eva unit zero

Ysebaert worked very well with Stevie, and was one of the best wingers in the league in the early 90s even when he wasn't on Stevie's wing. But he barely got a flash of stardom and it was gone. Zetterberg/Datsyuk/Hudler results simply in one thing. No Puck For You!

I didn't realize we were allowed to make trades while setting our roster. Can I swap Bertuzzi to Chicago for Kopecky, Hendry and a pick?

For those with the "Datsyuk makes Hudler special" attitude... In the ten games between was formed on Datsyuk's return on Feb. 7th and Feb. 26th, the Huds/Dats/Clears line has produced the following numbers: Hudler: 3g-9a-12pt Datsyuk: 6g-5a-11pt Cleary: 5g-6a-11pt

Bertuzzi/Zetterberg/Modano Hudler/Datsyuk/Cleary Franzen/V.Filppula/Holmstrom Draper/Helm/Eaves Abdelkader, Miller, Mursak, Emmerton, Tatar, I.Filppula, Tardif Lidstrom/Ericsson Kronwall/Rafalski Salei/Stuart Kindl, Meech, Janik, Smith Howard Osgood MacDonald

McCabe is no better than Redden, and the additional million Redden makes is surely worth Tim Kennedy and a pick.

How do I petition to get Kraft, Titov, Dome, Laukkanen, Slegr, Rosival, Hedberg, and Skudra added to this list? F: Jagr, Kovalev, Lang, Straka, Titov, Hrdina, Morozov, Kraft, Dome D: Rosival, Slegr, Kasparaitis, Laukkanen G: Hedberg, Skudra Three lines, two pairs, starter and backup.

I was bringing up the fact that, given the fact that the pass to Homer was right at the blue line and did not cause any defensemen or the goaltender to get out of position, that Datsyuk's assist on that goal was minimal, and Hudler's minus on the empty-netter should barely count. So statistically, if you take those two things into consideration, they were the same. I didn't see the whole game, and I would say Datsyuk had the better game of what I did see, but making stupid comments like saying that Hudler can't score without Datsyuk is just stupid; especially given that he was only put with Dats because he had BEEN scoring. Where is anything I said a double-standard? I said that crediting one player for all of the success of another player is ridiculous. I also said that two players who work well together can help the other succeed.

I think they did pretty well, but I definitely don't see Luongo back. Too many good younger Canadian goalies, like Price, Ward, Fleury, Crawford, Steve Mason, and even guys like Elliott, Auld, Bernier, Smith could be in the mix. And I agree, Staal will definitely bee on Team Canada unless we see something drastic happen with either him personally or other Canadian d-men in general.

The Avs could have gotten a ton more back for the guys they have traded away than they did. They dealt Stewart, Shattenkirk, and Anderson and got back McClement, Johnson, and Elliott. Had those deals been made with more though, perhaps separating Stewart and Shattenkirk, the Avs would have gotten much more back. As for the Anderson deal...I don't get that one. Elliott's a good goalie, and only 25, but Anderson could have been dealt for a guy like Alex Auld, who is 29 but MUCH better than Elliott.

Datsyuk has been the beneficiary of a few Hudler plays. Should I analyze them for you? Laying out like "Anything X player does is because he's playing with Y player" is ridiculous and insane. And anyone who follows that train of thought has little hockey knowledge, because you have to have skill to make plays or score goals, regardless of who you are playing with. Jonathan Cheechoo wasn't some diner cook who the Sharks decided to put on Thornton's wing; he was already a 30-goal scorer. Playing one skilled player with another skilled player yields better results (typically; chemistry and play style issues can f*** this up) so putting two puck possession experts like Hudler and Datsyuk with a skilled grinder like Cleary has worked out great.

Smith is not going to be on next year's roster. Rafalski, Stuart, Kronwall, and Kindl are returning with their current contract. Lidstrom will hopefully return. Ericsson will likely re-sign. Which means either the Wings get a top six defenseman who is better than Kindl and again relegate Kindl to the 7 slot, or they put someone in the 7 slot. Current Wings who would be very capable 7th defensemen: Derek Meech, Doug Janik. As for iFlip...HE'S A CAREER MINOR LEAGUER. He's 30 years old with ZERO games played at the NHL level. And even beyond that, Emmerton is a better player. Mursak is also a better player. iFlip is not even on the list of players to consider for next year's regular roster.

Despite getting an assist on the play, Datsyuk had no effect on the Holmstrom goal in tonight's game. If you like plus-minus, Datsyuk and Hudler were both on the ice together for one goal against where Stuart decided to blow his coverage, and Hudler was on the ice for the empty netter which pushed him to -2 as compared to Dats' -1.

Except Rafalski has a no-trade clause and intends to retire a Wing. /rumor

Alfredsson, Doan, and Iginla are older players. They're out. Thornton, Getzlaf, and Lecavalier are playmaking centers. Sorry, we've got plenty. This leaves Nash, Vanek, and Miller. Nash and Vanek are goal scoring wingers, and Nash definitely brings more to the party than Vanek does. Nash is speedy, physical, and can be a consistent 50-goal guy if put with a top center. Vanek isn't quite that good. Nash or Miller? Miller would be an upgrade in goal, but for how long? If Howard gets back on track, Miller might be the outright backup in a couple of years. So Nash is the winner, even though he's one of the worst players on the list.

