Dabura

He deserves to be making the big bucks, so I wouldn't hold it against him.

Well, I'm sorry to hear that, because it's not. As I've said, offense is fundamentally important, but defense is the foundation on which, ideally, everything is built. That some teams have managed to win the Cup with s***ty defensive squads doesn't change this notion -- it just means some teams have managed to win the Cup with s***ty defensive squads. (Aside: how many of those teams steamrolled over rock-solid blue lines en route to their respective titles?) Again, ask any coach in the NHL which they'd rather build a serious Cup run on, offense or defense. I guarantee you every single one would say defense. I'll also reference this past SCF series again. Both teams boasted explosive firepower upfront, the Pens perhaps having a slight edge in terms of raw scoring ability. Both teams boasted good goaltending, the Pens perhaps having a slight edge there as well. Both teams boasted lethal power plays, both teams boasted lauded coaches, both teams were fantastic at home and good on the road. The difference-maker was defense; the Wings, to a man, played it well, while the Pens didn't. Hossa explicitly said so in the middle of the series, admitting that it was costing the Pens the series. Crosby helped the jury put the case to rest when he bitched out Hank for, basically, handing his ass to him through consistently stellar and consistently stifling two-way play. Crosby is a one-dimensional player at this stage in his career -- all offense, no defense, no PK time. His game will round out with time. In the here and now, however, calling him the best overall player in the world despite his one-dimensional package is lame. Most explosive and dangerous scorer? Quite possibly. But Zetterberg is the better overall player right now, by virtue of his rounded set of assets. Nick Lidstrom is on another planet altogether. No, he's not going to score 50 goals in a season, but let's turn that offense-first bias on its head and ask if Crosby, Malkin or Ovechkin is going to do what he does any time soon. Last I checked, Nick had put Evgeni Malkin's face on a milk carton and helped reduce Sidney "Christ" Crosby to tears. He's one of the three best defensemen to ever play the game. He's one of the very best players to ever play the game, period. He sees the ice and thinks like no one else in the game today. He can shut down any player in the league -- anytime, anywhere. He anchors the PP, he anchors the PK, he puts up points, he wins Cups -- the guy's a legend. A guy like Ovechkin is simply not on par right now.

What, are you trying to argue that they did it without defense? Because I'm certainly not arguing they did it without offense. Offense is important, but the backbone of any good system is team defense. Why else would Datsyuk and Zetterberg be placing such an emphasis on two-way play? Walk up to any coach in the National Hockey League -- even the ones overseeing defense-starved units -- and ask him whether the foundation of a Cup-winning team should be offense or defense. Any and every coach would pick the latter, especially after seeing this Wings team storm through the postseason and realizing the teams that arguably gave it the most trouble -- the Preds and Stars -- play tight defensive games. Just look at the Sharks: they know they've got offensive firepower, but they also know they keep coming up short despite it. Enter defense-minded Todd McLellan. Or what, are the Sharks trapped in this "Wings bubble" you keep referring to? lol

Yes, you can. This is Hockey 101. Thankfully, we have a very fresh example to work off here: the Pens' collapse in the SCF. Their meltdown serves as a perfect example of the notion that offensive firepower can only get you so far, even with a hot goalie. Their two biggest stars are offensive dynamos, but they, as is symptomatic of the entire Pens team, don't know how to play defense. That's how Hank was able to embarrass Crosby, and that's why Crosby bitched out Hank -- not because Hank was lighting the lamp more often than Crosby, but because the gaping hole in Crosby's game had been exposed and he was now quite clearly not the best overall player in the series -- let alone the world. (The guy doesn't even play on the PK. In my mind, PK work is a prerequisite for "best player in the world" consideration.) And that's saying nothing of Malkin's disappearing act. For all of the talk about his explosive goal-scoring game, he was rendered completely useless -- in a few instances, even a liability -- by a stifling defensive system. He completely disappeared. Poof, gone. Hossa, being the Pens' best two-way forward (and, by no coincidence, the biggest threat to the Wings in the series) summed it up nicely when he said that the Wings were owning his team because they were playing a much better defensive game. There was no ambiguity, no "Well, there are a lot of different ways you can go about winning" copout lines. He was owning up to what everyone student of the game knows: defense is paramount. Naturally, then, defense is everything to the Wings. Their entire "puck-possession" system depends first and foremost on the D -- specifically, on the D's ability to move the puck (protecting the net being a given, of course). To that end, management decided it wasn't enough to have living legend Nick Lidstrom, elite veteran Brian Rafalski, and hot up-and-comer Niklas "Nick Jr." Kronwall in the top-4, passing up on all the forwards at the trade deadline in favor of a second-pairing scrub. Why? Because defense is paramount, and a solid top-4 is the engine of any good defensive machine. Babcock knows it, management knows it, and all the teams the Wings steamrolled over en route to the Cup certainly know it now. Defense is everything. It's not even up for debate.

Honestly, if he should be emulating anyone right now, it's Hank. The Flip-Dats comparison is really juicy, but ultimately, Datsyuk is a freak of nature, an anomaly; you can only go so far in emulating him before realizing the guy is able to do what he does because...well, he's just something else. Flip already has wizard hands and good takeaway skills. What he needs now, especially as a checking-line center, is a tenacious, rounded defensive game. Between Hank and Datsyuk, it's a toss-up as to who the better two-way player is -- but in terms of tenacity, Hank has the edge (see: "Hank the Tank").

