daniel1

The analysts and pundits get WAY to caught up in this "average age" stat. It's not so much the age as it the player's conditioning, ability and hockey sense that determines their effectiveness. Simply pointing to someone's age and using that to gauge their worth is ridiculous. Anyone who has a roster spot at this time of year has shown their coaching staff that they are the best player in the organization (regardless of age) for that spot. If Cheli wasn't cutting it or able to defend anymore, his spot would have gone to Meech or Quincey long before the playoffs started. If Drake or Lidstrom (2 of our "older" players) had nothing left to offer, they would have been replaced too. Science, medical knowledge, training/conditioning techniques and nutrition have all taken huge leaps forward which has resulted in increasing the length of time pro athletes can stay at the top of their game and remain competitive. I think it's time we stopped using outdated "benchmarks" to judge when a player has become "old". I believe (barring injury) that your body doesn't get old unless you let it do so up to a certain point. My neighbor is 80 and he still water-skis and hikes trails at a pace many younger men would have trouble keeping up with. Besides, average age is achieved by totaling up all the players ages and dividing by the number of players; this means that one or two players (Cheli, Dom, Drake) that are well beyond the average of the rest of the team can drastically skew the results. We don't have an old team, we have a fairly young team with a couple of very old players, lol. Out of the 6 player on our top 2 lines, only 1 player is over 30! We also boast a great top 4 D with only 1 player being older than 34 too. Yes, some of our "role" players are well seasoned, but they are effective because we don't ask them to play 20 minutes a night. Cheli, Drake, Mac, Downey, and Malts are getting up there but they're not being asked to log 20 minutes a night either so it's not like they're overused. I think we'll see a shorter bench from Babs in these playoffs than we have in the last few due to the injuries and inexperienced guys we could have on the fourth line (Abby, Hartigan, Helm, Hudler, Meech if he plays up).

Yep, he's exceeded my expectations that's for sure. I never pictured him as a Selke candidate when he was feeding Brett Hull all those pretty passes. His takeaways and backchecking are what sets him apart from guys like Ovi and Vinny, for this reason I think we get more for our money than the other team do. I'm curious to know if the attention to the defensive aspects of the game were his idea or the influence of another, maybe Babs or Stevie Y? His 6.7 now looks like a steal, in 2 years it will look like highway robbery, in 4 years it will appear as though Kenny was taking candy from a baby. I hope we lock up Z for just as long and just as much. Here's hoping to Dats and the rest of the team sipping from the Cup in a few weeks.

Use him. He sure didn't seem intimidated or out of place yesterday. The kid has a history of playing big in big games so I don't think the "pressure" will get to him. He laid out a couple real good hits yesterday and almost scored a couple of times too. Give him Hudler's spot for chrissakes! He's regressing at a pace which has thus far exceeded the expectations I had for him. And while we're at it... would someone tell Filppula to SHOOT THE PUCK! I dunno if he's waiting to see the "whites of the goalies eyes" or what but he's gotta stop passing up prime scoring chances in favor of that "one too many pass" play that he's become accustomed too.

Let's see... best case scenario; we play the Predaturds and win in 4, while the Flamers/San Josers series goes 7 games. Dion "I've had a" Phaneuf of the Sharks puts a beating on Thornton and Regehr pounds on Mih-alcoholic for all 7 games.

Keenan is the coach for the Calgary Flames. Sutter is the GM now but he used to coach them before Keenan and Playfair. He's probably anticipating a second round matchup, which would be a good series. The Flames are playing pretty good right now and if Kipper gets hot then they would definitely give us a battle.

