KonstantAdvisor

I'm interested to see what the cap space looks like without the UFAs. Anyone got the numbers there? Like many have said, I would keep Alfredsson and Legwand if they can meet on favorable terms. I really like most of the D we have, but I would like to see Oullet, Sproul and Marchenko more at this point. Kindl needs to overcome his confidence issues carrying the puck if he is going to stay. I like the goaltending - not sure whether Gustavsson should come back, though. Mrazek would be a great backup, but it would be bad in a worst-case situation like this season. Who would they call up? McCollum? The forwards are really impressive, but contracts are going to dictate that not everyone can stay in Detroit. Hopefully we can keep those who have been playing in GR. I remember when Lapointe was let go in free agency and I expect more tough decisions like that will come since Tatar, Sheahan, and Emmerton all have contracts ending this season. Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Helm, Abdelkader, Glendening, Miller, Nyquist and Weiss are basically guaranteed but sometimes you have to give something to get something and there are at least 3 guaranteed spots to be filled by re-signing, trade or free agency.

I've read comments like this in more than one place and am really shocked this discussion has reached 10 pages. I'm not going to quote every one, because I think this one sums up the double standards and highly selective memory of fans who never had their faith riding on Detroit's non-Osgood goaltenders. If you think #30 shouldn't hang next to #5, I think it's a huge slap in the face to any fan of #1. The fact that #1 won his last Cup in Toronto is something Detroit fans can never change, but Osgood came back after being traded and took the Red Wings to the SCF twice. So I'm going to chalk it up to sour grapes, but I find it embarrassing that so-called fans of Detroit work so hard to forget and discredit their champions - anyone who has further doubts can check the Captain's Log.

When a goaltender stops goals but the team loses, the goaltender gets traded even though the problem with the team is scoring. Either the goalie wins Vezinas, retires in obscurity, or they look for a team that can play in front of them. Since good teams usually already have at least average goaltending and the coaches aren't jizzing about stats every day, I can see how, for some fans, the HoF is their last, best chance to get their favorite player, "the respect he deserves!" Osgood has a better SO/game average in the playoffs than Roy, Belfour or Dryden. He's the equal of Hasek and Joseph and in the same neighborhood as Jaques Plante by those numbers. You're basically saying Detroit could have hired a mop and broomstick to do the job because the team had a NYR-size salary. When a goaltender is runner-up for the Hart Trophy to Wayne Gretzky, considering that it would pass over Messier, Kurri and whoever else was also on the ice that season, doesn't it give you some perspective about what the team valued vs what your stat sheet tells you? Have you honestly watched the games Fuhr played when he wasn't in St. Louis? Osgood has been couched as inferior to goaltenders with higher salaries and better SV% his whole career. The HoF can sit on its collective thumb and spin if they can't admit Osgood is among the best in history. I know there are questions about #14, #91, #16 ever having jerseys hung from the rafters simply because of the circumstance of careers, but I know 2 out of 3 have a lock on the HoF. I think #30 should hang from the rafters and I don't have the least hesitation putting that out there. If Osgood is reaching retirement age and wins a Stanley Cup backing up Howard, it will be nothing new as far as ammunition for critics to claim he's not the best.

I'd say the 4th line has a standard NHL formula and Detroit has very good players. They can dump and chase, check the defense in the corners, and generate scoring chances. They are way better at the forecheck than they are at carrying the zone, and as likely to pick up chances from turnovers as anything. They rarely get out-hustled, even by top lines. The other lines rely on passing and puck control, wearing down defenders, setting up screens. They really excel when the teams are playing without whistles, preventing shift changes for defenders, controlling the play and holding the offensive zone. It generates penalties and powerplays as well as scoring chances. With so much focus setting up plays and not immediately dumping to open spots (or shooting), they can also be prone to bad turnovers (getting too fancy) that lead to more breakaway chances. Perhaps the NA vs Euro distinction is that unfamiliar combinations seem to have more defensive presence of mind to estimate where linemates should be and where the puck is. That way the defenseman feel more comfortable moving in to get scoring chances when one is changing or out of the play.

This right here. Ritola was looking at a very scaled back role in Detroit, whereas he has played at least a couple shifts with Stamkos on the PP in TB already. The point being he was too good to retain for next season if he was going to see limited playtime this season. A 'weak shot' is pretty subjective, and Modano gets played like a guy who has scored 500+ goals and has lots of tape to review. When shooting lanes close because you're a known threat, you pass or you get a weak shot. He's still a playmaker, maybe lost a step from being fastest on the ice, but faster than Larionov or Hull, I think, and he worked a lot harder skating in the pre-season games than many others this year - that's where I give the benefit of the doubt. Ritola is definitely a loss in potential, but that potential wasn't necessarily breaking out in the pre-season. He is in a better position to show his stuff in TB now, because he wouldn't have had the same opportunities for risk/reward in Detroit this season.

