gcom007

Well, bad news in that one team will get a top 3 seed and two others could be anywhere in the 4th through 8th slots. Who wins the division is up in the air and likely will be down to the wire. Like I've said, I think there'll be 10 points seperating 1st and 8th seeds. But even though St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit will beat up on each other a lot, they're still going to smoke most of the other teams they come across. Something disastrous would have to happen for any one of Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis to not make the playoffs. They're just too strong in general.

I wouldn't be worried if it was a home game, but to me, these games in Sweden hold maybe less water even than an exhibition game. I'll start thinking about what the team needs 10 or so games in, and even then, it'll just be some thinking...no panic, no hate, no heads rolling...just some thinking once there's something logical that can be derived from analysis.

The only thing that will keep a team like Columbus out is that they're in the Central. Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis are the best teams in the conference if you ask me (well, in terms of speculation carried over from last year, additions, etc...) and while Columbus will compete with them and win games, they'll lose more as well having to play them so much. Calgary and San Jose will go b/c they'll win their division, St. Louis, Detroit and Chicago will go, leaves 2 spots and teams from other divisions with easier schedules will put up more points than Columbus most likely. Vancouver will probably go and I think they Ducks are going to surprise some people too.

I put no stock in these games in Sweden. I'll start making judgment calls on the Wings about 10 games in once we gel a bit more and adjust to normal schedules. Osgood bounced back with a descent 3rd and when/if we get Lilja back it's going to help a lot on D as well. I still think there's a real good chance we'll struggle on offense though. Bert can score some goals when he plays, but can he stay healthy? Will he stay healthy? Will other guys like Cleary and Flip really step up and produce more or have they reached the ceiling? Will our kids have great rookie years or more typical rookie years filled with ups and downs and lots of lessons? Only time will tell. We'll be fine. We'll make the playoffs. We might be a 4th or 5th seed but we'll be in and that's the battle. I think there will be a 10 point difference between 1st and 8th in the West and I think just about any team that makes it in will have a descent shot at going the distance. Just the Central alone is so strong. It's going to make for a great regular season though.

Did you watch anyone other than the Wings the second half of last season? They were outstanding and now they've got Kariya back. This was no fluke. I'm not saying we can't beat them, but if St. Louis stays healthy, they'll compete with any team from the West.

I'm a Wings fan and I think the Blues are going to be a real good team this year. If they stay healthy and keep the work ethic up, they can compete with any team in the West.

True story. Again, I think the Blues are going to surprise a lot of people this year especially if Kariya stays healthy. They're a good young team that knows how to work and Mason and Conklin will win games.

True story. I think people forget how incredibly skilled Kariya still is. You give him room, time or a break and he's going to give you hell and you can tell he's HUNGRY out there.

Sometimes it's not how many shots so much as the quality of chances you're giving away. Do you want to see Osgood stop 1 or 2 of those? Sure. But did the defense leave him hanging? Absolutely.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Blues are a WAY better team than anyone's giving them credit for. They had a great second half last year without Kariya and as we've seen today, Kariya's going to really help them out. I'm not happy with our defense or goaltending here, but give St. Louis credit for pushing and taking advantage of opportunities. Get used to this. The Central's going to be a beast...

Everyone was saying this last year too. I definitely predict a breakthrough that centers around Flip, but it'll have far more to do with fan-perception of him on LGW when they realize that he's not even a future star let-alone a superstar in the making like some suggest. Considering that last year was supposed to be his breakout season and your comment that his "point totals have gone up every year," I'm kinda humored. He went from 36 points to 40 points. He scored less goals last year as well and once again was incredibly inconsistent in terms of producing points. Even in his so-called "great" playoff outing, he still only put up 3 goals. A snakebit Hossa that everyone wanted to throw under the bus put up 6 goals. He's a solid player but he doesn't have the hands, the shot, the vision, etc...etc...etc...he doesn't have the skill set to do what so many of you expect him to do. He is not a guy who creates plays let alone is he too good at finishing them. He's a solid, dependable, defensively-responsible 3rd line center. He's not going to score a lot of goals and he'll likely max out at 50 points in a really good year, but he likely won't ever play that poorly and he thinks team defense. That ain't half bad and requires no whimsical fantasizing. Again, I like Flip enough for what he is, but way too many people have hopes that are too high. You're bound to be disappointed when you expect too much out of a guy. All it leads to is him becoming the next guy to hate on and blame for all the Wings problems. Sure, I'd love to be wrong, but I don't think I will be, and unlike many of you, I won't be disappointed either way it goes.

