joshy207

These are the divisions that were proposed in late 2011. Another ESPN article, just tweeted in the last hour, says there will be minor tweaks to that proposal, i.e. a few teams will be moved around.

Your Detroit RedDogs, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to see Bertuzzi, Samuelsson, and Cleary squeezed out by younger, hungrier players, and Emmerton and Mursak replaced by better prospects. I don't expect those things to happen until this summer at the earliest, though.

And, right on cue, Tatar has been recalled from Grand Rapids...

Not much Babcock can do other than benching someone. He has to use the roster he's given. A shakeup at this point falls on Holland's desk, a change in personnel.

Another thought... there are far more left-hand shots in the NHL than right-hand shots. This has to do with dominant-hand theories. Many believe the strong hand goes on top of the stick, which would help in handling the puck and overall stick control. Since most people are naturally right-hand dominant, those who play hockey would be left-handed shots. The other theory says the strong hand goes on the bottom of the stick, which would aid in powering shots and passes. This theory is less popular in traditional hockey areas though.

A few thoughts: -Samuelsson has a No Trade Clause. He's not going anywhere unless he gets bought out in the summer. -Seth Jones is 15 months and 2 draft-years younger than Ouellet. Ouellet theoretically SHOULD be better in a setting like the WJC. Besides, you can never have too much prospect depth on D... I think this team is ripe for a change. It just feels stale. The challenge is figuring out the right move(s). However, I think if this team continues to struggle and underachieve, someone needs to be moved out, not only to acquire some needed help, but to send a message to the players who remain.

Are you drunk? High? What are you even talking about?????

Sather?

What's your point? Nowhere did I say anything about the Blues in my post, other than the name Tarasenko, who they drafted at #16.

There's a phrase, "To whom much is given, much is expected." Red Wings' players are given a lot. An awful lot. They're treated very well by ownership and management, rewarded with contracts that some of us fans say are for too long or for too much money, especially when a player is past his prime. The players that fit into the team's structure are kept here for a long time, usually only leaving when they choose to retire or to move on. They're largely sheltered from the public, they don't have to do all the appearances that players in less-traditional hockey markets have to do. And they're (for the most part) adored by the team's fans. What's expected in return is that they give 100%, play well, win more often than not, and do well in the playoffs. Last night's game was a total failure in every way possible. There was no effort, no emotion, no pride, no appearance of any desire to even be there playing NHL hockey. I don't think that's what we will see all season, far from it. But that was no way to start the season, especially after what transpired this summer and fall. Can you imagine if that was a home game? The stands would have (or should have) been completely empty by the third period. It was unacceptable by anyone's standards and especially for a team that says they expect to compete for the Stanley Cup every season. A couple of you have said the team is due for an overhaul. I couldn't agree more. The locker room seems to have become a country club over the last few seasons, there is no price to be paid for under-performing. Nobody gets traded away, nobody gets let go, nobody gets benched. Helm's line was the team's best line in way too many games last year. Other guys continually disappear for long stretches but continue to play here. Players who don't "fit the system" aren't looked at as possible acquisitions. Now, what we have is a collection of redundant players and a team that can't adapt to an opponent who outworks the Wings or who can shut down their puck-possession style. They couldn't dump and chase if their lives depended on it. An aggressive forecheck is out of the question, 3 or 4 players excepted. And there's no real hope coming up through the ranks. Yes, Nyquist, Tatar, Andersson, and Sheahan are all NHL-ready or very close, but what are those guys going to do when they get here? 3rd line, maybe fill in on the 2nd line? We don't have anyone like Tarasenko, Skinner, Henrique, Andrew Shaw... someone who can quickly step in and produce at an NHL level. Andersson and Sheahan project as 3rd liners and Nyquist and Tatar have talent but are small. Same as the roster we have now. It's time for an organizational shift, this season or this off-season.

