YoungGuns1340

Is Martin Havlat on the 4th line?

Correction. Ladd was conveniently ready to drop them with the 5'10 Draper, but backed of when someone his own size had something to say.

No ******* s***. The NHL marketing team is a bunch of ****** bags. Like they couldn't market Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Kane or Toews? Non-NHL fans probably think Crosby is the only decent thing in the game with the way hes promoted and almost NO ONE else.

Apparently not. Our "best" goal scorer missed that a good 4 x 6, while a ******* 4th line agitator is squeaking them past Conklin.

You wouldn't know it was crappy ice with the way the Hawks are flying.

Krist Versteeg is going back to his childhood days? You ARE a ******* child.

Wow. Ben Eager just ******* scored. f*** this bulls***.

The Wings need to be a first period team unless they want to stage a comeback in a rink of slush.

I'm sure it helps that Chicago's own home town announcer is calling the game.

Uh oh. Somebody pushed Sammy. GIVE EM A PENALTY.

HOW THE f*** DO YOU MISS THAT??????

I thought he looked solid. Absolutely no complaints. Sure he gets out-skated here and there but it rarely leads to anything. Still one of the best #6/7 guys in the league from the looks of it. I also thought he added a cagey element on the back-end that we'd been lacking. Chelios is really the only chippy bastard we have on this team.

Hossa spent the majority of his PP time out there with Kovalchuk. Even strength is a different story, but Kovalchuk is one of the best snipers in the league (or at least he was up until this year). Marc Savard wasn't too bad either. As for the argument itself, I'm not Eva when it comes to statistics. But its something you always, always have to take into consdieration when looking at Eastern Conference forwards vs. Western Conference forwards. Sure, Spezza is a perennial 90 point centerman, and may end up posting career numbers better than Datsyuk. But do I think Spezza is the better offensive player? Hell no! Hossa and Zetterberg are incredibly comparable in terms of offensive talent. Hossa is the slightly better goal scorer, Hank is the slightly better passer (although you wouldn't know either of these things are true from the way they're both playing lately). And then as far as this season goes, Hossa has had the better linemates but I think Hank might be getting a little more time overall, and if Hank were to get 1 point tomorrow while Hossa gets none, then Hank moves ahead of Hossa in PPG. Right now, Hossa is ahead of Hank by a hair. Its that close. Bottom line, to say that Hossa is without doubt the better forward than Zetterberg is beyond a joke.

For a guy that takes a lot of abuse, homer has held up really well. Until he develops some sort of chronic injury, I would bank on him to keep lacing them up. Do I expect him to play into his 40s? No. But I expect 3 or 4 more years out of the guy. But man is he going to have the sickest arthritis when hes older.

Comparing players who have spent their entire post-CBA careers in opposite conferences almost always make the Eastern Conference player look better. The better Dman top to bottom reside in the West, and its also been much tighter than the run and gun East. Not to mention, Hossa has spent his career getting fat off a shallow PP along with Kovalchuk. The Wings, on the other hand, have always and will continue to spread the wealth. Unlike you, I'm going to use actual facts rather than radical bias to prove this supposition. Hossa 05/06 - .080 points per PP minute Hossa 06/07 - .101 points per PP minute Hossa 07/08 - .088 points per PP minute Hank 05/06 - .102 points per PP minute Hank 06/07 - .093 points per PP minute Hank 07/08 - .105 points per PP minute Hossa 05/06 - .043 points per ES minute Hossa 06/07 - .044 points per ES minute Hossa 07/08 - .034 points per ES minute Hank 05/06 - .051 points per ES minute Hank 06/07 - .047 points per ES minute Hank 07/08 - .048 points per ES minute Hossa's recalculated points with Hank's minutes: 05/06: 43 ES points(-2), 29 PP points (-10) (over 80 games), plus SHP = 88 points 06/07: 50 ES points (-2), 34 PP points(-10) (over 82 games), plus SHP = 92 points 07/08: 39 ES points(+4), 30 PP points(+1) (over 75 games/ 3 extra) = 71 points Hank's recalculated points with Hossa's minutes: 005/06: 53 ES points (+4 points), 50 PP points (+15), plus SHP (over 80 games/ 3 extra)= 104 points 06/07: 55 ES points (+14), 40 PP points(+16), plus SHP (over 82 games / 19 games extra) = 108 points 07/08: 52 ES points(-3), 36 PP points (0), plus SHP = 89 points Hank beats out Hossa every year and in dramatic fashion.

Injuries are a threat, of course, but Homer is exactly the type of guy that would come back to play for the Wings at 1.5M per season. He knows very well that hes in this league because guys like Datsyuk and Hank have kept him afloat while being not much more than a PP specialist. I think eventually we can count on Homer going back to his roots - 6-8 minutes per game at even strength on the 3rd/4th line, and everything else on the PP.

Hopefully the Wings can land either a high-end prospect or a top 20-ish 1st round pick if they choose to trade Filppula, so there might be that to look forward to.

By the same token, it says a lot that Babcock opts to go with Filppula as the 9th option for forwards on this team to get PP time. If Babs thought Flip was more offensively capable than guys like Cleary and Hudler, he'd be out there on the PP.

