egroen

I'm fine with it, I think mNy do not realize Ericsson is best as more offensive and Salei should be able to give him that opportunity. I don't mind seeing him get caught up ice occasionally but he does need to learn to use his size better. Salei has a pretty good breakout pass too... I think the Wings will be scoring a lot more this year.

Well, he's better than Leddy... The guy who will be replacing him.

Which Olsen twin is that?

If I gambled, I would put a lot of money on Chicago under-performing. Cup hangover is for real (some teams do not even make the playoffs after losing less players than Chicago) and only one key injury could hamstring them worse than multiple injuries did to Detroit last year.

Here are the Vegas over/under odds, which have Detroit higher: 1) WAS 108.5 2) PIT 104.5 3) BOS 100.5 4) NJD 101.5 5) PHI 97.5 6) TB 92.5 7) BUF 91.5 8) NYR 87.5 --------------- 8) OTT 87.5 8) MTL 87.5 11) CAR 86.5 12) TOR 84.5 13) ATL 83.5 14) NYI 78.5 15) FLA 71.5 1) DET 106.5 1) VAN 106.5 3) SJS 103.5 4) CHI 102.5 5) LAK 100.5 6) STL 93.5 7) CAL 92.5 7) PHX 92.5 ------------- 9) COL 89.5 9) NAS 89.5 11) ANA 88.5 11) DAL 88.5 13) MIN 85.5 14) CLM 79.5 15) EDM 76.5

I took the loss to the Ducks in 07 pretty hard and hated that team with a decent amount of passion - and also into our 09 series with them. Some of the characters on that team were simply dirty and arrogant and there was a lot of satisfaction in the old/soft/euro Wings beating the latest version of the Broadstreet Bullies (again). But the loss in 09 was harder than 07, and while I may have hated the players for the Ducks more (If Crosby played for the Ducks he would only be my "5th Most Hated" on that team), but the fact the Penguins were so universally heralded as the defining dynasty of modern times really set my teeth grinding. The observation that almost every single league and official deciding that year invloving the two teams seemed to overwhelmingly favor Sidney and his Argonauts also fried my nerves. The Hossa subplot was an annoying distraction and I really hated that 'the league was right' in who to back. Losing to the Sharks this year barely registers as a blip (Wings did not deserve that series at all, even with the reffing) compared to those two, and of course neither the Ducks nor Penguins remotely compare to the seering hatred I felt for the Avalanche.

Bettman could have done much better. Revenues are up, but I feel they could have been up much more... by focusing on strengths and not expanding into nothing markets. No matter how you spin it - losing an entire season is an abysmal failure and has never happened in NHL history. He has effectively alienated almost the entire NHL fanbase. Yes, it is not a popular job but come on - this guy is universally hated by almost every single fan out there. He is an embarrassing public persona and combative with even the simplest questions posed to him.

I"ll second Total Hockey as a great 1st book on the general (but detailed) history of hockey. Just a great resource.

It's been tough to find any first-had accounts from the game, but here's a good one posted over at KuklasKorner: http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/a2y/comments/anyone_for_a_pummeling/

Tampa Bay has managed to not piss me off yet, and the fact our away games there sound and look like home games makes me think the Lightning, with Yzerman running things now and at least for a little while, will escape my mountain-shattering wrath

And now the Coach who can never beat the Wings just got the Goalie who stays up with the shakes from visions of winged wheels coming for him.

Agree with Heaton's rant. I think I turned out alright but man, if my teenage days were put under a microscope........

That goal was lazy and it sucked! :-) Robert Lang was doomed to be a disappointment here due to the fact he was essentially brought in to replace Fedorov.

Hudler????

Heard it was a draw - impressive considering Beach is 7 inches taller than Callahan.

Sheahan is very strong too... Was like 5th or 6th at the combine in a few of the strength tests.

No, once the arbitrator deems it cap circumvention the commissioner has sole discretion to hand out the punishment... Which is binding and cannot be appealed. Can you imagine Bettman's reception in New Jersey were the Devils to win the Cup? Lol

I agree that it's too much, but the contract did come to fruition - the league however had the right to nullify it (based on deeming it salary cap circumvention), •and• fining them as well as taking away future draft picks. The first round just seems excessive to me.

Not bad at all - if we can't have one of the best Dmen ever, I'll be content with a bunch of good defensemen... sort of like Nashville has enjoyed. That group probably needs another defensive guy as thus far most of the prospects above are a little lacking in their own end (though that could change).... Maybe Kolosov could be that guy but more likely Holland grabs another Stuart type in free agency to balance them out. I am very pleased with how the Wings have drafted and developed defensemen in the past 5 years.

You might be right - but I would not be shocked if he made a move at some point. The Preds simply start each and every season a step back from the contenders b/c the ownership will not spend to the cap. Loyalty only goes so far when your team has never made it past the first round.

Gretzky with the Blues. Ulf Samuelsson was a Red Wing.

Kronwall is - if he could frickin' stay healthy. Fischer would have been.

Yeah, Chiasson is definitely underrated. Blake went on a tear at the end of the 1998 season, scoring big goals and fitting the mold of the hard-hitting, productive defensemen that the voters loved (see Phaneuf's runner-up for the norris). That said, Lidstrom was absolutely robbed of the Norris that year.

Agreed - Richard was the superior playoff performer, but I believe Hull was better at just about everything else, including goal scoring. I'll typically break down a player by peak, prime and career. LaFleur easily has the better peak and prime while Francis the better career.... ultimately I have a hard time even considering Francis as the better player when he was never even considered a Top 10 player in the game. LaFleur was considered the greatest player in the world for a good stretch -- I place a lot of weight on that. Francis played at a time when the center position was unbelievably stacked, but I'm not sure if he was ever even considered a Top 5 center in the world. He's definitely behind Gretzky, Lemieux, Yzerman and Messier. You've also got LaFontaine, Oates, Hawerchuk, Statsny, Savard, Gilmour, Turgeon, Fedorov, Forsberg, Lindros, Sundin and Roenick -- Francis' two-way play and intangibles make for a good argument over many of them, but certainly not all of them, especially on a per-year basis. The fact that Francis maintained a high level of play for a very long time (when many did not) bumps him over most of them, but in the specific case of Lafleur - absolutely not. Consistent good play just is not nearly enough to overcome 3 Art Rosses, 2 Harts (3 Pearsons/Lindsays) and a Conn Smythe. Good catch - my mistake! Maybe I succombed to homerism, but I really don't have a problem with Draper in the same sentence as Iafrate, Modin and Hogue. I disagree on Iafrate being the runner-up for sure. He was a 2nd Team all-Star once, while Sedin has now won a Hart. No way. Iafrate had all the tools in the world, but was missing the one in his head. Fast as the wind, incredible size, a monster of a shot -- and he played most of the time like a chicken with his head chopped off. No hockey sense at all. Draper is easily better defensively than Iafrate, but Al was better offensively -- I just think Draper has had a significant role on 4 Cups, while Iafrate was kind of a disaster (especialy for a 4th overal pick). Draper has also been a regular for Team Canada, having been selected for World Cup and Championship teams 6 times, while Al made the significantly worse USA Team once. both made their respective Olympics team once - but Draper made it for Team Canada as a pro while Iafrate made Team USA as an amateur.

I always thought he played with Fischer -- The Towers of Power!!!