rick zombo

That's because other than Yzerman, Detroit had no one who could score like Carson. Prople forget that prior to the trade and then during his first year in Edmonton, Carson had 55 and 49 goals respectively. His career may have ultimately tailed off, but Carson was a big deal when that trade was made. After Yzerman, Gerard Galland was next with 35 goals. If I had to guess, Detroit might have been able to trade Gallant/Klima + Joe Murphy + more cash than LA Which is funny because Murphy and Klima eventually ended up going to Edmonton for Carson.

Joe Murphy would have been the Gelinas part of the deal maybe. Both guys were high 1st rounder in different draft years. I don't see who we would have had in 87-88 that would have been Carson's equivalent (he had 55 goals in LA that year) except for Yzerman (who scored 50). Yzerman for Gretzky? When you look at it that way, it's less exciting isn't it?

So what? Hockey's Future has Detroit ranked as the 3rd best organization in terms of prospects right now (rankings that were made after Jarnkrok was traded). For the record, Nashville are ranked 14th. Jarnkrok is thd #2 prospect on a team that's inferior to Detroit in terms of prospects.

"One man’s trash…………...

You could start by liking it 1 time.

Yeah, it’s tricky because we talk about guys like Mantha, AA, Larkin, Pulkkinen, and of course Sproul and Ouellet. Then you have Captain Deathstare who has a boner for guys like Glendenning and Backmann. So, this team is a living organism which makes it very unpredictable.

Crossing my fingers on Weiss.

Gotcha. Injury history is a legit reason why teams are shy on him.

But he did lose value. Otherwise, in this market, a UFA that has had a 40 point season goes for 3-4M/year. At the very least, he gets Tom Gilbert money. No? So, do you think Nashville let him walk because they're stacked on D? Or maybe there's something more to it. Just talking here.......

Perhaps the 29 teams that didn't sign him + the one that desperately needed a player of his type and still waited until over a month into free agency to sign him to a deal (1.3M) that probably acurately reflected his value as a UFA? Who knows exactly what took place with DZ's camp with regards to negotiations with other teams on terms and salary, but the proof of what type of player Del Zotto is, currently, can be found in the contract details and date of signing IMO. But, like I said, IMO.

Except I feel that if Smith had DZ’s free agency status this summer, he would have signed a deal in the first day or two. There’s a reason that it took this long for him to find a contract. I just don’t know what it is……..

Larry Murphy

Yeah, that's a good salary cap we have. FML. 10.5 for Toews & Kane and now 9M for PK? Crazy

.....making room for Babcock

Just imagine though, if he scores 25-30 this year, @ 2.75M, Holland could probably trade him to Coyotes for Yandle - straight up.

Tatar knows what direction this team is going.......

I wasn't arguing your point Kip. I was only saying that this year's team should have less plugs than last year. But yes, if this team continues to play on the outside, have crappy D, suck on special teams, and have average goaltending then they're screwed. But, an improved Smith and DeKeyser combined with hopefully more Ouellett/Marchenko and less Kindl/Lashoff, and the D should improve. The small forwards should get stronger. Jimmy has nowhere to go but up, after last year. etc.

It always blows my mind in hockey how two guys can have this much mutual respect and then pummel each other during one of the best goalie fights ever.

Yeah, Cleary's probably going to bring the same thing he brought last year, which, according to Babcock, was "nothing". My point was that Cleary sucking is still better than Cleary, Samuelsson, and Bert (to a lesser degree) sucking.

Haven't you heard? Manny Legace's father-in-law told Leftwinger that Helm has no heart. If you feel differently, prepare to have your "love bubble" burst. See: the current LGWs "prediction" thread. Back on topic: I've seen some fancy Corsi charts that show Tatar's positive effects on his linemates and also data that supports the claim that he's a "possession monter". The big thing for me will be whether or not he goes the Datsyuk/Zetterberg route of working his sack off to get bigger and stronger. If he can do this, and learn how to play against other teams top D, I think he's got a mitt full of 25-30 goal seasons in his future.

It's not overpayment enough to call it overpayment. A touch high? Maybe. Fair market value +/-? Absolutely. It's criminal that Holland got Sheahan signed for less than 1M. But he just couldn't get away with low-balling Tatar.

Cleary > Cleary, Bertuzzi, and Samuelsson. It's not ideal, but this year's team should have less deadweight than last year's. So we actually have less of a problem really.

It's a surprise that Sheahan was signed to such a good deal. Nyquist was signed prior to last season, before his numbers exploded. Tatar would have had a similar deal if he signed last year too. Good timing for him, bad timing for Goose.

I have no love bubble for Helm. I have no personal dislike for the guy either. And I'm so sorry, by the way. When I asked for proof of Helm's softness I really thought you were just quoting hearsay and clubhouse rumors. Little did I know that you source was Manny Legace's father in law!!!!! I feel so silly for second guessing you. And believe it or not, just because one person that's about 3-4 people removed from you says Helm is a puss, that doesn't make it true. And when you were unloading your pessimitic rant on all of us it certainly seemed to me like you were presenting it as fact.