eva unit zero

Excellent deal. We get a slightly older player (about 19 months) who can bring Willy's points, is more of a goal scorer than Willy is, and can crash and bang. No, he's not Bertuzzi of 2003, but this move is a 2-fer. Holland just added size, strength, skill, and experience while removing a defensive liability.

It was Bert, Auld, and Allen for Krajicek and Luongo. Allen for Krajicek is basically an even swap, so Bert and Auld for Luongo. If Auld can regain the potential he was showing in Vancouver, and Florida gets a decent pick and/or prospect for Bertuzzi, the Luongo trade might not be so bad.

Only forwards I am interested in from Florida: Olli Jokinen. Nathan Horton. Stephen Weiss. Anthony Stewart. Anyone else can stay a Panther or go elsewhere.

Pushor, Racine, and Ward should be in bold. The big key for the 97 and 98 teams was not the toughness at all. It was having a high skill level combined with tough guys WHO COULD PLAY. Shanny, Vladdie, Homer, McCarty, Lapointe all were tough guys who played very well in those Cup runs. Skilled guy who performed well, yet could also be described as the 'gonna pound you through the glass and punch you in the teeth' tough guys. Macoun, Rouse, Ward, Konstantinov, Maltby, Draper, Kocur all provided solid defense and a physical, gritty aspect we don't see nearly enough of on this year's team. Honestly though, this year's Wings team does have the tools to win. They have been winning with defense and clutch scoring all year, yet have the scoring capability to gun with anybody if it comes to that--provided Lang busts his slump. I know, Anaheim/Calgary/San Jose. Yes, those teams all have a high profile scorer and good team toughness. But as we have seen the past few seasons, the team that looks superior on paper is often the one that goes home. This Detroit teams is in much better position to succeed in the postseason than last year's Detroit team. Considering a couple lucky breaks or a couple timely saves by Legace could have completely reversed their fortunes--a Cup finals run might have been likely had they passed the first round, considering Detroit was the only Western Conference team to consistently outplay the Oilers in the postseason, goaltending aside. Detroit should win at the very least one round this season, and quite possibly two or three. Very real chance at the Cup, although certainly not the heavy favorite.

Bondra has been a RW his whole career. The correct answer is to put Hudler in Williams' spot. Hudler is a far better goal scorer than Williams, and ythat's who we need on Lang's wing--a guy who can find the back of the net. A big part of Lang's slump is that Cleary and Willy haven't been putting the puck away. Give him someone who can do so and we'll have a second line that scores.

The Islanders won't want to give up Blake for nothing that can help them this season. That said, Jason Williams will probably be included in any deal, as he had similar numbers to Blake last season and is still young with contract left. We would probably have to include a prospect and/or pick as well...perhaps something like Williams/Meech/2nd would bring in Blake. They get a decent defense prospect, a forward who could contribute right away (maybe) and a decent pick for a guy who's likely gone after the year. Williams may be playing like s*** right now, but his age and production last season mean he still has some value in a trade like this.

Even with guys like Darren McCarty and Joey Kocur on the team, Clde Lemieux still took cheap shots at Slava Kozlov and Kris Draper. Scott Stevens didn't prevent Domi from charging Niedermayer. Having a tough guy doesn't prevent cheap shots. Worrell, Cummins, Foote, and Barnaby didn't prevent Bertuzzi from ending Steve Moore's career. If a guy is going to take a cheap shot like that, no amount of guys who fight will prevent it.

It's as I said when he was in Detroit. Mowers is a top-12 forward in the NHL on another team. Just because he couldn't make the regular roster in Detroit doesn't mean he's not a solid NHL depth player. The fact that he kills penalties and can put up some points on a team that still has a shot at the playoffs speaks to his being a solid depth player. I would even say that, at this point, Mowers might be an upgrade over Maltby or Williams.

Mowers is (as I predicted before the season) one of Boston's top nine forwards, and one of their top penalty killers. What's to learn?

