Matt

Widescreen: 1440x900 | 1280x800 Standard: 1280x1024 | 1024x768 | 800x600 Enjoy!

Great news! Nice to see his turnaround after a mediocre start to the season.

He is waivers-exempt for the condition stint.

One thing is certain: The Wings aren't doing it as something toward cap relief, as Meech will still be paid his NHL contract. "...13.8. Conditioning Assignment. Unless a player consents, he shall not be sent to a minor league club for conditioning reasons. Nor shall such conditioning extend for more than 14 consecutive days without the player's consent. The player shall continue, during such period or mutually agreed to extension of such period, to receive the same salary, and be entitled to the same benefits, that he would have received had he continued to play with the Club..." Very true, especially considering some thought that he was merely riding Dion Phaneuf's coattails as his blueline partner in Red Deer.

It's a two-week conditioning stint. January 4th - 17th = 14 days.

Another thing overlooked with the "OMG they're ahead of the 1995-96 pace!" talk is the fact that while they've been better through 41 games this year.... that 1996 club lost 4 games -- FOUR! -- in the 2nd half of that season.

For me one of the biggest factors in the start this team has had resides not on the bench but behind it. If the Wings maintain this pace (not likely, but who would've believed they would've maintained the pace through 41?) if Babock does not win the Jack Adams trophy it's a travesty. In my mind he is, hands down, the best coach in the NHL today. It takes a special coach to have his players go 110% game in and game out from the top of the roster to the bottom and he's done just that. He's pushed the right buttons with certain players in order to get them to perform and has aced the handling of the goaltending tandem. This team is absolutely unrelenting. It starts with the coaching staff, then the star players and then down to the Mark Hartigans and Aaron Downeys. He has this team functioning as a machine.

FYI: I'm working up an addition to make to the Salary Chart & Contracts page here that will display, as of the last update, what salaries the Red Wings can afford to take on if they were to make a trade. Special thanks to betterREDthandead for helping with some of the numbers, but by estimations the Red Wings, as of December 30th, could add roughly $9-million in full-season salaries to their roster and not go over the cap. (Current space under the salary cap is a tad over $5-million... pro-rate that cap space backwards over a full season.) Basically, if they wanted to, the Red Wings can damn near afford any player in the league, or a combination of some high- and elite-level player(s). That $9-million figure will gradually increase as we move closer to the trade deadline on the 26th of February. (Theoretically, if the Wings roster did not change as of December 30th until the deadline -- which won't happen, since it already has with Hartigan going back down -- the Wings could take on around $22-million of full-season player salaries.) Now, the Wings likely won't spend right up to the cap itself, so I'd estimate if they do use it, it'll top out at adding $4-4.5 million. If my math is wrong everyone feel free to berate me.

They don't have $5-million in cap space with the expectation of making a big deal -- it was a byproduct of not being able to find players during the summer that were a good fit (both in player type and salary). Personally, I'd shocked if the Wings don't make a move or two to bolster this lineup. The same people saying that are saying "Filppula and Hudler are doing quite well, thank you" will be the same ones lamenting the fact that the Red Wings had $5 million sitting at there at the deadline and it didn't get used after the team is eliminated by either 1) no 2nd line support or 2) no depth.

Left is right! Up is down! Cats and dogs living together! Michigan plays the spread with DeBoring still at OC! #@^#$^#$&$%&!! I think I forgot what it was like to feel this good on January 1st! (And yeah, I admit it, I got a little misty at the end.)

Waaaay overdue for a game like this. No sleep lost here.

Thanks everyone! I know I've said it many times in the past, but the most credit for this place goes to you guys -- the members make what LGW.com is. Without you guys this place wouldn't exist. I'd also like to thank everyone that continued to have faith in that I would follow through with the overdue updates to the site. I'm not stopping where it's at now, that's for sure. I plan on building upon the foundation that the new site has helped firmly lay. Happy New Year!

Widescreen: 1440x900 | 1280x800 Standard: 1280x1024 | 1024x768 | 800x600 Enjoy!

Sorry, but you're still not getting my Bud Light.

