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Z-Dats-Alfredsson Franzen-Helm-Nyquist Tatar-Sheahan-Jurco Miller-Glendening-Abdelkader Andersson-Callahan Kronwall-Smith Ericsson-DeKeyser Quincey-Kindl Lashoff LET'S GO WINGS, WOOOO!!!!! All we need for a Cup is to be healthy, DUH!

There are some games on there that will actually accept commonly-mispelled answers as correct... I had the same issue with some of them; how can I expect to spell someone's name right that most wouldn't even be able to pronounce?! lol.

That wasn't directed at you. ET and #9 were piggy-backing off that to complain (oh the irony) about people that complain about Franzen...

Recapture penalty wouldn't be in effect if they used the compliance buyout... but way to be jerks about it?

bahahaahhaaha I was doing the math for 1st round picks . Minus any expansion teams, like 2000...

Would you trade Franzen, Weiss, and Jimmy Howard for Phil Kessel and Jay Bouwmeester? Stephen Weiss, Jimmy Howard, Jakub Kindl, Toronto's 2014 2nd & Detroit's 2014 1st to St. Louis. Patrick Berglund, Johan Franzen, & Jake Allen to Toronto. Jay Bouwmeester, Phil Kessel, and Frederik Gauthier to Detroit. Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Kessel Nyquist - Statsny ($7M) - Mantha Tatar - Sheahan - Jurco Miler - Helm - Abdelkader Andersson - Glendening Kronwall - Ericsson Bouwmeester - DeKeyser Smith - D. Boyle ($5M) Lashoff Any Veteran FA Goalie up to $5.25M (Ryan Miller? Jonas Hiller? Martin Brodeur?) Mrazek Gustavsson Didn't give up Mantha, Nyquist, Jurco, Tatar, Ouellet, Sproul, or Mrazek. I think the hardest piece of this trade would be Bouwmeester at his cap hit (given it's so low, I don't think they'd want to give him up, but...) other than that, it seems fair: Toronto gets two top-six forwards and a top goalie prospect for their top winger and a center prospect; the Blues get a better offensive center, a top-10 goalie, a bottom-pair defenseman, and two draft picks for a defensive-center, a top defensemen, and a goalie prospect.

Think they should throw $2.4M at Chad Johnson and call it a day. He's more reliable health-wise and was one of the reasons the Coyotes even came close to pushing the Red Wings for a playoff spot in 2012-13 (he went 2-0-2 in games he started, and won another where he replaced the starter) and he propelled the Bruins to the #1 spot in 2013-14 with 17-4-3. He saved 2% more goals than Gustavsson did last year. Projected over a standard season as a backup, where the average game is 30 shots against and the average backup plays 25 games, that's a difference of 15 goals against... and he showed this when playing for Phoenix, too. And not to toot my own (okay, yes, only to toot my own horn) http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/topic/75047-bergeron-gets-8-yr-extension/ I was saying the same thing last season... and look what he did for the Bruins...

Things happen? Every year 29 teams play the "what if" game. This isn't something new to Detroit, dude. There are over ten million fans wondering the same thing. What if Mantha becomes the next Corey Perry? What if Nyquist is the next Zach Parise? What if Smith becomes the next Dan Boyle? We can play this game all day long. The Rangers don't have a glorified star in the making anymore than the Red Wings do. Look at Pittsburgh... two top-tier stars in Malkin and Crosby, then what? A bunch of guys that got wiped out of the playoffs in a hurry. If you think this team is just going to roll over in two or three years, you're mistaken. I really hate negative fans who always worry about the worst. I'm not saying I'm not happy with how things ended this year, but this team has pieces in place to make it to the finals. It starts and ends with the goaltender. If Howard plays like a championship-caliber goalie, then he can eliminate some of the bounces that would automatically give the other team the upper hand. In the playoffs, winning is where opportunity meets preparation. You can line your team with a bunch of stars with some of the top defenders and some great two-way forwards, but you can still get bounced (see Chicago and Boston). This team was put in position to succeed and they will be put in position next year, too. You're not going to win the Cup thirty years in a row, so stop with the negativity.

Dude, really? The Kings finished SIXTH in their conference and are now on their way to winning another Stanley Cup. Nobody picked them over the likes of Chicago and the Blues to make the finals. Even then, they beat three teams in a row who ALL had home ice advantage. That's a significant thing to accomplish in the NHL playoffs. Similar thing in the East- the talk was who could compete with the physicality of the Bruins or the skill of the Penguins? Montreal was the only other team to get significant love. The Rangers were an afterthought. So, yeah, swinging a trade for Legwand and making the playoffs could have been the catalyst for this team. Could you imagine if Zetterberg had his legs under him and Ericsson was playing? Totally different defense, too! No more Kindl-Lashoff pairing...

