Dabura

There's nothing with missing a player and what he brought to the team (when he wasn't a shell of his former self). With your attitude, we might as well not celebrate hockey's past at all. And the truth is that this team is indeed "missing" the Homer component and would greatly benefit from some form of worthy replacement.

Holland is a master of saying the right things. He's going to wait as long as he can.

I think you guys are lying to me.

He's not great defensively. Maybe not flat-out bad, but it's not a strength of his at this point in his development. (Not that I necessarily think it should be held against him.) I'm not saying that because he turns pucks over, mind you. I guess calling him one-dimensional is a bit much, but, really, if he's in your lineup at this point in time, he's not there for special teams work or faceoffs or strong two-way play or physicality or leadership or great playmaking abilities. He's there to score goals. He's a goal-scorer.

So, if you're in the States...all you need is HBO. Am I right? For some reason this is sorta confusing me.

You're supposed to be rooting against Atlantic teams, ET. I blame you for the Bruins' win. (Though it is nice to see someone end the Sharks' streak.)

Fair enough. But I don't think you can fully rate our drafting without looking at our current pool. Like I said and conceded, we are in a bit of a dry spell in terms of guys who are ready to step in now (though Nyquist and Tatar are both very good pieces). But I do believe that will change in the coming years. At the very least, I don't think it's really fair to say we haven't been drafting well at forward. Given where we always draft (i.e. nowhere near the very top), I think we've done about as well as we conceivably could have done. Ultimate point being: I don't feel our drafting is very much at fault re: our scoring woes. You're not going to get a Datsyuk or Zetterberg or even a Franzen every year if you're always making the playoffs. Now, a guy like Hossa - that could open up a discussion about our decisions re: free agents, trades. I do feel some of our signings (e.g. Cleary, Samuelsson) could definitely be linked to our scoring problems, if not directly (e.g. Sammy sucks), then indirectly (e.g. having Sammy means not having [insert better player]).

We've drafted really well at forward, IMHO. Names: Athanasiou Ferraro Frk Glendening Jarnkrok Jurco Mantha Nastasiuk Nyquist Pulkkinen Sheahan Tatar That's an extraordinarily good group, considering we haven't picked in the top twenty since, what, Marty Lapointe? And our D group is nothing to sneeze at. All of which is to say: I believe drafting is one thing we've been getting very right. True, there's been a bit of a dry spell lately, but in the coming years that will change. My only worry is, of course, the clock that's ticking on Z and D's careers. I want as many of our young guys to learn as much as they can from those two.

Fizzix?

At the same time, though, he says he really likes him as a player. And we're still not entirely sure what that "That's a good question" comment meant (though it probably was more "anti-Tatar" than it was, say, "anti-Holland"). I'm not saying what you said isn't true - it is. Tatar is not good defensively, and that's a mark against him, especially when it's Mike Babcock making the call. But what I'm talking about is more the notion that Babs just really, really dislikes Tatar, and isn't playing him regularly out of, like, spite or something. I think maybe it just comes down to the fact that he's a one-dimensional player right now, and that makes him a liability. Whereas Nyquist is good "on both sides of the puck." Also: Nyquist is injured?

Dirty goon is dirty. Yawn.

I hate to say it, but last night wasn't really a personnel issue. And I'll even go so far as to say that our struggles, in general, aren't a personnel issue. I think "there's something bad in the water," if that makes any sense. I think we could have Vanek, Ryan, Suter, Parise and we still lose last night, and we still blow that third period lead to Phoenix, etc. I think all the players have to pick up their game, the coaches have to make adjustments to what they're doing (that doesn't necessarily mean incessantly changing up the line combinations), etc. Now, because I like to be objective (um, sort of), here's one thing no one talks about: fatigue. We're really high on our postseason streak, but we never consider the possible disadvantages of having such a streak - such as the fact that we're always playing into at least the second round. Maybe I'm reaching, but that's the only sorta solid explanation I have for why the guys just flat-out s*** the bed on an almost regular basis. (I mean, aside from the business about the "bad water.") What I'm saying is I think our guys are generally more tired than other guys, because our season always goes at least halfway into the postseason. And then you add the Western Conference travel, our consistently veteran (read: old) roster, probably a little Franzen-esque arrogance ("The regular season is stupid. All these stupid bottom-feeder teams are stupid. Can we just fast-forward to the playoffs?"), the fact that we get checked a lot more than the average team (a consequence of our puck-possession system)...maybe we just give ourselves the night off every few games, sort of like a starting goalie who needs rest. Except, of course, we can't really do that. Or, we can, but we won't make the playoffs. Ultimate point being: getting younger is good.

