RyanBarnes!

Simply because he's the closest thing to a powerforward in this organization, does not imply he will ever be one.

Garnet Exelby.

Unfortunately, the Islanders isn't deep in that category either. I doubt they'd be willing to give him up for cheap.

I agree with Hatcher#2, I hope they scouted Asham.

Pass! Huselius has no work ethic.

His best game of the season came right after that, but he's been awful this season.

Nonetheless, a risk the other 29 GM's were not willing to take.

I don't think there's any way of telling until this season is done. It's still too early for players to feel beat up etc. After 60 games or so, we might know what to expect in the postseason. I still can't understand why someone would be willing to take this risk.

We ARE NOT in the top ten. TOP 20, maybe. We don't have any superstar potential guys like Malkin or Ovechkin. We don't have the second tier stars like Ryan or Jack Johnson. Our best guys (Kronwall and Grigorenko) are getting a bit old to be called prospects anymore. Others like Hudler and McGrath aren't can't miss players, despite some tantalizing potential. After Kronwall, our defensive depth in the system is weak. Quincy and Lebda have their strengths, but they have shortcomings as well. Detroit's prospect system is doing pretty well, considering how many 1st rounders we've traded and how low we usually pick. But calling it a top 10 system is plain inaccurate. What the Wings really need is for some of those "project" picks to pan out. Guys like Jonathon Ericsson, Anton Axelsson, Andreas Jamtin and Christofer Lofberg. We can't wait until these guys are 22 any more. Anton Axelsson could be the one.

Isn't he in TO yet? Someone like Witt or Colin White would be sweet.

Good point, but Jackman will fetch more interest from other teams than Chelios did. Colin White of the Devils might be available. Langenbrunner still interests me also. Far fetched, but still.

BTW I think Poti sounds like a typical Kenny acquisition. He seems to have a thing for offensive defensemen. Still too expensive though.

Read on Spectors that representatives from Detroit were seen when the Maple Leafs played the Caps. Earlier reports mention a possible scouting of Biron in Buffalo. Lewis has also been seen at Devils' games. Sounds like Detroit is taking a look around. Detroit dealing with Chicago or St. Louis is less likely though, since they're division rivals. It will be interesting to see if St. Louis will make an effort to rebuild if things continue like this.

No way. Even if Jackman is available, he'll fetch much more than Poti. Poti is virtually unmovable unless the Rangers eats some of his 2+M contract. Poti has been a scratch for several games this year.

you speak of things you do not know my friend. Holland would not. I'm pretty sure he would, just because he hasn't in the past doesn't mean he won't ever do it. I guarntee if we were getting run all day every game something would have to happen to prevent that. We're getting outhit on most nights but our scoring and talent have pretty much made any enforcer playing us obsolete at the moment. That's the illusion anyways. Also, there's quite a big difference between a powerforward and an enforcer. You might not think that Detroit need an enforcer (and Kenny agrees with you), but no GM would turn down a chance to acquire a solid powerforward at a reasonable price.

If Detroit can get something decent in exchange for Liv, I say go ahead. He's not even close to Lundquist. as i've said a million times we need a power foward,..we have some good goalie prospects seems like a no brainer. Kenny missed out on pretty much the only powerforward Liv would fetch us. Mike LeClerc. He's a injury plagued second tier powerforward that was traded by the Ducks for a conditional pick after only playing 10 games last season due to a knee injury. A powerforward is a hot commodity and teams tend to hold onto them, Liv is not.

I'd love to get Bell or Jackman (St. Louis) but those are the kind of players that teams will not let go easily.

Happened to catch a few highlights from the Swedish second tier the other day. One of the experts said he saw two players on the ice good enough to play in the SEL. One was Red Wings prospect Johan Ryno (Detroit's 6th choice at this years draft). A friend of mine confirmed that Ryno and Anton Axelsson (Detroit's 5th choice in 2004) has looked impressive thus far.

If Detroit can get something decent in exchange for Liv, I say go ahead. He's not even close to Lundquist.

Wings don't have much team toughness. From what I gather they're constantly out hit. Fischer standing up to Barnaby doesn't impress much. I expect him to do that vs someone like Barnaby. Will he do it vs tougher opponents? Either way it's a waste to have Fischer policing the game for us.

The Wings must be desperate for Tomas Kopecky to eventually turn into the player they desire. As it says on Hockey’s Future, “He is the only prospect who could translate into a future scoring power forward as the Wings lack these type of players in their system�. He is listed at 6'3 & 203 lbs. This season has made it clear that Kopecky can obviously score. Reports are that he has leadership qualities and a strong two-way game, which is great to hear. All he needs to do is to continue his improvement on offense and he could find himself on the Wings roster in 2006/07. I don't see much of a future powerforward in Kopecky. Aggressiveness clearly doesn't come natural to him. Maybe a Lang type, but he hasn't shown much of a scoring touch either. Not yet.

I don't think Hudler has first line potential at all. Too small and slow. Secondliner at best. Still not sure he's an NHL calibre player at all. Something like 7B/C. Thing is if he doesn't make the top two lines he's practically useless due to his weaknesses. Kopecky has shown absolutely nothing. How you rank him a potential secondliner is a mystery to me. Looks more like a 6C to me. I doubt Liv will be anything more than a backup at NHL level. That is if he is signed at all. He doesn't strike me as the determined type. 6B. Tolsa is 24, which means he is still younger than Liv (turns 25 in December). Granted goalies need more time to develop, but the transition is also greater for goalies than forwards. I'd say that Tolsas improvement is beyond statistics. He's a very mature and intelligent player. I wouldn't necessarily say that his potential is much higher than a third liner, but he definitely has a greater shot at fullfilling that potential compared to others. Borderline 6A in my book. It would be a huge mistake not to try him out in Grand Rapids IMO.

With the year he's having it'll be hard to keep Liv off the roster. Particularly if Tellquist isn't going to get many games playing behind Belfour. It didn't hamper Lundquist much. Might it be easier to go from larger rinks to smaller rinks as a goalie? Less shooting angles one has to cover. peace Everybody knew Lundquist would make the transition well. He's a strong positional goalie. Liv is not, he's more of a reflex goalie. I don't think the Northamerican game is easier on the goalie at all, on the contrary the game is much much faster with more shots etc. Point being, the transitional period for goalies vary depending on style, but goalies are forced to adapt no matter which way they travel across the pond. Theodore handled it nicely, Boucher did not. Lundquist did, but will Liv? Tellquist will probably be ranked ahead of Liv due to his experience. Liv has a good shot at the third spot though.

I think you're overrating Hudler, Kopecky and Liv. Especially Liv, there's no way he's 8C if Howard is 8B and McDonald is 7B. Tolsa might be underrated.

Lundquist will be the starter. Tellquist is ranked ahead of Liv and last year so was Holmquist. Regarding the WC it all depends on if the Rangers make the playoffs or not. I'd say not, since the Rangers is pretty much a one line team bound to run out of gas. Also, Boucher like most NHL goalies weren't used to the large ice surfaces in Europe. It's quite possible that Liv would struggle just as much with the smaller ice surfaces in Northamerica.