kliq

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/12147540/nhl-completes-roster-all-star-game Jimmy Howard has been named to the all-star game. Nice job Jimmy! All Star Game and an Olympic roster spot in the last year, hopefully this finally gives you the respect you deserve! Its too bad he gets injured just hours after the announcement

The last thing T.O wants is for Det to have a good chance at signing Franson long term. You are likely right.

I would guess a 2nd round pick and a prospect.

My main point from my last post is we are improving. I'm not saying we are in the playoffs, i'm not saying its in the bag. Just, as we sit here today on February 3rd, 2014, we appear to have taken our game to another level from last year. It of course will take hard work to stay at this level, but just like before the season I have faith in this team. I love the roster Holland has assembled. In regards to playoffs, evaluation depends on the opponent/situation. Losing to a better team in a battle I can accept (ie. Chicago 2013). Losing to an inferior team, is something I will not be happy with. Lets just see what happens.

You are obviously starting your time frame with 2008 & 2009, which we won the cup and then lost in game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Outside of winning the cup, there is literally no direction to go then down from your starting point. 2010 & 2011 & 2012 we did decline from the cup winning/finalists teams, I fully admit this (shocker, when there is one direction to go in). In those years we got 102, 104, 102 points respectfully. 2012 playoffs was arguably our low, but it was also a tough time to be a GM in the NHL with the uncertainty of the salary cup around the corner. I for one am glad Holland didnt put himself in the type of position Phily is in right now (not good, and right up to the cap) 2013, IMO the very beginning of the upwards swing, specifically in the playoffs. We did finish 7th seed BUT we did it without Lidstrom, upset Anaheim and almost Chicago in the playoffs. This was the first year we really started to showcase our young players. 2014, to me was the breakout. I know the simplistic way of looking at it was "you got 8th seed". BUT it was the first year the youth movement was in full effect. With Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Smith, Jurco, DD all playing big roles. This all being done with our studs D&Z injured for a large part of the season. Boston (the #1 seed) showed to be too much, but at the end of the day they were better. 2015, we take it to the next level. We are currently sitting 2nd in the conference, and 5th in the entire NHL. I dont see how this year can be a part of this fictional gradual decline. It truthfully feels like you are watching a different team. Yes we declined from back to back finals from 2010-2012, but now we are back on an upswing. The narrative in your post would indicate that we have not improved at all since 2010 which is just wrong.

Here are their stats from last year. Jimmy has the better Save %, Gus the better GAA (by a hair). Wins is where their is a big difference per game, which being a goalies fault is definitely debatable. Jonas Gustavsson 27GP, 16-5-4, 2.63, 907 Jimmy Howard 51GP, 21-19-11, 2.66, 910

With the way things are going *knock on wood* Holland would be in the mix when it comes to nominations for GM of the year due to his drafting. IF this were to happen, the "Holland get a contract ext" thread would be another to bump for a laugh!

I hate the fact that Slovakia isn't getting their own team. Its a country fighting for respect in the hockey community, and even though they have won gold medals at the world championships, gotten 4th in the Olympics just 5 years ago, gotten bronze at this years world juniors etc. because of a weak showing in Sochi, they get the short end of the stick.

My vote would go to Chelios as well. The rest other then maybe Leetch were never the greatest at their position at any particular time.

Thanks.......I would be ecstatic if we could somehow get Shattenkirk, but I just don't see the Blues giving him up.

haha! I dont why I put that!

Every analyst considered Weiss a top UFA. This is what the UFA has turned into. Guys like Seguin, Stamkos, Weber etc. are not hitting UFA anymore. http://www.mynhltraderumors.com/free-agents/2013-top-30-nhl-free-agents/ Above is a link ranking the top UFA of 2013, Weiss is ranked #4 player (non goalie). The 3 above him, Lecavalier, Filppula, and Clarkson. I would say he is easily #2 on that list now despite his struggles. Again, this is what UFA has become, hence my issue with throwing stupid amounts of money in a cap system at average-pretty good players. You are right, Hossa was 29 when he signed, Weiss was 30. I should have double checked myself rather than take someone else’s word for it. But the point of that, was that Weiss was also in his prime just like Hossa, so that point still stands. Holland can throw out offer-sheets all he wants, team will just match, we all know this. All this does is hurt a GM's relationship with other GM's. We already have a hard enough time trading because we are the Wings, this is the last thing I want to do. I can’t even remember the last offer sheet that went through. My solution: Keep producing talent and let these kids take over for D & Z. We have so many good young players, I’m not going to dismiss them because "I don’t want to get my hopes up so I won’t be disappointed". We are currently sitting just a few points out of first seed in the conference (and that's with D missing 11 games). If it was just D & Z that were good on our team, this would not be the case. This is getting off topic anyways, my point was that the Wings don’t struggle with landing UFA. We have landed 3 pretty big ones (respective to who is available) over the past few years. The difference, is the best of the best don’t hit UFA, and the players that do hit UFA typically get overpaid, kudos to Holland for not giving away stupid contracts. (ie. Clarkson, Orpik, Pouliot etc.). I would love to get Keith Shattenkirk, but this will never happen. That would be like a Ducks fan in 2000 saying "our GM should go out and get Lidstrom" Not going to happen. (not saying Shattenkirk is as good as Lidstrom, but I think my point is made).

