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There's hype for Salei? He's decent, probably one of the best third-pair defensemen out there, but realistically the only way he plays significantly more than 60 games is if Babcock plays the "he's a veteran" card, because there's not a terrible difference in quality level between Ericsson, Kindl, Meech, and Salei so whether they keep all four or just three, Salei would be part of a rotation.

He usually pulls Maltby's groin.

EDIT: Double post

Fischer would have been a younger Chara, while also being one of the league's best skaters. He was already well on his way there when his career ended. He was a top-end defensive defenseman, and was scoring about 20 or so points as the Wings #3 defenseman playing no even strength time. Given PP time and some more development, he likely would be scoring approximately 45 points now or more while playing a crushing physical game and dominating defensively. Jiri, how we miss you. Kronwall has already displayed his ability to become a top defenseman, and is one of the league's 15-20 best.

I like the hybrid icing with the whistle unless there is a footrace. Other than that, rule changes either listed or that should be listed which are good ideas: Abolish icing immunity on the PK. I have wanted this for years, and it's how it used to be. Don't let teams just get possession and send a Hail Mary to your goalie, especially now that your goalie can't play it. Abolish the trapezoid. Stupid. I get the thought behind it, but it wasn't a good idea then and definitely hasn't worked out in practice. Eliminate one on-ice official, change from 2 refs and 2 linesmen to 4 refs, which will include the head ref and two other refs on the ice. Linesmen often have views of penalty calls that referees don't, but they can't call them, or the ref will call the penalty when the linesman knows it was not actually a penalty. By making this change, you take away those scenarios. All questionable goals will be reviewed of-ice by the fourth referee, who then will inform the head referee of whether the goal should be allowed or disallowed and for what reason. "Intent to blow" goals should only be disallowed if the whistle is actually blown before the puck is completely inside the goal. If a goal is disallowed due to goaltender interference, a minor penalty shall ALWAYS be assessed to the offending player, rather than simply "at the referee's discretion" as the rule states now. Widen the blue lines, based on the center point, so that the zone of possession is always larger. Faceoff variants; Penalize offending players on faceoffs by sending them back to further points. Allow players to pick their opponent on draws when opposing center commits a foul. After three consecutive fouls by the same team, the entire team is sent to the next dot back (or over, in their defensive zone) and the team the fouls were committed against takes possession automatically, with play resuming upon a whistle and puck touch in the same fashion as a shootout begins. A team which is offsides is not allowed to change lines, and the faceoff will be in the neutral zone outside the offending team's defensive zone. The attacking team will be allowed to select which dot. Overtime is extended to ten minutes of 4-on-4 with long changes and the shootout is abolished, OR the shootout goes to 5-on-5 with a team having to select one of their two dressed goaltenders to take the first shot.

Jokinen has been one of the biggest scapegoats of the past decade. An example is how he was run out of Calgary, being blamed for the team missing the playoffs and for Iginla's lack of production, because the fact the two didn't hold on to the chemistry they had at the end of the previous season was Jokinen's fault, and Iginla clearly needs his center to be scoring huge points to have any success because he's not one of the league's top offensive players himself. And the fact that the Flames coach Brent Sutter rarely split the two up - Jokinen played 69.8% of his even-strength time with Iginla - until Jokinen was traded to the Rangers despite the "failed chemistry" brings many questions. Of course, with the Sutters bringing Jokinen back, it its a pretty strong suggestion that they don't agree with any of the blame that has been laid at his feet. The question is... who does Iginla play with? Matt Stajan, Daymond Langkow, or Jokinen? Jokinen played almost 70% of his ES ice time in 09-10 with Iginla before his trade to New York, no more than 17% with any specific other forward (16.57% with Jamie Lundmark/Jokinen/Iginla the top mark). Stajan played just over 80% of his ES ice time after his trade to Calgary with Iginla, about half of which was Ales Kotalik/Stajan/Iginla. Langkow played less than 20 % of his time with Iginla, the most common being Curtis Glencross/Langkow/Iginla at 7.39%. Jokinen was Iginla's most common linemate last season, so it seems to make sense that they would want to at least try to get some chemistry going on that pair. Stajan is a good forward, but not a true top-line center like Jokinen. Look for Jokinen centering Iginla and probably Tanguay at first, with Stajan centering the second line with Kotalik and Bourque. Glencross and Hagman flanking Langkow on the third, with Conroy centering two of Moss, Jackman, and Ivanans to round out what actually looks to be one of the better groups of forwards in the league.

I still think it's a shame Satan didn't play for the Devils and wear 66.

Lilja did spend the first 2 1/2 years of his career in LA, so it is not that crazy a thought for him to go to San Jose. He is basically a lock to make the team and has a realistic chance at making the top four. None of that could be said about his chances in Detroit, especially not after Salei was signed.

It should definitely be Kesler or, if not him, one of the Sedins. As far as a defenseman currently on the roster, their best choice is Sami Salo, which is hilarious. Among recent members of the roster, Mattias Ohlund would have been the obvious choice for captain, but he's in Tampa now. None of the other forwards really fit the spot as a team leader except for maybe Malhotra, and he has played zero games with his new team. Candidate for an 'A' perhaps, but definitely not the 'C' on his sweater.

