YoungGuns1340

I think Drake is in the lineup for his PKing. He does do a pretty good job of that. But other than that, Id rather have Downey in the lineup. I wouldnt be surprised to see Downey and Drake switch off games once Maltby comes back.

Niklas Kronwall just told the collective LGW Kronnic haters to suck it. MMMmmm 4 points for Kronner.

Poor poor Kings.

Good call. But its pretty sad when Kopecky and Drake are better.

Koko. Hahaha. I like it. He has been pretty good tonight. Hes got a bit of a skill set there. Sammy sucks, P.S.

Cleary with the goal. Alright. Gotta give credit where credits due. Kronwall has elevated his game. He finally looks like a Red Wing to me. He looks more comfortable out there than hes ever been. 2 points tonight and 14 points in 30 games. He could hit the 40 pt mark this season.

Hudler is far from the soft floater that a lot of us (myself included) anticipated he would be at the start of last season. Hes really improved the defensive aspect of his game and hes surprisingly strong along the boards for a small guy.

Zetterberg ties Iggy for 49 points...in 1 fewer game. Hopefully Lecavalier is next.

Hey, look at the avatar. Im no Dom hater. I like to look at things objectively. That was a terrible goal. However....Labarbera just gave up a worse goal. This game is an excellent specimen for good goaltending.

Wow Dom. Wow. Just wow. That was a beer league goal. Wow. Im speechless.

Wow. Nearly identical situations at opposite ends. Puck hits Visnovsky, stays out. Puck hits Lidstrom, Brown scores.

Yup. And all Hank needs is 3 points in the next 2 games to pass Iginla. Iggys got 49 in 35, Hank has 47 in 33.

I dont think Simon will play another game in the league. The Islanders already gave him time off. Either way, his career is over. He won't get another contract after his current one expires, and he'll be lucky if he isn't scratched and/or waived after his suspension expires.

Of course other teams wouldnt mind it. Because other teams dont have Lidstrom (although make it 28 teams because Burke would mind ponying up that cash when his already got 2 guys who are like Nick). But the thing YOU are forgetting is that a franchise does a lot for a player. Its a give and take just like any other mutual situation. Just as Lidstrom has done a lot for the Wings, the Wings have done a lot for Lidstrom. Big money, job security, surrounding him with talent for his entire career, courteous treatment, respect, the whole nine yards. There are very few teams that treat their players like the Red Wings do and that should always be taken into account, especially with long-time veterans who are passed their peak. And as for the cap going up, of course thats taken into account, but Nick is a smart guy as is Holland, and they should recognize the opportunity to baseline Nicks salary at 7M or less and use that extra cash to deepen the defense or the forwards creating an even more formidable team. Just because the cap is going up doesnt mean anybody who is up for a new contract needs to have an inflated salary.

I dont think Chicagos D got weaker. Byfuglien is up full time it looks like and hes kicking ass. Vandermeer was the odd man out and/or Chicago wanted to make space for a bigger acqusition in the form of a vet PP QB.

Hudler, Hank x3, Lidstrom Wings: 5 Kings: less than the wings

Philly fans thought eager was garbage. Chicago wins. Detroit misses out.

How can people say he'll take a while to fade? The guy has already lost a step this season - its clear in his fairly consistent mistakes that occur with much more frequency than they ever did before. Lucky enough for us, Lids losing a step still puts him far ahead of the rest. Honestly, I'll be disappointed if hes making anything more than 6.5 a year. This is the salary cap era, and players before him have deferred or signed for less than their market value for the benefit of the team (Shanny, Yzerman, etc). Im sure he could take a deal thats 1M less than what hes making now and still survive while helping the Wings to re-sign Zetterberg and still have money to fill out the depth. The only way I would be happy with Lidstrom signing a 7M+ deal is if its a one year deal, which would then of course have no bearing on re-signing Hank.

Pre-Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim is tied for 8th in the WC with 34 points. However, the 2 other teams that have 34 points - St. Louis and CBJ - have played 5 and 3 fewer games, respectively. Phoenix is 8 points behind Anaheim.....yet with 5 games in hand. Nashville is 4 points behind Anaheim...yet with 5 games in hand. Chicago is 2 points behind Anaheim...yet with 4 games in hand. Hell, as it stands, there is ONE team in the entire Western conference that cant catch or pass Anaheim just by using the games they have in hand. That team is LA, who is 8 points behind Anaheim, with only 3 games in hand. I think because Anaheim had a couple games already played before the rest of the league started, people just look at their record and think theyre still doing okay. There is still time, naturally, but I think people are overestimating how much adding Niedermayer is going to do for this squad. A handful of games away from the halfway point for this team and theyre barely at .500. And to think many are spouting off that Anaheim is set for a repeat..

The Ducks are losing games because they dont have a great offense. That offense just took a step back in terms of production, speed, and health when looking at Weights propensity for being injury prone. Sure they can have an amazing PP unit and defense (although, IMO, their defense isnt as great a shutdown defense as its made out to be), but Perry and Getzlaf only get them so far. Even if Selanne does come back...Selanne-Weight-Bertuzzi??? Thats a far cry from what any Selanne line looked like last year.

2-3 years, $1.5-2M. Anywhere in there would make me more than a happy camper. The nice thing about that deal is, if Osgood does have an off year or does start to cool off in the 2nd or 3rd year of a new contract, hed be cheap enough for us to find another decent vet to go along with him. Win-win situation in my eyes.

I dont know how I feel about this. 5.83 per season. Yeah, thats a deal if he, for the next 12 years, is on pace for 90-110 point seasons, but what is the likelihood of that happening?

"Tomas Kopecky. This is what Kopeckys gonna do. You wanna know what Kopeckys gonna do?" sounds like some really bad ad-libing in a low-budget porn flick featuring some dude named Kopecky who likes to refer to himself in third person...

IMO, Id still like to see some scoring depth and a physical Dman. But I dont think those things are necessary. Itd just be nice to have more options in the event of injuries and/or players going on a cold streak. Other than that, its really hard to have a team that is perfect in every way in the new NHL.

A fast, fighting 20-30 goal scorer? So you basically want a fast power forward? Sure, if you want to give up Flip, Hudler, and a 1st, yeah we could pull it off..