Last year I didn't think so but the team surprised me once the playoffs started. This year I believe we have the weapons if we need to use them. A McCarty-Drake-Downey line is as punishing as they come if those three play the way they are capable of. Downey can scrap with anyone, he may not outright win, but he'll hold his own and land a few shots. Drake and McCarty can be fierce hitters and will drop the gloves and beat 90% of the middleweights in the NHL. Those three players can make the little guys like Hudler, Maltby, Draper, Dats and Rafi play bigger than they are. Last year we saw how Cleary, Franzen, Holmstrom and Z can step up their physical play in the playoffs so I'm confident that they can do it again. On the back end we have four guys who can all provide a physical presence; Kronwall, Stuart, Lilja and Chelios. I think having Kronner and Stuart to bang bodies and deliver some hits will be huge. Last year Lilja led us in hits and if he steps it up physically in the playoffs then he should get that 6th D spot over Lebda-legs. This year we've added Kronwall, Stuart, Drake, Downey and McCarty to a team that could already match the physicality of Calgary, San Jose and Anaheim last year in the playoffs. I think we definitely have enough toughness to win the cup this year. Having toughness on your roster and playing "tough" are two different things though; all those guys mentioned above need to lay it on the line every game and not hold anything back.

Forget about it. He doesn't deem it a necessary quality. Too many video games and not enough bar fights, lol.

Ya i like your thinking with the first two lines. I think those 6 players have earned to have the bulk of the ice time in the playoffs. I would play Kopecky up with Draper and Sammy though; I think the odds of Kopy scoring a goal are way better than Drake and an increased role is only going to make Kopy better, while it would just make Drake tired (at his age he's not getting any better, lol) My fourth line would be Maltby - Hudler - McCarty/Draper. If Mac isn't in game shape and looks at all slow out there then as much as I love him, I would replace him with the Drake in a heartbeat. I would keep Hudler on the fourth line till he earned his way off it and then switch him and Samantha around. Franzen - Zetts - Clears Flipper - Datsyuk - Homer Samantha - Draper - Kopecky Maltby - Huds - McCarty/Drake Downey The D is a lot easier; Lids/Rafi and Stuart/Kronner get 80% of the ice time. Cheli/Lilja can kill penalties and Lebda can watch and learn how to play the body and actually check people from the press box. Note: Meech is ahead of Lebda on my depth chart and goes in for anyone who gets banged up before Lebda has to give up his pretzel and press box seat.

Kovalev, or Crosby. Either or those two are better skaters than Neederwhiner is. They pull of most of their fancy skating with the puck and also while battling defencemen; Neederwhiner mostly skates from his own goal line (untouched) and either dishes the puck off to a forward or dumps it in... heck even I'd look good doing that, lol.

Hey, why don't a few of the "Crosby lovers/haters" in this thread make your own thread up about him and then you can like/love/hate/ him in it till he wins a cup or two. I was hoping this thread would be about picks or players that received a lot of hype but never panned out If anyone thinks winning an Art Ross and a Hart is "not panning out" then they should just go hit themselves in the head with a large hammer till they can't feel it anymore. Now back on topic; a couple players that I remember who went fairly high in the draft but never accomplished much in the NHL were Joe Murphy and Pavel Brendl. The Wings took Murphy fairly high in the draft (1st overall, lol) and had really high hopes for him but he didn't work out for them and ended up being shipped off to Edmonton and then Chicago where he had a few moderately successful seasons but never lived up to the "1st Overall" tag. Brendl had an amazing WHL career and was drafted by the Rangers (then dealt to Flyers) fairly high (4th overall) as well. He was a huge disappointment for them after being compared to Pavel Bure and Alex Mogilny while in Junior. He scored 73, 59 and 40 goals in 3 seasons with the Calgary Hitmen so you can see where the scouts might have got the idea he would be an elite scorer in the NHL.

Ya, i just saw this on CBC HNIC and I couldn't believe what an ASS this goalie was making of himself. He skates all the way down to the goalie at the other end of the ice, then jumps him, then starts pounding on him. Then I heard the announcers say that this was Patty Wah's son; and it all made sense. Idiot son like idiot father. The only thing his moron boy needs to do now is give up a hat trick to McCarty in the playoffs, snub his country for the Olympics, and do a "Statue of Liberty" impression on a non-save. Pat Wah was one of the most class-less pro-athletes I have every seen, from his interviews to his on-ice antics. Yes; he was a good goalie. Yes; he was also an *******.

