akustyk

one factor that has not been mentioned so far: salary cap is supposed to rise. we discussed it with Datsyuk contract so most posters know the issue. in short: with long term deals it works both way: a players gets some relatively fat money now, early into the contract, but at the end of it it's team that gets the better of it, because the guys costs less in terms of salary cap percentage. in this light, Timmonen's contract doesn't look that bad. and Hartnell... guess Philly gambles that he'll develop to physicall guy and quality scorer. and frankly, with a team like Flyers he has a good chance for this am personally glad he's gone to the East, though

Philly overpaid once again. and that's a pleasure to see them once again headed into deception. as for Preds... sure, they look thinner now. but have some space under the cap and are able to roll their youth. they might be less competitive following season (though, I'd not bet my money on this), but 2008/09 they should be a young team with developed chemistry.

Bruins were in the run for playoff appearance whole season. but about mid-March they went cold and let the door open to Islanders/Habs/Leafs. this was a good team capable of making it, but something failed. was it Lewis fault? possibly, but not necessarilly. Bruins seem to be having some bad leadership for a couple of years, and I'm not sure if blaming coaches is the way to go. Lewis is a head coach material, although not a guy to go if you want to win something. but I still think he'll be there for some good team in 2-3 years.

Crosby takes Pearson(sp). at TSN website and Brindamour has Selke. same source Calder goes to Malkin

it's on TSN! for 850k it's great to have him back.

and especially after he came so close to winning Olympic gold Selanne deserves his name. Pronger-dumb-f*** not so, though, but that's already been beaten to death

congratulations! feels really pity to see Pronger with the cup, but... in the end, the team deserved to win.

I kinda like the stiff salary. it does increase competitiveness and adds a lot of emphasis to GM's smartness. and it most certainly improves the tactical aspect of the game. what I don't like about the rules (pre- and post-cap era) is how it f* the teams with long term success and strips them from quality draft picks. yes, I understand the league has to give a chance to the teams to rebuild, but with salary cap giving teams some freedom to trade their assets (and fish valuable guys from the market) why sticking with current drafting order (worse teams pick first). they now have tools to rise from league bottom, because if they need to rebuild they can just move veterans at trade deadline for draft picks. also... with salary cap the emphasis(sp?) is to large extent on being able to scoop young talent and have skilled kids ripping scoresheets for small bucks (see: Ducks, Pens). I do somehow like the fact that this enforces GM's to chase instant success, because they can't just develop teams for many years, but... but in the end it also digs a hole under older teams (see: Wings, Blues). and it also introduces a drastic moment when GM has to say goodbye to many of his talented kids who reach the age of negotiating fat contract (see: Oilers, Pens ~2010). I'd like to see less stricter limitations to youngsters salaries and/or less contrains(sp?) to their trades just my 0.02$

6th career playoff suspension. way to go, Campbell. if there is by chance a better way to say this league tolerates assholes, I'd like to know it. disgusting

don't really need a reason for guy like him. I'd say Ottawa needs to score goals, not play shorthanded, right?

don't want Swedish goalie, but a good forward is something to think about. with our European scouts we're pretty likely to land a better Swede with this 27th spot, than a good North American. so sure, I'd go with a Swede, develop him and optionally use to trade for some pesky Canadian or something like that. we're good with Swedish players in particular, so that would be logical choice

Jesus Christ, what an argument is this? is Stanley Cup campaign about teams winning best-of-seven series, or about the league awarding teams from best markets with advances? the NHL is usually pretty awful when it comes to reffing and Canadian teams. and TV stations are usually those who are the best at licking fans asses and jumping bandwaggons so that they voice the majority of viewers opinions. but in the end, there is a game played on the ice where two teams clash and one of them wins it with hard work, smart strategy and talent first. optional league help comes at the very last, when there's some close battle and some calls may favor one team. but that's all. by far the biggest part of the picture is the game on the ice and how players are. BTW: yes, I'm gonna be watching at least 1 period of those games which start prior to 8:00. was it not for the fact the 7:00 is 1:00 AM local time, I would love to watch the entire series. sure, my Wings are not there, but in the end I'm a hockey fan, not just Detroit homer. there's a lot of strong hockey to be played, and I definitely want to see it. even more rooting for Alfie (who's one of my favorite NHL players) and cheering for Sens to keep this sucker Pronger off the cup EDIT: just realized, all games are scheduled to this awful 2:00 AM my time. seems like I'm gonna switch to early wake ups and watching 3rd periods/OTs

yes and no. Bryzgalov proved to be as good as Giguere in regular season, and is cheaper. Burke may want to give him a chance to be full time starter. even more if Giguere's agent pulls Don Meehan and starts with some ridiculous price tag that JS isn't even worth. with Burke not beeing overly keen on dealing with greedy players, I can easily see Giguere gone

