next season. I think it will be tough to even defend the division title from Chicago; I still think we will win the division though. As you said 10-11 season, we have to care about the defense too. Then, I don't mind not to re-sign Hossa. From my view, Lidstrom will not turn back to his prime. He is 39 years old and he may need a rest or a surgery to overcome the elbow issue. Then who? Ericsson? He may need at least two years to become a high level defense. I am not good at trading or signing but if I were Holland, I would trade Holmstrom or waive him and not re-signing Samuelsson and Hudler. I will love if the Wings get either: re-signing Hossa for a big discount or get a puck moving D-man like Bouwmeester or young D-man: for example, I think Burne(?) in the Wild or Johnson in the Kings.

I don't get it. If Hossa is willing to take less money to stay here by around 5 million, I would kick Hudler, and Samuelsson. I think Babcock made few mistakes in the regular season. He tested too many different line combos and it resulted most of our lines cannot play as well as they did last year. The thing I have not understood yet is why Babcock had to split Z and D. I saw Hossa and Datsyuk don't have good chemistry as Zetterberg and Datsyuk do. Moreover, I think Homer is a great guy but I want to trade him. His age is 35 or 36. He eats up 2.25 million cap number and has done pretty much NONE in the playoff. Next season: Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Cleary Filppula-Hossa-Franzen Leino-Helm-Abdelkader Maltby-Draper-Kopecky Lidstrom-Rafalski Stuart-Kronwall Ericsson-Lilja(get well soon) Osgood Howard Larsson

This line failed in the whole season. The result of separating Datsyuk and Zetterberg caused that players do not feel comfortable with different line mates. We have seen why Datsyuk and Zetterberg have one of the best chemistry each other. Besides, putting Holmstrom over Filppula in the 2nd line? I don't mind to see Holmstrom gets traded in this off season

Let me clarify one: I don't think we need a huge change on both offense and defense except for the hunger. We may need a change on D-men because Nick will retire soon. Besides, Osgood has been great in the playoff but that does not necessarily mean he will perform this good in the next regular season; I don't see Osgood does this good after few months. He has scared me from the start of the season to the end of a season. Moreover, Osgood is not like the late 20s or early 30s. Be honest, Ozzie is too old to carry this team by playing whole regular season. If I remeber correctly, Ozzie's contract number will be expired after 2 seasons. We cannot stick up with Osgood since this season. I agree with one poster who said we have to give one of Larsson, Howard, or McColumn a chance to play many regular season games. Except for the high class goalie like Roy, Brodeur, and Hasek, every goalie needs a harsh start of the NHL to be a good goalie. There is no way the goalie can do well if the goalie does not have many chances to play. From my guess right now, I think we will see a lot of Howard and Larsson over Osgood next season. As we make the playoff, Osgood will probably be our starting goalie; nothing against it. This off-season, we don't need a somewhat bombing change. However, the time of consdiering the future Wings has finally come to the time.

Stuart was the worst player in game 7, I think this is the obvious thing. The real fact: other Wings even did not play good enough. Besides, it looks people feel easy to bash Stuart. He was the best D-man from the playoff start to the playoff before SCF. Nick-very disappointing, looked very lost when Geno and Crosby shifted on the back of the net Rafalski-never hated him but never loved him to be here with 6 million. Good offensive ability but too many turnover Kronwall-don't know what happened. No big hit, meaningless penalties. The worst D in the Wings this season Ericsson-decent performance but showed why he is a rookie D-man Chellios-please retire Stuart-atrocious regular season and very few points. Terrible SCF performance but overall, the best D man from the Wings in the playoff before the final. Lebda-done nothing except for the game 5 against the Hawks I am on the side of bashing Stuart for game 7 but blaming his overall playoff performance? I don't see any Wings D played better than Stuart before the final.

Well, I don't disagree with you. But he was not the ONLY player who had to be shined. Where were Kronwall, Datsyuk, and Holmstrom? Hossa was not the only player who underachieved. I know he played poorly but that does not mean he has to receive all the criticism soley himself.