Yep...what many are forgetting is that trades still exist and if we need to make a splash, it means something isn't working on our end and it's going to be bigger than a guy like Maltby retiring. Like I said, if we NEED to make big moves, it'll be because our middle-tier guys are dropping balls, as in Flip, Stuart, Kronwall...if they don't make it happen, someone will go bye-bye...maybe at the deadline, maybe in the summer. It all depends on what we need and that all depends on how those guys play. They needs more than 40 points from Flip and dramatically improved performances from Kronwall and Stuart this year. Again, if those guys play well, we'll see nothing big because besides not being able to afford it, we simply won't need to. Only way it'll get interesting is if the cap takes a major dive and we need to start cutting people.

I think it's very likely that we'll land one of the bigger names next summer. It won't be a "biggest name" type of guy, but a legitimate star. Rafalski-ish+ perhaps? A lot would have to go wrong for us to land a couple big names or a BIGGGGGG name. So who and what depends on how this season goes. I think it's easier to speculate on who the Wings would potentially move to make room and why... If our defense still struggles, you know the group's going to get shaken up. But other than Lidstrom, Rafalski and likely Ericsson, I don't think anyone's spot is set in stone after next season. Lilja's probably safe if he recovers and returns to form. He's been far more solid in recent years at a great price. Lebda and/or Meech could be gone before summer. Either Stuart or Kronwall would likely be shipped out if they have rough years or the defense struggles in general. I've got a sneaking suspicion though that our defense will be better this year. Both Stuart and Kronwall can definitely play far better than they did last year. So if our defense is set, looking to forwards... Dats, Z and Franzen obviously are going nowhere. Cleary is really on this level as well at this point even if he didn't have the NTC. Add Leino, Helm and Abs to that list by default as they're rookie-ish guys with a lot of upside. Obviously if the offense struggles to get going this year, especially in the playoffs, we likely won't see any of the three 1-year wonders we just signed returning unless one really stands out. Williams may just make a case for himself hanging around especially if he has a solid post-season...for once. Maltby and Holmstrom will likely finally go and they'll likely explore any ways to get out of Drapers contract as well. Not sure how much cap relief if any a buyout could give given that he signed his deal after 35. Perhaps a team way under the cap would do a Draper+draft-pick for a lower draft pick swap. Like Draper+3rd or 4th for a 6th, he's instantly bought out and throws a presser at JLA to announce his retirement. I have no idea if that's possible or legal or whatever, but if the offense really struggles and Draper continues to struggle as well, I think all parties will want out of the deal and Draper will retire with buddy Maltby. Flip needs to really step up this year. If he is meandering around at a 40-point pace again, I wouldn't be surprised if he was moved at the deadline to fill a hole and open up $3 million in post-season cap space. None of our forwards that would be traded make as much as him or stand to bring as nice of a return as Flip. Sure, everyone likes the guy, but make no mistake, the writing was on the fall early this summer. If Hossa had signed with the Wings, Flip would be gone for this very reason. We don't have anyone else with a sizable enough salary to move that's worth moving at all. He needs to have the breakout year he was supposed to have last year and the offense on whole needs to be strong or Flip could very well be on his way out as a Wing. There's no guarantee one way or another at this point, but if it goes down, don't be shocked... But then again, if the offense is fine all year and into the playoffs, we very well could see Maltby and Holmstrom sign up for one more year and retire with Draper. We could also see 1-2 of our new guys sticking around. I think there's a good chance Bert will retire a Wing, but if this season goes alright, it won't be next summer. Flip's likely safe even without a breakout if the rest of the offense flourishes. Someone will be gone to make room for Abdelkader full time though. It'll be an interesting year for our offensive boys... In goal, Osgood's fine starting for awhile. I think he may even sign another 1-2 year deal after this one even. Howard will write his own fate. Either way, at most we'll just see another sub-million dollar backup come in. So.......it'll be interesting next summer in any event. We'll likely see some new faces, but I think it's entirely possible that we see little change and have some old faces stick around for one more year even. I honestly kinda hope it ends like that, because that likely means that we had a solid season; maybe not a Cup winning season, but a long, worthy run. But I want a trilogy-style Finals against the Penguins, and I want to win. Like, Hans Solo may be frozen in carbonite now, but the Ewoks are going to be singing and dancing in Detroit next June...

Anyone defending him ever stop to think that even if he is descent enough to be a backup still, there might be other issues that keep teams away? Like the fact that the guy can't keep his head together to save his life? Flashes of brilliance...wait, that's over the top; flashes of "descent to good" play do not ensure you a smooth career in this league. Even if he can play alright once in awhile, teams don't want a guy who's one bad game away from making dramatic suicide threats to the media. He's not stable at all and he has a heavily inflated ego. When games aren't so "big," he plays hard in a push to get into the bigger games and be looked upon as a starter option, but every time he has to face any pressure at all he completely crumbles. He's proven this many times in his career. Why would anyone want an aging backup goalie who's certain to crumble under pressure and bring more drama than your starter likely will???

