Dabura

He shouldn't be in this position, though. That's the point. The Kings' blue line wasn't out-of-this-world spectacular, but it didn't need to be. The whole team was, to man, completely committed to winning. They played tremendously tight hockey. They played lights-out. We aren't the same. We need a fairly out-of-this-world blue line to offset our scoring lines' inevitable postseason struggles.

Ah, yes, the "spoiled fans" angle. We have good talent in the pipeline. If that's the reason Holland has allowed our D corps to fall into mediocrity, well, that's all kinds of wack.

"Global smarming."

Hey, guys, guess what: Both Bettman and the owners are responsible for creating "the environment." BOOM LOST

We've lost Rafalski, Stuart, Lidstrom. Here is our blue line, as it currently stands: Kronwall - White Quincey - Ericsson Smith - Colaiacovo Kindl That's inexcusable - especially for 1) the best GM in the league, and, frankly, 2) The Detroit Effing Red Wings. Saying, "Well, I don't really see any deals that could've been made. And looking at the list of the guys who were dealt...." isn't really a solid counterargument. Ken Holland deals in magic; his reputation (as the best GM in the league, a genius, etc.) is built largely on his ability to pull the perfect deal seemingly out of thin air and give this team exactly what it needs, often filling a hole everyone knows was there but no one reasonably believed could be filled - and all for good coin and term (usually). That he hasn't done so re: our blue line (and he hasn't) indicates to me that he's in La La Land, not that there hasn't been a single worthwhile deal he could've made over the past 3-4 seasons (come on, man). To be clear: I'm not tearing him down for losing the Suter sweepstakes. I'm not tearing him down at all, really. I'm just pointing out an extremely uncharacteristic lapse in, well, call it "GM smarts." Though, yeah - there is that fear in the back of my mind that it's more than a lapse.... P.S. Top GMs don't get points for trying.

Holland is the best GM in the league. That's why our D situation really irks me.

Still.

(Belated response, sorry.) The "Who?" game is lame. I don't know who Kenny should've-would've-could've picked had his head not been inserted firmly up his arse. (Rafalski, Stuart, Lidstrom. And our top-4 at present is, what, Kronwall-White--Quincey-Ericsson? Seriously?)

Doesn't mean you don't bring someone in. And I don't mean Carlo Colaiacovo.

Was totally unprepared for Lidstrom's retirement. Shouldn't have had to jump through hoops for Suter in the first place.

P.S. How could anyone not trust this man???

For the record, I don't think the players are blameless. And I don't think Bettman is the sole cause of this lockout. And I don't think axing Bettman will change much in the way of owner-player relations. I do think this is an owners' lockout. I do think this is a "Hi, we want to screw you over in every possible way, and to as great an extent as possible. Please sign here, here, and here. Then we can all be friends again" situation - the third under Bettman's reign. And I do think 1) there's something wrong with that, 2) the blame for all this bulls*** rests more on the shoulders of the Commissioner and the owners.

Dude, practically everything you say is anti-NHLPA. Now, that doesn't make you a "turncoat" - but if you're gonna sit here and say "No one understands that it's not about being pro-Bettman or pro-Union"...I don't know what to say. This post will probably be deleted anyway. I get the hate for the players, I guess. But let's be honest: Bettman and the owners are the evil ones here.

Also used in every movie preview made during the 90s.

Go away, Gary. No one likes you.

Yo ho, yo ho, an owner's life for me.

This just in - the wind blew; Datsyuk expected to miss eight months with shattered forehead.

Stupid. But I'll reserve super-harsh will-someone-please-think-of-the-children judgment. Maybe he has, y'know...*serious issues*. Alcoholism is a disease. But, granted, some people are just plain stupid. I hope that's not the case here - but, like I said, reserving judgment. "Superdrunk" is probably the best word ever. This much is certain.

I think I've found the problem.

How does one pronounce "Mrazek"?

Pass on Yandle, IMHO. We need a solid defensive defenseman, ideally a bruising sty-at-homer with high-end skillz (to pay the billz). Unrelated but more relevant to the topic - I can't wait to see Nyquist, Brunner, and Mrazek on the same team. That team being the Wings.

Is he or is he not?

What is this "Well, if you're going to criticize Bettman, you have to hit D. Fehr with the same" business? No, I don't; Bettman is a known evil, a master manipulator.

I suspect it's the main reason why he retired.

Progress = The new static?