People forget that he had a nasty, lingering concussion last year. Throw out a bad four-month period and he looks like a #4/5 DMAN. Throw him on a third pairing with Ouelett and the team would look pretty good. Kronwall-Smith, Big E-DeKeyeser, Ouelett-Boyle.... that's a huge bump in toughness and puck-moving ability with guys who make smart plays.

So was Emmerton (in the NHL) and he's leaving... maybe a swap there? Haha... don't go after our guys if you want to hold your guy to an RFA contract?

Try this one on for size... This won't happen because too many moving pieces, just want to see some thoughts. Zetterberg and Datsyuk have basically said go big or go home. Well, here you go. Trades Trade Jimmy Howard, Jordin Tootoo, Adam Almquist, Landon Ferraro, and our 2014 1st Round Pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Phil Kessel & a cond 2015 1st Round Pick. -- The Maple Leafs need goaltending help, I think Howard needs a change of scenery. He's seemingly complacent in Detroit and that doesn't make for a good goaltender. Toronto has number of glaring needs and seem to be in the middle of deciding between blowing it up and starting over or trying to build around what's already there. In this case, they move an $8M winger for a couple of prospects, a bottom-6 grinder, and a brand new #1 goaltender. If the Red Wings make the Eastern Conference Finals, the Maple Leafs don't have to give up the pick. Trade Johan Franzen, Stephen Weiss, Jakub Kindl, Tomas Tatar, to the St. Louis Blues for Jay Bouwmeester and the rights to Patrik Berglund. -- The Blues have a number of quality pieces but there is also a lot of question marks. Berglund has been fairly mystifying in the offensive zone and he is on the chopping block for most Blues fans. Bring him to Detroit, where he can play on the All-Swede line with Zetterberg and Nyquist, and he won't be expected to do so much on offense. The Blues were reportedly in contention for Weiss's services last year, and he presents a better true center than Berglund, who is better on the wing. Franzen and Tatar present the Wings with much better scoring options, which was a problem this year for them. To do so, they have to give up one of their best defensemen in Bouwmeester, though. He is one of the greatest puck-movers on the ice throughout the entire NHL and would do wonders for this team. It'll cost them a 23-year-old top-6 winger, but moves have to be made to improve the team. Plus, I see Mantha as a bigger, better player to do the things we would request from Tatar anyway. Kindl fills in at the bottom pair defensemen they'd need to add after moving Shattenkirk up to the top line. Sign: Winger: Sign Thomas Vanek to a 3-year, $27,750,000 contract. -- Bring him in to play with Datsyuk for the last three years of the contract. I do believe Vanek would give up a longer deal for the security of playing with the top playmaking center in the NHL. Call me a homer, but who wouldn't want to play with Datsyuk?! Goalie: Sign Ilya Bryzgalov to a 1-year, $3,000,000 contract. -- Give Ilya a legitimate shot a the #1 goaltending role. His away split last year was incredible, with 2.39 Goals Against Avg and tying J. Quick in Save Percentage (.924). I think he had some poor luck in the post-season, and I do believe he has what it takes to compete against top teams. Goalie: Sign Chris Johnson to a 1-year, $2,400,000 contract. -- Quadruple his salary and let him compete for the top job. I have been high on him since last summer (see previous posts) and I imagine he's going to get a lot of offers after his season with the Bruins. Let him compete for the #1 job and may the best man win. Re-sign (RFAs): D Danny DeKeyser C Riley Sheahan W Mitch Callahan D Max Nicastro W Andrej Nestrasil C Landon Ferarro Lineups: Vanek - Datsyuk - Kessel Berglund - Zetterberg - Nyquist Jurco - Sheahan - Mantha Miller - Helm - Abdelkader Anderson- Glendening Kronwall - Smith Bouwmeester - Ouellet Ericsson - DeKeyser Bryzgalov Johnson (Mrazek) ----- Hoggan - McIntyre - Pulkkinen Nestrasil - Janmark - Frk Grant - Aubry - Parkes Tvrdon-Lurch-Campbell Athanasiou Paetsch - Evans Ouellet - Sproul Jensen - Backman Fournier - Nicastro Mrazek McCollum Paterson Let Mrazek compete for the NHL job. If he wins by a landslide, leave him in Detroit. If it's borderline, throw him down to Grand Rapids.

iPod! Super easy to Sync it up with my Fusion. Speaking of which... Ford or Chevy?

2011-2012 (last full season for both players) Filppula ends up with 9 more points even with less ice time/game. 2010-2011 prorated w/ ice time Filppula ends up with 2 more points. 2009-2010 = injured Filppula (same reason we're throwing out this year for Weiss). 2008-2009 = Weiss whomps him. 2007-2008 = 3 more points w/ Filppula. So one full season that Weiss wins out, regardless of the added time. Filppula wins out one full season even with less time. The others are pushes based on ice time at even strength being significantly in Weiss's favor. Add eight more points to Filppula's totals (remember, he gets a point at a 30min-per-ice-time clip) and he's over on ALL FIVE of his full seasons in Detroit (sans 1st, which he got 17 points in 73 games while Weiss got 21 points in 77 games of his first season, also threw that out as rookie anomoly). Simply put, the argument that Weiss played with better plays is nominal (Jokinen/Booth/Horton) and he had significantly more ice time.

