eva unit zero

The Wings would have to trade Stuart and Filppula to have the necessary cap space to be able to sign Hossa and Franzen. Unless they would prefer to let Hudler and Samuelsson leave as free agents instead of trading Filppula.

Being able to deal cap space for certain years? It would have to be done properly, but it could definitely work. A limit, such as "you cannot take upon more cap space than you have traded away in the deal" should probably be included in such a rule. As far as the idea of a player's cap number changing when he is traded, that should not happen. If his cap number would be different after the trade, than it should have been different before the trade as well. The cap number should either be identical to the player's yearly salary and change each year, or it should be the contract average regardless or movement.

As I have posted on other threads: Either an acceptable trade for Stuart is found, or Filppula and Lebda are traded together or separately. Past that... Sign Hossa $6m/yr Hudler $1.8m/yr Samuelsson $1.35m/yr Leino $1m/yr Kopecky $575k/yr Leaves as UFA: Franzen, Conklin, Chelios Promote Ericsson $900k/yr Howard $716,667/yr Helm $599,444/yr Preferably, Stuart is the one traded and Babcock can try out these lines: Holmstrom/Datsyuk/Hossa OR Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Holmstrom Hudler/Zetterberg/Kopecky OR Hudler/Kopecky/Hossa Leino/Filppula/Samuelsson Cleary/Draper/Helm Maltby Lidstrom/Rafalski Kronwall/Ericsson Meech/Lilja Lebda Osgood Howard Of course, one thing everyone is forgetting is that the NHL CBA and salary cap uses escrow accounts, so if the cap is expected to go down and revenue isn't expected to meet the requirements for the cap being used for this season, then part of each player's salary will be withheld in escrow until the final revenue numbers have come in, at which point it is possible that players could actually receive pro-rated salaries for this season that are less than their agreed upon numbers.

So I've been eating retard sandwiches if I think Lidstrom is the best player, yet the majority of the forum picks Datsyuk for the Selke for no other reason than he won last season, and the fact that I provide significant reason why Datsyuk repeating as the Selke winner is unlikely holds no water with most people. Patrick Marleau has had a very good season at both ends of the ice; he has been mentioned among Selke candidates; and taken only 7 minor penalties all season. Martin St. Louis has only taken five, but his defensive game is lacking. Admittedly, Marleau's offense is not quite on Datsyuk's level, but Marleau plays on his team's second line with lower level linemates. Marleau is also his team's captain and more of the leadership burden falls on him than does on Datsyuk.

Well, despite being born in Ottawa, Savard does have a French name...

Nope. I got sick once all winter, and it's the first time I've been sick in years. I suppose it's fair since right now I'm on disability for my epilepsy due to the frequency of grand mal seizures I have been having since last April, although the rate of seizures is slowing enough to the point I may be able to soon return to work. TPBM thinks Kirk Maltby is a total hottie.

The question was who do you think SHOULD win these trophies. Not who do you think WILL win these trophies, although that is the response that has been pouring out every third post. It's not my fault that defensemen don't get Pearson votes when they should.

Oh really? The Frank J. Selke Trophy is awarded annually to the "National Hockey League forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game." I'd say that even by your own statement, Z is more deserving by the actual definition of the trophy. Unfortunately, the Selke, much like the Norris and Hart, is a trophy that is often not awarded to the most deserving candidate.

The Wings are looking at two likely paths. Either an acceptable deal for Stuart is found, or Filppula and Lebda (together or separately) are moved with no roster players returning in either scenario. If Flip and Lebda are both dealt, Meech ends up serving double duty as the spare on a 21-man roster. If Stuart is dealt, the Wings carry 22. Franzen and Conklin are gone either way. EDIT: The rosters the Wings will be carrying are the following: If Stuart is traded: Zetterberg/Datsyuk/Holmstrom Hudler/Kopecky/Hossa Leino/Filppula/Samuelsson Cleary/Draper/Helm Maltby Lidstrom/Rafalski Kronwall/Ericsson Meech/Lilja Lebda Osgood Howard If Flip and Lebs are traded: Holmstrom/Datsyuk/Hossa Hudler/Zetterberg/Kopecky Cleary/Leino/Samuelsson Maltby/Draper/Helm Meech Lidstrom/Rafalski Kronwall/Stuart Ericsson/Lilja Meech Osgood Howard Pick your preference. I would prefer to trade Stuart.

