egroen

He does not have to pass waivers if he is coming up for injuries. Lol.... just like the chicken pox!

Will do, thanks!

When Lidstrom retires, unless Howard has proved to be elite at the NHL level, I hope they target a goalie at that time. I would rather they spend the Lidstrom money on a goalie, over any other position. Until then, I am fine having an A goalie vs. an A+ goalie -- as long as we still have Lidstrom.

Really? And he was being honest? This from a player who compared leaving the Red Wings to leaving Russia? I was always curious if Sergei missed the Red Wings organization looking from the outside in. Seems like it would be tough not to miss it... but he really had made up his mind he wanted to leave.

Can't stand Clarke as a player and can not stand him as a GM. His antics in the '72 Summit Series, purposefully slashing Kharlamanov's ankle and fracturing it is just disgusting.

That's why I am almost as happy with every Ducks' loss as I am with a Red Wings' win -- As much as I like a good game in the playoffs as a fan, I do not want the torment of a playoff series against the Ducks. If they make it, I know they will step it up big time.

Sorry, too many of us remember the "Dead Things" era to not think about the future. The Red Wings won the cup 3 times in those 15 years of being "real good". I'll take that any day for continued "real goodness" -- as opposed to an all-or-nothing-go-for-it mentality. Too many Stanley Cup winners lately are going on to not make the playoffs the next year, nowadays.

I'd prefer a deadline deal similar to last year -- low risk / high reward. Didn't work out so well last year, but it could. Forsberg is typified by this - we only give up cap space. Perhaps Fedorov and Blake could come cheaper now that there are injury issues? Maybe Markov could be lured away from Russia? These are things I hope Holland is considering.

Who the heck here is anti-Cleary??? Do you mean people who do not want Kenny to overpay for him ($4 M)? I love Cleary, but you are kidding yourself if you think he is more valuable than Holmstrom. There are a hundred guys in the NHL who can do what Cleary does equally as well. There is not a single match for Holmstrom (Smyth is a notch below).

*If* there is not a forward (Ovechkin) who is head and shoulders above the rest, then they might look at goalies, if there is not a goalie (Luongo) who is head and shoulders above the rest then they might look at defensemen, where there clearly is one head and shoulders above the rest (Lidstrom). The stars really need to align properly for it to happen.

I just have this feeling we will lose him. Sucks. That he has the same agent as Sharp does not brighten my day, either. Many teams would love to have Cleary at $3.5-4 million after what he has shown the past two years. He would fit in under a lot of team styles.

Osgood and Hasek especially are severely underrated--- I see something like, "the Red Wings could dress a monkey, put it in net and still lead the league in GAA" a lot. They do not realize how difficult it is for a goalie that only faces a shot every other minute or two -- if you have ever played goalie, it takes a lot of mental fortitude to remain focused when you are not facing shots consistently and on a roll. Hasek's start of the season alone, disproves the 'monkey' theory.

I check out other forums and there is a healthy respect of the Red Wings out there... especialy a "How the heck do they do it? (stay at the top year-in-and-year-out)" mentality. There is always an acknowledgment that their team will have to play darn near perfect to have a chance at beating the Red Wings. If it is even remotely close, they are happy. It's not a "one man" they fear, but the "Red Wings" as a whole. Ducks' fans are so disgusted with their team right now it is hilarious

Love to see Erickson up.

Because of the slant towards forwards and goalies (since the Norris trophy was created), you will have to see a combination of two things happen: 1) If no one breaks 100 points like when Pronger when the Hart -- then they will start looking at defensemen. Injuries to Crosby and Alfredsson helps him there. 2) Points (almost) like Coffey, Bourque or Orr -- If Lidstrom is right up there with the leaders in assists (top 3) he might win it. So it probably will not happen. Despite the fact he is the hockey best player in the world.

[table=head]Place| Team | GP | W % | Pts 1 | DET | 54 | 0.778 | 84 2 | SJS | 52 | 0.625 | 65 3 | MIN | 52 | 0.606 | 63 4 | DAL | 56 | 0.598 | 67 5 | CGY | 52 | 0.577 | 60 6 | COL | 53 | 0.566 | 60 7 | NSH | 53 | 0.557 | 59 8 | PHX | 52 | 0.548 | 57 9 | VAN | 53 | 0.547 | 58 10 | ANA | 56 | 0.545 | 61 11 | STL | 51 | 0.539 | 55 12 | CBJ | 54 | 0.519 | 56 13 | CHI | 52 | 0.49 | 51 14 | EDM | 54 | 0.472 | 51 15 | LAK | 54 | 0.417 | 45 [/table] Currently the Ducks are out of the playoff race. If you estimate they need 94 points to make the playoffs, they need to go on a .635 point pace. Which is better than they've played since Niedermayer returned (.614). It is not a given the Ducks make the playoffs.

If I thought there was any chance of him coming here, I would make a wager with you, but there is no way Nashville would give him up so it is pointless.

Tootoo would rule in a Red Wings jersey -- hate him for any other team though Seriously, he would be an instant fan favorite. He is not nearly as dirty as the reputation that precedes him.... I watch a lot of Nashville games.

Well, I hear you there...

That's pretty funny if you are joking. If not, how do you even watch professional sports? The average blue collar worker works harder than the vast majority of pro athletes -- how can you live in this world where the athletes make a hundred times more money, let alone be a fan?

Yup, I'm just simply pissed about the whole thing. There was so much that could go wrong for Burke, but thus far he has come out of it smelling like a bed of roses. I do think a lot of it sheer dumb luck though.

That's great -- if you are a local age group coach. You'd be stupid in the NHL to not be willing to bump an Ellis for a Fedorov. Anyways, I'm just pissed it appears the Ducks will be able to get away with exploiting all these loop holes. Burke signs Bertuzzi and Schneider for more than we were willing to pay; loses Penner; loses Neidermayer and Selanne for the majority of the season; has to trade Macdonald b/c Neidermayer is coming back ----> And yet they are *STILL* sitting pretty with plenty of room under the cap, and look better on paper right now than they did last year when they won the cup. Maybe if Holland was pulling all this crap I would think he was a genius, but I just really want something to come back and bite Burke in the ass. Initially, I was really hoping they would fall out of playoff contention but they are sitting just fine there. Shove it to them in the playoffs, Red Wings!!!

Yeah, to be honest it is a little overwhelming right now. Imagine if they do pull off a Sundin at the trade deadline? That first round pick from Edmonton will carry a lot of weight in trade deadline deals.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=228393&hubname= So his salary is $1.5 million (cap hit of $600k) with $1.35 million in bonuses if he plays 10 games (which can count towards next year's numbers). So the Ducks could still sign a player with a salary this year of as much as $6 million at the trade deadline. Crap.

That $600k salary is a joke. I would think the players' union would be all over that. Why aren't they? This guy had 48 goals and 94 points last year. This is more than a "home town discount".