LeftWinger

The bandwagon fans are the ones that Bettman wanted with league parity...forget the diehard fans who have been with this league since they were kids...lets change the game so we get fans watching the one year their team does well, then change the league again to attract the next cities fans...all while the last ones went back to watching Football...

Gotta go with the Wiki then! Seriously though, it is weird that the Wings are listed in 2014...but wouldn't you think that it would say 2013? Usually the start of the season is the start of their tenancy. That is how the rest are listed....

The experts always say the matchup that has the most upsets is the #7 v. #2....lets hope this bodes well for us! It sure looks like it is for the Sens!

Ya, I dunno who I want to lose more....The Wild because of the centcougar sideshow or the Hawks, who are our natural born enemies... flip a coin I guess! Like I said earlier, Wild lose now, Hawks next round...Pens now. that would be a perfect post season...well a Detroit Cup would be perfect, but that will take a miracle!

Why would the Wings play at the Palace? The Cadillac Centre© ( My name for it) isn't being built where the Joe is, so why wouldn't they just play at the Joe until the Cadillac Centre© is built?

This is another series where I have no favorite in, but I sure would like to see Minnesota fail after the sideshow they put on over the summer...even though not having Suter is the better thing in the long run. Then again, it would be great to see the Mighty Hawks fail in the 1st round too! OMG, I am turning into every fan that hated the Red Wings for the last 20 years! So this is how they felt! Oh well!

I was only poking at you because of the whole NCAA/CHL debate before! I am less a Franzen hater than I was before, but still far from my fav! Why so bitter towards me? I find I don't complain about much now-a-days, unless I peed in your cheerios before, I find it disturbing that you hold some animosity towards me... Kudos on the Fedorov love! Heads and Tails the best Red Wings forward in the last 25 years!

How is it that a team can get away with so many dives? I mean, really. When Don Cherry calls out fine young Canadian boys, there is a problem. Of course the real problem is that the league lets them get away with it...it's pathetic. I despise both of these teams, so I am neither here nor there with a winner, but I hate to see this diving go on...I know Vancouver does it too, but man it seems like the Sharts (yes that was on purpose) are a diving, embellishing machine... embarrassing to the NHL.

Doesn't go quite far enough to show the 3rd guy jump in and then Malkin starts throwing punches, like the pansy butt he is....

Honestly, I don't complain about Franzen anymore....it did get old. He is here for good, I accept it. I haven't complained about him in well over a month...but comparing him to Hossa doesn't mean I am complaining....neither is hoping for a trade. Neither of them are from the CHL, so I wouldn't imagine they are any good in your eyes anyhow.... It's probably because Hossa makes it look effortless. He is a very powerful skater and nearly impossible to knock off the puck.

Pitt s finding out what we learned about 20 years ago even 10 years ago....have all the superstars you want, doesn't mean you are gonna win jack pookie!

I was more so commenting on the post you replied to about Hossa never showing up... Nope, if maybe you would have read the entire post you would have seen where I said "what can be done now? We just have to hope Playoff Franzen returns, we need him." Besides, I didn't think having an opinion was crying. I simply said Hossa was better than Franzen and that is any ANY uniform, not just in a Detroit one. Hossa was better than Franzen when he was a Senator, Thrasher, Penguin, Red Wing and now a Blackhawk. But that doesn't change the fact that we are stuck with Franzen, so I can only hope that he decides to show up and be the guy that Holland chose over the better player... Please lets not turn this into a Franzen v. Hossa debate, I was only replying to someone who said Hossa rarely shows up...next thing you know the name Fedorov will come into play! Whoops!

Oh! I thought it was next year....oh well! Brooklyn Islanders still sounds cool!

Hossa > Franzen...today, yesterday, 10 years ago, tomorrow....fact. Proving everyday that Holland made the wrong choice, but what can we do now? Hope playoff Franzen returns..we will need him tomorrow! Meantime, Hossa is a machine and a big part of the reason the Hawks are as good as they are...he may not score as much in the playoffs as he does regular season, but his presence on the ice commands extra attention at all times and that opens it up for other players to excel... That being said, I wish there was a way that both these teams would lose! Minny this round, Hawks next round. That will work for me!

That guy just said that Suter has a lot of Lidstrom in him.....uh, no. What an insult to Lidstrom.

I can't help but root for the Isles. Not just they are playing the Pens, but because for about as long as Detroit has been a dominant team, they have been doormats. If any team is ready to become great again, its the Isles. Good for them! Next year they are moving to Brooklyn and this is a great foundation to start off a new era! Too bad they won't be called the Brooklyn Islanders....it just sounds tougher than New York Islanders.

another suspendable offense, but of course will go un-penalized.... He only won it because of the league giving it to him....and oh ya, a goal post...