EDIT: Double post

Kopecky, 4 years, $575k per year.

I am never coming back here.... Far too homer. Can't even talk hockey... You're the one who started calling out perfectly legitimate lists as homers (my list was very similar to yours, had fewer Wing selections than most, btw, and I have been arguing against those selecting Datsyuk for Selke) while refusing to admit that your own list could be viewed as a homer list in certain selections. Ah yes, the board is what is being far too homeriffic.

Streit, Wideman, and Green have all had good seasons. But Lidstrom's paycheck or the fact that less was expected out of them than was of Lidstrom has NOTHING to do with Lidstrom being more or less deserving of the Norris than they are. If you seriously think a player's paycheck or what fans expect of him should actually be a factor in whether he wins an award, then Andreas Lilja and Kyle Quincey should be First-Team All-Stars this year. Lidstrom was the best defenseman, therefore Lidstrom deserves the Norris. Chara, Boyle, Weber, Keith, Wideman, Rafalski, Green, and Markov would probably be my remaining top ten this year, in no order. Datsyuk doesn't have a logical claim to the Selke. I have made this post in many other threads; Datsyuk spent most of the first half of the season centering the Wings' first line with Hossa and Holmstrom, the purpose of the line being almost exclusively offensively and any defense from the line a bonus. Zetterberg, who was now centering the Wings' second line, was being used to center some varying combination of wingers such as Cleary and Franzen, or Franzen and Samuelsson, or Cleary and Samuelsson...but always wingers who could play well at both ends of the ice. Why? Because Zetterberg's line was being used as the team's primary shutdown line. Now, if Zetterberg, and not Datsyuk, is getting the shutdown assignments...wouldn't that indicate that the team was viewing him, and not Datsyuk as its most capable defensive forward? And even then, Zetterberg is still used as much for offense as he is for defense. But at very least, it would cast doubt on the idea that Datsyuk was the best defensive forward in the league, as there are forwards like Kesler, Pahlsson, and Fedorov out there whose primary role is to shut down the opposing scorers and who are quite good at what they do. As far as Datsyuk winning the Lady Byng...you basically justified your choice of Dats winning it by saying "He won it before, he should win it again right?" right after saying that Lidstrom shouldn't win the Norris because he's not so far ahead of the pack that he should be a near unanimous selection as he has been in the past.

You didn't like Kopecky before his injury. I projected him as a potential top-six power forward when he was in the minors. Personally I'm hoping he gets a chance to replace Franzen after Franzen leaves this summer, but I don't know if it will happen. I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong about players. Are you?

Question. Who's the third "Selke-caliber forward" you refer to above? You mean Z, Dats, and? It's not Draper or Maltby...their defense has been mediocre this year. Samuelsson, Kopecky, and Hudler have been solid...but certainly have a ways to go before they are called Selke caliber. Franzen has had some moments, but has been horribly inconsistent and has had times where he has looked like more of a liability than a defensively capable forward. Holmstrom is the worst defensive forward on the team...so that is automatic disqualification. You said "without Hossa" so it's not Hossa. Filppula and Cleary have played very solid defense, so I suppose you are referring to one of them? Do you really think one of Flip or Cleary has played Selke-caliber defense, or was it just a typo?

I would say Lidstrom is a better D than Ovechkin is a LW. and btw, this all started because you asked for everyone's opinions on awards. My opinion on the best player is Lidstrom. If you can't handle that, you shouldn't have started the thread. Ovechkin certainly makes the top 5 at worst of all players. Basically, if you were drafting a team for one tournament, who would be first on your draft list? Malkin? Lidstrom? Ovechkin? Datsyuk? Crosby? Zetterberg? Chara? The question is basically "If you were picking from the entire NHL, any player, who would you pick to start your team for a tournament?" I know we would have a lot of different answers, but mine would be Lidstrom. You are arguing that Lidstrom isn't the best player in the world because you don't think Lidstrom has been the best defenseman in the league, so clearly picking him as the best player is a homer pick.

You are not very good at picking up sarcasm, are you? You've been around a couple years now and haven't noticed the amount of sarcasm used in my and others' posts?