Olli Jokinen - Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders

Players in NCAA can't sign pro contracts or participate in pro training camps or they lose their eligibility to play for their school's team.

"What If" that with Hudler centering the second line instead of Filppula?

win.

The team he is on plays a part in that. Most teams would be happy to have one of Lidstrom, Rafalski, or Kronwall. Meech was the 7th defenseman, playing behind all three AND Stuart. He's had far less opportunity than the average NHL prospect because of the Wings' defense.

I did say MIGHT. Under that premise, of course, he might be top 4 on the Avalanche. He outplayed consistently Quincey as a Wing, why not as an Av?

Fischer didn't play regularly with Chelios until 01-02, and they played most of the time together after that.

Joe Murphy, Jimmy Carson, Ville Leino, Bernie Federko, and Meech round out the forwards. Uwe Krupp replaces Meech on defense and add in Jamie Pushor.

Mursak fills in a hole on the third line better than a grinder does. Granted, it would be two or three injuries before the Wings would actually need to call anyone up. So who knows how the lines get modified; Assuming 14 forwards, what if Datsyuk, Filppula, and Modano are hurt at the same time? That's three from the top 9, but also they are all centers. IMHO, the best lineup at that point: Cleary/Zetterberg/Holmstrom Franzen/Hudler/Bertuzzi Miller/Abdelkader/Eaves Draper/Helm/Maltby However, a similar lineup change, which brings an effective 4th line back, is: Cleary/Zetterberg/Holmstrom Franzen/Hudler/Bertuzzi Miller/Abdelkader/Mursak Draper/Helm/Eaves And what if those three injuries were Abdelkader, Franzen, and Cleary? Sure, Draper and Miller can take the spots of Abby and Cleary, but do you keep the fourth line Draper/Helm/Eaves and call up Mursak, or do you move Eaves up and call up Maltby? The question is as much about who is on the final roster and who will be in the regular lineup as it is about which players in Grand Rapids you think will show themselves worthy of NHL time. Ritola, for one, is having to roll under the stone column if he wants to make the Wings. Otherwise, he's either somewhere else in the NHL or perhaps heads back to Sweden. But he has less of a chance of getting called up due in part to the waiver issues, and in part because if he can't earn a spot up front, it's likely because not only did the roster we're all expecting do it, but some of the kids like Tatar, Mursak, Pulkkinen showed their ability compared to his.

I would rank Yzerman probably second All-Time among Red Wings. As far as this list? Hasek vs Sawchuk; That's fairly arguable, as the "All-time best-ever goalie" debate typically includes Hasek, Sawchuk, Plante, Roy, Brodeur. Harvey vs Lidstrom; Most journalists and many experts agree that Lidstrom is better than Harvey, and is quite possibly the second best defenseman ever. While I'm not arguing him above Bobby Orr, the "Nobody is better than Bobby Orr, period, and you'll have to drug me to get me to say otherwise" attitude really ******* annoys me. Orr gets an automatic spot? Even Gretzky, who is so wonderful his number is retired for all teams, can be argued as "not the best ever" with some legitimate arguments. Why is Orr so protected?

Hull over Richard? That's fair... close argument, everyone has their picks. I'm sure there are people who would pick Hull then Richard or vice-versa, and left Howe on the in-the-mix list. LaFleur was a great player. So was Francis. Lafleur played 17 NHL seasons, and scored better than 1 point-per game 9 times. Francis played 23 seasons, and cleared that mark 17 times. In other words, LaFleur missed the mark 8 times while Francis did only 6. While Francis wasn't scoring 130 points in his best years, he also didn't have what is possibly the most stacked lineup ever put together around him, including three Hall-of-Fame defensemen who were also in their prime. Francis played for the Whalers, one of the league's worst and least talented teams for most of his early career, until being traded to the Penguins shortly before their two Cup wins. Mario Lemieux began to miss time out of the season, as Francis was skilled enough to provide the team with a top end center during Lemieux's time off. Francis continued to do well over the rest of his career as Lemieux played less and less, and ended up back with the Whalers, now the Carolina Hurricanes. He carried them for years before they traded him to the Hurricanes in March 2004 as the Leafs were a playoff team and the Canes were already eliminated, and they wanted to let Ronnie Franchise have one more shot. He scored 10 points in 12 games for Toronto and followed through with 4 in 12 in the playoffs. Beyond that, Francis was an exceptional defensive player and is probably one of the best two-way centers in league history. I have also never seen anyone as good as Francis on faceoffs. Yzerman? Brind'Amour? Oates? Malhotra? Draper? Nieuwendyk? Those guys were and will likely never be Francis-like on faceoffs. Maybe LaFleur wins. But saying it's a joke is ignorant of the last four decades of hockey. The question is, are you rating players on their top two or three seasons, or on their whole careers? Maybe the Belfour statement answers that it's the first one. Belfour spent most of his career wearing #20 and is more known for wearing #20. He won a Stanley Cup wearing #20 and as a consistent Vezina contender the first few years he wore #20. As far as Draper being "in the mix" for the best ever to wear #33. That's just silly. He is nowhere CLOSE. For one thing, Draper doesn't even come close to the three players who are mentioned (Iafrate, btw, should be the runner-up) and no number higher than eleven has more than three in that list, with many having only two.

