Yzerman191

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I suppose. No way was Kronwall our best defenseman of the season; Lidstrom and Stuart were both easily better. You could definitely make the case that Kronwall was better than Rafalski before his absence, and it's no question that he's outplayed the others.

Cleary? Really? I don't understand picking Cleary before Flip. Oh well. Overall, great game to watch. This game brought a little optimism. Apparently, we can hang in there with the best teams (despite missing a few key players). That's good to know; I was starting to wonder... That overtime was one of the best and most intense I've ever seen in a regular season game. If only we had finished on a couple of those chances in overtime. Howard played well during the game and overtime, but he couldn't stop a beachball during the shootout. I don't care who the shooters are; those moves weren't anything special for an NHL caliber goaltender. 1/4 is disappointing.

I always get a kick out of the posters who think it's possible to give up garbage to get a superstar. What makes people think that Leino, Meech, or Lebda would attract anyone? How is it in one thread we're talking about making space for those returning and putting one of those three on waivers, yet in another thread we talk about trading them for a superstar, 50 goal scorer? Also, I keep hearing people say that Kovalchuk seems like the kind of guy that wouldn't sign for any less than the league maximum, and he's only in it for the money, and blah blah blah. Is there actually anything to back this up? I've never actually seen any evidence of Kovalchuk being overly greedy.

What's the lowest +/- rating someone has ever received in a single game? Could it really be much worse than -5? Turns out Claude Giroux had a -6 performance in just 13 minutes of ice time last week in the Flyers' 7-4 loss to the Senators. According to the NHL database, the record is -7, and it has been done many times. Don't worry Meech, I know you'll do it some day! Just keep doing what comes natural to you and you'll have the record in no time!

This season, this picture about sums it up:

The game tonight puts Howard at 2.16 GAA (7th place, or 5th when considering goaltenders playing at least 20 games) and .928 save percentage (4th overall, or 3rd when considering goalies with at least 20 games again). He's hanging with the likes of Miller and Kiprusoff, and above Nabokov, Brodeur, Luongo, and Lundqvist. That's Calder material! EDIT: Steve Mason won the Calder last year with a save percentage of .916, a GAA of 2.29, and 10 shutouts. Just throwing that out there!

Just curious what you guys think: who is the best modern-era goaltender? This includes guys like Roy, Brodeur, Belfour, Joseph, Hasek, and some others. Personally, I'd have to go with Hasek. Hasek's 1998 Olympics goaltending was by far the best I've ever seen. He led a relatively weak Czech team through Finland, US, Canada and Russia, some of the best teams in the world, and to the gold. He's got two Hart trophies, two Pearsons, SIX Vezinas, and three Jennings. He holds the record for the lowest career save percentage of any goaltender (well, since they started recording it) over both Brodeur and Roy. So who is your pick? Also, who is the most overrated goaltender of the modern era?

Whenever I think about Yzerman, the 2001-2002 playoff run comes to mind. I can't even imagine playing NHL-caliber hockey on one leg, let alone scoring at a point per game pace, and clutch goals to boot. I'm biased, so I voted for that one. I was kind of surprised that Giguere's 2003 playoff run didn't make the list. Say what you want about his pads and whatnot, but the 2003 sweep was pretty impressive. We had Fedorov, Yzerman, Shanahan, Hull, Robitaille, Larionov, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Chelios, and Schneider, averaging more than 45 shots per game, and scored six goals in four games. He posted EIGHT shutouts in that playoff run.