I think I was bored one day when I did these up. I kicked around the idea to CSers (Boosters now) back during the summer and the response was pretty good. The three versions that are available now don't necessarily have to be limited to the red (all three), burgandy and royal blue -- if you've got a request (a different color or putting the design on a different style shirt, like long-sleeved, a hoodie, ringer-tee, etc.) feel free to e-mail me and I can make it available. Glad you guys like them. If there are any ideas for some others I'm all ears.

And it's not like the Wings weren't willing to spend a large chunk of it during the off-season, either -- it was just a matter of finding the right player to plug into the lineup. They didn't want to put a square peg into a round hole and that line of thinking has left them with enough cap space now to trade for an elite-level scoring forward if they choose to do so. The added bonus on all of this is I don't think management expected to have the season they are up to this point nor for the younger players to blow through early-season growing pains so spectacularly by mid-December. The fact this club has $4-5m to spend to improve on this team is the icing on the cake.

That's semantics. Stop taking the "we" in the literal sense when you know exactly what people are insinuating. "spending $2mil on a guy who might not even play in the playoffs..." -- is everyone suddenly gun-shy after the trades for Bertuzzi and Calder? Whenever you deal for someone there's some level of risk involved. If you're afraid to take calculated risk then you shouldn't be an NHL GM. The Wings, despite what the latest opins in the media say, need a top six forward, preferably a winger with size that can score. (You know, what's on *everyone's* wish list.) And they'd certainly be better served to add a depth defenseman less we repeat the unfortunate circumstances of last year's run. To me, it comes down to the fact that if one of Datsyuk/Zetterberg are out during any stretch in the playoffs opposing defenses will just key off on the healthy one... And for all of the dazzling play of the Wings' second line right now with Samuelsson and Hudler, they'll get pounded in the post-season. They need another legitmate scoring threat to keep defenses honest. They have the cap space to do that -- whether or not they want to part with the assets (or have them) to make a deal like that happen is another story.

I think that's an exaggeration. Some players (most notably Hudler, IMO) will be knocked around a bit but I would think that the playoff run last year would've dispelled any notions that this team would be practice dummies for opposing teams in terms of physical play. That said, it wouldn't hurt at all to add a few bigger bodies to the lineup.

Sorry, but when you've got $5-million in cap space and a chance to bolster a very solid lineup with depth prior to the deadline -- you do it. To let that $5-million go to waste would be an injustice.

Many of you that have logged in today have noticed a new look to the LetsGoWings.com Forums! The forums now represent the latest version of the IPB forum software along with a few extras thrown in. There'll be a few minor bugs (missing image files and such) here and there in the interim as I squash them later during the day today, but other than that it should be smooth sailing. I'd like to thank Trey for working to get the new forums working over the holiday -- it was very unexpected and extremely appreciated! Hope you enjoy them and Merry Christmas!

Should be fixed now... are you still seeing them? Thanks!

Unfortunately the in-topic ads are a necessary evil for the time being. However, they are only viewable by guests and standard members. All Boosters and staff have the in-topic ads disabled. I'm still "testing" how the new forum layout is functioning so you'll likely see a tinker or two here over the next few days.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20..._maltby_no.html The remainder of this road trip is going to be a big test...

He's going to attempt to skate on his own sometime this week or next. Don't expect him to attempt to return to the lineup until mid-January at the earliest.

The most amusing thing about the Blues poster was his entire rant about the Wings' style of play tonight... They got a 2-0 lead early and basically played keep-away for the entire game -- which worked. Blues imploded and the Wings padded their lead. It was a clinic. It's a shame that ignorant trolls like that continue to believe that this Red Wings team is soft -- they're not. Are they the Broad Street Bullies incarnate? Nope, but they adapt. Ask Calgary, ask San Jose, et al. The Wings were one bogus penalty call from a likely Stanley Cup title and nearly did it with a roster that wore down the likes of "big, bad more physical hockey teams" in the Flames, Sharks and Ducks. Meh, whatever. I'll just take solace that this Red Wings team can beat the ass of every other team in the league so far this year playing this way, that way, or whatever. It doesn't matter. They. Just. Win.