daniel1

Phrases and things I'd like to see banned from use; "nhl awareness" - Pierre McGuire "active stick/boards" - Pierre McGuire "that guy's a monster!" - Pierre McGuire "xx is a special, special player" - Pierre McGuire "gritty Garry Roberts" - Bob Cole/Harry Neale "Pierre McGuire" - Everyone able to speak

I dunno, I just get the sense that if Hossa wins the cup this year he is off somewhere to a multi-year deal for 7+mil/yr. Maybe LA? Maybe San Jose trades Marleau or someone and signs Hossa? I just can't see him leaving 2 or 3 mil a year on a multi year deal to sign with Detroit when he already has his cup. He gets less ice time here, hasn't had a stellar playoffs, and probably doesn't like the city all that much compared to SoCal or even Florida. I also can't see Holland wanting to tie up that much salary in one guy when it could mean keeping Hudler, Sammy and Leino instead. Don't put all your eggs in one basket - and I don't believe Holland will.

FORWARDS Pavel Datsyuk $6,700,000 Henrik Zetterberg $6,083,333 Johan Franzen $3,954,545 Valtteri Filppula $3,000,000 Daniel Cleary $2,800,000 Tomas Holmstrom $2,250,000 Mikael Samuelsson $1,600,000 Kris Draper $1,583,333 Jiri Hudler $1,500,000 Ville Leino $950,000 Kirk Maltby $883,333 Darren Helm $599,444 DEFENSEMEN Nicklas Lidstrom $7,450,000 Brian Rafalaski $6,000,000 Brad Stuart $3,750,000 Niklas Kronwall $3,000,000 Andreas Lilja $1,250,000 Jonathan Ericsson $900,000 GOALTENDERS Chris Osgood $1,416,666 Jimmy Howard $716,666 ROSTER SIZE 20 BONUS MONEY (0% of cap) $0 SALARY CAP $56,700,000 PAYROLL $56,387,320 CAP ROOM $312,680 Can they start with 20? 12 Forwards, 6 Defensemen and 2 Goalies. Man this cap sux ass. Betman's "parity" really punishes anyone who drafts successfully and works hard to develop their talent.

How about 2 Stanley Cups a Conn Smythe Trophy, and the respect and admiration of your peers. Or if that isn't enough, how about the knowledge that Z doesn't cheap shot, whine, or do stupid things which costs his team wins in the Stanley Cup finals? When he's done feeling jealous of all that then he can flip through the various website and magazine photos of Z's girlfriend and their awesome life together as he crawls up the stairs from Mario's basement for his mac and cheese dinner with the twisty straw in the juice box that Mario's wife makes just the way he likes it.

The Pens player that scares me the most is the one with the black and white stripes with red armbands. Oh, also the one that looks like Count Chocula who sits on his throne in the NHL offices and manipulates schedules and suspensions to further the chances his team will win the cup. Other than those two, I think the Wings can beat the rest of the team in 5 or 6 games.

