ogreslayer

Stephen Johns to Chicago.....dammit!

And for everyone bemoaning the fact that the Wings didn't take Tinordi, his partner on the US u-18 team, Stephen Johns @ 6'3" 215, is still out there & actually rated a little better.

Saw him play a couple of times last season in South Bend. I think he fits the Wings mold pretty well after watching him in person. Very good hockey sense, plays on both sides of the ice, & isn't afraid to go into the tough areas of the ice. Despite having problems putting the puck in the net, he didn't look like a freshman on the ice. Can't say I'm going to pull out my hair & gnash my teeth over this pick.

Canadian. St Catherines Ontario I believe... Confirmed: http://www.und.com/sports/m-hockey/mtt/sheahan_riley00.html

Interesting. Depending on who the supposed 1 Bruin is, this could be an amazing pick-up for the B's.

Is it time for the draft yet so we have something to talk about other than should we trade Cleary, Stuart, Raffi, Filppula, etc? This thread brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department...

Agreed. Now if he looked like this... ...even better. You just know that Brock Samson would have been the greatest enforcer ever & he already has the hockey hair for the role.

Isn't that Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers movies? All Pierre needs is a hairless cat...

Just further proof how insecure the Hawks "fans" are about their team...still. Pretty pathetic when your team just won their first Cup since the 60's and all you seem to care about is how Wings fans feel about it.

My thoughts? He probably would have pulled the same thing if the Flyers had won...

I just had to run the numbers. Average spot in attendance rankings from the 2001 season to the present for the Central division... Wings 2.8 Blues 11.9 Jackets 17.4 Hawks 19.7 Preds 25.6 #1. Hockey does not belong in Tennessee #2. With the Hawks being 1st in attendance rankings the past 2 seasons yet the second worst organization in attendance for the decade in the division in my mind points to quite a number of bandwagoners showing up to games now because it's the new "thing" to do. Just wait until their cap woes kick in starting next season. Those fans will move on to the Bulls or whatever the next big thing is.

I'm going with Columbus vs Florida in the finals.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Vladdy was all of 5'11"/180 & Kronner is 6'0"/190. Wouldn't call either one a big man by any stretch of the imagination.

Wasn't it Cheli who was responsible for that? From what I recall, Dan reached out to him about the trainer he used & getting more committed to working on his fitness level to prove to teams he could stick in the NHL or something to that effect.

Let's see...Bringing in a former Norris Trophy winner that Wings fans just absolutely loathe? Would that ever work? I have to say I would go with Pronger even though I do consider him captain of the all-douchebag team. Even at his age now, the other 3 on the list can't bring to the ice what he does on a nightly basis. Oh and as a defenseman, he gets more ice time for upping his douchebaggery antics so he has that going for him too.

Lebda needs to switch back to his college number 13 & try to fool KHL owners into thinking he's Pavel. That's the only way he'll get the big rubles over there.

By all accounts Clears is one of the hardest working players on the team, a great locker room guy, doesn't ***** & moan about his role on the team no matter what's being asked of him on a game-to-game basis, has proven what a warrior he is by playing through a nasty groin injury in the playoffs last year & knee injuries this season, has a fair amount of skill while not being afraid of going into the ugly areas of the ice, and practically has a winged wheel tattooed on his chest after the opportunity the Wings organization gave him when about every other team in the NHL considered him a wash out... Sure, let's go ahead & trade him. OK never say never, but in my opinion the Wings wouldn't get a player back with nearly the heart & determination they get from Clears.

And he's mentioned the reason he did sign with the Ducks last time around is that they offered him a two year deal when the Wings could only offer him one. Seems like this one's in the bag already.

So I just had a conversation with a local Flyers fan. He couldn't believe how cheaply the Wings re-signed Homer for and was bemoaning the hometown discounts the Wings consistently get. In his own words, he would have loved to seen Homer on the Flyers for twice what he signed for in Detroit & of course thought the ~$6.2m that Nick signed for was rediculously low too. It's just amazing how spoiled two decades of winning can make a fan base...

How about a song inspired for all the doubters that pop up after the Wings don't win the cup every year? Manic Depression-Jimi Hendrix Never Enough-Dream Theater Faithless-Rush Shallow-Porcupine Tree Complain-King's X Cheer Up Boys, Your Makeup Is Running-Foo Fighters

Unlike the baseball HOF where player likenesses are represented with a team's cap, I don't believe the hockey HOF associates a team/jersey with the player. Pretty sure of that based on Shanny saying a month or so back that IF the hockey HOF did that, he would go in as a Wing. Found it... Finally: If the Hockey Hall of Fame was like the baseball Hall, and you had to go in wearing a particular uniform, which one would you chose? The Red Wings. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Puck-Daddy-chats-with-Brendan-Shanahan-about-coa?urn=nhl,237849

Good idea. If I remember correctly, Ritola is out of options next year so it's either he's with the big club or they lose him to another team ala Quincey. Might as well get him some time in the playoffs now to see how he handles himself. Can't be any worse than J-Will.

Looks like they're using a 5 man rotation. Lils seems to be the odd one out right now for some reason. Can't understand that given how bad Ericsson's looked at times. Maybe Babs is saving Lils for all of the PKs.

Babs needs to switch things up and try Flip in the faceoff circle. Z is looking terrible...

Having the NHLPA's MVP award named for one of the men responsible for the formation of the group instead a Canadian Prime Minister with no connection to the game makes perfect sense. Great move in my opinion.