kipwinger

Plastic surgery is pricey. So yeah, probably.

She looks like a mannequin.

Anybody know of a way to watch the Griffins tonight that is both free, and able to be communicated via a link in PM?

Well played lol.

Drew Stafford. I can't say it enough.

Well I certainly don't disagree with that. But I think this is slightly different. He's overpayed, overvalued, and underproducing. No need to acquire a guy like that just because he's "real big" and "real tough". He's a bad player and his own team is dying to get rid of the guy. That should tell you something.

If Lucic was only making Drake money, and getting Drake playing time, I don't think anyone would care. Instead, he'd be making 6 million bucks to be slow, and a complete drain on your team's possession, for about 18 minutes a night. So no, he's not really the same at all.

It's easier to win in the Olympics than in the NHL. So Olympic accolades don't really mean much. If Olympic Gold Medals meant more than Stanley Cups, Slava Fetisov would be considered a better defenseman than Nick Lidstrom. Which is silly, of course.

Speaking of big guys who are totally awesome, and could help the Wings; have you heard of this guy Brian McGratton? He's an AHLer in Calgary's organization and is just the kind of power forward that Detroit needs to A) keep the rats at bay, B) deter cheap shots against our stars, and C) create space for Dats and Zetterberg. Just a thought. Ya know, because he's the biggest Laffy Taffy of them all.

And it might very well have been. All I'm saying is that I don't find anything too wrong with being hard on the kid. Especially if you're a person in a position of authority, who is (at least) partially responsible for the direction of the team. I'd rather the organization, or management be overly critical of the kid, than make excuses for him (I realize you're not advocating this). It's really hard to be an elite NHL player, and even harder to track that way when you're 20 years old. But it seems to me that the organization, or it's leadership, wouldn't be saying things like this if they didn't think the kid would respond. I mean, look at Frk. He was a stud in Juniors, and completely fell off the earth, and nobody said anything about his play. So maybe they're being hard on Mantha because they think it'll motivate him. Didn't we hear stories about how Babs was harder on Tatar than anybody on the team because A) he needed it, and B) he could take it?

He's a watermelon Laffy Taffy that you stretched out to three times the size of all the other Laffy Taffies (i.e. he's better because he's bigger). Get with the times dude. Big is good. Small is bad. It's science.

His possession metrics, or lack thereof, seem to support that notion.

Babcock calls guys out all the time. He's done so with Kindl and Weiss recently. And justifiably do. He's done so with White, Commodore, Smith, and even Hudler in the past. Why is it no problem when Babs calls out a pro, but Jimmy D does so with a prospect? Again, I see no reason to poo poo the kid. The league, and/or the world, don't give a s*** how sensitive this kid is treated. You either get over the hump or you don't. That's on him. But I don't think the organization deserves praise and/or criticism for how delicately they treat an adult man. I turned 21 in Baghdad, Iraq. Nobody worried about my feelings, or all the intangibles, when I got performance feedback. If you sucked, they said you sucked, and you fixed it. I don't know why this kid deserves more. Because pro hockey is so hard? Maybe, but I'm not buying it.

All the detractors keep talking about how the Wings need accountability within the organization. Then Devallano comes out and tries to hold an underwhelming, yet highly anticipated, prospect accountable and people complain. Whatever, there's no reason to "poo poo" the kid. Athanasiou and Nosek were rookies, who dealt with injuries, this year too. I don't see anybody talking about how disappointed they are with AA or Nosek. Why? Because those guys figured it out and played like professionals. I'm not saying Mantha is a bust or anything. But I don't see a single problem with the organization voicing their dissatisfaction with his play. He's not been very good. Should they keep telling him how wonderful he's been?

I know right! Tatar, Nyquist, Sheahan, Jurco, Ferraro, Glendening, and Dekeyser all failed to win us the Cup in their second professional season. What a bunch of losers! Time to tear down and rebuild, because this strategy is obviously flawed.

