haroldsnepsts

sorry. It just doesn't make sense to me though. Like I said, I'm sure Kenny's already has amounts he's willing to spend to go out and get a couple more players (plus or minus a few hundred thousand). I can't see that being the holdup with Dom. Who knows. I hope I'm wrong and that is the only holdup.

I thought that was last year. I don't really have anything against Hoodlum, but it's hard for me to get excited for a small skill center when we've already got so many natural centers. Even if he gets 5 more minutes per game and manages Lang like numbers, the team just got a whole lot smaller for the playoffs. The only upside I guess he's he's a lot cheaper.

Okay, so Dom's still not signed. Anyone else a little worried? I don't think this is about waiting to see what money is left, as I'm sure Kenny already has a dollar amount he wants left available under the cap for the trade deadline. I'm sure there's a little wiggle room, but it's not like Holland is saying "let me get a couple more guys then I'll pay you whatever's left Dom." what's the holdup??

Samuelsson's got good size, but doesn't use it. He makes Lang look like a power forward. Other than his bulk, I don't really get what Babcock or Holland see in him that's worth locking him up through '09. He's not terrible, but he's nothing special either. Maybe it's all part of Holland's plan to sign every Swedish player in the league.

For those interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FypPm_tJ3vU I like that he takes his helmet off in the fight with Richards. Seems like a tough dude for someone who's not very big. And I guess he even scores a few. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlvWlP2dR7M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlXuKEGp2ps...ted&search=

Maybe I will. And jeez Lou, you've used puns in ten different threads now, hoping they would make people laugh. Sadly, no pun in ten did.

They're nowhere near synonymous. I've been saying it so many times lately I should make it my signature, but the Wings have lost a lot of size and toughness over the years that they haven't replaced. NOT GOONS, but big/tough players. McCarty, Shanahan, Fischer, Lapointe, Ward, Kocur all the way back to Vladdy and Fetisov. Fischer 6'5" 225 lbs. McCarty 6'1" 215 lbs. Shanahan 6'3" 220 lbs. Lapointe 6'0" 200 lbs. Ward 6'2" 200 lbs. Fetisov 6'1" 215 lbs. Hell even Dandenault was 6'1" 200 lbs and would occasionally drop the gloves and hit guys. Big bodies, guys who were tough to play against, had a nasty streak, some who would drop the gloves. They were a big part of why the Wings won the Cup. They could take a beating and they could also dole it out. AND they could play the game. The Wings have always had tons of skill, but in the Cup years they had team toughness. Who do we have on the team that's like that now? Lilja? With the exception of Holmstrom, the few big bodies Detroit has play smaller than they are. No one player will fix that, but year after year, no serious moves are made to regain what the Wings have lost in that department.

No one player is going to stop all that from happening. But Holland needs to start building a team that is big and tough enough to stop that from happening. Year after year, no moves are made in that direction.

If that's true that the Ducks signed them, Holland seriously needs to check and see if Burke has his phone tapped.

It does seem like there has to be some disagreement on the money. It's not like Kenny and Dom are just sitting around taking their sweet time to sign on the dotted line. They're still far apart on money, or Dom is checking out offers from other teams. I just hope you're wrong about that raise Lou.

But that would mean Eklund actually got something right more than an hour before it actually happened. is that possible?

I'll be very disappointed if the Wings end up shelling out 3.5 mill for Dom.

Definitely. Both Cujo and Ozzy get a lot of flack around here (none moreso than Ozzy), but scoring was the biggest problem in those early exits. Against Vancouver in 02 the Wings were only held to less than 3 goals in one game. They scored 3, 2, 3, 4, 4, and 6 goals in that series. Dom played great that year, but it took him and the team a while to get rolling. And this year against Calgary, Detroit lost every time they didn't score more than two goals, until the final game they won 2-1 in double OT. Round 2 was the same way. Detroit lost every game they didn't score more than 2, until the clinching game they won 2-0. With Cujo in 03, the Wings never managed more than 2 goals and never had a chance to get going. They didn't lose because of Cujo. Detroit had plenty of scoring this year, and they made it deep into the playoffs. Go figure.

