newfy

I dont see Hudler offering anything to that line though, hes small and slow and doesn't provide defense. If he's playing against other teams top lines and d pairing I think he'll look even worst out there. Theres a reason babcock has never used him in the top 6 hardly, I sometimes dont understand why people say if he gets put in the top 6 he'll do better when he really doesn't have the speed or size to play like a top 6 player

I was the one who started the thread about getting Clarkson but if they dont get a player like him, I think a mean defensive prospect could be good like Colton Teubert. With all the prospects that LA has it could be easy to get one off of them. I think having Hudler in the press box is a waste, we could use him to get some assets that we can play in the future when there are roster spots open. Outside of Smith Detroit doesn't have a whole lot coming up on defense and they have no power forwards in the system besides Sheahan. No point in keeping a guy whose providing nothing when we could help insure our future is bright by trading him

Yeah but thats something Hudler contributed nothing towards. Why not take a guy who is being useless and trade for a prospect or some picks and help insure that our future is just as bright as the present is. Not to mention we would get cap space for injury call ups or a potential dead line move if we need a vital piece to be added. There is no point in wasting a skilled guy like Hudler as the 13th forward when he has some trade value

Hudller used to be able to be a decent producer. He has looked lazy and uninspired already, he should be going out there proving he belongs with this team after running off to Russia. I would much rather have someone go out and play there 8 minutes with heart and desire, doesn't even have to be a fighter type, I would take another Miller and IM not even a Miller fan

Leino never played on a stacked line up like Hudler had when he put up all those points. Hudler looks exactly like Leino, I just hope we trade him before his trade value is compltely gone and we get a 5th round pick for a top 6 player on some other team

Exactly lol! Brad May took just as regular of a shift as Hudler but the anti enforcer guys aren't saying we should get rid of Hudlr for some reason... Seems a little odd to me since they all seemed so concerned about Dats and Z's icetime when people who wanted to sign a tough guy said anything lol

Any word on Hudler tonight? In or out of the lineup? He only played like 8 minutes last night, might as well dress an enforcer lol dont people say we cant have a guy that plays that little in the lineup because the rest of our team gets tired?

This might be a little drastic btu I think a roster move along these lines would really help our team in the long run. Our third line and the Devils have had a really slow start to the season I'm saying a trade along the lines of Hudler for Clarkson and maybe a third could give us the energy we seem to lack some nights. We could build more of a grind line type third line like we had back in the day and in our 08 cup run with Drake Maltby and Draper if I remember correctly. With the way Modano and Hudler have been playing we're not going to get the points out of them like we thought we would. Move Modano down to the 4th line if need be and do aline up like this DZH BFF Clarkson Abby Cleary Modano Helm Eaves I know its kind of crazy but that line needs a spark bad. Clarkson and Hudler have similar salaries and are the same age. Clarkson, Abby and Cleary are all capable of 20ish goals I think so we would still get some offense.

Van city has 5 wins in a row and Detroit has won 6 of their last 7. Should be a good matchup, Datsyuk and Z are gonna show the Sedin sisters who the real top duo in the NHL is. Datsyuk will do something sweet, it'll be a close game and be a chippy first period. That is all

Agreed. It always seems when Ericcson is trying to play a skilled game he has mess ups. He should settle his game down a bit, play meaner and he will be a very effective player. It was bulls*** how the ref grabbed him and let Brule get three cheapshots in though

Eaves shouldnt be sitting for if Miller is in the line up. I think Hud will be on the 4th line after the solid game we saw from the third line last game

Yup Fraser is an experienced fighter but not a very good one. Abdelkader should get warmed up with guys like him then in the next few seasons he can get good and take on some tougher guys.