Remember those years when Weiss was the #2 C behind Olli Jokinen? Or played on his wing? Or played with Nate Horton or David Booth? Yeah... we can play this game allll day long. Weiss played an average of 18 minutes every game over 600 games. Filppula averaged 16.25 minutes over 475 games. Let's prorate Weiss down to the same number of "games"... he still would have played over an additional 42 periods worth of time over the same number of games. That's crazy. Of course his yearly statistics are going to look "more consistent" -- he was on the ice a WHOLE LOT LONGER! That's an additional 6 periods of ice time every year for six years. That may not sound like a lot of time, but when you're talking actually time on ice... that's 240 more minutes each year. And Filppula put up a point every thirty minutes of ice time. So let's give him another 8 points each of those years.... he reaches or succeeds Weiss in all but one. hmm....

Get outta here, what we're talking about is production, not attitude (good luck proving that). As far as being "completely ineffective", let's dive into some advanced metrics... Here's something you won't hear from ANY other source but myself (I've yet to find someone who creates these kinds of statistical records-- mind you, this is using simple algebra (division) from known statistics found at and verified by Hockey-Reference, ESPN, and NHL.com). In games played vs. total goals scored while on ice... Weiss = .62 goals/game FOR; Filppula = .61 goals/game FOR... Weiss = .65 goals/game AGAINST and Filppula = .51 goals/page AGAINST. So they are equally effective as members of a team in scoring, but Filppula is SIGNIFICANTLY more effective on the other end AGAINST. And, as far as the "luck" factor, this is over the course of nearly 500 games for Filppula and 650 for Weiss, so throw that out. As far as the "situation" factor, this was simply a 5-on-5 and 4-on-4 even strength comparison, NOT including Power Play or Penalty Killing situations. Mind you, I don't have finalized statistics for this year, but we all know that'll lean HEAVILY in favor of Filppula as well. So get out of here with your conjecture. If you can't point to specific situations and can only speak in generalities, I'm through having grown up conversations with you.

Buuuhhhttt..... we're already in the top 20?

After what the Tigers just gave Miggy and what they were offering Scherzer, I have no doubts that our owner will give every last dime away to see this team raise a banner one more time before he passes and if that means getting rid of the cancerous attitudes and efforts like Franzen's, I'm sure he'll tell you good riddance. He's not taking that cash with him when he goes, and his family is well more than set up for financial success in the future.

Younger. Always dated a grade behind, I'm 23 dating a soon-to-be 21-year-old gal. Work late or work early?

I don't know about Franzen/Hossa, but I'll tell you this: there was absolutely NO point in tradng Filppula for Weiss. Filppula put up comparable numbers with less ice time and already spent time on our power play and building relationships with the guys on the team. I was indifferent to moving on from Filppula, but when they signed Weiss I was NOT a happy fan. What a waste. Sure, he may turn out to play a significant role as a #2 C... but didn't we already have that in Filppula? Weiss was not leaps and bounds better, he had significant injury questions (shoulder, knee, groin, and wrist), and put up #2 numbers as a #1 guy. Hmm.... could you imagine a 25/30 center on our team this year? That might have been the catalyst to get to the #7 or #6 seed. Shame.

I'm 23-years-old... I'd rather play a board game then get hammered. I haven't had more than one drink in a day since the day I turned 21. I think driving tipsy is the same as driving drunk and I have no problem calling the police on you. It's not snitching, it's potentially saving a life from your selfish a**.

Bottled. Kids or dogs?

False, I'm probably the most stingent flosser you (don't) know. I floss so well, I only have one tooth that bleeds (TMI)! The person below me has a really great memory involving one of our amazing servicemen or women.

Everyone complaining about Boyle's statistics this year... do you take into consideration his significant concussion he sustained at the beginning of the year? Or the fact that those of us who are advocating for his signing only want him in the bottom four and on the power play?? You're not signing a #1 Defenseman because... there isn't one. Kronwall-Smith Ericsson-Ouellet DeKeyser-Boyle PK1: Kronwall-Smith PK2: DeKeyser-Ericsson PP1: Smith-Boyle PP2: Kronwall-Ouellet Leave Kindl on the bench or roll with Lashoff/Marchenko as #7. The team has the cap space; I say keep Kindl as a top #7 option.

Absolutely! So sick of hearing about the Kings and nobody in the NHL likes the Blackhawks. The person below me has a really neat vanity plate on their vehicle.