There are so many holes in your argument, its not even funny. Weiss was is his prime when we signed him and was considered a top UFA that year, and as someone else pointed out, he was younger then what Hossa was when we signed Hossa. You are criticizing Holland for not signing "Hossa" level players, saying that you thought our standards are higher, and how its all a downgrade. Who are these UFA's you are talking about? Hossa level UFA's are not hitting UFA any more. Last year the top 2 guys were Matt Niskanen and Paul Stasny. The only player who was a "game-changer" in the past few years was Suter, and he did want to come here, we were just #2 on his list not #1 due to family reason (wife's family lives near Minny), not a knock on the organization at all. Your last line, you even admit the UFA market is bad. Saying to just trade for a game-changer is easy, but when GM's are asking for Nyquist & Mantha, or Tatar & Larkin (just examples) etc. I would rather Holland wait and not make a stupid move. Before you jump to the old Boychuk argument, Boston never would have made that trade with us as we are a division rival who has the ability to take a playoff spot from them. Its not 2001 anymore, you cant just obtain Hull Robitaille, and Hasek anymore. If you love big moves (UFA signings & trades), plus I know you love physical play, you should become a Flyers fan. It appears everything that defines this organization you hate (being patient, developing talent, not making giant UFA signings, not making blockbuster trades, not playing a super phyisical style, not having a fighter etc.)

Just because you say something over and over and over and over and over again, does not make it true. From my count, we have signed Dekeyser, Alfredsson and Weiss over the last 3 years. We cant pick and choose who we want anymore, I'll give you that, but your statement is just wrong. You cant even make the argument that Alfie and Weiss weren't top UFA's, because they were. The questions here is not, "do the UFA's that come here play like top guys", the questions is, "can we attract top guys".

Despite some of the posts here, you are correct. Coming out of the lockout, teams were given a $39 million cap going into the 2005/06 season. As a result, the Wings had to buyout some players. They bought out Whitney, Hatcher, and McCarty. Here is an article talking about it http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=110&dat=20050727&id=ULYLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zFUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4757,2219130

Come playoff time, dont you think that having Petr playing in the AHL playoffs is better for his development then sitting on the bench in the NHL? If Howard goes down, we can always call him up. You can never have too much playoff/clutch playing time to further your development as a player. Even NHL goalies will say this.

It all depends on the return. If the return is good, trade him. If its bad, I don't trade him. Though, at this point I would be shocked if anything of significance was offered for him so I guess I would say do nothing with him. I see no point waiving him. Its always good to have insurance come playoff time in net.

The problem is for these to do well you need people from other parts of the country to want to watch. Of course fans of Columbus are going to watch, and yes the Wings have a huge following, but fans in NY, LA, Chi etc. are not going to care. People want to see teams face off with history. If you are going to put the Wings in again, have them go against a Pittsburgh or Montreal or Chicago etc. Nothing against Columbus, but nobody wants to see them that is not a Columbus fan.

This would be the lowest rated Winter Classic ever lol

Its really hard to judge because it all depends on what team you are trading with. For example: Sheahan - "1st, 2nd, low prospect", if we traded him to a team like Buffalo who is in the draft lottery, this would be the best trade ever lol! Though I assume you are thinking teams that are in the playoff hunt.

Wait and see approach aside, based on your logic, that being Holland screwed this team on paper and we are lucky to get 8th seed. If Babcock gets us close to 1st seed, shouldn't he be the obvious choice? I would agree with that.

To me the Jack Adams award should have the following criteria: How good is a team on paper/what is their projection. Which coach got his team to exceed that projection by the largest margin. Whats the alternative, just giving it to the coach of the presidents trophy every year?

What about Babcock? According to you, our team was basically a pile of garbage coming into the season, at this point we are 3 points out of #1 seed. I remember you saying Babcock would have to work his ass off just to get us in the 8th spot.

Well, when Girgensons is starting, "deserving" goes out the window lol

I would like to see Nyquist or Tatar get the spot (if there is one to get). Datsyuk and Zetterberg need to rest their bodies, plus they simply wouldn't appreciate it as much as the kids. I also wouldn't mind seeing Kronwall make it. As far as know, the guy has never played in one. Definitely would be deserving.