joshy207

Unfortunately, the league in New Zealand (and Australia's league as well) are in the off-season now, it's almost summer there. That would be an awesome experience though!!

Mrazek has only been a Griffin for 4 games, let's give it some time there. Also, Mrazek turned pro at about 11 months younger than Howard was when he turned pro. Not that much of a difference... but yeah, from what I've heard and the little I've seen of him (some WJC action last year), Mrazek has exciting potential.

True. I think Hossa's biggest attribute is his goal-scoring, but he does have more than just that to his game.

None of the guys listed are "pure" goal scorers. That label is reserved for elite snipers like Stamkos and Hossa. Hudler was probably the closest thing we had to a goal-scorer last year, and that was mostly because he didn't do anything else very well.

To me, it succeeded far more than it failed. Yes, it only lasted 7 years. Yes, it had teams fold, move, miss payroll, be bought and sold like crazy... but it ushered in a new era. Player salaries increased dramatically; the NHL's Reserve Clause was eliminated, allowing free agency; the draft age was lowered from 20 to 18 in 1979; major pro hockey was brought to new markets in both the WHA and NHL (some very deserving, some less than so); and the influx of European players began in earnest. While only one WHA team survives today, the league's impact on the game today is undeniable.

Yuri Butsayev. Seriously, though, Fedorov. Datsyuk a close second. Larionov and Konstantinov 3/4.

The Wings DID get shut down by Nashville. They couldn't generate many QUALITY scoring chances because Nashville's D didn't give them any room. The Wings may have fired 40 or so shots a game on Rinne, but most were from far out and/or from bad angles. Those are the easy ones to stop. Then, when the Wings did get quality chances, Rinne was up to the task. Howard did not receive the same kind of help from his defense. Holland may have his own pay scale, but it is not on par with the rest of the league. You can't base this year's free agent salaries on contracts that were signed 3, 4, 5 years ago. If Datsyuk went UFA this summer, someone would have offered him $9M per year.

Holland is the GM, he's the one responsible for the roster. You don't get points for trying, this is a pass/fail business. So, yeah, while he did try to sign Suter and Parise and made a trade offer for Nash, he didn't acquire any of these players. I can't see trading Smith or Nyquist for "stopgaps"; if they were to be moved, I would think it would be as a package for a significant player (like Nash, I wouldn't be surprised if one or both were part of that offer). I think, if the Wings should falter next year, they should look at moving their more valuable, established players and go for the true youth movement. That would be the time to let the prospects sink or swim, time to see if Holland and staff are bringing the right kind of players into the organization.

The Wings don't have much as far as tradeable assets. Filppula is probably the most tradeable right now, because he's coming off a career-best season, but he has only one year left on his contract. Any team acquiring him would most likely want assurances that he could be signed to a new deal. Franzen's contract and lack of work ethic make him almost untradeable. Datsyuk could be moved, but at his age, you probably wouldn't get fair market value. He's still a contributor and a top 2-way forward, but is 34 and could head back to Russia when his current contract expires. Zetterberg could also be moved, but again, probably wouldn't fetch a fair return, and he has a lengthy contract. Kronwall's deal also ties him here for the long haul, and losing him (even for an equal or better replacement) would decimate Detroit's defense. The Wings will stick with Howard unless Petr Mrazek really emerges as a top-end NHL goalie in the very near future. Some of the lower-level guys could be moved if the Wings have a terrible season, which would make room for prospects. I think this club is overdue for a big shakeup, something to eliminate the stale, comfortable feeling they sometimes seem to exude. But that will never happen under Ken Holland's watch, and I don't see Ilitch forcing him out the door anytime soon.

How was the WHA a failure?

The league switched so teams can wear their third jerseys (almost always dark) at home without road teams having to pack both their light and dark uniforms. I prefer white at home and dark on the road, like most of you guys. If I had season tickets, I wouldn't want to see red vs. white every game.

Any league should have no ties to the current NHL, other than signing most of its players and putting teams in some of its markets.

Only one team west of Chicago?

This new league would have all new franchises. No current NHL teams.

If Doan retires during the term of the contract, his cap hit still counts against the Coyotes. Good way to help keep them above the floor. Here's the best part of this: The Coyotes are owned and operated by the NHL. They haven't been sold yet. So, the league, which is about to lock out the players, just overpaid a guy with a contract that *could* be used to help circumvent the salary floor AND they gave him a $2M signing bonus, which is guaranteed money, lockout or not. This league is effed. It needs to go away. I'm sick of Bettman and the two-faced owners and GMs. Time for someone to start up a rival league, do it right with reasonable contracts, reasonable ticket prices, teams in solid hockey markets only, fewer teams (20 sounds good), a shorter season...

I was born in Southfield, MI, lived there 'til I was almost 9, then moved to Farmington, MI. Southfield-- I've seen Jimmy Carson listed as from there as well as Grosse Pointe; Shawn Chambers; Tim Gleason (I coached his cousin for 3 years); and I'm pretty sure there are a couple more recent players who list Southfield as their hometown, but I can't think of who they are. Farmington-- Brent Johnson, who is Sid Abel's grandson; Mike Vellucci, the Plymouth Whalers' coach, played 2 games with Hartford; Cam Fowler is from Farmington Hills. Again, I'm sure there are others. Oh, and Eric Lindros went to Farmington HS for a semester while playing for Compuware, before his OHL rights were traded from the Soo to Oshawa.