I posted this in another thread but since it took me a while to write it I wanted to make sure all the Pens fans and teary eyed Crosby lovers got a chance to read it. I would say it's the Pens who've been getting all the breaks, yet they still are behind in the series: - NHL decides to move finals up by a week, who's the beneficiary of this? Pens, they are younger, better rested and have less injured players to start the finals. -NHL decides to play back to back for the first 2 games of the series. If it were even, then they would do the same for when the games go to s***tsburgh, but they don't, again the Pens are recipients of a good "break" which is completely out of the Wings control. - Datsyuk is out - HUGE break for the Pens, our best offensive player has yet to play in the finals and if this isn't a bit of good luck for the Pens I don't what is. - Lidstrom is coming off an injury, again the Pens are the recipients of a good break, our best defencemen is less than 100% coming into the series. - Ericcson has to have an appendectomy, this is tremendous news for the Pens as another of our top D-men is coming off surgery, what a break!! - Draper is out. Our best faceoff man and third line center and one of our best PK'ers has yet to play in the series - can the Pens GET any LUCKIER!! - Lilja is injured. Our best shot blocker and one of our top penalty killing defensmen is out for the entire series, I swear the Pens are s***ting rabbits feet at the rate of breaks and good luck going their way coming into this series. If I was a Pens fan I would be buying lottery tickets by the dozen with all the luck and good breaks they are receiving here. - One of the Wings own players shoots the puck into his own net! What a break! This gives the Pens a lead in what could be a pivotal 2nd game that the older, more injured Wings have been forced to play back to back after having the NHL reduce the amount of time between the two series. Here is the perfect bit of good luck the Pens need to even the series right? WRONG! They lose the game. - Zetterburg hits the post on a beautiful cross ice feed in game 1 - what a break! Do the Pens take advantage of it? No, they lose. - Their goalie doesn't trip and fall flat on his face entering the Joe. An amazing bit of luck for the Pens as now he should be uber-confident in his puck stopping abilities after having successfully navigated his way onto the ice, but alas, the Pens don't take advantage of this bit of luck and still manage to lose the game. - The NHL overturns what should be an automatic 1 game suspension for their best player - if this isn't the epitome of a a ******* great B-R-E-A-K then the sun isn't hot. Let's see if they can take advantage of this break in a long and lucky series of breaks that have all gone the Pens way so far. Now tell me super-Pens-fans-turned-trolls-on-a-Wings-board, WHO'S GETTING ALL THE ******* BREAKS AND GOOD LUCK SO FAR??? That's right; now STFU and be quiet while we revel in the perseverance and determination our team is showing despite getting screwed by the NHL gods, the injury gods, the post gods, and Colin Campbell.

I would say it's the Pens who've been getting all the breaks, yet they still are behind in the series: - NHL decides to move finals up by a week, who's the beneficiary of this? Pens, they are younger, better rested and have less injured players to start the finals. -NHL decides to play back to back for the first 2 games of the series. If it were even, then they would do the same for when the games go to s***sburgh, but they don't, again the Pens are recipient of a good "break" which is completely out of the Wings control. - Datsyuk is out - HUGE break for the Pens, our best offensive player has yet to play in the finals and if this isn't a bit of good luck for the Pens I don't what is. - Lidstrom is coming off an injury, again the Pens are the recipients of a good break, our best defencemen is less than 100% coming into the series. - Ericcson has to have an appendectomy, this is tremendous news for the Pens as another of our top D-men is coming off surgery, what a break!! - Draper is out. Our best faceoff man and third line center and one of our best PK'ers has yet to play in the series - can the Pens GET any LUCKIER!! - Lilja is injured. Our best shot blocker and one of our top penalty killing defensmen is out for the entire series, I swear the Pens are s***ting rabbits feet at the rate of breaks and good luck going their way coming into this series. If I was a Pens fan I would be buying lottery tickets by the dozen with all the luck and good breaks they are receiving here. - One of the Wings own players shoots the puck into his own net! What a break! This gives the Pens a lead in what could be a pivotal 2nd game that the older, more injured Wings have been forced to play back to back after having the NHL reduce the amount of time between the two series. Here is the perfect bit of good luck the Pens need to even the series right? WRONG! They lose the game. - Zetterburg hits the post on a beautiful cross ice feed in game 1 - what a break! Do the Pens take advantage of it? No, they lose. - Their goalie doesn't trip and fall flat on his face entering the Joe. An amazing bit of luck for the Pens as now he should be uber-confident in his puck stopping abilities after having successfully navigated his way onto the ice, but alas, the Pens don't take advantage of this bit of luck and still manage to lose the game. - The NHL overturns what should be an automatic 1 game suspension for their best player - if this isn't the epitome of a a ******* great B-R-E-A-K then sun isn't hot. Let's see if they can take advantage of this break in a long and lucky series of breaks that have all gone the Pens way so far. Now tell me super-Pens-fans-turned-trolls-on-a-Wings-board, WHO'S GETTING ALL THE ******* BREAKS AND GOOD LUCK SO FAR??? That's right; now STFU and be quiet while we revel in the perseverance and determination our team is showing despite getting screwed by the NHL gods, the injury gods, the post gods, and Colin Campbell.

