YoungGuns1340

Drake is a lock, without question. He can play the PK and provides other intangibles.

To me this is more important: Nicklas Lidstrom: UFA 2010 Roberto Luongo: UFA 2010 There have been rumblings about Luongo not being happy in Vancouver. However, he was quoted as saying he was going to "honor his contract in Vancouver" and not request a trade, but he hasn't made any comments about wanting to spend his career there. Its very possible that if Vancouver doesnt see substantial success, he hits the market. If Lidstrom decides to retire then this is the ideal replacement for Lidstroms presence, as your not going to find it amongst defenseman. Id hate to see Detroit lose out on an opportunity to get Luongo because they jumped the gun and got Miller instead.

Two things: 1) Those who see Miller play a lot say he is a good goaltender, but not a great goaltender. 2) Buffalo has a self-imposed salary cap somewhere in the 40s.

Burke got 12th. He was quoted earlier in the year saying he thought the draft had 7 "players" in it and was a wash after 7th in the first round. Considering Edmonton finished 19th, this is as good a deal as youd expect if you didnt like Burke. As for LA, there were a lot of rumors that they might trade their 1st rounder as it was, to a team that was looking for the 1st overall and getting Stamkos. They really want defenseman, so they're probably happy with the number 2. With their studded, young offense - Frolov, Kopitar, Brown, Cammy, and O'Sullivan - Stamkos wouldn't have been a definite need as it was. Doughty or Bogosian on the other hand will probably go to LA. What I think is interesting is that LA and Tampa might both take Dmen. I dont expect it to happen, but I wouldnt be surprised if it did either. If Tampa takes a Dman, then Id expect Stamkos to fall to number 3, which would be a shocker. Then again, Id say its pretty likely Tampa takes Stamkos and just like that they have their replacement for Richards..

Dallas won that season series this year. I'm gonna call it right now and say this is going to be Turco's best series in his career.

I dont mind it too much. When you consider that theyve gotten booted by San Jose, what? 2 or 3 times already? Its like if somebody asked me if Id rather play the Blackhawks or Predators. Id say the Predators too.

You'd have to be an idiot to not know whether it was Dany or Andrei Markov (not you Opie, just in general). Andrei Markov is a good 10x better than Dany Markov. VERY underrated defenseman. I think this board has a bit of a Western bias though...Markov is easily top 10 and Malkin is better than Datsyuk. Malkin is a VERY strong defensive player.

No. Hes not where Lilja is on the PK, on blocked shots, and on hits. Everything else is a wash at this point. Ericsson just has the benefit of the "oh he's a rookie, he'll make a few mistakes" excuse while Lilja doesn't. And the playoffs is a whole different ball game. Believe it or not, Lilja brings intangibles to the Red Wings roster that a lot of people don't realize. He plays a great game for the playoffs. Game 5 f$%^ up not withstanding, Lilja was probably our 2nd best Dman behind Nick last year. He played out of this world. As a 6th defenseman, he should be great depth. Lids - Raffi Kronnic - Stuart Chelios - Lilja

1. Ovechkin 2. Malkin 3. Datsyuk 4. Zubov 5. Nabokov 6. Kovalchuk 7. Gonchar 8. Markov 9. Kovalev 10. Frolov I think Zubov is one of the most underrated players in the game. He was, IMO, playing better hockey than Lidstrom through the first 1/4 of the season and would've easily been a Norris nominee if he hadn't gotten injured. Dallas is simply not the same team without him. Kovalchuk at 6 cause hes simply not well-rounded enough for me. Gonchar is probably having the best season of his career. Hes gotten so much better about his positioning and the defense end of things. Markov is another guy who is very underrated. Hes sound in all areas. I wouldnt like to see Kovalev any high than 9. I love the guy and his offensive skills are still out of this world, but hes not an overall powerhouse to me. Frolov will probably be a lot higher in a few years.

Haha wow. Boogards not in the lineup and Lappy goes with Gabby? HAHA. Priceless. I used to like Laperriere, but this year he's really been a disappointment with some of his shots. Put this right up there with his turtling against Downey.

You mean the same guy that Brett Hull got his information from when he said Pavel Datsyuk hated Babcock and the entire Red Wings organization and wasn't going to re-sign with the Wings?

I dont know. Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, Kozlov, Cooke, Fedorov, Laich. Then theres Green on the back end. The guys are there they just get ZERO recognition. Probably only 17% of fans knows who Brooks Laich is, and probably half of them dont even know that hes a 20 goal scorer.

I know. I've been living in Argentina for the past 6 months and I'm not gonna be back til May 8th. Im praying were still in it at that point so I can make it to a game!

No. I think they wanted Ottawa more. Free pass to the second round.

Hasek/Osgood just won the Jennings..

I'm sure thats what everyone said about Roloson in 2006 too...And Giguere in 2004...And Ward in 2005..Ellis definitely has the potential to be the best goaltender in this series.

I dont care what happens. It would be nice to see the Wings get a goal for Flip, a pair for Hank, and 3 points for Dats for a 20G, 45G, 100pt season respectively

One minute left..

God I wish our crowd sounding like that...

MVP!! MVP!! MVP!!

Art Ross Rocket Richard Hart Lester B. Wow

NINE MINUTES AWAY FROM THE PLAYOFFS AO!!

Yup. I was thinking that too. Thats probably what Ill end up calling him. Although Darth Kader is pretty interesting..

For those wanting to know, WITHOUT shootout goals Detroit: 178 GA, 1 game remaining San Jose: 183 GA, 1 game remaining Anaheim: 179 GA, 2 games remaining (this afternoon against LA, they already have 2 goals against, so they currently sit at 181) Basically if Detroit lets in 2 goals tomorrow or less, they lock it up. EDIT: LA has just scored again on Anaheim, so Detroit now has a 3 goal cushion. 3GA tomorrow and they still win it.

Yeah Helm and Abdelkader look to be the next Draper and Maltby, although I thnk Abdelkader has better offensive upside than Malts. Now all we need is the next McCarty.