dropkickshanahans

That was "Most Memorable Game of the Season #2"

God, that would be awesome. Unfortunately I don't see it. Without knowing any stats, I can say their defense is much better than anyone else we faced, and Pryor has mobility and can extend the play. That creates bad news with our defense seeing as how every other quarterback has inflated stats playing against our D.

Could Stamkos be the next guy to score 50 goals in 50 games? Hasn't been done in nearly 20 years.

I think hell froze over!

I agree. A friend of mine was saying he really wants Dunn on the Tigers to protect Cabrera, but what good will that do us when he strikes out near the top of the league every season? Managers would gladly walk Cabrera to go after Dunn. I'd rather us re-sign Maggs for cheap (hopefully) and grab another solid hitter, either Crawford or Martinez. Maggs and Cabby back-to-back was deadly and after Maggs got hurt we seemed to fall off offensively.

contract year

Who's taking him for granted? I'm biting my fingernails over here at the thought of him leaving because I don't believe we'll be a cup contender using a defense by committee after he retires.

I'd also like to add that I don't think Tay is really overrated, but I don't think he's the type of player to have an offense ran through, and doesn't have the leadership qualities like Billups and the Wallace's have. Him and Stuckey keep running their mouths and things they don't agree with the coach about, and the other veterans like Rip and Ben are just keeping their mouths shut along with the rookies and sophomores. It's sad when you think about it too, this team has always had the attitude that it's their way and no one's going to tell them what to do because they've had this self-entitlement after winning the championship.

Well our wish could come true as we seem to be big players in helping Carmelo getting traded out of Denver by being the third team involved if New York can muster something. I'm not sure who else we'd get rid of, but Tayshaun will most likely be a piece in the deal since he has an expiring contract. Yes, I remember people not wanting him to make the trade, but I was the opposite. They won the championship the year prior and he really came through for them after being called the weakest link of that team, and coming off that 08-09 season his averages were 11.9 pts, 8.2 assists and 5.3 rebounds, while coming around to being the steal threat that he's become today. Stuckey meanwhile was still learning the position after Dumars traded Billups that season, and the only thing Stuckey had in his favor was size and strength. He's a good 2, can attack the rim (perhaps too much) and has a decent shot. But he's not a pure PG like Rondo at the time, and still is. I was praying that trade went through as I believed Rondo was the perfect replacement for Billups. If that trade did happen, then we could have either resigned Allen or let him go for cap space and built the team accordingly around Rondo, which if we let him go then we would have signed CV and Gordon, a young team and a championship calibre PG leading them. Kuester would also not have his hands full trying to train a PG since Rondo has the vision and smarts. I wonder how good we could have been? Defensively we'd still be weak, but our offense would probably be up there with the top teams me thinks.

Patrick Peterson here we come!

I agree. Did you know that Joe D was faced with a trade offer from Danny Ainge in the summer of '09 that would have given us Rondo and Ray Allen for Rip, Prince and Stuckey, and he quickly turned it down? Fast forward to today, and Rondo is considered one of the best point guards in the league next to Nash, Paul and Williams. Meanwhile, Stuckey still hasn't figured out his position and is the biggest cancer in the locker room and Rip and Prince are just logjams in a loaded front court. For every questionable decision Joe D has made post-championship, and there's many, this has to be high on the list. It's sad that our best passer is a guy making like league minimum, plays about 10 minutes a game and has no legs at all. This team looks to be in horrible shape, with yet no buyer since Illitch backed out, and is going into further trouble if there is going to be a lockout.

With all the SOG opportunities he's getting I'm surprised he's not in the top 5 in scoring by now. He's had some really good chances. Hopefully the goals start coming for him soon.

Did you bother checking the date this thread was made?

Usually I would agree to get someone up in the pros asap, for example I was all about having Matt Stafford start his rookie year and learn the game and learn from his own mistakes. The difference is, the Lions were an awful team, so you can do something like that with a young team rebuilding. Not with the Wings. We're one of the top teams in the league and we don't need to rush a kid that's not completely ready when we have one of the best defensemen in the league and a top defense overall.

