YoungGuns1340

Haha PRICELESS!

Hossa does not fit the Drake bill. Drake was on his last legs - he was desperate. Hossa practically has another decades worth chances. The desperation doesn't even compare.

Its really too bad the Wings didn't replace Drake with another vet hungry for the cup. Seeing Drake with the cup always reminds me of what he did for us.

Looks like Conklin really wants to be starter.

I love that we're on pace for 81 shots tonight.

Kopecky specail - go for the hit and get the worst of it.

Stuartless Wings > Stuartfull Wings

DATSYUK!!!!!!

Haha who is this Preds announcer? Sounds like Mickey complaining and laughing about the call.

Datsyuk with 66 points. His catching up to the big three.

Hank with 16 points in his last 15 games? Atta boy, Hank.

So we can pay him 6-7M per year to sit in the press box for 50 games a season? Sounds like a plan.

Agreed. Maybe the most underrated Dman - or player - in the game considering how quietly good this kid is. If you ask me, Keith is the Dman in the NHL that most resembles Lidstrom. His offensive abilities aren't comparable, but his defensive sense of the game is phenomenal for a 25 year old. In a few years, I think Keith is going to be the smartest Dman in the game. He has a raw intelligence for the game that doesn't come around very often.

If the Wings have bured the hatchet with Colorado, they should look at Laperriere. His MO is to fight, agitate and kill penalties. Hes basically a fresher version of Drake, who came from a rival team as well. Not sure if Colorado wants to trade him thought, even though hes a UFA>

Actually, its very likely to happen if the Wings re-sign Hossa. They'll have to be careful about how they spend their money if they retain Hossa, and matching an overpaying offer sheet - and overpaying is the nature of offer sheets, mind you - would not seem like a wise decision. And if they did match the offer, it might put them over the cap, forcing them to trade someone, which could potentially decrease trade value, much in the same way Holland had to let Quincey go via the waiver wire. In fact, Hudler may be the smartest target for an offer sheet. The guys likely to put up 55-60 points at seasons end without even playing 2nd line ES minutes. A GM may look at Hudlers role on the Wings and hypothesize that if he were playing a 2nd line role with decent linemates at 16-18 minutes per game, he could put up 70-80 points, perhaps even a PPG. Is that kind of production worth, say, 4M a year? Well considering Andy McDonald just signed a contract worth 4.7M per year, I would say a 25 year old putting up 70+ points is worth it. Now, would the Wings be able to match 4M per season over 5 years? Theres not a snowballs chance in hell they can match that if they already have Hossa, maybe even just Franzen, locked up. A rival GM walks away with what would be overpayment from the Wings, but reasonable value for his team, in regards to Hudler. Maybe Holland can call in a favor to his buddy Regier over in Buffalo, and have Darcy send an offer sheet worth 2.8M for the next 2 years to Hudler and see if he signs it. Cant hurt to try, and if Hudler is stupid enough to think that his "offer-sheet value" is a mere 2.8M, then Holland could match and walk away with a bargain.

And having 2 selke finalists on 1 line might not be a bad idea either. With our defensive woes, having Datsyuk AND Hank out there against the opponents top line means you dont have the likes of Draper and Maltby getting shifts against the opponents top line. Stick them both on one line, and you have the best shutdown unit in the league. We need that this season. I'd rather have the best shutdown line in the league than a few decent ones. At this point, there is no reason to keep them apart. Hank and Datsyuk together are better than Hossa and one of Hank/Datsyuk. Hossa is here to score, and more often than not, his goals are a product of his solitary efforts. Having Hank on his line for so long, honestly, was a waste of Hank's talent. Hossa only needs linemates who will get him the puck and then get out of his way. We have plenty of talent in 5 or 6 other players on this roster who are capable of doing that.