After watching the latest Det/Nash game, Franzen HAS to play on one of the top two lines. The GWG he scored tonight showed his finesse and power, he's a beast; and I remember how good he was in the playoffs last year too. Z, Franz, Homer, Dats, Cleary and Flip all have to play on the top two lines and get the bulk of the ice time. I don't care what configuration Babs puts those 6 guys in, but they are our top 6 forwards. Draper, Malts, Kopecky and even Sammy have impressed me this year. Drake, Hudler, Downey, and Hartigan can sit or kill penalties or whatever. Helm has looked good, but it's only a couple games and he's a rookie so take what you will from that. If McCarty can come in and provide the same toughness Downey is bringing with more offensive skill then he gets Downey's spot; I love Downey, but can he provide the clutch playoff scoring Mac has shown in the past? I don't think so... McCarty was an offensive threat in the playoffs in his prime; if he's there again then I say play him. If he's not back to that form then throw Drake/Downey out there to crash and bash on the fourth line. Wouldn't a third line of Drapes, Sammy and a focused in-shape McCarty be way better than anyone else's third line? For sure. So... Cleary-Z-Franzen Homer-Dats-Filpulla McCarty-Draper-Sammy Malts-Kopecky-Hudler Lids-Rafi Stuart-Kronner Meech-Chelios (he will be a playoff beast again!) Lilja (for pk only) ... looks like Stanley to me.

Uh, yea...NOT. Perhaps you remember a few fellas named: Shannahan, McCarty, Lapoint, Macoun, Kocur, Rouse, Ward, and Pushor? This was the last time the Wings had big, strong Canadians would would fight, hit, grind and beat the piss out of oponents. What happened in the playoffs to this group? Oh yea, this was the last time any team in the NHL won back to back Stanley Cups I'm not saying Kenny hasn't had to make "adjustments" and that he hasn't done a great job keeping the team competitive in the salary cap era; but the Wings would be better off with more of those type of players that I mentioned. Problem is that they don't come cheap, and they don't come with the low draft picks that result from strong regular seasons.

Those are very definite possibilities, but I want to give you some reasons to hope for the best in this situation. A. His injury hasn't hindered his ability to work out, and while he may not have been skating/practicing you can bet he's been riding the bike, lifting weights and doing as much cardio as possible to keep in shape. B. After his new contract I think he'll have something to prove; Dan is a proud guy and he wants to show his teammates and Detroit that he's worth the 5yr deal. C. He should be back playing or at least practicing about 5 or 6 games before the playoffs start. This would give him to get up to game speed before the playoffs even start. D. I've played hockey with a "mouth" injury, 3 days after having my wisdom teeth pulled out (all 4!) my University team was in the playoffs and I played 4 games in 6 nights. Yes, it was painfull at the start of each game, but with the help of some painkillers and my own adrenaline it was manageable. Once the game started and after about my 3rd shift I forgot all about my sore jaw and was able to play without thinking about it. I'm betting Cleary has a higher tolerance to pain than I do (cause i'm a *****) and that he's gonna have access to better drugs too.

No doubt about it he was playing at a higher level before the first back injury this year. I'm not sure whether the coaching staff told him to tone it down a bit and save himself for the playoffs or he is simply doing the best that his wonky back will allow at the moment. The telling factor for me has been the shots on net and the battles along the boards. Before the back injury this year he was getting like 5 or 6 shots on net EVERY game, quality ones too where he would use his speed to beat defenders and get dangerous shots away, now he's averaging like 3 to 4 shots per game. Zetterberg hardly ever lost a battle along the boards before the injury as well, he was able to twist, turn, use his feet and body to protect the puck and come away with the puck about 90% of the time, now it seems he has trouble holding his own along the boards and down deep in the cycle area of the offensive zone. I hope that he's either just being cautious before the playoffs or that the coaches told him to dial it down and save himself for the real season. It would be of concern to me if I was Kenny Holland though; Z right now is worth about 4-5mil a year... Z before the injury was a 6-7mil a year guy. Does Kenny know which Z he'll be getting for the next 6 or 7 years when we resign him? I hope so...

Ericsson-Meech Kindl-Stuart Quincey-Pyett and of course.... Lilja! jk Ya, that wouldn't be bad at all 5 or 6 years down the road based on their potential and projected upside. I think we have Raffy for 5 more so there's a chance he could be the "Chelios" in that group too if he re-ups at the end of his deal for a reasonable price.

