eva unit zero

No, they operate it but do not own it.

Eklund's source is a random number generator. It runs a number from 1-30 twice, to find two teams that will deal. Then it runs a number from 1-4 for the number of players involved in the trade. They are divided evenly, with the first team sending the extra player in case of odd number. Then it generates numbers between 1-98, to decide on players who will be traded by jersey number. If it falls on a number with no player, it rerolls. If the trade is clearly lopsided, Eklund adds a pick to the team sending the lesser package of players. Or...if that's not how it works, maybe it should work that way. Might be more accurate than whatever Eklund ACTUALLY does.

Your link isn't linked.

If you take away the point for an OTL, in this scenario the Wings win the division on the strength of having more points. The only way to make the NHL system match the NFL, NBA, and MLB is to do away with the point for losing, and make it a win-loss system. At which point, wins CAN'T be the tiebreaker, because if two teams are tied they, BY DEFINITION, have the same number of wins. The NHL is the only league where wins CAN be a tiebreaker, because they are the only league where wins are not the sole deciding factor in the standings.

Yzerman won't be GM anytime soon. When Holland leaves in a few years, Jim Nill will take the helm.

The other three majors sport do not have ties, nor do they award points for OTL. Say the Wings and Preds each won four games. But the Wings won two in OT and two in regulation, while the Preds won 3 times in regulation. That would give the Preds ten points in eight games to Detroit's nine. Now assume the overall record for Detroit was 50-22-10 for 110 points, while Nashville posted 49-21-12 for 110 points. Nashville has fewer wins, and gains more points from OTLs. Under the current format, Detroit is the division champion. Under your suggestion, Nashville wins the division. Personally, in this scenario, I think Detroit is the better team, so why do we need to change it so that they don't win the division?

Osgood's team has never missed the playoffs, despite playing on some pretty weak teams. This year makes 13 seasons.

Datsyuk has always left something to be desired defensively, until this season. He did not improve much defensively over his first couple seaons, and his ice time was limited in the 2002 playoffs BECAUSE of his defense, or lack thereof. My comparison of Dats vs Savard should be looked at as such: Who is performing better offensively? Savard. Who is performing better defensively? Datsyuk. Savard is performing slightly better offensively. Datsyuk is performing slightly better defensively. Is Datsyuk better enough defensively to not only make up the offensive shortcoming, but to justify an extra 1-2 million? I don't buy it. They're practically the same player in terms of performance. They should be paid similar amounts.

Buying out Sammy isn't an option. He's slated to make 1.2m each of the next two years, and it's unlikely we'd find a better player that would cost us less between the new player's salary and Sammy's buyout costs. A better option would be to deal Sammy partway through next year for whatever we can get.

I can think of Claude Lemieux and Cory Stillman offhand.

What makes Burke so special? He has never had true success as a GM, EVER. In fact, he should be more heavily scrutinized, considering his pre-cap comments about how his team would win the Cup every year if the financial playing field were level, and the fact that a large number of people agreed with him on this subject. Except now he has assembled a pretty solid team. Best team he's ever had. If they don't steamroll to the Cup, how does Burke look? People on here talk about firing Holland if the Wings go out in the first two rounds this year. When has Burke EVER had a team win two rounds? EDIT: Not to mention Burkle's total inability to upgrade his team at the deadline--twice getting outdone by Holland, who gave up nearly nothing for either Bertuzzi or Calder.

Or alternatively, condense down to the last 8 seasons--covering only time Holland has been in the position. If you reach back to three years before Holland was a GM, sure Lou has another Cup. Guess what, you can reach back to 91 and say Clarke had three teams in the finals to Holland's two.