The giveaways and turnovers which lead to goals on the Wings are bad. Even Lidstrom looked only partially conscious for part of the game against Dallas but the third line has not scored the way they did in the pre-season. Anyone who watched the game against Dallas also remembers Modano skating a lot of shifts and obviously working very hard - he was one of the few who could keep the puck on Dallas' side of the ice (Modano did not score, but also was not a -3 that game). Some of the characterizations of Modano on here are simply dishonest and petty. Rafalski is +5 over 2 games. These guys can and do score frequently, but people were saying the same negative things about Zetterberg and Datsyuk when the team was shutout against Atlanta, Calgary, St. Louis, Chicago and Columbus in November and December of last season. We're not getting shutout, people.

I think line numbers are hard to interpret because Detroit has some skill depth to work with. I'd be interested to see Modano-Helm-Eaves and Miller-Helm-Modano I also think when Abdelkader is back, Abdelkader-Hudler-Cleary might be a good combo.

Kronwall's goal was on a 4-3 powerplay.

A couple bad giveaways tonight, but also saw Kindl shoving Wolski and Doan around on Phoenix's first line. He's really doing great out there and looking forward to seeing more.

I know the Winterhawks still play in Memorial Coliseum, but the seating capacity is not high enough for the NHL and juggling the Rose Garden won't work for the reasons you explain. Portland fills in an empty spot between Vancouver and San Jose for fans, though, and could have lower development costs than a larger city. Every city has financial troubles when it comes to professional sports franchises - building and maintaining sports arenas is a bit of a circus all its own. Portland seems to be a larger market for the game and does attract 200,000 fans to junior hockey annually. http://djcoregon.com/news/2010/08/16/portland-winterhawks-may-fly-the-coop/ http://www.oregonlive.com/hawks/index.ssf/2010/09/winterhawks_no_1_in_whl_in_jun.html http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/ken/news/92690334.html Averaging just over 4,000/game at ShoWare, over a 27 home game season (plus missing the WHL playoffs), it's hard to estimate the popularity of hockey and whether the Winterhawks simply had some of Don Cherry's publicity influencing the market. I really don't know about KC and Milwaukee and have not attended a Winterhawks game, it just doesn't seem that Portland-Seattle dynamic is the way you paint it for hockey.

Asham is worth picking up. If Philadelphia does not put an effort into holding onto him, Detroit should absolutely pursue that guy. If Bertuzzi wants a raise, he should probably move because he can do better and Detroit has some contract commitments already for the top 6. I'd take Asham over Plekanec as far as opportunity.

Good luck and get well soon Matt!

Have you been watching the Vancouver-Chicago series? I think certain teams are not having goals called back and others are, that's really all I can think at this point. Some teams are allowed to interfere with the goaltender and others will be called when there aren't even infractions. If Detroit wins in this situation, it will be luck, not just hard work.

Lidstrom was drafted 53rd. I don't think people expected that type of performance from Ericsson after one year of playing with an injured team, either. Scouts are the ones that saw potential, not just Babcock. Lidstrom doesn't always play the body, he's got the vision of a forward on the ice while being very sensitive to supporting the defense. Ericsson isn't afraid to drop the gloves and generally doesn't finish checks because the regular season taught him that his line will get scored on and he will get blamed if he doesn't do it at the right time. Just watching Kronwall is not enough, neither Lidstrom nor Rafalski play that style of D. Babcock seems to play very conservative most of the time. He could actually scratch Williams, replace him with Ericsson on Abdelkader's line (along with Miller), and dress Lilja/Lebda for the third defensive pairing. Lebda actually did okay tonight. And I saw Ericsson carry into the offensive zone pretty smoothly in Game 3 and the rest of the Wings certainly make enough space for him. If Ericsson has gained the defensive awareness to play smart on offense when he is being covered by two defenders, not just one, it could seriously unhinge the Shark's defensive plan, but he has to be willing to work on the boards, too, and generate chances for Miller and Abdelkader. Sometimes I think Babcock should put Osgood in for the power plays, just because he handles dump-ins well and gets the team back on the attack so quickly, but Howard needs experience in those situations if he's ever going to get better. Hard to second-guess a coach with so many victories under his belt, though.

You're wrong. Abdelkader made a move and almost scored in the middle of the ice ten seconds before the game ended in OT. I expected Helm, Cleary, Miller and Abdelkader to score tonight...really, Cleary should have had the GW goal, the team should have easily been able to make Zetterberg's goal stand up as well. Howard was not in position to stop the last three goals - maybe you fault experience there, but he wasn't responsible for letting the Sharks hold the zone or get the odd-man break for those chances and he made amazing stops throughout the game, too. Nabakov didn't really do better. Holmstrom will sacrifice the body every night and so will many Wings if it means a goal. The team did not outwork the Sharks and took bad penalties. Maybe it is lack of respect for San Jose? Lazy clearing attempts when they are on defense and miscues on line changes have killed this team.