Well this picture proves that it wasnt a blindside and this is after thornton had skated out of the box a bit. Definitely not an east west hit. If he gets suspended for this then I think Gary has successfully turned the NHL into an NBA league. He already hypes up players instead of teams, now there is gonig to be no contact and he has already tried getting rid of fighting. f*** Bettman

Their line was unreal for us the first few games and won us some games when Dats and Z weren't clicking and they were our best line last year in the playoffs. Hudler is generally on the 4th line in the playoffs because he cant play playoff hockey. Our top 2 lines are looking great this year, why would we put someone on them who doesn't provide anything except being a midget. He's not as good as Flip, Franzen, Dats or Z offensively and he cant fill a role that Homer and Bert do. Did you ever think theres a reason Babcock doesn't give Hudler the benefit of the doubt like a lot of people here do? He sees him in practice and knows his skill level a lot better then we all do, Hudler really provides nothing to this team anymore, we could get some draft picks for him because with him in the lineup we are a worse team

After being scratched this long it really makes you wonder if he is indeed being offered as trade bait... I'm sure Kenny does't want a 2.8 million dollar healthy scratch every night

The wings are on fire right now. I really think we're going to see a blowout this game, a win of at least 4 goals. I'm also predicting a goal and fight with Colin Fraser for Abdelkader, maybe even the Gordie Howe oh and datsyuk will do something sweet

No im saying stop riding hudlers balls for a second like you have the last 5 years. Bert and Franzen have chemistry, and theyve had it since last years playoffs... maybe if Hudler didnt screw off to MOscow Dynamo he could've been the one building chemistry with Franzen. How do you think Hudler would be the perfect for a role where youre getting pucks in the corners and down low when Hudler can't get within 10 feet of the corners without being on his ass? Just because you love small skilled players doesnt mean we should be changing the chemistry of the best line on our team the first several games to make him hopefully produce just because he needs to ride on the coattails of others. Logic Eva.

Man are th fans of the NHL becoming softened up as well or what? Thornton steps outta the box skates up the to the red line and hits him, not east west. And his elbow was tucked in. It is a bad angle but if you look, the penalty boxes are behind the red line and thornton hits him at the red line so it is not east west. This is a textbook hit, it was a suicide pass and unfortunate for perron because he didnt know thornton was coming out of the box but what does big joe do? Let him skate by because the guy has his head down? If thats what the NHL has come to then its a bulls*** league and turning into the god damned NBA

The thing about Bert is he fills a net front type role when he needs to and has size. He's good down low and in the corners and can help get the puck to a sniper like Franzen. You actually think breaking up our second line that have been on a tear is a good idea just to hopefully get Hudler going? Hudler is playing with guys that are good enough that if he is that good he could produce. Fact of the matter is he has became lazy, is still small and extremely weak. Another Abdelkader type guy on this team would be a lot better then that 5'7 lazy midget. When Abby is on a line its much more energetic and if there isn't a scoring chance he is at least banging some bodies and creating energy. If Hudler isnt producing he is playing lazily defensively and getting laid out

And to put things into context: Clarkson is playing on a team where Ilya Kovalchuk, one of the most elite scorers in the league has been a healthy scratch this season because their team in general is playing horrible. Hudler is playing on a team that has won 5 of its last 6 games, every line except his looks terrific and as soon as he was taken off his line it played great. On top of that, Clarkson or a player like him provides more then just powerplay offense, which is what Hudler seems only good for after fleeing to rush and leaving his team. Oh and to top it all off, Clarkson is a Babcock kind of player and wouldn't be stuck in the doghouse all the time. Do you really want a 2.8 million dollar healthy scratch all season?

Its funny how when Hudler is playing like s*** and wasting a roster space there are a lot of people on here who defend him even though he is a horrible plus minus and getting manhandled out there every shift, but the wings cant have a decent enforcer type that can play a regular shift because they cant play hockey

I was going to post that clip of where are they now about Vladdy but it always seems to upset people. I think this is the perfect thread for it though

I know a lot of the teams are making a big deal of Movember in the NHL, but watching hockeycentral today they didn't mention Detroit. I know a lot of teams have guys in charge of organizing it for their teams, sarich is in Calgary for example. But are the wings going to be doing any mustache growing? Oh and for those not aware of what Movember is, its when men grow mustaches in november for prostate cancer awareness/fundraising.

Hudler to me is done as well. If he isn't playing on a stacked powerplay he seems useless 5 on 5. We should trade him while he still has some value and seems to possibly still be a 50 point guy

Hoping Howard can get a good game under his b elt tonight after the injury. Abdelkader get out there first shift and finish some hard checks to get the team going and Datsyuk does something sweet I bet. 3-1 red wings