eva unit zero

Hartigan was a star in college that never really materialized as a pro. Could be good for GR, but doubt he'll see any time with the Wings.

Jason Bonsignore would be a better example.

The Lions could set a Millen-era record with 8 wins...

I didn't say Fedorov wasn't hated for the holdout. Just that his holdout was not about greed as he came out of it underpaid, and that what he did in a Wings jersey AFTERWARDS should have nullified that anyway. Because the Wings originally offered him 50/5, and he asked for some time to deal with personal issues (including a divorce and changing agents) and the Wings responded by removing the 5th year from the deal permanently. Fedorov signed a 5-year deal to play for Bryan Murray, who he began his career under.

Didn't expect Souray to the Oil. Also didn't expect him to go for under 6m. And regarding Pitkanen...I have wanted to pick him up since before he was drafted. He's the total package, he's already damn good, and he's only going to get better.

Alexandre Daigle would have scored on that play, proving that he is far from the biggest bust ever like some around here seem to think.

Actually, Shanahan led the team in points in 96-97.

You must be young. The Lions had 10+ wins in 91, 93, and 95, including a 12-4 season in 91 when they went to the NFC championship game, losing to the ridiculously good Redskins (best offense and second best defense in the NFL)

Fixed it for you. Yzerman could easily have scored 132 more points had he not destroyed his knee in 88. 1987-88, and 2000-01 to 2002-03 were the four main seasons he missed significant time because of the knee. So let's take his GPG, APG, and PPG in each of those years multiplied by his games missed those years. Had Yzerman's knee been healthy, he'd have an additional: 87-88: 16 GP, 13g-13a-26pt 00-01: 28 GP, 9g-18a-27pt 01-02: 30 GP, 8g-20a-28pt 02-03: 66GP, 8g-25a-33pt That totals up to an additional 140GP, with 38g-76a-114pt. Assuming the lingering knee injury had NO EFFECT on Yzerman's production in any season, those additional numbers move him to 5th in goals and assists, and 3rd in points. Yzerman played 18 seasons after the knee injury. If we assume his per-season output, on average, increases by just a meager 2 goals and 3 assists if his knee is healthy, that would mean another 36g-54a-90pt, for a total increase of 74g-130a-204pt. This would rank him third in goals at 766, 3rd in assists at 1193 (tied with Messier), and a clear second in points at 1959, within 4 of Gretzky's assist mark and 70-some ahead of Messier. Fedorov received less than market value after his holdout, and was instrumental in two more Cups as a Wing. Fedorov left for the same amount of money over more years, and 10m less than the initial offer. Hardly sounds like money was the issue, don't you think?

A double sign and trade!!1 Hudler and Drake for Joe Thornton!!1!!!

Which means that we won't get killed by travel going into the playoffs and will either a) be able to rest key players due to position or b) the games will still mean something, so there will be the playoff feel to the games without the travel grind.

I just watched that video again...I love the fact that this guy is back in the Winged Wheel!

There is no player that Holland could have signed this offseason that would have been a top six forward on this team, and wouldn't have cost far more than they should. The only forwards who have signed this offseason who would have even had a chance at making the top six, AND cost less than 4m were Dainus Zubrus and Ladislav Nagy. I would rather see what Hudler and Filppula can do given that ice time than sign one of those guys with a chance but no guarantee that it would be better. The only players lost this offseason who were a factor in the playoffs were Schneider and Markov. Holland replaced both of those guys in one signing with the better player in Rafalski. Bertuzzi and Lang were nonfactors in the playoffs, so cutting them loose doesn't hurt us from that standpoint.

Komisarek and Markov were plus ratings last season. Rivet was only a -7 in 54 games. The only Montreal defenseman who came anywhere near Souray was Janne Niinimaa's -13 in 41 games, and Niinimaa scored 3 points instead of 64. Souray was last in the league in plus-minus among defensemen at -28. The average if the other 7 Montreal defensemen who played 40+ games was -5. That speaks pretty notably to Souray as crap defensively. Especially since he was not used in a shutdown role. He did play on the PK, but that's more a result of the fact that he was one of four defensemen on the Habs who played more than 68 games than it is of his defensive prowess. Markov, not Souray, was Montreal's best defenseman this past season. Hamrlik is an upgrade over Souray. Both are in the hgih 5s range. Schneider is another guy who has signed for that range who is better than Souray. And last I heard, Souray is asking around 6m or 6.5m.

Define grittier. Because it's not about strength or about physical play..Yashin matches Smyth in those areas. Their playoff per-game numbers are similar, so neither is a more effective postseason player than the other. As far as passion, that's difficult to judge unless you are going by birthplace, in which case let's trade Datsyuk for Mike Comrie. Please xplain to me what makes Smyth so much grittier and more passionate when Yashin is more physical and they have comparable playoff numbers.

Here ya go. Drake on Lebda

How come everyone claimed we could afford Ryan Smyth at 6m then? He's no more a power forward than Yashin. Yashin is just as big, strong, and physical as Smyth, and has generally been a better offensive player over their careers. Had Yashin played the same kind of ice Smyth did last season, he'd have had around 27 goals and 75 points. Is Smyth's defensive advantage worth more than the 2m difference between the 6m people wanted to pay him and the 4m people don't want to pay Yashin?

Where do you get the idea Yzerman had ANYTHING to do with getting Filppula? Filppula was drafted while Yzerman was still playing. Without knowing for sure, I would assume he was found by Hakan Andersson as usual. Holland is the GM and made the final decision to draft him. How any of that is Yzerman finding him, I don't know.

Yashin and Smyth pale in comparison to Fedorov's 93 hits in 140 games.

You mean Alain Chevrier and Vincent Riendeau?

I would love to see an outdoor hockey game at the big house. And then, after the Wings sell out a 100k+ crowd, we'll see a new arena that seats 50k...

Looks like Eklund was right more than 24 hours in advance. Harold, where are you?

Malkin centered Gary Roberts and Michel Ouellet last season. He took 728 faceoffs, ood for third on the Pens. He won a higher percentage of faceoffs than Staal, and won almost as many as Staal TOOK. Not sure where you get this 'Malkin isn't a centerman' stuff. If Staal is scoring 40 goals per season by the time he's an RFA in two years, I wouldn't be shocked to see him making 5-6m. But he likely won't be scoring that much unless he is moved to wing, Malkin is traded, or Malkin suddenly starts sucking. In the first scenario, 2m of Gary Roberts' 2.5 can be transferred over to Staal (the rest can buy a cheap 3rd line center), and then it's only an increase of less than a million. In the second scenario, Malkin is traded and then his 7m doesn't matter. In the third scenario, Malkin won't be making a big salary, so the Pens aren't in cap trouble. Edit: Also, Gonchar's 5m will come off the payroll around the time Malkin and Staal are looking at big contracts. That will certainly help, as Whitney is already locked up long-term.

Closer to 275. A perfectly reasonable amount.

Guerin has never been a captain of any team. Yzerman had been captain for six years before Ottawa even had a team, and ten years by the time the Yzerman to Ottawa stuff was going on. Niedermayer had been captain as well. The thing is with the Isles, Sillinger and Witt were the existing alternates, and neither had been with the team more than a season. They don't really have a guy who has been around in a leadership role for any extended period now that Yashin is gone. So ultimately, Guerin might not be a bad choice given their existing roster. I'm sure the original plan included Ryan Smyth as captain, but that didn't happen.