I've been thinking about this recently and knowing once Lidstrom retires is when the team could take a drastic turn. What should Kenny do to replace him or fix the situation? Looking at our prospects and the players we have now, I feel that our forward lines are set for a long time. Should we risk a bunch of our future picks and some prospects and/or players to get someone like Drew Doughty here? I know that's very unlikely but it's fun to think about what's smart or not to get a player like him here. I think he'll be the next best defenseman in the league once Lidstrom retires and will consistently be nominated to win many Norris trophies, and I feel that with Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Franzen being here for another 5-10 years, our bottom lines for longer, along with some upcoming forward prospects I feel really good about, that we would be fine after packaging many picks+prospects or players to try and get him here. What do you all think? Would giving up a lot to get Doughty here be worth it, or would the smart thing be to ride it out, stay confident in Kronwall and let some players like Kindl, Smith and in the future Almqvist see what they can do while keeping the picks and drafting smart? Also, if not Doughty, who else would you like to see us go after for as good or a cheaper price (value wise)?

I'd like Seabrook, but I don't think Chicago would let him sniff free agency. That's kind of my problem with other players like Weber too, I just don't think these top defenseman will reach free agency before their teams extend them.

How high is too high? I'm not a big trade guy when it comes to hockey, so as far as value goes (going off of the Kessel trade) would 2 1st rounds and 2 2nd rounds + Kronwall and/or Smith and Filppula be fair but too much for us? Or would that still require more? Actually come to think of it the Kessel trade is a bad example since we'll be in the late rounds. 3 1sts and 2 2nds + Kronwall, Smith, Filppula? This is what makes me think since that's 3 years of no higher round developed players, but we get Doughty, perhaps get another Salei type player in FA, and sit on the fact that we're comfortable with our forward prospects.

Maybe I wasn't clear enough, but I didn't limit it to just "picks and prospects," although that's not the point of my thread. Again, what's the smarter move if theoretically we could offer so much?

Stafford is supposedly out with a Grade 3 separation on the same shoulder he hurt earlier this season, of course that's a rumor since Schwartz and company are being tight lipped about it. I wonder if he was ever fully healed? When he was taken out he didn't take off his uniform or anythinglike he did when he got his Grade 2 separation; just slipped an ice pack under his shoulder pad. The way everyone's talking about his injury, he's just really sore and could be back perhaps by the Dallas game. Drew Stanton will most likely start this weekend against the Bills, so all my State friends will be happy to see what he can do. He did O.K. when he came in for Hill, and this matchup won't be bad for him. As long as he manages the game and uses his legs, we should be able to win this one. Man this season's been frustrating. I mean I know coming into the season my expectations were only 6-7 wins, but in hindsight if we weren't screwed over in week 1, stopped Green Bay's winning drive in week 4, and if the coaches didn't blow the game against the Jets, we'd be 5-3 with a very good opportunity to improve to 7-3 against Buffalo and Dallas. But that's what you get with an inexperienced team. One good positive to look at is we finally have very good talent, so this season is a learning curve for all of our young players and coaches. If we keep up our good drafting, we'll be considered division threats next season. Well, my expectation at least will be division favorites.

I remember reading we were in the running for trading for Gretzky too, at the cost of Stevie Y and some others though. If I recall correctly, Gretsky's wife really wanted him to play here.

I'm not worried about this back-to-back like some others are. Not that far of travel plus they gain an hour. I guess that's the good thing about East-to-West road trips. Hopefully Jimmy gets his 23rd straight regulation win and come out of this road trip rewarded with a nice, long string of home games.

Yes.

Jesus dude...

I propose we package a deal of Datsyuk, Lidstrom and a 1st for Jeff Carter. We need a scandal that Carter will bring by sleeping with one of their wives to light a spark on this God-forsaken team. It worked for Philly last season as they made the finals; they played with a lot of grit, so I'm positive it will bring more grit to our team overall.

You're an idiot. Have you ever seen any of the Star Wars movies? You give Homer a goalie stick in net and he'll be Obi-Wan Kenobi v2.0, deflecting all those shots away from the net.