YoungGuns1340

Which is why I said theyll have a ton of cap space next season. Not a ton of bloated contracts. I cant see them adding anyone susbtantial as it stands. At most a 4M ish forward or Dman.

Before the midway point of the season, it was announced that their conservative estimate was 54M. Apparently theyre continually improving.

Zetterberg and Franzens contracts doent kick in til the following season. The cap will likely have increased yet again by then.

Whether the cap was imposed or not, Lidstrom leaving the Wings is going to be a huge hit. As for the cap itself, Im not too concerned. Buffalo, Atanta, and Nashville are just a few teams that I can think of off the top of my head that have a self-imposed salary cap. The more the cap rises, the more teams will fall back and not be able spend to the max due to ownership - although I dont think well see the cap rise much beyond 60M. Also, I dont think Lidstrom leaving is going to have the same effect on the Wings as some seem to think it will. We arent going to drop like rocks. Detroit is nearly the only team in the league who has a system in place that has changed little over the last decade. New Jersey is the only similar case, and they, like us, have remained competitive all these years. As long as we dont have to make any major overhauls to the roster in a short period of time, we should be able to maintain a roster that has a few highlight defenseman that can run our system. By the time Lidstrom leaves, Rafalski and Kronwall should be able to run the system on their own. Like Lidstrom? Of course not. But in my opinion, with Lidstrom as our MVP, our system is the runner up.

The only thing that needs to be changed is the stupid "the leader of each division makes the playoffs" bulls***. You should be ranked based on points. Nothing else. Too bad if your entire division sucks *%&.

Not to pick on you, but this stuck out. Campbell over Zubov in puckhandling?? Not in a million years...

Right with you..

That was exactly my thinking. Babs needs to see what each player has to offer. He has no idea where Mac stands in the NHL today. Why put Downey in there who would essentially be taking up Macs role? The Wings arent ones to be brawling all game, and theyve gone with one policema all year. Not to mention, chances are, the Wings are going to be going with EITHER Downey or Mac if our roster is healthy or close to it. So we might as well see what it would be like with each in the lineup separately. Once we see how Mac plays for a couple games, then Im sure well see Downey and Mac together if our roster still isnt full over the last few games. Otherwise, Im sure Babcock wants to know which poison to pick come playoff time.

Ahh I thought it was Cheli. My bad..

Actually, Cleary trying out for the Wings was Cheli's brainchild. He suggested it when he and Dan were working out together in LA some years ago. As for Bell, hes a good skater for a big guy, uses his size, has proven he can score, and would be an unparalleled addition to the Wings squad in terms of his body. Holland has already said the Wings cap situation is clear sailing for the next few years, even with Zetterbergs contract on the horizon. If he doesnt pan out, then all we lose is some cap space we wouldnt have spent at the deadline anyways. If he does pan out, we've got ourselves a gem. Detroit's staff knows how to handle players. McCarty, Probert, Fedorov, Hasek...Substance abuse, divas, ego problems, suspensions....Theyve seen it all. If theres a franchise that can resurrect a career like Bell's, its Detroit. For all that Bell could potentially add to Detroits roster, its worth a shot.

Dont worry. Itd be karmically (sp?) wrong for the Ducks to have substantial success in this years playoffs.

Gee, what a great way to find out if Mac can add something to the roster. Put him in the press box! d*&^ #$s

I'm too offended that you think Wings fans need to be told which team Georger Parros plays for to answer..

Heres a GREAT point of reference for you all that was posted on HFboards.com: In Gretzky's 92 goal year, his 92 goals were 23% of his teams total goals. With Ovechkin at 60 goals, he has 27% of his teams total goals. That says a lot..

All this "Ovechkin shouldnt win the Hart" crap because his team didnt make the playoffs stuff is pure bulls***. Check the standings. Half the time in this league nowadays, there can be a whopping 5 points between the 2nd and 8th teams. If the Caps miss the playoffs, itll likely be by a whole 2 points. You mean to tell me that a 60 goal, 110+ point guy isnt worthy of the Hart because his team missed the playoffs by essentially ONE win? Come on now. Use your heads. This guy is 22 years old and poised to break Luc Robitaille's record for most goals in a season by a LW if he can hit 64. Again, at age 22. Hes made his team far more competitive than they have any right to be, frankly. Half of the Caps goals are due, at least in part, to Ovechkin. Half. Really. Think about it. Precedent is the stupidest reason one could come up with for essentially robbing someone of the Hart.

QFT

It was. Cause on the radio when they do the sound bites of the Stanley Cup run, theyd also play that "I'm seein' red" song by whatever band that was..

Haha did John Keating really make that comment in your sig?!? Hahaha props to Keater. Thats some good stuff..

Datsyuk probably knows like jujitsu or something...

Sammy and Hudler each hit the 40 point mark tonight. That gives Detroit 7 40+ point players.

Haha...WOW...did anybody else see that?? NHL.com had that it was 3-2 Detroit from an unassisted goal by Dumont. They kept the score that way for like a good 5-10 minutes. Idiots..

did Dumont score like 20 seconds after Rafalski....or does NHL.com want to just pretend that its 3-2?

For those of you who care about the Ovechkin drive, the Bruins (7th seed, 3 points ahead of Washington) are down 3-1 against the Habs, and the Cats (11th seed, 2 points back of Washington with game in hand) are down 1-0 to the Canes. Oh, and Malkins got 1 point in 2 periods so far.

haha

BLOW OUT BLOW OUT BLOW OUT! Somebody start the chant!! Seriously though, nice to see the Wings taking it to a team we know they can beat. Keep it up!