That's revisionist history. Yzerman was terrible the first half of the season and almost retired. He looked lost, slow, fell down a lot. You do bench the best captain in history when he doesn't deserve to take ice time away from the other guys. And I sure don't think he had another year left in that knee. He was getting by on his hockey smarts and sheer will. Most guys wouldn't have even survived in the NHL with as many limitations as Yzerman had the last few years. Besides, Bowman was the biggest a-hole in the world, but got results. I doubt Yzerman had any serious problem with Babcock. I'm guessing Stevie was consulted before Babs was brought in. I think Babcock proved something this year. He got an undersized and generally soft team to play solid defensive hockey with a lot of grit.

Babcock definitely did get them to play that way, but I think you're discounting Anaheim's size and physical nature wearing down the Wings. It wasn't luck. anaheim was the better team and scored when it counted. It definitely wasn't the only reason, but it was one of them. they also had to contend with key injuries and some bad bounces. But by the end of the series, they started to look like the Wings of old. There were a lot more perimeter shots and a lot less crashing the net. And even aside from being able to handle a beating, I want the Wings to be the ones doling it out. I want teams to get ground down trying to play against our defense and checking lines. Over the years the Wings have lost Fischer, McCarty, Shanahan, Lapointe, Ward, Kocur, Fetisov, Konstantinov and as much as I can't stand hiim, even Sean Avery and haven't really replaced any of them in terms of toughness. I think people don't remember or discount just how tough and sometimes nasty the Wings were to play against in their Cup runs. They've always had a lot of skill, but they used to also have a lot of team toughness.

If he were healthy and the force he once was, I guess I wouldn't mind him on the Wings (eww, I just threw up in my mouth a little). But he's not. He's got that problem foot, or ankle, or hip, or whatever the hell it is. It hasn't gone away and it's likely not gonna this season. No thanks.

see below. The Lang bashing is f-ing ridiculous. Especially because the guy is gone. He was inconsistent and a non-factor in a lot of games, but Babcock saw fit to have him on the ice 10-15 minutes in the playoffs. Yet he gets talked about here like he doesn't even deserve to play in the AHL. 19 goals, 33 assists, 2 big goals and 6 assists in the playoffs. Yeah, he sucks. As for grit, I'd say Homer is probably the grittiest. He not only takes a beating in front of the net, but he played with a major attitude this last postseason. Throwing guys down, getting in their face, not taking crap after the whistle. Plus coming back after Pronger tried to put his elbows through the back of his head. I said this in another thread, but it's worth saying again. I am getting tired year after year of the Wings not making moves to add some big physical players. We've lost a lot of team toughness since the Cup years, and it hasn't been replaced. EDIT: To be clear, I'm glad Lang is gone. But enough is enough.

Rafalski is a similar player to Schneider, has similar numbers, is 5 years younger and generally more durable. Who's to say he won't have chemistry with the Wings too? As for players leaving due to coaching, do you have any evidence to support your claims? that it factored into Yzerman retiring, Shanny leaving?

I pretty much agree. He does have a Legace quality to him. so goes the team, so goes Mason. And with the Preds lineup next year, he'll be tested more and have to carry the load of a full season.

I can't imagine him going to the Kings. Even with Dom in net, they're hardly a contender.

Is that confirmed anywhere other than USA today?

That's a decent chunk of change for a 31 yr old goaltender who's never started more than 40 games in the NHL.

Oooo, good call. I totally forgot about Samuelsson.

My original vote was going to be for Bertuzzi, assuming he would've cost a lot and had some injury and performance issues. Now I'm gonna have to go with Kronwall.

why? He's gone but you're still not through bashing him? Even signing with another team, Lang still gets multiple threads here ripping on him. Wondering how the next whipping boy will be...