I thought he made the All Star team because his stats were good and one or two other goalies were injured or chose not to attend. He wasn't voted in and I'm pretty sure he wasn't one of the first three choices.

In the playoffs, sure, he had what, the hand injury after game 3 or something in practice? But the 2nd half of the season I'm pretty sure he was injury free and blatantly outplaying Legace. But besides that, perhaps Babcock just learned his lesson from Legace when he pulled Hasek in 2008! Granted, Hasek was just looking miserable out there; perhaps worse than Legace in some ways. There's a big difference though between throwing in Chris Osgood in 2006 and 2008 if you're Mike Babcock. You can't forget that by 2008 Osgood was a Cup-winning goaltender coming off an All Star season as opposed to an aging goalie who won a Cup in '98. I think with Osgood, he simply hadn't earned Babcock's trust yet. Between Legace having the strong October and Osgood's injuries, Babcock's first real experience with him wasn't so hot and then Hasek came in and looked pretty great in 2007 despite his age. Osgood has since earned Babcock's respect. His 2006/07 campaign was solid and I think he was looking better than Hasek down the stretch though it's no surprise Hasek got the nod in '07 and '08. But even in '07 when he never saw playoff time, Babcock noticed his solid play as the season went on. Then... Osgood outplays Hasek in 2007/08 all season and makes the All Star team. Hasek still starts playoffs (he's earned it in his CAREER) Hasek bombs. Babcock: "Get in Osgood!" Osgood wins Babcock his first Cup. Osgood bombs regular season. Conklin outplays Osgood. Babs maintains Osgood's his starter. Osgood puts on a Conn-Smythe worthy performance carrying an injury-ridden team to game 7 of the finals. At the end of the day, with Legace, he never earned or proved anything over the course of his entire career like Osgood and Hasek have. He never made it happen when it mattered most. I really have no idea what Babcock was thinking when he started Legace. It just seemed like pure insanity to me even in the first week of November after Legace got named player of the month. I don't question too many things Babcock does, but the whole Legace thing really blew my mind. I'm grateful it happened though because I do think Babcock learned a lesson from it. It's not so much about going with the goalie who has the better season or looks better down the stretch. If you've got the choice, you've got to go with the guy who's proven the most through career-long experience. That's why Hasek rightfully started in 2008, but Osgood was no slouch and goes in. Then last year, he sticks with Osgood despite Conklin's strong play. Smart move. This isn't such a knee-jerk thing like some here think. Not saying you do, but it's a general thing that goes on. Experience and long-term perspectives oftentimes say a lot more about a guy than a more current situation suggests.

No way Legace will be back.

It was a mistake. Babcock's big one. It was made WAY too early in the season after he had a great October. Osgood outplayed Legace down the stretch and should've started. It was the first time in years and years that a goalie has played a pivotal role in a Red Wings playoff failure. Not saying we didn't have other problems, but we tend to lose because we can't score. Our goalie couldn't stop the puck either when Legace started. And everyone should've known better after he bombed the season before as well. I was getting yelled at around here for saying all season that it was a mistake and he'd blow it just like last year when everyone ripped on me for saying Osgood would be fine. Some things never change, but at least I'm always right!

His career didn't go down the drain. He was always a marginal backup. People just get too excited when they have a couple descent games. There is no such thing as Manny Legace's great career. There are a couple of years where he looked better than he was and a career where he's mostly sucked. Thank goodness he didn't take Hollands first deal. What an epic mistake that would've been.

I'm hoping/assuming that they just don't have the full-HD camera's out for the pre-season. If not, yeah, bring the rain...

Good to see Howard playing pretty descent to round out the preseason. He needs all the confidence he can get. He needs to get on a roll to start things out proportional to his backup status. He's screwed if he can't find a way to be positive about where his career with the Wings is going.