Nah, she played fine.

I felt that way about the Capitals/Islanders series. It was a great seven games worth of hockey. It's educational to watch these other series. When you only watch one team, you have a tendency to get tunnel vision about the team's successes and failures. There are a lot of ways to be good, and bad, at professional hockey. Edit: Jesus Christ. Ovechkin is unreal. Too bad he was all washed up a couple years ago eh? Lol.

Boy that was dumb wasn't it?

Dang, Mantha has completely disappeared for the Griffs. As has Sproul. Those were the two guys I thought would have the easiest road to the NHL. Goes to show, a pro hockey scout I am not.

I know. Which is my point. Someone else said... "I'm 100% convinced he wants to leave because he doesn't see another Zetterburg or Datsyuk on this team or in the pipeline". I don't think he needs "another Datsyuk or Zetterberg". He's a better coach than that. And if he does need guys like that, and he's making his decision based on that, then that's pretty weak. He's said before he wants to be the most successful coach of his generation. I don't think a guy like that is afraid to take over a young team with potential, and turn them into winners. Rather than inherit an already developed group of stars.

Did they also play superstar defense and kill penalties? Then they weren't as good. Edit: None of the players you mentioned have been the best offensive AND defensive players at the same time. None. Only Lidstrom, Dats and Z. Babs surely realizes this, and isn't hedging his bets on trying to find that type of situation again.

Yes, I am saying that. Neither Kane, nor Toews, have been as good as Zetterberg and Datsyuk were in 2008. That's a fact. They simply weren't. Kane had 88 points and was a joke defensively defensively. Toews was better at defense, but scored 68. Datsyuk and Zetterberg score 90+ points, were world class defensive players AND played on both the PP and penalty kill to boot. If you think Toews and Kane in 2010 and 2012 were better (or as good) as Dats or Z in 2008 you're nuts. They weren't, by any objective measure. Kopitar is an excellent player. World class. He's never score 90+, played on both special teams, and played world class defense. Neither did Carter. Or Brown. Or Richards. Or Gaborik. No team, in the modern era has won the Cup with two players that good. Not Pittsburgh. Not Chicago. Not Los Angeles or Boston. People forget just how good Dats and Z and Lidstrom were in 2008. They were simultaneously two of the top five best offensive AND the defensive fowards in the world, at the same time. Lidstrom was THE best offensive and defensive defenseman at the same time. Nobody you mentioned was has every been that good. Period. And I'm honestly not even trying to rag on Babs here. I don't think he needs players that good to win. And if he does, I hope he's not holding his breath, because you're not likely to find anybody that good in a while. I'm criticizing folks who think that Babs is looking for another Pav and Z for his next job. There aren't another Pav and Z. Anywhere. Please, if you've got a single argument that suggests that any of Kopitar, Kane, Toews, Crosby, Malkin, or anybody else was as good as Dats and Z were in 2008, I'd love to hear it. Edit: I'm focusing on the forwards because that was the original context of the debate, but the same applies for the defense. Doughty and Keith are amazing. They're not better than Lidstrom was in 2008. Not even close. But again, my point is that I doubt finding "another Pav and Z" is Babs' primary motivation. Because he won't be able to, and he shouldn't need to. And if it is his primary motivation, then he's not that great.

Here's a list of forwards who got that kind of term and salary last year (3 year @ 4 mil, 4 years @ 3 mil, or in between). I'm not saying you're wrong. But if you look at the list and think he's about as valuable as these guys, then it's not really an overpayment. If he's not as valuable as these guys (roughly) then he'd be overpaid (assuming that's the contact he actually gets). Ales Hemsky Nikolay Kulemin Brian Gionta Ryan Johansen Milan Michalek Lars Eller Jussi Jokinen

You know who will be better next year as well? Detroit. We have two young point producers, a fast, aggressive, shutdown fourth line, a power forward who just had a monster year, and a goalie who won't totally suck in overtimes/ shootouts.