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Ozzie will probably play for a couple more years after his current deal. But don't look for him to make anything more than he's making right now...in fact he will probably take less as he ages. He'll likely retire around 2012-13, assuming he remains the starter until then and guys like Howard, Larsson, and McCollum haven't turned into superstars playing 60 games. Ozzie will also likely sign for a year at a time. If that's accurate, figure him for around 450-475 wins at the end of his career, and at least two, probably three, and maybe even more Cup rings as a starter...anyone who puts this guy as a "no" for the HOF is just stupid. If he comes back next season and then retires, he'll get to about 420-425 wins and have anywhere from 2-4 Cup wins as a starter. That alone is enough to make him a first-ballot lock.

My point was that Fedorov was much more talented all-around.

Stickhandling I don't know if I agree with. Deking, maybe. But Fedorov in his prime was virtually impossible to strip of the puck, and rarely turned it over. Datsyuk has sick dekes, but he is probably easier to strip of the puck than Feds was. So it really depends if your definition of stickhandling is "ability to deke" or "ability to keep the puck" and Fedorov was definitely better at the latter. As far as the skating play, I was simply guessing at which play was being referred to, as that play sounded like what he was describing. My statement about Fedorov possibly being the most dominant all-around player was simply conjecture; the league will improve in its talent, especially in terms of all-around players, but what I was saying is that it's unlikely we'll ever again see a player who is so dominant over his peers in so many aspects of the game as Fedorov was.

Rafalski won't retire...Meech will be on the roster and Kindl will still be in Grand Rapids. And you have HAL GILL on the Wings' roster?? For $1.5m? One, he'll get a better offer elsewhere because of his size. Two, he is the exact opposite of the Wings' system...he's slow, can't handle the puck, and his defense is primarily based on hitting the puck carrier (or someone else) rather than blocking lanes and preventing shots. Guerin and Gill will stay in Pittsburgh, probably for more than you listed them for here. Look for Samuelsson to come back instead of Guerin.

Sundin has played all three forward positions in his career comfortably.

Stevie was killing penalties as far back as his 100-point days...don't remember exactly when he started though. But I do know he is the only player in history (and likely the only player who will ever do it) to score 150 points or more in the same season as he received at least one first-place Selke vote.

Assuming no players retire and NTC are waived if necessary: Datsyuk $6,700,000 Zetterberg $6,083,333 Hossa $6,000,000 Franzen $3,954,545 Filppula $3,000,000 Holmstrom $2,250,000 Hudler $1,800,000 Draper $1,583,333 Leino $1,000,000 Maltby $883,333 Helm $599,444 Kopecky $575,000 Lidstrom $7,450,000 Rafalski $6,000,000 Kronwall $3,000,000 Lilja $1,250,000 Ericsson $900,000 Lebda $650,000 Meech $483,333 Osgood $1,416,667 Howard $716,667

Osgood is a lock for the HOF. He'll be back next year, clear 400 wins, and maybe even win another cup.

IIRC, the play you are referring to was the play where he was trailing Hossa and was tripped. One, Datsyuk was tripped so he wasn't going to catch Hossa. Two, Hossa is a faster skater than a healthy Datsyuk, and 98% of the rest of the league, so Dats probably wouldn't have overtaken him unless Hossa planned it anyway.

Fedorov in his prime was one of a kind. Datsyuk is very good...but not THAT good. In his prime, Fedorov was among the best goal scorers and playmakers in the league, while being the league's best defensive forward, the league's best skater, and having one of the hardest and most accurate slapshots. He didn't fight often, but he did play a physical game and was IMPOSSIBLE to knock off the puck. His stickhandling was the best I have seen in my entire life. He was capable of playing any position as well as anyone in the league at that position, including defense. It's something I have never seen or heard of before, and will likely never see again. Datsyuk is great, and by the end of his career will likely by a HOFer, but Fedorov in his prime was possibly the best, and most dominant, all-around player the NHL will ever see.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember is that Pittsburgh has the last change. So we have to consider that Crosby and Malkin will get matched against our weakest lines, while the Pens' best defensive lines will play against whatever top offensive combos we come up with. So I present: Cleary/Zetterberg/Helm Franzen/Datsyuk/Leino Hudler/Filppula/Hossa Abdelkader/Draper/Samuelsson Lidstrom/Ericsson Kronwall/Rafalski Lebda/Stuart This lineup is strong defensively and features some offense on all lines, so regardless of who Crosby or Malkin is matched against, the Wings should be able to limit the Pens' offense regardless of what the matchup is. Alternatively, a lineup set much closer to what Babcock has generally used: Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Cleary Franzen/Hudler/Hossa Holmstrom/Filppula/Samuelsson Helm/Draper/Maltby

The Wings would not have beaten Anaheim or Chicago without Ozzie outplaying Hiller and Khabibulin/Huet, respectively. Both of those series could have gone the other way if Ozzie were not as sharp.

