haroldsnepsts

Really? Multiple times in many threads people have placed most of the blame on Babcock, saying he fought for Cleary to be here. Babcock is obviously a fan. Cleary is fearless and goes to the net like few players on the Wings do. Multiple times it's been cited that Babcock, the players, and Holland wanted Cleary back. But Holland is the one ultimately responsible for the roster. Also, please don't circumvent the profanity filter.

They should probably pick the name based on the most likely Canadian market the team will move to after being a financial disaster for years.

The Las Vegas Regrets™

Someone posted a link to an article in the Toronto Star that referenced the billion dollars in potential franchise fees the existing owners would collect from expansion, so that's not glue they're sniffing. It's cash. Bettman's track record demonstrates that he is willing to risk the integrity of the league in order to make his owners as much money as possible, so it's not really that surprising. He has his circle of cronies on the BOG, and can probably drum up support from owners drooling at the prospect of the new franchise fees. That fee is not considered Hockey Related Revenue so it's not something they even have to share with players. Plus with the CBA set for at least 7 more years, if there's a couple more struggling franchises it really won't effect owners until then. And even when the CBA ends they'll likely just have another lockout and hammer the players salaries down further instead of increasing revenue sharing. So it doesn't seem like there's a ton of financial risk to the existing owners.

Toews made a pretty funny point that the Vegas team will probably have a great home record given the plentiful distractions there for the visiting teams. Given that the league has changed their conversation from a flat out denial to more ambiguous statements, it makes me think it's gonna happen. http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/564342 It's the first time I've heard them even admit that the league is interested in expansion.

Yes and no. Yes it does right now but I feel like I've said that so many times with contracts before and then in a few seasons it's not really at all. Montreal did a particularly poor job in handling the last two Subban contracts. His cap hit definitely could've been lower if they'd just signed him long term last time. Instead they gambled on the bridge deal, during which time he won a Norris.

Different CBA's. Weber has a cap cheating 14 year contract. Subban's contract has the 8 year limit. Plus the Canadiens kind of screwed themselves with the bridge deal for Subban. If they had signed him long term last time, his numbers would be more in line with the people your'e comparing him too. But because of those circumstances it's not really apples to apples. Somewhere (maybe earlier in this thread? I can't quite remember) I linked to a blog that did a nice breakdown of what Subban would get paid and why. And they were pretty close on the final number. Here it is.

It completely changed his argument. By not bolding "I thought" you turned his post into a statement of fact that the HHOF is all about numbers, when it was really almost a question. You also left out the scenario where he said Datsyuk could make the HHOF. Your selective bolding transformed his statement into "No I don't think he puts up good enough numbers. HOF is mostly about numbers." Which is significantly different than "No, I don't think he puts up good enough numbers but if they look at his defense then I'd say yes but I thought the HOF is mostly about numbers." agreed.

Yes but Datsyuk has already played over 100 more games than Forsberg. You're not accounting for those players injury shortened careers. The HHOF did. And Larionov got in as much for his days playing on the KLM line for the Soviet Union than for his accomplishments in the NHL.

1) I can't say who fans will ultimately view as the better player, in part because of what exactly people include in "better player." Some fans are still bitter about how Fedorov left. In terms of who was the better player on the ice though, it's Fedorov. 2) 2 Selke's, a Hart, Pearson, 483 goals, 696 assists and put up 20+ points in four consecutive playoffs. He better make the HHOF. 3) Not sure. It seems like Datsyuk will be on the bubble. He's such a magician with the puck that you'd want him to get in for that alone, but he doesn't have the kind of numbers or trophies that make it a lock.

Difficulty in making decisions is a common symptom of post concussion syndrome.

Honestly I haven't followed the case super closely but has Moore ever handled the media himself regarding his lawsuit? I always remember his lawyer or brother commenting. Either way it's established that he has trouble with memory and making decisions as a result of his injury. As for that comment, it's one made by his brother so I'm sure there's a purposeful dig in there. But that's a long way from it being some intentional strategy by his legal team.

I agree. Yes it's expensive, but the point is to raise money for his charity after all.

Well, there's zero evidence of that. If we're spinning completely baseless scenarios then it's equally likely that Bertuzzi's lawyers falsely said they had a settlement in order to make Moore's camp look like the bad guys for keeping this from being resolved. The reality is, no one knows what is actually going on in this circus. But man the NHL should've made this go away long ago.

It's pretty hilarious that Kovalev of all people would call out a player. Especially the part about scoring 5 goals but allowing 5 goals. Maybe check your career +/- there Alex. The guy embodied the lazy Russian stereotype when he played. I guess he's not been getting enough attention lately?

