kipwinger

We'll probably make the playoffs, but I disagree that our division rivals got worse. St. Louis is roughly the same team they were a year ago, Chicago is too, and Nashville really only lost Suter (unless Kostitsyn and Radulov matter). I'd say overall we got noticeably worse on defense, Nashville got slightly worse on defense, and St. Louis and Chicago are the same. It's not going to be easy to win our division this year without some real surprises.

I'm curious about Helm on the second line with Zetterberg and Filppula. If they give that a try and find guys to fill the third and fourth line center positions, our top six may not look as bad as I thought it did. Good call for those talking about it so far.

With the roster that you have listed above, I'd say that none of our forwards reach 70 pts. and none of our defensemen reach 40 pts. If things change then the points change...obviously.

Looks like we're playing with the team we've got. Maybe, just maybe we can trade a top six forward and a prospect or pick for a better top six forward, but no way does Holland trade for a defenseman now. Our top six is already a little weak, no way does he move Franzen or Flip out and not bring another top six back in. And considering those two are about the only really valuable trade assets we've got, I'd say we're playing with the roster we've got now, plus one bottom pair defenseman (from somewhere, UFA?). So be prepared for a really exhilarating season if all the kids step up, we get better than average play from our veterans, and Datsyuk and Zetterberg play like they did four years ago. Short of that, my guess is another playoff appearance, another early exit, another chance to get what we need in free agency next year, and another year older. Could be worse, but then again, since when was losing in the playoffs good enough in Hockeytown?

All of the best to Fabian. No matter if it didn't work out, he was still a Wing for a couple of games and that makes all the difference in the world to me. Hope he tears it up in Sweden.

Martin St. Louis. Class act, magic with the puck, and a heart two times the size of his 175 lbs. Honorable mention: Colton Orr. A little bit soft, but a goal scoring machine who skates like the wind blows.

I just can't begin to start speculating about Getlaf and Perry when I've spent the better part of six months speculating on everyone from Parise and Suter, to Nash and Weber. All this speculation doesn't really amount to s*** with Kenny and Co.

C'mon, we gave up next to nothing and got a regular second baseman who is miles and miles better than the Santiago, Rayburn, Worth trio at second. But I digress, we're supposed to be talking hockey here.

Last week The Hockey New's Lyle Richardson reported that Semin wanted two years and ten million dollars for his upcoming contract. I couldn't understand why nobody had jumped at that yet. He's now citing a report out of the Raleigh N.C. that suggests Semin is asking for 7 million dollars. He didn't report on the term. While I'm skeptical that sports writer out of N.C. knows anything about hockey, if this report is indeed true, then Alexander Semin can go f*** himself (as much as I'd love to see that shot on Datsyuk's wing). http://www.thehockey...d-in-Semin.html

Perhaps it should have been both, however, it's going to end up neither. Minus one or two minor changes, your 2012-2013 Red Wings look pretty much exactly like they do right now.

Who cares if another team in our division got weaker. How does that help us win a cup? As a matter of fact, it doesn't really help us with the division either considering the Blues are essentially the same team as last year and so are the Hawks. I don't understand why anyone thinks that Columbus getting worse (worse than dead last) is in any way beneficial for us.

I've gotta wonder whether this will give the Rangers a leg up in any possible Doan negotiations or take them out of the running, considering the Rangers are f****** stacked up front now.

Yeah for sure. I'm not mad. I was hoping for a defenseman with a Semin signing anyway, so my hopes are still alive. That or make a "hell of an offer" for Bobby and sign a journeyman on defense.

Bobby, on the other hand, is a possibility. If he moves somewhere other than here, I'll start getting irritated.

This is one that I'm not too angry about...considering I never ever thought we had a chance of landing him in the first place.

No thanks. Way too high a cap hit for what he brings. Talk about over paying.

I wonder if Howson finally got his asking price?

Here's the text from the ESPN rankings. Take it with a grain of salt, it's fairly obvious they've got their heads up their asses over at ESPN " 18. Detroit Red Wings (Previous Ranking: 6) With a win-now mentality, the Wings have spun off a few first-round picks lately to acquire roster players. Combine that with their strong finishes in the standings and they haven't had many huge scores from the draft lately. Potential? Yes. Sure hits? No. Now, following the graduation of Brendan Smith and Gustav Nyquist to the big club, they fall down our rankings a bit. However, by sticking to their philosophy of drafting high-skill players, they have a number of prospects with solid potential, just no imminent stars. Czech Forward Martin Frk (Halifax-QMJHL) was the most recent example, selected in the second round this year. He now joins a system with Tomas Jurco (Saint John-QMJHL), Calle Jarnkrok (SWE) and D-men Xavier Ouellet (Blainville-Boisbriand-QMJHL) and Ryan Sproul (Sault Ste. Marie-OHL). Goaltender Petr Mrazek (Ottawa-OHL) has really come into his own. Could there be a diamond in the rough among this group? Detroit has found them in the past. Sleeper Prospect: Mattias Backman, D, (SWE) (fifth round/2011) Some players are just smart enough to figure out a way to get to the NHL, and his character, to go along with his overall improvement in skating, gives him a real chance.

Oh boy, a guy that plays like Dallas Drake on a line with another guy (Tootoo) who's been compared to Dallas Drake. If only we could get a third guy to play with them, who is comparable to Dallas Drake, then we'd be a lock for the conference finals at least huh? God I love Dallas Drake, we were never the same before or after him.

Can't believe that Weber signed this. He really must only care about the pay day because locking yourself into a contract like this is a life sentence unless the team you sign with is really savvy. Neither the Preds nor the Flyers are really savvy.

Because if somebody did that to us with any of our good young talent we'd want their heads?

There's a lot of ways to make your team better without sending offer sheets to RFA's. I'm not impressed with Kenny's offseason, but I don't blame him for this.

God, I hope they match this and keep bidding it up. I want to see each team cripple themselves for a long long time. Also, Holmgren isn't making any friends with this move is he?

I understand the theory, but even his crash and bang style isn't all that impressive.

Hear that everybody, Carman thinks Fleischmann is better than Rick Nash! Yeah, that Rick Nash. Yes, first overall pick Rick Nash. Yes, olympic gold medalist Rick Nash. Yes, Rocket Richard Trophy winner Rick Nash. Didn't you hear, the guy's totally over rated now because he hasn't continued to be in the running for the Rocket Richard Trophy year after year in spite of his initial success, and in spite of the fact that he plays on one of the worst teams in the history of hockey. As a matter of fact, if Rick Nash was sooo good, then he'd single handedly carry that bunch of scrubs to the playoffs. Just like Crosby, Malkin, Stamkos, and Ovechkin do. Those guys all obviously play with the same caliber of losers that Nash does.