FlashyG

Then why keep Eaves in the line-up who is wearing a full shield to protect his jaw. He can't be involved in any shenanigans at all. There is no good justification to make Brunner a healthy scratch and I don't any reports of him being potentially injured.

For all we know he will be...He will likely get a taste of the NHL while Quincey is hurt and he might get the black ace treatment if the Wings make the playoffs but I doubt the Wings or anyone else for that matter will guarantee anything. The whole Schultz demanding a NHL spot was a media fabrication last year so I highly doubt Dekeyser who is a lesser prospect will be demanding anything of his suitors.

As much as everyone is making about Brunner not scoring in the past 12 games, its not like he's not getting assists. The longest he's gone all season without a pt is 3 games. Offensively he's probably been the most consistent player on the team.

Nyquist hasn't looked so hot at the NHL level, but he's been the best player in the entire AHL so yes...his tires will be fully pumped.

That would be one hell of a 3rd line, a sniper, a set-up guy and a worker to get the puck back to them. With all 3 possessing great speed. They may not be the best defensively, but they should be more than good enough in their own end to handle the 3rd and 4th line of anyone we'll face.

In all likelihood Holland will be the person hiring his own successor as he won't be fired but promoted to Jimmy D's position when he retires. I agree it will probably be Jim Nill, but that will likely mean no change in the way the Wings operate. Both are former scouts and are by all indications the creators of the prospect development system that keeps kids in the minors far longer than any other franchise.

Franzen being back is what has made that line work. He does what Cleary couldn't and pulls defenders away from Datsyuk, after that last game Babcock would be crazy to change that line. I'd like to see Brunner with Nyquist until the Datsyuk, Abby and Franzen line cools off. I think the idea behind moving Brunner down was to get him away from Perry, Ryan and Getzlaf and get him some easier match-ups defensively. If Tootoo could play center I think he'd be playing over Emmerton. I'd probably scratch Eaves tonight in place of Tootoo just because I expect a rough game and Eaves is playing with a full shield,

Clowe would be my guess, Calgary will be looking for a ton back in exchange for Iginla and Semin isn't even available. The Canes are planning on signing him long term.

That is a still from the HD video. I'm a huge Kronwall fan and normally the first to defend his hits, but that was an obvious high stick.

Clune jumped before contact and was over the 1 second leeway you normally get from officials. He deserved the penalty. For the most part I think Shanny has done a good job in charge of discipline. I don't seem to have any trouble guessing the punishment he'll hand down so he's been pretty consistent. Sure looks like it made contact to me.

If I find them I'll post them, but I wouldn't really call them fights... I think the most accurate way to describe them is "aggressive hugging".

I don't get to post my work on the main board often like this, but if you like this GDT you can see the other ones I've made in this thread

I'm glad the unedited version of my work gets to be used somewhere. I had to remove the Bullet holes for HFboards because of complaints from Ducks Fans. Hopefully the trend of playing better in games we should lose continues...we need some points on this road trip.

The chances of the Wings getting a new GM is 0%. Its extremely rare for a GM to be fired before his coach so until Babcock gets the Ax, Holland will be our GM. Even when they do decide to make a change, its more likely Holland gets Promoted to Jimmy D's job, Jimmy D retires and Nill takes over as GM. That probably won't change much as Holland and Nill are both scouts at heart who seem to have the same philosophy of building through the draft and allowing your prospects to develop outside the NHL. Besides not matter who the GM is, the wings won't be "selling off". They might move some of their extra parts but the core won't be going anywhere.

I agree that is extremely unlikely either get traded, but Franzen's contract probably isn't viewed as the problem fans seem to think it is. Its long, but at under 4 million a season the value for what you get is fantastic. Also Cleary had a no trade clause but it expired 30 days before the last trade deadline.

I'd listen to any trade offers, and hope that someone blew me away with an offer I couldn't refuse, but I wouldn't be actively trying to trade away anyone on the roster with the team still in the playoff picture. I actually don't think this years draft is anywhere near as deep as originally thought, it has an elite crop in the top 5 but it falls off after that and like most drafts its a crap shoot picking middle and late round picks. OP's logic is good though, if prices are high now is a good time to unload some of our depth. Gaustad returned a 1st last season and this years prices should be even higher so if we can find a taker for some of the added middle/bottom pairing defenceman we have, or for some of our extra bottom 6 forwards why not take the offer. I still think priority one is making the playoffs though, our continued success is a big reason why players want to play here. Waving the white flag and doing a full rebuild could be the death of that.

Cap Space has the same amount of points this season as Komisarek

Funny, I actually thought the Wings were the far better team tonight, they just couldn't finish. Minnesota rode 2 terrible calls, and a hot goalie, while abusing a couple rookie defenceman on the few chances they were able to generate. Its pretty ridiculous to try and assess a teams playoff hopes based on 1 game, I'm pretty sure both teams will make the playoffs and right now there is no team I'd rather the Wings face in rd 1 than Minnesota.

Based on their salary cap situation going forward he will either have to play for around 1 million a season or play those final years with another team. Anaheim just doesn't have the space for his current salary if they are going to keep Ryan.

Almost certainly true, but it is Feaster so anything is possible.

I don't know a whole lot about the NY Post, but I do know that Larry Brooks is one of, if not the most reliable source of info on the Rangers. I'm not sure how well he can speak as an authority on the Hawks or on the NHL in general, but for Rangers news he's the best IMO.

It all depends on what Calgary wants in return. He's a UFA at the end of the season and he holds all the power so hopefully that lowers the price on him substantially. If it doesn't I'd rather steer clear of this. If it does however lower the cost to obtain him he'd give us a good upgrade in size, and skill for the top 6. He'd add another RH shot for the PP and an element of grit in the top 6 that we currently lack. On top of that he'd probably be the hungriest guy on the team for a chance at a cup, kind of like Dallas Drake did for the Wings when it seemed every player wanted to win for him as much as themselves. That kind of thing can be a great motivator for a playoff run. I'd be ok with giving up some conditional draft picks based both on whether he re-signs with the Wings and how he/we perform in the playoffs. I might even be willing to give up a prospect depending on which one the Flames wanted. Hey maybe we get really lucky and they request Cleary as part of the deal.

I'm pretty sure Babcock would find a reason to give Cleary, Teemu's PP minutes... likely something to do with creating space, being a big body, or being "realgood"

I love that plan. Datsyuk would provide Selanne so many tap in goals it would be ridiculous. He also wouldn't have to worry about getting elbowed by Kronwall ever again...Its a Win Win for Teemu.

I agree Next season will be a bit of a squeeze for the Ducks but I don't think its anywhere near bad enough to cost them Ryan a few years down the road. They have 11.2 million left in space after signing Perry and they have 7 NHL roster spots to fill. Koivu, Selanne, Palmieri, Beleskey, McMillan, Steckel, and Lovejoy all need to be either re-signed or let go. If they don't sign Selanne they should have no real problems signing the rest.