speaking of Beauchemin... I'd say he was Ducks top-3 defenseman in this series, and am not necessarilly sold on him being just 3rd place. he might not have the skill set of Niedermayer or Cheater, but he was pretty solid. and in that particular Game 1 he was the guy who shadowed Homer with a lot of success. people tend to point him out as a person who was unlucky to bounce the pucks, but if it wasn't for him who knows if Homer didn't have those goals. in the end, though, I think Ducks had a much better hit-miss ratio in those edge situations. be it just better luck, be it better tactical work and ability to capitalize on Wings failures - in the end only the scoresheet counts. which is our sorrow and your joy

you are comparing Ducks with Kunitz out for just this series and Pronger for just one game, with Wings being Kronwall-less for entire playoffs and Schneider gone for entire round and a game in preceding one. which basically mean two top-6 defensemen missing in a final for the West Conference, well known for tight defense and defense-first play. won't work this way. it doesn't count in the end because we know who won and just accept it. but if you're trying to convince people the injury situation was similar for both teams and that this factor didn't play any role... just do a reality check first

well put. my thoughts, exactly.

you just defined another Robert Lang it seems

there isn't many options to pick, is it? I'm going with Sens here. not only because I'd hate to see Pronger raising the cup, but I'd also like to see Alfie winning it and his Conn Smythe. the guy deserves it. plus, an European captain beating a team with 15 Canadians sounds good to me. about time to show Canadians hockey is not just about them. I mean - I'm not anti-Canadian but I just can't stand claiming the sport is only about Canada. nope, there are many other nations that play it, and the growing contingent of European players is a proof for the international character of this sport.

some of you just seem to have stopped in 2004/05, that is about the time Holland used to sign every single player who had 15+ years of NHL experience. read: old fart. Peca is a short-sighted investment, and one that doesn't necesarilly has to pay off. why sign him if we can pick younger players with good set of skills instead? and Sykora? no f* way, man. this is a huge noshow with demand for big bucks. forget about him and finally... hell freezes over on the day Forsberg joins Wings. Jesus Christ, don't even mention it! care to give more details? I mean, I know he's no saint, but if I'm not mistaken he's been captain for Islanders a while ago, and you don't give this duty to a guy who doesn't come along with other players.

that was my thought about Bertuzzi for some years. then it happened, and seeing the fact that he does improve my team and gives it a better shot on winning something... you just suck up the animosity. I still don't like Bertuzzi, but am all for Wings resigning him. it's just: the team above single players agreed. but you can't say for sure Maltby would not be an ******* if he played under guys like Trotz or god forbid Crawford. I'm not comparing these two, though. just trying to put things in some perspective

with Nashville Hartnell is a bastarrd and douchebag. but with Wings you sure like hell bet he'll be a gritty, mean enforcer. just like Maltby isn't an a$$hole but a guy with ability to get other team off its game you know... a matter of perspective. the way players act often depends on what their coaches want to. under Trotz many players turned to s***ty play. now Hartnell is a presence and could bring a lot of usefull toughness to the Wings. I mean not just mean play, but also some offensive skills. if it doesn't come overly expensive I'd say: why not? that's the type of player we could certainly use. still, Blake wins my vote here. tough, can play pretty nasty, but has very good offensive skills and brings some leadership. I'd most certainly welcome him in Winged Wheel

Hartnell and Jason Blake

a quick look at the list of potential UFA: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=4965 players who could be considered, IMHO: Bochenski (BOS), Zubrus (BUF), Hartnell (NSH), Blake (NYI), Aasham (NYI), Ortmeyer (NYR), Parker (SJS), Bulis (VAN). to pick two of them: Blake and Zubrus.

Willie had a great season in 2005-06 but pretty much sat on his ass this year and showed no signs of being his old self. be it he didn't suit Babcock's style, be it he had other issues, but he deserved a try in another team, and the Wings most certainly deserved to get rid of him

Nieminen - fits to this team like a thong to my butt. skip Fedotenko - possibly, maybe.. will have to take a look on him Gelinas - maybe, but I'd rather look for bigger/younger. he's very much for Kenny Holland (<2005) taste, though Ekman - no opinion Zednik - too old for my taste Kozlov - see above O'Neill - that would be waaaay too old. and too steep price Commish - too much hype around him and too big bucks to fish him. Zubrus - sure, but he's on the rise now and his agent will look for big bucks. there's some risk with taking him (I mean: is he still gonna be that good in a year or two?) but that's worth trying Dvorak - looks fine with me. not sure if Holland goes for high-profile Czech player, though. Wings scout doesn't seem to cover Czechs that well Nedved - waaaaay too expensive and way too washed