Lidstrom played quite a bit with Howe in 92-93; Chiasson played most of the year opposite Konstantinov. Always loved that pairing becausing it had two solid defensive defensemen who could skate and play the puck, plus Chiasson had a wicked crazy shot. Not a very common combination.

I'm often a big fan of players who are underrated. That's a major reason Steve Chiasson is my favorite all-time Wings defenseman. He was very good defensively, and played a physical game, but was also capable of contributing offensively when put in an offensive role. As in 1992-93, when he was an All-Star and placing 14th in voting among postseason All-Stars. Norris voting was much tighter then than now due to the 3 vote ballot vs 5 vote ballot, and only a handful of defensemen showed up each year. The biggest proof of how underrated Chiasson was throughout his career was the fact that he consistently produced just below or above Blake's level of offense, generally on worse teams. The only exception to this was 1993-94, the last year Gretzky won the Art Ross, and Luc Robitaille's last 40+ goal season; although he produced 30+ a few more times. While I'm on this rambling rant, Chiasson missed part of the 97-98 season. If you pro-rate his stats to 82 games, they come out to 9-34-43, -2. Blake's, pro-rated to 82, come out to 23-27-50, -4. Can someone tell me why again Blake won the Norris that year, over Lidstrom, or even Scott Niedermayer, Kevin Hatcher, Sergei Zubov, Larry Murphy, Teppo Numminen, Steve Duchesne, Al MacInnis, Ray Bourque, Chris Chelios, Chris Pronger, or Chiasson? Or any of the number of guys I didn't mention who were better than him that year.

Meech is a longshot to make the final roster, as his situation would basically be as follows: The top-six is set for now. Kindl is almost a guarantee to make the roster, pending his camp performance. Meech is not much different from the performance level of Ericsson, Salei, and would likely be the #8 defenseman given a normal 13-8-2 roster. The only problem is that the Wings have about two teams' worth of forwards they have to sort through and decide on, and there's a fairly decent chance of a 14-forward roster. Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Franzen, Filppula, Bertuzzi, Hudler, Modano, Cleary. There's the top 9 and most of the team's forwards. For the fourth line, we have the following options signed who are not waiver-exempt: Patrick Eaves, Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm, Drew Miller, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Mattias Ritola. Maltby will likely start the year in Grand Rapids. Draper, Helm, and Abdelkader are basically guaranteed roster spots. So that leaves Eaves, Miller, and Ritola at forward and Meech on defense competing for those final two roster spots. At least one will be a forward, to meet that "13" mark, and that will probably be Eaves. So Meech, assuming he goes unclaimed, has to prove he is more useful to the team than both Miller and Ritola, Ritola it should be pretty clear, although the fact Ritola is an untested prospect getting his first and possibly only shot with the team definitely gives him some extra votes. Miller is the more difficult task. Although with the addition of Modano, the presence of Cleary, Eaves, Helm, Abdelkader, and Draper on the roster... Miller provides quite a bit of redundancy, skilled or not. So that does work against him in proving he deserves to be on the big club and not to be waived for the third time in less than a year. Meech provides a skilled offensive defenseman with excellent speed and a decent defensive presence. While he's not nearly the same level, the Wings only have only had one defenseman who can be described that way; Brian Rafalski. There have only been a couple of Wings defensemen with Meech's speed or better who played for the Wings in the past 20 years; Paul Coffey, Jiri Fischer, Brian Rafalski, Brett Lebda. Perhaps there's one or two more in that group that I'm just not remembering, but it's still a pretty exclusive group. Meech also plays more physical than most defensemen of his size and style, and is capable of switching to forward without any difficulty in the transition. His versatility is remarkable and could definitely score points towards a spot on the Wings. As far as if he is claimed, there are many teams where Meech would be the #5 or #6, and some where he might even be in the top 4. So eiher those teams don't feel Meech's style fits their lineup (swift, puckhandling offensive defenseman with limited physical game) they have their rosters basically set and don't think a minor grab like Meech is important enough, they simply aren't paying attention, or they are one of the handful of teams that wouldn't be able to easily fit him into their everyday lineup. Think of Quincey, and the fact that Meech outplayed Quincey the entire time they were in the Wings system. Quincey has been playing top four since leaving and has done well. How will Meech do if claimed by a similar team?

Kozlov scored 26 points in 55 games. 7 forwards tied for 180th among forwards in scoring with 33 points. So given Kozlov'v points-per-game ratio and his defensive ability compared to the average scoring forward, you don't think he's was and is a top six forward?

Mursak for a scoring forward, Maltby for a checking forward, Janik for a defenseman, McCollum for a goaltender.