Brent Sopel came to Traverse City on a tryout contract and failed to beat Brett Lebda for a roster spot in 2007-08. He ended up signing with the Hawks. Lilja is good, but he's in the Ducks' top four and a key penalty killer for them. After the Mara deal, they're more likely to buy than sell a defenseman at the deadline. Hejda is a good defensive defenseman, but it's unlikely we'll see any in-division deals involving the Wings. Campoli and Karlsson make up the core of Ottawa's future defense. The most likely Sens d-men to be dealt are Kuba, who is third-pair there and makes $4m, and Phillips, who turns UFA this summer. None of these guys are worth Ericsson and Eaves. Campoli is the only one worth replacing Ericsson with, and Ericsson is better than Campoli.

Is it magical like the reality of Datsyuk and Hudler?

Joey Mac is better than Leighton. Having a couple of good games on a team playing its best in the playoffs, and otherwise being a good AHL goalie who has occasionally had a season up as an NHL backup does not make you a good goalie. Joey may have spent most of his career in the minors, but that is because he was behind guys like Hasek, Osgood, and Joseph. Macdonald has been a team's starter in that he has played more than half the games for the team in a season. Leighton's best was 35 games for Chicago in 2003-04, when Jocelyn Thibault went out for hip surgery 20 games into the season and then Leighton split duty with Craig Anderson. He played 34 last year between the Canes and Flyers, but that was a result of the Flyers losing other goalies to injury.

I'm still not big on Lidstrom/Stuart. What I want to see is one of these: Lidstrom/Ericsson Kronwall/Stuart Salei/Rafalski Lidstrom/Ericsson Salei/Kronwall Rafalski/Stuart Lidstrom/Ericsson (Yes, I like this pairing) Kronwall/Rafalski Kindl/Stuart Let's see Babs try some of those for regular pairs, come on man!

He should be glad Rich Pilon is no longer in the league.

My preferences for a "backup backup", based on ability, cap hit, and how available I figure they are. All five turn UFA this summer, so they would be rentals and the price would be lower, but there would be a better chance to re-sign at a good price depending on the status of Howard and Osgood. 1) Alex Auld - I've always liked Auld. He's a damn good goalie who's never been given a real chance at a starting job, but has shown multiple times he can be a starter. 2) Mike Smith - Smith has had some damn good seasons and is still pretty young. He could have been had on waivers, and is having a bad year, especially for his contract, but he's definitely worth a late pick. 3) Brian Boucher - Best of the bunch for a playoff goalie. Absolutely carried the Flyers to the ECF a few years back, and IMO was better than Leighton in the playoffs (when he was the starter) last year before he was injured and Leighton had a couple good games and a lot of hype, that even his coach bought. Certainly has proven he can have a few great games in a row, given his shutout record. 4) Jose Theodore - Like Boucher, he has shown a capability for high peak performance. However, unlike Boucher, Theodore has never really shown he can handle the playoffs very well. 5) Johan Hedberg - Decent goalie who could probably be had on the cheap if Brodeur is back to some kind of form by the end of the week.

Hudler is on a 100-point pace since being put on the second line with Dats and Cleary after they came back. Just sayin. Flip is a good second line center, and I can see him being a first-line center (play level, not ever actually being the Wings' top center with Z and Dats only a couple years older. Or if he's traded or leaves as UFA.) But he's the best fit to center the third line. He's good both ways and good on faceoffs. He can play a defensive role or an offensive role. I do admit though, line combinations of Hudler/Modano/Holmstrom, Bertuzzi/Modano/Holmstrom, and Cleary/Modano/Holmstrom would have been interesting. All of them would have taken away from the top two lines though; Flip doesn't provide the scoring presence that Hudler does, and Cleary is the net presence on his line. Bert is the net presence on his line, which would then be filled by Franzen, and Flip would not fill the scoring role in any similar capacity as Franzen, and is not the playmaker that Z is. Modano/Flip/Homer is the best third line to start with. Modano's shot won't be at full power or accuracy, but it will be closer than his passing. And putting him in the scorer's role fits his play style better as shooting has always been his preference; he didn't fit with Hudler because he would in many cases carry the puck up ice and take a shot on the rush rather than wait for support and setup to control the rebounds via a puck possession style, which has always been a huge strength of Hudler's.

He'd better get cracking. Lidstrom was one of the league's top defensemen at 25, Goligoski is a decent offensive defenseman, but he's not great defensively. Neal is on pace for 25-30 goals and about 50 points. He's big, physical, and 23 years old. Neal for Goligoski is at minimum fair if not in Pittsburgh's favor. Niskanen, who could still turn out as a top-pairing defenseman, is just a bonus. Dallas got absolutely hosed.

There are Coyote fans too. The past couple of seasons have been the worst in their history, attendance-wise, and this is due to the whole Balsillie mess. In 1996-97, 1997-98, 2003-04, and 2006-07 Phoenix outdrew Boston. Are there hockey fans in Boston? In their first three seasons, Phoenix averaged about 540 fewer fans in attendance than league powerhouse and Cup contender Colorado.

I have posted almost this combination; with the expectation of Modano being out at least a few more weeks, therefore third line of Homer/Flip/Eaves, many times.

Madison Square Garden v4 opened in 1968. Nassau Coliseum opened in 1972. Northlands opened in 1974. Joe Louis opened in 1979. The Saddledome opened in 1983. No other active arena opened before 1993. Bettman saying Edmonton needs a new arena is correct; they do. It's not a threat; it's a fact. He said he hoped it wasn't necessary to rally to "Save the Oilers" for a second time. Speaking of which...why do Oilers fans get to make fun of the Coyotes? Seems to me like a pretty darn similar situation; except for the potentially illegal conduct involved with Moyes' bankruptcy during the Phoenix saga.