Not until next July 1.

There's a great documentary on the '72 Summit Series. I don't know exactly what it's called, but I've seen it on CBC and NHL Network. It's not about the "origins" of hockey, but that series did set the tone for international rivalries that still exist, and it made the Canadians aware that they were no longer alone at the top of the hockey world.

They'll be OK** if Nyquist and/or Brunner are able to stick in the top 6, Smith and Kindl are able to handle regular minutes, and Gustafsson is better than he was in Toronto. And if there are no major injury problems. Brunner and Nyquist are top-6 style forwards and should only be used as such. If they don't pan out, send them to GR. How do they configure the top 2 lines? Franzen was invisible for long stretches last year even though he was with Datsyuk. He played well with Zetterberg at the WCs though, so do they try that pair with Nyquist? Filppula played some with Datsyuk late in 10/11 and began to show flashes of what was to come in 11/12. Maybe they'll click again, and add Brunner to that mix. Bertuzzi, Cleary, and Samuelsson can battle for bottom-6 icetime with the rest of the crowd, and any of them can fill in for the rookies if they don't work out. Helm plays center on one of the lines, the rest is up for grabs. Edit... ** by OK, I mean they should make the playoffs. They're too good to miss them, but not good enough to mount a serious challenge for the Cup unless the moon, stars, and planets all align properly, mixed in with a lot of luck.

Wow... that's pretty awesome.

The Wings' site now is actually much better than it was before the league mandate. The old site was BRUTAL.

Exactly, and precisely why I wanted to see Detroit sign him. He's not great, but is capable defensively, kills penalties, and blocks shots. Would have been a solid, cheap signing for a year (or even two). Nice pickup for the Predators.

I think THN's prediction is about right, based on the current roster. The Wings are too good to miss the playoffs, but not good enough to finish on top of the league. If (IF) they miss the playoffs, I think it'll come right down to the wire, they won't miss by more than a couple points and a couple positions. This is the beginning of their transition period from the team they were in '07-'09 (Lidstrom, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg's team) to the team they'll be in the future. A lot of you are talking about "the kids finally getting a chance", but I don't think that's truly the case just yet. Emmerton and Mursak got their shot last year, with underwhelming results, and neither is a lock to make the team again this season. Smith (who I feel, and I said, should have been up all of last season) finally gets his shot, and hopefully Nyquist and Brunner stick also, although if all things are equal, they can be sent down while others can't. Tatar could be a call-up, as could a couple other guys playing in GR. But the core of the prospects are still 2 years away, both because they aren't quite ready yet, and there's no room for them. As of today, there are 9 forwards under contract for '13-'14, plus key free agents Filppula, Miller, Nyquist, and Brunner. The Wings want to lock up Filppula, I imagine they'll re-sign Nyquist, if Brunner works out then he'll probably be back, but Miller may be forced out. So barring any trades, they'll go into camp in '13 with 12 forwards. This is specifically why I hate the contracts of Bertuzzi and Samuelsson. Both have NTCs and, in my opinion, both stand in the way of progress. I'd much rather see 2 of Jarnkrok/Tatar/Sheahan/Pulkkinen/etc. than Samuelsson at 37 and Bertuzzi at 39. Defense is another story, beyond Smith, no prospects are even close to being ready, and they only have Kronwall, Quincey, and Ericsson signed beyond this season. They'll have to find help through trades or free agency (and my #1 target for a 1- or 2-year stopgap, Scott Hannan, just signed with Nashville for 1 year at $1M.) Mrazek looks promising in goal, which is good, because McCollum does not. Hopefully Gustavsson pans out. And regarding Florida, yes, they had the 3rd seed, but actually had the 6th-best record in the East. They won an again-crappy Southeast Division. Washington and Carolina were not nearly as good as expected, and Tampa Bay fell off dramatically after making the ECF a year ago. Winnipeg felt the effects of assuming Atlanta's schedule with no adjustments for the move. Florida had a ton of turnover from the beginning of '10-'11 to the end of '11-'12, and it worked out much better than anyone expected. Rarely do teams rebuilt that drastically find success that quickly.

01 Kings, 03 Ducks, and 06 Oilers were by far the most embarrassing, frustrating series to watch. 01 the team lacked any drive, they were absolutely awful in Game 5 at home. 03 Ducks was like watching someone beat their head into a wall over and over and over and over and over and over again. All Giguere had to do was stand there, the Wings were going to shoot right at him. They created that monster. And there was no excuse for 06. 09 Penguins, 07 Ducks, 96 & 99 Avalanche, 94 Sharks, and 87 & 88 Oilers hurt. 09, soooo close. 07, watching Lidstrom lay his stick out and deflect that puck over Hasek, bad mistake. 96, great regular season, fell short, 99, up 2-0 and fell apart. 94, losing to San Jose in their first playoff series ever (stinkin' Jamie Baker). 87 and 88, the odds were long, going up against the Oilers, but I was 11 and 12 years old, so it still hurt. And I hated the Oilers then!

I think a big reason a lot of people are down on Kindl is that he was a first-round pick, supposedly good offensively in juniors. and 7 years after being drafted, he hasn't shown the ability to even hold down a regular shift, let alone any offensive flair.