Ok, so I'm not allowed to pick Lidstrom for the Norris because he doesn't lead all defensemen in points, despite the fact he's better defensively than every defenseman in the Southeast division COMBINED? Oh darn, Lidstrom didn't quite score as many points as Mike Green. Well, let's look at another comparison. Brian Rafalski vs. Mike Green. Yes, Green holds a decent lead in points when you consider games played...but Rafalski has always been considered a very solid defensive defenseman while Green is considered to be a pretty significant liability. Rafalski vs Green comes out perhaps as a wash or with a slight edge to Green in their performances this season. Now considering that...How exactly would you compare Rafalski and Lidstrom? I would say Lidstrom is considerably better than Rafalski. Just because Washington's offense relies more on fewer players (FACT) does not make Green a better player. Being completely honest, I would question whether Green is actually as talented a player as Niklas Kronwall. He's a good player, but he's not the best at his position and his having scored many points doesn't change that. Yes, points affect award voting. You know what else does? Games played; Green has missed 13. Plus, if Lidstrom scores better than a PPG over the last dozen games...Green's points don't matter. But the fact that Detroit has three excellent defensemen doesn't mean Nicklas Lidstrom isn't the best player in the league. It's as I say about Hart trophy selection...the Hart trophy is not about the best player, it's about the player who has done the most for his team in terms of what they would have achieved otherwise, not what he personally achieved. Hence my choice of the Vezina-contending Backstrom, who has played about 60 games for a team that I feel will end up making the playoffs as they are among the hottest teams in the league. Without Backstrom, Minnesota is last place in the league...probably by ten points.

Yeah...saying he'll keep that list around for reference of guys he'll always take over Kopecky? Maltby has been the Wings' worst forward in pretty much every game he has played this season, even when guys from Grand Rapids have been in the lineup. I doubt he has outplayed Kopecky 5 times, and I can't specifically recall a game where Maltby was better but I know Malts has had a few good nights. It's like saying in 1993 you'll keep the list of Ray Bourque, Chris Chelios, Al MacInnis, and Steve Chiasson around for a list of defensemen who have a hard slapshot, are very good defensively, and can put up points that are all better than Nicklas Lidstrom. I mean after all, Nick didn't win a Norris over a single one of those guys, did he?

Ok, so pick someone other than Malkin. I picked the best defenseman, you picked the guy currently leading the league in points. If mine's a homer pick, so's yours. Especially since mine has been the best defenseman six times in the last seven seasons, as well as winning a Conn Smythe trophy and captaining his team to a Cup in that time. What has your pick done? Homer.

One of Burke's biggest mistakes, which I called him out on every time I would mention his failures, is the fact that despite his running a team well below the cap much of the time, he always refused to trade or waive ineffective fourth-liner Todd Marchant, whose contract was over $2.5m and only ends after this season. Look for him to either retire or get a deal no greater than $1.5m to play in a role similar to Kris Draper's this season and in the future as a veteran leader, penalty killer, and faceoff specialist with limited ice time.

The best player in the league deserves the award for best player, doesn't he?

Have you watched ANY of them play this season?

I think the following players deserve the following awards; statistical awards pending of course. Art Ross Trophy - Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Lester B. Pearson - Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Hart Trophy - Nicklas Backstrom, Minnesota Vezina Trophy - Tim Thomas, Boston Norris Trophy - Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Calder Trophy - Steve Mason, Columbus Lady Byng Trophy - Patrick Marleau, San Jose Selke Trophy - Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Rocket Richard Trophy - Alex Ovechkin, Washington Jack Adams Trophy - Todd McLellan, San Jose

Compared to those players who are seeing similar ice per game and similar games; in other words, other players who can be classified as "regular fourth liners." You get Bobby Holik, Jeremy Roenick, Chris Thorburn, Adam Mair, Jesse Winchester, Todd Fedoruk, Kirk Maltby, Arron Asham, Ben Eager, Donald Brashear, Eric Boulton. These are all forwards who have played a similar number of games and minutes per game as Kopecky, meaning they are all basically regular fourth-liners on their team. Most of them have been badley outperformed by Kopecky...some have come close to his level but Kopecky has still been better. Now consider that most players playing similar ice time per game to Kopecky (fourth line) are playing 20-30 games per season, while Kopecky is maintaining a regular spot on the roster. Most teams are rotating guys in and out on their fourth line with maybe one regular. Some teams might have two regulars. The Wings are rare in that they have, for the most part, used three regulars on their fourth line this season. But of the "regulars" used on fourth lines this season...Kopecky has been the best. I would even argue that his performance has outdone many third-liners on other teams, but that is spreading much more into the realm of opinion.