Yzerman191

I'm not really sure why anyone would look to acquire Jason Spezza and pay him 7M per year when Kovalchuk is going to be available, and likely just a little more expensive. He's roughly the same age, a better goal scorer, less injury prone, and has proven he can do more with less. That's what would be going through my head if I was a GM.

I wonder if Washington will be in the market for a goalie or if they'll stay with Varlamov as the starter. They better win a Cup soon, because they can't keep a core that talented together for too long and surround them with talent.

I'd like to see Franzen play with Datsyuk rather than Zetterberg. Datsyuk is undoubtedly our best playmaker, whereas Franzen is definitely our best pure goal scorer. The two together should be able to make some noise. Also, I can't see Flip playing on the 3rd line. With all the talk Babcock and Holland have been doing about how Flip needs to take a step this year, he's not going to do that on the 3rd line. I envision Flip playing with Zetterberg and Bertuzzi, Holmstrom playing with Datsyuk and Franzen. Babcock has always had something against Hudler, even before he left, so I'm not sure it's going to be any different now that he's back. Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom Flip-Zetterberg-Bertuzzi Hudler-Eaves-Cleary Abdelkader-Helm-????? That leaves room for another gritty 4th liner who can rotate with Draper, Ritola, and maybe Miller too if they decide to resign him.

I would argue that this Blackhawks team was one of the best recent Cup winners. Better than the Penguins, Carolina, and Tampa Bay, IMO, when each won the Cup.

Adding Kane, Toews, Hossa, Sharp, Keith, Seabrook, Campbell, and Bolland puts the 'Hawks right around 45 million already. That's without considering Huet's disgusting contract, nor raises for Niemi and Hjalmarsson. Oh, and the other 12-14 roster players. I think the truth lies somewhere between what the 'Hawks fans want to believe and what the 'Wings fans want to believe. Will the 'Blackhawks chances nosedive after this off-season? Nope, they'll still be contenders and will give us a run for our money for the division title. However, their team certainly won't be anything like what it was this year. I think the Blackhawks will likely take a long hard look at who they consider the core of the team to be, namely Kane, Toews, Seabrook, Keith, and Niemi. Many of the rest of the players, if the offer was right, will likely be available to other teams.

If this is true, you guys are going to love this: From James Duthie's twitter.

You guys are funny. You're letting that number (40) skew your opinions. If we had signed another defenseman with the same skill, stats, etc. for the same amount and the same length, but he was 30 years old instead of 40, you'd all be rejoicing. Age is just a number; his abilities are not that of a 40 year old. He is still better than 99% of the league and his salary is going to reflect that. Also, his signing leaves this team with 11.6 million to spend, assuming the cap goes up to 58M. We'll have five D-men signed, including all of our top four. We'll have eight forwards signed, including all of the top players up for contracts. The only player left to re-sign that will make more than a million or so will be Holmstrom, and possibly Bertuzzi. We also have two very-capable goaltenders signed. IMO, we're in a pretty good spot.

I'm really excited Lidstrom decided to come back. Not only does it bode well for the team, as one of the top defensemen in the league is returning, but it says a lot about the confidence Lidstrom has in this team going into next year. Why would Lidstrom return if he didn't think we could ice a better team next year? Why would he return if he didn't think he could add another accomplishment to his long list of achievements (hinting at his comment at the end of the season)? As a fan, that has to be reassuring. EDIT: Do any of you actually think Keith or Pronger would be making those salaries if they had signed a 1-year deal? The reason their cap-hits are so low is because they were signed to long term contracts, not because that's all they were worth.

I'm rooting for Chicago because I think they deserve it. They had to go through both the first and third seeds, they flew out West for two of three possible playoff series, and they're just flat out the better team. Also, I like Toews, Sharp, Keith, and Seabrook, and I harbor no ill-will against Hossa or Kopecky. On paper, they've got an insane roster; Hossa, Toews, Kane, Keith, and Seabrook are all superstars. I personally think some of you guys let other teams' fans bother you too much. The 'Hawks winning really doesn't matter all that much; I think we'll still retain our bragging rights. We're still a powerhouse team remaining in contention, we've won more Stanley Cups in the last fifteen years than they have in the history of their franchise (literally; 4 > 3), and we've beat them in every playoff series we've played with them for the last twenty years. Not to mention the fact that they have 15 players signed and they're already over next year's salary cap with a young stud goaltender that may win the Conn Smythe. All of those things add up and make me pretty confident that I can root for the Blackhawks without giving their fans too much leverage on us.

That really sucks. Good luck to Yzerman; I truly hope he excels in his new role as GM. I hope he can someday return to Detroit.

