haroldsnepsts

Both, I would guess. I can't see Niedermayer saying something like that. Pronger maybe, but not Niedermayer. He usually chooses his words pretty carefully from what I heard.

The Kings had 4th pick and they drafted who???

By who and at what cost? I'm not saying he's totally irreplaceable. But signing him here will still probably be cheaper than going out and getting someone to replace him, considering the ridiculous premiums D-men are going for on the market. And I don't see anyone in the ranks who can fill that role now. Maybe Kronwall eventually, if he can ever make it through a season healthy. Hopefully this is just Holland making things interesting. It's not like we thought they'd be able to keep all these guys. Hasek should still come relatively cheap. He played great for us but age and health and reputation is still a factor. I don't think there's a lot of teams would be willing to gamble on him. More than last year for sure, but still not many. Bert is interesting, but a total question mark. A short term deal would be great, to test out his health and see if he ever really starts playing like he can.

Agreed. For picks or not, the Preds gave up two of their best players and now their starting goaltender. This is a massive salary dump.

A lot of these kids are underweight when they're drafted. He's got time to put on some bulk.

I'm not really a Kariya fan, but as was mentioned, the guy got his lights knocked out by none other than Scott Stevens, came back and scored a goal. That's pretty friggin tough for a little guy. I don't remember Kozlov or Lindros coming back and scoring a goal after Steven's rearranged their grey matter.

Wow. They are seriously dismantling that team. Positioning themselves to rebuild for wherever the team ends up, I guess.

I still don't understand where you're coming from. Why don't you respect that he felt it was time to move on? that's not a valid feeling? The team was going through a major leadership change with Yzerman retiring, and it's no surprise that Lids would probably be the next captain with Zetterberg in the wings. He didn't whine to the press about anything, he didn't leave for more money. I had never heard any reports about him wanting the C. And I can understand his thinking maybe he could rejuvenate his career on a new team. "It really came down to an instinct I had.. Detroit has a great past and a great future ahead of them as well, but I guess I just felt that maybe I was identified with the past a little bit more than the future." This has nothing to do with Fedorov or how he's treated.

Man, some people here sound like jilted ex-girlfriends when it comes to Shanny. He left on about as good of terms a player could possibly leave. And honestly Holland talks a good game in the press, but I'm not sure he really wanted Shanny to stay. Shanny sensed what it took some people, including management, a while to come to terms with. It was the end of an era. The Wings needed a new identity. Which they found this year without Shanny. Besides, I'm sure he was also aware his production the last couple postseasons was a disappointment and maybe thought a fresh start would do everyone good. In my opinion he was right. The Wings were probably better off without him, and he seems to be a great fit for the Rangers. so what's the problem? Once you put on the Winged Wheel, you're supposed to play in Detroit until you retire, or until the fans collectively decide to hate you?

I still think the Kings deserve consideration, if for no other reason than they not only signed Cloutier, they then gave him a 2-year extension at $3 mill a year.

The article also picks the 5 worst picks among active players, 5 best picks all time, and 5 worst picks all time.

No.

In no particular order: Blackhawks, Bruins, Toronto, Kings, and Coyotes. Honorable mention to the Isles for their kooky ass lifelong contracts. Since the Yashin deal worked out so well, I guess they figured they'd go for it with DiPietro. And I agree with betterRed, the NHL itself deserves honorable mention.

Exactly. He's a great positional goaltender and a big guy. With the pad size they allow these days, he gets to where he needs to be and there's not a lot of net left to look at. I don't understand how he gets so much grief and Luongo is just as bad. It sounds like they got him a little bit cheaper than he probably could've gotten elsewhere. I'm interested to see what the Ducks blueline looks like next year. They've got $19 mill tied up in Elbows, Haircut and now The Michelin Man. and everyone else on D except those guys and Beauchemin is a UFA.

I wouldn't want him for $4 mill, but exactly how is Sutton a 7th D-man?

you're right. I did look into it a little more, and Downie crosschecked Aliu in the face at practice, knocking out two of his teeth. After geting his mouth fixed up, Aliu came back out on the ice and fought Downie. The more I read about it, the more Downie sounds like the punk. He apparently didn't like Aliu because Aliu wouldn't get hazed with all the other newcomers. It's also worth noting that Aliu was 16 at the time and Downie 18. But it sounds like the kid's got size, great skating ability, and will drop the gloves. Plus in a couple years I'm guessing he'll even pack on a few more pounds. One of the reviews of him called Aliu "the prototypical power forward." I definitely like the sound of that.

Doan definitely does play for a crap team, but he was also getting 4 or 5 more minutes per game than Bobby.

I do too. I think the dark jerseys are the cooler of the two, so it's nice to see it at home.

No kidding. I can't believe a couple people are getting their panties in a twist because I didn't include Hasek. I also didn't mention Hull or Robitaille. Since the list is about drafting players, I thought it would be pretty obvious to only include players the Red Wings had actually drafted. I guess I continue to underestimate the ridiculous things people will get outraged about here.

Wow. Off topic, unimaginative, and a few weeks late. Even among trolls, you're a moron.

The Wings didn't draft Hasek. That's why I didn't include him.

Yeah, but because we have Pavel and Hank, I just don't see a strong need for the Wings to sign an aging Fedorov.

ESPN's mock draft has Cross going to Montreal and the Wings picking Akim Aliu. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/draft2007/ne...tory?id=2908675 Hmm, I'm a little nervous about this kid though. He's had some weird happenings in his very young career. http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/...89-1aa670695469

Yeah but when you look at who they did pick, these are guys drafted in the top six who never even made it into the NHL. Daigle was a massive disappointment because of the potential everyone saw in him, but he did play in the NHL on and off for almost 9 seasons, and has managed 50 points a few times in his career. Still a major disappointment in terms of draft pick though. Probably deserved mention.

That's about as quick as it can happen, and even then by the time he had control of the puck he was at center ice. The only other situation where I could see it happening is if a guy blocks a shot from a defenseman at the point, the puck rebounds out of the zone and he takes off on what would be a clean breakaway but the D-man pulls him down as he skates past. A pretty rare case, and I still think the refs would probably wouldn't call the penalty shot.