Dabura

Hmmm...I quite like those, actually.

EVERYBODY GET YER WINGS OUT FAN THE FLAMEZ

Rafalski is 1) the much better player overall, and 2) much better suited for the Wings' playing style. If management had it down to Rafalski and Souray, they absolutely made the right decision.

lolo

HUMOR. My vote goes to Wendel. fear the 'stache.

That's...a somewhat boring list, IMO. For some reason I had thought there would be a few more big names.

I don't think anyone will deny that Forsberg remains one of the most skilled, potentially game-breaking players in the NHL. But the injuries have taken and continue to take a toll on him, and that edge that once made him a powerhouse is rounded and dull. Signing him wouldn't necessarily be a bad move, but much better ones could be made, IMO. As for Yashin -- I'm just not sold on the guy, personally. I know he's got a lot of talent, and I know he picked up his game under Nolan. But, again, much better moves could be made. Honestly, would you really feel satisfied knowing our long-sought-after top-6 goal-scorer is...Alexei Yashin? I say if Kenny's going to take a risk, he might as well give Penner a killer offer sheet and a complementary Bentley.

And another thing -- I imagine Calder and Drake were brought in for slightly different reasons; whereas Calder was expected to be more of a gritty energy guy, Drake is most likely just expected to punish and irritate. It might seem foolish to let Calder go, but after seeing the potential of guys like Mule and Cleary, he simply doesn't seem necessary. You could say Drake is just a poor man's Maltby, but while there are certainly similarities, Drake will provide good two-way play AND a willingness to mix it up -- something Maltby famously avoids. Not that signing this guy drastically increases the Wings' chances of wining the Cup, but he should do a very nice job of filling the whole he's being brought in to fill. And again: we're practically paying him Monopoly money. So, in the unlikely event that he's a complete flop, at least we will not have invested much at all in him.

To be fair, he's 3-for-3 in predicting where the sun will rise and set.

Agreed -- although I don't know if I'd go so far as to say age isn't a factor. But then, his job is pretty straightforward: play the body, piss people off. Even at 38 (or however old he is), he's still capable of doing that effectively night in and night out. The only thing that concerns me about him is the potential for injury. It's a low-risk signing, though, so no big deal. I should add that to say he's a "useless" pickup because we could have had Nieminen doesn't make much sense to me. I suppose the argument could be made that Nieminen would have been a better all-around choice, but that hardly means Drake doesn't bring anything of value to the fold.

Of course he won't be the last. Holland knows we need a top-6 guy -- everyone knows it. It could just be a little while, that's all.

I thought it was generally understood that Markov wants to go elsewhere? Or, more specifically, that he doesn't like what the Wings are willing to offer. Forsberg and Yashin -- no thanks. To me, that would reek of signing a big name for the sake of signing a big name.

Hey buddy, toughness is like pitching. ....Or something.

Yup. I don't see how anyone can be upset over this; only a fool would think he's supposed to be the top-sixer we've been praying for. We need a tough, hard-hitting depth guy or two, and Drake is that kind of guy. And his salary is basically a bag of beans. I like.

Franchise player...future captain...huge raise on the horizon...gorgeous girlfriend...5000 square-foot house.... It's good to be Hank right now.

I think that's kind of an arbitrary comparison, personally. Anyway, the offseason: not spectacular, but things could be worse. Dom's coming back at a good price, we have an upgrade from Schneider, some dead weight has been cut (maybe that's a bit unfair to Bert and Calder, but...), and Kenny has given himself a pretty fair amount of wiggle room with the payroll situation. Losing Markov will hurt, we're still small, we still need a natural goal-scoring winger, and I'd very much like to know who Kenny might have in mind as potential trade deadline acquisitions -- but we're not in panic territory yet.

I know you dislike fan negativity, but I don't see how saying something like this is much better than what you're railing against. We're all Wings fans here -- some are just more vocal about the team's perceived weaknesses. As for the thread topic... Yes, we need a forward. Or two. That none of have been brought in so far is a little unsettling, but I'm sure they'll come eventually. In the meantime, we can make jokes about Holland.

B.B. King guffaws at your delusions of grandeur!

Ray Whitney. You know I'm right.

Fwahaha! My Hollandism t-shirts are gonna rule! Anyway, this is pretty good news -- although he's sorely mistaken if he thinks Kronwall and Chelios will solve the toughness issue on the blue line.

Vanek's a beast, and he's only going to get better. But I think that's too much for him. Penner's still available.

Minutes later, Pronger was seen kicking a baby. Ducks GM Brian Burke expressed confusion over the controversy. "I watched a number of replays from different angles and I'm just not seeing the 'swift kicking motion.' The thing you have to understand is that Chris is a relatively big guy, so when you combine that with Newton's Law of Averages and the Ozone Layer and South Africa--oh, wait, excuse me for a second, I think I see Ken Holland. I'm gonna go pants him. brb~."

Kenny is far and away one of the best GMs in the league, and he rarely gets the credit he truly deserves. However, if we're going to talk about humorous things, I'd argue that the Wings' offseason has become something of an annual comedy fest. I intend to make and sell t-shirts with snappy Hollandisms printed on them in big red letters.