Rice

Lidstrom's the best player in the world.

You're kidding yourself if you actually think that.

Of course not, but it's obviously still a risk.

No it doesn't. Lidstrom, Rafalski, Cleary, and Chelios are still out.

There's a difference between criticizing and saying "I could do that."

Seeing Meech in 14 is still weird.

Can they be sure it's a sprain without an MRI? God, that would just be horrible, horrible luck if it were a tear.

Oh, believe me, I'm not the biggest Holland fan around. I think he's an excellent GM, but I can definitely see where people are coming from with their complaints about him (sometimes, at least). I defend him here because it seems like a ton of people think that they could do a better job. If the Wings do go out in the first round, yes. I will criticize Holland -- depending on how they go out, of course.

Wow. If it's something serious this will probably go down as one of the worst trades ever. Maybe not the worst, but the unluckiest.

Double post.

The Wings scored enough in the playoffs last year prior to the injury of Schneider. That's when their offense went dry. They were also without Kronwall for the whole post-season. In the Wings' system, the defense generates the offense. Stuart gives the Wings four legitimate point men on the PP (Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, and Stuart). Last year going into the playoffs, the Wings only had two (Lidstrom and Schneider).

I brought it up because I was positive that you predicted the Wings to lose early and they didn't. Had they had a healthy defense, they likely would've beaten the Ducks. Holland put that roster together and you predicted that they would lose. So, I assume that you think they'll lose early again since they have a similar makeup as last year (e.g. not "gritty" as your avatar suggests). Am I wrong in this assumption? If I am, I'll eat my crow...but that's why I brought up your playoff predictions from last year.

Foote went for crap? Columbus got two firsts and a fourth for him...and he would only waive his NTC for Colorado! Fedorov went for crap because, well, he is crap. I wouldn't have minded him, but he's not that good anymore.

If you're so against Holland acquiring Stuart, why is it that you were calling for him to get Adam Foote -- a guy that is much less offensively inclined than Stuart?

You know, if Fedorov is just so valuable, why is it that all it took to get him was a "low to mid level prospect"?

Good. See you later. I'm sure you love the way Philadelphia is built. How are they doing lately? Have fun watching them.

I'm assuming you also picked the Wings to lose to Calgary last year due to a lack of "team toughness". If not Calgary, then definitely San Jose. How'd that work out? Speaking of getting upset over marginal signings, I remember you berating Holland when he didn't sign Brad Winchester. The same Brad Winchester that has played 32 games with Dallas this year for an impressive two assists. That guy would've brought tons to the table in terms of secondary scoring.

Yeah, because the likes of Hall and Fedorov would've instantly won them the Stanley Cup this year. The playoffs haven't even started yet and you're already calling a loss. This is the same team as last year with a better defense and much less dead weight (Lang, Bertuzzi, Calder) in the forward corps. If the Wings go out early, ***** all you want. The fact of the matter is neither of us have a clue as to what's going to happen in the post-season yet. It's a crapshoot.

Cap space was left out there not only for the deadline but also because there were no great UFA forwards out there. Holland intended to sign another defenseman (Stuart, Sopel) but couldn't get a deal done. What other forward out there would've been that much of an improvement over what we've got? There's no way Holland left all that space solely for the deadline. When taking prorated salary into account, the Wings could've taken on something like $20 million in full-season salary. That wasn't going to happen as it would take a ton of young players and draft picks to take on that much salary. Plus, Holland admittedly had interest in Forsberg. I'm sure the front office took that into account when leaving that space open as opposed to signing a forward who would not have been that effective anyway. Rolston would be a great addition to the second line.

...and let me guess, LeftWinger, you'll ***** about the Wings not signing marginal players like Adam Hall and Sergei Fedorov. Am I right?

No, he'll be the fourth defenseman that the Wings definitely lacked prior to his arrival.

Kronwall's playing Friday. Rafalski and Chelios skated but they're still out. Lidstrom hasn't skated but has been working out. Cleary has lost fifteen pounds but will start skating Sunday or Monday. He's hoping to play the last week of the season. Hasek will start Friday. This is all from Red Wings Corner which is the best site out there to keep track of this stuff. MacLeod does a great job.

Brad Stuart is "no help"?

What do you mean "sadly"? Babcock has put together incredible regular seasons (which actually do count for something) along with a trip to the WCF's. The Wings were almost in the Finals and probably would've made it had they had a healthy defense. I can't believe how quickly this skid has changed people's minds about this team. Had the team been totally healthy and they had the same skid, I could kind of understand where you're coming from. This, on the other hand, is absolutely ridiculous. What is the guy supposed to do without one of his top forwards and the majority of his defense?

Stuart will undoubtedly replace Samuelsson on the point.