McAwesome

The Clint Eastwood mask is way better done, if those are the same artist, his work has gone downhill. For those of you complaining about the Chuck Norris mask, at least he didn't go with this one:

I predict the choice of whipping boy will be divided among the following sub-groups on LGW: Pro-Lilja - Salei Pro-Hudler - Filppula Anti-Ozzie - Howard Pro-Enforcer - Hudler, Modano, anyone on the 3rd or 4th lines that doesn't fight Personally, I think that no one is really immune to being the occasional "whipping boy", except maybe Lidstrom, who can do no wrong. Everyone makes mistakes, some more than others, but mistakes can lead to losses and no one on this board likes it when the Wings lose. My early odd-on favorite is Bertuzzi though, he is the closest thing we have to a Sammy/Lebda/WIlliams type who makes a lot of the same kind of mental errors on a regular basis.

Babcock is the only person every to beat Chuck Norris in a staring contest. He almost beat the sun, but the sun cheated because it has no eyes and therefore can't blink.

As much as I'm sure the media will hype it if they both play in the NHL this season, I just can't see Taylor Hall vs. Tyler Seguin being anywhere near as intriguing a rivalry as Sid vs. Ovie. Like them or hate them, you cannot deny their talent, and as different as their styles are, they are generally considered to be co-favorites for the Hart and Ross trophies every year and likely will be for the foreseeable future. Only time will tell if either Hall or Seguin can become that type of player, but to me they both seem very vanilla, sure they're talented but neither of them strike me as being very exciting to watch, at least not to the degree of Crosby or Ovechkin, or even Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos, or John Tavares for that matter. Also, I wholeheartedly second the motion that the playoff mullet is many times worse than the Crosby molestache. Kane just looked like a total white-trash loser, and he acts like one too, fitting.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=17949205 Scary.

Well, it was 11 years ago, he probably would just rather forget the whole thing, especially now that he is going to have to be watching Mikey's back. I know players have long memories, as do reporters, but at what point does history become history? Imagine if, 5 or 6 years from now, Halvat and Kronwall end up on the same team, do you think either of them are going to want to discuss the hit from '09? My guess is no, they will likely be ready to let by-gones be by-gones and focus on the future.

No Michelangelo?

I know, I was just being sarcastic. Doughty is likely to be the face of the Kings franchise for the next decade, and rightly so, but it is nice to dream. Honestly, there are not many players that could come close to replacing Lidstrom, but I think Doughty could be that kind of player. Out of next year's UFAs, I would go after Chara is Nick doesn't come back, Markov would be an OK consolation prize, and I would not want Kaberle, especially at the price he is likely to demand.

I hear Drew Doughty is an RFA at the end of this season, maybe we can sign him to a ridiculous offer sheet with the money we save on Lidstrom's contract

He filled in for a couple of weeks toward the end of the season when they had a lot of injuries at D, I think it may have even extended into the first round of the playoffs. I think they still had him play forward on the PP.

Fair enough, he is a African-Swede. Kenyan descent

Who do they have in their top 6? The only forwards that I would put ahead of him are Kane, Ladd, Antropov, and maybe Peverley.

I caught that too, perhaps the author was indicating that the moves were supposed to get them into the Finals just like previous moves had been made that were supposed to put the Sharks into the Finals. After reading the whole article, it seems like this writer wanted to praise the Red Wings for the great team they will be, and chose to focus all of his criticism on the age factor, we've heard it all before. Let's face it, we have veterans who are still playing at a very high level despite their advanced age. Lidstrom is still considered one of the best at his position and has only shown minimal signs of slowing down. Rafalski has always been an offensive defenseman, and as he showed in the Olympics, he can still get it done at 36. Modano at age 40 is still a world-class skater and his presence alone makes our 3rd line as potent offensively as most team's 2nd lines. Holmstrom continues to defy the odds and be the best at what he does despite the constant abuse his body takes. Salei was brought in to give a veteran, stay-at-home presence on our 3rd pair, and will not be expected to do more than that, except maybe throw a few big hits and bring out the nasty in Big E. Draper, let's be realistic, he will be our 13th forward most nights barring injury or a massive slump. That's 5 players out of our expected regular roster (not counting Ozzie, who will be the backup but hopefully gets more ice time than last season) that could be realistically accused of needing Geritol or Depends. The rest of our team is made up of player who are either squarely in their prime (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Kronwall, Stuart, Franzen) and others who are entering their prime (Hudler, Filppula, Helm, Eaves), seems to me like a nice problem to have.

I don't know about this move, I don't think I've ever seen the speed that Ramsay alludes to, and for such a big guy he doesn't really play that physical, except in front of the net, so he might be useful at clearing the crease but I can't see him doing very well on the blue-line in his own zone. Hopefully for both of their sakes they give up on this experiment, Atlanta has a much more pressing need for top 6 forwards than they do for defensemen. On a related topic, Atlanta now has by far the most African-American/Canadian players in the league, Byfuglien, Johnny Oduya, Evander Kane, Nigel Dawes, Anthony Stewart, Akim Ailu. All they need to do is coax Anson Carter out retirement...

