FlashyG

Definitely Iginla, but the only reason Iginla is even considering leaving Boston is because they have a cap crisis on the horizon and they can't afford to commit to him for more than one year. His hope is that if he can't sign there he can get a deal with another eastern conference team for multiple years. Do we want to commit multiple years to him at around the 5.5 or higher he's seeking? I'd lean towards yes still but it makes it a much tougher call.

Then we'd call that microphone Pronger.

Wrong again...Neither guy sucks...Both are above average players, the difference between them is one gets paid twice as much as the other and was very recently the highest paid player in the league. Also Franzen didn't play much with Datsyuk or Zetterberg this past season...his most common linemates were Nyquist and Legwand

While Richards has a slightly better defensive rating by that advanced stat, Franzen has a far better offensive rating by the same stat and is ranked as the better player overall. Here are their ratings last season in those stats. HarD (Defensive rating) - Richards 7.9 Franzen 5.3 HarO (Offensive Rating) - Richards -0.6 Franzen 4.0 HarT (Total Ranking) - Richards 3.7 Franzen 4.7 Overall Quality of Teammates Richards 9.7 Franzen 2.7 Overall Quality of Competition Richards -2.1 Franzen -1.6 Over the past 2 years the gap widens. HarD (Defensive rating) - Richards 14.5 Franzen 27.3 HarO (Offensive Rating) - Richards 5.8 Franzen 8.7 HarT (Total Ranking) - Richards 10.1 Franzen 18.0 Overall Quality of Teammates Richards 13.9 Franzen 6.7 Overall Quality of Competition Richards -2.6 Franzen -0.7 Here is the comparison over the past 3 seasons. HarD (Defensive rating) - Richards 5.8 Franzen 32.9 HarO (Offensive Rating) - Richards 6.6 Franzen 19.7 HarT (Total Ranking) - Richards 6.2 Franzen 26.3 Overall Quality of Teammates Richards 5.3 Franzen 11.9 Overall Quality of Competition Richards -2.2 Franzen 0.3 I don't think advanced stats are going to help you in making a case that Richards is the better player, especially when he was making twice as much money as Johan.

Brad Richards age 34 - Contract remaining - 6 years with a cap hit of 6.67 Million a season Johan Franzen age 34 - Contract remaining - 6 years with a cap hit of 3.95 million a season New York Rangers Goal differential +25 Brad Richards plus minus -8 Detroit Red Wings goal differential -8 Johan Franzen plus minus +6 Hits Brad Richards 24 Johan Franzen 66 Giveaways Brad Richards 46 Johan Franzen 28 Faceoffs Brad Richards 49.8% Johan Franzen 52.9% Richards slightly outscored Franzen this year but was far worse defensively and he costs almost double what Franzen does. That's why one is employed and the other was paid to go away.

There is definitely a double standard there...It's awfully hard for me to judge a woman for their attraction to any male athletes when weighed against the thoughts that go through my head when I see women's tennis.

There are 29 other teams that would take him in an instant. It's easier to make the argument that he's the greatest GM in the history of the sport than it is to argue he's in the bottom 5 in the league.

The odds of getting a better back-up willing to take a 1 year deal at all are pretty slim. So even though I agree he wouldn't have done any better in Free Agency, I don't think the Wings could have done better on a 1 year back-up. Gustavsson isn't anything special but he's more than good enough to play 20 games next year which is really all we need him for. Howard returning to form is far more important than any of the potential options as the #2 guy.

When Tootoo was signed Babcock was quoted as asking for a right handed shot, that provides both speed and sandpaper. Holland got him Tootoo who provided all 3. Unfortunately for all involved his lack of PK ability, his tendency to get way out of position going for the big hit and his struggles to play within the Wings system quickly took him out of the coaches good graces. I don't think the divide between Holland and Babcock is any bigger than any other coach GM relationship. He gets his say on every roster decision the team makes, which is more than can be said for a lot of coaches out there.

Coaching goalies in Quebec.

