Grateful Gadsby

Agree with this. Been to a few games this year so far, and Modano made several great defensive plays each time. He still has great wheels, and still hustles pretty hard on the back check. He may end up disappointing those who thought he'd rack up 20+ goals, but he'll give Babcock a lot of flexibility come playoff time when we need some shut-down experience in late-game situations.

After today's game against the Blues, it's now 0-3 for the Ducks, outscored 13-2 so far this season. Love it.

This is just bizarre. Ericsson looks absolutely nothing like the player who stepped up and delivered solid minutes two years ago. Did he get a brain transplant or something?

He looks absolutely nothing like the player who stepped in and played such solid minutes in '08. Really bizarre.

Sweet -- many thanks.

Stream?

Jerseys aren't new, the names on the back just have the pre-season "font." The regular season version will be the same as always.

He's had a very solid game. Some good play in the offensive zone protecting the puck and creating some chances. He still needs to shoot the puck a bit more, though.

Another "minus" play by Ericsson. What a shocker ...

Much of the criticism of Bettman is BS. He's a very smart guy who has done a pretty good job for his primary constituency (the owners). Fans -- especially north of the border -- will hate him no matter what he does. Too effing bad. Take it up with the owners. Totally agree that his big mistake was the aggressive push into the US Sun Belt. A toe-in-the-water, slow/incremental approach (i.e., one team instead of six) would have made a lot more sense if he wanted to pursue such a strategy. On the other hand, he's also shrewdly thrown the NHLPA a bone with the expansion by creating more player jobs. Even if just 2 or 3 of the Sun Belt teams survive (with the rest folding and/or moving to Canada), his strategy still will probably have been a success overall.

This sums it up pretty well, I think -- although "Fedo-traitor" is a little harsh. He stands out from the other Wings greats in a key respect: He's Russian, and developed under the old Soviet system. He had to commit a small degree of cultural suicide to play in the NHL, and the adjustment could not have been easy. (I know, I know, all of us would happily make such an adjustment for the million$ he was earning, but I've always been willing to give the oft-enigmatic Feds some slack for this reason.)

^^This. Holland is the best GM in the league, but signing Williams was a major blunder, and would have been so even if he had signed him for $1 last summer. By any objective measure, he should have played himself off the team permanently after his clueless, mistake-filled performance in the 2006 playoffs against Edmonton. Hell, Williams couldn't even nail down a roster spot in Atlanta. He had no business ever wearing the Winged Wheel again.

Well said. It's about the "alchemy" factor and what Player X adds to the mix. For the reasons you stated, Ritola adds more than Williams. (What are Williams's attributes again? I already know how he helps whoever the Wings are playing, but how does he help the Wings?)

That's my take, as well. If Williams ever sees the ice again wearing the Winged Wheel and it's not because of injuries to other players, I will seriously begin to wonder if he's in possession of incriminating pictures of Babcock or Holland.

He did have one ugly giveaway that led directly to a Sharks scoring chance, but I'd agree that it was a good game for him to log some minutes and hopefully regain some confidence and composure. Mickey commented on this during the broadcast.

Wings are up 6 - zip and Jason Williams is riding the pine. Not a coincidence.

Good God. Please keep in mind who wrote the article. Art Regner. The guy has never displayed a shred of insight into the Wings or the workings of the NHL. He's nothing more than a loudmouth fan with a radio gig, and his opinion is no more authoritative than that of anyone who posts on LGW.

Damn -- I missed that. If anyone has a clip, please post it! Thanks in advance.

How can he be? Is anyone impressed with Williams?

It wasn't just the absurd, ridiculous shot. Check out the replay on Marleau's game winner and you'll see Williams lazily pull up/slow down just as Marleau tees up the shot. Unbelievable. Why isn't he lunging or doing anything and everything to break up the play? Because he sucks. His clueless, boneheaded plays were a major reason the Oilers shocked the Wings in '06, so there should be no surprise that history is repeating itself. The guy is toxic, pure and simple.

You can also count on Jason Williams being on the ice, as well. McClellan is a smart guy, and he probably reminded the Sharks at every opportunity to be on the lookout for one of Williams's patented boneheaded plays that no doubt will translate into a great scoring chance. If so, it certainly paid off in OT.

You really have to marvel at what a complete, total buffoon Jason Williams is. I thought it was bad enough that his never-ending boneheaded plays practically cost us the Edmonton series in 2006. Alas, no -- he has to set a new standard in 2010 by firing off an absurd, ridiculous shot in OT that does nothing but spark a 2-on-1 clincher the other way. McClellan is a smart guy and a good coach, and I have little doubt that he constantly reminded the Sharks to be prepared to pounce whenever Williams was on the ice.

Caps need to find a shut-down defenseman with a semi-decent command of the ice. Heck, Hal Gill looked like a poor-man's Pronger last night by comparison. Not sure who's available via trade or free agency, but this should be the Caps' top priority this summer. (Priority No. 2: surgical implantation of a pair of male testicles in size XXL into the scrotum of Alexander Semin.)

Agreed. Players who pull that sh*t after a goal are nothing but first-rate jackasses, led by Barrett Jackass in St. Louis. He's perfected the art of the cheap shot punch to the face of anyone who dares to score a goal when he's on the ice, which is all the more ironic since the goal usually follows one of his boneheaded plays.

Thanks. LeBrun's usually pretty solid in his reporting, so it sounds pretty much like a done deal. If nothing else, it guarantees that we won't have to endure Jason Williams 3.0 next season - not that he was coming back, anyway.