Feldmarschall

It got us out of his contract a year earlier than otherwise, and thereby gave the team more playing room to go after guys like Rafalski. Great trade for what it was designed for - allowing the youth to get more icetime, thickening the bottom six with grit, and giving additional financial flexibility.

It would look more like Lidstrom-Kronwall Rafalski-Lilja Lebda-Chelios I had figured on them doing this to begin the season, but Babs surprised me. Fortunate for us it has been working out. The thing with Rafalski's defensive play is that he's no Schneider - he is patient with the play. He'll just hang with a forward and pinch them to the outside and while he occasionally gets beat in the corners or down low by a bigger forward, Nick always covers up front (and vice versa). Also, the way Babs' system makes our center crash down behind our own net, he doesn't usually get into trouble. Yes, his own-zone turnovers can be bad, but they're no worse than some of the critical ones Schneider and Lilja made, either, especially Schneider's penchant for giving up the puck on the enemy blueline and giving a forward a breakaway. It's a fact of life that players hand over the puck sometimes. Just happens to be more obvious when a defenseman does it. His play elsewhere is solid, even if he can be inconsistent and have some godawful nights. All things considered, he's a good D-man at a good price.

I love May's reaction right at the end of the clip. Looks like he yells "F*ck yeah!"

Couple of points here. First, the Witt idea is not likely. Recall that he picked up Washington a first-rounder, straight up, when he went to Nashville. Throwing a low-end prospect and a third won't get him considering that he's played better since the trade than he did before it. Second, Lebda is a much better defenseman than Meech is likely to become. He's faster, his mental game is loads better, and he does his job effectively night in and night out. There are nights that Lebda is invisible, and that's just what a good bottom-pairing defenseman should do - make no glaring mistakes while taking care of business in his own zone. Meech was on our roster and will continue to be as a number 7 guy, the team practices with him constantly and they know his skill level. There's a reason he's not in the rotation. They're hoping he'll bloom, which is why he hasn't been waived, but the org hasn't got faith in him as an NHL player yet. Quincey is better prepared. There's a reason that Lebda is locked up for the long haul - he's useful. Don't anticipate him going anywhere.

Ellis is 26, Hartigan is 30. They're as good as they're going to get, really. That said, it's still probably better than a 35-year-old DMac, so I'm with you.

He said he was speaking hypothetically. But still, I'd rather not have him here either.

Toronto would have to be retarded to take that trade. They gain two bottom six forwards, a number 5 defenseman and a depth prospect nearing the end of his potential in exchange for a different number 5 defenseman and a top six forward, in addition to losing fiscal flexibility for what will surely be a busy offseason while the team attempts to rebuild and retool. Their team already has a logjam of what Mack calls "good enough" players with no real top-end skill. The last thing on their mind is to get more bottom-end players that can hold a job but not break a game. It may be tempting to figure that Antropov for Sammy is almost even, but it's really not. Sammy is a third-line player that's played above his level with solid linemates since he came here, whereas Antropov is displaying solid potential to go with his youth and size advantage. Lebda and Meech aren't attractive enough to make up for that difference given the depth in Toronto's system with regards to low-end defensive prospects.

More correctly, you must be the only one wanting to troll enough to say something like that. I hope nobody bothers rising to the bait.

This Hartigan-bashing isn't terribly clever. The guy is quick, chases pucks effectively, and is defensively sound enough to help cover for having Downey out there with him. The whole point of having veterans on two-way deals is NOT having to call up kids. In the minors, for example, kids like Helm and Ritola get great icetime in a professional setting. They play, they learn, they improve. Called up, they sit the bench for 55 minutes of a 60 minute game, which does them no good whatsoever. Hartigan is a #1 callup over and over again for the org because he's got NHL experience as a full-timer in the past, and he's a balanced player. Saying that he doesn't bring anything great and wonderful to the team is stating the obvious. He wouldn't be an AHL player if he was a world-beater. What's more important about a call-up is that they not HURT the team with their play while simultaneously going like hell and chipping in the occasional goal on their exceptionally short icetime, and Hartigan most certainly does that job well.

He stepped on a stick before the fight began and injured his MCL, which he'd spent the entirety of last summer rehabbing. Figure he'll be out for a while.

I doubt he really wants to take any Segway tours of downtown Detroit, though.

Ice cold, Lou.

Good to see Anaheim down at the bottom.

It's a reward relationship. He's tearing it up in the AHL, so he earns the call. If some other team steals him and he ends up on an NHL roster full-time on somebody else's pocket, so be it.

Drapes is just as shot-happy as Sammy. Only difference is that he winds it up and Sammy just wrists it. As for Drake... well, who knows? Seems he so rarely has the puck, I've got no idea what his tendencies are.

How bout a link to the online broadcast?

Sutherby always does well for me in NHL EHM 07. Too bad his real-life value isn't nearly as high. I wouldn't have figured him to be worth a second rounder this season.

Waive it Stick it in the basement if it clears. I bet somebody else might take a crack at it, though.

The remainder of the league that wanted him from waivers gets first dibs on any trade opportunities if the team that acquired him wants to trade. Makes sense, it keeps low-end teams from poaching the waiver wire and subsequently trading the acquired player(s) to get undeserved draft picks.

Didn't we suffer a similar thing with a division rival last December?

Looks like Hudler will still get PP time, Babs just isn't satisfied with his 5 on 5 play. Apparently he has a ways to go yet to satisfy the defensive needs of that second unit.

The biggest difference between the Wings and many franchises in many different sports is the fact that our owner is not just a businessman. He is a competitor. He is out to win, not just pad his pockets. As a result, he gets the best that he can reasonably buy. We're seeing the payoff.

Only team in the league still in the single-digits for goals against, so I'd say you're probably right.

Byron Ritchie, foo. Scrubalicious.

Let's deal Flip and Lilja for Fedorov. Done and done, Chelios will convince them.