Dabura

We need two of our guys to legally change their surnames, one to Badger, the other to Mushroom. Then ask Mr. Big Snake if he could drop the Big and just be Snake. Then we'd have the greatest gimmick line in the history of professional sports.

Flip could be a Flame for a season then return via free agency. But, really, we don't know that there's any truth to the story, and if there is, it might just be Feaster's initial demand, which you'd expect to be outrageous. Trading is negotiating; demands and offers can change any number of times. Ultimately, I don't see us landing Yandle or Bouwmeester. Yandle will probably go to Philly.

Best-case scenario, IMHO: we swing a not-entirely-outrageous trade for Yandle, and he persuades Doan to sign with us for not-entirely-outrageous coin & term. And "Uncle Gary" weeps.

Given this, why would it be a bad thing moving Franzen or Filppula (plus, of course, a young gun or two and a high pick) for a top-flight defenseman? We have a surplus of forwards, a couple young guys in the mix (Nyquist, Abdelkader), and a whole lot of young talent coming down the pipeline (Tatar, Sheahan, Jurco et al.) It's a different situation on the back end; the womb is barren.

We're desperate for any kind of news re: the enormous, gaping crater on our blue line. This Bouwmeester thread is 15 pages long and counting. It's been quiet on the Yandle front. (Actually, I think that might be the first "official" confirmation that Holland is at all interested in Yandle. For what that's worth.)

I guess I'm thinking Brunner might spark something in Franzen. No matter how I slice it, I don't like our top-6 or our top-4. DOOM & GLOOM!!!

I like Cleary in the top-6, but I don't like Sammy on the third line. My don't-like outweighs my like. (As you can see this is all very scientific.)

They should all be locked in a room together with no food or water. They can haz cheeseburgers when we can haz NHL season.

Franzen - Datsyuk - Brunner Filppula - Zetterberg - Samuelsson Bertuzzi - Helm - Cleary Miller - Abdelkader - Tootoo/Eaves Eaves/Tootoo, Nyquist prolly

Red Wings talking to Calgary Flames about making trade for veteran defenseman Jay Bouwmeester

Red Wings "have inquired" about Keith Yandle

Quit playing games with my heart!

Then again, there was that incident with the banana.

I think he was a Wings fan in his younger days. Someone run with this. Tell me it's gonna be ok.

We need a Wayne Simmonds.

The Predators Owners can't afford to lose their star player.

...pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, shot one-timer from the perimeter blocked by sprawling defenseman, pass, pass, pass...

Frustrating but true, friend. Frustrating but true. Still, I'd part with Franzen or Flip if it meant landing a first-line/top-pairing stud.

We have a lot of NHL players in disguise here at LGW. It's fun. Honestly, I think Tootoo might be the biggest surprise. I see him becoming a fan-favorite and spending a long time here in Detroit. Or else he flops and gets run out-o-town.

Having more righties should help. I don't deny that, and I understand the mechanics of it (e.g. more one-timer opportunities). However, this current roster probably loses against the Preds in the first round, same as the one that actually did lose.

Emmerton's saving grace is he's a center. But Abdelkader gets the nod before Emmerton. Eaves and Miller are each better and, though not centers, more valuable than Emmerton. I like Emmerton well enough. He seems like a good kid. (lolz, he's only a year younger than me.) Good wheels. Scored against the Preds. But he's right around the bottom of the totem pole. If I'm him, I'm hoping some of my bottom-6 brothers get shipped out.

Or hammered/hungover. Note the way his face seems to be falling apart.

Good, now we can get him ultra-cheap. GETTER DUN KEN :siren:

Don't get me wrong: we are definitely too soft, and I don't like that every ****** bag in the league knows that he can slam Z or D's face into the glass and, oh, we might just throw Todd Bertuzzi at you 24-48 hours later, and he probably won't win, and in [insert ****** bag]'s post-game presser, [****** bag] will be all "Well, yah know, they did what they had to do. I expected something and I was glad to get it out of the way so we could get on with the game and play some hockey. That's why we're all here" and, holy s***, Todd sure put the fear of God into him, etc. And, yeah, if you've got some ass clown lumberjacking your top center's wrists every time he touches the puck, you're probably going to want to send a message, as opposed to just pestering and pissing off and trash-talking. And, considering our luck with injuries, and our enormous depth on the back-end, and our all-Euro top-6, it might be worth being a little saltier thank usual with potential assailants. But if anyone is actually suggesting we dress a knuckle-dragger just because of some chippy stick action...

Fair point, but I don't really see it drastically changing the complexion of our forecheck and cycle in the postseason. Some new shot options, new angles - but the majority of the shots would probably still be taken from far out. Left-shot, right-shot - doesn't really matter if the whole reason you're being boxed out in the first place is that you're physically outclassed and lacking in drive and hunger and dirty, hard-nosed demolition men.