StaticWithABeat

Datsyuk or Zetterberg would have to be involved for that to happen...Datsyuk for Hossa is an intriguing idea, God knows they could use a half-competent center to play with Kovalchuk.

He'll be in the minors or Europe before long...there's not a lot of room in the NHL for offensive defensemen who score 15 points a year.

Unfortunately the only things he'll be remembered for are that disgraceful maneuver and being among the worst #1 picks of all time.

Too bad Probert wasn't born 20 years later...if he played in today's NHL he'd probably have to hire a team of servants to help carry around his collection of skulls from his vanquished enemies...not unlike the Predator.

The offer sheet is tailor-made for use against teams like the Ducks, who perfer to piss away all of their cap space on the first day of free agent season while leaving promising young players unsigned. Burke is unable to deal with the fact that he didn't spend wisely and Lowe made him pay for it...egomaniac indeed.

Well judging from the preseason he seems to possess the speed and stamina of Robert Lang after a Thanksgiving feast...he came to training camp at something like 5'10" 215 lbs, so unless he plans on sumo wrestling opposing players into submission I think he'll be best-served setting up shop on the exercise bike.

I've always been a big fan of the divisional playoff structure. In my perfect NHL there would be 4 divisions of 6 teams each, with the top 4 teams in each division going through 2 inter-divisional playoff rounds before moving on to the conference final, as Hank proposed. Dropping the instigator and reducing goalie equipment pretty much go without saying. Not sure if I like the 16-man roster idea, I can see arguments both for and against it...I'm inclined to say keep it the way it is.

Sadly, Phoenix is doomed to spend most of their season bent over a table, courtesy of Calgary, Vancouver, San Jose, Anaheim, and probably LA too. They have a half dozen good players to build around, if they made the right moves they could have a nice-looking team in just 2-3 years. Unforunately they are a poorly-managed team and play in a very tough division, so I think they will continue to languish near the bottom of the league for the forseeable future.

Leafs have lots of cuts to make after tonight, hence the lack of regulars...Wings are sans Zetterberg/Draper/Chelios but it should be Red Wings victory with Lidstrom and Rafalski back in the lineup...Mack how have Tlusty and Stralman looked so far? I'm interested to see them in action, especially Stralman.

If the NHL had their way, they'd probably put a $5 million salary cap on each team's marketing department...can't have big-money teams advertising more than small market teams, that's unfair.

Not a completely terrible performance, several Wings played a good game...although I will say I am rather frightened by how our defense looks without Lidstrom. The PP looked small and timid out there, not a soul willing to go near the net...basically 2 minutes of Samuelsson and various defensemen playing catch at the points until someone takes an ineffective outside shot...same deal as the playoffs last year when Schneider went down.

Damn, NHL's not messing around on this one...Downie is inevitably going to get very familiar with the disciplinary committee during his career, good thing they're dropping the hammer on him now so he learns to control himself. If they really want to send a message they should tell him his next offense will earn him 5 minutes alone in a room with Brian McGrattan.

That's unfortunate...he was all but certain to go to GR anyway given his waiver-exemptness.

Heheh, good times...must be nice to be so deep at goalie that you can afford to let talent like Danis walk...

Antropov on the top line is not a good move, even by Maple Leaf standards...he'll probably fall over and get injured from the wind generated by Blake and Sundin skating past him. Ponikarovsky needs to be the RW on that line, he's got size, speed, work ethic, and most importantly dominates in the corners...not to mention he played a lot with Sundin last year so I imagine they have some sort of chemistry. Doesn't really matter I guess, they're not going anywhere until they revamp that defense...and offense...and GM...and ownership...

I like the looks of that defense corps...Lilja makes a good #7 even though he was bitching about being benched last year...considering the dollars he gets payed and the fact that he's the only D-man we have with size+physicality I don't have a problem with him hanging around.

I can't help but wonder if this might factor into Niedermayer's decision to return or not...The Ducks could REALLY use him now.

I cannot even begin to comprehend how screwed the Canucks would be if they lost Luongo. Far and away the most relied-on player in the league right now. Salo is pretty much guaranteed to miss at least 20 games a year, he has an ever-expanding list of medical problems that would make Kronwall blush. They could lose pretty much anybody except Luongo, the Sedins, and maybe Naslund and probably be fine.

Well he's 26, not exactly a kid anymore, and has done nothing to lead me to believe he's anything more than an average defenseman. Lebda has been better up to this point in their respective careers. Then again, it's hard to say anything for sure until he gets an injury-free season under his belt...that is, if he ever plays one.

Lebda is a decent player, he's got speed, a good attitude, and solid work ethic. But small, moderately-skilled, offensively-oriented defensemen are a dime a dozen in this league. Lebda - while capable at both ends of the ice - doesn't have top-end offensive skills and is limited in terms of physical ability, which makes him a decidedly average defenseman. Unfortunately, he falls into the category of players who don't get noticed much when they're playing well, but get lots of attention if they screw up.

I read somewhere that he was planning on retirement after last season, but at the last second he got confused and called a hand-pass on it.

It'll take more than a scrimmage against a team of GR-bound kids to make a believer out of me...encouraging start though.

Dude. This is Steve-F**king-Yzerman you are talking about. The Wings don't exactly roll out the red carpet for every half-decent veteran who comes calling. Hell, #91 would be a no-doubter on most teams, and even the most devoted Fedorov fans will tell you he's probably 50/50 at best. I would bet money that #19 and #5 will be the only numbers retired from the 90's generation.

I'm not sure I would put them at the Cup favorite at this point, but If their young defensemen progress nicely and Nabokov holds up well I would easily rate them in the top 2-3 teams in the West. The JR acquisition could be more meaningful than it seems. The Sharks have had Cup-worthy talent since Thornton arrived, they just seem to be missing the postseason motivation...maybe winning JR a Cup will help generate the kind of hunger they've been missing.

Man, Pavel is one weird-looking dude...good thing he has the whole lovable shy guy-type charm going for him.