I agree with the previous posters; Chicago would have won. I don't think we would have gotten swept, but there's not much doubt in my mind that we would have lost the series. IMO, Chicago is the best team in the league this year. They are absolutely stacked everywhere but in goal, and their young goaltender is proving himself to be just as good, if not better, as Jimmy Howard. Kane, Toews, Hossa, Sharp, Versteeg, Byfuglien, Keith, Seabrook, Campbell, etc. They've got a roster as stacked as the 'Wings did last year. Luckily for the rest of the league, the cap is going to level the playing field a bit (the same way it did to the Red Wings).

I'm surprised by the low grades for Holmstrom. He might not be a greater skater, but that's not really his role. Essentially, his one purpose is to stand in front of the net and get the dirty goals. He was second on the team in goals, behind only Datsyuk (and ahead of Zetterberg), and played twelve less games than Datsyuk did. Over a full season he was on pace for about 30 goals. Also, Jimmy Howard deserves an A. I don't care if you think he had a bad postseason; we made the playoffs because of him. The fact that Howard was consistently our best player night in and night out through most of the regular season cements his A in my mind. Anyone who doesn't think he vastly exceeded expectations is crazy.

Just a few things people will glaze over and continue to ignore: If Draper retires, we're still on the line for his cap hit. Do you honestly see the Red Wings putting Draper on waivers? Do you honestly see them trading him? Get real. Holmstrom is not washed up. He had more goals last year than Henrik Zetterberg in less games played. He had two less goals than our leader, Pavel Datsyuk, in twelve less games. That equates to a career year for him. Anyone who thinks he's not still valuable doesn't know what they're talking about. Also, what did people expect from Bertuzzi? He played all 82 games, put up the 45 points we wanted from him, and pitched in here and there. Was he the same Bertuzzi from 2003? No. He was the Bertuzzi that costs 1.5 million (less than Draper, BTW) instead. For 1.5M, 20 goals and 25 assists is pretty good, even for a guy who takes bad penalties and gives away the puck sometimes. EDIT: Just looked it up. Bertuzzi is 3rd on the 'Wings in giveaways. Number two is Rafalski, and number one is Pavel Datsyuk.

Great post. I wholeheartedly agree. I do not think it was a conscious effort by the referees to impede Detroit's success, nor an effort to help San Jose in any way. However, after watching all five games of the series, their incompetency did just that by sheer coincidence in four of the five games. The Red Wings were responsible for losing this series. A Stanley Cup-bound team overcomes any obstacle they face and wins the series regardless. In fact, I think even if the officiating was more balanced tonight, the Red Wings still would have lost because the Sharks were simply better. However, calling a spade a spade, the refereeing over the course of this series was very one-sided in favor of the Sharks. Statements like those made in this thread aren't meant to take away from the Sharks. In order to draw penalties, a team has to keep control of the puck, keep their feet moving, and yes, even sell calls whenever possible. Every team in the league does it. Most any team that wins a 'Cup experiences a little bit of luck en route, and I think the Sharks had a good deal of luck with the officiating, some of the bounces, missed calls, etc. But I will repeat: they were the better team.

Does it worry anybody else that our team is going to look very similar next year, but a year older and a little smaller? I'm really not a guy that complains much about the need for a physical presence, and I generally don't rally to sign fighters, but it does sort of worry me. Ericsson and Lilja aren't really what I would consider a physical presence, and while Helm and Abdelkader are good for a few hits every game, neither really makes an opponent think twice about taking a cheap shot (say, for example, trying to take out Flip's knee, or giving a concussion-prone Franzen a headshot). We currently have 7 forwards signed for next year: Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Filppula, Cleary, Hudler, and Draper. That, in itself, is a pretty solid top six with Draper as a likely 13th forward. However, I think it's likely that at least one of (and, IMO, probably both) Bertuzzi and Holmstrom will resign for next year. That takes us to 9 forwards. Add in the obvious: resign Helm and Abdelkader, and we're already at 11 forwards. We now have one spot left, and still have Eaves, Miller, and Ritola to think about before looking beyond the Red Wings organization. Do we even have space for a physical presence? And is the lineup really going to change except for the addition of Hudler, the possibility of no Lidstrom, and a team that is one year older?

