YoungGuns1340

Flip has looked great the past few games, while Hudler looks more and more like a guy that can make his linemates look better. Hudler is just 2 points back from Hank, and only 4 points back from Hossa. NUTS.

Backstrom reportedly wants 5-6M. He'd be a pure rental in Detroit and the only guy we could move to accomodate him would be Filppula, and Filppula is worth much more than a soon-to-be-overpaid rental. With that said, Nearly 45 games into the season, I still don't feel comfortable with Osgood in net for 4-7 games straight in a playoff series. I realize he backstopped the team to the cup last year, but he has yet to really play a complete solid game this season. From the way hes played and the team has played in front of him, I think Conklin could pull off a long cup run this year before Osgood could.

Does anyone know how Dubi feels about this? I was under the impression that he enjoyed his time with the Isles. He did play pretty well for them. Then he signs a contract with them that requires him to move internationally and gets stuck going to Columbus instead of New York? I'd be pissed. Yeah, Columbus is playing well, but hes now a back-up as opposed to a starter and in Ohio instead of America's City.

To be honest, GST, shes not the only one who feels that way. Hossa has yet to play a single game this season WITHOUT Zetterberg or Datsyuk, yet hes not even up to a point per game pace? And hes getting 7.4M to do so? Naturally, its a great contract regardless because the Wings don't have any holes and its only the length of one year. But I agree with Ms. Hockey, the offers that he was getting in the neighborhood of $8-9M aren't what Hossa is worth to this team. Is he a good skater? Is he a good two-way forward? Is he a creative, skilled offensive player with a great shot? Is he strong on the puck? Yes, hes all those things. But is he the be all and end all? Is he near Datsyuk's level? Is he prone to inconsistencies in his game that make him look like Robert Lang on some nights and Alex Ovechkin on others? Does he sometimes take shots that make him look like Brett Hull and others that make him look like Mikael Samuelsson? Yes, all those things too. I am grateful to have Hossa. It makes our depth unreal, and I really think Hossa will turn it up a notch in the playoffs like he did between the regular and post-season last year, but he isn't a guy that I think the Wings should even think about re-signing, because he hasn't looked nor produced like the top 10 forward he was billed to be on this team. Thats not to say Hossa can't produce or look like a top 10 forward. I just don't think he can on this team. And again, before we launch into the hyperbole and false accusations, I know Hossa is a great, high-end, elite player. I just don't think hes reached that level with this team.

You tend to be a bit of an extremist in a lot of your posts, Owl. Just an observation. At any rate, Hossa has 42 points in 44 games. Hank has 40 points in 42 games. Not exactly a big difference. 2 games fewer, 2 points fewer.

Wow, thats a pretty ruthless move from Columbus. I know its all about competition, but CBJ's goaltending is strong right now, so this makes it a pretty opportunistic move. I was under the impression that under certain circumstances, there is somewhat of a Gentleman's agreement about claiming guys off waivers, and this seems like one of those situations.

I'm betting Shero thinks hes got another Conklin in Garon, which he very well might. But this isn't going to help them substantially in any way. And if Edmonton isn't gunning for the playoffs, why not grab a 4th round pick?

I think its pretty obvious that Holland is hording cap space at all costs right now. Unless a rash of injuries occurs, I don't think we'll see any movement between Grand Rapids and Detroit until March, which is encouraging. It shows that Holland is still keeping his eye peeled for a possible deadline deal.

As a sidenote, while Savard is far from a complete player, Datsyuk really has nothing on Savard in terms of being underrated.

These stats aren't really a surprise. Back in the day, Yzerman was always revered by the organizations leaders for the way in which he made a commitment to defense that sacrificed his personal production. To take it a step further, these statistics don't even account for the pure mentality of a two-way forward. Malkin's role, for example, is to score (nearly) at all costs. If Malkin isn't an offensive threat all the time, the Pens likelihood of winning almost automatically decreases. The same can't be said for Datsyuk, due to the nature and depth of the wings, but that sort of team ideology can't be underestimated. Elite dedication to defense always comes at the cost of energy and scoring chances.

