LeftWinger

...ok lets think about this in a non-bias non-negative point of view... ...the Wings could use a threat on the second line, they could use some veteren help come playoff time. Adding a legit top 6 guy would only help them... ...guys we've all discussed: Fedorov, Hossa, Sundin, and Forsberg. Now, lets look at it this way; When (and if) Forsberg is healthy and effective, there aren't many players better than him, escpecially come playoffs. The first three listed players would cost us something in exchange, Forsberg would cost us nothing in exchange (so there will be noone scolding Holland for trading away Mathias (insert player whom may be traded.)) He would have to agree to sign an incentive laden contract involving performance or number of games played, etc... ...Now, if he proves he can play effectly, signs a relatively small contract and stays healthy, I would rather rent him than Hossa or Sundin (and give up some future for 3 months of use, even if it brought us a Cup.) I have no doubt Fedorov will be back, either at the deadline or as a UFA. Columbus doesn't want him, they are scratching him for "Some kind of Illness" which basically means (for the most part) they are getting ready to move on without him and are giving his icetime to the players who are going to be there from here on out.... ...so IMO, siging Forsberg is a no brainer as long as he can play. He will easily move onto the number 2 line and playing with either Zetterberg, Datsyuk or Fillpula for that matter, will do nothing but make the signing look like a Nobel Prize winning piece of literature... ...and we can stop all this "He hates Detroit" and "we hate Forsberg" so he would never sign here or we wouldn't want him here. We've all seen the video of Chris Chelios saying how he hated Detroit so much that he'd never sign here or accept a trade, he even cried the day he was traded here and was quoted asking why did it have to be Detroit that was interested, yet, he accepted the trade here and the rest is history. Oh, and BTW, we all hated him just about as much as Lemeiux and now look at us. If Forsberg wants to win a Cup, he has two options in my book, Detroit or Ottawa. There may be other teams who have a chance to win, but the two favorites have to be Detroit and Ottawa, so obviously those should be his first two choices, Detroit having the edge because of the Swedish connection, if he signs anywhere else but Detroit or Ottawa, he may as well stay retired, because anywhere else he would be relied upon to be "The Man" and too much would be expected of him... ...sign him Kenny, you'd be stupid not to roll those dice...

...well we know not many (if any) are as good as Nick, but who is complaining about Rafalski? My God, Jesus! He's #2 in scoring behind Nick!!!! We knew what we were getting when they signed him, did people think that he was gonna come in and become a hitter? If Nick was retired, then we'd STILL have the #1 scorer in the league, Brian Rafalski! Jesus, does he have to be tied with Nick to get some respect!?!?! I don't recall Schneider ever being #2 behind Nick while he was here! ...anyhow, Blake would be a nice addition, but so would many other players (Fedorov, Foote, Hossa, Sundin, Forsberg.) Since we can't obviously get them all, lets hope that Holland chooses the right ingrediant (if he does at all.) ...Would Blake and Fedorov be the mix to put us into the Stanley Cup? They'd bring the playoff experience, Cup winning experience to boot! I think it would cost less to aquire Fedorov and Foote though...

...here's a novel idea, 2 points for a win in regulation or OT, ZERO points for a loss in regulation OR OT. 1 point each for a tie. Scrub the shootout! Why reward a team for losing? STOOOOOOPID!!!!!! A team could theoretically lose EVERY game in OT and still make the playoffs and win the CUP!!!!!!

...if anything, with him being one of the faces of the glory days in Detroit, especially with how much he meant to the Wings during the 90's and their Cup runs, if he doesn't revitalized his career, he may try to get a one day contract and play one shift so he can officially retire a Red Wing, which is where he should retire. It's been done before, I think Ray Bourque signed a one day contact with the Bruins so he could retire where he belonged. Not sure if he played a shift or not. I think the fans would go wild to see #25 on the ice one more time (at least) Hey, who knows, he could pull a Joey Kocur out of his hat, I bet that is what he is hoping inside...

...I would definately trade Kopecky, but I would trade Meech before Lebda. Right now Lebda is better than Meech and in a couple of years neither of them will be on the team (maybe in a 7th position) with Kindl ready to come up. Chelios will play all long as he wants to and there will always be a position on this team for him. The problem with giving Ellis the minute is that the person you are trading for is going to need the minutes, unless you package Kopecky and someone else together... ...I think Feds and Foote or Blake and Sudin will do. But that would cost more than Kopecky, you'd have to give away Hudler and a prospect as well along with a d-man to make room for Blake or Foote...

