norrisnick

Priority #1 on July 1st of next year is to extend Zetterberg. After that Kenny can start shopping around.

Yes he is, mostly because he can do so legally. I don't really care how well Drake can charge people. That's hardly rude. The Barnes Bros take it as a term of endearment. I know you like the guy, but how can you honestly believe Drake will be anything remotely close to a treasure? This isn't Osgood being let go in his prime because Pleau couldn't distinguish an effective goaltender from a hole in the ground. This is a 38yo high energy, high impact player that just doesn't have anything left after a lifetime of skating around like his hair was on fire. I mean look at Maltby and McCarty. They're not half the players they were back in '02 and even in '02 they weren't nearly as good as they were back in the late 90s. These guys usually don't age very well and Drake has played far more recklessly for far longer. He might play well for a week or two, but adrenaline and playing on emotion can only carry you so far.

Drake is barely good at hitting these days. Word from a lot of Blues' fans is he's really losing his game of late and had he not been the captain likely should have been scratched much of the season. And shouldn't the Wings be trying to get better, younger, etc...? If he's not good enough for the Blues to hang on to I'm hard pressed to understand why the Wings would need him. Sure he's cheap, but even at $550K, he's $100K overpaid and that's only because there's a league mandated minimum. I'm not against Drake because he isn't a fighter. I'm merely pointing out to some misguided proponents of this signing that he isn't. Simple enough. And really what difference is 2+5+10 from 5+10 for when he takes someone out with his elbow? Either one is stupid. Again, this is from many a Blues fan. And Drake's -14 was the 2nd worst on the team ahead of only Mayers. Barret Jackman was a +20, Nick would be fine. As is probably painfully obvious I don't share your optimism.

Not yours. Yes, Franzen is a bigger hitter. And he doesn't have to jump or lift his flippers to do so. I brought up the one fight issue because a bunch of grit groupies started spouting off about Drake standing up for his teammates. Which is 100% pure unadulterated bulls***. He might have to stand up for himself, but he hasn't, doesn't, and won't stand up for his team. There will be some crow to be had in the fall, but I'm banking on it being you and your ilk. Drake scrubbed out of St. Louis. St. ******* Louis. The best we can hope for is that his impact isn't too negative before his icetime disappears as it almost certainly won't be positive. There might be a handful of games that he's playing on adrenaline to show his worth, but he won't last. Ville Nieminen. And no this isn't a debate about toughness but a debate about hockey players. And how in the hell is Nieminen any more of a hit and run guy than Drake? He's only fought once in two years so either he's not doing his job (hitting and stirring his s*** up) or he's tucking tail and running after the fact. IMO, it's a bit of both. Why are people bring up Drake's career stats? Like I said earlier in the thread, there comes a point when career stats don't mean anything anymore. Being bought out by the Blues at the age of 38 is that point. Scoring more goals than Draper is no great achievement. At the very least Draper can play defense. Drake not so much anymore. Should I be? I can understand the type of player Holland was looking for, but to sign a broken down old man to fill the role? It's just stupid. It's like signing Woolley when Fisch went down. In the end Mammoth was in his suit while Lebda played.

CroCop is prone to errors of judgment and mental lapses. Remember that Kevin Randleman KOed him as well. Plus he refused to take Mark Hunt to the ground and ended up losing a decision because Hunt took everything Mirko had and gave him some of his own. Mirko doesn't like to change his gameplan if it isn't working and he'll backpedal under pressure leaving himself vulnerable if his usual counterattack style isn't working. He's good, but there's a reason the only belt he's ever won was the Open Weight GP that Fedor sat out. Mirko beat a middle weight, two light heavies and a guy he owns in Barnett. Not that impressive, IMO.

What about his ONE fight since the lockout makes you believe he'll stick up for anyone? He's far more likely to run Dom than to protect him (old habits die hard).

Eh, Ville and Sammy fill two entirely different roles. Ville is a 4th line s*** disturber/checking line player. Sammy is a low end scoring line/2nd PP unit player. He might get you 20G and 40P but not much else, but those 20G are important as they take pressure off the top line. I'd take Ville over Maltby or Drake. Easily.

Yeah, but I'm not sure why. Hell I don't understand why Calgary just walked away after the run he had with them in '04. Then he was playing for New York and doing his thing and they traded him to San Jose for whom he had a nice playoffs (15 hits in game 1 vs the Oilers!!) and then he was either hurt or sharing time with kids in San Jose and they traded him to St. Louis in the deal for Guerin. He didn't click for St. Louis and didn't fit into their future plans, but I can't believe there isn't a team out there that couldn't use him. He's a 30yo decently sized, fast, defensively sound, hitting machine with decent hands for a checking line player. He's had good success in the playoffs playing meaningful roles. Baffling to be honest.

