joshy207

Maybe the voting was done after the regular season, like the NHL awards... Nice honor for Meech. But if it's so essential that he gets playing time, and they (supposedly) want Ericsson in the lineup, why are they trying to bring back Chelios and Lilja? Too many defensemen!

Wings: Goalie Howard not ready for NHL If Howard doesn't win the backup job, goes to GR and continues to improve his play and conditioning--"becoming a pro" that Holland talks about--there's no way they give up on him after this year. Of course, the hope is that he does, and can capably play 30 or so games this year. Signing a veteran guy would serve one of two purposes: 1, if in Grand Rapids, play at least half the games while Larsson adjusts to North American rinks and lifestyle, and be able to play in Detroit if called upon. 2, if in Detroit, spell Osgood as needed and still back up if/when Howard is called up. Let's say Howard isn't quite ready... Larsson won't be either. What other "young guy" would you want? Emery? No way, he's a headcase. Anyone else will either be too expensive, would have to be traded for, or is not good enough. A veteran who will sign for cheap, with the good possibility of going to GR, is the way to go. Think Dwayne Roloson with St. Louis/Worcester in 2000-01, or Jon Casey with St. Louis in 1995-96. While I'm not understating the effect that Vernon and Hasek may have had on Osgood, the credit for him being the goalie he is today goes fully to Osgood. At the time of the lockout, he was a guy without a job, and the prospects weren't looking good. He rededicated himself to playing in the league, adjusted his style, and caught back on with the Wings. Remember, he only got a one-year deal for cheap, Detroit was kind of taking a chance on him. His work paid off as he's proven over the last several seasons. He's playing his best hockey now. Edit-- Howard is only 24. That's still young for a goalie, this is not his do-or-die year. Hasek was 29 when he got his first full-time gig in the NHL. Tim Thomas was 31. Dwayne Roloson didn't play more than 50 NHL games in a season until he was 37.

Either way, it might be a good idea to sign a veteran goalie for this year. Let him and Howard battle it out in camp. If Howard makes Detroit, then you have an experienced guy to work with Larsson in GR. If Howard's not ready (consistent enough), he goes to GR as their #1 and gets called up to play a few games in Detroit, and you're not riding a rookie if Osgood gets hurt or slumps.

Get used to it, you'll be seeing Crosby everywhere for the next 20 years. If anyone new is going to challenge him for face time, it won't be Stamkos... it'll be Tavares, next year's phenom. He played a little Jr. A at 14, led Oshawa in goals and got over a point a game in the OHL at 15, dominated it at 16 (led the league in goals and finished 2nd behind Kane in points), again at 17 (2nd in assists and 3rd in points, missed 9 games) and would be the consensus #1 pick this year if he wasn't born 5 days after the cutoff. He'll have to play in the OHL again next year.

If it was any other GM talking, I'd say there's a chance that would be true because there's no transfer agreement in place between the NHL and the IIHF. There's always been a little risk drafting Russian players, you never know if they're going to cross the pond, but now, even Swedes and Finns might be hard to bring across. Rather than getting a standard price, each team can hold out for whatever money they want for their player before letting him go to the NHL. It could be messy. But, since it was Burke talking, I'm not surprised at all. He'd draft some of us before the next coming of Zetterberg or Datsyuk...

This year, yes. Next year will be a little different, as will each year following. A side-effect of this alignment might be the strengthening of the southeast teams--free agents may be more willing to sign there knowing that 4 Adams teams are guaranteed to make the playoffs...

Schultze, you're sticking with the current conference alignment... shame on you! Here's my plan: SMYTHE (Western) Division Vancouver, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado NORRIS (Great Lakes) Division Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Toronto PATRICK (Northeast) Division Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, NY Rangers, NY Islanders, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington ADAMS (Southeast) Division St Louis, Dallas, Nashville, Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida

I don't think Detroit needs to add anyone who wasn't here this year. Re-sign Filppula and probably McCarty up front, and Helm makes the team out of training camp, that gives you Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Filppula, Franzen, Samuelsson, Cleary, Draper, Hudler, Maltby, McCarty, Kopecky, Helm. Perhaps Hartigan and Downey will sign 2-way deals again, and Abdelkader, Ritola, etc. can be called up for spot duty. On defense, if Stuart walks (which he very well may do if we don't offer him more than $3M), let Lilja go, and tell Chelios to hold off, you have Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Lebda, Meech, Quincey, Ericsson on D. Kindl could be called up if needed, or Stafford (if he's coming back.) If it's not working by December, bring Chelios back on board. In nets, Osgood and Howard share duties. The other option there is to sign a veteran backup-type goalie to a 2-way deal and let him and Howard battle it out in camp. Then you either have an experienced backup for Osgood who can play 30 games, or you have that veteran in GR working with Larsson. I was one of the first guys screaming that Detroit needed help on the 2nd line and in net this past year, and happily I was proven wrong. I really don't think big changes OR small changes are needed. If these guys won this year, they could win again next year. At worst, the younger guys get some valuable experience.

