YoungGuns1340

Wow. Just wow. Way to take note of whos around you ON THE PENALTY KILL. Jesus.

Fingers out? Man, I was hoping we would get to hear Daniels comment about Fingers pokechecks tonight. "And Finger pokes it away!!!"

You forget "at the moment." Larsson is 4 years older than McCollum. Thats eons in terms of development for goaltenders. I never expected Howard to be a great goalie and I still expect him to be a goaltender in the Legace/Mason/Conlkin mould. Like someone else said, goaltenders are funny creatures. Ty Conklin didn't do much of anything until, what? age 30? Look at Kiprusoff. Zero to Hero in one or two years in his late 20s. Too much is made of young goaltenders not performing well.

Why should he? Avery running his mouth IS part of his game. Sean Avery is the guy who mouths off to the media AND plays a fun brand of hockey. Like him or not, his play is not any better or worse because of what he says to the media. In fact - as much as I have to disagree with about 80% of the things that this guy spews to the media - hes the only one who has the balls to take his s*** from the ice to the press. Some of the worst trash-talkers in the league get up to the microphone and start talking like they're having tea with the queen. And thats great for us hockey fans - we can laud our players for being gentlemen and classy guys off the ice instead of rednecks and thugs. But do non-hockey fans care about that? Not really. Bottom line is, the marketing tactics have to be two-fold. Sean Avery is the guy that gets folk looking towards hockey, Iggy, Datsyuk, and Crosby are the ones that show them exciting hockey once they're looking. But no ones going to look in the first place if boring talkers like Crosby and Iggy are leading the way. Now, Im not advocating that everyone get out there and start talking trash, but the NHL needs at least a few guys who are willing to stir up some attention towards the sport. Sean Avery can't stand alone.

Hes not way off on Iginla. Hes spot on. Hockey fans care about Jarome Iginla. No one else. How much coverage did Sean Avery get when he was dating Elisha Cuthbert? Tons. How much coverage did/does Dion Phaneuf get for dating Elisha Cuthbert? None, outside of canada and the NHL world. How many other hockey players get mention in the likes of People Magazine, Vogue, or the NY times outside of the sports section?

He's right. With the exception of Iginla's crybaby antics at the end of tough losses, hes a pretty classy guy. Speaks well of others, doesn't cause controversy, etc. Newsflash. Folks don't care about that. Its boring. People want controversy. They want dirt. They want trash talking. As much as a I hate to say it, it would be good for coverage of the sport. I mean...is it any coincidence that the only guy getting coverage outside of the hockey world is Sean Avery?

No it was the deadline to have your team under the cap. Chelis injury gives them cap relief, so they have until he returns to make a move with Quincey.

I should've put something in there about "cheap" and/or "available". For a long time I've wanted one of Chris Neil or Raffi Torres in a Wings uniform. Thats exactly the type of guy that this team needs in terms of being an all-out hitter, a willing fighter, and a guy who has adequate skill. Mayers is the guy that makes the most sense. Its too bad hes got the two year deal with Toronto now.

So far, I don't like the sound of Brunnstrom in terms of character. The guy takes his sweet time enjoying the wining and dining hes getting, and then eventually opts for what he thinks is the best of both worlds - A team that is a playoff contender AND a team that can give him top 6 ice time. If what he really wanted was ice time to actually play hockey, then he would've signed with the Canucks and had a golden opportunity to be put on the top line with 2 of his fellow countrymen who have great chemistry. And if he really had the competitive spirit of wanting to win, win, win, he would've chosen the Wings. Looks like he wanted an easy road to padded stats and a playoff berth. Should've given more consideration to the Pens, Fabio. And now hes not willing to take his lumps in the AHL.

He'd still go after Pronger if he hurt a teammate. Drake was teammates with Steve Yzerman, yet he squared him up pretty often after leaving. I think the point hes making is that Drake played with a dirty edge - one that he toned down when he was with Detroit, but a little dirty nonetheless. The Wings dont really have that right now, and its generally because theyre hard to find. Drake walked a pretty fine line, and he played fairly clean while in Detroit for the 2nd stint. Those guys can't be found at every turn. Thats why the Wings have kept guys like Downey and DMac. They don't have to worry about those guys spearing, smashing heads from behind, or pulling the lumber jack chop. Most guys that are enforcers, thats typically a concern. A guy like Carcillo would be awesome, but the guy admittedly wants to smash heads after a fight with his girlfriend. The Wings can't have that explosive aggressiveness on the team. It goes against their organizational values. Id be interesting to hear some names that people think would fit a Drakian model..

This is interesting. So basically, they're going to keep him on the roster, let the days gone by eat up some of his salary, and then either trade him to a team desperate for a goaltender (due to injury or otherwise). The only thing is, they've had to demote Cam Barker as a result of retaining Khabibulin, so if they're aren't any takers for Bulin a few weeks into the season and they really want to bring Barker up, then they'll demote him and run the risk of having to recall him and expose him to re-entry waivers. All in all, not a bad move by the Bhawks management. Problem is, Barker had a great second half last season and a good camp showing. It'll be a loss not to have him on the backend.

