Dabura

lol

For anyone who's surprised by the commentators' flaming bias, Don't be. The Habs are this season's "hot team," and their fans and their homer announcers hate the Wings because the Wings actually have substance, whereas the Habs don't. And they all know it.

I've never been too big on Hudler (no pun intended), but there's no denying his production. He's got talent and he's done things with it with limited playing time.

GMR.

With the Pens imploding, the Habs may very well come out of the East. At the very least, they're the new Bandwagon Team. I hope the Wings destroy them tonight. True, it's only an exhibition match, but a statement can be made.

1. Sammy is 31. 31 is not "aging." Talk about disregarding people's points -- you're acting as if you still think he's 37, despite the fact that about 5 different people have called you out on that completely inaccurate statement. 2. Re: "porous" -- if you're going to steal vocab words from you, at least be smart about how you use them. If Sammy were a "porous winger," he'd have s*** stats and play a s*** game. 40 points, a +21 ranking, strong two-way play, and a stolen game in the SCF =/= "porous winger." You might have a stronger case if he were making something like $3 million, but he's making close to half of that. Which is what we call a "bargain." Keep lining 'em up -- I'll keep knocking 'em down.

And yet he somehow managed to rack up 40 points and a +21 ranking, and come up big in the SCF -- all while playing for $1.2m. There's no objectivity to your argument, it's just "Blah blah blah he looked at my mom kinda funny this one time blah blah blah." I know you don't truly care about "the future" because you obviously haven't thought this stuff through. Abdelkader would be an unequivocal downgrade at this point in time. Leino, for all the raw talent he has, would probably be a downgrade at this point in time. And for what? So management can say, "We're embracing the future!"? Gimme a break! Half of "embracing the future" is about fostering legitimate *depth* on the *depth* chart. You cut Sammy loose (for no good reason) and suddenly you're cutting into your depth (for no good reason). Moreover, in response to this "Sammy has peaked" argument: don't be so sure. Like I've said probably half a dozen times already, Sammy has been playing a role he's not really built to play: that of a top-6 scorer. And he's delivered despite that. Now he's going to be playing a role he's much more comfortable in. Do the math.

Nick's a pretty smart guy. It's probably a decoy house. And decoy family.

He also hasn't done much of anything, period. Although he was pretty stellar in the playoffs.

Two words: Emerald Nuts. Or, alternately, three words: UK TV sucks.

I wish I made 7 million a year.

Which is why I'm basically calling you a fool. Opinions are great, but you know what's even better? Informed opinions, or opinions with real weight behind them. What you're saying -- essentially, "I don't like Sammy. So it's not advantageous to keep him around" -- is not a good fundamental argument, and all the supporting evidence you've been using is porous at best. There is no argument for him being a defensive liability; he was signed on as a defensive specialist and he's lived up to that tag, as evidence by his stats and overall play. There is no argument for him not being a reliable point-producer; he racked up 40 points last year and stole a game for his team in the SCF. There is no argument for him not being able to play the role of a defensively responsible checking-line forward; it's the role he's best-suited for and he proved it with an exclamation point while playing with Drake and Draper. There is no argument for him being significantly overpaid; $1.2 is a steal for what he brings to the table. There is no argument for him being a waste of a roster spot; right now he's more valuable than Mac or Maltby or Downey or Kopecky, and I dare say his defensive game isn't exactly the worst of all the top-12, even top-6 players. All there is is "I don't really like him." Well, congrats. No one with half a brain is realistically expecting Abdelkader to be ready to play on the third line this season, let alone bring more to the table this season than what Sammy would bring. Why the Wings would feel the need to rush him in and cut Sammy loose with just a year left on his contract is beyond me. Leino is likely a "project"; he's got a ton of raw talent and immense potential (like I said, I've seen this guy play), but pound for pound, Sammy is the better choice this season. Unless Leino has some sort of "I play with the Wings this season or I never play NA hockey again" clause in his contract, the Wings wouldn't exactly be hurting themselves by sticking him in GR for the season -- whereas on the flipside, cutting Sammy loose and replacing him with Leino might not (read: very likely would not) pan out.

