RockyMountainWingGal

For me, Dan Cleary's GWG in game 7 over the Ducks. Rocked the house down. Thought that was the moment it became clear the Wings' destiny was to win the Cup. Sadly, didn't turn out that way, but I will remember that one for a long time - made me proud to be a Wings fan....

Glad there is only one Ken Holland, and it is NOT this guy....

Essentially the same team was a 1 seed minus Hossa and a 2 seed with him. His leaving won't drop the Wings down to 9. But more scoring depth never hurts with the division likely to get tougher... If he takes a bigger money offer to leave, I won't hold it against him. He already gave up cash to come to Detroit for a year. No I won't treat him like a traitor like the Pens fans did - he came on a one year deal and nothing is ever guaranteed after that.

Yup. Extremely looking forward to another Pens-FLyers PO matchup. See how they like playing against Pronger in a PO series....

If you haven't noticed our math skills have been steadily declining in this country. It is fairly simple really, if i get paid 1 million dollars in year one, and one dollar in years 2-10, my average salary is 100K per year. I'm not sure why more GMs aren't trying stuff like this, but look to see more of them copy-catting Kenny and doing it. Someone also made a good point about Hossa shouldn't have a larger contract than Franzen. I tend to agree with this, and the Wings are pretty particular about not paying other players more than their core guys...

No one here is stopping you from becoming a Pens or Caps fan and joining their boards. If you don't enjoy watching Hank or Pavel, you are free to find a team you do want to watch, and stop bothering Wings fans....

I like Hudler but he is not an elite player like so many think he is. He is a third line guy at best and is not worth 3 million bucks. Sorry if I disagree with you. Flip makes half of Datsyuk for a reason, he will never be Datsyuk either. But he can/will be a top two line guy. If Hudler can fit into next year's budget, so be it. But I don't see him as indispensable - the way some posters are talking, he's going to get nominated for the Hart next year.....

Apparently one guy is a man, and one is not.

First MLB post of the season. First of all I'm pissed off because I get Sirius/XM and baseball is the only one of the four sports to NOT allow broadcasting on both networks, now that they are joined, which means I don't get the games. Second, it's nice that a team from Detroit is doing well besides the Wings. Third, other than enjoying a decent season by the Tigers, the MLB continues to do everything it can to drive me away. Still have not addressed steroids, but I could probably overlook that moreso than never addressing the salary issues. Come up with some kind of system like the other 3 leagues. And for the love of god, allow people to listen to the games. I paid for the $15 radio package last year, but I already subscribe to satellite so I refuse to this year. Other than that, go Tigs!

^^^ This. Filppula is better than Hudler today and has far more potential. I'm not sure how some people cannot see this? We all like Jiri Hudler - but he is not worth 3 mill on the Wings. No way. Just a reality.

Yup Fleury looked very beatable up until games 6&7. Got nothing against the kid, just figured the Wings could and should take him. But got to give him credit for stepping up in games 6 and 7 and shutting the door. Did the Wings offense take their best shots? No surely not, but playing good enough to win in a game 7 in an arena where you are normally a sieve deserves some respect, even from Wings fans....

Good opening post. Although the "16 and Wings fan my whole life" had me feeling kind of old since I was in high school when Stevie Y was drafted, and today he is a HOFer. Pens fans have alot of bandwagoners because of Crosby. Wings fans have alot of bandwagoners because of being a winning team for so long. Goes with the territory. Face to face I doubt there is more in common than different amongst the fans of both teams. Pens fans ought to relish in their Cup win for the summer, then worry about defending it next year. Wings fans ought to not worry so much about what Pens fans do or don't do. I would love to see both teams in a rubber match next year, but I think a few other teams will have something to say about that...

Agreed. Not sure why Val gets ripped so much after a very solid and consistent PO performance. Wings surely cannot afford to burn 3 mill on a third line guy like Hudler, who is small and questionable defensively. Flip is top two line player now....he's bigger and has more potential.

Maybe need a Cheli appreciation thread. I guess i thought he was done as a Wing like 5 years ago, then he kept signing these one year deals so I just got used to it. Twas great having #24 on our roster for 10 years. A few top moments: -Won his second Cup with the Wings in 2002 -Runner up for Norris trophy in 2002, man the Lidstrom guy tends to boost everyone's play. -Skating around in Vancouver after a 4 assist night and the #1 star sticking it to the fans. Never been to Cheli's bar since I live out of state but plan to make it there one of these days.... Hope he retires as a Red Wing and doesn't do another season anywhere else....

We don't need to add an aging past him prime former star to solidify our depth.....

Why would the Wings want Sundin? We don't need another 39yo on this team right now - I like the fact the Wings are getting younger, not older. He's a 39 yo has been that wants to ride his way to a Cup. I wouldn't part with 1 million bux for him right now. I'd much rather keep Hossa... And even if Hossa leaves, no thanks anyways...

The Wings certainly shouldn't re-sign Cheli. I would think when you cannot even crack the top 6 anymore, you need to move on or hang them up. Filling in as #7 is fine for guys like Meech, but for a HOF, formerly elite defenseman, being a fill in guy, and not playing in the finals two years in a row ought to be a clue. I personally think it's time for Cheli to step down. Loved having him hear but it's time....

I wouldn't be able to take watching another round of Legace in net for the Wings - in any capacity. Won't ever happen. Most of these players make no sense - these writers need something to do and some have a wild imagination...

Thank God Kenny doesn't read this forum, huh? Flip fits in well with the Wings system, and was one of our most consistent players this post-season. Yet he somehow needs to be traded to make room for a guy that got an anxiety disorder when he had to play his former team in a series....

What the f*&^ is wrong with you people that keep suggesting trading Flip? A guy that has been consistently good the last PO runs, and is young and improving. Maybe our best playmaker of the postseason, esp with Dats out for an extended period of time. To make room for a guy that totally disappeared in the biggest series of his life? No way Jose. If a Hossa deal is done, it cannot be at the expense of core Red Wings playoff performers. I have to think Kenny is on to this since he is obviously so much smarter than us on these matters. Flip is going nowhere....

good lord more trolls. Get a life. Nick deserved to be nominated. Chara did too and deserved to win. Green was fortunate to get nominated didn't win. Maybe when he learns to combine some defense with his offense he'll get the nod...

Why do people keep bringing up trading Filppula? The Wings would have just seen what offers he got last summer and taken the picks if that were the case. The guy had a great playoffs and he's still young. How is Helm a replacement for Flip? They can both be on the team at the same time last time I checked. Baffling...

Flip isn't going anywhere and I would be really pissed if he did. He's young and has more potential than Huds imo, and is bigger. Plus the Wings just signed him up last summer, plus as mentioned NTC. I wouldn't move Flip just to make room for Hossa - no way.

Considering the Wings never get good draft picks, this would be a good deal in the cap era. I like Huds too, but he is unfortunately expendable. And if he gets a good offer somewhere else, good for him, he deserves to make a bit more money. The Wings are just too deep and too close to the cap to pay Huds what he can fetch elsewhere. Glad he got a Cup with us - dude was hilarious last year. Good luck to him.

Good post. It's a gamble. Who knows which Hossa shows up next year or the year after. It could turn out he has great regular seasons and comes through big in the POs. Or he could be a PO bust again, then I cringe reading the forums. The length is kind of scary. I can see for franchise guys like Z and Mule, but it all comes down to gambling on Hossa. I too leave it up to Holland and Yzerman....