Dabura

What a s*** organization. I mean really.

Again I say: Sammy is a sold third-line option, as he's a checking forward at heart. He proved this with an exclamation point when he played with Drake and Draper. He's not cut out to be a scoring force -- that's why he "struggles" on the second line. Again I say: Hudler probably "deserves" second-line minutes, but Babs won't give them to him should Flip return. And that would be the right call. The way I see it, the line should be Franzen-Flip-Hossa. Then you've got a demolition man (Franzen), a lights-out scorer (Hossa), and -- crucially -- a playmaker in Flip. Hudler has a good game, maybe even better than Flip's at this point in time. But Flip is the better setup man. He and Hossa could be an absurdly dangerous duo.

I honestly think it'll be Larry Murphy.

Crymson's a lot of fun at parties.

I don't think he should be handed the spot, but overall I agree with you. I loved watching this guy at work; he plays a simple, by-the-numbers game with tenacity and consistency. And yeah, he's fast as hell.

Sammy on the 3rd, Hudler on the 4th FTW. Sammy is a checking-line forward. He proved that playing on a line with Draper and Drake. Hudler would be a second-line player on a lot of other rosters, but right now, given the Wings' personnel, putting him on the fourth would make the most sense (assuming Flip comes back). He gives that line a scoring threat. In tight games, a slight edge like that (i.e., having a fourth line that's more dangerous than the opposing fourth line) can be the difference between winning and losing.

Well, I just mean on a personal level -- both are great guys, great for the locker room. But, ultimately, not top priorities.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I fail to see how signing Downey and Mac is a huge priority. Isn't Kenny looking to "carry an enforcer"? Logic would suggest the person for the job would be Downey or Mac, but Kenny could just as easily be looking to bring someone in from the outside. Either way, neither Downey nor Mac was an essential part of this Cup run. That sounds terrible, but it's true.

Fixed it for you. I'd like a two-year deal for Flip. As much potential as he has, giving him a big long-term deal at this point in time would be ill-advised, imo.

If there was no money to be made, he would've given up four years ago.

Sammy should play on the third, and I imagine he will.

Darren Motherf***ing Helm. Abdelkader isn't ready. Leino will probably need time to adjust to the North American game. Downey is good for about 80 seconds a game. Mac is old and slow, and not much of an enforcer. Kopecky is Kopecky....

And the one after that.

Damn. That would be all kinds of PWN.

Once again: that's a given, and everyone here recognizes it. As such, using it in a line of argumentation is just lame. When someone says, "When I wake up tomorrow..." do you cut him off and ask, "Who's to say you're going to be alive tomorrow?" If someone tells you, "OK, I'll call you in 10 minutes. Don't do anything until then," do you say, "I'm not committing to that! So much can happen in 10 minutes!"? We get it -- the Wings are not a true lock, as there's no such thing as a true lock in this context, maybe even in life in general. But you know what? This is a message board devoted primarily to the Wings, and our Wings just beat the stuffing out of "The Most Dangerous Team in the NHL," and then went and signed that team's most dangerous player in the SCF -- all while likely retaining all of the championship squad's most essential pieces (Flip pending). In other words, the Wings are all about the EPIC PWN right now. I see no problem with Wings fans being all about ludicrous, cocksure celebration of this fact, as that kind of stuff is an inherent and essential part of fan cultures like this one. Now, I can understand respecting superstitious beliefs -- that's why I didn't fly off the handle during this past run when everyone and his mother seemed bent on curtailing "gratuitous" optimism/confidence. But slamming folks just because "Well, you know, Chicago's looking to be a first-round surprise"? That's wack.

Agreed. I can't see Babs saying, "No, it's OK, we have Lebda" all season long.

To be fair, I probably complain more than anyone else here.

Fedorov puts people in the stands and gives Ovechkin a veteran fellow countryman to lean on. Realistically, he's worth 2.8-3. I can guarantee you it didn't break management's collective heart or back to cough up an extra million for the aforementioned benefits (mostly the marketing stuff). The Caps' management knows it could be a while before they enjoy serious postseason success. As they're not in an especially strong hockey market, they'll need to find ways of getting people to open their wallets despite an almost inevitable continuing lack of playoff success through the next few seasons, possibly beyond. Fedorov will go a long way in helping that cause.

In terms of pure talent, that was probably the greatest NHL team ever assembled, period. But while this current lineup doesn't have as much raw talent, I'd take it over the '02 team in a seven-game series ten times out of ten. This roster is, for the most part, a streamlined, ultra-efficient machine. And while no coach in any professional sport can match Scotty, Babcock is an absolutely perfect, phenomenal leader for this group.

Hossa is in a great spot right now. In all likelihood, he's looking at a Cup this season. Even if he doesn't get it and decides to walk, he could very well have a "breakout" season working with this kind of supporting cast. That would obviously be a big selling point in fielding offers from other clubs. Plus, he's proven himself to be a class-act -- not just with this signing, but also during the SCF, as he was the first (and, now that I think about it, probably the only) Penguin to man up and say his team was being beaten by a superior defensive system, not by "itself" or "biased officiating" or s*** like that. Not to mention the fact that he was one of only three or four Penguins who really made an impact. As for the article's overall point -- eh, hasn't it always sort of been the case that high-profile UFAs have freedom in deciding what to do? If anything, I'd say the realities of the cap era make it harder for guys like Hossa to get exactly what they want. True, overpayment is still the norm, but if this weren't the cap era, Holland would probably be paying more than 7.4 for Hossa's services.

Again, you're pushing a big-time truism. I don't know, maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I, as a Wings fan, would rather say, "Wings are a lock" (knowing full well that that is not true, but also realizing that arguments pointing out this fact are pretty much missing the point) than point out every reason why the Wings might not win. Especially considering 1) how utterly dominant this team was just a few weeks ago, and 2) the fact that we'll be seeing more or less the same team this coming season, only with Marian Hossa.

So if I see you at a Wings game, and the guy sitting behind you yells, "WINGS ARE GONNA WIN! THIS GAME IS OURS BABY!" can I expect to see you turn around and say, "DUDE MAN THE REGULAR SEASON AND THE PLAYOFFS ARE TWO DIFFERENT BALLGAMES AND IF YOU'VE BEEN AROUND THE BLOCK THEN YOU KNOW ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. I'M NOT SAYING NOT ROOTING FOR THE WINGS MAN, BUT YOU HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THE FACTS YO"? With all due respect, I don't think anyone who's arguing in this thread that the Wings aren't a lock is justified in saying their opponents in this argument look stupid. "They're not a lock because they might not win!" is a colossal truism; of course they're not actually a lock. You might as well be criticizing...I don't know, high school cheerleading squads. "NOW WAIT HOLD ON JUST ONE SECOND! I CONTEST THE NOTION THAT THE CLEVELAND HIGH WILDCATS ARE THE 'B-E-S-T'! WHO'S TO SAY THEY WON'T LOSE THIS GAME? YOU KNOW HOW MANY BAD BOUNCES CAN OCCUR OVER THE COURSE OF A GAME?"

Not to be a ******, but really, I'm laughing over here. You guys are Wings fans -- have fun with it! Call your team the best. Call them a lock. Cautious optimism is for sissies.

Lots of people hate the Wings. If you're someone who hates the Wings, and you hear they just signed Marian Hossa only a few weeks after winning the Cup, you're gonna be pretty pissed off. That's all this kind of stuff is -- petty s***. Not worth getting worked up over.

This place amazes me sometimes.