Vladinator

I didn't say that he wasn't worth the money, just that I wouldn't pay him that with the cap in place & our current situation. Yes, Schneider had more points than Numminen, but was Numminen playing with Nick Lidstrom? EVERY defenseman in the league would see their numbers increase if they were paired with Lidstrom on the powerplay. Besides that, the Anaheim series really highlighted a weakness in Detroit's powerplay strategy. They look for the point shot FAR TOO MUCH. Their whole powerplay is based around the point shot, which (IMO) is a flawed strategy. I'm not saying to ignore the point shot, but they really need to work the play down low more often. If the loss of 1 player (who isn't even our best powerplay defenseman) completely negates our powerplay, then we have a problem in strategy because that should NEVER be the case.

That's fine, let him get that elsewhere if he can. I'd rather spend the money elsewhere. The Wings are well under .500 in playoff games with Schneider in the line-up since he came here, it's not like we've had a lot of success with him (I'm not trying to imply that it is all his fault by any means). A guy like Teppo Numminen could be had for a lot cheaper and could replace Schneider on the powerplay. The rest of his minutes could be split between a lot of other guys that are ready for bigger roles (Kronwall, Lebda, and some of our younger defensemen). Beyond Numminen, there are a lot of other defensemen that could be had for cheaper that could take on Schneider's powerplay role and part of his regular minutes.

If Schneider will sign for 3.5 million or less, I would jump at it...if he wants more than that I'd let him walk. Then we can bring in a cheap powerplay specialist and another solid blue-liner to pick up his minutes...I'd possible go as high as 4 million, but that would depend on what Hasek signs for...

Even after 10 years, I still want to pound that limo driver... Vladdy was the best. I've often wondered how many more cups we might have won without this incident....

I read an article awhile back (I think a couple of years ago) that showed that the team that scores first wins between 65 and 70 % of all regular season games and a little over 70% of all playoff games. This could be a bit different in the "new" nhl, but I still think that the 1st goal is very important.

+/- is by far the most over-rated statistic in sports. Some examples: Jagr was a +26 this year, you wanna tell me he plays solid defense? Peca, a forward known for his defensive awareness was a +2 this season. Madden, perhaps one of the best defensive forwards in the league was a -7 this season, as was Fedorov, another forward known for his 2-way play... Hudler has some talent. That talent will likely keep him in the NHL at some capacity...I have serious doubts that it will do much more than that, and doubt even more that he'll spend his whole career here...

I have my doubts as to whether Hudler can ever be any sort of impact player in the NHL. He shows flashes here and there, but I don't know how he'll hold up over a full season getting quality minutes. He has the skill, but is very small and seems to lack the competitive fire at times. I can't think of anyone (Sammy included) in the Wings line-up that I would bench in favor of Hudler at this point...

I'm not a fan of Bettman's by any means, but this is a bit ridiculous. 1) Bettman works for the owners. HE DOES WHAT THEY TELL HIM TO DO. Any changes that he makes come with the approval of the majority of the owners in the NHL or the change doesn't happen. 2) The salary cap was a needed evil in the NHL. There were far too many teams that had pretty much no shot at EVER winning a cup. You cannot operate a league where that is the case and have continued success. 3) The league did not let Anaheim win the cup. Anaheim won the cup on their own. 4) Without teams in the South and on the West Coast, the NHL has absolutely no chance of EVER competing with the other 3 major sports leagues. 5) As much as I hate VS, ESPN had the chance to match the offer. THEY TURNED IT DOWN. The NHL had no choice except to take the best offer on the table. Doing otherwise would make absolutely no sense. 6) Having small market teams win the Cup doesn't kill the game. The Oilers won 5 cups, aren't they a small market team? Pittsburgh won a couple of cups, then almost had to fold the team. Both of these are small hockey markets, but I would bet that the finals series that they participated in had pretty good ratings compared to other years. Look at football, Green Bay is a very small market, yet they are also a very successful franchise. The same can happen in hockey with proper marketing and some patience. We are all upset that the Wings didn't win the cup, but it's past time to stop looking for excuses and start looking forward to next season. The league didn't stack the deck against the Wings, they instead evened the playing field for everyone, which is how it should be.