Big Nog is slowing up these days. He's taken an INSANE amount of punishment in his career. Take that kick by Herring. He's taken kicks from CroCop, piledrivers from Bob Sapp, Fedor has teed off on him but he keeps coming. He's definitely in the twilight of his fighting career. And really, apart from that one kick Heath was beeing tooled by Minotauro. Bloodied up and taken down at will. If Fedor ever makes the jump he'll show the UFC what's what. Aleks too, he's still got a long way to go on the ground (he really should check his ego and go back to training with his brother) but his hands are unreal for as big as he is. Lightning quick. Hunt (if he could make weight) would instantly become a fan favorite as he'll stand and trade shots with anyone. Kharitonov is dangerous if inconsistent. Oh yeah, don't forget Shogun. Granted his stomps and soccer kicks have been taken away, but he didn't really need them to destroy Rampage. Wanderlei (like Nog) I think is past his prime but could still give most guys a run for their money. The best guys of Pride haven't made the jump yet and I think Fedor and Shogun could rule their divisions if/when they make the jump (I think Shogun is slated for the fall some time). Shogun was being held back in Pride because his mentor was the champ and he wouldn't fight him and Pride sheltered Wanderlei's title by having Shogun beat them all.

Guess we'll see, won't we? Signing a broken down old man to play the physical meatgrinder 4th line role will not work as you hope it will. And just to make sure that you don't think I hate the role itself, I wouldn't be in here bitching if we signed Ville Nieminen. He's a bigger, better, faster, younger version of Drake. And a guy I've wanted on the Wings since Calgary inexplicably walked away from him after the lockout.

I guarantee you that Kopecky will achieve more this season (and any seasons beyond) than Drake will. There comes a point when career achievements don't matter. And being bought out by the Blues at 38 is pretty much that point. It'll take 3 solid players before Hudler gets scratched again.

Why half-ass a prediction? Did you know Hudler will score 30+ goals this season and that Z will net 50G/100P this season? I do. Drake is old and broken down. He's not the skater or hitter he once was. He will slowly but surely play himself out of the lineup. He's just not good enough anymore.

Clearly. I would like to point out that the upcoming season is '07-'08 not '97-'98.

When was the last time a fight mattered in Detroit? Spring of '97? Yes I am. Drake will not be on the active roster (barring a rash of injuries) come New Year's.

Not really, since Dallas was barely a 4th liner on St. Louis last season. I know it's hard to grasp for some people, but not all players age as gracefully as Nick and Chelios. Hell take Maltby. He hasn't been half the player he was prior to the lockout. I wouldn't be against signing the Drake from 5-10 years ago, but the Drake now is terrible.

Why fight if you're playing for Detroit? But it doesn't matter as he won't last longer than a month or so before it's discovered he's completely useless on our roster as was Norton.

Apart from flying elbows, Dallas isn't feared. Franzen is a heavier hitter than Drake is.

Dallas Drake has had ONE fight since the lockout. Sounds pretty hesitant to me.

Wanna buy this hunk of charcoal for $20? Sure it's not some fancy-schmancy diamond but how can you pass it up for $20 if a diamond that size would run you at LEAST $20M.

Emma Andersson is not a bartender. Unless your saying he was seeing someone this season while Emma was still back in Sweden.

I'd imagine Nieminen would have come cheaper than Maltby. Plus at his age he might stay around longer than half a season. Drake doesn't back up his s*** either. He's had ONE fight since the lockout. Same number as Ville. In '06 he had 15 hits in one playoff game for the Sharks. Ville is a hitting machine and a s*** disturber, just like Drake. But he's also been part of a few long playoff runs, and not a hanger-on either. I'm sure we're all well aware how big the Nieminen - Donovan - Nilson line was for the Flames in '04. He won a Cup with the Avs in '01. He's a playoff player. Petrovicky has s*** for luck just across the blueline...

Someone over at HFBoards had a slightly more in depth translation. This part was interesting, which would allude to potential salary demands next year.

Useless signing. If Kenny wanted to pursue a 3rd/4th line rabble rouser he should have gone after Ville Nieminen. 8 years younger, bigger, and better than Drake at pretty much everything. Plus with him over in Europe he might not be all that expensive to lure back over.

http://www.nhlpa.com/WebStats/PlayerBiography.asp?ID=25345 Now we have to wait for the term (hopefully more than one year) and the cap impact (NHLPA lists actual salary and not cap hit).