WingsCaptain

I judge age by the intelligence of the post. So, congratulations to you being 49. It doesn't show. I just don't get your argument. Yes, 4 Cups and a Cup final is great for us! And those 11 other years of being near the top of the points is bad why? Oh, I get it ... you think being a crappy team at the bottom of the points pile, like Pittsburgh has been in recent years, is better? That way the Wings could get higher draft picks while losing fans left and right? No, I'd rather be in the hunt every year with a serious chance at winning the Cup than be a mediocre team like the Pens have been in the past. It's not realistic to think the Wings could have won the Cup every single year. No team is that good. But, ask any "expert" at the beginning of the season, over the past 15 years, who they think has a serious shot at winning the Cup and they'll pick the Wings 9 times out of 10. That, son, is a winner and a dynasty in today's NHL. ~ Z

Gcom, not sure what your argument is. 3 goals, yes, but also 13 assists. That puts him at 16 pts -- 4th on the team in the playoffs in points ... right behind Zetterberg, Franzen, and Lidstrom. So, yeah, he's worth his salary because he provides goals and assists when it matters most. I may be in the minority, but I think Fil earns his salary and I believe he'll get better because he's gaining confidence in his abilities. As for any comparison between "player x" and Datsyuk, there is none. Datsyuk is in a class by himself. That's NHL-wide. I think the previous poster was just suggesting that at Flip's age, he's still just improving and he has the ability to be a playmaker -- otherwise he wouldn't have gotten those 13A in the playoffs. ~ Z

Seriously? You pay attention to Sports Illustrated power rankings? You're kidding, right? SI's rankings are a joke. Always have been. They are quite possibly the worst source for hockey insight. By the way, reference your comment about the Wings in the past 15 years ... they've won 4 Cups in that span of time. Bad argument there, son. How many did the Pens win in the past 15 seasons? Oh yeah ... one. l2talkhockey.

Guess they don't teach sentence structure or spelling in Chicago. Anyway, yes, a mediocre "D" compared to Detroit. Campbell has been a friggin' no-show since getting his pay-out after one decent season, for the amount of money he is being paid. Some of the 'Hawks' D are pretty good, but Hjalmarsson? Seriously? Keith & Seabrook were each a -3 against the Wings in the playoffs, and Campbell was a -5. Like I said, decent "D," depending on with whom you are comparing them ... ~ Z

Never been a fan of the Avs for obvious reasons, but Joe was a class act. Sorry to see him go, if it does happen. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4311866 ~ Z EDIT: Merge with other topic pls, moderator.

S'what I've been saying for the past week since people started crying that Hossa left. We had better defensive numbers and won a Cup without him. With him, we had about 30 more GF, but lost. Back to my old mantra: "Offense gets you to the playoffs, but defense wins Cups." ~ Z

With damn near half the team being Swedish, they'll just have to drive to the rink for the games in Sweden! No long travel there! In all seriousness, I can only imagine that FAs sign wherever they think they will get ice time, a decent paycheck, and quite possibly win the Cup. Travel probably only comes up to the older players with families and tired bones. ~ Z

Precisely what I think. 105-110 point range, 2nd overall in the West (behind San Jose), and Z, Dats, and the Mule all break 30. For the record, I think Z gets over 40 like he did before Hoss got there. They did it before without Hoss and they'll do it again. I also think Datsyuk finally breaks the century mark in points. For anyone that thinks Chicago wins the division, I can tell you why they won't in one word: Huet. For the OP, what happened to the option for 91-94 points? You put 70-90 (option #1) and 95-100 (option #2). Finally, you can tell the Red Wing haters voted ... 8 of 'em said we'd get between 70-90 points on the year. Um, hey guys here's a trivia question for you. Name the last team that won 50 or more games for 4 consecutive seasons (meaning they also had 100 or more points each year) that just happened to do so in the 4 most recent seasons: A) Detroit Red Wings B) Detroit Red Wings C) Detroit Red Wings D) Detroit Red Wings Answer: A, B, C, or D