Brunnerer

Going into 13/14, the Wings have 10 forwards under contract: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Samuelsson, Helm, Bertuzzi, Tootoo, Abdelkader, Eaves, and Emmerton. Who knows what's going to happen with Eaves (health) and Emmerton (numbers game), they may not be here by then. RFAs are Nyquist and Mursak. I'd expect Nyquist back, and maybe Mursak depending on what he does this season (if he even plays here). UFAs are Filppula, Cleary, Brunner, and Miller. They've said they want to re-sign Filppula, I imagine Brunner would be back if he plays well, they could let Cleary walk, and Miller's situation would depend on numbers. I would also expect most or all of Tatar, Sheahan, Jurco, Jarnkrok, Pulkkinen, Ferraro, and Andersson (RFA) to challenge for roster spots. That's a lot of guys going for 13 or 14 spots. Either a few guys would have to be dealt or Holland could use the buyouts. IMO, Samuelsson and Bertuzzi are the perfect candidates. Both would be old (Samuelsson 37 and Bertuzzi 38), no better than 3rd line players, and it would free up just over $5M in cap space to help retain Filppula, Howard, Smith, and shore up the defense. As for buying out guys who were just signed... the Wings had signed Ray Whitney and Derian Hatcher to contracts in the summer of 2003. Both were bought out at the conclusion of the last lockout.

Haha, Ericsson up front, I like it. Filppula can't carry the second line. He's good as a complementary player to Zetterberg or Datsyuk. I think Nyquist has to get a shot with one of the top lines, and considering Brunner's play so far with Zetterberg, I think they stay together. Nyquist with Datsyuk. Franzen and Filppula will fill the other top-6 spots. Helm centers Samuelsson (yuck) and Cleary, Abdelkader gets a combo of Miller, Tootoo, and Bertuzzi. Mursak is the 14th forward unless they waive him. No room for Emmerton, Tatar, or Andersson. Eaves still on IR. They can either run with 6 D until Colaiacovo is healthy, call up Almquist or Lashoff until then, or try and find a free agent a la Janik who can fill in temporarily.

The only guys who are currently injured are Colaiacovo, shoulder, 2-3 weeks, and Eaves, post-concussion, indefinite.

No schedule yet.

They could also use the open roster spots so guys like Tatar, Andersson, Jarnkrok, Pulkkinen, Frk, etc. actually have a shot at making the NHL before they're 26 and washed up.

No, it's not, actually. That's the Americanized way of saying it. His grandfather clarified the proper pronunciation, which the announcers are using. They discussed it during one of the preliminary round games. Edit-- WAY TO GO USA!!!!

We haven't heard much out of the Wings regarding this lockout. I'm thinking that Bettman led the teams to believe this would be a short-lived lockout, the players would cave, and the owners would get their money and a season. Ilitch doesn't seem like the kind of owner who would want to lose a season or handicap his team through a restrictive CBA. However, the only words we've heard out of the Wings were Devellano's "ranchers and cattle" masterpiece (which earned the team a nice fine) which made me think he believed the owners would overwhelmingly win the labor battle. I can't say he speaks for the entire franchise, there's a reason he was "promoted" from his GM post all those years ago. But also keep in mind, no representative from the Wings has been involved in the bargaining process, not even when the league brought in those other owners to help broker a deal in November. Interesting to say the least...

I didn't say Holland called the shots, I said he physically cast the vote. My understanding was that he was the Wings' representative at the meeting. I'll try to look for a link if I have a chance, it would be from mid-September.

Bertuzzi and Samuelsson. Both bad signings IMO, dollar- and term-wise.. Holland needed to leave room for some of his prospects to move up.

Guys, remember, the Wings' management/ownership voted in favor of the lockout. I'm pretty sure I read that Holland was the one who actually cast the Wings' vote. Hockey fans are PISSED about the lockout, and this was a way to express that anger. I wouldn't read any more into it (other than that Ford Field was full of Chicago fans on Sunday!)

What would make more sense is to move Winnipeg to the Northwest, Minnesota to the Central, and Nashville to the Southeast. Another option could be Winnipeg to the Northwest, Colorado to the Pacific, Dallas to the Central, and Nashville to the Southeast. IF they do have a half-season, they can't honestly expect Winnipeg to play in the East again... there's no sensible way to send the rest of the teams to the 'Peg unless they go there for 2 games at a time, college-style.

It wasn't a bias against Europeans; there was always a real question whether or not they would come over to the NHL. That's why guys like Lidstrom, Fedorov, and Konstantinov weren't drafted a lot higher than they were. Why waste a high draft pick, or time making rankings, on a guy you may never even see?

Jagr would have been a great draft pick. F you, Petr Klima... F you.

Actually, there would be no cap, because there would be no CBA, because there would be no Players' Association. It would be a complete and total free-for-all.