Hank

www.redwingscentral.com and www.hockeysfuture.com are two very good sites to get lowdowns on future prospects. From the limited reading I've done on these kids: Ryno - has potential to be a big grinding forward in the NHL. I've heard that he has decent enough hands to be an offensive threat. (Could be anywhere between 2-4 years away). Mursak - really impressed Wings staff with short stint during the Griffins playoff run. They love his speed and offensive skill set. Could be a top 6 winger. (2-4 years away) Helm - Future grind liner. Very fast, very responsbile defensively and has decent hands. (3-4 years away). Emmerton - needs to work on his skating. Aside from that, they love his offensive prowess. He's a pass first, shoot second kind of guy. But the Wings love his on-ice vision. Played centre in junior but the Wings are looking at him as a winger. (3-4 years away). McGrath - small centre with "NHL potential" offensive skills. However, he's been known to be inconsistant and needs to work harder on his game. I'd say he's a long shot to make the NHL and will probably bounce around the minors and eventually find a stable career in Europe. I hope I'm wrong as I'm a McGrath fan. But it seems like he hasn't quite grasped the concept of what it takes to make the NHL. However, hearing Nill say that he has NHL skills means that if he does get this together, he could be a dandy for the Wings. Ritola - another player with very impressive offensive skills. Fast, quick, good vision, etc. But he too suffers from brain-farts and doesn't seem to put in 100% effort each and every game. I remember seeing him play at the World Juniors and he was very, very good. The TSN commentators even made a comment on how the Wings had another 'steal' on their hands and some felt he was a future 80 point guy in the NHL. But since that tourny, he's been shuttled between the top Swedish league to the 3 tier league (think Junior B or USHL). If this kid can get his crap together it sounds as if he could be a top line winger. I believe he could literally make the team this year if he was able to get his head straight. At the very least, he could be a strong AHL player this season. He's either going to be a gem or he'll go the way of Pavel Brendl. All the tools, no toolbox. I'm sure others here have better scouting reports on these kids. But that's basically what I've read over the past couple of seasons. EDIT: One kid I'm excited about is Dick Axelsson. He reminds me a bit of Daniel Alfredsson for some reason. From www.RedwingsCentral.com

Not sure if Kenny even got a chance to talk with him, but I think he would have been a good pickup at that price. I'm still hoping for Guerin or even Glen Murray. I'd love for the Wings to get a big, physical North American winger.

The amount of money that Calder got is unbelievable. I like the guy and I would have liked him back on our team but he's a $2M player at BEST. I'm still hoping that Detroit has a shot at Guerin. But if Bert got $4M I'm assuming Guerin will get the same after scoring nearly 40 goals on a very bad team.

Very true.

Outside of Phoenix and Chicago, there won't be any easy games in the West. Even Columbus will be stronger because of Hitch. I'm looking forward to renewing the rivalry with the Blues. I hate them. But I hated them more when pencil-neck-Pronger was there.

I don't think so. I think it's very similar to what Forsberg did in '02. Under the CBA I think as long as the team doesn't dress him, his salary doesn't count against the cap and because he's not playing the Ducks don't owe him any money. I could be very wrong though. I think it's obvious that Scott is leaving a crack open so he could possibly play again in the future. In the end I'm glad he got to walk out on his own terms. Scotty Neids has always been a favourite of mine. He's done it all and should be a first-ballet HOFer. As a Wings fan, I'm glad this guy is gone. This will hurt the Ducks chances greatly. I always felt he was much better in his own zone than Pronger and was more dangerous in the offensive zone because with his speed he could jump in on the play and easily get back. If Teemu retires, the Ducks will have a very hard time to repeat, much to the chagrin of the 141 Ducks fans in Anaheim.

Nights out with the boys should be interesting too. LOL. This is too funny. I guess Braydon Coburn will be the hub to introducing new friends. Team Canada Flyers: 2005 - Braydon Coburn, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Alexandre Picard, 2004 - Braydon Coburn, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, 2003 - Braydon Coburn, Joffrey Lupul, Scottie Upshall

I agree! Philly's going to be MUCH better this season and will only get better with each year. Last night I took a look at thier roster and I believe 5 of their top 9 forwards are 25 or under. (Hartnell, Upshall, Lupul, Carter & Richards), and 8 of their top 12 forwards are under 30. That's a pretty sparkling future there. I know that Lupul struggled in Edmonton but Kevin Lowe himself said that the Oilers style of play didn't complement his game. I think he's going to have a heck of a season in Philly this year. If he doesn't suffer any injuries I think a 30 goal season wouldn't be out of reach. P.S. I think it's kind of cool how half a lot of Philly's top young players were on Team Canada's 03-05 junior team (Upshall, Parent, Carter, Richards, Lupul...)