...ok, first off, I'd rather see Holland make an offer for Foote rather than Blake (as someone said on page 1, he doesn't bring much more offense than we already have.) So if it's a gritty, hard nosed (no pun intended) dman we can use, Foote would cost less and fill the role nicer... ...on this "rental player" issue. Why on Earth would someone want to come to Detroit and only stay for a couple of months? If Blake were to come here, win a Cup (hypothetically) and (we all know) the team pretty much stays the same next season, why on earth would he want to go back to the stinkhole team in LA? Someone said to help develope the youngsters? WHAT!?!?!? If you want to develope the yutes retire and become a coach. Re-sign here (if possible under the Cap) and win more Cups... ...I would pass on Blake and go for Feds and Foote (if that is what we need to win)

...bottom line, you have to play more than 10 minutes to win a hockey game... ...Oh well, no huge loss, sure they gained 2 points in the Presidents race, but in the overall picture, no a huge loss...

...maybe we are outclassed. I know their #1 line loks a whole lot better than ours tonight. Holland better start calling Columbus and asking what its gonna take to get Fedorov...

...another Stanley Cup and 400 wins should seal the deal... (plus retire his number)

...against us maybe, but if the playoffs started today, St. Louis would miss the playoffs by 1 point (and they're in 2nd behind us.) ...of course that may be a good thing for Detroit! LOL! ...and BTW we'd open up against the Ducks (BLEH!)

...so how does the rest of the team get picked then? As long as I knew, the coaches picked the reserves. ...and when he does pick, Osgood will be going, but that is the last Red Wing, that will make 4... ...I hope he snubs Pronger... ...the other goalie should be Leclaire out of Columbus... ...as for our next coach, if ever Babcock leaves, Larionov will fit the bill nicely!

...all this talk about a 2nd line player and a #3 or #4 D-Man. Hmmmmm... ..Fedorov and Foote maybe?

...who do we fear? No other team... ...Who do I fear? I fear our own team. I fear that we'll see another self-implosion like we are all too used too. Western Conference Finals won't do it this year, if we don't at least make it to the Cup final (and not get swept) then we had a disappointing year. This team can beat anyone, even itself, that is what I fear...

...while I agree with you about the past being the past (exception Fedorov) I can remember even back in the 90's when McCarty looked like he didn't belong in the NHL, until the playoffs started that is. It always seemed that he and Maltby, while pretty quiet during the season, lit it up at the right times during the playoffs. I'd take him back for depth and playoff experience. I seem to remember back in 1997 when Joe Kocur was playing in adult leagues and a similar discussion was going on when the Wings talked about possibly siging him for depth, well look how well he worked out not on;y in 97, but 98 also. For the right price, lets say league minimum, he'd might be worth the signing poor Mark Hartigan would be sent back down but he'd be back again...

...if our knees bent the other way, imagine what a chair would look like...

Doug Brown

...as hilariuos as this post is, it speaks volumes! Mike Ilitch wants to win and win now and often! He showed that when it comes to winning a World Series he won't hesitate in parting with "prospects" and HOT prospects at that to get what he is being told will bring him a Championship. Miller and Maybin were top 10 picks in the first round. They were the future of the Tigers, but this deal came up and look where they are now, the Future (probably more like the present) of the Marlins. I would not be surprised if Holland makes a blockbuster if one arises, but if you look around the league, about the only Blockbuster players are Crosby or Ovechkin and that would cost Datsyuk or Zetterberg and we ALL know that is not gonna happen... ...Fedorov will be here. After that, if Sundin or Legwand show up as well, that will be as about a blockbuster as we'll get... ...all this talk of Comrie when we could have had him over the summer at no cost (besides salary) and the majority of this board was against it. I wanted him here, but everytime I mentioned it, I was told he was a cancer and wasn't that good. Now, here we see his name again, this time he is wanted here. Too bad, because if Holland wants him, he'll cost us twice as much as he would have as a UFA last summer...

...well, no worries dude, if things (w/Osgood and the Wings) continue the way they are going, by time the All Star Game gets here, Babcock will be the coach and he WILL select OSgood as an All Star, as a matter of fact, whomever the head coach, he should give Osgood the call...