Hm...I seem to have been in error. Regardless, the offensive difference is negligible. Savard has not been a first line center for as much a portion of his career as Dats has, as a result of being buried in New York and Calgary. As for plus-minus, Dats is 0.36 per game better than Savard. That is more than offset by the differences in teams. Plus, this is the first season Dats has been even REMOTELY good defensively. As far as PK is concerned, Dats sees less than two minutes per game, while Savard sees about 20 seconds. So both players see an occasional shift of PK duty, but neither is a staple of the unit. Hardly conclusive. Boston's top 5 PK forwards are Axelsson, Bergeron, Sturm, Donovan, and Mowers. All of those guys are better PKers than Datsyuk, so that's a pretty inconclusive argument. And just for the record, in 2005-06 in Atlanta Savard saw about a minute of PK time, while Dats saw only 16 seconds per game that season. Does that mean that up until this year Savard was the better defensive player?

I have been saying it for a while. Holland is the best GM in hockey. He has kept the Wings competetive despite having to slash payroll by 50% a couple years ago, he has managed to consistently find new pieces to fill holes left by departing players, and to pick up skilled players in the draft. He has been GM for two Cup winners in the past ten seasons--something matched only by Lou Lamoirello in the same time frame. He has kept the Wings consistently among the league's best teams even as their downfall is predicted every year for this reason or that.

If Grigorenko never had his accident, that would have been the case when he came over. But given his accident, and the fact that it's much more difficult to get good consistent scouting of players overseas than it is in-state, the Wings will want to get a good long look at him. He may end up playing his way onto the team in training camp, or he may end up being called up later in the year. But I expect him to spend at least part of next season in Grand Rapids--he probably will be a Griff in the beginning, and depending on injuries and his level of play may or may not see ice time in Detroit next season. Ultimately, the Wings will have 12 forwards returning if you assume Lang and Maltby are the only ones leaving. Grigorenko on the team means either he or Kopecky is the 13th forward. That's not good for either player, and Grigorenko is the one who can be in the AHL without hitting waivers.

Updated: Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Hossa Ovechkin/Crosby/Lecavalier Heatley/Thornton/Iginla Franzen/Draper/Neil Lidstrom/Chara Schneider/Pronger Niedermayer/Phaneuf Brodeur Osgood

Maltby is redundant and overpriced. Franzen, Cleary, Draper, Zetterberg all can play better defense than Malts, and are better PKers. Filppula, Kopecky, and Datsyuk are also decent in those respects. Maltby simply makes far too much for what he brings to the team, and he and Samuelsson are both pretty much redundant and not terribly useful. Maltby is well past his prime and the Wings would be better served with Ellis in the 13th forward role and Kopecky playing full time than Kopecky in the 13th role with Maltby playing full time. Not that I don't appreciate what he brought to this team, but there's a point where you have to move on.

The Wings have enough room, assuming Lang and Maltby leave and every other forward stays, to add one forward up front. That won't be Grigorenko--he'll be in the AHL to start. It also won't be Morozov; 2.8m would bring a better forward anyway, and if they go shopping for a top six scoring forward they better get a guy who actually is good enough to play that role. Morozov isn't. The only new face we will see up front if Calder and Bertuzzi stick around is likely Matt Ellis or someone of his ilk.

The 1988 Stanley Cup Champion Edmonton Oilers lost only three games in four best-of-seven rounds.

Penguins will trade for the first pick and draft him, and ice a line of Tavares/Crosby/Malkin.

As I've said elsewhere, Grigorenko will likely start next year in the AHL. How he does in the AHL, combined with how the team performs over the season, determines whether he makes his debut next year or in the 08-09 season.

Cheli's Chili or Hockeytown Cafe would be glad to have you.

I wonder how long it will be this postseason before Luongo melts under the pressure. I also would love to see Bertuzzi score a hatty on Luongo as sort of a 'you traded ME for THAT?' statement to Nonis.

You can't talk about those two without bringing up guys like Cy Denneny and Nels Stewart. Only because Malone suffered a pretty bad injury before 30. Malone had a higher peak, having scored better than 40 goals a couple times in major pro hockey, something Lalonde never did in any league.

Yzerman, Howe, Delvecchio all had their digits retired right after they left. There was no debate Lindsay, Abel, and Sawchuk weren't retired until they had been out of the league for decades and the team had been under new ownership for a decade. That suggests there was some debate about whether they deserved it.