I considered Tretiak, but I've never actually seen him play, so I can't rate him. As for the "modern" era, I had the 1980's and after in mind, but feel free to define it however you want. I didn't want Sawchuk in the debate because for many, there wouldn't be a debate. As for the argument against Roy, I think it's hard to dispute the fact that he is a big game goaltender, especially using 1993 as an example. Towards the beginning of his career, he played against some of the best players to ever play the game in the prime of their careers (Lemieux, Gretzky, Yzerman, Messier, Hull, etc.). In fact, at the time, 1993 was the highest-scoring regular season in the history of the NHL, with the goal per game average sitting at 7.25. In 1993, three of the final five games against Gretzky's Kings went into overtime, and 13 of 20 of the playoff games were won by just a single goal. His save percentage in that playoff run was .929. The Habs top five forwards were Damphousse, Kirk Muller, Brian Bellows, Mike Keane, and Eric Desjardins, with only Damphousse scoring at a point per game pace. This wasn't a stacked Canadiens roster that won the Cup. I'm also surprised nobody mentioned Curtis Joseph in there top five, yet so many people have talked about Ed Belfour. Their stats are pretty similar, with Belfour usually playing on better teams (Joseph actually holds the record for most losses of any goaltender, if I'm not mistaken). I'm not necessarily saying Joseph is better than Belfour, but their regular season save percentages (Belfour's .906 vs. CuJo's .904) and playoff save percentages (.920 vs. .917) are very similar. EDIT: Also, thinking about it, Richter is pretty similar to CuJo statistically as well.

I would probably put Brodeur behind both Hasek and Roy on my list. While it may seem like a slight considering some of his records, many of those records are really team stats. Shutouts for example, aren't necessarily always dependent on the goaltender. Don't get me wrong, goaltenders can be the sole reason for the shutout, but I'm not convinced that's been the story over 100 times in Brodeur's case. Also, wins certainly aren't solely based on the efforts of the goalie. Wins are a team effort, and while the goaltender contributes, there are other factors that can greatly inflate this statistic. Brodeur is a terrific goaltender who has played under a terrific system, often with very talented defensive players. Everybody says that Brodeur is the "big game" goalie, and that's precisely one of the reasons I rank Roy above him. In 1998, Roy was given the start over Brodeur. And again in 2002, Joseph was initially given the start over Brodeur (though I'm convinced Roy would've gotten the start over both had he decided to participate, but that's just speculation). Brodeur has four Vezinas (all after Hasek and Roy retired for the first time), four Jennings, and no Conn Smythe trophies. I'm not convinced he was the big game goalie that Roy was; he certainly never carried a team to the Cup (IE Roy in 1993). Roy won THREE Conn Smythe trophies. The only area I give Brodeur the nod over any other goalie in this era is in the measure of consistency and longevity. Neither Hasek nor Roy have been as consistently good as Brodeur, and even at 37, he's still posting pretty impressive numbers. He's in his 16th NHL season (compared to Roy, who retired after 19) but has played 65+ games in 13 seasons, always posting impressive numbers. Hasek played 15 seasons, but played over 65 games just 5 times. Not exactly impressive when considering longevity or consistency. However, in each of those 5 seasons, plus the lockout year, Hasek won the Vezina. In my opinion, the real debate is between Hasek and Roy. We'll never know who truly is the better goaltender, as Hasek tripped on the stick too early.

I understand the criticism of Datsyuk and Lidstrom, as they haven't been their usual selves, but I think Zetterberg has been our best player (or top 3) this season. Before getting injured he was one of the few 'Wings I looked forward to seeing on the ice.

This is pretty much what I expected. A 'Wings team with no Zetterberg, Franzen, Flip, Williams, Kronwall, Ericcson, Cleary, or Lilja and a cold goaltender who doesn't turn it on until April against arguably the most stacked roster in the NHL on the tail end of back-to-back away games.

Bummer. I've always liked Ovechkin, but the list is really starting to pile up. He's getting harder and harder to like with all of these dirty moves. I can't imagine the s*** storm around here if he did something like this to one of the Red Wings (IE Kronwall).

Dumb move. I don't think the NHL will suspend him. Reckless, yes, but I think the Panthers management should be able to deal with a matter such as this one in their own way, however they see fit. I wouldn't be surprised to see the team suspend him though.

I encourage anyone who hasn't done so to read the article the interview came from. Some of the things he said were sort of taken out of context by the freep article, and to me, it didn't sound nearly as bad. Also, it was very interesting to hear him talk about his defection from the Soviet Union. I don't think Fedorov will have his jersey retired. People keep comparing Fedorov's contributions to Yzerman's and Lidstrom's, but theirs go so much further. Disregarding points and the like, what were his contributions? Was he a leader? Did he ever seem to have a real desire to stay a Red Wing? Did he embody the traits that we all like to think of as that of Yzerman or Lidstrom? Fedorov had the stats, but there's more to it than that in this organization.

