YoungGuns1340

6 million is way too much and Detroit shouldnt sweat it either. Drury can replace Datsyuk. Hes not as pretty with his moves, but hes got different skills that are just as valuable. Id like to see 5-5.5M at most. On a long term contract. After he performs in the playoffs.

shots are 10-4 Vancouver. Ouch, guys.

or sucking will either way. Im headed out, but Ill have a few for the boys and hope they can pull this one out to clinch!

Las Vegas would be the best choice for one. Its growing faster than any other relatively large city in the entire country and its filled with northern transplants. Not to mention, its another pro sport to bet on. The problem with Seattle is its proximity to Vancouver.

Im more nervous for ANY opponent than Ive ever been in the playoffs. I thought wed beat the Oilers in 6, but it ended up going to other way. In a way I feel like I wouldnt mind playing the Sharks because the Wings (for once) wouldnt take their first round opponents lightly. Then again, I feel like this is a MUCH different team than weve seen since...well, 2002, and maybe theyve learned their lesssons. At any rate, I really think Bert, Calder, Markov, Hudler, Filppula, NO Lilja and a sophomore Kronwall and Lebda give us a different look than weve had in a while. Add to that the sick chemistry between Lang + Calder and Datsyuk + Zetterberg, and REAL goaltending, and we just might be a tough opponent ourselves. The fact that our first line in the playoffs is no longer a washed up power forward, a soft center coming back from a long injury and a traditional 3rd line grinder makes me feel just a little bit better. Turco's not much in the playoffs, but the Dallas defense worries me. The Wings have had a tough time beating them a few times this year because of that.

Im nervous about this game. Vancouver has no key injuries (unless you consider kesler key) and Detroit has a ton. Hopefully they come out firing. well see. Im going to remain positive.

Id really like to see Toronto in because A) that means Carolinas out and B) the NHL NEEDS teams like Toronto in the playoffs. No matter how much anyone on here hates the leafs, you should still recognize this league would be in terrible shape without the support/income of teams like the leafs and with the league parity nowadays, small-market teams would probably be deeper in the red because of it.

Eh, the Wings have 32 wins since December, the Canucks have 30. And the Wings record against the Canucks so far is 1-1-1. I dont think Wings fans really care about any of that anyways. I think people are just still shocked that we are at the top of the league despite being without Zetterberg, Bertuzzi, Franzen, Markov, Cleary, Kopecky and now Filppula with long-standing injuries to Schnedier and Sammy as well. At any rate, I wouldnt be surprised to see the Canucks beat the Wings either. It would be great for you guys, but I dont think Wings fans would be up in arms about it for the reasons stated above.

If they wanted to RELOCATE a team to Vegas, that would be one thing. Ship the COYOTES to Vegas. They have no fans and have to pay just to have a team there with all the money they lose. If theres an expansion draft, at least Lilja and Sammy should go unprotected.

NOOOOOOO When will we STOP??? How can the sport with the LEAST fans have the MOST teams?? Ho hum. I dont mind Vegas (even though it is a glorified suburb). I Used to go their every 6 weeks for over a year and the city is probably 50% transplanted northerners. Ive probably had upwards of 100 people come up to me when i was wearing anything U of M and tell they were from michigan or went to u of m. it was craziness.

Im not even much of a Maltby fan, but

Seriously, why do you get on Maltby so much just because he doesnt fight? His job IS NOT to fight. His job has NEVER been to fight. Hes an agitator and on the decline at that. People act like hes goddamn Stu Grimson out there and still backing away from fights.

WHAT?? He went to Pioneer??? I was probably a freshman at UofM when he was at Pioneer.

HAHA thats EXACTLY what I thought this thread was about....and I was about to say "yeah, Stastny would be a great candidate for the Calder" but here somebody wants to trade Calder and a 1st for Stastny???? Okay, so whose got dibs on the "Osgood for Luongo" thread? How bout a "Sammy for Ovechkin" thread? Any takes??

Yeah, but there was a concrete interference penalty on Kronwall about 5 seconds prior to that that went uncalled. Thats why they called the cheapie on Arnott. I have absolutely no problem with the calls on the Wings, and Kariya couldve had a penalty shot, but: 1) The too many men on the ice when the ref was 5 feet from the Preds bench 2) The two hander on Chelios 3) The no-call hook on Lang which was a carbon copy of the hook Lang got called for. 4) The goalie interference. This one doesnt piss me off as much because it wasnt that much of a goaltender interference call. The thing that pisses me off more is that the Wings gets called for this s*** ALL THE TIME, yet its let go against us.

Its not really about having set lines so much as it is figuring out who plays well with who. Right now, the only line that is for sure is Calder-Lang-Hudler and I wouldnt be surprised to see Hudler taken off either since Franzen did well on that line too which may lead Babs to experiment with the Right Wing. Im thinking in the last few games of the season Babs will experiment with the lines and whoever seems to click best will roll into the playoffs together.

Why would you want Maltby to sit?? You can never have too much gritty, defensive experience on your team. Maltby should get the nod before Sammy easy. Dare I say even Cleary.

I agree with your statement. But what you just described is not the work of a defenseman but a forward, and Lidstrom's even at least with Orr in the defense department if not a few steps ahead. Either way, theres no contest because what Lidstrom does is too consistent and not flashy. Orr will always be the best Dman.

and J Willy's probably getting twice the ice time there too.

So do the Wings clinch tonight if Colorado loses?

Correction: Hudler just stole Sammy's spot.

Man. 13 - 5 were the calls in this miniseries. Oh well, at least we prevalied through it. Now THAT'S adversity.

On a more serious note, Im actually starting to get worried about this reffing. This is the third game in the row where the Wings opponents have gotten serious help. Im fine with all the penalties called against the Wings. They were justified, but I think we're going to have to pool our resources if we want to buy into the refs game and buy some PPs.

MALTS

Why is that classless again?? I would think trolling would fall into the classless category, not complimenting a player of which you are a fan.