Congrats to the Ducks for a well-deserved win. It's good to see that tough, in-your-face hockey still has a place in Bettman's NHL... Hopefully the Wings take a lesson from this and pick up a little more toughness and grit during the off-season...

Exactly, and if Pronger wore a Wings jersey everyone here would love him.

The Sharks could say the same thing about the 2nd round, does that mean that they beat themselves or did we beat them?

Which is an excuse. You don't win the Stanley Cup without luck and you don't win the Cup without over-coming injuries...look at any other team that has ever won the cup and you will find their share of luck and injuries....look at any other team that failed to win and you will find their share of bad bounces and injuries that contributed to their fall. To win the cup you have to over-come these things, which the Wings failed to do...

I am so tired of the poor sportsmanship around here over the past week & a half. THE BETTER TEAM WON! Get over it already and move on people. All of this crap about luck, injuries, the wings' travel, etc., is a bad joke. You don't hear the Wings using such excuses, you don't hear any NHL players using such excuses. They beat us, end of story. The Ducks did what needed to be done for them to win. The Wings didn't do what was needed to be done for them to win. Everything else is just part of the storyline. It really cracks me up how many people here have repeatedly bashed the fans of other teams, then they turn around and pull this crap when the Wings lose...After the past week and a half, most of you have no room to EVER complain about another teams' fans again, because you are proving that we are just as bad... Good sportsmanship is something that fans should take pride in. I'd like to see a little more of that around here these days...

Had Chelios been given ANY award in Detroit prior to him coming here, he would have been boo'ed like there was no tomorrow...before coming here, the hatred for him was higher only for 1 other player in the league (the turtle)...so I guess that means that us in Detroit aren't actually hockey fans??? Imagine Pronger receiving such an award here in Detroit for example... And before you go off saying that Chelios and Pronger are completely different, they aren't. Chelios was WELL KNOWN for his cheap shots for years...I can recall quite a few very dirty hits from his days in Chicago...

I'm sure that if his Uncle Jacques Lemaire is willing to part with him instead of Backstrom...there is a very good reason...

One of the most important things that you need when building a young team is some veteran leadership. It is especially helpful if that leadership has won the cup...The Wings have 4 players (not counting goalies) that have won multiple cups, all here. That leadership is huge. Maltby & Draper are prime examples of what it takes to win in the playoffs. Both players play hard every shift, doing all of the little things that are needed to win. On top of that pair, you throw in the shining examples of Lidstrom & Holmstrom, and our young players are shown first hand how they need to compete in the playoffs. These guys are proven winners, you cannot have too much of that on your team. For a cheap price, the Wings locked up a guy that will give you 110% every shift in the playoffs...a guy that will do whatever it takes to win, without question...a guy that will accept whatever role he is placed into...a guy that has won 3 stanley cups and will help push our young kids towards another...that is a bargain.

Backstrom isn't going anywhere. They'll move Manny Fernandez if they move a goalie...

Schneider's overal minutes can be replaced by spreading them out between the youngsters. All we need is to replace his presence on the powerplay, which can be done for a lot cheaper than what Schneider will get... For all of the talk about how key the guy is to us, we are under .500 in playoff games that he played in since coming to the wings...not saying it is all his fault by any means.... I think that for the money, the Wings can do a lot better. Our powerplay is focused far too much on setting up the point shot. With Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Bertuzzi, & others out there on the forward lines, we need to start working on getting it down low more often rather than relying on the point shot.

Say what? Were they cut in half or were they cut by 85%? Or maybe half of 85%? Lang will not be missed much...Hopefully we can find someone who can score like he can, but actually helps out in other areas here and there as well....

Bab's wife will probably be along to try to talk Dom's wife into agreeing to him staying for another year...

There is a slight difference. Holland was serving as assistant GM for 3 years before taking on the role of GM. Plus he served as the head of scouting for 5 years before that and was a scout for us even before that. While I do agree that he doesn't get the full credit for building the Wings cup teams, he does deserve some credit for his role...

