gcom007

I've been saying this since mid-June. People act like this last year was a failure because we lost when I'd say if anything, we were probably more successful this year than last proportionally. Last year we had no excuse to lose because we were fairly healthy. This year we had so many reasons why we should've lost with all the critical injuries we had and the rough defense and we still took it to game 7 and lost by a goal. Again, considering all of our injuries to top players, that's unbelievable. Last year was anything but a failure. We just didn't have any luck in terms of injuries.

They'll be as competitive as many other teams will be in the West now. I don't think they are that much better than some of the other teams going into this year. Last year I feel like it was a given that we'd go to the Finals and compete. It's not out of the realm of possibility by any stretch this year but the West is going to be a lot tougher. I'm thinking the difference between 1-8 in the West is 10 points or less. I don't think any team will run away with anything in the West either. I still have a gut feeling Chicago will go to the Finals. I'm not sure they'll be ready to win, but my gut's telling me they're the team coming out of the West. But again, I think there will be 8 teams that make the playoffs from the West that will have about as good of a chance as any team to go the distance. That's the difference this year.

I don't think Holland's a moron by any means but I don't think he was as prepared for this off-season as he needed to be either. Myself and others said well before July 1st that there's a good chance the Wings will lose all of our main free agents to which most balked and as Holland and Jimmy D. said multiple times, they knew it was possible but they just didn't really expect/anticipate it at all. Personally, I think for once the Wings management was overly-confident and it bit them in the ass. Again, I'm not saying they're morons or they suck as no one's perfect and more often than not they get it right, but I definitely think they dropped a few balls this off-season. I think they might say the same thing in the future as they've already admitted that they just didn't foresee losing Hossa, Samuellson and Hudler.

I hear what you're saying, I just don't think any of these owners are above such shenanigans. Like I said in that long post, look what Lemieux did in Pittsburgh. And then look what he did in Kansas City. Then look what he took back to Pittsburgh to throw in politicians faces. They're all playing games. They're all likely involved in illegal dealings. Corruption rules. Only they don't call it that. They just deem it as necessary to accomplish their end goals. Who's right or wrong doesn't really matter when it all shakes down and history can interpret things differently ten years out compared to what seems evident in the present.

I'm in the same boat. I won't be thrilled but I won't be upset if he signs. It is what it is. But I will certainly be glad it's not Jason Williams.

Interesting.

Ha, maybe they're not announcing it and hoping no one will notice until the season starts so they can put off the backlash from fans. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I typically like most of the guys whether they're great or not. I'm a pretty positive person and can see the good in a lot of the guys and at least subjectively like them enough to not run around trashing them on message boards. However... Jason Williams is one of the few guys from the last five to ten years that I just never warmed up to and I was very glad when he was traded.

I would think we would've heard something by now about Williams being signed considering we already know Eaves signed. I'm not saying it's wholly unlikely that he signed or is going to sign, but if this was locked up yesterday, why hasn't it broke out yet?

It won't happen. The Isles may move but they'll stay on the island, rest assured. This is all about putting pressure on a situation that's gotten out of hand. It's not even worth discussing.

No.

Have any of our guys who have fought recently not wound up with long-term injuries? These guys should just not be fighting.

Again, my bet is that you'd say the same about any owner if the circumstances brought their business dealings to the attention of the public's ever-scrutinizing eye. Whenever hundreds of millions of dollars are in the fold, you can be certain that the core of the dealings yields nothing short of an ugly situation. These sort of massive dealings bring out the worst in people because there's just so much at stake.

People forget that Balsillie has been approved by the owners in the past. There are a lot of sides to this story and none of them are too rosy. The Pens one really is kinda the ugliest for us as the end result there was a team that won the Stanley Cup against us this year. But skipping the petty stuff, reality of the matter is that the Penguins ownership have been given a lot of special treatment that other owners have been none too happy about. It's just a tad irritating when the NHL has loose rules interpreted by circumstance while likely rigging lottery's and so on and so forth to keep a team up. And then the arena mess...Lemieux wasn't an ******* at all when he threatened to move the team to Kansas City or Vegas again and again, even visiting/campaigning in the cities to get people riled up only to use as political clout to get public money for a new arena. Lots of rambling there, I know, but the bottom line is that all of these guys throwing around hundreds of millions of dollars are shrewd to say the least. If we met any of them and observed them in business settings, we would likely think they're all assholes. Some more than others. There are multiple examples of horrible owners within the NHL and multiple examples of Bettman and company (read: owners, since I guess people aren't clear who Bettman works for???) proving that their judgment of potential owners is less than impeccable. So in referencing all parties involved here, I believe that it's fair to say that there are a lot of assholes, a lot of dumb decisions made, a lot of public showboating and most certainly a lot of behind the scenes madness that trumps anything we've seen or heard of. But what I keep coming back to is the fact that the Coyotes have lost over $300 million over the course of their residence in Phoenix. I also can't help but acknowledge that the NHL in general is not exactly the most profitable professional sports league across the board and there are money issues in many markets. So you've got a guy who's willing to throw out $212 million, over $60 million more than any other bidder. You can be sure he's going to do all he can financially to support the team and ensure their success as he's passionate enough to throw out an obscene number to purchase the team upfront and just his ability to do so prove that the guy's got deep, deep pockets. I don't know why the league wouldn't do everything in their power to work with him and help the Coyotes pack for Hamilton. While Balsillie certainly hasn't helped his case by creating a spectacle, he never should've been put in a place where he had to go about it in such a manner. It's beyond obvious that hockey in the desert is an utter and complete failure. In this day and age, the league should be doing all they can to get that team out of there and get it in the hands of someone, somewhere in a situation that will yield profits as opposed to massive losses year after year. Sure, they're going to piss some folks (big and small in terms of clout) off in Phoenix, but if you're going to piss people off either way, might as well not piss off the one's that could actually help the situation as opposed to the one's anchoring the situation that has become a train wreck. It's just ludicrous. Again, I'm not saying that Balsillie has gone about this in the best manner, but like I said, it never should've gotten this far. It's a shame that the league is hanging on to markets that are failures. If Bettman and company had done absolutely no wrong ever, I would be more up in arms over Balsillies actions. But the thing is, they've done plenty wrong and Balsillie has enough clout/money/power to call it out and bring the issue to the forefront. I'm surprised the league hasn't done more to work with him if only for that reason. This isn't good press for anyone.