Hopefully Huds will come to his senses and realize he's not worth $3M or more a season. At best, he's worth what Fils is getting paid this season -- $2.5M. I know that Fils salary goes up next season, so if Huds did a 1-yr deal, he could get his raise next year ... after the Wings dump some salary, hopefully after some of the older crew retire. By "older crew," I mean anybody over 36 whose last name isn't "Lidstrom." When Lids retires, it will be the end of an era. As for talk of trading Stuart, even if he didn't have a NTC, people talking about trading him are crazy. Did any of you watch the playoffs? Stuart was one of the few guys that actually showed up consistently. He's a solid 3-4 guy with Kronner. No way I'd mortgage that to get Huds a bigger contract. Offense gets you into the post-season ... defense wins it. ~ Z

I'm baffled by all of the posters quick to get rid of Stuart. Unlike some of the other D-men in this past playoff season, he actually showed up for most of the games. And he's not that old 29, turning 30 in November. I like Jack Johnson, but I wouldn't give more than Hudler or a prospect/draft pick. He did NOT impress this year. At all. ~ Z

Thanks for the topic merge, moderator. Can anyone confirm this signing? I haven't read this anywhere else besides Pierre LeBrun on ESPN.com. ~ Z

He hits, but he takes too many PIMs. He's a liability. Helm can hit without taking a penalty. I find it more interesting to watch how often Datsyuk levels opposing players. For someone listed at 5'11", he packs a punch. ~ Z

Well that's what happens when your D fumbles ... ~ Z

Kopecky had exactly 12 goals over 3 seasons (not counting '05-'06 when he only played 1 game). So yeah, he's WAAAAY overpaid for someone who just runs into others and takes penalties more often than not -- 111 PIMs in those three seasons. Want hits? Play Helm. He had more than most teams combined totals in the playoffs ... ~ Z

As much as I hate to say it, I agree 100%. He played very, very well. You could tell he wanted to win a Cup ... ~ Z

I'll be succinct as possible: 1. Keep Hudler if for no other reason than the guys in the locker room love him and he comes to work every day with a smile. 2. Bye bye Meech, but for the love of God, this time get something in return. Remember Quincey??? That still chafes. 3. If we had to get rid of either Lilja or Lebda, I'd take Lebda. Between the two I think he's better. He's played well and remained calm with the puck unlike Lils. Lils is a great shot blocker, but how many times can he go to the bank until he's overdrawn? I'd rather keep both if we can though. I just have a feeling Lils could get better... ~ Z

Please start a new thread and entertain us with your thoughts on how Kopecky is a plus in any way, shape, or form. He's a turd, and one that cannot be polished. He owes the Wings for making him look better than he actually is by playing him at all. As for Huet, winning one game on LOTS of rest doesn't qualify for anything. Let me know when he actually wins a playoff series. Chicago has a lot of positives ... Huet ain't one of them. ~ Z

You got Hossa, but lost Havlat. I'll call that a wash. You got Kopecky. That's a negative. You have young rising stars, but got rid of the wrong goalie. Crystal-Ball Huet is no starting goalie -- he had one decent year & has been riding the wave ever since. If nothing else, Huet will be the reason you will have difficulty reaching the conference finals. Back to the OP. Gratz to the Kings for picking up Scuderi. ~ Z

Kind of a moot point in today's cap era. If we didn't have the cap, we would've signed Hossa and Franzen and be laughing about it. However, Hossa's most recent playoff performance makes him less of an asset than Franzen. Imagine what Hossa would've commanded in the free agent market had he torn it up in the post-season and won a Cup. Regular season aside, Hossa didn't live up to his price tag. And before Hoss got here, Z posted a 43-goal season and we won the Cup. So, we don't need to freak out because Hoss left and took his 40 goals with him. The Wings scored 289 goals for the '08-'09 season, and 252 GF the previous year. I think you'll see Z's and Franzen's goals go up once more and be closer to the higher GF mark set this past season. I could care less if we do though ... "D" wins Cups and we stank up the joint this season compared to previous ones. As it is, we're fortunate to have the players that are on long-term contracts, because they opted to take hometown discounts. I'm very happy with the team going forward and giving the young guns an opportunity to show their stuff. The same way the eurotwins started out. It's conversations like these that make me think, "maybe we are spoiled?" Other teams just wish they could get into the playoffs. We wonder when we'll win the Cup again and why we can't have Hossa, Z, Dats, Franzen, and other high dollar players all at once. ~ Z

