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The same happens to Flip. Everyone gets out of position sometimes. I can recall a few goals this year where Flip went behind Howard to try and nab the puck carrier, leaving the front of the net uncovered because he was either trying to do someone else's job or leaving a more important spot. Are you aking the argument that getting caught out of position, or doing so in a certain way, puts a defensive skill level on someone? Because then you can go ahead and mark Hudler as a highly skilled defensive forward, as the only notable goal scored due directly to his being out of position was the Boyle goal in the Sharks series - which was IDENTICAL to Boyle's goal the previous play, when Helm was the "victim".

I don't agree necessarily that Franzen's production will stay at or below the value of his cap hit. As it stands right now he's not really much of a bargain. Had he played the second half last year the way he played the first, that's an excellent deal. But he didn't. Cleary was a better deal than Franzen last year. Mule has probably peaked, and I don't see the cap increasing 5% every year for the rest of time. He'll be overpaid in probably about two or three seasons, and retire a year or two after that. A good deal overall, but still has a couple of (what I expect to be) overpaid years. Bogosian would be looking towards the future, with a UFA winger brought in to help offset the loss of scoring. Lundqvist and Enstrom are not on the market to my knowledge, rather pipedream ideas of what could be acquired. Much more realistic than Weber or Doughty, certainly. I can't speak for other Hudler fans, but as the board-anointed "World's Biggest Hudler Fan" I don't "want" Franzen gone. I certainly don't think he's as good as he's credited with, and I think Now is the time to trade him for the best value. But he's a valuable asset if he can stay healthy and play his game the way he did in the first half of last season. The lineup I've posted before that has a third line of Franzen/Filppula/Bertuzzi I think would completely destroy the league.

I would imagine if there were an existing professional baseball team that wanted to join the league, it would have to change its name if there were an issue. New Yorkers love baseball, right? So let's convert the Rags to a baseball team. Maybe turn the Mets into one too.

Zidlicky has a NMC. Also, he's 34 and makes more than $1m more than Hudler. Given the firesale and the NMC, if you place Hudler and a 3rd as Zidlicky's normal value, the 3rd can be removed. But he's not really any more expensive than guys like Burns, Schultz, or Barker. Just older. The Wings would most likely end up with Barker if it were just Hudler being traded; Burns is the key of their defense, and Schultz is the #2 and signed for three more years while Barker turns RFA next summer.

The Rangers are going to join the American League, and needed a core piece. Drury is supposed to be their #1 pitcher.

John Madden, Marty Reasoner, Matt Cullen, Dominic Moore?

What exactly do you disagree with? The fact that Filppula isn't a Selke contender right now?

Hudler also turns UFA at that point. I understand you don't like Hudler... but is it just that you simply don't notice anything about him? That's probably what it is; you have some psychological trauma related to the drafting of Hudler, which causes you to be unable to see him or any information about him except in an argument. They have doctors who can fix those conditions.

I would disagree with top 15 centers. Think about it. Even on his own team, you have Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Darren Helm. That's three already. Now let's go around the division. In Chicago there's Jonathan Toews and Dave Bolland. Columbus has Sami Pahlsson. Nashville has Jerred Smithson. St. Louis has Jay McClement. So within the division there are eight centers better defensively than Flip. Granted, Pahlsson is practically retired and a guy like McClement isn't going to win a Selke, but that wasn't your criteria. So do you think there are fewer than seven centers throughout the rest of the league who are better than Filppula defensively? How about Ryan Kesler, Patrice Bergeron, Mikko Koivu, Travis Zajac, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Jordan Staal? I figure there are more, as well. I believe Filppula would fall into the top 45 forwards defensively, but center holds an even higher percentage of the top defensive forwards than it does of offensive forwards, so he's not cracking that group.

Moreover, Comcast now owns NBC and Versus. Now that Versus is part of NBC, companies like DirecTV won't be able to say "we won't carry that stupid station" because Comcast can respond with "you don't get to have NBC."

Messier would probably receive more boos than Bettman. He sure did while he was playing for them... If I had to cheer only one of Bettman or Chara, it would be Bettman. As for the general topic, I think it's disgusting that you guys gleefully enjoyed the booing of the Stanley Cup presentation. Or that you think the booing of Bettman is justified when he is simply doing his job, and according to his bosses doing it very well. You make the ESPN argument? The NHL is getting better TV ratings in the US now than it ever has. With more knowledgeable commentators. Hard to argue that ESPN is necessary. The NHL was maybe the #6 or #7 option for ESPN to show; it's the top sport on Versus (soon to be NBC Sports, or something like that) and also has the NHL Network, etc. If you don't like Bettman because the rules have changed a little in the past twenty years, or because teams have relocated, maybe you should get a time machine to watch the 1926 Cup finals between the Montreal Maroons and the Victoria Cougars with no forward passing allowed, straight stick blades, no helmets or goalie masks, and goalies who aren't allowed to drop to the ice. Just so you can see that hockey does, in fact, change. Maybe you think that a team's ideal fourth line should be Sandy McCarthy/Stu Grimson/Joe Kocur in their primes. Who knows.