Right now the 'Hawks have $43M locked up in 4 defensemen, 9 forwards, and 1 goaltender. Even if you signed Toews, Kane, and Keith to contracts worth $4M a piece, which won't happen, they'll be within a million or two of the salary cap. I just don't see how it is possible. They're in a situation more dire than the 'Wings were last year.

I haven't had the chance to watch many non-Red Wings games this season, so I was wondering, has anyone had the chance to check out some of the rookies from the 2009 NHL draft? Who stands out? Who leaves you feeling underwhelmed? I'm really curious about Victor Hedman; he was highly regarded as a potential number one pick, and a pretty sturdy stay-at-home defenseman. He's also bigger than most players, but has a style more comparable to Lidstrom than Pronger, from what I've read. I noticed he doesn't have a whole lot of hits, but his average time-on-ice is pretty high, and he's managed to keep a neutral +/- rating despite being on the mediocre Tampa Bay Lightning. And just looking at the stat sheet, Tavares has managed 9 points in 12 games. That's decent for a guy with no surrounding cast whatsoever. How has he looked?

I'd expect nothing less from Avery. I know lots of people will laugh and applaud his comments, but it further shows Avery really does have a complete disrespect for the game and all of its affiliates.

Carmen, you lost all credibility as soon as you said Ovechkin is good for the "occasional lucky goal." Perhaps he's just the luckiest guy alive?

There are times when the Oilers don't even have to do anything. As long as they follow the play, the puck keeps ending up on their stick right in the slot. Talk about handing it over on a silver platter. Ridiculous.

I don't think it's a lack of ability. They've got two star players capable of being top twenty point scorers, several top six forwards, and many more-than-capable role players to fill up the back two lines, not to mention one of the best defense corps on paper. Also, the goaltending really hasn't been the problem thus far. Sure, we lost Hossa, Sammy, Hudler, Franzen, etc. but our roster was unbelievably stacked last year that, even with a complete lack of motivation at times, we made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. This year we've got to make up for that loss of talent with the attributes that won us the 'Cup two years ago: motivation and hard work.

Unbelievable. They're handed a powerplay in the last three minutes and they play like that? Guys standing around, half-heartedly attempting to take it in the zone, letting them clear it over and over, etc. It puzzles me how this team seems not to care about winning sometimes.

Even if the 'Hawks sign just Toews, Kane, and Keith to contracts worth about $4M a piece (good luck with that), they'll still be over the cap. They are the epitome of cap hell.

Why? Same defense (plus Ericcson for an entire season), same goaltending. Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Cleary, Franzen, Filppula, Holmstrom, Helm, Leino, Abdelkader, Draper, and Maltby all back for sure. Roughly nine million dollars to spend on some defensively responsible depth up front. As bleak as many have made our cap situation out to be, it's really not all that bad. If the season started tomorrow, we'd have lost Sammy, Hudler, and Hossa up front; Chelios at defense, and Conklin in goal. That's not terrible; in fact, I might argue that it leaves us some money to pick up a Drake-esque veteran forward, a talented winger for Flip, an enforcer, bring up Howard, and work some defensive prospects up for a few games.

I think this playoff run sort of seals the deal for me that bringing Hossa back would be a bad idea. Not because I blame the loss solely on him (win as a team, lose as a team), but because he had every reason to play hard and he just didn't. Additionally, I don't think he really meshed well with the team. Datsyuk and Hossa probably had the best chemistry, but I think Zetterberg and Datsyuk should stay together to maximize both of their outputs. Now that the playoffs are over, and we have all the facts (except the cap, which is a big deal), we've got around 9M to resign two forwards (three for depth purposes, probably) and a back up goaltender. We're pretty set on defense as long as Lilja can come back next Fall. I'm guessing Kopecky will be resigned (due to Babcock's man love of him). Leino will almost certainly be resigned and see some time with the big club. I'd like to see Hudler back, but not for a contract like Flip's. Also, if Sammy could be resigned for around 1M, I'd be all for seeing him return. I think the 'Wings really should consider looking outside of the club for some replacements of players this year. The lack of heart was pretty apparent, and I think some new blood would do a lot of good. We've got a lot of new blood coming up (Helm, Ericcson, Leino, etc.), but I think some veteran presence would really help.