Dabura

Burke: Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Pads. J.S.'s pads: The feeling is mutual. J.S.: High-fives! Burke: Who said that? *looks around confusedly* J.S.'s pads: N-no one! No one at all....

The Wings need to get bigger and stronger -- there's no way around it. Doesn't necessarily need to be addressed in the offseason, but certainly by the trade deadline.

BUT HE HAS SO MUCH HAIR

My world has been turned upside-down.

No surprise, but it's nice to finally get confirmation from Ken.

The package Flip brings to the table is more valuable to this team, simple as that. Not to slight Hudler, but we have enough small forwards who "can do crazy things with the puck." I believe he's destined for big things at the NHL level -- just not in Motown.

It all comes down to what Schneider and Markov do. Should they both return, management will probably be content to pick up a relatively minor-name forward at the deadline. Should only one come back (I can't imagine we'll lose both), I would expect to see a top-4 signing and a minor trade deadline addition to the forward corps. (Mind you, this is assuming Bert re-signs -- and for cheap.) I would love love love to see Smyth sporting the winged wheel next season, but I think it's safe to say that's a real longshot. Big name pickups have been coming at a major price lately -- I expect Smyth to demand a hell of a lot and get a hell of a lot.

Retarded, IMHO.

I despise the Flyers, but if this is the beginning of the end of this forced Preds-Wings "rivalry," then I'm happy for 'em.

There were so many phenomenal moments in the Wings' run. Gah. What a sweet, sweet championship DVD that would've been.

Fighting camp? Eh...no comment. Checking camps, on the other hand, are definitely an excellent investment -- provided they're done the right way, of course.

edit

Up front - The lack of a sniper/pure goal-scorer is an obvious hole that needs to be filled, but in order to do so, Holland will have to orchestrate an impressive trade. Frankly, I don't see that happening, so we can probably scratch that option. As for the grit department -- the team showed it has teeth, but a big, strong, aggressive body would certainly help the cause. With this in mind, Hartnell is a very attractive package; he's a big body who plays a physical, nasty game, and he knows how to put these qualities towards putting the puck in the net. Where a guy like Lang uses his size reactively ("Ha! You tried to hook me and failed!"), Hartnell uses his size proactively, imposing his will on the opposition and generally making life unpleasant for them. Smyth is another logical choice, but I'll be absolutely amazed if his asking price isn't way beyond what the Wings can reasonably offer. What the hell, I'll talk about the D as well. On D - Size, snarl, speed, and experience -- that's what the ideal blue line addition would bring to the fold. That's asking a bit too much (hence "ideal"), but I think Sarich could go a long way in patching things up. He's not exactly a speed demon, and he does tend to get a little overzealous with the physicality, but he plays a pretty solid game and would undoubtedly help clear the crease and break up big teams' cycles down low. The PPG line wreaked havoc in the Wings' zone, but stick a punishing 6'4 frame with young legs in there and I guarantee those guys would have had much more trouble cycling.

Hell no.

Wow, reading some of these comments, I was expecting it to be a lot worse. Classless? I guess so. Not that the Ducks are known for their class.

I don't like this idea; I'd rather fill Lang's spot with a big, young body.

I think calling it an "extreme waste" is a bit much. It depends on the composition of the roster; I can certainly imagine circumstances in which it wouldn't be silly.

I think it's safe to say that Bert will never be able to singlehandedly dominate games the way he used to. However, should he stick around in Detroit, I see him becoming a more complete -- and, in this way, "better" -- player. This organization has, I think, a certain knack for tapping and utilizing hidden potential in players. While I don't expect Bert to become a two-way workhorse like Stevie, or Version 2.0 of The AssVision 3000â„¢ (Homer), I do expect good things from him. He's got to pick it up, though. Thankfully, he seems to understand this and is confident enough in his ability to do so that he's willing to put a specific time frame ("a month") on it.

Bert used the phrase, "do some damage," twice. I like.

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Holmstrom Franzen - Hartnell - Bertuzzi Maltby - Draper - Cleary Pyatt - Filppula - Grigorenko Lidstrom - Kronwall Lebda - Sarich Lilja - Chelios

Sarich.

It's best to take everything Hradek says with a grain of salt. I haven't listened to his comments, but my guess is his reasoning is that the Wings want someone like Smyth and Smyth probably wants to play for a top-tier competitor. Does that make sense? Sure. Would I love to see him as a Wing? Sure. But his asking price is going to be steep, and unless he compromises and lowers it for the sake of playing for a top team, we're not landing him. Hartnell is a more reasonable, practical option.

Hartnell - Datsyuk - Holmstrom Franzen - Zetterberg - Bertuzzi Maltby - Draper - Cleary Pyatt - Filppula - Grigorenko Lidstrom - Kronwall Lebda - Sarich Lilja - Chelios Hasek Should the lack of size and snarl down the middle prove problematic, the versatile Hartnell could be placed at the pivot on the second line, flanked by Franzen and Bertuzzi (what a sick line that would be). Hank would, of course, slip back into his familiar role on the first line with Dats and Homer.

I was unaware Sarich will be a UFA. Hartnell, Sarich.