YoungGuns1340

Kopay is a beast.

Kopay is a beast.

it mightve been filppula. Thtas gonna be an awesome matchup on the PP this year. Rafalski can feed Lidstrom all night long..

Thats whats gonna make the difference. Whereas Homer has the garbage goal talent, Franzen has the shot and the skating ability. Both of those playing with Datsyuk can be 20g, 50pt guys.

Good to see so many optimistic responses. I really feel like this guy will reach the 20 goal marker this season, mainly because I think he has the confidence now. That, in combination with the fact that hes one of those hard working guys who brings a ton of energy and that hell be given the chance to prove he deserves top 6 minutes is great news for this club. If he can develop into a Mike Fisher type player, I would be absolutely stoked (although thats asking a lot).

Doesnt matter whether or not those seats are empty where attendance is concerned. If somebody was willing to pay the money for those seats, whether their asses are in them or not, is in it of itself a representation of the support of the team.

I wouldnt at all be surprised to see LA take on Geber. Although I think Ottawa would have to be on the short end of that deal, but they really need that cap space to sign Spezza and Heatley...if they even have the space to at all.

To be honest though, I have to respect the position the Wings management have put themselves in. Having to choose between these two guys is a good position to be in. Free agen try-outs are never going to be the key to a championship, but this is usually where you find those guys who are willing to go the extra mile to prove they belong in the NHL and to ensure they arent in this position again next year. Knowing that both guys would ideally only be signed to niche roles, I honestly cant complain.

Sopel. Simply for the Powerplay. Hes not going to have a lot of pressure on him if hes playing alongside Lidstrom and having his shot on the PP could be invaluable should Lids, Rafalski, or Kronner go down. The way I see it, the PP was the Wings achilles heel all year long. Their inability to convert on those 5 on 3s was what lost them the championship. Obviously, a sniper would be the best answer to the powerplay problems, but we all know how many there are of those available. The next best way to improve it is to have 4 strong shots on the PP that the oppositions PK will have to respect (Kronner, Lids, Rafalski, Sopel). Thats a lot better than Sammy, Lebda, or Cheli getting any time on the point, especially considering Sammy's value is in his wrister, which should be utilized down low.

Haha, for about two seconds, I read the title of this thread and was worried for the Wings sake.

Im sorry, Im not sure where youre coming from. Mike Fisher is known throughout the league to be a workhorse. Hes basically the next Brindamour. Hes only 27 and brings literally EVERYTHING to the table. Leadership, physicality, grit, determination, scoring skill, shutdown ability, PKing skills, great shot, fast skater, smooth skater, works the boards, has tons of heart, team player. I mean, really, what else is there? The guy is only 27, keeps on increasingl his point total, and was on pace to be nearly a 60 point 25 goal guy. Its not like every 50 point guy is going to get 4M+ now. Like I said, everyone knows Fisher deserves that cash. Stop looking at the 50 points alone, and start considering the fact that there are only a handful of other guys in the league that could get 50 points in a season while being as defensively responsible and elite as Mike Fisher is.

Why are people so bent on Kindl getting into the lineup?? Hed be getting crap minutes and isnt going to be rushed into the organization with barely any professional hockey under his belt. Thats not how the Wings work. Hed have to be a full-blown superstar to be in the lineup making good minutes at this point and with how deep our d is at this point, thats not going to happen. If anybody needs the minutes to shine, its kronwall. This is a make or break season for that boy, and its about time the Wings org found out whether or not hes the real deal.

Perfect example of why stats arent everything. Mike Fisher may be one of the most complete players in the league when you look at every single aspect of a good hockey player. He is at least good in al those aspects, and in many cases great. Good signing for the Sens.

Im starting to warm up to these lines changes and the things that Babs is doing. If this ends up working out, itll be a sham if Babs doesnt get some Adams cred. Hes seriously crafting a prototypical hockey team out of a forward corps that is somewhat lacking.

The defense pairings are decent IMO, but the forward lines are terrible..which is what I expected. The only line I really like is the 4th line. It may look like a bunch of scrubs on paper, the leftovers if you will, but I could see that line having some sick chemistry and those guys end up loving to play with one another.

