Grim

1. four Cups during Bettman's tenure... with essentially a finesse team 2. players taking discounts to play on an already allstar-laden franchise 3. just about all games televised on local basic cable. yup, we spoiled Wings fans have plenty to complain about.

Relax everyone... no one should be suggesting that we let Zetterberg go. He will certainly get his extension. The only real concerns are the terms in his new contract. I say something in the neighborhood of Datsyuk and Lidstrom's current numbers is more than fair. If the terms are rich, hopefully KH can tack on some lean years at the end to help lower the cap number. Realistically Z is not among the top-3 centermen in the league nor should he be paid as one. Some might say that Sundin's signing set the new bar. That was a desperation offer made by the Nucks hurting to sign anyone. Honestly, Franzen's future contract worries me much more than Zetterberg's. Hossa is a pure afterthought.

There are four players with cap numbers over $7.5M. Z has truly been great... but lets not go crazy.

Kenny likes to slot his players. As much as I love Z... he has never outscored Pavel in a regular season, nor has he brought home regular season awards. Hopefully he'll take a contract similar to Datsyuk, with perhaps an extra year as incentive.

I think he'd be great for the Nucks and the Western conference. I'm dog tired of all these slacker Western teams that barely slide into the playoffs only to reek havoc on our Cup runs. Its hard to beat teams which play with nothing to lose. Improved competition ought to cull much of that slack.

whats kyle mclaren up to these days...?

I hope the Wings can get off their usual schtick for the WC. With their luck, they'll find themselves playing from behind... then the game gets called early due to weather. oh joy.

just boo Ozzie at home. the slappies will no doubt love that...

I like this scenario the best.

Thank goodness he's not going to the Sharks or the Hawks. That wouldve put a huge cramp in the Wing's repeat chances... If Sundin takes a big paycut to join the Rangers, the Habs will be in a colossal furor.

Is Hasek still skating?? I'd consider him if Ozzie or Conklin get hurt Long Term (heaven forbid).

Lets hope our boys don't make this game unnecessarily close.

defense and grinders. Lids is not a lock to be here past 2010. the grind-line is awefully long in the tooth as well.

Think of the time when we signed Hatch. he was supposed to be the Second Coming... ended up being exposed as a pylon. Pronger might be a prick, but he's still a darn good player. However, I doubt that he'd fit into our scheme. The current Wings just don't have the type of forecheck Anaheim employs. Pronger would probably break his ankles trying to keep up.

The fans might... but the Rags have zilch in cap-space.

The Stars could waive Avery... if he goes unclaimed, I'm pretty sure his cap hit is recouped. but the Stars would still be on the hook for his contract. I certainly wouldn't lose any sleep if the guy was, in essense, earning all those millions just to keep his trap shut in the minors.

theyve just got to let folks move down during the third period (or heck, even earlier in the game). maybe they can program in some kind of computerized raffle for unused seats. attendance in the lower bowl is embarrassing.

dude, save that stuff for the playoffs.

Yep... Buttman had both the Stars and any potential gawkers best interests in mind when he thought up the suspension. NOT! Avery has some baggage history. he's paying for it now. he'll likely face a misconduct penalty every time he starts something. more power to him and his lowly Stars.

Oh please... Avery asked for the attention and made his silly comment. whatever punishment he got should have no comparable measurement. All this was done off the ice, and not part of the game. Now if Avery had the gall to make his comments during the game, right in Phaneuf's face.... screw the suspension, good freakin luck!

how about: Dear santa, please make our D wake up so the team will be defending the Cup come June.

floating around is Zetterberg's forte. defenses break down, eventually someone gets open.

I'll take the odd big hit... those tend to intimidate finesse players from waltzing in without retribution. What worries me are these lulls in the puck-possession game, especially late in a game and/or after a two goal lead. maybe its because our top-liners are worn out after all the early special-teams play?

wow. it would be a huge windfall if Zatta could be had at or near those terms!

I'd rather see our guys get some rest