This. If we're going to go off on players, we can do a lot better than Sammy. Sammy can play on the second line and score. Mac, on the other hand, can barely stay on the fourth.

Senseless barbs? No, I'll cut right to the chase: you're a hack job. Good hockey rests on the foundation of good defense. It's a cliche now, but: offense wins games, defense wins championships. Anyone who knows hockey knows this and therefore knows the true value of a guy like Nick Lidstrom -- just ask the Pens. It's no coincidence that guys like Stevie Y and Feds became infinitely more lauded players when they committed themselves to more defense-oriented play.

I'm not saying he didn't have his reasons. What I'm saying is that this isn't the clear-cut victory some people are making it out to be. Flipping off the NHL and siding with KHL, all the while spewing pro-Red Army vitriol when you're not even a product of said program, is not smart business. He may make out like a bandit for the rest of his career, but it's highly unlikely. And seeing as how he's apparently trying as hard as he can to burn his bridges with the NHL and North American Hockey at large, he can't expect to be bailed out should he hit a wall over there in Abramovich Land.

Forwards get their money and glory from racking up points. They're more likely to get points against Chara and Phaneuf and Pronger than they are Lidstrom. So, if given the options of seeing one of the aforementioned three -- who will hit, but will have lapses and leave holes open -- or Nick Lidstrom -- who can go an entire series without making a single mistake -- in a best of seven series, most forwards would pick the former, guaranteed. Doesn't matter who you are -- if you don't play at 150%, Nick will shut you down. That's a painful thought -- more so than any Phanuef hit.

Huzzah! Muchas gracias!

That's enough anti-enforcing out of you.

Seriously! I was expecting pics. Lots of them.

Your values are wack.

Gotta consider the big picture, though. While players like Radulov may think they've got it made in the KHL, the fact of the matter is this: the NHL is The Big Time, and the KHL is not -- and will never be. With all that that that entails, Radulov is, despite his fatter contract, taking a big risk with his career at large by flipping off the NHL. As Kp-Wings pointed out, the really funny thing about this story is that Radulov, for all his nationalistic, anti-NHL blathering, is a product of North American Hockey. If he thinks he's going to be "taken care of" just because he's a Russian with a thorn in his side, he could very well be in for a rude awakening.

If you can arrange it so they all say "OMG HOSSA" I will buy everyone here a beer.

+1 Poile

You're right, egroen -- #6 is more fair. About the Stuart thing...I doubt a formal "deal" was put in place. Most likely, Kenny sat down with him and said something to the effect of "If you come back, you need to come back for *x amount* and you need to be open to and prepared for the possibility that you will be moved if *such and such a thing* happens." Lilja probably agreed because -- well, s***, it's the Detroit Red Wings. Granted, that's all speculation. But for Kenny to have come out and said straight-up that Lilja was signed in anticipation of Start potentially walking...I'd be willing to bet the two did some talking. That's partially why I don't think Lilja necessarily has to be thoroughly outplayed in training camp in order to be shipped. But ultimately: whatever happens, happens. If Lilja stays, I won't flip out, because he does bring positive assets to the table. But I feel there are smarter options.

Re: Crosby Did anyone actually watch the SCF?

Doesn't really contradict anything I said.

We now know Chelios will be getting something "slightly less" than 850. Anyone who thought he would get less than 560 was dreaming. I hear what you're saying about Lilja, NN, but for every one of his positive points, there's a negative one. And let's not forget: Kenny himself said in no uncertain terms that Lilja was brought back to the fold as Stuart insurance, not because he's "vital to the success of the PK," or "a tremendous shot-blocker," or "a viking warrior," etc. Stuart re-signed, and there's currently a logjam on the back end and a cap issue. Unless Kenny was lying about Lilja being Stuart insurance, or was being honest and has simply had a big change of heart, I'd expect Lilja to get serious attention as the potential odd-man-out at training camp -- especially with Chelios coming back at close to 850. Sammy has done nothing but step up when called upon, putting up good numbers on the second line when he is, in fact, a checking-line center by make. Now he's being bumped down to the line he's supposed to be on, one that is, largely thanks to him, looking more like a secondary scoring line than a checking line. Which is great, and is exactly the kind of depth this organization is all about. I'm not terribly fond of Lebda, but he's a good value at 650. Lilja is slated to get paid 1.25 to be a #7/#8 guy and to serve as insurance should Stuart (who has re-signed) not re-sign. He'll help the PK -- when he's not a million-dollar healthy scratch.

This. They may be better this season, but they haven't made the playoffs in ages and they're certainly not a lock for it this season -- let alone a serious postseason threat like Dallas and SJ.

Howard's still the future #1, but it would be better for his development and safer for the team for him to play another season in GR. I don't think Kenny is giving lip service -- he really intends to have Howard on the team next year. Which is a perfectly reasonable plan.

Room. If Lilja stays put, Kenny would have to move a defenseman and a forward in order to clear up the necessary cap space. As good a PKer as he may be, he's not worth Lebda and Sammy.

Lilja is not substantially better than Lebda or any of the other logjam guys. This is an issue because money is an issue. The PK won't collapse if he leaves.