J-Swift

Definitely. And guys like Hudler, Filppula, Bootland, and even Ellis deserve a roster spot far more than Kopecky does. The only reason he's showing any effort this year is because he knows the Wings were going to dump him if he didn't have a solid season.

I thought this might be the right place to post this article: Filppula charting path toward the NHL It's good to see Filppula steadily improving like he is, after a somewhat shaky start to his North American pro career.

Outsider, I'm all for getting Ozzie some more starts while Manny's out with his knee injury, and he should definitely get the start after Howard plays tomorrow night. I certainly don't mean to come off as an Osgood-basher (though unfortunately I sometimes do), but the problem is I tend to be a "what have you done for me lately" kind of guy. It was clearly stated by Wings management before the season started that both Legace and Osgood would each get a fair chance at the starting position. And though Ozzie has had groin troubles, I believe Manny has earned the starting job right now. To ship him out would be absolutely ludicrous. My "capable of starting" statement might've been a little harsh. It's just that, so far this season, Ozzie has not looked like a guy capable of starting in net for the Detroit Red Wings. That's all. There's no denying that Chris does indeed know (and quite possibly has) what it takes. Despite the so-so numbers he put up in St. Louis last season, he truly had an excellent year. Osgood was brilliant in the last quarter of the season, and was the main reason the Blues snuck into the playoffs. This shows us all that Ozzie is, by no means, washed up. But my problem is, if Manny and Ozzie were both supposed to get a fair shot at the starting job, why would we even think about shipping Legace out when, as of right now, he looks like a starting goalie while Osgood does not?! Personally, I hope Chris does whatever it takes to get back on track. Whether it's starting more games, practising harder, or just relaxing. To be honest, I'd rather have him in the playoffs than Legace. Despite letting in the occasional softie from the red line, Osgood is awfully solid in the regular season, while Manny wasn't exactly spectacular in what little action he's gotten beyond the post-season. But, as I've said before, if the competition between Ozzie and Manny for the starting job is supposed to be a fair fight, past events cannot determine the outcome. Funny how every thread manages to involve Chris Osgood and Manny Legace somehow, huh? Sorry guys for totally hijacking this thread...

To be fair, NN, Evgeny actually uses his large size to his advantage, unlike certain people on this team (I'm talking to you Lilja), and he could add the toughness up front that this team sorta lacks. But his total lack of motivation is what makes me want to pass on him.

Did you think that maybe Babcock might have a reason for starting Howard over Osgood? But I'm sure you probably know much more about hockey than the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, right? Sure Ozzie's been great in the past, there's no denying that at all. It just doesn't make sense to ship Manny out before Osgood shows flashes of the goaltender he once was. It's absolutely ridiculous to have Chris starting because he "used" to be a solid goalie. If Kenny put together a team of players on the basis of what they "used" to be, we'd find ourselves at the bottom of the standings. Now I'm not saying he's washed up by any means, but as of right now, he has not been the better goalie, simple as that. Howard came in cold, and played just as well as Osgood. Which sort of puts to rest the "Ozzie hasn't played enough" excuse. The fact is, Ozzie has not been starter material this season, and until he is, I want Manny to stay put.

Personally, I hope this trade never goes down, but what really worries me is that it kinda makes sense. Artukhin is the big, physical, nasty power-forward many of us have felt this team needs. Though he was a hyped prospect originally, it doesn't seem like he will turn into a top six forward. And it's obvious the Wings could use a d-man like Salei. I hope that we can still acquire Witt or Salei, but it would be stupid to ship Manny out before either Ozzie or Jimmy show they're capable of being the starter.

Your certainty about this trade is disconcerning. The thought of shipping Legace out with Ozzie in a funk and only a rookie behind him is very disconcerning. Goaltending is not a strength of this team right now, and we don't have the depth in goal to be shipping away netminders.

Did Hasek use the Wings to get his Cup? Or did the Wings use Hasek? The answer is neither. Hasek wanted to play for a contender and the Wings wanted an elite goalie. Dom didn't just coast his way to the Stanley Cup Final, he was as much a part of it as the rest of the team. It's like saying Ray Bourque used the Avs to get a Cup.

Well, as the post states, Howard is here to stay permanently, and the goalie to be traded is not Ozzie. Gee, I wonder who we'd be getting rid of. I think it's way too early to dump Manny, but we do have a bit of log jam of goalies in the minors who could be shipped out. And some of them are decent prospects that could get us some return. I still want Brendan Witt.

I concur. They have no idea how to run a football franchise.

I never really thought about that. Does anybody know if Babcock took a liking to Salei?

