norrisnick

W = V in Sweden. It's always been spelled Kronwall, but pronounced Kronvall.

Top 1 reason Sundin is a HOFer. 1. Bernie Federko

Dead serious. Since he's been here Babcock has tried to do everything in his power to split up Zetterberg and Datsyuk and have them center their own lines. We've never had potent enough wingers to really make it viable until now with Hossa and the emergence of Franzen. So you've got Z and Pavel centering their own lines. For the sake of balance one gets Hossa and the other Franzen. Babcock sees Franzen and Holmstrom as somewhat interchangeable net-front guys so Holmstrom slips to the wing opposite Hossa. For the sake of argument lets say the top 5 shake out like this. Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Hossa Franzen - Zetterberg - XXXXX Now for a top 6 role we've got Filppula, Hudler, Cleary, and Samuelsson. One of those will take up the 2nd winger spot on the Z line. If you go backwards and think about what that leaves you. You've got 3 guys left that could form a potent line themselves. Filppula is obviously the top choice for centering a line out of those 4, so you bump one of the others up. My hunch is Sammy as he's shown chemistry with Franzen and Z in the past and because Cleary and Hudler have been solid wingers for Filppula in the past. Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Hossa Franzen - Zetterberg - Samuelsson Hudler - Filppula - Cleary Great strength down the middle. Two 1st lines. A 3rd that's as good as most 2nd lines. AND that leaves us with the ace in the hole checking line of Maltby - Draper - Kopecky as our 4th which would be the 3rd on most other teams. All four lines can be tossed out against any opposing line defensively. That's the strategy.

The salary is irrelevant. It's all about the cap hit.

Yes. The other two will be centered by Fil on the 3rd.

In 61 games. Pre-lockout. There is a vast difference in their offensive potential.

Because it takes him out of the restricted stage straight to unrestricted free agency. Buying those unrestricted seasons is expensive.

Vermette wouldn't have signed that deal. A 5 year deal for him would have been in the $4-5M/yr range.

For the long-term Filppula's contract is great. The problem is that we need cap space next season not 4-5 years from now. It wouldn't have been at all unreasonable to assume that in two years and playing behind all the talent we have this season and might be able to hang on to for next season that by 2011 Fil still wouldn't have been much more than a $3M/yr player. Val isn't going to be a 2nd liner next season. This was a gamble Kenny didn't have to make unlike with Nik and not having any top 4 defensemen on the horizon at the time.

Because Babcock has split them up to start every single season thus far. And rather than Hossa being just the weapon to keep them together he's just the type of winger (along with Franzen's emergence) to keep them apart. Kenny didn't sign Marian Hossa and Marian Hossa didn't turn down $70M to play on a line with a center that just set a career high of 17 assists. Pavel and Z will be split up with one centering Homer and Hossa and the other Franzen and one of Cleary, Sammy, Hudler, Filppula (with my money being on Fil centering the 3rd with the leftovers of that group).

You are aware that Hossa was traded to Atlanta after the lockout, yes? And it's ridiculously hard to get serious Selke consideration when you're on a really s***ty team. Yet he got a decent amount of votes all three seasons. And if Hossa sucked in the playoffs, I'd hate to hear your description of Pavel's play prior to '07. I imagine a lots of *'s...

Defusing all the slappies that fully believe Lilly is the sole reason we lost the '07 Cup before they had the chance to wind up.

Prior to this past season the answers for Z and Pavel would have been the same apart from Pavel being a rookie 4th liner on a ridiculously stacked team in '02. Marian Hossa is every bit as good as the other two. Quite possibly better as he's never been on a team as good as the Wings are poised to be. Alfredsson is in the discussion as well, but Z, Pavel, and Hossa are very likely the top 3 two-way forwards in the league. I've viewed Marian as a bigger, stronger, faster, natural winger version of Zetterberg for a while now. That we now have both (as well as Pavel) is mind-boggling.

Hossa quite easily. He's every bit as good as Z and Pavel. You do anything in your power to keep a guy like that. People need to remember that Franzen hasn't even broken 40 points in a season. Hossa has averaged 80 points over the last 7 seasons.

Nothing you wrote about Franzen doesn't also apply to Hossa.

Lilly scored our only goal and it was a s***ty call on Pavel coupled with Franzen's limp-wristed backhand clearing attempt that let the Ducks control the puck and score. Franzen had the time and space to go to his forehand and rip it off the endboards on the far side. He didn't. He did the same thing in game 5 THIS year against Pittsburgh.

Pavel Bure was never a better player than Sergei Fedorov. There is far more to the game of hockey than scoring goals and scoring goals is the one and only edge that Bure has on Fedorov. Find any forum to ask about Fedorov's HOF chances and you'll find a solid consensus putting him in. Keeping him out would be a farce.

If you look at the fact that Mo has been in the league a bit longer you'd realize that his stats aren't better at all. And Fedorov is the Russian scoring champ. Has better individual and team accolades and better playoff numbers. At no point in Modano's career was he anywhere near being considered the best player in the world. Fedorov was. That counts for a lot.

Matt Carle. He was a healthy scratch in San Jose. He is going to be a complete trainwreck in Tampa.

Apart from the photo developing stuff, that's all been done. Think harder.

To clarify... if Lidstrom is up for the HOF the same year as Fedorov, and Modano as well, that the voters would vote in Nick and Mo on the basis that Nick and Sergei were both Wings? That doesn't make a damn bit of sense. Fedorov is and was a better player than Modano. Mike will not get voted in ahead of Fedorov. That simple.

The only thing Mats has to his name is an Olympic gold. That's it. Fedorov has 3 Cups and a shelf full of individual honors. He's got a Hart trophy ffs... He's not going to get cockblocked by Mats f'n Sundin. If Lidstrom, Chelios, Sakic, and Brodeur all retire the same year Fedorov does, then he won't be a first ballot guy. I don't see that happening.

Shanahan, Roenick, and Recchi have no bearing on Fedorov as they're behind him in HOF worthiness. Same with Forsberg, Selanne, Niedermayer, and Modano. I guess it's odd to see a Wings' fan not realize how great Fedorov is and was. To me there isn't a shadow of doubt that he'll get inducted 3 years after hanging them up.

Four. And that's if you count Mac's scrap with one of the Codys this past spring.

You mean the second game of a back-to-back with Joey McDonald in net? I wouldn't worry too much about that situation being repeated.