Dabura

Huddles, obviously.

Agreed. I don't like the guy, but he generally knows and does what it takes to win.

As the article's author says, the officiating was s*** -- and it ultimately favored the Pens. Folks argue that the bad calls went both ways. I don't deny this. What's important is that the vast majority of crucial bad calls (e.g., ones made at really bad times times, ones which were blatantly in the wrong) favored the Penguins.

Cold War II, baby!

My original point was that it would be borderline idiotic of Mats to spend the next two to three seasons (possibly the remainder of his career) with the Habs if his primary goal is to win it all. Then someone said something to the effect of "The Habs are serious contenders and this could put them over the edge," to which I basically said, "LOL!" If Mats really wants to go for broke and put himself in a great position to win it all within the next couple of seasons, he'll go out west.

Yep. 19th overall's nothing to scoff at.

A lot? I grow weary of this conversation....

Jesus himself could not replace the Wonder that is Mr. Tomas Kopecky.

Personally, I don't buy that. As Grim pointed out, they're coming off being owned by a hilariously debilitated Flyers team. So, while a policy of "accountability" may make a difference in the long run (i.e., start to pay dividends 3-5 seasons from now), in terms of the here and now (i.e., within a hypothetical multi-year Sundin contract), they're pretty much screwed. imho

The way I see it, the Pens are the team to beat in the East. If the Habs want to dethrone the Pens, it will take at least two major acquisitions and the proper development on Price's part. Then, even if those pieces fall into place and the Habs somehow find themselves in the finals, they'll need to take down a team like the Wings or Stars. Frankly, I don't think they'll be able to do it. But that's just me.

That may be true, but Jokinen is, imo, worth more than him, Boynton and 49th overall. To put it another way, if the Wings had Jokinen, they'd have the best one-two scoring-line punch the league has seen in many, many years.

It's a good package, but I agree -- the 'yotes are easily the winners here.

Oh snap!

They're not paying him big money. 3.5 is nothing for a starting goalie, especially one who's coming off a series like the one Ellis had against the Wings just a few months ago.

Would they like Zetterberg as well?

"There are but two powers in the world, the sword and the mind. In the long run the latter always beats the former." - Napolean Point being, I agree.

Hold on, lemme ask it.... "Tesco."

Being paid more money to play in my home country? I'd probably take that deal.

Whatever the case may be, that team won't be winning the Cup any time soon. So, uh, good luck, Mats.

He's going to retire and Kopecky will take his place.

Good God. This team has no need for Shanahan, especially if Franzen keeps excelling. He's old, he's slow, he's lazy, and his heart is, at most, only half in it -- and that's playing for the team he "always wanted to play for." Pass.

I've gotta say, I'm going to lose a bit of respect for the guy if he ends up going to the Habs. If you're going to make a slam-dunk, one-shot run for the Cup, you might as well sign with the best club available. And the Habs...well....

I'm going to reiterate my point yet again: if Stuart walks, Holland is probably going to set aside money for a potential D pickup, one who could potentially cost a somewhat significant sum. Even though that acquisition likely wouldn't cost much, Holland has shown that he likes to play it very safe in this new cap world, so there's no reason to think he won't set aside at least several million for this potential blueliner "just in case." With this in mind, signing Sundin to a two-year deal does not look like something that would be high up on Holland's list of priorities. Additionally, I never said our D can't hold down the fort until February. I'm looking forward to the postseason.

Sundin is playing some of the best hockey of his career -- and on a spectacularly awful team, at that. He's still very much an elite forward.

It's not about "pleasing" me. Bottom line: the Wings won the Cup because of the strength of their top-4 more than anything else. You take away Stuart (who, for the record, I don't think is worth retaining at the price he's rumored to be asking for), and the top-4 is likely going to be weakened -- unless someone is brought in from the outside. People keep saying, "We have a logjam on the back end!" To that I say, "Sure, maybe in the regular season." Point being, it's nice to talk about a youth movement, but come the playoffs, is Meech or Quincey or any of the other guys on the lower end of the depth chart going to be able to hold down that #3/#4 spot en route to another Cup this coming season? Who knows, maybe a guy like Meech will pull a Franzen and step up big. My original point was merely this: should Stuart leave, Kenny -- who has been extremely cautious in this new cap world -- is probably going to set aside some reserve cash for a potential D signing so that if a regular season youth movement on the blue line doesn't put our top 4/5 where it should be by the trade deadline, he can then go out and get a quality guy ($$$) for the job. Signing Sundin or Rolston would make this a difficult task. As much as I'd like to see Sundin in the Winged Wheel this coming season, Stuart leaving would leave a legitimate hole in the roster. Doing what it takes to get that hole adequately filled by the trade deadline would be more important than going out and getting a high-priced forward, imo.