Not sure if all these guys will play together, but these would be deadly and/or are dark horse picks: Shanahan-Drury-Jagr Heatley-Spezza-Alfie Cheechoo-Thornton-Michalek Kovy-Kozlov-Hossa Frolov-Cammy-Kopitar (Kopy can play RW) Gagne-Briere-Hartnell Williams-Staal-Cole if they stay healthy Ovechkin-Nylander/Backstrom-Clark

This is actually a pretty decent move by the Sharks. Its not like Roenick is a slacker or anything. And for whoever was joking about this being the missing piece to the Sharks puzzle, it actually kind of is. The biggest problem with the Sharks in the playoffs last year was motivation and leadership. Thats precisely what Roenick brings. The veteran presence that hell bring to that locker room will be invaluable to that squad. If they get a top 4 vet Dman before the deadline, theyll have all the pieces to the puzzle and will give everyone a rough ride in the playoffs.

Niedermayer isnt re-signing. He would just keep playing on his current contract. The Ducks would officially be the laughing stock of the NHL if they held a press conference to announce that basically nothing is changing about Niedermayers status with the Ducks. Hes done, which should be great news to everyone not associated with the Ducks. Losing Niedermayer takes that team down to mortal status whereas with him, they could steamroll everyone on the way to the cup. If Selanne is next to retire, the Wings will be the strongest act in the West.

I thought this guy looked pretty promising for the Flames. He definitely held his own.

Sorry Opie, but your cred is falling by the second. Beauchemin not better than Kronwall??? Hes more phyiscal, more positionally sound, and better offensively. Not to mention he can eat up 30 minutes a game. When has Kronner ever done that at the NHL level?? And where is the offense going to come from? Again, what?? MacDonald is capable of an 80 point season, and Getzlafs wrister alone is bordering on Sakic-like. Getzlaf is easily a 30 goal scorer this year if not more, and at least 60 points. Then you have Perry and Kunitz who are capable 20 goal scorers and Bert who could turn out to be the same. Not to mention the up and coming Ryan and the awesome 3rd line that they have to round out the cast. At this point in time, Anaheim has 5 bona fid top sixers to Detroits 3. Im not sure Id take Anaheims offense over Detroits at this point, simply because of the Euro Twins, but that issue is neither here nor there simply because of that defense. Their offense is going to thrive on the security and outlet passes that their studded defense will provide. Pretty sure the self-imposed cap was put on by the Ducks' owners. WITH Niedermayer, they have about 48.924 according to nhlnumbers.com so if he retires his salary is simply deducted - 42.174

Um Pronger is about 20 times better than Chelios, and Beauchemin is so much better than Markov and a healthy Kronwall its not even funny. Plus youre completely missing the point. You have 3 defenseman on the back (Pronger, Niedermayer, and Beauchemin) who are ALL complete defense at a high level - they can produce offensively and shut down top lines game in and game out. Then you have Schneider who is a top 5 PP QB. with the shots and movement that those 4 guys are going to be able to create on the PP, all you basically need is a decent net presence and youve got a PP that can net 2 goals a game. Not to mention having Getzlaf, Macdonald and Kunitz up front with Perry and Bert for support, youre absolutely crazy if you dont think Anaheim has the best chance to snag the cup more than any other team.

What do you mean he has to take a pay cut? He doesnt have to do anything to return other than return, and he'll earn the 6.75M hes earning on his current contract. The Ducks have enough cap space to absorb that salary even with the signings of Bertuzzi and Schneider. And youre right, if the Ducks keep Niedermayer, they are instantly the #1 team in the NHL once again. Niedermayer is one of the best players in the league and a top 4 of Niedermayer, Pronger, Beauchemin, and Schneider, well thats an ALL STAR game worthy defense. Nobody else comes close. I dont care if they lose Selanne or Penner, they are cup favorites once again barring serious injuries.. Dont be a homer. They could have an ECHL team up front and still be contenders. Pronger-Niedermayer Beauchemin-Schneider Thats just absolutely sick. Most teams would die for ONE of those guys, let alone all FOUR of them. Giguere gets another free pass playing in front of the best defense in probably a decade and all of those 4 guys can dominate on the PP. Their PP units are gonna make the rest of the leagues PK units feel like they are constantly 5 on 3

yeah thats why they invited him to training camp

1.5M? Wow, well that is a bit of a low-ball offer, especially in this market. Id say Markov is worth 2M outside of an overpaying market.

Are you guys serious? This is an awesome deal. 3.1 for 6 years? He is on the verge of really breaking out. He could easily end up being a bargain for every single year of that contract.