LeftWinger

Nothing personal, just business.... Ray Bourque? Uh, ya, should I find the Chelios video?

It ain't no Hudler thread without me chiming in! Seriously, so far, he is doing what he needs to do, score points. We know he isn't a grinder or a great defender. He isn't gonna win you battles in the corners and he isn't gonna stand in front of the net with the results Holmstrom brings you. That being said, he is here to score goals. Whether he becomes the scoring some folks believe he can be, we don't know. Personally, if Detroit is going to keep him (Lord knows from the off season, nobody was interested in him) then I hope he has another subpar season, so when it comes time to become a UFA, he will not command an increase in pay. But if he does have a career year, I hope he doesn't expect too much more in pay, because there are more important poeple out there Holland needs to spend the Cap on and not be handcuffed by him again. Has he done enough to get traded? When it comes to trades, almost everyone is fair game. If Hudler keeps up a nice pace to have a career year, of course he becomes more attractive to the rest of the league, at least more than he was over the summer. When Mursak comes back, someone has to go, I don't think Holland would want to lose Emmerton/Brunstrom (unless he is playing bad) or Miller for nothing on Waiver's, so yes, someone will probably be traded. BUT, Holland isn't gonna trade Hudler/Filppula or anyone if it's not for the right price and the right player. What would it take to get Doan in Detroit? Definitely not a sub-par Hudler alone, if at all. As much as I would love to be rid of Hudler, he isn't going to bring much back to Detroit unless he is putting up Franzen type numbers, then would Holland even trade him at all? Maybe if he feels he is not going to be able to re-sign him...

Popular demand? just kidding... Anyhow, I like line combo talk, but in reference to your lines that you want to see this year. Neither Commodore or Emmerton will be in GRR anytime soon, if at all, especially while Smith and Nyquist are waiver exempt, so just keep the dream. I do like Filppula with Datsyuk.

actually when Ken Daniels made reference to it in game 1, he said that they are wearing them throughout the season. Either way, very cool to do!

5-2 Wings.... Hudler Hattie...Helm...Brunnstrom (is he playing?) if not,then Bert. Cabrera with 4 RBI. Avs....doesn't matter edit: Avs go up 2-0 in the first and Wings score 5 unanswered...

Red Wings game 1.....Tigers ALCS....Lions 4-0.....What a time to be a Detroit Fan! Go Wings!

In all honesty, and I know EVERYONE knows how I have been towards him, but really, if he can find consistency on Datsyuk's wing and become the player is he supposed to be, I will be very happy. So raise your glass to him being on Datsyuk's wing and scoring 30+ goals! (that just means Holland will have to pay him more as a UFA...) but if he is worth it, he is worth it. Good Luck Jiri! Hudler - Datsyuk - Franzen ...I am on board for him to excel! (I am saying this now, so when and if he does start scoring, it doesn't look like I am jumping on a bandwagon.)

Nah, I am giving him his fair chance. Maybe he turns it around. Good Luck to you he that shall not be named!

Kindl would never clear waiver's. The pic above must be an old pic, or they just gave whoever that is a jersey to throw on for the pic, because looking over the 11-12 roster, not only is Kindl NOT on it, there isn't even a #5 on it.

It's funny how folks are talking about Nashville moving east, yet it was a few years ago when Bettman was saying that Detroit is fine where it's at (despite the old rivalries) because they have developed a huge rivalry with Nashville which continues to grow.. ..well, so much for that one! I still say the best would be Detroit and Columbus move East and have a 14 and 16 team conference. Seems to work fine for MLB. Just like MLB the East could have three divisions with 5, 6, 5 teams and the West would have 5, 5, 4. Wales Conference: Atlantic: Pit - Phl - Rags - NJD - Iles Norhteast: Det - Tor - Mtl - Buf - Ott - Bos SouthEast: CBJ - WAS - TPA - CAR - FLA Campbell Conference: Central: NAS - CHI - STL - MIN - DAL Northwest: VAN - CAL - EDM - WIN Pacific: ANA - LAK - SAN - COL - PHX ...works for me, but of course this is the NHL, so none of that will happen.