Every team gets breaks. The better teams usually just work that much harder to overcome the breaks that go against them. Pitts has hit posts and have seen Ozzie make some good and lucky saves. The Wings have hit posts too, and seen Fleury stop the puck when he didn't even see it coming. When we have been down by a goal, we've worked that much harder to even it up and then go ahead, and we haven't quit till we were ahead and buzzer sounded. If Pitts is the better team they will work harder and find a way to be ahead on the soreboard when the 3rd period ends; so far that hasn't happened. Luck and breaks go both ways but to blame a loss on them is only refusing to admit your own failure to overcome them. Ever seen Babs blame a loss on bad breaks or bad luck? Nope. He acknowledges takes responsibility for the situation that was created to allow a bad break or luck to influence the outcome and tries to prepare his team to overcome them and never give up. Being down by 3 that one game to Chicago and coming back to tie it up and almost win it in overtime says a lot about the Wings ability to put bad breaks behind them and do what needs to be done - or as Babs likes to say, "keep on keeping on" and "get after them". No excuses, just good coaching and preparation.

It's a Wings board dumbass. We're supposed to rah-rah the Wings. Just because the Pens boards are full of morons and idiots that doesn't mean you HAVE to come over here and try to dampen our enthusiasm over winning the Cup again this year. If you don't like what's being said here then go elsewhere. Maybe you should spend your time whining to Cindy and Evelyn about how much money they make compared with the # of points they're putting up in this series so far. For that kind of dough you could just pay off the NHL to probably GIVE you the cup, maybe you could convince them to change their whole playoff schedule to give you an advantage and that the rules don't apply to your players if they break them and... oh wait a minute, I see you've already done this, continue on good sir, and may your bribery bring you nothing but more tears from Cindy and Evelyn as we skate past them with the Cup (while Hossa shakes all your ******* hands).

- Darren Freaking Helm -

I shed a tear when I remember we have him locked up till he retires at 3.9/whatever million per year when I think he could have got 5 or 6mil on the open market. Guys like him don't grow on trees and are tough to find. The closest I can think of might be Bertuzzi in his prime but minus the dumb penalties and with more speed. Mule can Homer it up in front of the net, cycle it like Zets, pull some crazy Datsyukian one on one moves and shoot the puck like Hoss. Oh, by the way, he also plays amazing defense and plays physical too. Who else in the league combines all these? Getzlaf? Close but no defense. Lucic? He's a big body but can't snipe or dangle like Mule. Malkin? He's better offensively but Mule's net front presence and defense put Malkin's to shame. So who else can do everything the Mule can do and is a great teammate and who only makes 3.9/yr and is locked up till he turns 50 or something? Anybody??

Actually, I called the Mule after the game and he told me, "I thought Kaner was choking, he was kind of gagging and coughing so I just removed the obstruction to his airway, all of us Swedish players are trained in basic on-ice first aid from a really young age". Patty should be calling Mule and thanking him for saving him from that potentially life threatening situation.

I think he's fictional. An attempt to create a celebrity who would endores their s***ty beer because there aren't many real celebrities who would.

http://atdhe.net/ - go there and you can watch along with us too.

. Not with Kris "stone-hands" Draper and Kirk "defense-first" Maltby he won't. Put Leino with offensive players and move someone less offensive (Helm, Holmstrom) back to the Draper/Maltby line. Having Leino setting up Drapes and Maltby is kind of a waste given that they couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat most of the time. They grind, forecheck and win faceoffs great, but sniping isn't their "forte" (but THAT is!). Sorry for the frivolous Hyundai commercial reference but I've been waiting to interject that in some sort of semi-suitable context for a while now lol.