Bugger. Somebody who's been on this site longer than I have ... Also, +1 to the points you've made. It was nice having Hossa, but in the end, I'd rather have Franzen than be bumping up against the cap and having to ditch other players. ~ Z

I think everybody here is missing the irony of your arguments. In the '07-'08 season, we didn't have Conklin or Hossa and we won the Cup. In the '08-'09 season, we gained those two, got "better" on paper, and lost in 7 (you know, in case some of you forgot). Now, we've lost Hossa, Kopecky, & Conklin. Are we going to be better this year than last? Hmmm ... we won the year before without them, relying on Zetterberg & Datsyuk. Perhaps you've heard of them? (Kopecky was injured for the playoffs so I don't count him for the year we won -- not to mention he sucks.) If we lose Samuelsson and Hudler, I'm still okay with it. Your comments that we would be replacing them with "rookies" has no merit. Guys like Abdelkader, Helm, Ericsson, and Leino have the best experience they can possibly get in the NHL: playoff experience. And tell me those 4 didn't fare better than Hudler, Kopecky, and Hossa. Hudler and Hossa turned into no-shows and Kopecky was home wondering what his name was and shuddering at the mere mention of the name "Beauchemin." Were it not for Abby, we might've lost games 1 and 2, lest we forget. Oh, and I've said it on other threads so I'll say it here -- just because there's speculation that Abby will be in GR doesn't mean that he will. Holland and company don't know what's going to happen with Samuelsson and Hudler, and nobody knows what will happen in training camp. We may see Abby dressed for the season. I'm fine with it either way. Bottom line is, defense corps wins Cups. In '07-'08, we allowed an average of 20-21 shots on net. This past season, we gave up many more opportunities and the PK sucked and here we are -- still stinging from a game 7 loss. Might as well have lost in the first round. Keep the defense in top shape and the rest falls into place. Ditch Meech and perhaps Lilja. Never been a fan of Lils because he turns the puck over too much. His only saving grace is shot blocking. Ericsson stays -- he's proven he's a solid defenseman for such a young guy. Stuart actually showed up for the playoffs. And keep the rest: Kronwall, Lidstrom, Rafalski, & Lebda. ~ Z

I live in DC, so I go to about half of the Caps home games each year. They are steadily improving, but they are still a long way from the finals. - They need to start Varlamov and get rid of Theodore. He's a liability. - They just lost Viktor Kozlov and Sergei Fedorov. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is. Both were experienced, Russian, calming influences on Ovie. - In conjunction with that, they now need more offense. They have Semin, Backstrom, Fleischmann and Ovie. That's it. The rest are "filler" players. - They have no "D." Green is overrated. Yes, he scores goals, but he is often out of position or out of gas to catch up to opposing players that steal the puck from him when he pinches. And he pinches a lot. Apparently Boudreau has given him the green light to be a forward when he feels like it. As a Wings fan, I'm spoiled I guess. Because when I watch the Caps, I point out their mistakes to my wife, usually followed by "The Wings would never do something that stupid." Ovie sure is fun to watch live, though! Oh, and at least they just signed Mike Knuble! ~ Z

I've seen the articles saying that Abdelkader will probably be in GR for another year. But Sammy's not re-signed and probably won't be (he thinks he can make more money and I think he can), Hudler isn't inked and may not be, and who knows what's going to happen in training camp. One way or the other, I'll believe it when I see it. In Holland we trust. ~ Z

Almost as soft as the overpriced, injury-prone Gaborik. Almost.

I think any reasonable person wouldn't expect Leino to score 40 goals. But those same people were probably saying the same thing about Zetterberg at one point, and yet he's done it. I think Leino is just a late bloomer like Franzen. Look for Leino to be a good goal scorer. 2x as good as Samuelsson? Yes, if he only scores 20 goals and isn't a defensive zone liability! As for Helm, on a team with as much depth as the Wings have on the first two lines, you're probably right. He's "just" a 3rd liner. But, the kid has wheels and a good shot. I think he'll improve and be another Selke candidate someday, like Draper. ~ Z