Three reasons the Wings are looking better: 1. Datsyuk and Zetterberg back together makes everything seemingly run more smoothly. Theres no point in wasting one of the EuroTwins on Hossa at this point. Hossa is here to score, and he can do that with Draper centering him if he needs to. I dont care whos in or out of the lineup, keep these two guys together. 2. Stuart's absence. Stuart being out has broken up the atrocious 2nd D pairing. Kronwall and Stuart both overacheived in the playoffs, and now they've come back down to earth. Opposite case with Hank and Datsyuk - I dont care whos injured or healthy, Stuart and Kronwall should no longer be paired up. 3. Conklin's ability to play strong under pressure and his rebound control improvement. He saves his best games for big games, and he holds onto the puck, which makes it easier on our D. Through the first half of the season, our rebound control from both goaltenders is/was atrocious, and it made the D look worse that it was/is. ANY defensive unit is going to have trouble tracking shots that ricochet off a goaltenders pad into an unknown direction, potentially onto the stick of an opposing player in key scoring position. Osgood, however, hasnt improved much in this regard. At this point, yes, I feel better, but I dont feel confident. However, if Babs sees the light and starts giving Conklin more starts, permanently reunites Hank and Z (and homer), and permanently splits up Kronwall and Stuart, then I'll be much more confident going into the playoffs than I was a few days ago.

Mike Green leads ALL NHL Dmen in Giveaways. Hes 3rd overall in the NHL in giveaways with 61.

1. Hudler's first season was in 2003-2004 is akin to saying Ericsson's first season of 8 games was in 2007-2008. Apparently you don't remember that far back, but that 12 game stretch saw Hudler playing on a Detroit Red Wings team that featured the likes of a rookie Kronwall, Ryan Barnes, Nate Robinson, and other Grand Rapids gems. The Wings were so decimated by injuries during that stretch that the Wings were seemingly carrying more Griffins than Red Wings on the roster. Not only was Hudler seeing minimal time, but he was doing so on less than an NHL roster. 2. Hudler is 75 days older than Filppula. A sensible mind would never assume that less than 3 months difference in age could account for a drastic difference in development. 3. This is the beauty of the internet. I can find out how many NHL minutes a guy has played in his short career. Namely, I can tell you that Filppula has played 355 more minutes over his NHL career than Hudler has. If a typical TOI average is anywhere from 13-18 minute a game, than Filppula has effectively played between 20-27 NHL games more than Hudler has. But I'm sure it was just that 03/04 stint that gave Hudler the developmental advantage.

No he hasn't. He gets double shifts with the top lines that puts his ESTOI in the Top 5 among forwards.

Lets just lay out the facts here. This is what our "offensive" forwards do with their ice time: 1. Datsyuk - 1ESP per 17.8ESM 2. Hossa - 1ESP per 21.6 ESM 3. Hudler - 1ESP per 24.9ESM 4. Homer - 1ESP per 25.2 ESM 5. Cleary - 1ESP per 25.3 ESM 6. Hank - 1ESP per 25.8 ESM 7. Flip - 1ESP per 28.8 8. Franzen - 1ESP per 31.2 9. Sammy - 1ESP per 40.8 ESM 1. Datsyuk - 1 PPP per 7.521PPM 2. Hudler - 1PPP per 7.523PPM 3. Samuelsson - 1PPP per 7.7PPM 4. Hossa - 1PPP per 8.1 PPM 5. Hank - 1PPP per 8.2 PPM 6. Franzen - 1PPP per 10.5 PPM 7. Homer - 1PPP per 12PPM 8. Cleary - 1PPP per 21.3PPM 9. Flip - 1PPP per 28.5PPM (N/A)

Filppula - 25 ES points, 720 ES minutes Hudler - 22 ES points, 549 ES minutes Hudler ranks 2nd in PP points, behind only Datsyuk.

Flip just needs a chance playing 17-19 minutes a night alongside our greatest goal scorer to put up the same kind of points as Hudler a guy who does more with less in both regards. Thats a lot of crutch work for Flip.

After how far Franzen has come, its not easy to get down on him like this. Honestly, I like Franzen a lot. I just think there are too many holes his game that will be overlooked because of his playoff performance and goal scoring binge.