Feldmarschall

I like the idea of adding McKee to replace Lilja. He's a good physical shot-blocker and a strong PKer. I remember watching him during Buffalo's playoff run back in 06, and he was fantastic as a shutdown guy.

Horton requested a trade some time ago, so they were going to lose a former first-rounder for nothing at the termination of his contract. Best make the player happy and get something in return for the organization.

Nobody's really taking up money, although David Legwand's contract is a joke. The organization is just broke as hell, they don't like to spend much over the league minimum. It's a sort of self-imposed salary cap. That's why Barry Trotz gets so much respect. He basically gets told "Here, take these spare parts without a superstar and try to make the playoffs." And he does a fine job.

Isn't that team horridly weak down the middle? Are they going to make another move for a first-line center?

Alright. It was a strangely-worded statement, I didn't see what you meant. Nevermind.

Seems like we've got an expanding Russian contingent here at LGW - every time a discussion of the KHL's financial insolvency comes up, a Russian shows up to debate the assertion. Maybe they don't understand how capitalism works yet, it hasn't been long enough. WorkingOvertime is spot on, KHL teams only exist because of parent companies (and their state-run monopolies, in this case) that can afford to overpay players. That league doesn't make anywhere near enough on attendance to work otherwise, not with these bloated super-contracts. If Gazprom was a legitimately private enterprise and they started losing money tomorrow, they'd cut their losses and another team would be folding that same day.

You're implying that the only reason he didn't retire is the cash? His sole motivation in life is money?

Their fans have booed the US National Anthem one too many times. I can't root for them, as much as I hate Pronger and the Flyers.

Good on him for finally recovering. It was a dislocation that did him in, right? He looked good with the Wings when he was up for preseason play before his injury. In hindsight, his style reminds me of Drew Miller.

It's risky. Stajan's shown some 50 point potential even in Toronto with its piss-awful forward corps over the past couple years. He could settle in and become a consistently high performer, or he could stick to 30ish point seasons and waste lots of money. I'd have given him more than a seven game audition before throwing a four year deal at him, were I in Sutter's shoes.

Was it eva who had the giant hard-on for Kopecky? I kinda expected him to pop in here and cash in by now.

It may not compete with the Doc Emrick "Drive!" drinking game but it's damn close, this guy could give you some serious alcoholism. Feels like every time someone coughs or blocks a shot, it's time for a lines thread.

There's a reason that Chelios has been offered contracts with NHL clubs. He turned them down because he likes where he's at in the AHL. He's been playing a strong game and he's a top-line player, whereas in the big league he'd be on the bench too often for his tastes.

Watching these other clips reminds me how I find it pathetic that they still let Darcy Verot play hockey. What a worthless hack.

No bulls*** at all. He's got great potential, especially for someone who went undrafted. Going to be interesting to see if they move him up to the AHL next year.

How the hell is this guy worth a second-rounder?

Jeez, I can't believe I forgot to get back to this thread. Thanks for posting those stats. I'm shocked that they're so unflattering to Stuart, he's really looked like the only worthwhile shutdown defenseman we've had at points this season. Makes me wonder what happened to the guy that made such an impact with Kronwall for the last couple years. He did a masterful job shutting down the corners and clearing the front of the net for quite a while. Maybe he needs to pull an Osgood, and break his game down, redo it somehow.

True, it's futile. The docs were faxed, it doesn't matter now. And Turco's knee survived his game and the following shootout.

This is basic stuff. If Turco rips up his ACL, Dallas loses their starting goaltender. Doesn't it figure that they'd get a little bit more desperate for assets, have to spend a bit more? Other teams (in this case, Atlanta) would know that Dallas is pressed for options, and they'd raise the price accordingly. Dallas would be on the ropes, they've got no choice if they want their guy.

It would mean that Lehtonen's price just went up. A lot.

Stewie's stats show a problem any shut-down defenseman's stats will show - he doesn't generate offense so his plus/minus suffers, and to make things worse he's often paired with sub-par offensive players thanks to the Wings' numerous injuries. The first half of the season, he was spot on. His plus/minus doesn't show it, but one stat doesn't tell the whole story. I'd wager a guess that he's one of the best on the back end if you measured his performance in goals against per minute of icetime. He took hard matchups consistently, dealt with whatever garbage linemate he had, and was the best damn PKer on the team. He's fallen off badly lately, however. Some criticism is warranted. He was a premier shutdown defenseman up until the last several games, probably the only guy consistently winning his battles and taking his assignments properly. Now he's in a downswing. Too bad that as Lidstrom and Rafalski make a push, Stuart is at a low point and Kronwall reinjured himself. It's always something... but Stuart will come back from it. All good players do.

Well, put him out six to eight weeks with a busted jaw and messed up teeth. Poor kid. Standing in front of Ovie;s slappers is probably worth the year's paycheck, though. I know I'd want to be well-compensated for the risk.

Agreed. No way should Price have created a power play for that.

He's been playing in GR. 32GP 8G 7A 15P -6 He did look very good in NHL action, though. He'll be back next year.

Slow down, Outsider. This isn't a literary forum, you're not writing the next Shakespearean epic. Hell isn't blue, nor does it need to be capitalized, bolded, and italicized. You look ridiculous. Be cool. I like what you're saying, but chill. To contribute to the discussion, I have it on good authority that Jimmy Howard has played well regardless of whether or not you believe the schedule favored him, and that Chris Osgood will be the starter again once the playoffs start (assuming we're in them). Also, the criticism of the offense is spot-on. Generally speaking, you have to outscore the opposition to win. Hard to do that with zero goals.