rick zombo

I've always thought 27-28 was prime for a forward. 30 for a blueliner. 30-34 for a goalie. By this logic, Z and Pavel are a hair "past their prime". Butnot enough to base an entire thesis around. You can make a point that Bucci is isn't far off, but my problem is that he comes at this topic with a little to much zeal. The pundits are all over the Wings early. There is no debating this.

Ahhhhhhh the good ol Celery Cap.

Clearly a conspiracy against the Wings. This will help Chicago sign their UFAs and RFAs this summer.

Overreact much?

The first goal was Lebda's fault for letting the balde of his stick get in the way. BUT the 2nd goal, Duchene's goal was bad. Even if it was a screen. Any goalie with size would have made that save on positioning alone. Lundquist? Backstrom? Even our rookie McCallum at 6'2" 210lbs. I've always thought of Osgood as being mentally tough, but physically, he's out of it compared to today's younger goalies. Osgood looks like a man that time left behind. He looks like Billy Smith out there.

Unfortunately, I think May will be sent to GR when the Wings are 100% healthy.

I'd loooove to see Big E or May throw Kopecky around. That would be "fun" to watch.

Not a bad signing, but did I miss the part where they said he would even play with Detroit this year? This signing doesn't mean s*** if he spends the year in GR.

Kind of reminds me of Pronger's hit on Holmstrom in the 07 playoffs.

Bell Center Ice Anyone know?

Fixed. Zealot.

Someone has been paying attention to training camp.

Call me a purist, but I was hoping to see the 100% full team start this season in Sweden. Here's hoping for no more injuries. Especially to the entertaining young guys.

Anyone else thinking that Holland is taking this whole "reclamation project" thing a little too seriously. First Eaves, then Williams, then Bert, not Cloutier?

You're people are talking like Howard's a foregone bust. Tim Thomas was 31 and a career nomad before he settled in with the Bruins. Holland himself said that 30 was the magic age for a goalie to start to roll in the NHL. Howard's what? 25? I'm not saying Jimmy's will get it done, but I'd be careful about publicly predicting his fate prematurely.

I think this move was made just to give Howard some "competition".

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=289113 Good move for the Canucks.

From a Wings fan standpoint, Crosby being named "C" would pretty much nullify Babcock and Yzerman's involvement.

He needs a little more of Ye Olde Johan Mouthgaurd Throwdown. That'll set him straight.

Yup. 1. Datsyuk 2. Zetterberg 3. Bertuzzi 4. Williams 5. Mule

I think that all this thread has accomplished is to demonstrate how much competition there will be for ice-time and top six minutes this year. Which, of course, bodes well for production.

Odds are really in The Wings favor that at least one of Bertuzzi, Williams, Eaves or Howard will have a jaw-droppingly good year and prove to be a steal for the very little $$$ and expectation thrown their way. To me, that's very exciting. Throw in a full season of seeing Helm and Ericsson play, and even Leino, and you have the formula for some entertaining hockey. Truth be told, I think this year's team will be a success and far from boring to watch.

There's no way the entire group of forwards stay healthy enough all season to keep Maltby in the #13 spot.

This team is wayyyyyyyyyyy grittier than last year's squad. Bert Eaves a full season of Helm and Ericsson. Hell, even Leino will be hard to push around. I think I'm half excited.

Just wondering: What is the probablity that Bertuzzi and his agent initiated these negotiations? Maybe Bertuzzi sought out Detroit. My reasoning - After the Williams signing, Holland basically stated that they were done signing players for the time being. Most of us assumed that meant no more UFAs at least until after camp and maybe no significant player movement until the deadline. And then, all of a sudden, this.