Lilja - B- / B+ (I never really understood all of the criticism, stepped it up big time in playoffs. A bargain for his salary.) Lidstrom - A/A (still the best player on the Wings and the best defenseman in the game. A lock for another norris.) Ellis - Inc. Cleary - B+ / A (hopefully builds on this year and is even better next year. Sometimes a player just needs to find a home, it seems as if Cleary has done that.) Datsyuk - A / B- (still not enough in the playoffs especially on the road. This was his best playoffs to date, hopefully he builds on that.) Langfeld - Inc. Calder - C+ / E (probably won't be back and I could care less...) Maltby - C/B (lives for the playoffs, hard-working, gritty, great for the role) Lang - D- / D (if Holland re-signs him I will scream. Would have been an E for playoffs without a couple of key goals) Lebda - B- / Inc (unfortunate injury hurt his season) Schneider - A- / B- (too many stupid shots that were obviously going to be blocked. I gave Schneider props earlier this season, but I think it is time for him to go. There are cheaper options out there that can give us his powerplay presence and we can spread the rest of his minutes out along with his salary.) Chelios - B+ / A+ (a wonder at his age...if he plays here next season, he will have played parts of 9 seasons in Detroit, the same as he did in Chicago...who would have thought that when he got him he would still be playing at this level this many years later?) Hudler - C+ / C- (just doesn't thrill me. I don't see him playing any sort of major role with the wings ever) Bootland - Inc. Kopecky - C / C- (came back from injury and didn't look good) Osgood - B+/Inc. (played well down the stretch, could still be a starter for a lot of teams in the league) Draper - B/B+ (role diminished slightly, but still one of the best penalty killers in the game) Meech - Inc. Samuelsson - C- / B- (great at times, terrible at other times. At his salary though, he's still a bargain) Hasek - B / B- (played great at times, but wanders too much and goes down far too quickly. Reflexes are still very quick, but not quite what they once were. As much as I hate to say it, he is still our best option in goal for next season, but the fact that he only finished 1 of the last 3 seasons is frightening still. I'll never be a fan of Hasek, but I do respect his ability. I wish that we had better options, but I really don't see any.) Zetterberg - A / C+ (came off injury and was stronger towards the end, but needs to be key guy in playoffs every game, all game. Has the potential to be one of the best players in the game, but this won't happen until he centers a line of his own every night.) Hussey - Inc. Bertuzzi - Inc / C+ (will be much better after an off-season of rest, hopefully we re-sign him) Qunicey - B- / B (needs to be on roster next season) Filppula - B / B+ (hopefully builds on playoff year...looks to be a huge part of wings' future) Kronwall - C / Inc. (next season is very important for Kronwall. Lots of potential still, but injury prone and not developing very quickly) Franzen - B / B+ (This kid should be a wing for years to come. Love his determination) Markov - B / B (wouldn't mind seeing him back next year at all) Holmstrom - A / A+ (I wish that he had a little more to his game besides his presence in front of the net, but that alone earns him high marks.) Coaching - B+ / B (Got more out of this team than was expected, but failed to adjust quickly enough in playoffs. I think that we focus far too much on getting the shots from the point on the powerplay, we need to work it down low more often. This is part of the reason why I think that it's time for Schneider to go. Some of the line combinations didn't make much sense at times, but this team has transformed from a soft and at times lazy team into a gritty, hard-working team and the coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for that).

Yzerman himself said that if not for Vladdy being there in his wheelchiar to hand the cup to, it would have went first to Osgood because of how well he played for them in 98. I too am tired of the bs statements that anyone could have won it the year that Osgood won it. You don't win the cup without quality goaltending in ANY season.

I think that Dats & Hank will be split up next year, both centering their own lines...so we really don't need a center.

I was really surprised that nobody took a chance on Leetch last season. With the injuries that we had on the blue line, he would have been a nice fit here for the latter part of the season and into the playoffs...