Another thing: he's got a couple of goals. Which is as many as Franzen has. And that's while being considerably less comfortable and confident than Franzen. So there's that.

We're essentially a one-line team right now. Good thing we have all that depth up front!

Yeah, I dunno I'd feel comfortable saying the exploding thing is a relatively recent phenomenon. I think maybe we're just more attuned to it than we've ever been, what with the supensions and stuff.

I'm actually starting to wonder if Babs really has any big issue with Tatar. Maybe we've been reading things wrong.

I like hating on the Wings as much as the next LGWer. But, terrible though he's been, Weiss simply needs more time. He missed most of last season due to surgery, and he's making a quantum leap from the Panthers to the Wings. And - the big thing for me - he doesn't look AT ALL like the guy he was in Florida, so I think it's pretty clear that he's uncomfortable. I think we sort of take for granted how tough an adjustment it can be for a guy coming to the Wings from another NHL club. Most of the guys on this team, they've been playing Red Wings hockey with each other for some time now. Even Alfredsson, aside from being just an absurdly excellent hockey player, has the benefit of being able to lean on MacLean's system a bit, because there are a lot of similarities between his way and Babcock's way. At least wait until Game 20 before you decide he's the worst player you've ever seen and that Filppula was a God among men for us. (Does no one remember how often Flip was completely invisible?)

- WIN LOSE IT FOR ALFIE - I've a new name for these godawful Wings that we see every five games or so: The Detroit Tire Fires. Genius, right? - I am so incredibly bitter about this loss. Way to give all of Canada something to rub in the Wings' and their fans' collective face, you lazy bums - Isn't our EXTRAORDINARY VETERAN LEADERSHIP supposed to prevent this kind of thing from happening? Along with, like, third period meltdowns against the Phoenix Coyotes? - Melynk is so happy right now. Just think of that. And you owe it all to yourselves, Tire Fires - Terrible. Just terrible - Lundqvist isn't playing on Saturday, right? And he and the Rangers suck, right? Hey, there's another great should-win to drop. Remember: shoot straight into the chest from the perimeter and don't you dare make it to those juicy rebounds in time. Above all, make them look invincible

He's pretty good, no? Had he gone in the draft, he probably would've been in the top ten or fifteen or twenty, IMHO. So we basically got one of those awesome early first-rounders we never get, and without having to give up any assets.

And the year before that. And the year before that. And the year before that. And the y--actually, you could argue that it goes back at least as far as 2003 and the Mighty Ducks. Which is sort of ironic. We've had Homer, who was the best in front of the net. And there was Dino. But I can't remember a time when our team was, overrall, really good with going to the net, causing problems in the crease, all that blue collar stuff. We'd much rather fire wrist shots from the perimeter, etc. I'm hoping Mantha adds a "power" dimension to his game. As in, power-forward.

Probably not. And that's troubling.

RAFALSKI! Oh, did I say that out loud? I've decided to watch this game in my head.

Wake the f*** up, boys.

Kronner's sporting a "jaw shield."

I think they're two of our more offensive defensemen, but that kind of thing, like anything, comes in different shades. With Almqvist, I see him becoming (and he already strikes me as being) a Rafalski-type. Which I guess makes mentioning Sproul sort of pointless, in light of the original question. But I feel like he, along with Almqvist, could possibly complement DeKeyser really well. From what I've seen of him (and, admittedly, I've not seen a ton), he's more of a "pure" offensive defenseman, if that makes any sense. I guy who can rush the puck; lay the body on if, say, he activates himself on the forecheck (big frame); really, really fire the puck, etc. They're both gonna be big for us, IMHO. "Good for them, better for us."