vladdy16

QFT. Also, I have never seen anyone able to shake off a bad goal or a bad game better than him.

I don't think streaky is a fair assessment, at least not any more than anyone else. And I suspect that his playoff performance will go far in improving his confidence level this season. Is it October yet?

I guess I'm the only one around here who remembers Howard playing lights-out in the playoffs. We have no need for a #1; we need a good backup.

Heineken. Yeah, I said it.

Folks around here are pretty burnt out on line threads. Bump this topic come October and it will be much more popular.

No real news right now, but here's an interview with Stevie! post-talks.

FINALLY something that makes me feel a little less "Huh?" about Big Rig's contract!

It's not like Mr. Ilitch is Dollar Bill - we've always spent to the cap. I think we pay what we can to have a well-rounded team; if that means players get paid less here than elsewhere, yet they get to play with a great team with a perennial chance for the Cup, who wouldn't take a little less? I'm in the "he's entitled to his opinion" camp. Whatever. And I can't really blame him for still being pissed about his uncle. I'd probably feel the same way, new management or no. Someday it will sink in that players take less here because they are treated with an insane amount of loyalty in return. He can ponder that when he's missed the playoffs a few years and his contract becomes an albatross in a market that has a lot less fans, albeit rabid ones.

I've seen a few people say this is a "sign and trade" contract. Who the hell is going to assume this contract?

I have nothing against Ericcson, but he's wildly inconsistent. He'll make a really smart play one second and then follow it up on the same shift with two head-scratchers. I get that the pickins' are slim for Dmen, but even given those circumstances, he's overpaid. By a lot. Also, I have some mad Draper love and merely like Eaves, but even I would choose Eaves over Drapes for the next 3 years. What I wouldn't give to be alone in a room with Holland with some sodium pentothol.

I am very happy with this signing, but as has been stated previously, we are NOT out of Bizzaro World; still trying to wrap my head around Big Rig's contract and thinking Eaves is worth more. I won't complain about paying him less, I just can't make sense out of these contracts next to each other. Welcome Back, Patty!

Burke is probably the only one out there who would touch this contract with a 10 foot pole and a HASMAT suit; other than that, we're screwed. Please, Big E, please prove us all wrong.

Kenny, Kenny, Kenny. You sign Derian Hatcher, I assume you were hung over at the time. You sign Bertuzzi not once, but twice, I assume temporary insanity. You sign Ericcson to that kind of contract, I'm thinking lobotomy. WTH?????

According to the NHL website, Pens are still in the mix. Decision expected tonight, signing tomorrow, but we've all heard that before so take it with a grain of salt.

Here's a source.

Agreed. The minute I heard Kenny traded his first round pick for 2 in the second, I knew he was onto something no one else had a whiff of. (Of course, so did everyone else at that point.) While Kenny's record is far from perfect, I generally cannot find fault with him in the draft. I'm anxious to see how these pan out.

It's been in the works for a while, but Matt has that damn family ("feed me, clothe me, keep me warm") and those 2 jobs (who actually expect some form of production for those weekly checks, the bastards) anchoring him; I'd love to see it become reality as well, but Matt's reality just doesn't allow for it right now. We can all do a happy dance once it's in place.

I would think the presser I heard about but can't find a link to is unnecessary at this point. We know for sure Nick is coming back and I don't think anyone cares in the least what we're paying him, so we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief and move on to more important matters like what we'd like to do with Hudler. Link to Wings announcement.

You can't purchase tickets on line directly from the Joe. You can check out season ticket holder sales here, you can go to Ticketmaster.com or I would recommend going to StubHub.com. Sometimes you get better deals on StubHub and it's completely reputable. Let us know what game you get tickets for! *edit* Just to clarify, that link is not to purchase season tickets, but to purchase tickets from season ticket holders.

I am shocked that Bettman would even consider letting the Wings move East. That puts all of the top-draw teams in one Conference. I'm wondering what Western Conference teams will have to say about the biggest road draw not being there anymore; will they protest because attendance will decrease or will they breathe a sigh of relief not having Wings "home" games anymore?

You should blame yourself for checking ESPN in the first place. The only time I go there is when I want to know about poker. Which is never.

It's possible, but as a parent I can vouch for the fact that sometimes your kids do the damnedest things.

QFT. Keep it on topic, please.

Karsch and Anderson on 97.1 are bringing up Nick's plus minus and saying we should have paid less. While a partial barometer, this stat is not indicative of any defenseman's overall worth. 1) While his plus/minus went down from last year, this is more indicative of team defense; Nick can't lift every stick on the ice. 2) He had 60 points last season. 3) Losing both our assistants AND our captain in the same year does not a smooth transition make. 4) Even with a less-than-desirable plus/minus, he's STILL a Norris finalist. Why do I bother listening to these guys??