Barrie

Wow, it's amazing to think just because we didn't sign an over priced UFA (the Niskanen deal is horrible), people think we have a bad team. We're good, and going to have a better season with guys healthy and our young players a year older. Boston, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, so far, are worse then last year, and Buffalo and Florida still suck!

The Wings will be better. Our young talent is 1 year older and Dats and Z are healthy. Niskanen won't be the same player in Washington. Quincey would get 40 pts playing in Pittsburgh, which is exactly why Ehrhoff signed there, to rack up the pts so he can sign another big contract... I don't think people realize how good Smith and Dekeyser are going to be. The CBA has created an over inflated UFA Market. We didn't miss out on anything yesterday.

That Niskanen deal is insane! 7 years? Makes Quincey for 2 years look that much better.

7 years for Niskanan is insane! Quincey for 2 years sounds a lot better.

It's only 2 years!

Quincey played more minutes in LA and Colorado

How does he replace Lidstrom and Rafalski? Those guys can't be replaced.

Guys, it's only a 2 year deal. If we signed someone as a FA, we'd have to pay more and for a longer term. For a defenceman who plays 20 minutes a night, it's a good contract. Quincey would have got more if he hit the open market.

I voted Ehrhoff, but either is fine.

2002 was my favorite too. I was older then 11 in 2002, but I knew what a 3rd Cup in 6 years would mean historically for this team. Then there was the, "will Yzerman play?", and beating the Avs in the Conference Finals, knowing that we won the rivalry. Edit: As for the Vernon trade I was ok with it. I liked Osgood more, and I thought he was ready to be #1. Actually it was a little bit of a shock when Vernon was named starting goalie for the playoffs.

Agreed. Jarnkrok was drafted in 2010, it's 2014. He should have been on the team by now. How many players drafted 4 years before making his NHL debut still become a great player?

I live in the Hamilton-Toronto area, if I was the NHL I'd pass on Hamilton, I think it'll hurt the Buffalo Sabres. I've seen the Red Wings there 5 times and been a few other times against other teams, and everytime I go I always meet people from Ontario. Ontario is huge for the Sabres success. Also, Hamilton doesn't have a great night life, and downtown Toronto is 45 minutes away with good traffic. I think it would be tough for a Hamilton team to sign FA's or keep their UFA's... On a side note, I think the NHL should avoid Las Vegas because the night life is too good. The majority of the Vegas players would be hooked on gambling, get connections with the mob, and visit the brothels north of the city. Toronto, yes, needs another team. They could probably be north of Toronto in North York by Highway 401. However, the Leafs would never allow this. The Leafs have a huge support from corporations, and a new Toronto team would be the blue collar team, while the Leafs would be the white collar team... Blue collar fans are the most passionate.

Typical Toronto to think everyone wants to be a Maple Leaf. The reality is, no one wants to play in Toronto. I've met Wojtek Wolski's Dad. A friend of mine told him he should tell his son to sign with the Maple Leafs. His Dad said, "No one wants to play in Toronto" I guess you haven't heard of Nyquist and Tatar?

I don't get what people expect from Franzen. He's a 60 pt guy and has a $3.95 Million cap hit. He's one of the best bargains in the league! Watch him live, instead of on TV, and you'll appreciate what he brings to the team. FYI, he's not going to throw his weight around, he's had a history of concussion problems. Right, the Wings will have to pay someone else $6 Million or more for 60 pts

I blame the Owners for all the violence, cheap shots, and head hits. They could get rid of it by tomorrow, but they either don't want to or they're scared to make changes. I'm convinced they don't want to, and that they're trying to tap into the UFC market to generate more fans and revenue. With all the changes the NFL is making to clean up their game, hockey is now the most dangerous sport to play due to the speed and the lack of discipline and respect by some of the players. Nothing's going to change until someone is either paralyzed or killed, or the league loses big in one of the upcoming lawsuits.

Jarnkrok still wasn't going to make the team for a few years anyway, and by that time he would already be 24. Jurco and Sheahan are younger then him, and are 2 years ahead of him in their development. Jarnkrok is a late bloomer, and the Wings can't wait 4+ years for their draft picks to make the team. I'd make the Legwand trade again, and again.

Rask deserves the credit for the series win. Losing the series 4-1 doesn't do us justice for how well we played, considering the Bruins are the best team in the league and we were the 8th seed rebuilding on the fly. Despite the size advantage, we were only outplayed in Game 3. The Bruins got a lot of help from our inexperience, and typical stupid penalties calls from the worst officiating in sports, by far. Anyone who thinks we need to play like the Bruins (dirty) is nuts! I don't think the Wings need to make too many changes. There's no reason too. Just let guys like Cleary, Bert, and Sammy walk, re-sign Legwand, and look forward to a healthy team next year. Just look at the shot totals, except for Game 3, we were right with the Bruins shot for shot. Rask deserves the credit for the series win.

