Dabura

That's a cool print. I think the text says, "Great Hockey Stories Never Grow Old," if that helps.

Yep, you're right. Brain fart on my part.

Cool. Wish there were pics...

: l

It's not just "OMG Hossa fans." Ask ten random hockey fans who they'd rather have on their team, straight-up: Marian Hossa or Johan Franzen. Odds are they'd all pick the former. Hossa's just a more productive, consistent, well-rounded, and overall valuable player. I get what you're saying about filling roles, but regardless of Homer's age or what have you, you simply don't sacrifice a Hossa-type for a Mule-type if you can avoid it. Consider this: with all of the world-class skill between Datsyuk and Zetterberg, Hossa is a more lethal, proven goal-scorer than either of those two, and he's probably right around the third-best two-way player in the league, behind only Z and D. And he hasn't had the benefit of playing on the Red Wings his entire career like the other two have. And he's Mule's age. And he's only an inch shorter than Mule. And he's just as strong on his skates, described as more than one player as being "like a freight train" when he gets going -- which often entails crashing the net. Mule is good, and valuable, but not that good and valuable. You'll see.

Because an expendable player won't command the kind of money that Franzen probably will. Sure, Kenny could sacrifice Sammy, but that alone isn't going to free up enough cap room. Realistically, Hank's probably going to have a great season, Hossa's probably going to have a breakout season, and Mule's probably going to have a pretty strong season (not amazing, but solid nonetheless). Hank will probably "take a hit" for the team when it comes time to re-negotiate; he's pretty much said as much, and, fair or not, it's expected of him by virtue of the way this franchise does business. Hossa will need to be talked down a little. Before he was traded to the Pens, he said the one thing he cared about above all else was being part of a perennial contender, preferably the best one of the bunch. When he had the chance to prove it, he did, coming here for considerably less -- in terms of both money and job security -- than what several other teams were offering him. That says to me that at this stage in his career winning really is his top priority, and that money is, to a point, a secondary consideration. The guy's gotten a bad rap practically his entire career, and for no good reason. Now he has a chance to really showcase his talent and win it all. And not just this season, but, conceivably, for as long as he stays. I think the Wings will go all the way this season and he'll be content to hike his price down if it means sticking around and keeping the team around him as competitive as possible. Mule can't keep up his pace. We saw him cool off as the Cup run wound down and I think that's where we'll find him this season: no longer a monster goal-scorer, but highly valuable as a more dynamic Homer, good for around 30 goals. He could be justified in asking for a pretty hefty sum come negotiation time, but I think he likes it enough here to come down if need be. All in all, if this team performs as well as it's built to perform, Kenny really shouldn't have to play hardball with these guys.

Did some research -- Hossa's just shy of being a year younger than Mule.

Sounds more to me like bias. Which is fine -- myself, I'm a huge Franzen fan. I was in the minority of LGWers who said he was worth keeping when he was slumping early last season. But, bottom line, if you have a straight-up choice between him and Hossa, you take Hossa. It's a no-brainer. Mule's had a revelatory half a season. Barring the grace of God, he won't continue that pace. Hossa's been one of the most consistently effective and dependable scorers in the game since his rookie season. He's the same age as Mule; he's not much smaller; he's faster; he plays a better defensive game (I'd put him right up there with Datsyuk and Zetterberg in terms of two-way ability); he's smarter; he's shiftier; his production is, like I said, a known, whereas Mule is a question mark; and he's shown that he's willing to put winning ahead of money in coming here. Hossa is a franchise player, Mule is not. The one advantage Mule has is his ability and willingness to crash the crease, a la Homer. Again, though, Holland seems set on retaining "the big 3," so we'll see.

Howard. There's really no question at this point.

I'm convinced that anyone who would take Mule over Hossa has never actually seen Hossa play.

I did, thanks. Hank just won the Conn Smythe. Kenny has been quietly building the team -- present and future -- around him for several seasons now, and Babs has been grooming him to shoulder the weight of the captaincy when Nick decides to hang 'em up. He's done nothing but deliver, season in and season out. Losing time to his back wouldn't change much, especially in an organization that preaches familial loyalty above all else. Just look at Kronwall. Having said this, Kenny has said in no uncertain times that his plan is to retain both Hank and Hossa. And it can conceivably be done.

Don't forget Dom!!

I was in favor of putting Hossa on the second line, but lining him up with Datsyuk and Homer makes perfect sense. Between Hossa, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg (who all play similarly shifty, defensively responsible games), Hossa has the best raw goal-scoring abilities and Datsyuk has the best playmaking abilities. It's potentially one of the all-time great dynamic duos we're looking at.

The Habs have some grinders. That's great. The Wings went toe-to-toe with the Flames, Sharks and Ducks in succession two seasons ago -- and this current lineup is arguably even tougher than that one. What you still don't seem to understand is that team toughness is not measured simply by the number of "tough guys" you have; it's a team-wide thing, and the Wings have their number there.

Like I said in our other Hossa discussion, stop pulling s*** out of your ass. Hossa's postseason track record is right on par with Datsyuk's, in terms of point production. Moreover, he's been traded. A "mercenary" in a hockey context is a free agent who, more often than not, chases money above all else. That's not Hossa. Hossa's infinitely more valuable and proven than Franzen. Mule plays a good game in front of the net. Hossa is a better goal-scorer, has a better two-way game, is just as fast, is only one inch shorter, etc.

It'll be a cold day in hell before Holland courts Hossa over Zetterberg. Regardless of how well Hossa performs (and he will perform), Zetterberg is the future face of the Red Wings.

Terrible idea.

Like I've said before, the humor in all this is that Radulov isn't even a product of the Russian hockey machine -- he came out of the North American system. All this talk about the U.S. stealing Russian players certainly doesn't apply in his case, and really, it hasn't been a big issue for a long time now. If the KHL wants "vengeance" or whatever, they're gonna have to do a lot better than Jagr and some scrubs. Also, lol @ Radulov.

Also, for the love of all things holy: shut up, GMR. The Habs are soft as butter. The Wings would absolutely demolish them.

I think the real question here is, How many decades will this dynasty span?

I'm one of the few people in the world who actually likes their normal color scheme, so...eh. It's alright.

God this team is going to be sick.

Curiouser and curiouser...

Not to be a downer, but this isn't really news. Hank is going to be a Wing for a long time, that's a given. He's the future face of the franchise. The question is how deep his commitment to the franchise runs -- i.e., how much room is he going to give Kenny in regards to assembling the team around him? He's a class act who obviously wants to stay here and who now knows the feeling of ultimate glory (as opposed to personal victory), so I expect him to "let" Kenny try to get a feel for where guys like Mule and Hossa stand before getting down to his own contract -- because, of course, his own contract could make or break those guys' respective futures here. That's a big reason why I'm not so quick to write Hossa off as a one-year pickup...

Hossa. (OMG) Don't bank on it.