...forget Tucker... ...Sudin & Fedorov at the deadline, or sooner... ...of course Sudin ONLY if it's a sign and trade or we can get a 3 year deal with him. Fedorov will be here no matter what and he will re-sign for pennies on the dollar to finish his career here. Sundin can retire a Leaf after winning two or three Cups here... ...Hudler can go, Kopecks can go. DO NOT trade anyone from the prospects list, it's because of our prospects that Hudler and Kopecks are expendible. Kindl will be up in Lilja's spot next year or at least splitting time with him...

...nobody is saying he is the sole reason we are where we are. Yet, if You put Dom in the majority of these games and he continues to let in 4 goals on the same 18 shots that Ozzie is letting in 1 goal on, we are nowhere near the team we are now. I would give a crude percentage breakdown like this for the reason we are doing so good. Osgood 25% Eurotwins and the Demo man 25% the rest of the team 50%...

...so this explains the 31 wins on a s***TY Blues team in 2004, eh? You complain about an Osgood love fest, but your hatred for him deceives you. I cannot tell if what you are saying is coming from your mouth or your ass. Put it this way, when we RE-signed Osgood, nobody had a clue that he would play as good as this so far. Would you say that this Wings team is better than the 95-96 one? Did you know that Osgood is on pace to better his record and GAA this year than he had in 1996? So, if not playing out of his mind, or for lack of a better word GREAT, this team would be nowhere near the top of the league, with Hasek's paultry stats. So Osgood has yet to save a game? Sure he faces only 20 or so shots a game, but in hockey the goalie is the LAST line of defense. You still have to stop quality shots, not all of the 92% saves he has made were from the blueline, and he does have a shutout this season already. Oh, to compare Lundqvist with Osgood is no comparison, why you ask? Sure very similar stats, Osgood has a lower GAA, Lundqvist has a higher SAV %. Not much difference there, but Lundqvist makes over $4,000,000 per season, Osgood makes $800,000. You can have Lundqvist for that waste of cash and you can have Hasek at $2,000,000 plus incentives to back him up. Ozzie at $800,000 is leaps and bounds over Lundqvist at $4,000,000... ...same thing is going to be said about Fedorov when he comes back here for pennies on the dollar and scores 40 plus goals again. "it's not Fedorov, it's the team he is on." Give the man the credit he deserves...

...this one is funny... ...here was my reply to that... Hey Curt Shmurt, in your 11-22 6:29 PM post, are you insinuating that Yzerman has no class? Sakic passed the Cup to Bourque did Yzerman ever do that? Well, no, Yzerman never played with Bourque, but in 1997 he DID pass the Cup to Mike Ilitch (team owner who bought the team as the Dead Things) first. In 1998, he passed the Cup to fallen superstar Vladimir Konstantinov as he sat in a wheel chair and in 2002 upon learning that Scotty Bowman was retiring, he passed it along to him first signaling the end of a career. No, there's no class there, Stevie never passed the Cup to anyone he kept it for himself. ...hands down between the two of them, Yzerman gets the nod...

...FEDOROV...Foote...Legwand...Rolston...Bryz or Kolzig... ...too much money in Sudin or Naslund. Unless Detroit trades for Sudin at the deadline (which rumors out of Toronto (yeah I know) says it's gonna happen.) Then Sundin may be easier to sign next off season... ...I'd really like to see Foote here, even though he is not as good as he used to be, plus at who's expense? Lilja? Chelios will ALWAYS be here until HE decides to call it quits... ...Rolston MAY come home (he has Rafalski to try to lure him.) Legwand would be awesome in the Wings uniform, but would Nashville let their adopted son go? Feds is a guarantee, if not by the deadline, then for sure UFA... ...They definately need to let Hasek go (whether he retires or not) Bryz would be my first choice, but an older Kolzig may do the trick too... (or maybe Osgood/Howard(man we beat that horse to death!))

...so, by the look of your avatar you are a Probert fan. I assume you are a wings fan as well. Hmmmmm, Probert left as a UFA, the Wings tried to offer him a small contract but he left for MORE money. I am to assume you would defend him for leaving then, being a Probert fan and all... ...a better response from you should have been, how can a Fedorov fan defend the Wings for screwing him by pulling the offer when he had personal issues going on and THEN offering him less money and smaller contract term! Spoken like a TRUE fan of the game!

...uh....who?