A team can only have so many superstars making supertar money before it comprimises the team's ability to put together decent third/fourth lines, third defensive pairings or a decent goalie tandem. Tampa had this problem with St. Louis, Lecavallier, Richards and Khabbi in goal. They paid all those players big money and paid the price in subsequent years. We were lucky this year as Mule and Z were making well below what they were worth and we were able to get a lot out of our very cheap goalie tandem. Next year we have Mule and Z making more suitable salaries and we also are going to have to pay Huds and Sammy more dough if we want to keep them. There's no way Hossa signs for less than 6mil/year, even if it is for 10 years or something goofy like that. If Hossa eats up 6mil/year in cap space there's no way we can keep Huds and Sammy. We would also likely have to deal one of our 2nd D pairing as well. Hossa is just not worth getting rid of Huds, Sammy, and one of Kronner/Stuart. Huds and Sammy will likely get a nice raise each and sign 2 or 3 year deals. This gives us some cap space in case we have to address the goalie situation or sign a backup for Ozzie if Conks wants too much money next year. We win because of our depth and the fact that we have 4 lines that can all contribute. Keeping Hossa would severely hinder our team philosophy. That being said, I'm all for Hossa leaving with a Cup this year and wish him well wherever he goes. He's been great for us this year and has come in with the right attitude and worked hard all year. I think we made the right choice though in signing Mule over Hossa this season. No way Hossa signs for 3.9, and Mule has certainly made a case for his worth over that of Hossa's in the playoffs this year. Kenny rarely makes mistakes and I believe he'll make the right decision with Hossa as well.

Anybody here still want to get rid of Hudler and Sammy just to sign Hossa? Didn't think so.

Palm trees.

With the Sharkies down 2-0 to the Ducks it bears considering that Jumbo Joe has not been able to neither produce on the scoreboard nor rally his team to get the Sharks into this series. When Boston traded Joe, who was only 2 seasons removed from a 101 point campaign to the Sharks for Sturm, Primeau, and Stuart it was the general consensus around the league that the B's got fleeced into giving up a superstar and not getting much in the way of return. Perhaps Boston had some insight into Joe's playoff performance which made them more willing to part with him. Joe will never be accused of being lightning quick or blazing fast but he always seemed to make up for that with great size, exceptional puck protection, and deft passing... in the regular season. That might be the most crucial element to evaluating Joe's true worth to his team - regular season vs. playoffs. Regular season, 836 games played, 842 points - over a point per game pace. Playoffs, 72 games played, 49 points - .68 pts/game While their is certainly a drop-off between his regular season and playoff pt/game ratio it's also worth mentioning that among those 49 playoff points, only 11 of them have been goals. In comparison, Hank has played only 64 playoff games and has still managed to score 29 goals, nearly 3 times Joe's production in 8 less games. There are times when your team is down and even if you're the Gretzky of passing on your team - you need to step up and put the biscuit in the basket. Obviously this is not Joe's forte. Why? In the playoffs the intensity and speed of the games picks up and there's less time for slower guys like Joe to make plays. Joe's slow foot speed also hinders him in the playoffs as he's beat to the puck a lot more and his size works against him. In the game tonight (game 2) Anaheim's quicker forwards and D consistently beat Joe to the puck or were able to strip him of it as he delayed while looking to make a play. Did the Bruins make the right choice in trading him away? If the Sharks lose out to the Ducks in the first round and Joe continues to struggle then the Thornton trade will look less like a fleece job by the Sharks and more like astute player evaluation by the Bruins.

Altered for accuracy. That at least, is for certain.

Someone accidentally poked him with a pin and he deflated back down to normal goalie size.

His zero cups and crappy team in front of him would suggest otherwise.

Justin Abdelkader has started off his rookie AHL playoff season with quite a bang. He recently had a fight and a goal last game to increase his league leading point total in the playoffs. I can't wait to see someone with that kind of intensity and enthusiasm in the Wings lineup. Justin seems to elevate his game when his teams need it most, be it college hockey or AHL. How long do you think it will take before the Wings give him a shot with the big club? I know he's young but if they lose people over the summer can they really ignore 'Kader if he comes in and has a super training camp next summer?

Couldn't agree more, I honestly believe that our third pairing of Big E and Lebs would be the 1st pairing for Columbus. When Lils returns we will have mad depth. I think you gotta leave E in and sit Lebs. The Twin Towers Swedish Style will make their debut hopefully soon!