egroen

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On a team that has struggled offensively (outscored at even strength), with less offensive production individually this year, Lidstrom is racking up +/- like nobody's business... and he is out there consistently against the top lines in the league. Beyond his own partner, Rafalski at +16, the next defenseman on this team is Kronwall at a +1. The best forward on the team is Datsyuk at a +13. Only 8 Wings are in positive territory, while 17 are in the negative (18 if we counted Leino).

I almost looked that up because I was thinking the same thing... obviously I should have taken the time But yes, it illustrates how the Adams rarely actually goes to the best coaches.

Lidstrom -- seriously, just outstanding.

Of course not... it is not unusual for teams to struggle after numerous deep playoff runs, plus the fact this team was essentially revamped (more rookies and free agents that we have seen since the early 90s), compounded with the confounding injuries this year and his job is awfully safe. That is rational thinking, and Holland seems perfectly capable of it. I don't agree with everything Babcock does (his love of Kopecky over Hudler, for example) but the plain and honest truth is he has actually done pretty darn well considering the cards he was dealt this season.

I have a feeling guys just sent down from the NHL get a lot of s*** also...

:beerbuddy:

And yet he has as many Jack Adams awards as Scotty Bowman.

What's funny is not even Calgary fans would agree with him. Phaneuf has to be one of the dumbest players in the NHL, so much freaking talent, but simply not a brain to match... out of position constantly, coughs the puck up continuously and has about 5 moments each game where you can literally read "Duhhhh, oops..." on his face. It was a joke Phaneuf was ever runner-up for the Norris, even more of joke than Green last year. Classic case of "hits = defense" mentality at work that year.

Only a "bandwagon fan" would not be pissed off right now.

I've somehow grown a soft spot for Burke over the years -- at least the guy is willing to shake things up and keep it interesting. A friend of ours recently lost a son at the same age and there's few things more difficult.

Ericsson in last year's playoffs was better than anything I have seen from Lebda. Big, mobile defensemen with 100+ mph slapshots are worth keeping around for a while, while small, speedy puck-carrying defensemen are a dime a dozen. Fischer did not start rounding into form until his mid-twenties, and he had been playing defense most his life - unlike Ericsson.

Close All these goalies will have won the Conn Smythe in their rookie years

Ward, Hextall, Roy, Dryden, Howard -- What do all these goalies have in common?

Bergfors, Oduya, Tedenby and 1st round pick....... told you he wouldn't go for nearly as much as many were projecting.

I also agree most of the posters in this thread are nuts... no way a Kovalchuk rental goes for as much as what is being thrown around here.

Correct -- cap tracking websites show that surplus cap space (where these reporters are getting that figure from, I'm sure) only because Franzen and Lilja have not come back yet -- once they do, it's all gone.

Reports have stated Waddell was asking Holland for Filppula, Ericsson, a top prospect (like Smith) and a 1st for Hossa (and probably a scrub throw-in). Holland to Waddell: Stuff it. Wings win Cup and sign Hossa in the off-season.

Still an overpayment for a rental - and ugly cap problems. If Detroit wants to go for Kovalchuk it will be in the off-season... that's when I would be dangling Filppula for offers.

I kinda doubt he ends up demanding that on the free market (maybe, but then he may as well go to the KHL for the guaranteed crap NHL team he lands with (he'd just be recreating the same Atlanta situation all over again, only worse... at least Atlanta has nice weather))... it's obvious he does not want to be in Atlanta, hence we are hearing about outrageous demands now.

Holland will not lose 100 IQ points in the next month, hopefully. Kovalchuk is a rental. Period. Holland would be utterly R-tarded if he traded away a good portion of our young core for someone he can simply go for in the off-season (and then, yes, I would consider trading Filppula). Oh -- and I'm not sure if Kovalchuk is that much better than Hossa -- for 10 less goals Hossa provides a two-way game.

Kovalchuk will not go for much more than Hossa did, remember (some of these offers are such an absurd overpayment for a rental): Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a first-round draft choice while receiving Hossa and Pascal Dupuis Essentially 2 young bottom-liners, a top prospect and 1st round pick for Hossa and a young bottom-liner I don't think the Wings will even go for him, but something like Helm, Kindl and a first round pic is more realistic for Kovalchuk... which makes Detroit over the cap and pretty much out of the discussion. Holland is not stupid enough to send young, talented players like Filppula and Kronwall that are signed long term with good-to-great cap hits away for a rental.

Post-lockout refs were calling diving more and the league was reviewing plays and assessing fines for diving (and publishing it) -- the NHLPA had a major cow over this and made a stink -- as a result, diving has been called less and they no longer review plays to assess fines.

Murphy and Schneider were not any better than Rafalski defensively... Lidstrom was busy covering for them, just as he is now busy covering for Rafalski. If you think Rafalski is all of a sudden a 2nd or 3rd tier player, you are even further divorced from reality than most Red Wings fans who rip apart any defenseman that is not Lidstrom... and even Lidstrom now that Nic is not perfect 100% of the time.

He definitely needs a message -- wish it didn;t mean we had Lebda and Meech to look forward to against the Sharks, however. Wish Janik was up.