BlueMonk

It's scary to watch, but second guessing Hasek is pretty pointless. He's been unorthodox and a risk taker his whole career, and it's worked for him to the tune of a Hockey Hall Of Fame career. I'm right there with you ready to jump out of my seat, but it's just the way it is with him. Remember 2002? He was coming out of the net like he does constantly. I remember Gary Thorne during the WCF exclaiming every 3 minutes, "Blake dumps it around the boards. Hasek coming WAY out!" But, again, the net result was it worked.

Someone please swing a hockey stick at John Keating. God, what a cheeseball. An embarrassment to an otherwise proud organization.

This is the problem. This is why I always make fun of people who actually quote the guy. Next time you want to read Eklund's latest rumor, do this: Make up a trade in your head and post it to this thread. Then, refresh the thread and read your post. Saves you the trouble of having to go visit another website.

He's had a bad career.

It's a gamble, but depending on the prospect, it's probably a pretty good gamble. I like the move. If he isn't healthy, he won't provide much. If he's anything like he used to be before the back problem, he'll be the absolute perfect fit. Probably he'll be somewhere in between, which would still be an upgrade over any other forward from the 2nd line down.

Hehehe. I was thinking the same thing.

Sid is feeling a lot more protected all of a sudden. Roberts and Laraque, nice.

I can't believe anyone pays attention to him. The smart thing would be if everyone just ignored him.

See, now reading that gets my blood pressure up. Why? Because that almost makes it sound like Holland is selling this as the deal the Wings needed to make. As if it's the only one they need to make. Technically, he can say he added a top six forward, since the guy he replaced, Williams, played on the second line (for reasons nobody can understand). But now he's trying to sell Calder as "gritty?" That's stretching it, especially when you consider he's under 6 foot and weighs in at about 175 lbs.

Most likely the Wings will unretire #19 for the remainder of the 2007 season, then re-retire it in the summer.

Williams will almost certainly score at least one goal when the teams play next. Mark my words.

He's an upgrade over Jason Williams, so I like the trade. Holland saw an opportunity to unload Willy, so it makes sense to pull the trigger. And he's small, which made the deal irresistable to Kenny.

Some of the analysis on this board of who or what this team needs, or doesn't need, leaves me speechless.

It's really bad news he's going to be out 4-6 weeks. I was hoping for much longer.

I'd take Dallas, Vancouver or Minnesota. Calgary would suck, so would San Jose.

Ouch, NN. That stings.

One of the problems that GMs and coaches are faced with is the pressure of expectations from the public at large. They sometimes have to do what "everyone" thinks they're supposed to do, even when it's not in the best interests of their team. Some researchers conducted a study showing the risk/benefit of football teams going for it on 4th down, and concluded that coaches aren't nearly aggressive enough about doing it. They asked some of the coaches and they admitted that even though they believe it gives them the best chance to win, they know the backlash they'll get if they don't convert and the impact it could have on their jobs. Basically, the percentages could work in their favor, but people will focus on the unorthodox decision, even though it pays more dividends than losses, and the coach will feel the heat. I have a feeling the same pressure would be at work here. Holland sells and the Wings lose in the first round, people will say it was the cause. Doesn't matter if they would have lost anyway, he would take all the blame for it.

You know, that's a really good point. He should consider it.

Let MacTavish whine all he wants. He'll have lots of time to give quotes in a few weeks. Hello, golf course.

They paid a huge price, especially for a guy who has never been a big playoff performer. Honestly, I have to cut Holland some slack if this is the kind of asking price that's out there for a player like Tkachuk. Realistically, the Red Wings aren't a Stanley Cup team, and no single addition is going to change that. To give up that many picks is insane. Just take your chances with what you've got and you could catch a break and maybe go far into the playoffs anyway. But the Wings need to hang onto their early picks.

That's a good point about Williams' concussion. He hasn't been the same player since. Maybe that's the problem. Regardless, one way or another, that line has to be sh**canned. Lang is just worthless. He either needs to be benched or traded. Or someone give him a concussion, so at least I can feel like there's a good reason why he's playing so terrible.

That's fine, we all get pissed at losses. But the schedule is designed so that not all games are equal. The Wings just played the 2nd half of a back to back, 3rd in 4 nights, and were on the road. The Preds were sitting at home waiting. So, in the big scheme of things, this is not a bad loss.

Quality response.

This is a huge point for the Wings. They're in great position. I was talking with a friend of mine about this series and we both figured the Wings just need to win their home games against Nashville. Getting a point in a road game is a bonus. The schedule should probably take care of the rest. While the Wings play a March schedule full of home games, the Preds are off on a brutal road stretch. If the Wings can just take their remaining home games against the Preds, they'll probably win the division. He may have scored the OT goal, but Forsberg looks like a shell of his former self. The Preds better hope he's just going through an adjustment period, because if this is as good as he's going to play, this will go down as one of the worst trades in a long time.

Makeup calls, just like I said!