number9

#1 - #4 #4 - #6 #6 - #6 Hard to be a successful Starter with that crew in front of you. Howard is a legit starter, just not elite, much like Osgood. He can take us to the promise land but we HAVE TO upgrade at D, or at least have D, Smith, Kindl take big steps forward. Kindl really stepped up in the playoffs last year, and Smith looked great with sheltered minutes in his debut. If they can mature to that we'll be great

I know Maltby scored 50 goals in the CHL. But a goal a game is something to be excited about

Rich, your awfully quiet after your +/- argument...

Shea Weber is 274 in +/- Karlsson is 279 in +/- ... what's your point? Letang is 228 in +/- Ben Lovejoy is 8 in +/- #1 guy right? Krug - far from a defensive Dman - is 43 in +/- but he's better than Kronners at D right? Liles couldn't crack the Leafs line up but he's 50 in +/- should we trade kronner for him? Lidstrom finished his last season minus. No way he was gonna be our #1 guy if he had come back for one more....

In 2000 Lidstrom went -4 in a game against PHX. He won the Norris that year. What's your point?

Ya win some ya lose some. A couple of wins and we're back in the wild card. Playoff race is far from over.

Ian White still need a contract?

Yeah he should probably just retire mid-season, definitely never coming out of this cold-streak ever.

Any team with Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Alfredsson, Kronwall, Howard, and a ton of young guns just hitting their stride doesn't rebuild

"Tony, we're calling you up to the Wings cause you're super good. Perhaps Zetterberg Datsyuk good. But we like our team right now, so just sit in the press box and kick tires instead of playing hockey...ok?" - Kenneth Holland

The word "could" does not mean I expect anything Legwand has also been on pace for 60+ three separate seasons, and has never played in a system with good wingers until now. Franzen has been on pace for over 60 twice and is on pace for 70+ right now. So yeah it's something that "could" happen, especially if all this bad injury juju stops

My guess is they'll see what Mantha can do in the NHL before they make any trades

Looking at Stevie Ys team and I'm impressed. Young and upcoming. If only he could dump Malone

If we pick up guys like Malykin then Bert Cleary Quincey are definitely going bye bye. No room at all. (Assuming Q will be replaced by D UFA)

Bottom 6 should be mix of young gun scorers and Pk grinders

Rather have those picks and Callaman than an old undersized whiner. Let him go play with butt buddy Richards for his final years. He destroyed his legacy in Tampa and Stevie got the better end of this debacle anyway. Does Alfredsson get his jersey retired in Ottawa???

Agreed, I meant more along the lines of when he's playing the top 6 with actual talent we'll know

he got 4th line time. They're easing him in. Hard to say anything about him yet. When he gets his shot at centering Ovi then we'll know.

Yzerman and his ability with TB is the deal. If he wins the cup with then he will be welcomed here in open arms

Even Wings scouts saying he could be a wing next year. Like, holy s***, that young number 1 Scorer could be here in august. Not only are we, but management is real high on him. Yzerman 2.0?

PP should be Kronwall - Smith Quincey - Kindl PK should be Kronwall - Ericsson Quincey - DeKeyser Yeah I put on Q on both units, I don't share LGW's overblown hate from him.

If you want Dats and Z winning a cup before they retire, the trade was right. If Weiss becomes the player he was then we have an incredible veteran top 6. Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Alfredsson (all three could reach, or be close to, point per game) Weiss - Legwand - Franzen (all could hit 60+ points) Then you have our bottom 6 made up of superb young scorers and grinders to choose from: Nyquist, Tatar, Jurco, sheahan, Miller, Helm, Abdelkader, Glendening, Andersson. Howard and Gus have both struggled with our D (The arguments that Gus is better bc he has "happened" to win more games while in net is ridiculous to me, the skater are not, or at least should not be, affected by the man in the net, I strike it up to coincidence) We fix the D and this team is a powerhouse

This entire discussion to me comes from we used to have the best #1 in the league (we all know who that is) and now we don't (boohoo) Kronwall IS a # 1 d-man in this league. Many writers grouped him amongst the best D men in the league (top 20). It's who should be next to him should be the discussion. is Ericsson a #2 D-men? Definitely not. I think Kronwall would very much benefit form either a high profile puck mover next to him, or a high profile shut down guy next time. He's very versatile. Being next to a puck mover like Rafalski and he can anchor the D. Being next to an Orpik type and he can go back to his "Kronwalling" pinch game. If we can give Kronwall a legitimate partner, thus forcing Ericsson to anchor a 2nd pairing with DeKeyser or Smith, we'll be in very good shape. Ericsson and DeKeyser could shut down opponent lines, while a Smith-Ericsson line would give Smith a good anchor while he takes chances and joins the rush. In a nutshell, I think we are actually searching for a #2 D, not a #1. Kronwall - UFA Ericsson - Smith/Dekeyser Kindl - Quincey Lashoff Looks way better Of available D-men... Ehrhoff/Edler/Boyle/Markov looks way better then Kronwall next to Ericsson. If we could have Ericsson as our steady man on the 2nd pairing (Like Kronners was in the past) we'll look way better at D.

If we make the playoffs (which gives our 2nd to the preds) and we go deep enough to make our 1st less valuable, I think we can almost guarantee Holly trades his 1st for 2nds

I saw this yesterday and Immediately looked into if he was draft-able still. DAMN U CANES, that kid is good. He's apparently been pulling this Jurco type stuff all season.