I agree. This 7 x 7 figure has been thrown around since talks about re-signing Zetterberg ever started coming up, and the fact that that number and term still seem to be around the best fit figure over the past few years says a lot. And I love hearing that Holmstrom and Lidstrom have been talking to Zetterberg. To me, that says one thing: "we've all taken discounts to play for this club, and its because of that that we remain competitive. Join the club."

The same delusional idiots that think every player wants to play for the Wings, even if it means taking a 3M dollar paycut. I hear they're related to these folks in Montreal who think every francophone Canadian wants to play for the Candiens. Not to mention, Hossa signing a one year, 7.4M deal was contingent upon the Wings retaining their entire cup-winning roster.

Agree on the idea that having marquee goaltenders is more or less a waste of space in the "cap" era. (Unless you have a generational goaltender a la Roy or Brodeur.) But I don't buy the idea of adding Kovalchuk either. That would be just as much a waste of space in the Wings system. You'd doubtfully get the 100 points out of Kovalchuk that you'd need to make his similar $7-8M salary worth it. Lang and Hossa are pretty basic examples of this. While Hossa's salary in particular is easy to deal with because of the length, if it were longer, he'd be overpaid. For nearly 7.5M, you need to be in the range of at least 90 points, while Hossa is currently on pace for 78. To me, having well-calibrated depth is the best way to go. The only player that I would put all of Lidstrom's cap space into is Chris Pronger. Bash the guy all you want, but hes one of few guys that you would likely get your money out of at 6-8M. Other than that I would rather go with any two of 1) a 10-15ish goaltender 2) a Top 4 Dman 3) a 2nd line forward.

Agreed. I'd rather have a 5M defender and a 3M goalie, than an 8M goalie (although with the cap projected to fall like a rock in '10, I doubt anyone signs for that kind of money for a while).

Haha, I had this same idea, Reilly. Then I ran the numbers, and it just doesn't make sense. Especially considering what the cap COULD be in '10.

So imagine a scenario where the Rangers win the President's trophy, and also win the bid to host the first two games. Whichever western conference team faces off against the Rags is essentially going to be playing 4 straight away games. Not only unfair, but stupid.

Couldn't agree more. Next will have some idiot bring up some thread from two years ago about Franzen. "ZOMG every1 thawt the Franzen waz just a 4thLINER!!! HAHAHALOLLLDFODFOZZZLOL!!! U Guyz were SO wrong!!! eeeeee!!!!11!!!" Seriously. Apples and Oranges. Datsyuk wasn't as good offensively, defensively, physically, or dominant. And Robert Lang was the leading scorer when we added him.

http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/2009/01/blue_...jason_wil.shtml Shipped to Columbus. This guy is gonna be a mini Mike Sillinger, and play for every team in the Central.

The fact that Zetterberg came out denied this - when he says himself that he normally wouldn't comment on a thing like this - is a very good indicator. Obviously Hank saw that it was such a good offer, that even hypothetically turning it down would do damage to his reputation. Thus, he commented on it. My guess is that not only did that offer not come up, but nothing close to that offer has come up.

You'd be hard pressed to find a pack of guys who are better than him on the PK. And say that because some nights he looks better than Lidstrom out there on the PK, so you know hes probably pretty good relative to the rest of the league.

According to Matt, the Wings can supposedly pick up 1.7M of non-prorated salary. Thats enough space to add Moore (900k) and bring up Helm full time. But the obvious easy way out for making space for a move is to trade Lebda. Meech is cheaper, and has proven to be just as good while being more versatile.

How the f*** was that not a penalty on Kunitz? He was holding on to Datsyuks ARM and took away a scoring chance.

Three words: Statue. Of. Liberty.

Its amazing how much hard work Zetterberg does and never comes up with a point. Dudes snake-bitten. If you ask me, something that hasn't been much talked about as a reason why Hank might be having some trouble is because of contract negotiations. Hes likely looking at contracting the next 5-8 years of his life. That would weigh heavily on anybodys shoulders. It also wouldn't be the first time a player didn't bring his best game while negotiating a big contract.

What happened in the 2nd and first half of the third? Looks like Anaheim has only had 6 or 7 shots since the start of the 2nd. Did the Wings shut it down?