Is there any greater fit than a player named Jed in Nashville?

I might be out of line here, but I think there are a few players that go for money because they want to help out their fellow PA brotheren. I've heard players (Rob Blake,in the past, for one) say that they would have accepted less but felt they needed to get more so that the price was driven up for future free agents. It's also been said that some players in the union have given passive aggressive threats to some players if they even thought about giving a hometown discount to their current team. I don't blame Gomez for moving on as I would sitout if I had to play for the Devils (everything about that team is boring). And I guess a player like Briere wanted to play with Biron and I'm sure all the talk of Drury being the Sabres #1 priority probably upset him somewhat. But I think someone like Drury could have stayed for less. Buffalo is so close - or at least closer than the Rangers - at winning the Cup. It still amazes me at the amount of money and years that are being tossed around. In a way, the CAP has actually driven the price up for the elite or higher-end players. There's fewer of them around and teams figure they can fill out their bottom half of the lineup with rookies and prospects. That $2M that used to go to vets on the 4th line is now going to a top 6 forward while that 4th line spot is reserved for guys like Darryl Bootland. I think Hollands doing a great job so far. He's keeping our home grown talent in house and will pick the guys he wants at his terms. I hope we can resign Bert but not if he thinks he's worth more than $3M. I'd rather give that kind of money to Guerin or Kozlov.

Looks like Sutton wouldn't be such a bad substitute right now. Holland said that he'll be looking for defensive depth in a months time. Not sure if Sutton would still be available but I think he's fit in nicley with both his skill set and salary.

I think this is a great deal. Not only is he an excellent offensive defenseman but I believe he's underated in his own zone as well. Not only that, but he shoots right-handed; a rarity among good defensmen in the league. This should help our PP tremendously.

I think Lupul would have been a perfect winger for Nylander. Hemsky should not be playing with him as they're both playmakers. Perhaps Torres will get to see some first line duty. Or maybe Robbie Schremp will be moved to the wing to play with Nyds. That kids got a great shot.

Yeah, the cemetery. Hahahaha!

It's included in a sports bundle for about $10/month You used to be able to order just that one channel for $1.99/mnth but NO they had to change it!

Not sure how anyone else would feel about this (or the Wings brass themselves) but I'd love for them to bring in Gerard Gallant as the new Griffins coach. I loved GG when he was with Detroit. He's probably my 2nd favourite wing of all time. And I believe his coaching style is better suited for the A. He'd be a great one to have in the minors. Especially when you consider the relationship he has with Stevie and Holland. Might be a perfect fit.

And the coaching staff loved him when he was there. I think he's in GR for one year and then he makes the jump to the NHL. I think he's going to be a dandy.

Not to mention they weight next to nothing. Argh! I despise goalie gear almost as much as the Leafs! Give me a Leaf goalie with oversized pads and I am fit for rage! Serenity now!!!

Sundin might be the only guy I like on that team. I give him a lot of respect for staying with a team that is commmitted to never winning a freakin' thing.

It's Blasphemous! It would be like a U of M fan cheering on the Buckeyes. It's not natural. And quite frankly, it disgusts me.

I couldn't agree more. But it seems like the NHL is impotent when it comes to regulating it. I just don't understand how a cop can wear a vest under a T-shirt that stops bullets or Lidstrom can wear a skate boot that makes taking slapshots a breeze, and yet we can't make a chest and arm protection in reasonable sizes. I spoke with a friend of mine who's in the goalie manufacturing business and this is what he said. He told me that it's very possible to make streamlined equipment. It would be more expensive, but I'm sure NHL teams could cover it. The problem, however, lies in the fact that if his company ever created equipment that was twice as small and twice as affective, NHL goalies (or Pro goalies for that matter) would silently boycott his company. Why? Because goalies like Giguere would be exposed as the joke they are, and it would cost them, not only millions, but an NHL job as well. It's up the NHL to go to a manufacturer and pay them to make a prototype. And if it's successful, force them on the current NHL goalies. Nothing would make me happier than watching Giggy try to make saves with practical equipment. He'd be in the ECHL before Thanksgiving. It's rediculous that in a day and age where everything's being streamlined, goalie equipment continues to expand.