Any more comments about true fans, spolied fans, etc. will guarantee your post will be deleted and could result in suspension. LAST WARNING. The topic is Ken Holland. Not how spoiled Wings fans are.

I'm not sure why you're pointing out when those prospects were drafted. I wasn't knocking Holland for not drafting guys like Doughty and Kopitar. I was pointing out that the Kings in 2009 were stacked with young talent in a response to a post about how far they came in a few seasons. It's not just that it's taking time. It's that Holland has made several uncharacteristically bad moves these last few seasons. And while I don't expect the Wings to win the Cup every year, I guess I was hoping he'd make bigger moves to try and keep the team competitive while Datsyuk and Zetterberg are still relevant. Dats is 36 years old and has 3 more years on his contract. If the rebuild takes that long I wouldn't count on him being a part of it.

Honestly a lot of people thought Kopitar would be leading the way. He was drafted #11 overall and was ranked the #1 European player. That 2009 roster had Kopi, Brown, Doughty, J. Johnson, Wayne Simmonds, and Jonathan Quick. They were a talented, but crazy young team. Brown was the oldest of that group at 23. Doughty was 18. Johnson was 21. Quick was 22. I don't know a ton about the Wings prospects but I'm pretty sure they don't compare to that group. Add to that a handful of solid vets on the team. O'Donnell, Stoll, Greene, Williams. They added Scuderi the next season. I don't know that anyone would've guessed the two Cups, but they had all the makings of becoming a great team very soon. Sorry. You should pick a team that isn't my second favorite and I swear I'll keep my mouth shut.

Here's a good article by Justin Bourne that touches on something the Wings definitely need to get better at--zone exits. It sounds like it's one in a series he'll be writing on them. For those who aren't familiar with him, Bourne is a former minor-leaguer who breaks downs of some of the finer points of the game in an entertaining way. It usually makes for a great read and illuminates aspects that a casual fan might overlook. http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/555320 Watching both the Wings and Kings, it's striking how much better the Kings are at exiting their zone, even under pressure. They usually have great puck support and guys and often make it look routine.

True. It's based on the assumption that the D-men can actually get the puck to the wingers. It also might be influenced by Bourne being a winger, and that people assume the D-men play a big role. But it might not be as obvious that the wingers are actually a big factor as well. Among the Wings d-men, I think Ericsson has a surprisingly good first pass for a defensive defenseman. Kronwall's is obviously very good. Smith's can be good when he doesn't overthink it and force things. Kindl is often a disaster when he's under pressure, and sometimes even when he's not. He's indecisive, then gets pressured and just chips it off the glass, needlessly turning the puck over. Dekeyser I think will improve. Lashoff is what you expect from a defensive guy. He'll try and make the simple play. The whole team would benefit from a clearer system though. Watching the Kings, it's so obvious they put a lot of work into zone breakouts. A great team can still hem them in at times, but they're very good at getting the puck out under an intense forecheck.

Agreed. It's a huge misperception some people have about the Kings because of their playoff seeding. It overlooks just how good that roster is, as well as the moves they made to improve it. The Kings have tremendous players like Kopitar, Doughty, Quick. A sniper like Jeff Carter (who's also very good defensively). Talented rookies like Pearson and Toffoli. Solid role players. They're big, physical, have guys with speed. PLUS they made the deadline acquisition of Gaborik, who had 14 goals and 22 points in 26 playoff games. With all that going for them, they still had epic battles through every round of the playoffs against great teams.

Admittedly I don't know a ton about our prospects. Historically though people here tend to talk like they are all going to make the roster and contribute in a significant way when the reality is that most prospects don't shake out. My big problem is that even if the Wings are a couple key pieces away from a serious Cup run, Holland isn't landing them and is content to sign some aging vet (and likely former Wing) to fill that hole. The Nyquist situation was absolutely ridiculously and hurt the team. I think Babcock has done a tremendous job given the mish mash of spare parts he's had to work with over the last few seasons, partly due to injury and partly due to Kenny.

That's a pretty easy challenge for you to win considering you never really know who is on the market as a GM until they take a job somewhere.

Holland's job is extremely difficult but all that matters are the actual results, not how many tires he kicked. Dan Cleary tries as hard or harder than anyone on the team but I don't see people giving him a free pass because of all the plays he tried to make but failed. And Holland should have been working on a transition plan for Lidstrom's retirement for years. Him participating in the ridiculous Suter sweepstakes was a pretty good indication that he didn't have one. The reality is you don't replace Nick Lidstrom. You have to reevaluate and restructure the entire team. Holland keeps making moves like it's 2008.

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