evil204

I think Lidstrom could be gone by 09-10. Don't kill me.

Like that time they led 2-0 against us with 40 seconds left in the game and we ended up winning in OT?

It's not like people are asking Hasek to make a sacrifice because he's a nice guy. He needs to do it because there's a huge risk involved in signing him. Datsyuk and Kronwall aren't 42 years old, and they dont have chronic groin injuries. They can only get better and stronger. Hasek, no matter how well he can play, is always one awkward move away from a season-ending injury. Remember how the trainers came running to him last season every time he went down? And besides, there isn't even any guarantee that he can play well next season. At his age, reflexes obviously slow down.

I don't get it. If Hasek really wants to win the Cup, he needs to take a big pay cut (again) so we can sign everyone we need. This team will have pretty big holes in just about every area if Schneider, Markov and Bertuzzi don't come back. He needs to realize that nothing changed from last year. Yes, he had a great season, but he's still old, and he's still just as injury-prone as he was one year ago. He's an even bigger risk this time because he's a year older. If he wants money, then give him a $1M base salary and something like $4M in bonuses. If we reach the finals with Hasek in net, I'd be happy to pay him whatever he wants. But if he breaks down 5 games into the season...well, we're screwed

Can't we just sign a forward with an awesome shot and use him on defense on the power play? That's all we need Schneider for.

I find this hard to believe. Hasek, of all people, wouldn't hurt our chances to have the best team possible next year. Out of everyone on the team, he's probably the most determined to win the cup. I really didn't think he'd care about money at this point. If Hasek is seriously expecting a huge raise, screw him, trade for Bryzgalov. As for Schneider, Bertuzzi, and Markov... I really can't imagine how high their demands are that Holland is so surprised. Schneider is old, Bertuzzi has a bad back, and Markov...he had nothing more than an average season, why would he be asking for a big raise?

Markov is big and physical. Schneider is 38 years old and he's getting slow. The money he's going to ask for would better be spent on someone else. We don't have to necessarily sign Markov instead of Schneider (I don't know how much money he wants), but we need someone like Markov who can be a physical presence. That was painfully obvious in the playoffs when it took us 2 minutes to get the puck out of our own zone against San Jose and Anaheim every time they brought it in.

That's disgusting. I don't want Schneider back for 4 million. Or 3. We should re-sign Markov and find someone else who can play on the power play.

I just watched the end on tape and I think the fans booed when it was announced that Bettman was coming out to present the Conn Smythe Trophy.

That was priceless. Don Cherry does this every week so it's nothing special for him, but you could tell Hull was loving it. They should have those 2 together for every game.

Bettman's biggest mistake was expanding the league to 30 teams. That just doesn't work with hockey, because there simply aren't enough good players to go around. The NBA can handle 30 teams because every team pretty much needs 5 decent players. A hockey team needs 20, and when only 3 of them have any kind of skill and the rest are bums who run over each other, who is gonna watch? Red Wings games were far more exciting 4 or 5 years ago, when our team was the Western All-Stars. Now, we've got Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and when those 2 aren't on the ice, the game is just stale. They skate up and down the ice, dump the puck in, change, and skate around some more until a power play comes. I bet Ducks fans really cared 4 years ago, when the only player they had that made something happen was Kariya. The only way to fix the NHL is to cut the number of teams, but that's not going to happen. On the contrary, Bettman has been talking about adding even more teams.

I'd rather have Markov, but we'd have to get another guy (not necessarily a defenseman) who can shoot the puck from the point. Schneider is old, he's getting slow, he's not that great defensively, he sucked at getting the puck out of our zone, and he kept taking the same stupid cross-checking penalty all the time. If we sign Schneider instead of Markov, getting another (cheaper) physical defenseman is a MUST. I'd say the Wings' inability to get the puck out of their zone was a bigger problem in the playoffs than the power play. We need to fix it for next season through free agency, and losing Markov in favor of Schneider will only make it worse.

Serves him right. I hope Pronger blows the season for his team. Then, his value will go down, and the Wings can sign him :-D

Obviously, Lang must have blackmailed Shanahan into starting this competition comittee to make the game easier for Lang to play.

Oh god... why does the whole game have to be on the damn power play??? It really isn't surprising that only 523,000 people can stand watching one 60 minute power play.

Chelios is lazy and he sucks

Realistically, I don't think we can win. I hate Babcock's brute force approach on offense... shooting from anywhere and hoping the puck bounces off something and in. Fifty-one percent of the time, maybe if you shoot enough, even if the shots are from 100ft out, you'll score just enough goals to win. But it obviously hasn't worked against the Ducks. So for Game 6, it's pretty simple. I think it's safe to say the Wings won't be changing their offensive strategy for an elimination game.. so if the bounces go our way, we'll win. If not, it's over. My only source of optimism is that the Ducks seem somewhat arrogant, and they have a completely different mindset about this series. We have an advantage because we have guys like Lidstrom and Hasek.

I think the sense of urgency will help us on the power play in game 6. We really lacked that today after we took the lead. I think we have a pretty good chance to win this. The Ducks really look like they're taking this lightly, but when you look at Lidstrom, or Hasek, or Chelios, you can tell the Wings won't let this slip away.

First Franzen, then Lilja.... How Swede It Is!

If we lose, it WILL be Babcock's fault, because he still hasn't gotten the Wings to stop playing like s*** in their own zone. It's been a problem all year, and you just can't play like that in the Conference Finals.

Has anyone tried listening to Wings games on 97.3FM lately? I tried it for the last 2 but there was so much static I couldn't understand a word the commentator was saying. I swear it worked fine just a few weeks ago though... Damn Tigers games on 1270....

Hmm.. Seriously? Maybe it was 97.1 I got static on.. Edit: Well, I feel stupid... I was listening to the wrong station, just checked :-D. I was so sure it was 97.3 Still, damn Tigers games on 1270....

Hey... Schneider still leads in missed shots :-P

Hasek looked pissed. That's a good sign

Sweet game. Babcock really needs to tell them to stop trying to Datsyuk the puck in on the power play all the time. Dump it in, dammit.