He was thinking "s***, the goalie beat me to the puck! I better not hit him or I'll get a penalty."

It should be Ozzie. The Wings wouldn't be in this position without him. Hank has been amazing, and as good has he has been he just hasn't been as important as Ozzie.

Despite the fact that both Timonen and Pitkanen play on the first PP unit while Kronner plays on the second in Detroit, Kronner scored significantly more points than the two Finns. Both Pitkanen and Timonen's PP units feature better forwards than Kronwall's. Kronwall scored almost as many even-strength points as Pitkanen and Timonen COMBINED. That would be like saying Stephen Weiss and Jason Blake were better players this season than Evgeni Malkin. So if any of these guys has an offensive edge, it's Kronwall.

I want to see the Wings win Game 6 1-0 in OT, with the game-winner scored by Chris Osgood.

If Ozzie doesn't win the Conn Smythe...I will be ******* speechless.

Osgood 9 Lidstrom 8.5 Rafalski 7.5 Stuart 7 Kronwall 8 Lebda 6.5 Ericsson 7 Zetterberg 8.5 Datsyuk 8.5 Hossa 8 Franzen 7 Cleary 7 Holmstrom 6.5 Filppula 7.5 Hudler 8 Samuelsson 7.5 Draper 6 Maltby 6.5 Helm 6.5

Proof.

Hudler showed why I call him the second best playmaker on the team with a perfect pass to Z. Also, Hossa is rather snakebitten as far as goals, but that was a nice pass to Flip for his goal. Best pass of the game, though, was Osgood's pass to Hossa.

The officiating in Game 5 wasn't perfect; there were missed calls both ways. But ultimately, it was probably the best-called game of the series and the officiating was the most consistent through the game, as well as fairly called. But far from perfect.

You left out the "why" factor. I like both of those guys (have been pushing Pitkanen as a future star since he was drafted, with much opposition), I just don't think they are better than Kronwall RIGHT NOW.

Let's break this down by division, looking at each Western conference division's top ten defensemen (in no order) with at least one rep from each team included in that ten. Then, that will be followed up with a breakdown into who the top-20 defensemen in the conference are based on those lists, in no order. Central: Keith, Campbell, Barker, Hejda, Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Weber, Suter, Jackman Northwest: Phaneuf, Aucoin, Regher, Liles, Visnovsky, Souray, Burns, Zidlicky, Ohlund, Bieksa Pacific: Niedermayer, Pronger, Whitney, Beauchemin, Zubov, Robidas, Quincey, Doughty, Jovanovski, Boyle, Blake, Vlasic, Ehrhoff WEST: Keith, Phaneuf, Niedermayer, Pronger, Campbell, Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Weber, Visnovsky, Ohlund, Zubov, Boyle, Zidlicky, Burns, Whitney, Robidas, Blake, Aucoin, Souray Now that we have established Kronwall as top-20 in the West, we need to look at the East. Northeast: Chara, Wideman, Hunwick, Spacek, Lydman, Markov, Kuba, Kaberle, Kubina, White Atlantic: Martin, Oduya, Streit, Rosival, Redden, Timonen, Coburn, Carle, Gonchar, Letang Southeast: Enstrom, Hainsey, Pitkanen, Corvo, Seidenberg, Bouwmeester, McCabe, Ballard, Ranger, Green EAST: Chara, Wideman, Martin, Enstrom, Green, Markov, Spacek, Kaberle, Streit, Timonen, Gonchar, Bouwmeester, Oduya, Redden, Rosival, Lydman, Kuba, Hunwick, Pitkanen, Coburn So now, let's whittle down between the West and East. First of all, who from these two lists is better (or on par with) RIGHT NOW than Kronwall? WEST: Keith, Phaneuf, Niedermayer, Pronger, Campbell, Lidstrom, Rafalski, Weber, Zubov, Boyle, Blake EAST: Chara, Wideman, Green, Markov, Kaberle, Streit, Gonchar, Bouwmeester Kronwall is about even overall with two or three of these guys. So the worst he ranks is 20th. Surprised? Come on. Give me some names of other defensemen who are clearly better than Kronwall, and why.

Nothing against Leino, but Hudler is hardly soft. He works hard and gets dirty in the corners as much as anyone, despite his size advantage. You can use his size to call him soft, but that's simply inaccurate.

Sean Burke - Big Bird Daren Puppa - Poodle Jon Casey - The Human Snow Angel Glen Hanlon - Carrot Top Wendell Young - Swindle (Has won Robertson, Memorial, Calder, Turner, and Stanley Cups)