Conklin better start in the playoffs or we won't win a game.

Great gamble at $500k. Hopefully the environment will bring out the best in him. If he can put up 20 goals again, he just might end up being the steal of the summer. I like this move. We'll see what happens next. I'm hoping it has nothing to do with Jason Williams.

He's shrewd for certain but I think the side you're seeing is a result of the ridiculous games the league has forced him to play since he started on his quest.

They prefer owners who can't pay their bills and get caught up in corruption. Why would they want a guy who can actually afford to own a team?

We have to add someone with some experience and scoring ability. There's really no way around it. The West is going to be too competitive. There's going to very little point difference between 1-8 out of the West and a lot of teams will just miss out of making the playoffs. We'll be on the backend of that if we don't sign somebody and the Wings management knows that. There's just no way we don't sign someone. I hate to say it as it pains my soul immensely, but even Williams is better than nothing at this point.

Bertuzzi is as good of a gamble as any at this point. I'm not saying I like it or am gunning for it, but half of me still expects Holland to pull Mats Sundin out of his hat. It just seems like a Holland thing to do. Heaven knows if it'd be worth it though. As implied, everything's a gamble at this point.

Right on. This goes right along with what I've been saying. While all of these 10+ year deals are ridiculous, the only thing more ridiculous is that we want to now point fingers at other teams for pulling the same kind of stunts. When you get to 10+ years and/or 40 years old and up, you're splitting hairs. It's all ridiculous and it's all blatantly a way around the cap. It's like, "we only robbed the bank of $1 million! They took $1.2 million! They're horrible people! Get 'em Sherriff Bettman!!!" Ludicrous.

I just don't understand how Williams could seriously be set up to get $2.5 million from any team let alone the Wings. I trust that we're interested in Williams, I do not trust at all that we're truly offering him a $2.5 million deal. I will have no head left to shake if it comes to fruition as my mind will be utterly and completely blown.

It does appear to be the case. I was never so hot on the idea of Sundin but at this point, if the price is right, he may be the best option. I hate to say it in some ways, but when you look at the list of names of guys still out there and think about who really has potential to make an impact and add to the drive of the team, Sundin may be the best bet. But it'll come down to money for certain. One thing working for us is that most teams worth playing for are close to or already maxed out so it's not like he can march into any meeting and expect a paycheck like last year. Times have changed and the demand isn't there. What sucks is that taking a chance on just about anyone that's left amounts to a gamble that's working far less in the Wings favor than it might've 3-4 weeks ago. That said, how can you not consider Mats Sundin then if the price is right?

Stats don't tell the whole story. There's more room for fancy hands to come into play on a power play because you have more room to work. Hudler has better hands than Flip. That's why he scores more on the power play, bottom line. Many people have pointed out again and again that Flip has not been effective with his power play time. He's been given more than some seem to think and again, he hasn't done much with it. Hudler has done far more with it because he has better hands, and thus, coaching gives more time to him.

I know you struggle with reading comprehension, but to be clear, there's a major difference between "bitching" and an unwillingness to throw out unrealistic expectations. I think many of us who aren't expecting Flip to be Dats still really like the guy and are happy to have him on the team. But while we'd love to be surprised, we don't expect him to be a star. But we're quite happy and satisfied with that. He's a solid player and it's great to have guys like him around.

At this point, half of me is almost expecting this to happen. If they can find a figure that both parties are satisfied with, it makes a lot of sense for both sides. I mean, heaven knows, but sitting here thinking about everyone that's left and the possibilities, I've just got this funny feeling that Sundin may end up being the guy we sign.