I'd like to keep all three. If we could get Bertuzzi for around the same cap hit, it's hard to say he's not worth it. I'm not sure what it would take to resign Eaves and Miller, both of whom are RFAs, but they'll come relatively cheap with a pretty high payoff over the course of a season. They kind of fit the mold for Draper and Maltby's replacements - good grinders, effective PKs, and able to chip in a few goals over the course of the season. Additionally, I'm sure the 'Wings will resign Helm and Abdelkader (both are RFAs). Also, I'd like to see Holmstrom back, and I'm positive Draper will be back. Draper retiring does not relieve the Red Wings' cap hit for his salary (because he signed after the age of 35), so that does us no good anyways. On defense, I'd prefer Lebda to go and Lilja to stay, depending on their cap hits. Maltby's contract is up, and I'd really prefer we didn't resign him. I think Holland should tell Maltby the same thing he told Chelios: thanks for everything, but we're going in a new direction. Williams is almost certainly gone, as well as Brad May.

If Montreal were to make it to the finals, I can't think of a more deserving team. They'll have to go through Washington, Pittsburgh, likely Boston, and then whoever comes out of the West. That would be quite a feat. Also, their fans are very loyal and I respect that. Through thick and thin, those fans watch their team, ***** about their team, applaud their team, go to their games, etc. I like to see fans like that get rewarded, rather than a bunch of bandwagoners who just started following their teams once they started making a few playoff runs (a few come to mind).

I still didn't feel like the officiating was balanced, but is it ever? Someone is always getting screwed, and it just so happens that it's us this series. With that said, the officiating wasn't why we lost tonight. I think our loss was a combination of some bad puck luck, some careless plays, lack of finish, and some poorly timed goals. Overall, the Red Wings just look so tired and things just aren't clicking. It's extremely unlikely we come back from this, and that could just be for the best. Even if we did manage to come back and win the next four games, we'd still have to go through either Chicago or Vancouver before facing whoever comes out of the East (likely Pittsburgh or Boston). I'm just not sure they have it in them, barring some miracle. Either way, I'll watch all the remaining games this season and hope for the best.

I'm surprised by everyone's comments on Bertuzzi; I think he's been having a decent series so far. He has at least played better than Cleary. I also think Zetterberg and Datsyuk should be put together with Holmstrom. In game one, I thought the best shift of the night was on the 4-on-4 with Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Lidstrom, and Rafalski. Here are my lines: Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom (or you could put Datsyuk as the center, as Z has been terrible on faceoffs) Franzen-Flip-Bertuzzi Cleary-Abdelkader-Miller Draper-Helm-Eaves If nothing else, put Franzen with Zetterberg. I feel bad for Z; he's so clutch in the playoffs but he doesn't get to play with real top-notch skill (like Datsyuk, Franzen, Lidstrom) for the vast majority of the game.

This game wasn't even enjoyable to watch; it was just frustrating and stressful. The referees were abysmal today and I don't know how anybody can dispute that. All three goaltender interference calls (Abdelkader, Bertuzzi, Heatley) were just ridiculous, and the call that Setoguchi drew literally came right as I was talking about how I lost all respect for him after his diving in the previous game. Also, tonight was the first time I have ever seen a player ram his own head into a goalpost (on the helmet, of course) to draw a penalty. In the third period, we had several calls that were legitimate. Kronwall's hook, Cleary's slash, and the too-many-men call were indisputable. My problem, though, is that indisputable calls were not being called on both sides of the fence. The Sharks were interfering with our players left and right, holding our sticks, hooking us on rushes, etc. and faced absolutely no consequences. If you're going to call everything, fine, but do it for both teams. Also, it was as if all of the calls against us couldn't have come at worse times. A penalty to Howard right at the beginning of the first, a penalty to Datsyuk right at the end of the period, a penalty to Bertuzzi after we regained the lead and the momentum, a penalty to close out the second period, and then a constant stream of penalties to round out the third period.

Anyone see Datsyuk and Zetterberg on that 4-on-4? That was their best shift, IMO. Why not put them together for a few to try to get a quick goal and get us back into the game?

What about Rask? The guy is having a hell of a season and outplayed last year's Vezina-winner for the starting role on his team. He's as much of a factor as Howard is, if not more.

I disagree with a few: Lidstrom: B Datsyuk: A- Helm: B Stuart: B I think Lidstrom and Stuart had a couple of really bad games in two of those losses.

I wondered if that was coordinated! I was at the game tonight and my ears are still ringing. Was the crowd as loud on TV as they seemed in person? I've never been to a game with such a riled up bunch. It was an awesome experience! Also, that first goal REALLY looked like it was in from my point of view (section 219). What about on TV?

Round 1 Template: SJS/COL: 4-1 CHI/NSH: 4-2 VAN/LAK: 4-3 PHX/DET: 4-1 WAS/MTL: 4-0 NJD/PHI: 4-2 BUF/BOS: 4-3 PIT/OTT: 4-1 WC Champion: Detroit EC Champion: Washington SCF Champion: Detroit