Hudler>Fleischmann.

Yes, Lang has been in a slump. [/font] No, Lang being in a slump does not 'hold back' Dan Cleary. A large number of Cleary's points this season came because he was on Lang's wing, and Lang was playing very well at the time. No, the solution is not to drop Lang to the 4th line or Grand Rapids. Cleary and Williams clearly are not scoring with lang, and that has as much to do with their lack of finishing ability as it does with Lang's slump. The solution, simply, is to put a guy with Lang who has serious finishing ability, and has displayed chemistry with Lang in the past. Jiri Hudler.

Will Holland go to Hockeytown Cafe or Cheli's Chili for dinner? Inquiring mind want to know...

I know it's a long shot to win it with Crosby's offensive numbers, but does anyone think Z could be a finalist for the Hart? He's got strong offensive numbers and has carried the Wings like we haven't seen since Fedorov in 94.

Cleary/Lang connected quite a bit this season. The problem is a large part of Cleary's success was just him feeding off Lang, who had been carrying the offense before Dats and Zata got going. Replace Williams with Hudler, and Lang has two capable scorers on his wings. Lang and Hudler have displayed chemistry in the past. Williams can play with Filppula and Kopecky/Samuelsson or he could even be the spare. EDIT: What's with merging the thread when I'm trying to post? Some mods have no manners....

Last year wasn't so much about Roloson being good or Edmonton outplaying the Wings as it was about Legace not coming up with the save once when the team needed him. If Legace had made a couple of those key saves rather than blowing the big one every time, the Wings would have beaten Edmonton.

Turco has never beaten the Wings in regulation, and Dallas/Minnesota have never beaten the Wings in a playoff series.

So do Gilbert Dionne, Pavel Datsyuk, and Tomas Sandstrom. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who considers those guys playoff performers.

Alternatively, Bertuzzi might not play another game this season, and then sign elsewhere in the offseason. Are you willing to give up Hudler and picks for free?

Why wasn't Lilja already back covering Hemsky, though? Is it Franzen's fault because he didn't make up for Lilja's glaring mistake?

Who does he think he is, Mike Legg?

Hemsky and Franzen are both wingers. In man to man coverage, wingers usually cover defensemen, and vice versa. If Franzen was supposed to be covering Hemsky, then BABCOCK can be directly faulted.

Tkachuk would wear 97...and then Smyth would wear 94, and they could play on a PP unit with Holmstrom, Markov, and Franzen.

Bertuzzi is not fast. He has good speed for a big guy, but we have several forwards who are faster than him. And as for hungry, Zetterberg, Lang, Cleary, Samuelsson, Hudler, Filppula, Kopecky, Franzen all do not have a Cup win. Williams was around in 2002 but didn't really play, so he's probably hungry too. Nine of 13 forwards don't have a Cup win. As far as Heatley, there is a huge difference. Heatley was driving recklessly and killed a teammate. That teammate's family forgave him and realized it was an accident. Bertuzzi was playing hockey and committed a brutal assault for which there is, even now, litigation processing. A change of scenery doesn't get Bertuzzi away from NHL ice, where the assault occured. It also doesn't get him away from lawsuits. Heatley could get away from Atlanta, and could clear his mind of something non-hockey related that happened there. Bertuzzi's playing style since the Moore incident, regardless of who he was playing for and where he was, is pretty indicative that a change of scenery WON'T fix it for him.

I would consider it for this deal, so long as the pick wasn't a first unless he resigned. We don't lose a roster player or top prospect and potentially get a skilled power forward. I would want to see Williams and/or Maltby dealt off if Bertuzzi were picked up in this manner, however.

What Bertuzzi did has no place in hockey. It had nothing to do with the moment, the shift, or the game. It was a premeditated assault on another player in retaliation for a clean hit, after that other player had already squared off with one of Bertuzzi's teammates for his 'policing' Attitudes like yours are why hockey has the reputation as a game for goons.