Filppula is a good defensive center. Zetterberg is one of the top five defensive forwards in the league. There is a huge difference. Filppula probably could center a first line if he could bring his offensive game consistently, while Z is an elite center at both ends of the ice.

Win. Hingis seven days a week. Also, Sanders was unreal... his ability to stay on his feet through a crowd or to shake off a hit like it was a mosquito was just ridiculous. Especially for a guy his size.

Draper's role has already been taken, so I agree with you there. As for Osgood... what goalie in the Wings system is ready? Sure as hell isn't McCollum or Pearce. If you're thinking Larsson, he's more likely to be traded than handed an NHL job by Holland. So why not say that half of the NHL should retire, as a good number of college players, AHL players, CHL players, or European players are ready to take their roles?

I look at Franzen and while I think he is a big part of this team, I think trading him would help the team more because he is signed to a big long deal, is very injury prone, and is already 31. His recent regular season and playoff performance place his value high, but I expect him to have a drop off soon due to a combination of age and injury. His trade value, of course, would take an even worse hit. And his cap hit is not really much of a bargain unless he starts staying healthy; Franzen has played an average of 66 games per season in six season on the Wings. This summer or possibly next summer is the time to deal him if he is going to be dealt. His trade value is probably as high as it's going to get. Dealing him to a team in need of a scoring forward could bring back return that might not be an equal player right now, but could be better in the future or could provide better overall results due to injury. Maybe a team looking for that core player to provide playoff scoring? Franzen for Bogosian or Enstrom? Franzen, Howard, and a 1st for Henrik Lundqvist?

Eaves and Miller are both upgrades over Draper. You won't find anyone who will do their job better any noticeably amount better than they do for their pay rate. Keeping both won't prevent Emmerton from being on the team, so long as Draper isn't. If both Miller and Eaves stay, Draper isn't necessary. Pretty clear what the course of action should be regarding Draper, Miller, and Eaves.

You clearly didn't read any of my post other than the part where I disagreed with the "Osgood leaving" part. Such as "why" I disagreed whether he should or would leave. Maybe you could read it and try to actually come up with an intelligent response instead of a flame? Assuming Eaves and Miller return, Draper doesn't make the top 12 even if you deal Hudler without a forward coming back. And keeping him in that situation would prevent Emmerton and Mursak from getting ice time to develop into the kind of players they can be; given the Wings' age at forward they need their young forwards developing to full potential as soon as possible. As for Osgood, I refer to my earlier statement regarding the fact that if he is healthy, he will be the backup at or near minimum, but I also expect Holland to sign or at least invite another quality backup-level goaltender to camp. Franzen/Draper/Holmstrom. Now that sounds like a killer scoring line to me. Osgood was outplaying Howard for a considerable stretch before he went out injured. Howard started to play better down the stretch, especially when Osgood came back.

Osgood was far more consistent than Howard last season. Had he not gotten injured, he may well have challenged for the playoff start. Hell, had he not come back early, he would have been ready a few weeks before the playoffs. And as I said; if Osgood is still being bothered by his injury, he'll retire. All reports say he isn't. My guess is that either Osgood gets the job, or Holland brings in another goalie to challenge Osgood for the position. I don't see Holland simply handing it over to one of the prospects, given that none are out of options and none have shown that they are really NHL-ready. I also don't see Holland going out and simply grabbing a name out of a hat and signing a guy, as there are no UFAs available for a backup who are better than Osgood of any significant margin, and those who would cost the same are typically much worse. Finally, I don't see Holland giving up assets to get a mid-level veteran goaltender. If Holland trades for a goalie, it's going to be a big deal for a starter and Howard is likely going to be part of the deal, which doesn't solve the Osgood issue.

Helm, Eaves, Miller are all upgrades over Draper. And they are the returning guys he would be competing against for playing time. Mursak is definitely going to be on the roster, and offers a lot of what Draper brings; my ideal lineup puts Mursak on the left side replacing Draper with Helm and Eaves. Emmerton would be the likely loss if Draper returns, and he's a 23 year-old C/LW with second-line potential. He showed good offensive instincts and skill in a brief call-up last season and is defensively capable. There's no need for Draper. He's a fan favorite, but he is simply another checking forward when we already have better checking forwards. It's not quite as dramatic as Maltby a couple years back when he simply couldn't keep up with the rest of the checking forwards, but Draper just isn't needed anymore. It's harsh to put it that way, I guess. But it's like leaving your Mom's house. You don't need her to take care of you anymore. Maybe you'll ask her for advice now and then, but you don't need her to make you every meal, drive you to hockey practice, and remind you when you have a doctor's appointment.

