YoungGuns1340

You guys are CRAZY if you think management isnt going to make any trades. They basically had the Stanley Cup with their names on it, until they had to start playing without their #2 and #3 Dmen - both of whom were integral parts of a PP that failed to put Anaheim away on several occasions - and Hank and Lebda playing injured. With injury-prone guys like Hank, Kronwall, and (this year it seems) Homer being more important than ever, you can be sure the Wings will add exactly what they said they were looking to add: 1 more Dman in the #4-ish range, and a 2nd line scorer. I wouldnt be surprised to see a guy like Brad Stuart - a more defensive, fairly physical Dman that can play the stay at home game or can also anchor a point on the PP in case of injuries, and a guy like Mike Comrie - a strong, gritty guy who still has a good skilled game that would fit well into the Wings system, coming to the Wings. No blockbuster moves, but no space fillers either. Neither guy would be my first choice, but moves LIKE THAT (not necessarily those exact moves) would give the Wings all kinds of depth without messing with the chemistry. Datsyuk - Zetterberg - Homer Filppula - Comrie - Cleary <--- this would probably be one of the fastest top 2 lines in the league. Hudler - Franzen - Sammy Maltby - Draper - Kopecky That lineup screams scoring depth.

Three words: Samuelsson For Torres.

Does anybody think coaching might have something to do with it? Seems like in certain situations, Babs and co. dont like players using the body too much. Maybe theyre telling Drake to be more careful and not play so reckless since were already out three regulars? I say this because I remember last year people were bitching about how Kronwall wasnt playing physical. Then Babs says in some post-game interview how they had told Kronner to NOT use the body and just focus on his game WITHOUT the physicality because of his health and the fact that wanted him to get going. I wonder if that might be the same situation with Drake.

What he have in his last playoffs here? a .939 save percentage, and a 1.8 GAA? Something like that...I know the numbers were sick Great attitude, and if we had had the team we had last season + Cujo in net, I dare say we may have beaten Anaheim with the way Cujo was playing. He lost what? 2 1-0 decisions to close out that series? Man was a beast when no one else showed up. That being said, Im fine with the goaltending we have now.

You can check out the quote on Freep.com "He's an elite, elite player offensively and defensively. He's 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds. He can skate. He can shoot." I read this quote and the first thing I thought was that Babs was trying to sell Samuelsson. Obviously they wont trade him right now, but it definitely sounds like something you'd say if you wanted people to sit up and take notice of Sammy. I mean, from that phrase, it sounds like Samuelsson is a bigger version of Zetterberg. What do you guys think? Will he be the first player to be forced up on the trading block? Wouldnt be the first time the Wings sold off a so-so player in order to get his money off the books for next year.

Two things got me thinking about this. First of all, there were a ton of Wings fans in the crowd at the Avs game tonight. We all know the Avs have a pretty nice following, yet there were still a ton of Wings fans filling up Colorado's seats tonight. That, and there was an article in the the newspaper today about how Michigan was one of two states in the entire U.S. to lose population over the past year (the other state being Rhode Island). According to the csensus, Michigan lost 30,500 people - enough people to fill 1.5 Joe Louis Arenas. And this is just another consecutive population loss for Detroit. So I guess Im just posting this so I could vent. It always pissed me the hell off that people use fan attendance at games to some how make it out that the Red Wings dont have fans, yet they clearly do, only in a more dispersed fashion. If you were to look at the fact that Michigan has lost a pretty decent bit of their population...and then you have Wings fans continually showing up in the Avs, Ducks, Yotes, Kings, Jackets, Hawks and others arenas, its easy to see that the Wings havent lost any fans, theyve just relocated to places where they cant attend regular games. If you consider that Michigan has been losing some population for years, combined with all the other economic reasons that have been used to defend Detroits attendance, it makes a great deal of sense.

I just read it was the Wings 4th game in 6 days ...plus theyre down 3 regulars I could honestly care less if they lost tonight. It was pretty much a miracle they got through that road trip itself. You guys should relax. Its a decimated, tired, ragged team on the ice. Im betting 29 other teams wouldve gone on a decent losing streak with that schedule and key losses. The Wings closed out December having played 15 games - basically playing every other night - and they posted a phenomenal record. You should always bring your best game, but I dare say the Wings have earned the right to have an off night.