So much negativity. I tend to stay away from here because reading everyone's posts leaves me with negative feelings about the team, but I'll put in my thoughts so there will be something positive. I don't know what the rest of you are watching, we're playing the best team in hockey, the 2011 Stanley Cup Champs, and the 2013 Eastern Conference Champs. The Bruins have been there, done that. We're the 8th seed, a team with a lot of young players who are experiencing the NHL playoffs for the 1st time. They're learning on the fly. I really don't understand what people were expecting. I've been saying the Bruins would win in 5, but the Wings would make it tough for them. So far I've been right. Other then the first half of Game 3, I thought we've played well. We're getting a decent amount of shots against an excellent defensive team, and holding our own. If we were playing any other team then the Bruins, we wouldn't be down 3-1. Maybe it's because I think long term, and a lot of people here think short term, but playing the best team in hockey can be a very good thing a year or two down the road. Our young players can see what needs to be done to win in the post season. I still think we have one more good shot at a Cup with Datsyuk and Zetterberg on the team. With everyone healthy next year and the experience our young guys are getting this playoffs, 2014-15 could be the year.

That's the Canadian way to play, dirty. Notice all the players involved in dirty plays are Canadian? People can say what they want about the Wings not having an enforcer, but the Wings play the game right. The #1 concern is to out score your opponent, not to beat them up. The NHL seems to think these upcoming lawsuits involving former players is a joke. They use violence to sell their game. Every time they let guys like Lucic off with only a $5,000 fine, they're giving the former player's lawsuits more ammo. The NHL is going to lose big because of their self inflated egos.

I agree, when I compare Jarnkrok to Datsyuk and Zetterberg, Dats and Z made the Wings 3 seasons after being drafted, and by the ages of 24 and 25, they were both top 5 or leading the team in points. Compare that to Jarnkrok, he's on year 4, and still had a season or 2 before he'd be a Wing. He's 22 now, by the time he'd be in Detroit to stay he'd be 24 or 25. Datsyuk and Zetterberg were getting 60-80 points at the age of 24 and 25. Jarnkrok should have made the Wings already.

We had no room for Jarnkrok. Who on this team would he replace? He would have still been in Grand Rapids next year too with Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Weiss back. When he'd finally get his shot, in 2015-16, he'd be 24. Plus there was rumors Jarnkrok was going to go home. The Wings have fought and clawed their way back into a playoff spot the last 3 weeks, and Legwand has been a part of that. Holland turned someone stuck in Grand Rapids, or would go home, into someone who could help us now, and for the next 4 seasons. If Jarnkrok's an NHL player, he has to prove it now, and that wasn't going to happen with the Wings. If he's playing well in Nashville, a team who could actually use him, then good for him for playing well so far. Holland can't win, if he doesn't make a move people are upset, when he does, people are upset.

Holland's going no where.

I'll weigh in on this... I like this trade. Legwand isn't a rental, he'll sign with his hometown team. David's got 4 good years left. Jarnkrok was drafted in 2010, is 23 in September, and hasn't even played a game in the NHL yet! He's still only in his first season in the AHL. He'll probably need another season in Grand Rapids before he's ready, making him 24 before he plays in the NHL. Then he'll need 80 games to see if he can play in the NHL or not, making him 25. In that time, Legwand can score 150 pts for us. It took Datsyuk and Zetterberg just 3 years to make the Red Wings after being drafted, Jarnkork is on year 4. Either Jarnkrok isn't good enough to make the Wings, or there's too many guy in front of him. Out of all the young guys in our organization, he's the one to go. If he was can't miss, he'd already be on the team.

Ok my first post in about a year... I think the NHL officiating is horrible, the worst in pro sports. I find it hard to take hockey serious sometimes because the refs have too much effect on momentum and the outcome of the game. Sometimes they have more of an effect then the players do, which I think is a problem. Then there's making calls based on the score. I seriously think something needs to be done, a different system needs to be put in place, or they even need to rethink if 2 minutes for some minor calls like a little hook or hold is too much time. I don't understand why the League allows the refs to have this big of an effect on the game, unless they use it as a way to keep teams close in the standings for their parity. I wouldn't be surprised one day if I heard the League controls who wins and loses with their officiating. Also, I think one of the reasons why there's so many shootout games is because of the refs allowing teams to get back into games with their calls. Most games you can bet on who'll get the next penalty based on the score, despite what's actually going on. Compared to other sports, I think MLB is fine, all they do is call "strike", "ball", "out", "safe", "fair", or "foul". There's isn't too much umps can do on their own to effect the outcome. It's pretty much one way or the other, and 99.9999% of the time they're right. The players effect the outcome. Football, they only have 5, 10, or 15 yard penalties, or pass intereference. Similar to Baseball, I think 99.9999% of the time they're right, and the players effect the outcome. Moving up 5 or 10 yards doesn't make a huge difference when the field is 100 yards. It's not like giving a team 2 minutes to fire shots at the net for a slight little hook or hold. Basketball, I have no opinion because I don't watch.

This was inspired by the Valtteri Filppula discussion, I don't see Abby's name in a discussion title. So he doesn't feel left out if he visits the board, feel free to talk about his game here. Let me start: OMG he's only plays 13:11 minutes a night and has 1 Assist in 13 games!!!! What was Holland thinking drafting him at 42nd overall?! Abby only played College Hockey at Michigan State! Holland doesn't have a clue!