After that s***ty Kings/Wings 3rd period i couldn't help thinking how weird it would be to see Blake in a Wings jersey, there are just some players that will always be identified with "one" team as their team regardless of how many other teams they'll ever play for. Blake is one of those players; he'll always be a King to me. Which other players that may have moved around in their NHL career will always be thought of as a member of a certain team regardless of who they play for now or before? My list would definitely include: Shanny as a Wing Selanne as a Duck Forsberg as a Dinkalanche Messier as a Oiler McCarty as a Wing Schneider as a King Chelios as a Blackhawk Which other players and teams come to mind?

Hudler scratched... I could see that coming. He's contributed nothing the last 10 games or so, and he's sure not intimidating anyone out there, lol. Maybe this will hasten his departure for Prospal. Cleary-Filpulla-Prospal looks a lot better as a second line scoring than anything that includes Hudler.

Guys that I would trade: Hudler, Meech, Quincey, Pyett, Grigorenko! (lol) Guys I would hang on to: (unless it's for Jokinen): Ericsson, Kindl, Filpulla, Abdelkader Guys I would trade for: Jokinen, Prospal, Comrie

LOL, that would be the "Coppenhagen Tools" I assume? As much as we pick on him, his bang-for-buck value is pretty good.

I get that same feeling whenever we play Chicago and I see Lapointe wasting his time with them. I'm always thinking "ok, you've gone abroad for a few years now it's time to come home and get a real job again."

Honestly, I don't think Prospal would have the impact we're hoping for; especially considering what we would have to give up to get him. Rather than give up quite a bit for a non-impact player, let's give up a lot for game breaker that will be a difference maker. I don't think Sundin is an option here as I'm not so sure he wouldn't shoot on OUR net just to keep us from winning the Cup after we trade for him, besides we all know he's either retiring or heading back to "Trona" anyways so he's just a pure rental. Rather than a rental player I would like to see someone who's signed for a reasonable amount for at least a couple more years and has a reasonable chance of resigning here at the end of the deal too. Where does this "chimera" exist you ask? He of the reasonable contract + years left on his deal + game-breaking skill + mutual desire by he and his team to be moved? The answer my friends is blowing in the wind... er, in this case the windy sunshine state of Florida; Oli Jokinen! What would it take to get this large determined Finnish-forty-goal-scorer who still has several good years left in him over here? Hudler + Kindl or Pyett, and a 1st round pick I think would do the trick. I would even throw in a Meech or Lebda if it would make the deal happen. He's a 5mil/yr player who plays like a 7mil/yr player and he's signed through 2009/2010. When you have a team in their prime with as good a chance as the Wings do to win the Cup this year, you go for it. Or would you rather wait a couple years for the younger guys to develop and then try to win the cup without Lidstrom and Hasek? The only two prospects I would not give up for Oli would be Filpulla and Ericcson, anyone else on the team not nicknamed Z, Pav, Lids or Homer would be fair game in a trade for Oli. I would love to roll a second scoring line in the playoffs of Filpulla, Jokinen and Cleary.

Datsyuk - 6.7m/yr - 18-47-65 Drury - 7.05m/yr - 16-22-38 Gomez - 7.36m/yr - 12-40-52 Not to mention the defensive capabilities that Datsyuk brings every night, the most important thing is probably that he shows up EVERY NIGHT. I've got Center Ice and have watched about 90% of their games this season and I haven't seen Dats take a night off yet. I think some credit is due here to the brass; "spent wisely you have, Master Kenneth"

As much as it pains me to admit it; Gretzky should have an award for most assists named after him and given out yearly. We have the Rocket Richard trophy for goals, it's about time we had the Gretzky for assists. Even if Gretzky had never scored even one goal in his career, he would STILL be the NHL all time points leader. I never liked him and always thought he was a whiny *****, but he could sure pass the puck. I would like to see the Yzerman award for leadership given out at the end of each season as well. I think it could be for leadership on AND off the ice for his team even taking into account what that player does in the community too. Yzerman epitomized class; on and off the ice. Players should be recognized for this in an age where the Simons, Emerys and Averys make too many headlines while the positive leaders and role models go unnoticed far too often.

Foote would be sweet. He can have turnover's spot, er I mean Lebda's spot.