Dabura

This has gotta be the third or fourth time I've seen you knock Parise for his size (assuming it's Parise you're referring to). The Wings do need to get bigger - but this isn't some soft, smallish Euro we're talking about. Parise's 5'11 and a little under 200 pounds. He's like a cross between Helm and Datsyuk - and he scores in the playoffs. Brunner, on the other hand...I could do without this organization's collective hard-on for his type. But maybe that's unfair to him. I certainly hope so. And besides, as others have said, it's a zero-risk proposition.

Iginla's days are numbered. Parise's 27. Our top 6 is hurting for a legitimate goal-scorer and a legitimate power-forward. Parise and Perry (respectively) would be unreal. If there's any chance Perry could possibly be had here and now via trade, Holland should go for broke.

Emmerton is a god among schoolgirls, you don't know what you're talking about.

Realistic fantasy! (I'm afraid to do the numbers!) Parise - Datsyuk - Jones Lucic* - Zetterberg - Nyquist Bertuzzi - Helm - Franzen Prust - Abdelkader - Eaves Miller Lidstrom - Girardi** Kronwall - Wideman Ericsson - Quincey Smith * = Filppula + Cleary + Kindl ** = White + Emmerton + Draft pick FLAME ME BABY!

Getzlaf Perry Lucic Girardi Any of the above ftw plz kthx.

No. Then again, I can't speak for The Powers That Be.

I've heard he's (relatively) gritty.

Do we need to get bigger and tougher? Yes. Do we need a legitimate goal-scoring threat? Yes. Do we [insert any one of our numerous other issues]? Yes. So many people here seem to honestly believe it all boils down to one thing. "We lost to the Predators because [insert one thing]." I know we all have our axes to grind. I know we all have our pet gripes with the team (or else, with the people who have pet gripes with the team). But let's be fair and objective.

I think you're projecting.

He's typically listed as 6'2, I think. He was (is?) a fairly big guy. With you on all counts, though I do think the talent - re: perimeter shots - is perhaps not quite where it once was (say, e.g., back when we had Hull and Shanny). But it's basically a moot point. Like you said, we need options. A bag of tricks with only one trick in it is not a bag of tricks, is not tricky. "Hey guys, let's try to play some of that ineffectual perimeter patty-cake that always works so well against the big, physical, defense-oriented, hot-goalie-riding teams. Remember: aim for the logo on the chest!" Square peg, round hole. Square peg, round hole. System error. 1010.

I think we very possibly were. Granted, we lost for a number of reasons. (Or, put another way, we sucked on a number of fronts.) But having a guy like Parise in the mix would've made life much easier for us and helped the cause so much.

I wasn't yet talking about Semin in the part of my reply that you quoted. But, s*** - I won't pretend I'm not surprised and impressed @ those numbers. (They really are almost identical.) And I won't try to cover myself after the fact and say I was really talking more about all the stuff that doesn't show up on the score-sheet. (I was indeed thinking mainly in terms of about goals, assists, points.) All things considered, though, I think it's definitely fair to say that Parise is the all-around 'clutchier' playoff performer. With Semin, you're getting one thing and one thing only: goals and assists. Parise brings a boatload more to the fold.

In the press box. (Wow, it didn't sound that cold in my head.) Our bottom lines needs to be much better. The third line will almost certainly be Bertuzzi-Helm-Cleary. That's a bit better. But a bit is just a bit; it's not a whole lot. So it's largely, if not mostly, on our fourth line to elevate the bottom 6. Miller-Abdelkader-Eaves - replace Miller with a guy like Prust, swap out Abdelkader for one of the guys I've mentioned (or anyone else who fits the bill), and keep Eaves. (Maybe swap out Eaves for Nyquist. Or they could have a rotation thing, I dunno.)

Not gonna comment on Tatar, as I haven't seen enough of the guy to have a truly informed take on him. Parise is 5'11, 195. His game's not unlike Helm's - and he's good for ~30 goals a season and clutch posteason performance. Semin's lazy, often half-interested (at best), not physical, not good for use on the PP or PK - it's a long list. We want to get less lazy, see less floating, be more engaged and aggressive on the forecheck & backcheck and in the corners and in front of the opposition's net, be more defensively responsible, be more committed to winning. We don't want Semin.

Simply put: I don't like Abdelkader as our fourth-line center.

Feds was a reasonably big 6'3, if memory serves. Like you said, not a true power-forward - but he was very strong, sturdy, solid on his feet, and very capable physically. There are, I think, a number of reasons why we generally don't drive the net. A big one (IMO) is the puck-possession game we play. Driving the net means the guy who's on net duty is bringing the puck to the crease himself. The way we play, on the other hand, our net presence is typically for setting up screens and pursuing rebounds. In this context, driving the net is - sort of ridiculously - a somewhat rash, selfish, immature play, because we're all about establishing the cycle and being patient and poised while we try to find the right perimeter shot. I have issues with this, but that's the system, and the system dictates the makeup of the roster, and when you've got a roster with all of four or five guys that are capable of driving the net, and only maybe two of them (at best) are doing it on a consistent basis, you're not going to change the system. (Hello self-reinforcing cycle thing.)

Ridiculous, completely unjustifiable overpayment is the norm these days. Add to that the fact that this UFA pool is mighty thin, and you can expect 5 million at the very, very least. Not putting you down. You're being totally reasonable. It's just, Reason up and left the NHL many moons ago.

Feds was a very, very rare package. Generally, we don't drive the net. And so, we lose in five games to Nashville in the first round. Parise drives. He's no power-forward, of course - but he doesn't shy away from the corners and crease. He really brings it, not unlike Helm.

Nyquist or Tatar could maybe sub for Hudler, or for Bertuzzi (as he's almost certainly playing on the third line next season) - but they're not viable alternatives to a guy like Parise. We need an elite goal-scorer, one with a solid overall game (hence no to Semin). Beyond Parise, there's no one in this UFA pool who fits the bill. (I like David Jones...as a Hudler upgrade.) So we'd have to trade. Which isn't happening. So we need Parise. I'm fully expecting him to fetch at least 6 million.

Dats is the one guy I might have reservations about. But I think I'd do it.

No to Semin. Holland needs to go all in for Parise. He's the top priority.

Fixed your emoticon for you.

I would take Dustin Brown over anyone on our team.

I was in the doghouse at the time. And we were all drunk. kipwinger, We could use a package like Gaustad's on the fourth line. We're smallish down the middle. While not The Messiah, he has a pretty solid all-around game. He can fight. He gave us problems in the Nashville series. I'm not one of the LGWers who was talking him up around the trade deadline. This is the first time I've mentioned him - and you'll notice I've offered several other options for the fourth-line center slot (which DOES need to be upgraded). They are: Jason Arnott, Chris Kelly, Zenon Konopka, and some gritty guy I found under a rock.

According to my girlfriend, and two of her girl friends. Dreaminess wins Cups.