The Red Wings have to be the early favorite to come out of the West, of all of the playoff teams from last year, they have done the most (IMO) to improve what was already a deep team, and there have not been any notable subtractions. Next, I have Vancouver, made some great acquisitions, their losses have been adequately replaced and even upgraded in some respects, but they are still a question mark because of Luongo, though they could make the WCF if he gets hot. San Jose will still win their division, but they have taken a big gamble replacing Nabakov with the tandem of Niemi/Niittymaki, and while Nabakov was notorious for letting them down in the playoffs, I can't see either of his replacements being able to equal his stellar regular season play, so it is going to be a much closer race this year in the Pacific, with Phoenix and LA likely both making the playoffs out of their division. In the East, Pittsburgh will still be the favorites because of their two-man show, and their much deeper blue line, but they will suffer for the loss of Gonchar, especially on the PP, and Crosby will have to have another 50 goal season with no good wingers in order for them to win their division, but you can never count them out when it comes to playoffs, as others have said they have the most postseason experience over the past 5 years and that counts for a lot. Washington will once again dominate their weak division, and likely contend for the President's Trophy again, but until Bruce Boudreau learns how to coach in the playoffs, they will never be able to reach the next level that they are capable of talent-wise. Boston remains the team to beat in their division, but Montreal could still win it, they get a lot more for their money out of their roster than I expected. My predictions: East 1) Washington 2) Boston 3) Pittsburgh 4) New Jersey 5) Montreal 6) Tampa Bay 7) Buffalo 8) Philadelphia West 1) Detroit 2) Vancouver 3) San Jose 4) Los Angeles 5) Chicago 6) Phoenix 7) St. Louis 8) Calgary Wings over Boston in 6

I'll be there, section 326 row L. No need to worry about weather, even the winters in FL are mild, in February it might be cool enough to where you can wear a hockey jersey without sweating through it.

I am conflicted about this issue, while I think Ericsson would benefit from playing alongside Lidstrom full time, I cannot justify in my mind putting Rafaksli, Kronwall, or Stuart on the 3rd pairing, unless the 3 D pairings all get about the same minutes each game (which is doubtful). I think it is time to split Lidstrom and Rafalski, I would switch Kronwall and Rafalski to give the top 2 pairs more balance. Keep Lidstrom and Rafalski together on the power play, but split them even strength. Lidstrom/Kronwall and Stuart/Rafalski looks great to me, and I guess I will have to close my eyes and huddle in a corner whenever the 3rd pair is on the ice

I could see Evander Kane developing into a pretty good power forward, he just needs to hit the weight room as he's a little on the slight side (6'2" 195) but he has the hands, isn't afraid to crash the boards, and we all know and love what he did to Matt Cooke.

Talked about the following: Roster, and how we will have to move someone before the start of the season, but didn't say who he thought gets moved Modano, how he fits into our offensive scheme, expects him to score 20 goals this season if he stays healthy Osgood, how he has never gotten any respect but has had a "really, really, really good career for us" Abdelkader, his signing and his role in the lineup Other than that, it was mostly chit-chat about the UP, western Michigan, and events he is participating in in the area. Can't wait to hear his calls again

I doubt this means another strike, but the PA is definitely gearing themselves up to take a hard line in the next CBA negotiations. I expect to see the salary cap either revoked or significantly restructured. I hope there is not another strike, no NHL means no NHL GameCenter, which means I'm out of work too. Scary thought, no hockey AND unemployment, dark times.

That is a perception, but the numbers don't lie. He may not be a once-in-a-generation talent, but you don't win 400 games in the NHL just because you have a good team in front of you, you have to at least be better than most of the other goalies you are going up against on any given night, and if you remove the anti-Detroit bias, Osgood has been that for most of his career. Vachon was a full generation before Osgood, and it could be argued that Vernon and Barrasso are as well, their primes were before Osgood's. Cujo, I'll grant you that one, but in my mind no Cup = no HHoF for goalies.

Without a doubt, Roy and Belfour are the greatest goalies of their generation, with Hasek, Osgood and Belfour being worthy of elite status. I'd put Belfour and Osgood at about the same level. Granted, Belfour has more individual awards (Calder, 2 Vezinas) and played longer resulting in more career wins, but the percentages actually favor Osgood: Belfour, 484 wins / 963 GP = 50.2% win percentage (regular season) 88 wins / 161 GP = 54.6% win percentage (playoffs) Osgood, 396 wins / 7733 GP = 54.0% win percentage (regular season) 74 wins / 129 GP = 57.9% win percentage (playoffs) Their GAA and save pct. are very similar: Belfour, 2.50 GAA, .906 save pct, 76 shutouts (regular season) 2.17 GAA, .920 save pct, 14 shutouts (playoffs) Osgood, 2.49 GAA, .905 save pct, 50 shutouts (regular season) 2.09 GAA, .916 save pct, 15 shutouts (playoffs) Ultimately, I feel both should go into the hall, and if Osgood can get enough playing time to break 400 wins and we win the Cup, whether he is the starter or not I think that will seal the deal for him.