The caps will have 30M in cap space if the cap goes up to the projected 54M. They have 3 key players to re-sign: Green, Ovechkin, Kolzig. Other than that, their 4 other UFAs are pretty brutal and should be let go or re-signed all to 6 figure salaries, and their 6 RFAs should still more or less be playing for peanuts...mostly 6 figure salaries as well with a few possible exceptions. Somehow I bet they could find a way to get another skilled top 6 forward like Dumont, and a vet top 4 Dman like Boyle.

Ovechkin is money hungry? The Caps offered him a 7.2Mish contract. Thats a low-ball if you ask me. Ovys got some 30 goals this season already. Whos the next leading scorer on the team? Nylander...with 9. Combine the goals scored for the next 5 top scorers on the Caps, and youve got 32 goals. The guy is a beast and hes the only reason the caps are keeping their heads above water when no other players can even keep a point per game pace. He accounts for 30% of his teams goals scored. Theres barely another 1st liner on the squad - unless you count Nylander who got fat off of centering 2 great wingers for 2 straight years, one of whom was elite, but outside of that he posted average 2nd line numbers (50-60s). Ovy may not deserve 9-10 dollars, but hell, maybe the Caps should have to pay that extra money since theyre taking their sweet time becoming contenders. In Ovechkins tenure, theyve only added one impact player, and could desperately use some high-end veteran defenseman, which theyve been loathe to add for years, for some reason.

Are you serious? Just because hes only better than Hudler and Homer doesnt mean he sucks. Have you noticed that half the Wings forward squad could be Selke candidates. Babs always praises Sammy for his defense, because its there. He is a good defensive forward. Elite? No. But he definitely qualifies as being strong defensively, and the entire Wings org would agree with me as they continue to point that out about Samuelsson's play.

Prucha? No thanks. Hes not nearly the dynamic player youre making him out to be. If we wanna trade for inconsistent 10-15 goal scorers, then throw Torres our way.

The only way I semi dont mind this is 1) if its a media prop to make Lilja look he could actually be a trade asset even as a UFA (doubtful) or 2) If Cheli is for sure retiring after this season. Other than that....hell no. But then again, I have to ask myself, am I saying this because Im a spoiled Wings fans with a top 3 d unit in the league? Probably. Because really, if you replaced Lilja with a guy like Jason Smith, the Wings would have a perfect defensive unit. But without that exchange, its still a pretty damn good D. Maybe Kenny feels the money would be better used up front??

This is news? When was the last time you guys paid attention to Wayne when we play the Yotes? That was probably the 5th or 6th time hes had a little temper tantrum like that. And I have to say I love it. It makes him look like an ass and on top of it, for some reason he loves to use the phrase "f*** me".

Im going to take Al48s word here, in combination with what ALL kings fans say and what Ive seen myself. Its not that Blake is some victim when it comes to LAs bad defense, but rather a factor in it. Im never nervous when hes on the ice and its always clear that hes lost a huge step when we play him. He makes countless mistakes per game that have everything to do with his personal game, and much less to do with the players around him. He simply doesnt cut it anymore. He is terrible...terrible defensively. Id like to have Blake for one reason - his shot on the PP in case we get a rash of injuries to our point men again. But thats paranoia more than anything. If you wanna replace Lilja, fine. I understand that. But there have to be better options out there than Blake.

I have a hard time thinking if he got conditioned and took his game seriously again, that he wouldnt be an upgrade over Drake. I mean, the Wings arent filled with superstars anymore, and he might like playing under Babcock. He may not be able to make a comeback, but its not entirely out of the question.

Did you see the defensive play he just made? I dont mind his 3M cap hit anymore...

Ken and Larry are nailing it. Kronwall has been SICK lately.

Osgood has been a beast tonight.

And Datsyuk tripped. I wish they would implement at least some sort of system where if the opposing team gets 2 uncalled penalties, the third should count.

PP for the Wings!!!

Nice work by the 3rd line there..

How come Detroit always has reffing trouble when they play in Phoenix? I mean it happens EVERY. TIME.

Raffi makes up for that blunder in the Colorado game..

Alright...refs realized theyre bias was showing too much.

Chris! They didnt want to give us too much of a power play...so they give us a 42 second PP. Gee, Thanks refs.