If the goalies don't have thier upperbody protection reduced in size, then nets should be made bigger. What doesn't feel like hockey is the fact that there are far less scoring zones and cubic space to score goals than when the greats of the 60', 70's 80's and early 90's had. Playoff scoring was down an entire goal compared to the regular season. That's pathetic. People want to see goals. That's entertaining. And please, nobody tell me 'scoring chances' are just as exciting. Sure they are. Just like having a scoring chance with Scarlett Johansson is just as exciting as actually scoring with her. XM204 interviewed Brandon Bell two days ago and they asked him about it. He agreed that if the goalies don't get smaller they should increase the size of the net. I've heard other players say the same thing. The only people that don't want it are goalies and 'traditionalists'. But traditionlists forget that technology in the form of GIANT and much lighter goalie equipment, better defensive systems, and the mindset that backchecking is worth 3 times as much as forechecking have suffocated what hockey was like for nearly 100 years. When aggressive cycling becomes the main reason for fans to get excited you know a change is needed. 90% of the goals scored in the NHL are from screens, deflections or rebounds. Gone are the nice 15-20 foot, top-shelf wristers. Gone are the 40 foot slapshots from the wing. The only way you get them back is by giving the players more cubic space to score them. Having more room to score goals would actually bring the game back to what it once was. Myself, I would much rather see goalie equipment shrunk down before they enlarged the nets. But as long as the league has idiots like Giguere screaming "Unsafe work environment! I need to protect my shoulders that appear to go up to the top of my ear!", you'll never get it to happen.

EXACTLY! I know there are intelligent Leaf fans out there, but most of the ones I know are idiots. You can say "3 Cups in my lifetime" and they'll respond "'93 baby! We owned you!". I always say, "if that's what helps you sleep at night, hold on to that playoff year". And then I'll add that if it weren't for that embarassing loss we might not have ever landed Bowman. So thank you Leafs. adtthosa, you make some excellent points. The one regarding goaltending is a great one. I got into a debate with some Laugh-fans after they started trashing Cujo for leaving for the Wings. They were all saying that it was Cujo's fault they never won a cup. I laughed so hard over that one. Being the hockey nerd I am, I complied a spreadsheet showing the stats of Cujo and then Belfour compared to their backups. The results were astonishing. In the 6 years that I compiled the Leafs averaged over 100 points a season. Both Cujo and Eddie had winning percentages of close to .600, had GAA under or around 2.50 adn save% well over .900. Their backups? Their collective win total was just under .500, GAA's hovering around 3.00 and save % under .900. And I reminded these idiots that their backups recorded these stats during the dead-puck era when a GAA above 2.5 was rediculous and the fact that these backups all played their games against the worst teams in the league. Basically, if it weren't for top goaltending supplied by Cujo and Belfour, the Leafs wouldn't have even come close to even making the playoffs. Is it any coincidence that they've missed 2 seasons in a row now and both years they had poor goaltending? But most of these Leaf fans don't see that. According to them, every year they're going to win the Cup. They look past the fact that McCabe could be one of the worst defenders in his own zone. Hall Gill couldn't beat a tree in a foot race, or the fact that they've never gotten a suitable winger for Sundin. And don't get me started on the Leaf-mad media. Two years ago, 3/4 way through the season it looked like the Leafs weren't going to make the playoffs. But then they had a late push and it looked like a possibility for post-season play. After a late season win, pushing them to within a point of the 8th spot, that stupid idiot, Mike Toth from Sportsnet, started doing this f'ed up dance singing "The Leafs are going to the show! The Leafs are going to the show!". It was so incredibly unprofessional and showed what a Leaf-homer-centric the station really was. I mean, we all knew it was bad, but this was horrendous. Never in a million years would you ever see an ESPN sporstcaster do something like that if say the Cowboys, Yankees or Lakers were making a late push to make the playoffs. But not this idiot. After seeing that display it brought tears to my eyes when the Leafs didn't make it, thanks to back-to-back losses to the Habs. Beautiful! I think that made me almost as happy as when the Wings won the Cup. F*** Leaf Nation!

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2007/06/ru...erest_in_y.html People are saying we're looking at Yashin (yuck) to be our 2nd line centre. Everyone in Detroit knows that Babs, Holland and Bowman love Zetterberg at centre. It's his natural position and everyone says he's better down the middle. And yet we have all these so-called "hockey people" saying that we need a 2nd line centre, assuming that Zetts is a natural LW. Sorry for complaining but I'm tired of having this issue brought up. P.S. I hate the idea of Yashin on our squad. We just got rid of a big dumb lazy centre. Why would we want another one?

MY BAD. I forgot that Gartner was finally inducted into the HOF in 2001. I apologize.