rick zombo

Wait till the injury bug hits hard (see KEY players whose name starts with Z) and Datsyuk will tear it up and carry the team on his back. Just like he does every season.

Great goal. Plenty of discussion about it in the Game Day Thread.

Detroit are due for a loss. And they will take Edmonton lightly. Lazy effort. Rusty 4th line. Osgood has a bad game. 5-3 Oilers.

Yep, and money that could have gone to Penner. Double-whammy*

True. But one could say the same about Mursak and Emmerton and even McGrath. Big junior numbers don't mean anything. But it is why alot of us get excited about Wings prospects. Also Maltby wasn't a 6'4" 200+ lb above average skating center when he played junior hockey. And Matthais is. Just sayin'

That's what comes to mind for sure. Although you can't see the SCF logo on the top right corner of his jersey. But, of course, his hand might be in the way.

Talking about prospects who are still developing is a little different than talking about "streaky" NHL players. Whether it be Kontos or John Druce or Jim Carey. No one's suggesting that Matthais is going to be challenging Tavares for the scoring title come spring. Also, I'm not saying I'd pick Matthais or Mursak. But you can't deny that he's an intriguing prospect with that big frame. Which prospect would you have traded for Bert? Do you think Shawn was a good choice?

I saw this at Mlive. It was very painful to read. Add these stats to the fact that Matthias is 6-4, 205lbs and still growing, and it hurts even more. Mursak will be a top six winger at some point. I was never that big on Emmerton.

Well maybe if Holland could land another top six winger to play with Filpulla/Hudler and maybe Franzen on the 2nd line, Babcock could keep ZDH together.

Is this, how do you say it, legal?

But, but.......... the Leafs are magic?

Remember the summer before last when the Toronto media said the Leafs were going to trade Colaiacovo and Steen for Zetterberg and N Kronwall. ahahahahahahahahahahahah

Not a chance Holland leaves Detroit to go to Toronto.

I don't see what the big deal is. Really. Grigorneko won't be on the team unless he proves his worth. If this happens, then great. Detroit will have a 210lb natural winger with an edge and a great set of hands. If it doesn't, then he goes back to Russia and no damage done. This is all it comes down to. Period. There's nothing else to talk about.

If there is a major effort to clamp down on Homer then that is unfair. It will take away a huge part of his game. And if this is the case then the refs better start clamping down on guys like Pronger for doing what they do best. That man could be called for something on at least every 2nd shift. Seriously.

Not really. All Detroit have to do is send him down to GR in a few weeks and he bolts to Russia. And they'll never have to worry about him again. Far from having the Wings by the balls.

Put him on a line with Dats and see what he can do.

Apparently only wants 3M now. It would be a .5M raise over last year. Does anyone think he would be worth signing at this stage? According to Milve.

But why would anyone expect hime to take a 1 - 1.5M dollar cut from what he made last year? He was a big part of the Wings defense and a big reason why the team made it to the 3rd round. Ideally you would pay him 2.5M. What he made last year. But after the year he had, a .5M raise is not unreasonable. I say sign him. 1 year, 3M. But who's to say he wants to come back to Detroit. Lidstrom - Rafalski Markov - Kronwall Chelios - Lebda Lilja looks like championship D to me.

Also, Rafalski is a big game player, which showed last night. He's a proven winner.

Drake has a "headache" according to Mlive, but should be OK.

One of the best things about Rafalski is that he knows how to stay healthy (knock on wood). He's alot like Lidstrom in this way.

Datsyuk scores tonight. Wings win.

RE: Original topic. The addition of Rafalski has done alot to improve the PP 5-on-5 the problem is secondary scoring. And maybe this is where the 2nd line offence is needed. And it might be a problem all year.

Holy crap Detroits defence is mobile. So much fun to watch them move the puck and jump in to the play. I already see how Rafalski > Schneider.