Who do I want? I want Brendan Witt. But I have an awful feeling Holland will go after Janne Niinimaa. That guy is a little on the soft side, and he's massively overpaid too. But Heaton is correct. Witt is somewhat overrated by the posters on this message board (myself included) and he is not a top two defenceman by any means. IMO, Fischer is by far the better defenceman, despite the fact that he has a lower salary. I've been pushing for Witt, however, because he's willing to scrap and is excellent at laying guys out. This team could really use a player like that right about now. I like the suggestion of Colin White, he's another strong d-man and him and Witt are in the same price range. But it's very unlikely that the Devils will want to dump him.

I concur. I'd never trade Zetterberg now that we have him locked up for four years. He's going to be our first-line left winger (possibly even centre) for many years to come.

You could make the case that Abdelkader is a better player than Latendresse. But there's no doubt that a physical power-forward is exactly what this team will need when Shanny retires. Abdelkader does not have a real scoring touch like Latendresse does, and one should note that Guillaume has dramatically improved his skating ability since the the last CHL season ended.

Well, there's no doubt Kopecky is a bit of a garbage prospect, who, IMO, should've been dumped a while ago. But if you look up and down our prospect pool, you will see that there are very few players that are any closer to even ressembling a power forward. Yeah, it's sad, I know. Of course, there was that one guy we could've had in the second round this year. A guy who was ranked top ten in many draft previews, that absolutely lit it up in training camp, and has vastly improved the skating skills that caused his stock to drop in the draft. But I'm sure guys like Hudler will be able to fill the void left by Shanny in a couple of years.

No, he has a minor ankle injury and has not played for the past couple of games now. I think if anybody gets called up in the next couple of days, it'll likely be a defenceman.

If we didn't take anyone out of the lineup, I believe that trade would put us over the cap, although it is interesting. I'm sure Kopecky might have some trade value after being impressive so far this season in the AHL, and I, unlike Kenny, have given up on him, so I have no problem with moving Tomas at all. Hackert, however, is struggling and Brian Burke certainly knows this. Blatak doesn't provide the physical presence this team may need in the future, and I think Kindl should be able to take over the role as offensive d-man in a couple of years, so I feel Miroslav is expendable. But it should be taken into consideration how weak this team is when it comes to defensive prospects before Blatak were to be shipped out.

I got my money on Ottawa. They really do have a strong team in almost every aspect of the game. Not only do they have the skill that they've had for years now, but a guy like McGrattan will help with the grit they've so desperately needed in the past. Even more important than the presence of McGrattan is that of Chris Neil. Not only is he a tough guy, but now he is a key contributor to that offence. The defence is near impeccable, and it all comes down to whether or not Hasek's groin holds up. That's the biggest risk on the Sens' roster right now.

IMO, Witt is the better d-man, but Exelby's lower salary likely gives him a better chance of coming to the Wings.

I don't think he even played tonight. I guess he had some minor injury or something, that's probably been nagging him for the past couple of games or so.

That line had another big game tonight, with Filppula getting first star honours. He had a goal and two assists, Bootland had a goal, and Kopecky had two assists. Meanwhile Valtteri is moving up the ladder of rookie AHL scoring. He's up there with guys like Fehr and Tambellini. I'm glad to see he's adjusting well to NA game after somewhat of a shaky start. BTW, Jimmy Howard had a solid game as well, grabbing the second star.

I think it would be somewhat ridiculous to compare Kronwall and Ovechkin. Niklas is an excellent defensive prospect (one of the best in the league) but he is somewhat injury-prone, and doesn't really stack up to quite easily the best goal-scoring/power-forward prospect in the league right now. That is if you consider him to still be a prospect, which I'm assuming you do. And as snapshots has said, the writers rate their systems somewhat differently from team to team.

Hasek tried to not win the Cup in 2002? handing away two games to Vancouver, handing away games 4 and 5 to Colorado? If that team had not been so RIDICULOUSLY dominant, the Wings probably would have lost in the first round the way Hasek played. Yes, Hasek purposely handed over those games to the Nucks and Avs. The only reason Dom wanted to come to Detroit was to win the Cup. He must've said it a thousand times.

Just because Huselius put up bigger points than Hank in Sweden doesn't mean he's a more effective player in the NHL. And, in my opinion, the guy brings absolutely nothing to the table that Datsyuk and Zetterberg don't already have. We don't need another flashy, under-sized, finesse hockey player, we need a power forward (if anything). Not to mention Huselius has a whopping 6 points in 18 games this year, and is a -7. On the other hand, however, Huselius and Lilja would have some great chemistry. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist.

Hasek tried to not win the Cup in 2002?