Miller Brew

B...Bu...But.. they have Campbell and Huet! Oh my!

Sharp and Burish or Seabrook and Burish...

I just went through Hawks roster and I really don't see anyone of interest. Maybe Seabrook or Ladd. I can't believe they're paying Madden nearly $3 mil and Kopecky $1.2. It reinforces the fact that Wings got killer (almost obscene) deals on players like Draper ($1.5), Cleary ($2.8) and Franzen ($3.9).

After reading about their off-season circus, they still are a joke. That team seems to be filled with a lot of drama. Hawks have a 1 year window to win the cup this year and I'm not convinced they can pull it off. Then again, TB Lightning won the cup, so you can't rule them out either. Guess it really depends on how healthy they are and how injured other teams are.

Why get rid of Eaves? He's been a nice compliment to the 3rd line and he seems to be getting better as the season progresses. I like to see other PK'ers out there like Eaves, this give Dats and Z less PK time and more energy for scoring goals.

Holy Batman! Big time player liquidation sale in Chicago. This is going to be one of the biggest fire sales in the history of the NHL... I wonder if Chicago will have an auction or list their players on eBay? If Sharp's salary was around $2.5 - $3.0, I wouldn't mind him in a Wings uniform. Kenny might be able to get Hjalmarsson for a good price... I'm sure he would like to play with a winning cup contending team. He may be a nice fit on the Red Wings. Mmmm ... I'll have to look through their roster to see who else Wings could get at the Chicago Liquidation sale....

Yes. And our special teams will explode too. Our PP is suffering without Franzen, Williams, Kronwall and Filppula. Also when Kronwall and Flip back, our PK just got a whole lot better.

How does this looks after Flip returns? DZH Bert-Flip-Cleary Eaves-Helm-Drape/Leino May-Abby-Maltby/Miller Only problem with that line combo is no Leino and he needs to be in there. The kid's got skill, he just needs a tad bit of confidence. He should be a 3rd liner. It's hard to break up the Eaves/Helm/Drap line when they bringing so much energy.

If Lidstrom decides to resign how much will get? Ken and Mickey suggested it'd be a 2 year deal. Would it be around $3 - $3.5 million? I know Lidstrom is the greatest defenseman in the game but he is aging (pushing 40) and I think his elbow tendinitis is rending his scoring. Should be make more significantly more than Stuart and Kronwall?

Cool story, bro.

Aren't you the kid who was questioning/criticizing Wings' brass for keeping Howard on this team after only his first 3 starts this year? You even pulled up Howard's stats for the past 3 or 4 years to prove your point. I think you were going all crazy in the "Biron" thread with your failed logic. Jimmy D's comment about lowering expectations was dead on, but we can still hope the Wings would prove him wrong. I believe if this team was 100% healthy, we'd be top 3 in the conference.

I respectfully disagree. That goal could have been the spark needed to light this team up. They need any sense of confidence they can get right now; they are at an all-time low in confidence. They need something like that goal to build off. I believe that goal would have been a game changer.... this team needs that confidence.

I think peoples expectations are just a tad bit too high right now. Especially since most of our top players our out injured.... I can't think of a single team in the entire NHL that could win with this kind of bad luck. Wings will just need to play through it like Babcock said. Personally, the only thing I would change is the way they play defense. I would prefer to watch them play lock-down boring hockey and completely smother other team's players on every inch of the ice. We don't have enough talent in the lineup to play this style of hockey. Wings should play for 0-0 hockey to force OT just to get the point... and hope Z and D can score in the shootout for the extra point.

Wings are going to get MUCH more in return before new years than Holland could ever trade for. Flip and Kronner should be back. Williams should return shortly after the new years. So come January we will have an entirely different team on the ice. The boys just need to try to stay healthy and grind out some points; they aren't going to win many. Hopefully they can find a groove and a system to grind out some nasty wins. Instead of trading for new players (which is impossible since we have very little trade value other than Abby, Helm, Ericsson), Babcock should find a new system. I think Wings should start playing boring left wing lock hockey. They need to shut down the natural zone and not allow anyone in our zone. They need to smother their players like white on rice. Babcock needs to try a new system. We won't score many goals but if we win game 1-0 in the shootout, atleast it's a win or at the very least a point if we lose.

Huet is showing his worth, 3-0 Ducks. Ducks are looking really solid. Did Byfuglien take a head shot at Giguere? very classless play by Byfuglien if so. The Chicago announcers (who are pathetic) are crying bloody murder. They're saying Giguere should have got the penalty Lol. Umm okay, the goalie gets run at from behind by a huge goon and the goalie should get a penalty? What the f are these guys smoking? In fairness to Blackhawks they had a long road trip and really kicked ass. *If* they do lose, they still had a kick ass road trip to be proud of.

Wings are playing great but are having the worse possible luck in the history of NHL right now.

Nice win Duck Guy. I hope you show up on LGW and celebrate it! Giguere and the Ducks were clicking... hope this is a sign of them turning their season around and make the playoffs. I love hockey.

Go Wings, a win tonight would be GR8

Ducks_Guy is a respectable member of the forum who hangs out here a lot. I think he deserves a thread for his team playing good hockey. I like the Ducks when they're not playing us.

Chris Osgood. Best playoff goalie in the league making 1.2 million.

Holy christ did you just say Ralfi is better than Stuart? Stuart has been amazing! Ralfi has been brutal and he is wayy overpaid for what he brings to the table. He's been lazy and not playing to his full potential. I even made a comment about it in the GDT. I asked Drake Markus if there's a clause in the contract that states if a player isn't playing to their potential then Wings can void out the contract. Ralfi isn't earning his money.

Because they are signing all three (at the salary stated through online media) is why they are giving up their depth. Take a look: TKK $18 Hossa $5.26 Versteeg $3 Bolland $3.78 Kopecky $1.2 - Lol. Campbell $7.1 Seabrook $3.5 Barker 3.1 Huet $5.6 11 players locked up for $50.55 million. They need to pay 10 - 11 players yet with only 6 million remaining. Which means they'll have 5 forwards and 2 dmen and a backup that earn less than $600.000 on average each. Not to mention Niemi is making over 800k and is due for a nice raise next year. He's their best goalie. Chicago might have 2 good lines then will have a huge drop off in depth. Not to mention they will have questionable defense and goaltending. Lets not forget that Chicago Blackhawks is the organization that can't even mail in their qualifying offers in on time and the same team that allegedly lied/strung along/screwed over Martin Havlat then dumped him like a pile dog poo (not a classy organization).

I'm sure Lidstrom would want to go out with a bang. If we win the cup this year he'll likely retire. If not, I hope resigns a 1 year deal so low that we can afford key players that can help this team to the cup... How about this.... Lidstrom signs a 1 year deal for $1.5 million and Illich can give Lidstrom a birthday gift of $4 million cold cash in USD funds. One can hope....

man o man,. I love the Mule's enthusiasm! He's hungry for hockey, that's a good thing. That said, I don't want him back until the docs are sure he can't further injure it. He's our boy for 11 years and I want to see him play for 11 years.

Cool story, bro.