J-Swift

I'm glad to see he had a great season in the AHL, I felt bad for him went we sent him down, it was kinda his dream I guess to play for the Wings. Though I don't think he was the right fit for us and letting him go was probably the right move.

The both bring very positive aspects to the lineup, but I have to agree with you guys, Zetterberg is the man. He should be a Selke contender in a couple of years, and I imagine he'll get 40 or more goals a season for the duration of his contract. It sure is nice to have a guy like Hank locked up for four years.

Well, we might not be set, but with Zetterberg and Datsyuk moving into their primes and guys like Filppula, Hudler, and Grigorenko in the organization, our offence should be solid for years, with any major holes being filled in through free agency. Sometimes I get a little worried about our D though. Kronwall has to beat the injury problems and after him, we're not exactly stacked on defensive prospects. Quincey, Kindl, and Lebda should all become NHL defencemen, but none (maybe with the exception of Kindl) strike me as top pairing guys. I'd imagine, though, that with Ken Holland and the Wings holding onto their high draft picks now that we should be able to correct any lack of prospect depth we have on the blueline in a couple of years. Goaltending shouldn't be too much of an issue. I was a little worried at times this season as to how Jimmy Howard was coming along, but his little run in March put to bed any fears I might have. And being named the AHL's top rookie goaltender is a nice honour too. I'm not sure what to expect out of Liv, but I gather he's had a decent season over in Sweden and is ready to come over.

I've always been a little hazy on those kind of rules too, but I know it is possible to send players down from the NHL back to their junior leagues. Colorado did it with Wolski this season, and I think the Jackets did it with Gilbert Brule. In fact, Wojtek Wolski went on to finish third in OHL scoring after playing 9 games for the Avs this season. I don't think guys playing for North American junior leagues can actually stay in the AHL at Kindl's age, unless the player's junior league season is over (which in Kindl's case, it is). However, I think guys from European leagues are allowed to come over to the AHL and play at that age, New Jersey's Nicklas Bergfors was playing for the Albany River Rats this season despite being drafted in 2005.

I'd imagine for the duration of the Griffins' playoff run, but he'll wind up back on the Kitchener Rangers at the start of the next OHL season. Unless Detroit puts him on their roster next year, which is awfully unlikely.

Jimmy made 31 saves and was the second star in a 6-0 shutout of the Syracuse Crunch tonight.

According to theahl.com, Jakub picked up an assist on a third period goal by Eric Himelfarb.

We can't really trade Manny if he's not under contract.

Do you mean invisible? Kindl's performance in this year's post-season is reminiscent of his playoff totals last year, in which he had no points and was a -6 in 12 games. Jakub still has a season left in the OHL, though, and at the rate he developed this season, he's likely to lead the league in defencemen scoring.

I was wondering if you could compare him to any player in the NHL right now?

If I were a coach I would take a Rivers over Kronwall any day. But what do I know, I only played defense for 20 years. You, on the other hand, post a lot on interweb message boards. Good job. I would say... not much of anything. peace Obviously since you think Lidstrom is the second coming of Christ you are already predisposed for liking d men who are a bit on the softer side. Kromwall is a *****. Rivers was gritty. If you'd rather have a team full of golden boys, great. Say good bye to any credibility you once had.

I'm with Barnes on this one. It's confusing to me that a defender who has seamlessly transitioned into a major role the AHL could be put so low, especially considering how thin we are on defensive prospects. I'm a little suprised to see Ryno ahead of Quincey. I think Johan is likely to turn out as a steal for us, but nobody knows what he's capable of yet.

An Oveckin fan, maybe? Anyways, he clearly looks bigger to me. Look at the size of his neck.

Yep. Safe to say Ovechkin was not well thought of here in Canada. Though I personally really like Alex. As NN put it, he has a lot of enthusiasm and loves scoring goals. Crosby yaps, yes, but I think he's really trying to do too much. On a team where half the veterans couldn't possibly care less, he's been put into a leadership role that I don't think he's ready for.

I think something must've indeed caught Holland by suprise today. Who knows whether the Wings had something lined up for Witt, but I really do find it hard to believe that Kenny went into the day planning to give up Rivers and a fourth for Cross and a seventh. The moves he made today were redundant to say the least.

You should probably post a link: Cory Cross scouting report

Unless Cory Cross has progressed significantly from when I saw him play all the time in TO, I'll take Jamie Rivers thank you very much. You are underselling Rivers, IMO. He was a better depth d-man than he got credit for. The fact is, and I repeat for the thousandth time, Cross could not hold down a spot on the worst defensive squad in the league. Anyways, though acquiring Cory Cross is indeed pretty insigificant, the fact that at the end of the day we shipped Jamie Rivers and a fourth out for Cross and a seventh kinda perplexes me. What was Holland hoping to accomplish?

I do not agree with that one bit.

I believe with only a quarter of the season remaining, we'd only have to add on a quarter of whatever salary we acquired to our cap. At least that's how I think it's supposed to work....

Because Todd Simpson is f**king garbage, he was the reason why Chicago had so many 5 on 3 penalties. The only reason to get Todd Simpson is to help boost the penalty killing % because we'd have an extra 3-4 night on DUMB PENALTIES. I don't even think Cross is good, I don't even care about him, I didn't even want Holland to do a move at all. But Todd Simpson is garbage, he doesn't replace anyone, he's physical, he fights and he would cost us goals and get penalties in crucial situations. Rivers or Cory Cross? Who cares, neither are playing and here's one more thing. WE WERE NEVER GETTING A DEFENSEMEN TO PUT INTO THE TOP 6. I think there should've been some attempt by Holland to replace the void left by Jiri Fischer. I'm fully aware of the fact that we've been moving along fine all season without him, but when it comes to the playoffs, defensive depth is key.

Isn't it kind've foolish to think we're going to make it through the playoffs with four defencemen 35 or older. Cross will see some time with us, and he is no better than Jamie Rivers. Not one bit. I got to see him play all the time in Toronto.

He's a soft Andreas Lilja.

Nashville has issues with shot totals, so they got a defensive defenceman, that's how I see it. And I really do think Witt provides more than just the ability to take penalties. He's widely regarded as a top four d-man.

Higgy4, Come on man, Holland just gave away a 4th rounder for a guy that sucks and that doesn't benefit the team and you want us all to be happy about it. Every other team around us got stronger and all we did was get slower. Calgary didn't! Well, they did land Lundmark. I know it's no big deal, but at least they'll have some depth down the middle (which they truly need). Meanwhile, two of our biggest conference rivals (Dallas and Nashville) bolstered their D. I realize Witt was probably out of our range in regards to what Holland had to work with, but he could've done far better than Cory Cross.

Now I'm getting worried. But in a sense, this is all too similar to the signing of Lilja. Just when it looks as if Ken Holland has no choice but to go out and nab a physical defenceman, he takes the biggest softie he can find and overpays for him.