Dabura

I had thought for sure he was our man. Not sad to see him go, though.

It depends on what combinations we're looking at. But yes, in general, I'd say the hole is on the wing. Ideally, Hank and Dats (maybe Flip rather than Hank) would hold down the middle on the first two lines, each flanked by a grinder and a scorer/offensively-minded playmaker. Between Cleary, Holmstrom and maybe Franzen, there's enough grit and muscle. The scoring punch is lacking, though. The Wings' blue line is undersized, not terribly physical, predominantly o-minded, and lacking a big, nasty, crease-clearing defensive defenseman who can play in the top 4 without being a defensive liability. Rafalski was a tremendous pickup and Kronwall, when healthy, is a great presence. But come the postseason, these weaknesses will be exploited unless adequately addressed. Bank on it.

You can't say for sure that, if given the opportunity, both Holland and Babs would take Flip over Hossa. That's an inane argument. If he were to come here, it would be for 7 or less. That would be perfectly doable, even with Hank's raise on the horizon. All signs point to Hossa being a long-term acquisition. This has been stated ad nauseam. In conclusion, you're pretty much one of the worst posters on these boards.

We need a winger more than we need a center.

Fair enough. Good god that'd be a sweet top 4.

I was referring more to him being paired with Lidstrom in that lineup. I don't hate the guy like a lot of people here do, but I can't say I'm fond of him. He's big, sure, and he can block shots. But if I had a nickel for every time I've yelled something to the effect of "DAMMIT LILJA," I'd have a lot of nickels.

I really wanted him out of the Central....

Sick. My only problem is with Lilja, but that's a given. And of course the whole 2 months thing...but that'd be a hell of a short-term push for the Cup.

What's to stop Chris Chelios from throwing himself in?

I'd take Stafford over Kronwall if we could also swing Salei. But I'm biased and slightly loopy like that.

GETTER DUN KENNETH

Well obviously we've been over this before, but just to reiterate, I'd rather have someone who can fill a legitimate, hugely important hole on this roster than someone who will do pretty well in a role that's already being served very, very well by someone else on the team. I like Flip a lot and I'd love to see him stay a Wing for a long time. But if someone like you-know-who can be had for him, that's just an absolute no-brainer deal.

Thanks. Read up on the Campbell deal. I like that Kenny tried to squeeze Stafford in there. That would've been a great deal for us, imo.

Flip won't be as good as Datsyuk. He'll blossom into a great, great player wherever he plays, but he'll never reach Datsyuk-like heights. That's the big reason why I consider him tradeable in the pursuit of a goal-scorer -- we already have a superior playmaker in that mold. But a big, speedy, pure goal-scorer like you-know-who? Not really.

I've been away from the computer all day. Someone fill me in: Stafford, Prospal -- are we courting them? Any others?

And if you think he's just a rental despite all the signs pointing to him wanting a long-term deal, you're on crack. I was going to hold off on coming back here until tomorrow, but I'm sitting in an office bored out of my skull. Point being, SOMEONE TRADE SOMEONE ALREADY.

You should back the f*** up and realize I'm talking about this streak, not the season at large, when I say scoring in general is a problem. Peace out, folks. See you d-day.

I'm going to take a break until d-day. In my time away, I shall dream about this: Cleary - Datsyuk - Hossa Fedorov - Zetterberg - Holmstrom Maltby - Draper - Franzen Kopecky - Hudler - Downey Lidstrom - Salei Rafalski - Kronwall Lilja - Chelios Not happening, obviously. But it'll get me through the next day and half! :carrot: :beerbuddy: :banana:

Long story short: West > East

GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF MAN!

And seriously, if we're going to hold injury problems against someone, how about we throw the name "Kronwall" into the mix?

Feds is nowhere near what he used to be, but the argument that he doesn't put up many points is silly for a couple of reasons. First, he wouldn't be brought in with the hope that he would be one of our primary scoring threats; he would be a secondary scorer who can play a tight shut-down game and man the point on the PP. Second, he's still putting up respectable numbers. Being on pace for 48 points over 82 games ain't half-bad. I agree that the injuries are a concern. But I maintain that Feds for cheap = Good.

JUST BECAUSE THEY LOOK GOOD ON PAPER... [/sarcasm]

Give him the backup job next season. His time has come. As an aside: love the avatar, zata40.

Good point. Forget secondary scoring -- scoring, period. Which is perhaps even more troubling.