For a math major AND a broker, you sure don't like to work out the numbers. Consider this: Franzen (3.6) - Datsyuk (6.7) - Homer (2.25) Hudler (2.75) - Hank (7.2) - Leino (.875) Cleary (2.85) - Helm (.6) - Abdelkader (.85) Maltby (.88) - Draper (1.58) - Kopay (.6) Downey (.5) Lidstrom (7.45) - Raffi (6) Kronwall (3) - Stuart (3.75) Lilja (1.2) - Ericsson (.9) Meech (.5) Osgood (1.4) Howard (.71) Total: 55.645 To begin with, its a very solid cap number to be at for next year, and you aren't entirely depleting your offensive firepower. Also, Holland mentioned tonight that he was talking short term and long-term with Zetterberg. Knowing Holland hes going to exhaust his resources in terms of, well, terms. You could also probably get Hudler to sign a one year deal with the intention of offering more once Lidstroms salary (or most of it) is off the books. Not to mention, with a little more flexibility, the Wings could even go after a guy like Neil, who would probably only cost 1M after his rough season statistically, and hold off promoting Abdelkader who, IMO, still needs some time to develop.

Then you and I aren't saying much different. As of now, I know the NHLPA is anticipating a reduction of only a few percent overall in HRR, which translates like you said into a potential hundred K or a million bucks. My point is that that sort of reduction DOES affect the Wings, and Filppulas 3M is going to look really nasty (as are a lot of contracts) when the cap could drop well below 50M in the next 1.5 years alone. But theres also rumors that the NHL and NHLPA might throw the cap out the window if the circumstances get that rough.

1. The economic crisis didn't start this year. 2. Its not just sports writers. Holland actively voiced his concern for the cap ceiling falling tonight - a man who surrounds himself with capologists.

1. Its not about Filppula being paid 3M this year, its about the next 5 years. 2. Don't sign Hudler? Great idea. Lets NOT sign a guy thats on pace for 60 points a year, in favor of a guy that isn't even likely to land 40 points, now or in the future, and has already shown that he doesn't have the offensive wherewithal that Hudler has. 3. Zetterberg has been underpaid for YEARS. Hes made his contribution to the teams competitive fund. 4. If you're going to argue a numbers game, at least know the numbers. Datsyuk makes 6.7M, not 6.4. *Sigh* now: Hank (7.4) - Datsyuk (6.7) - Homer (2.25) Hudler (3) - Flip (3) - Franzen (4) Cleary (2.85) - Helm (.6) - Leino (.9) Maltby (.88) - Drapes (1.58) - Kopay (.6) Downey (.5) Lidstrom (7.45) - Raffi (6) Stuart (3.75) - Kronwall (3) Lilja (1.2) - Ericsson (.9) Meech (.5) Osgood (1.4) Howard (.71) Total: 59.2M Now, even though the projected cap number for next year is rumored to be 55M, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that despite the global economy being in its worst state in years, it'll only drop a mere 700k over all. So lets go through your "cost-cutting" suggestsions. 1. Who needs Ericsson? Trade his ass, and keep Lebda. (A gain of 250k) 2. Cut Franzens salary from 4M to 3, despite the fact that he could earn more than Malone did on the open market. ( A gain of 1M) 3. Only offer Hudler 2.2M, despite the fact that he'll likely outproduce Franzen, Cleary, and Filppula who will all make more than him, and he'll probably take us to arbitration anyways, where he'll likely earn more than 2.2, considering arbitration is entirely stats-based. (A gain of 800k) 4. Cut Hanks salary to 7M, even though he and his agent are reportedly asking for 8.5M. (A gain of 400k) 5. Let Leino go, and replace him with some Grand Rapids kid for 500k. (A gain of 400k) Thats a total in savings of 2.85M, which brings our payroll down to 56.35. So in a last ditch effort, lets ask the reignin Conn Smythe winner to take the same contract as Datsyuk. Your total remains 56.05. After all your re-signings coming severely discounted and sacrificing the potential future of two young talented players just to fit us under an incredibly optimistic cap number, it still doesn't work out.

I agree with this, and what others have said in theory, but what you have to look is the timing. Bottom line is it was not a good time to take a risk on Filppula. His contract is very likely going to end up being overpaying this year alone - which I have no problem with now - but its hampered us from bringing up young kids when this team needs a shot in the arm, and it might also keep us from adding someone at the deadline to give us an edge. And again, judging from the amount of people who think its plausible to assemble a team next year with both Hossa AND Hank (let alone other key guys), I'm guessing most people either don't know how or just haven't sat down and worked out the potential numbers for next year. But if you have, you'd know that Filppula's deal might have an affect on us re-signing Franzen and Hudler - both of whom are players that are unlikely to be outperformed by Flip now or in the near future.

Luongo is skating and should return shortly, but if he does get injured again, they don't want Schneider riding the pine as opposed to getting playing time in the AHL. Labarbera was a VERY cheap option that allows the Nucks some security if Luongo goes down without having to sacrifice any of their future goaltenders development.

Great post. You hit the nail on the head. Its not that Filppula is a bad player by any means - hes just another Kyle Quincey in a catch 22 of a situation. Sure, hes great at 3M if you bank on his potential, but at the same time his potential is unlikely to be met on the Wings, so the contract morphing from being ho-hum to good is unlikely to occur with this team. And most importantly, like you said, Filppula offers nothing that this team doesn't already have plenty of.