I don't understand how that interview led to "unlikely to sign Osgood" in any fashion, except for the fact that St. James has always been part of the anti-Osgood crowd. The Wings don't have a goaltender in the system who is ready to take that step and take Osgood's job. However, Draper signing means he would be playing against Cory Emmerton, Drew Miller, Patrick Eaves, and Justin Abdelkader for a job. Which suggests that Holland's comment about 40 year-olds passing the torch was directed more at Draper than Osgood. I could be wrong. But given that Draper is a fourth line forward, and the Wings are working on re-signing forwards for the only two open spots on the roster - assuming everyone signed to a one-way deal makes the cut - that leaves Draper out. Osgood is as good as most backups and some starters, and the Wings won't be able to find an upgrade on him at anywhere near his cost. Howard is the starter, set in for long-term so they don't need to go hunting for a new guy there. A cheap vet backup or a prospect is what you'd see, and there's no options better than Osgood, unless his injury is so bad that it bothers him into next year; at which point he'll retire.

Filppula is at best the fourth-best defensive forward on the Wings. He's probably close to 9th or 10th in the division. A Selke is hardly something that should be discussed as in his future, at this point anyway. Calling Flip for a Selke is like calling Hudler for the All-Star Game.

Unless "scrappy 4th liner" means "goon", then Miller IS a scrappy 4th liner. Rafalski was paid fair value throughout his contract. Wisniewski has the physical advantage, while Rafalski was the better player offensively and defensively. Rafalski has also declined considerably on the defensive side since his contract year. The big difference is that Rafalski was signing a retirement contract, while Wisniewski is a 27-year-old defenseman who could sign a long deal or a short deal. Realistically, something around $4.5m or possibly $5m for somewhere between 5-7 seasons is what you'll be looking at for Wiz.

Hudler scored 37 points this past season and people considered it a terrible season for him. Three points would have made the difference? Of all of the players in the league, Zherdev is one of the most widely known for having attitude problems stemming from an over-inflated sense of self worth. He's also perfectly willing to sign in the KHL, and hasn't shown too much interest in winning a Cup ahead of getting paid. Connolly has been scoring at just shy of a point per game for years, and made $4.5m the past two seasons. Hard argument for a pay cut on a guy his age, unless you think his injury history should mean pay cut at age 30 when he's still a top line center. I said if you assume Zherdev would score 50-60 points with Flip and Dats, then Hudler could potentially score 80 with a full season alongside Datsyuk. Given Hudler's proven chemistry and history with Dats, I don't think that's as far fetched as you think it might be. I didn't say it made him an elite player. I said he would be significantly more productive than Zherdev in the same situation. That's pretty much common sense, isn't it?

Ok, I did make two changes in swapping out Zherdev for Hudler, removing Ericsson for Janik, and swapping Ozzie for Boucher (Ozzie will probably be back, and Boucher is a downgrade with a higher salary anyway). But you can put Zherdev back if you think he'll get Hudler's hit or lower. Which means the only difference is Janik for Ericsson, and Kindl is not unlikely to vault past Ericsson on the depth chart this season if E returns. So that roster is, in effect, your roster. MY roster? That would look significantly different if I could pick any UFAs to add on at likely prices, and players to dump. Fischer has been managing the team's prospects for years in what is effectively a coaching role. Some of the players he has been involved with? Jan Mursak and Cory Emmerton. He's been in this position for three years now. I would argue that he is more than ready for an assistant coaching job. As for the argument that he wasn't great at "Red Wings Hockey", Jiri was a skilled puck mover and one of the best skaters in the league. Combining that with a guy who had his size and strength is a scary proposition. The only problem is that he joined the team right out of juniors at age 19. He was dominant in juniors simply from his size and speed, so his game wasn't as developed as it could have been - or he would have been the top pick. It took him a few years before he really started putting those tools together into a solid, cohesive game. And that was when the heart failure happened. He was on pace to clear 30 points that season despite limited PP time. Fischer had developed into a solid shut-down defenseman and his offense was coming out; he was a physical force and he was faster than 98% of the league's forwards. Fischer would probably be a Norris candidate right now, possibly even a winner.

Hatcher was a snail who made his living off of cheap shots, and being called a great defensive defenseman because he was willing to commit several penalties per shift to the point where the refs couldn't justify it to themselves to calling him regularly. Due to this he went from being a considered a goon to a top defenseman. He came to the Wings, even though he couldn't skate and had no puck skills, which put him so far outside of the Wings' system he couldn't even be effective. Wisniewski is a good skater with a good shot and puck skills. He doesn't fit in as well as Rafalski, but Ehrhoff might be the only UFA match who does.