Has Holland considered moving Sammy? Surely. Is he still considering moving Sammy? Quite possibly. Will he ultimately move Sammy? Don't count on it. This team, this organization is built on familial loyalty. Sammy, a checking-line forward who's not even a product of the NA hockey system, was asked to overachieve like mad and rack up of a ton of points on the Wing's secondary scoring line, all for only $1.2m -- relative peanuts for his job. He followed orders and delivered. Now he's being cast in the role he was born to play, a role that's going to go a pretty long way in making the Wings' top-12 attack a very dynamic, dangerous one. Replacing him with Justin Abdelkader would weaken the top-12 corps. Replacing him with Leino would not be prudent. Having said what I've said about loyalty, I don't expect Maltby to be shipped. Odds are, management and Babs are going to say to themselves something like "Look, we have promising youngsters, but Samuelsson is the safer bet. There's no rush with a guy like Abdelkader. No one expects him to be on the team this season. Leino can wait -- he's still new to NA hockey anyway. As far as getting under the cap, it would make more sense to, say, cut Lilja free than to cut, say, Samuelsson and Lebda."

I know, but even in terms of cap space, gutting Sammy doesn't make much sense -- and certainly not for a couple of the reasons you seemed to be implying, such as Sammy's role on the PP being his defining contribution right now, which it's not. Unless I was reading you wrong. Either way, my points still stand.

Neither Ville Leino nor Justin Abdelkader is going to replace Sammy this season. Those guys are gunning for a spot on the energy line, and they may very well not even make the cut this season. Sammy has secured a spot on the checking line. The swap wouldn't make sense from a tactical standpoint. Further, Sammy may not be playing on the second line, but that doesn't suddenly make him totally expendable. He -- a guy who did just fine on a secondary scoring line but is actually a checker by make -- is going to help make the checking line a very dynamic one, one that is very responsible in the defensive zone, but also very effective and very dangerous in the o-zone. That's called depth, the proven kind that you can rely on -- as opposed to, for example, sticking Leino on the second line just because you can. Bottom line, the Sammy hate is old and inane. We might as well be trashing racial minorities. Of the players "on the roster now," Maltby is looking like the weakest link.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself: 40 points, a +21 rating, and overall strong defensive work is a good deal for what he's getting paid. And, again, now he's going to be playing a role he's actually comfortable with. If someone's going to go based on perceived uselessness, start with a guy like Mac and work from there.

Sounds like Leino's making a really strong push. Good for him.

Hossa has six 30-goal seasons to his credit and two more 29-goal seasons. The rest of the Red Wings combined have six 30-goals seasons and one 29-goal season. pwnd

Except he doesn't suck in the o-zone. Again, check his numbers. Not bad for someone who's supposedly dead weight.

The "equivalent" of what Downey did, in terms of my stairs metaphor, would be me 1) seeing you at the top of a flight of stairs, slightly off balance and with your back to me, and 2) nudging you, because, yeah, maybe you'll break your neck, but s***, I'm just so pumped up that I can't be expected to act carefully and logically in this situation. But back to Leino...

Less marketable imo.

I like.

So if I shove you down a flight of stairs and you only scrape your knee, you'd laugh it off and say, "No harm, no foul"? Good to know.

I don't buy that. The Wings were moments away from eliminating the Ducks 4-2 in '07 (does no one remember the 5-0 rout?) -- and that was a better Ducks team and worse Wings team than what we're looking at this season. I'm confident that if this Wings team faced the current Ducks in the playoffs, they'd light Giggy's ass up. If the Wings should be worried about anyone, it's the Stars and Sharks. And hell, why not: the Preds. But wait, what am I saying? The Blackhawks are on the rise!!!

Speak for yourself. I have ninjas EVERYWHERE.