Oh, I thought he was only 35....oh well, he'll be gone next year too! Who?

I could be wrong, but this team is the youngest it has been in about 20 years. Have no worries about the grind. This could very well be the last Cup chance for Holmstrom and Lidstrom (the last remaining players from the "Golden Years" ) They are the oldest guys on the team as well (41 & 38) Everyone else is 35 and under. No longer can ANYONE say that the Wings are too old to compete. (not that that stopped them any other time when they were the oldest team in the league! Everyone is just jealous!) Interesting that someone brought up Shane Doan. I think he could be an X-Factor in securing the Wings their 12Th Stanley Cup. I say why wait until the trade deadline? Make the deal somewhere around December or beginning of the New Year. I am fairly sure he would waive his NMC to come here and possibly have his only shot at winning a Cup. He sure as hell ain't gonna win one in Phoenix. He has given so much of himself to the Coyotes organization, it's time they gave back and traded him to a contender. I prefer that be Detroit and as soon as possible so he can "gel" with the team before the playoffs. I don't know who would be dealt, but Doan would be wondrous here. I do like the idea of Alfredsson too, but he is not much of a rental with another whole year left on his contract, plus he is 38 compared to Doan being 34. Doan could actually be re-signed for a few years if they wanted. They'd have to unload some big salary to acquire both.

What did he expect? Even after they re-signed him, all Holland talked about was getting a back up. Maybe he expected to be claimed?

- Bring on July 1st and Ryan Suter! (or Weber, but I think Suter is the better player)

Depth Depth Depth! Can't wait to hear the opening day roster!

Manny Legace tried out for Vancouver, they said thanks but no thanks. He is currently in San Antonio trying out for the Rampage (Florida Panthers Farm.)

I am so happy for Brunnstrom. I hoe he makes some noise. a little off subject, it's past noon, have we heard if any of our waived guys cleared or were claimed? Sorry if this is in a different thread, I couldn't find anything on it...

D parings... Lids/White Kronn/Stuart Commodore/Ericsson (he better step it up) Kindl

They are right. Good luck to the nameless one and Brunnstrom. I will mention him no more. I must change my sig later, I am on my phone. Peace to you Eva!

Fixed... Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hudler, Goodbye!

While we'r at it: Filppula Datsyuk Holmstrom Bertuzzi Zetterbeg Franzen Cleary Helm Eaves Miller Abdelkader Brunstrom Emmerton/Hudler

I think I dislike Ericsson more than Hudler.... ...he is playing like s***e! Overpayment PLUS a no trade clause....super

Ahhhh!! Ok that is better!

I think the hate for Cleary for some people is that he is making $2.5M and putting in 46 or less points, which is only 4 more points than when he was only making $675,000. In that respect, he isn't really "earning" his contract point wise, but he is a hell of a hard worker and I think makes up for his point production (or lack of) in other ways... ...the same cannot be said for certain other player(s) not yet "earning" their contracts... Fact is, this league's payroll is once again rolling out of control. Some if not most of the players contracts in the league are not performance based, but based on potential. Pretty soon we are going to have players once again, being drafted and signing multi-million deals before they step on the NHL ice... Pay for performance, not potential. Keep salaries down, keep ticket prices down. Perfect Example: Ville Leino is bringing home $11M this season based on 53 points scored last year...

So with Cleary out 6 weeks, that should open up three spots for a while, no? Obviously Brunnstrom has earned a spot, Emmerton should get one and then they could either keep someone else up here or give Johnson the spot for the 6 weeks and then deal with that when Cleary comes back. Then when Mursak gets back, that is what worries me, major decisions must be made. I really would hate to waive Miller, but if Brunnstrom is playing in the regular season like he is playing now, I don't believe they will risk losing him to waivers... ...of course there is always a trade of commodities, but who? It's nice to be able to start the season with some options, but it's gonna get sticky real quick!