There goes Malkin again, instigating a fight...do you think he will be called for it? Even though he started the tussle then dropped his gloves and was throwing punches...both players throwing punches equals a fight...but even if he initially got the instigator, it wouldn't stay...right Uncle Gary? Nice cheap shot by Iginla to start this whole thing...loser.

6-4!

Yes! Frk those Penguins! 5-4 Isles!

and just like that....4 to 4.....can we expect the refs to step in again? Sindey Louganis is approaching the platform...

Whatever on Earth will the NHL do if the Isles upset the Pengwhines? Holey Moley what will they talk about?

Yes it is. Buyouts: Sammy/Bert....bury Colo in the minors.

Considering the offer sheet. There aren't that many RFA's that would be worth losing multiple drafts picks over. The top two are Pietrangelo and Bogosian, are they legit #1 guys? I am not so sure. Now maybe a trade involving Flip and/or Franzen plus prospects for a REAL #1 guy, but who and who would want to get rid of them? I do like the changes though, its painfully obvious we need to change to compete in the East, lets just hope Holland isn't oblivious to that fact and keeps the same team.... Ya, not too much available UFA, plus like I mentioned they will be WAY too expensive. It's best to change this team makeup by trades and the two viable and tradable guys are Franzen and Filppula (before he becomes UFA) any other players would be throw ins with these guys...

I would like to see the following changes (without naming any UFA names to acquire, we all know we need some more scoring and a possibly via trade a #1 Defender.) I know I will get flamed for mentioning Franzen, but I think Holland should try to find a team that would take on that long contract. I still think Vancouver is the logical place and considering there horrific dump thus far in the playoffs, they will be looking for some changes as well. So after the season, possibly at the draft I trade Franzen. For this scenario, I am trading Franzen for Burrows. (just hypothetical) If Filppula also will not come down from his $5M demand, I also trade his rights at the draft or at least before he becomes a UFA. Not sure what he would bring being a pending UFA, but the prices have been pretty high around the league for pending UFA's, so he may bring more than expected... for this scenario I am trading him to Dallas for Erik Cole. (hypothetical) Ok, flame on with those two, but I think the rest of what I think we need to do will garner more support from you guys. Ian White - leaves as a UFA. Obviuosly there is no room for him and Babcock has no intention of playing him anyhow... Drew Miller - leaves as a UFA. He would be missed, but roster spots are scarce and Patrick Eaves is already signed for another year, so unless there is a trade that involves Eaves, I think Miller will not be here next season... Daniel Cleary - leaves as a UFA. Thank you Dan for the years and heart, but again, roster spots are scarce and its time to move on to youth. Todd Bertuzzi - Either an amnesty buyout or LTIR. Either way, his roster spot and cap hit is needed. Again, it's obviously Babcock has no interest in playing him, or he just isn't healthy enough. Mikael Samuelsson - Amnesty Buyout. Period. He has no place on this team, no matter what he does in the remaining playoff games, his spot is needed and so is his cap hit. Carlo Coliaicovo - Either amnesty buyout or sent to the minors (if buyouts are used on Bert and Sammy) and if he happens to clear waivers his "buried" cap hit will only be $1.575M instead of his full $2.5M. Sure its valuable cap space, but with the emergence of Jakub Kindl and the sign of Danny Dekeyser, there just is no room for him, unless the Wings want to carry 8 defensemen, but that $925K in cap relief could come in handy. If we are lucky someone claims him and we lose the entire $2.5M. We obviously re-sign Damien Brunner, Joakim Andersson, Gustav Nyquist, Brenden Smith & Jakub Kindl. Then all season long you work on getting Danny D re-signed long term and try to convince Datsyuk to re-sign for a couple more seasons... So that leaves me with a roster like this: Burrows - Datsyuk - Tatar Cole - Zetterberg - Brunner Andersson - Helm - Nyquist Tootoo - Emmerton - Abdelkader Eaves Kronwall - Ericsson Dekeyser - Kindl Quincey - Smith Lashoff Howard Monster ...this is just me, I really don't see Holland trading Franzen, but if any team calls about him, it'll be Vancouver and it's my opinion that Burrows is a much more consistent player, and a completely different type of player than Franzen. It is likely that Filppula is not a Red Wing next year if he doesn't come down from $5M, to more like $4M. But still, its time to change and Val just doesn't add up to what we need in the East. Like I said, I don't even want to drop any UFA names because I too think the UFA crop this year will get WAY overpaid... I do like the idea of Clowe and/or Penner on this team for size. The possibilities are endless. I just hope Holland doesn't "like this team" and keep it the same for his virgin voyage in to the Eastern Conference...changes are needed. $4.5M too much for Val...and no way Frk, Sheahan or Nestrosil are ready for the NHL, especially the East. They may get some time, but they need to get gradual time...Tootoo also needs to stay for our journey East.