Since its not about only getting rid of Maltby, or only adding Leino or Helm, but getting rid of Maltby in favor of one of the two, then the result is a negative. 1. Loss of experience 2. Messes with team chemistry 3. Loss of grit 4. Loss of PKing ability (Helm isnt there yet) 5. Loss of line chemistry - Draper and Maltby have been playing together for over a decade 6. Questions the loyalty of the Wings Brass in retaining older players (what does getting rid of Maltby say to Draper, Chelios, Osgood, Holmstrom?) 7. Reflects poorly on the organization as a whole in letting one of their definitive players go after years of service, which could negatively affect free agent signings. Oh, but it adds youth and a little tertiary scoring.

Where do people come off thinking Quincey is better than Lebda? The only thing he does better than Lebda is throw the body. And he doesnt even do that all that well. I was excited at the prospect of having Quincey around, because I was giving him the benefit of the doubt during the regular season and playoffs when depth additions aren't advisable, but we're talking about a guy who was not as good as NINE other defenseman competing for a spot. We're talking about a guy that looked out of place when he should've been giving his best showing of the past year. Holland isn't making the choice to trade Quincey. Quincey made himself the obvious choice when he failed to step up his game in over 12 months worth of time.

It goes beyond loyalty. None of us know how close the Wings really are, but given that they've all talked about how its a "family atmosphere" at one point or another, you can be damn sure that if one of their longest standing "family members" were booted out just because the old dog was getting grey in the snout, it would definitely have repercussions within. Draper was pissed about Downey hitting Filppula. How do you think his attitude towards the Wings organization would be if they cut Malts, one of his best friends? Think about it. And stop complaining.

Damn. Props to the Kings. If they got him for less than 3M as reported, DL wipes the floor with Kennys signing of Flip to 3M per. O'sully is on his way to being a pretty complete player too. Surprised he didnt get more if he was holding out this long..

Helm will likely see 15-20 minutes in the NHL, and if this past season, the playoffs, and the pre-season have shown us anything, its likely that Hudler and Franzen are in for big raises, and if they are, its very likely that both their salaries combined could equate to what Hossa could demand. Id bank on Hossa and Sammy being gone as opposed to Hudler and Sammy. Other than that, good summary.

Not to sound condescending, but folks always seem to have short memories when it comes to the hockey pre-season. Groin injuries are a dime a dozen in the pre-season. How often in everyday life do you make a skating stride-like move? Some of these guys come to camp without having done much of anything on ice for the past few months, and there isn't much off the ice that simulates up-tempo hockey. I can guarantee you that everyones groin is burning, and that there are more than a few guys with sore groins out there. This shouldn't be cause for worry, unless its a guy who has some Hasekian tendency for groin injuries. As for Hossa specifically, he has looked like crap thus far. But every time I've seen this guy in the regular season, hes been energetic - pure dynamite. So the logical thing in this situtation would be to attribute his play to pure caution. Why the hell would he go all out when he could get hurt in a meaningless game? He signed here to play competitive hockey with this club, not beat up his body when nobodys watching. Im sure he'll turn it on once the regular season starts, and he'll likely find a second or even third gear when the postseason begins.

This is a no brainer on Holland's part. I was still pretty high on him before the pre-season started, but he has really looked out of place so far. The two games I've seen him in, he hasn't been overtly physical and his offensive skill ranks maybe a little higher than Downeys. He must have the weakest shot on the team and he hasn't done much of anything since the 07 playoffs. Maybe we can get a 4th for him.

No hes not. Quincey has been abysmal this pre-season.

Ouellet. As if Vancouver didn't have enough 3rd liners to begin with. Id take O'Brien over Krajicek though.

The problem with bringing up Leino, in my mind, is that he needs to ideally be in Samuelsson's spot, and it needs to be at the beginning of the season. Otherwise, hes best served in the AHL. My issue with Leino isn't whether or not he has enough talent - he definitely does - but he reminds me a lot of Hudler as a rookie. If he makes a defensive gaff, he doesn't have the skating to get back into position, and he doesn't have the initial defensive presence to prevent the defensive mistakes in the first place. Because of that, he either needs to develop some defensive awareness in the AHL, or he should be stuck on a line with Filppula from the get-go where he can learn from Filppula every god damn day. I don't want to see Leino in the playoffs if hes only had 4th line duty with the Wings and minimal playing time throughout the season - likely itll be another Hudler scenario and hell either be benched or scratched. So, if in a perfect world, the experience and defensive awareness of Sameulsson were cut out via trade for the chance to develop Leino into a more complete player, then Id be all for it. But the likelihood that Sammy is traded is slim to none.

Kronwall is a defensive defenseman? Thats news to me..

Yeah but there are groin injuries abound for every team right now. Its easily the most common injury in the pre-season/early season.

Thats a prime example of how much the preseason matters to the underlings. Folks always make light of the fact that bottom-feeders tend to take out big stars in the pre-season, but it is exactly what I'd expect from a guy trying to make the team or trying to build a reputation with his club. I'd have been a little disappointed if Stuart had gone after Kovalchuk - we all know Stuart is capable of 150+ hits in a season, and he knows his #4 spot is solidified. But with guys like Kopecky for example, you can't ask them to do the same. A guy like that is trying to build himself a reputation, and other guys are in a dog fight for a roster spot. Its hypocritical to hear some people say that a youngster taking out somebody in the regular season is "unnecessary" or "doesn't help anyone" when in fact, it could do wonders for how his coach sees him and could have a huge impact on when and where his career begins or carries on. K im done.

As if getting an injury makes you immune to injuries throughout the remainder of the year...