Glenfidditch and Miller actually had the same amount of pts as Thornton did in that series. In fact they had the same amount of pts as Thornton got in both series he played in.

You don't want any washed up players yet you are pining for Manny Legace and Martin Brodeur over a goalie that a large portion of the fanbase thought should be starting over Howard last season? Perhaps our odds are increased because kids have finally taken the jobs of veterans and because our remaining kids are ranked as the 2nd best group of prospects in the league? Gustavsson is just fine as a back-up goalie and the only option out there better is Vokoun who would likely want a long term deal relegating Mrazek to the AHL for a lot longer than he will be now. As long as Gus or anyone else they sign gets only a 1 year deal to be the back-up its great for the Wings future.

The reason they are buying out Tootoo isn't for any type of savings. Its a good will gesture from Holland to Tootoo so he can attempt to continue his NHL career. He wasn't going to get a shot under Babcock, and they couldn't trade him so now he has a chance to sign with someone at a cheaper rate where he might get a chance to play. Holland did the same thing with Commodore when Babcock refused to play him.

We have plenty of Veteran Slots with Grand Rapids available this season. Tootoo, Emmerton, McIntyre, and Eaves are all gone, and Evans and Grant aren't signed. Even with them brought back we still have a spot open for another vet. And as bad as Cleary is now a days, he's still better than almost all of those guys. He won't hurt Grand Rapids at all...The Wings on the other hand would be insane to give him a spot.

He won't be taking a spot away from a kid, he'll be playing in Tootoo's spot.

As long as he never see's the ice in a Wings jersey again I'm all for keeping him in Grand Rapids. Having gone through the amount of struggles he did as a kid entering the league I think he would be an excellent mentor for the prospects teaching them what it takes to be a pro hockey player. As much as I hated seeing him on the ice the last couple years the one thing I can't take away from him is his effort, the guy works as hard as anyone on the ice and if he can instill that in a kid like Mantha he'll be damn near unstoppable at the NHL level.

The only way we can get him is by waiting 2 years or trading for his rights and hoping he'd sign a long term deal with us.

I'd have no problem paying him that as a Free Agent, but we couldn't sign him to an offer sheet for that value because we don't have our 2nd round pick, which would be required for compensation. Honestly though if Colorado is having trouble signing him taking the compensatory picks would probably be as good of a return as you could hope for. At 7 million a season they would get Two 1st round picks, a 2nd and a 3rd rounder.

He might end up signing an offer sheet for the salary he wants and at that point he either moves on or Colorado matches.

Considering his agent said the reason he signed with us is to develop like Jurco did under Blashill I don't think you need to worry about him taking a spot on the big club. He'll make Grand Rapids a better club next season.

+/- isn't a good stat when you're comparing players from different teams or when you're using a small sample size but over the course of a season you can easily see which players are on the ice for more goals for than against and vice versa. Spezza had 66 pts this year and was a -26, nearly twice as bad as anyone playing on another line, and to make it worse according to advanced stat sites he didn't even play as tough of competition as Turris you finished +22. Spezza and his linemate Michalek were on the ice for more goals against than any other forwards in the entire NHL. In fact the Senators gave up almost twice as many goals with Spezza on the ice as they did when he was off it. No matter how you spin it, Spezza's good offensive game doesn't make up for his horrific defensive lapses.

Ekblad is an awesome prospect but he also plays the toughest position to transition to the pro game in. There are all kinds of highly touted defenceman who have fizzled out without reaching their potential, and its a position we are deepest in prospect wise. If we had the 1st overall pick I wouldn't hesitate to take him but that's entirely different than trading away our best player for the right to pick him. We'd be making a far bigger hole than we're fixing.

They didn't score 20 a year but they were + players. They at least kept the puck out of our net. You could take all the -'s of the Grind Lines entire careers with the Wings and it would be about equal to Spezza's -'s from just last year. To put it as clearly as possible because you don't seem to be getting it...when Spezza is on the ice, the puck goes in his net more than he and his line-mates can put it in the oppositions. Until he can change that he'll never be able to play under Babcock.