akustyk

is it that bad, that Wings fans begin praising Ericsson? last I checked, I mean about a year ago, he was LGW's puck coughing scapegoat for all bad that goes in Wings D. does retirement of Big Nick change this? seriously... steady defensive core will probably be of huge importance this year, so teams which have well developed core will probably fare better as the others will barely have enough time to get their D-men playing well together. I don't really expect Wings to excel in this category with so significant change. especially with so many question marks about our D coaching being already raised last season... I hope for good but rather expect average results...

one of the best English speaking European goalies marrrrk my worrrrds! gotta say... first Chelli, then Dom. sad to see all those young kids hang'em up prematurely, huh? good luck with retirement, Dom! lot of fantastic memories of hockey, not just Wings. BTW. TSN has video with Top 10 Hasek moments. strange to see his Olympic Gold not mentioned, nor the controversy of Stars Cup winning goal... but it's nevertheless nice thing to see and recall the grrrrreat man from Czek RRRRepublik

funny thing is that living in Europe (+2 hours from Moscow time which the game are mostly scheduled to) KHL games are now in much better time to stomach for me (normally starting like 5.00 PM except for Lev/Slovan home games) but due to working hours it actually is less convenient than NHL games that normally start deep in the night here (1AM). I still try to catch my share of KHL and it is really a decent level of game. having said that... I miss living in Poland and having Czech TV with live broadcast of 4-5 games a week. in normal working hours and with Czech commentary (which I understand much better than Russian)... oh well... good for you guys to get a chance to watch a game of decent KHL hockey once in a while. and if it puts extra pressure on greedy NHL owners - even better! on the side note: http://www.laola1.tv/en/int/ice-hockey-live/video/224-2451-.html broadcats 1-2 KHL games a day. and it's normally 11 AM for people on the East Coast - not bad to turn on the broadcast and follow a piece of it while working (at least if you're an office sl* like me )

aren't then Russian or Czech players joining KHL or Czech Extraliga doing exactly the same then? I mean - they could sit on their sofa and sip beer not caring to go there and play for money that pretty much equals a bag of pucks in the NHL. instead they go to their home countries and entertain own fans?

if we're talking about best Russian during his Wings years... I think I'd also go with Fedorov, although it's nice luxury to have to chose between him and Dats. if we're talking about best Russian player to ever play for the Wings... I don't think there many hockey players ever to have the immense talent Igor Larionov had. I might be biased but this guy was really the Big One, behind the iron courtain.

yup. Hitch with Blues 2011-12 for example. or Joey Q with Blackhawks in 2009+ just sayin...

Wings have too much cap space to just leave it unused. and the "get better through own system" didn't work for last couple of season. I'd gladly see Holland shop some of our well rounded prospects for prime talent. Nash comes to mind, but also some solid defenseman in early 30s or late 20s to develop the core around...

and the best thing about Wings Swedes is that all of them were at some point core of Swedish National Team. and if I'm not mistaken the big 5 (Nicks, Zata, Mule and Sammy) have even played as a unit in some Olympics...

I can actually think of worse scenario - like Lebda back form Columbus

good, scrappy 4th line like in the days of Drapes, Malts and Mac... oh the memories... can't wait to see this happen...

I don't really get all this positive vibe towards Joey Mac. he's had one fine season with Wings in 2010-11 but never put any doubt that Jimmah should be the starter, nor that Joey himself is a solid regular backup. sure he want's a trade to have a chance to play in the NHL once in a while, I wish him luck with that, but let's not think that he was a super-important asset in Wings organization. best of luck, Joey, nevertheless!

dis? http://hockeyshtuffs.tumblr.com/post/3487941889/chris-chelios-derek-roy-max-talbot-max-talbots I'd love to have Wings grab Ott instead of Tootoo (not along, absolutely) and it sure looks like Wings had assets of Roy value to trade. good for Buffalo, though! Ruff has his doghouse back, I can't wait for Sabres clashing with Flyers and Sens next season... things might really get hairy in the East now...

amen!

to the defense of "Sammy to PP" idea, consider two factors: 1. Sammy is absolute master of never ever firing a puck at the net but always past it. even I myself, being absolutely awful shooter, do hit the candy once in a while. not Sammy. if there were awards for the biggest amount of shots past the goal in an NHL season he'd have as much hardware as Nick or Bobby Orr. give him 4 more years in Winged Wheel and I'd add "together" to this sentence 2. Joe is known for being a place to produce "strange" rebounds which gives the long time home players some significant advantage. especially on PP when those rebound give a fair chance to score some dirty goal... I mean... it is a big conspiracy theory, notwithstanding, but there is a chance to me that there might actually be much logic in what Sammy does. it is utterly frustrating to watch him fire shots when you're sure it never ever ends up in the net... but at the end of the day you look at the stat sheet and the guy is there. with nice numbers. somehow. putting him on PP might actually be better idea than some people think. give him a C and LW who can crash the net and our PP might actually become decent...

you sure will once Sammy starts hitting everything around the goal, but not the goal itself. $4M/yr is not a bad money for Huds. I'm glad Kenny didn't pay it.

no, that not. mind you, I live in Netherlands, I can think of different reason to say stuff like that not being crazy at all... I mean... I love Flip and his work ethics but him and Ryan is no match... really... peace, bro!

gotta agree on this one (myself wanted Steve Ott or Chris Neil kind off guy) but it's not like there was an abundance of options to chose from, especially with pure enforcers not being Wings top priority...

ditto. I kinda like this signing. he's cheap and he adds Babs flexibility to use a player of this type once in a while. as for opinions about his play... can't say that I've watched a lot of him recently, but I remember him from the Preds-Wings 2008 playoff series as being the hardest working guy on their team. not just dishing questionable hits etc. but simply fighting for all the pucks. is he like this AD 2012-13? dunno. but I certainly would love an inspired gritty player on this team. for $0.6M a year it's a low risk, high reward scenario. what's not to like? EDIT: it's $1.9M per year not for all 3. not cheap for a 4th liner (even with the new cap) but I hope he earns his money...

I like this signing. can't wait for him to get a start in Winter Classic and stone wall Maple Laughs.

yes. him or Chris Neil are the type of pesky mofo's I'd like on this team. guy can score, is total b*ch at drawing penalties and taking the other team off its game. should I call that number which generates electric shocks in Kenny Holland's brain?

that, plus the fact that he put great numbers on an already starstudden team. I'm big fan of Sundin, too, but no way he deserves the nod before Shanny. I'd be fine with both of them, but not when Sundin gets into HHOF in his first year while Shanaban is skipped. sorry. this is outrageous.

this is really emberassing. Sundin over Shanny... yep... talk about HHOF offices being in Toronto and this being no how correlated with votes... disgusting!

it's Czech name, so more like "F(y)rk" with very short "y". looks like decent pick to me to add depth scoring to the system.

just watching the highlights of the game on TSN website... really awkward to hear Kings crowd not only not booing Gary The Commish - they actually cheer him when he talks about great fans... I mean... that would never happen in good ol' Canada it's just... celebration unfulfilled, like missing a crucial point... kudos for LA for winning the cup. they were the best team, period.

throw Nikulin and Malkin in, and it's enough for Swedish to root for Finland. gosh, it could probably work the same the other way around, even if it seems totally impossible and out of place!