I don't want East and West Conferences. There was a thread on here a while back discussing realignment, in which I posted my idea to return to 4 divisions, eliminate the conferences, and have true Divisional playoffs. The divisional playoff winners would be seeded 1-4 and 1 would play 4, 2 vs 3 in the semifinals. This would do what the current schedule setup has failed (miserably) to do--restore the geographic rivalry.

Grand Rapids?? There's no way. Edmonton is the smallest market at just under 600,000 people... GR is no more than 1/3 of that size. Even if you add in Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Lansing... it just wouldn't work. Besides, the Griffins ARE a pro team.

10 years ago, I was screaming for this kind of thing. Wings' tickets were beyond impossible to get, and there are enough "hockey" fans (not just Wings fans) to support 2 teams... but with our economy the way it is, we can barely support one team now. A second team in Toronto wouldn't be a bad idea, except MLSE will never let it happen.

LOTS of guys leave college early for the minors. Jimmy Howard and Kyle Okposo are 2 names off the top of my head. There's a huge difference between NCAA hockey and NHL hockey. There are at most 3 forward spots open, 2 if they keep 8 defensemen, 1 if McCarty is re-signed... and a lot of prospects fighting for a chance, not to mention any free agents that are brought back or added to the mix. Abdelkader starts the year in GR.

Stupid move on CBC's part.

I don't know why he went home either, but this quote is from Red Wings Central: "Ryno was showing positive signs as an AHL rookie with Grand Rapids in 2007-08 before returning to Djurgarden of the Swedish Elite League. The problem wasn't so much that he left, but he went from a top-line player in Grand Rapids to a depth player in Sweden. Wherever Ryno ends up in 2008-09, it needs to be a team that will give him ice time, if he wants to develop into an NHLer."

My mom saw the Cup today at her office. She works for a large Detroit-based company, and Chris Ilitch brought it in for a visit. I'll post a pic if I can.

I'd also like to see Meech, Quincey and maybe Ericsson get a shot at regular playing time. If Lilja (and Chelios for that matter) are brought back, so be it, but the other three are no worse--only less-experienced. And there's only one way to get experience...

Only players on the active roster count against the Cap. Also, I've read on here that Ericsson can be sent to GR one more time without clearing waivers. If that's the case, Chelios can come back in a limited role and they can carry 8 defensemen.

Agreed. They'll be flexible with this pick. If they do lean in any direction, it may be towards a college player so they have (potentially) a couple extra years to let him develop. They could also deal the pick if there's a team that wants to trade up.

Basically it's a redirection. Someone throws the puck in front of you and you don't actually wind up and shoot it, you just push your stick forward (like you're shoveling) and tap the puck in the open net.

I think it's garbage. Monday there's not much they can do about, but Saturday's conflict is totally avoidable. Even though NBC isn't broadcasting the game (VS is) they still could have scheduled the game earlier in the day. 1:00, 3:00, even 5:00. I know they're not worried just about Detroit, but as it stands now, you have the Tigers (7:00), Wings (8:00) and Pistons (8:30) all playing AT HOME. People going to one game will not be able to attend, or even watch, any of the other games, as they would be able to do if the times were staggered. And for those who are heading to the local watering hole to watch the Wings... you might want to call ahead and see which game the bar will have the sound on for. Last year I had a hell of a time getting the Wings/Sharks Saturday playoff game on so we could hear it, I think we went to 4 bars before we found one that wasn't airing the Pistons game... and this one would only turn the sound on AFTER the NFL draft coverage was over. Sucked.

On 95.5, was it commercials or the deejays who mentioned the Pistons? 97.1 talks about the Wings quite a lot. The 10-2 and 2-6 shows usually spend more time on other sports but definitely don't shy away from talking hockey, but the evening/night guys--Caputo, Fithian, Reger... they talk hockey more than any other sport.

I heard the same information over the weekend, via a friend whose relative is a neighbor of the team doctor. Supposedly the blood is there from a concussion sustained last season (06-07).

Throwing a forward on the point for a powerplay is common, but it's extremely rare for a forward to convert to defense full-time. The position is too tough for most forwards to grasp. Moving a defenseman to forward is much easier.

Maybe someone will offer him a contract. I think it would be a low base salary with lots of incentives. Then again, maybe not. Yashin doesn't like breaking a sweat.

Prices are too high especially for our economy, too many lower-bowl corporate tickets go unused, and every person in the Olympia Room (which can be quite full during the game) represents another empty seat in the arena. When watching on TV, it looks like nobody is there because the lower 5-6 rows are a ghost town.