Some of us have been alive long enough to actually remember Osgood's career. Some of us still clearly remember that fateful game 7 in the first round against San Jose in 1994... Osgood was able to come in and be a starting NHL playoff goalie at age 21. He was an All-Star at age 23 in 1995/96 and many felt he deserved the Vezina that year. Osgood proved a lot early on in the NHL. (He also made some costly mistakes that were rather glaring like the game 7 incident that many have unfortunately focused on more than the great things he's done throughout his career.) But anyways... Jimmy Howard is 25 and still hasn't managed to earn a backup role until this year now that they're out of options. The management is not sold on him at all. It's been noted again and again the last few years. As of a week ago, Babcock said the only way Howard gets a shot is if Conklin goes because Conklin's going to beat him out for the backup role if they're going head to head. I'm not arguing that what the OP is saying is absolutely right at all, but I think those trying to prop Howard up are giving him a bit too much credit and benefit of the doubt in general. More so though, many of you are just overly eager to apply your newly-discovered wisdom courtesy of Chris Osgood in 2008/09. Except the thing is, you've got it all wrong. You're still focusing on over-generalizations. You're not focusing on the details that qualify whether the statement is actually reasonable or not. Just because Osgood came around doesn't make it a general rule. That's just absurd on so many levels and doesn't explain how many of us defended Osgood all last year. Remember how often I said, "quote me on it in June?" It was often if you missed it. Sure, some people are diehards, but some people know what Osgood is capable of because he's proven himself to be capable of such things for years in the NHL and furthermore, we also know how he approaches the playoffs. I had no doubts about Osgood being able to turn it around. I knew he'd be fine when it mattered. Many others did as well because they skip the hype and focus on the details and what's actually reasonable and logical. Using logic tends to yield better results than relying on hyped-up emotional responses. That said, again, the writings on the wall with Howard. He hasn't done enough to give anyone in management confidence in him to be able to pull his weight simply as a backup. He's getting a shot because it's just about the only option they have left and he hasn't completely bombed out yet. He very well could get on a roll and establish himself as a capable NHL goalie this season, but there's every reason to believe he won't do so as well. It's unreasonable to say that anything's a certainty right now, but it's certainly not unreasonable whatsoever to have concerns or doubts about him. Again, this isn't just slappy fans. The management is all on board the concerned train as well...

I actually have no issue with his pre-season play. I don't hold those goals against him in the Buffalo game. It's just been a long and winding road with this guy where expectations keep getting lower and lower and still the only way he winds up on the team is because he's out of minor league options and they've invested too much time into him not to give him a chance. I outlined pretty clearly in the page before that the Osgood comparisons in any way, shape or form are absurd. Again, a lot of people are just being typical slappy haters, but there's more than a few people who are simply concerned for good reason. Hell, the management is concerned! Do they seem thrilled with the fact that Howard's the backup? No. Has Babcock inferred that Conklin would win the backup role if he stuck around? Yes. The Jimmy Howard experiment thus far has not gone at all how the Wings would've wanted it. No one in management has expressed that they're convinced he's going to be able to get the job done. No one has said that he's proven himself ready in the minors and his few NHL games. They've said again and again, this is his last chance because they're out of any other options so he has to FINALLY prove that he's ready and able to play in the NHL. What about that makes anyone feel positive about the guy right now??? I'm not saying that he shouldn't get his shot, but I'm certainly not about to get my hopes up either.

I think Osgood's still got 3-4 solid years left in his tank. That said, I think we should've cut our losses with Howard and gone with the guy who proved himself last year to pull his weight at the NHL level. Of course, I'm speaking of Ty Conklin. He was a perfect combination for Osgood because he works hard to play like a starter but doesn't bring the drama or typical goalie-headcase issues that guys like Legace have had in the past. Even if Howard does alright, I still think we would've been better off with Conklin. But oh well...here's hoping it works out.

Well, Osgood gave the defense every reason to be better last year and it didn't help much... And while I think it's worth noting that he hasn't been shipped off, at the same time, it's also worth noting that he's struggled to impress them enough to think he's ready for awhile now. The expectations have gotten lower and lower each year. At first he was the next great home-grown Wings goalie. Then he was likely to be a solid NHL goalie. Then we think he can still be an NHL goalie. And then they think he can still be an NHL backup. Now it's more along the lines of we hope he can be an NHL backup. I'm all for giving him his fair shot and staying open minded, and I certainly agree some are jumping off the deep end, but this is a far cry different than people doubting Osgood last year. Osgood's proven a great deal in his long NHL career. He's won Cups and a LOT of games. Howard hasn't even proven much in his AHL career and if anything has done more to cause management to question him than have confidence in him. It's tough to have a lot of faith in this guy when management has lowered the bar every year and he's still struggled to really grab hold of a slot. Even this year, if not for being out of minor league options, do you honestly think he would outplay Conklin if they were competing for the backup role? Again, I'm not trying to jump off the deep end here, but I think both sides are a little off on this issue. Those hyping up how horrible this will be need to chill for a bit, but those saying we have no idea, and we don't need a great goalie are ignoring reality and not giving Osgood his due as a top NHL goalie. Don't kid yourself for a second. "Doesn't need to be great" like Legace? I remember that going really well. It's not that we need Roy/Brodeur/Hasek-legendary status goalies to win, but make no mistake, Osgood has absolutely been great when it matters most for a long, long time in this league. Chris Osgood was an NHL All-Star and leading candidate for a Vezina Trophy in 1995/96 at the age of 23. Jimmy Howard is cracking the Red Wing lineup as a backup basically because they're out of minor league options for him at the age of 25. There's a big, big, big difference between Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard.